Prog-Watch 435
This week on Prog-Watch: Part 2 of my coverage of Progressive Rock/Progressive Metal Icon Arjen Anthony Lucassen! Hear the remainder of my conversation with Arjen, as well as lots of great music from Star One, Ayreon, Ambeon, The Gentle Storm, and Stream of Passion!
(See Prog-Watch 423 for Part 1)
Arjen Anthony Lucassen (born 3 April 1960, Netherlands) is a Dutch progressive metal/rock songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer, best known for his long-running progressive opera project titled Ayreon. Following Ayreon’s success, Lucassen has been involved in many other projects: he is the creator, composer and current guitarist/keyboardist of Star One, Guilt Machine, The Gentle Storm, the currently inactive band Ambeon, and the creator and former guitarist of Stream of Passion.
Arjen plays a wide variety of instruments: his main instruments are guitar and keyboards, however he also plays bass, banjo and many others. Overall, in his career and including all his bands and projects (as principal instrumentalist/creative force or as a member), Lucassen has released twenty-four studio albums, two live albums, four EPs and seventeen singles. Lately his albums (especially those under the Aryeon banner) have become a kind of “who’s who” in progressive rock/metal, with numerous guest musicians and vocalists involved in each new one.
| arjenlucassen.com |
Prog-Watch is now brought to you by The Gaslight Collective, a podcast network with a number of excellent shows dedicated to story-based entertainment! The Gaslight Collective was founded by Nelson W Pyles, author and originator of the wildly successful Wicked Library podcast, and Dan Foytik, Mr. Podcast himself, who has since taken over the Wicked Library, and also has a hand in a number of great shows, including Listen, the Lift, and The 9th Story. So, if you like thrills, chills, suspense, horror, old-time radio play style stuff, and above all, story, check out some of those shows! (The Wicked Library even sports a theme that was written and performed by your old pal, Big Tony, the Progsquatch, and he’s very proud to have it associated with such a quality show! He feels the Wicked Library Theme is truly one of the times when he really hit the mark with a piece of music! Even the blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while!)
Music with some meat to it!
Prog-Watch is a weekly podcast and internet radio program dedicated to bringing the listener contemporary Progressive Rock music from around the world. Your big, hairy host, the “Prog-Squatch” wanders the woods of the world, beats the bushes, and digs in the dirt to bring the best Prog back for YOU! Sometimes solo and sometimes with a guest host, the Prog-Squatch will bring you new and interesting artists in each episode, and give you some background info and a taste of their music.
Want More Squatch? Check him out howling into the wild with his own Progressive Rock Band, Novus. Jam some Squatch in those ears! http://novus3.bandcamp.com/releases