MAHESH is a Chilean progressive metal band featuring several highly skilled musicians. Inti OYARZUN (ex MATRAZ) on bass, Eric TRONCOSO on vocals, keyboards and guitar, Ramón PLAZA on drums and Francisca MORGANA on lead vocals. Supported by Mylodon Records, the band released their debut album "Processes" in 2008 and mixes a wide range of inspirations from progressive rock, experimental, jazz fusion, progressive metal, folk and traditional Chilean music. The band have gone underground after the release of their debut album and are believed to be on a hiatus. Biography by Rune2000

Persona Grata is a progressive rock group formed in Bratislava, Slovakia. The band, known for their signature sound and original material, is bringing a new quality to the Progrock Genre. Influenced by groups such as Yes, Dream Theater and contemporary Muse, the band has developed a sound focused on melody and complex rhythms, which has evolved from the above inspirations. The band was formed in 1999 when the keyboardist Adam Kuruc and the solo guitarist Martin Huba joined and the band and since that time Persona Grata went through various stages; members were changing, technology was changing and most of all the musical taste of band members was evolving in different directions It just happens to be, that the music Persona Grata creates and loves can best be described as "Progressive Rock". As in their opinion "there is no other genre that holds such immense possibilities, so expressive and enabling to work with such contrasts". Persona's music is full of rhythmical structures and odd-time grooves. Combined with raw energy it offers excitement which is - according to band members - very hard to achieve while playing any other type of music and gives great freedom of musical expression. Persona Grata started to work on the debut album Reaching Places High Above couple of years ago. Once the whole concept was finished, the band was constantly rethinking arrangements, adding and removing layers, minimizing and expanding different parts until finally a demo version was finished from a production standpoint. Professional mix and master gave a final touch to the current sound of the album, which was officially released in August 2013. Recently PG went thru major changes. Band's keyboard player was offered an unique opportunity as a music composer in the film and game industry which he decided to pursue and therefore had to leave the band. Shortly after, solo guitarist followed his own musical career. Finding the right band members that could stand up to the legacy of the previous ones proved to be a real challenge. Nevertheless, not long after that the right people were found: Matej Miklos - a composer, keyboardist and an amazing performer and Peter Luha - a man with stunning guitar technique, great feeling and experience. Persona Grata immediately started to work on the following album - as a first thing finished up the new single Forevermore as a showcase of the new formation and band's new sound. Bio provided by the band. Members: MARTIN STAVROVSKY - vocals, rhythm guitar PETER LUHA - electric guitar MATEJ MIKLOS - keyboards JAN STENO - drums and percussions TIMO STRIES - bass guitar

Namba was born on September 9, 1953 in Sugamo of Tokyo into a musical family: his father played jazz organ and accordion while his mother was a singer. He started to learn playing the piano in 1957. His band career started in 1967, making his first band with friends. After graduating from Gakushuin University in 1973 he began working as professional musician and released his first solo album, "Sense of Wonder" in 1978. Over the years he has released albums under both his own name and as "Sense of Wonder", so both should be taken as being by Hiroyuki. He has also been a member of jazz-rock bands A.P.J., Kenso, ExhiVision and Yajyu Ohkoku, as well as the heavy prog band Nuovo Immigrato. He came to international prominence when he provided the soundtrack for "Dallos" (1983), the first Anime original video animation. Since then he has provided soundtracks for other animations as well, such as "Armitage II", "Armitage III" and "Burn Up W". In 1988 he became an instructor at the Tokyo College of Music, and has continued working in film and TV, as well as producing music for other artists and writing award winning science fiction. If that isn't enough he is still active as keyboard player in multiple outfits and releasing albums in various guises. biography provided by kev rowland, yam yam and heavily edited by Marty McFly

SILENT LUCIDITY is a progressive metal band from Holzgerlingen, Germany, formed in 1990 by Joachim REICHL (vocals, guitar) and Jens-Christoph MAURER (drums). The line-up was not established until 1992 with the addition of Andreas JAEGER (bass) and Volker JEEB (guitars). After a demo in 1995, they released their debut ''Positive as Sound'' in 1996 via Music Is Intelligence records, but there have been no signs of activity since 2000. Their sound resembles, unsurprisingly, to QUEENSRYCHE but also more technical German prog metal bands such as SIEGES EVEN. Biography by aapatsos

The Alman Mulo Band is a duo consisting of Harvey Bainbridge (sometimes credited as Waki Gumbo Jr.) and Norman Alman, with occasional help from others. The sound of The Alman Mulo Band is a spacey melting pot of sequenced synths, and tribal percussion. The Alman Mulo Band has so far released 5 albums, the most notable being Afrodiziac Dream Time, Orisha, and Diamonds And Toads.

Thought Guild was the duo of musician / composer Gregory T. Kyryluk (Alpha Wave Movement / Open Canvas) and synthesist Christopher Cameron. The focus from the genesis of the project was recording synthesizer based music in an open improvised setting direct to recording medium. Christopher Cameron an avid collector of vintage 1970 - 1980s synthesizers curated the vintage aesthetics to the project. Thought Guild released 2 recordings 2001's Context and 2005's Continuum. Both releases were very personal and featured that 1970s era sounds ingrained & sculpted with influence of Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Ashra, Popol Vuh and Steve Roach. (...) - read more at http://www.discogs.com/artist/Thought+Guild

Volt is a duo of Michael Shipway and Steve Smith, and have dedicated Volt to making Neo-Berlin School style Ambient of the highest quality. The bands first release came out in 2003 on the renowned label, Groove Unlimited, who has released music by Edgar Froese, Harald Grosskopf, and many more Berlin School artists.

REGAL WORM is a progressive rock project by Jarrod GOSLING of Sheffield, England based electronic pop psych outfit I MONSTER and maverick Jazz influenced proggers HENRY FOOL, which includes NO-MAN's Tim BOWNESS. The first musical scene that he got into was the Two-­-Tone movement/reggae after which he grew hair (everywhere) and got into hard rock/metal...MAIDEN, RAINBOW, PRIEST, PURPLE etc. The rest of the 80s was spent listening to mainly hair metal, melodic poodle perm metal and drifting through a number of bands as a bass player. After getting bored of metal he switched to keyboards (a Korg DW600) and went off to college at which he became interested in indie and dance stuff. The early WARP label (from Sheffield) was a big influence and around 1990, Jarrod met Dean HONER who was also into the same vibe. Together they decide to get together and make some noise. Electronic noise. I MONSTER was born. The next 8 years were spent making long bleepy experimental electronic music, similar to APHEX TWIN, AUTECHRE and BLACK DOG. Around 1998, they decided to add weird samples and use them in a different way. Most of this from old charity shop easy listening vinyl. They added lyrics and started making a sort of weird electronic/60s sounding pop hybrid and also sampled prog stuff (CMU, Manfred MANN, CHAPTER 3...). GOSLING and HONER co-­-produced two tracks on MOBY's 'Play' album and then made their first album, which included the original version of hit-­-single Daydream In Blue'. Following the intervention of Jonathan DICKINS (now ADELE's manager) a reworked Daydream in Blue hit the UK Top 20 in 2001. GOSLING and HONER went on to remix artists such as THE DIVINE COMEDY, PULP, FEEDER and GOLDFRAPP. One track from the second I MONSTER album 'Neveroddoreven' was used as the main title theme to 'Shaun Of The Dead' and at this time their music was being used all over TV in shows, films and adverts. 'Daydream In Blue' was sampled in its entirety by US rapper Lupe FIASCO, which GOSLING and HONER also co-­-produced and which went on to win a Grammy. In 2005, Jarrod purchased a Mellotron M400 plus further cool instruments like a Rhodes, analogue synths, Rickenbacker 4001 bass, early 70s Rogers jazz kit and a Hammond organ. I MONSTER made a further album 'A Dense Swarm Of Ancient Stars', the cover of which, designed by GOSLING, featured in the Storm Thorgerson book 'Classic Album Covers Of The 60s'. Around 2010, GOSLING and HONER started a side project called SKYWATCHERS, which featured Colchester based singer songwriter Kevin PEARCE, the music being a little folkier and proggy than I MONSTER. In 2011 GOSLING co-­-produced the HUMAN LEAGUE album 'Credo' with HONER, managing to get his old DW6000 synth on there, plus his Mellotron! Finally later in 2001, GOSLING decided to take the plunge and make a prog album. Progressive rock, since the early 90s had become his absolute passion and so one-­-man band REGAL WORM was born and made the first album Use and Ornament which was recorded in Jarrod's Pig View studio utilising dangerous vintage machinery (including his prized Mellotron M400), to bring Prog Fans a highly detailed but accessible and colourful music, mixing prog, jazz, and folk genres with an anarchic post-­-punk strand and sensibility. ::biography provided by, and reproduced with permission of Regal Worm and their management company::

The band is from Greece formed in 2009 by Thomas PETRU (composer, keyboardist) and Nikos EFTHIMIADIS (bass). Later on, Ilias PAPADOPOULOS (guitar) was added to the group. The last member is Dimitris SKOURAS (drums). The band is influenced by a variety of different genres that you can hear in the different layers that composed their songs. The interplay between the soft and heavier passages in a dense and emotional atmosphere will surely seduce the progressive rock listener. In their first EP, the band cover 2 PORCUPINE TREE?s songs, which tell a lot about their biggest influence. :::rdtprog:::

MOCAH is from Argentina, and was formed in 2008. In 2009 they made a good impact on the public with their first EP. In 2010 they went on tour and in 2011, they begin to record their first album. The band is Guido ALONSO (vocals), Sebastien SANTA CRUZ (keyboards), Pablo CORTADI (drums), Nico PAGANINI (guitar) and Charlie GHIRLANDA (bass). The band is currently working on their second cd.Their influences are from bands like DREAM THEATER and LUIS ALBERT SPINETTA. The music with some Spanish lyrics is an energetic progressive rock with some interesting funky grooves that also has some similarity in the keyboards sound with DEEP PURPLE. :::rdtprog:::

SHEPHERDS OF CASSINI are an Aukland, New Zealand based progressive metal act that combines aspects of post metal with middle-eastern influenced riffs and heavy dynamics comparable to bands such as TOOL. There's also a strong sense of psychedelia to their sound as well as quieter passages that showcase their instrumental flair with a gentle touch. Vocals are sparse yet smooth, adding an extra element to their sound. Founded in 2012, their self titled first album was released on August 24, 2013. The band roster currently includes Omar AL-HASHIMI on drums and Vitesh BAVA on bass, both from the defunct progressive rock act PILGRIM'S PYRE. On electric violin is Felix LUN from the psychedelic/space rock act AN EMERALD CITY, and Brendan ZWAAN provides the guitar and vocals. Biography by Prog Sothoth

Another wonderful band on the ever-growing excellent AltRock label, HOMUNCULUS RES is a Sicilian band centered around songwriter/guitarist/keyboardist Dario D'Alessandro. Other members currently include keyboardists David Di Giovanni and Federico Cardaci, bassist Domenico Salamone, flutist Dario Lo Cicero, and drummer Daniele Di Giovanni. A featured guest on the band's debut is YUGEN keyboardist Paolo Ske Botta. The primary inspiration for the band is PICCHIO DAL POZZO, the best Canterbury-influenced Italian band from the 1970s. They seem likewise, as did PICCHIO DAL POZZO, to derive inspiration from other Canterbury bands, particularly CARAVAN and SOFT MACHINE. But HOMONCULUS RES is far from being a simple clone--they have taken the light, breezy, humorous Canterbury feel and mixed it with the early material from PREMIATA FORNERIA MARCONI and even LE ORME. They have combined these influences, spinning the whole in their wonderful melodic sensibilities, in the process creating one of the more unique and memorable entries into the crowded field of modern excellent Rock Progressivo Italiano. The 2013 debut album Limiti All'eguaglianza della Parte con il Tutto demands to be heard and enjoyed and portends of wonderful things to come from this delightful ensemble. [Todd]

Ling Tosite Sigure (Rin Toshite Shigure) were formed in 2002 in Saitama, Japan by Toru Kitajima ("TK" - guitar, vocals) and Miyoko Nakamura ("345" - bass, vocals). After a few demo releases they were joined by Masatoshi Nakano ("Pierre Nakano" - drums) and undertook their first nationwide tour in 2004. They have a style that combines post-hardcore and progressive rock, often incorporating rapid changes of tempo and mood based around complex guitar melodies and technical drumming. They utilize both male and female vocals ranging from soft singing to loud wails and screams. In 2005 they started their own label, Nakano Records, and released their debut album "#4". Their second album "Inspiration Is Dead" was released in 2007 following an EP the previous year, and they continued to tour. In 2008, they joined major label Sony Music Associated Records, and their third album, "Just a Moment", was released on May 15, 2009. The following year they undertook a nationwide tour that culminated at the high-profile Saitama Super Arena venue in their home city. They performed their first overseas gigs in the UK and Canada before returning to Japan to record their fourth album "Still a Sigure Virgin?" which was released on September 22, 2010. Their fifth album "I'mperfect" was released on April 10th, 2013 and since then they signed to specialised European record label JPU Records and the album was released across Europe.

MYSTERE DE NOTRE DAME are an Italian progressive metal band, formed in Monza, Italy in 1993. The line-up of Ruggero CESANA (Vocals, Guitars), Gianluca SCASSA (Keyboards), Roy (Bass), Luciano MARINETTI (Drums) and Joe LACQUANITI (Guitars) released the self-titled album in 1996 via Music Is Intelligence. A slight peculiarity is that they are an Italian group with a French name, who sing in English and recorded their album in Germany. There have been no further updates to the history or evolution of the band since. High-pitched vocals, power/prog metal riffology, lush keyboards and multiple piano sections constitute the sound of the band, which will appeal to fans of traditional progressive metal in the vein of ETERNITY X, DREAM THEATER, early SHADOW GALLERY. Biography by aapatsos

The band is from New York and was formed by the first three members Andrew BIELER (drums, piano), Russell FROHBERG (bass) and Zach VANDERBERG (guitar). They started by playing in a high school jazz band and made their first EP in 2011. Joshua TRAVIS (guitar) joined the band shortly after. Their fist album ''Life Thread'' was released in 2013 and the music is in the heavy instrumental progressive genre with influences from hard rock and progressive metal. The band display some nice musicianship and songwriting skills to keep their music interesting despite the lack of vocals. Some jazz interludes and breaks give even more depth to their songs were we can found influences from bands like OPETH and RUSH. Biography by rdtprog

SOLAR SOMA have been together for many years with the core group of Cat JOHNS on vocals and guitars, Chris LAU on guitar and often bass, and Luke WHELAN on drums. Recently they have been joined on bass by Shaun HOLTON, also of PROJECTED TWIN, a singer/songwriter who has collaborated with SOLAR SOMA and their studio for his first two albums. The band is characterized by spending a lot of time in the studio rehearsing and writing, as they are lucky enough to have XPM Studios at their disposal twenty-four seven and it is a huge influence in the way they write and arrange. ?Being able to multi-track ideas as you go along, from the earliest stage of a song ?til the final takes, changes what feels possible when you're writing? says vocalist Cat JOHNS. It's clear the band loves layering, with walls of punching guitar and swirling vocal harmonies, as they attempt to contrast soft and melodic with loud and epic throughout their EP. Another defining characteristic of the SOLAR SOMA sound is that all the guitars and basses featured on the EP have been hand built by guitarist Chris LAU, whose day job is as a luthier and guitar repairer. Under the name of Lauda Guitars, the studio (and band) has a collection of handcrafted guitars and basses built up over the years to hone the sound of the instrument he loves. And they prove popular with other musicians too, often being the chosen to record with when people come to XPM Studio. Projected Twin's second album features them exclusively and they have become part of his signature sound. SOLAR SOMA having broken the ice with their EP are going to continue to record and release tracks for the rest of the year, and build up to an album...watch this space! ::bio provided by the artist ? reprinted with permission::

TUMBLETOWN is a studio project by Han UIL (sEVEN DAY HUNT, ANTARES and solo works) and Aldo Adema (EGDON HEATH, SEVEN DAY HUNT). A collaboration between two skilled producers, guitarists and composers. Both played together in the progressive rock formation SEVEN DAY HUNT, a continuation of EGDON HEATH. The 2008 debut release 'File This Dream' was hailed by the press as 'the album of the year has come early' (Progwereld) and 'vette krent' (recommended by iO pages). This album was produced and mixed by guitarist Aldo. Han was the band's vocalist/lyricist who also co-produced and mastered the album. Aldo and Han left SEVEN DAY HUNT in 2009. Aldo wanted to concentrate more on studio recording and production work. Meanwhile Han recorded and produced his second solo album 'Dark in Light' (2010). Han and Aldo co-operated on one songs of this album 'Memento'. Because this successful cooperation, they both decided to start a new studio project. TUMBLETOWN was born. In 2011 Aldo was asked by the Dutch neo-proggers SILHOUETTE to produce their third album 'Across the Rubicon'. TUMBLETOWN took an half-a-year break so Aldo could focus on this production. Aldo had already appeared with a guest performance on their second album 'Moods'. Han mastered their highly successful album which was released June 2012. In the same month the first TUMBLETOWN video saw the light featuring the song 'One Goal'. This is a protest song against the Syrian regime and in support of the Syrian resistance. Musically TUMBLETOWN is a brilliant mix of progressive and mainstream rock. They are influenced by a wide scale of artists like; BLACKFIELD, KARMAKANIC, THE BEATLES, SPOCK'S BEARD, Neil YOUNG, David BOWIE, Nick CAVE and PINK FLOYD. Just before Christmas 2012, a second youtube video was released 'The end of Hyde'.The album features guest appearances by Erik LAAN (SILHOUETTE) on keyboards, Marcel COPINI (EGDON HEATH & SEVEN DAY HUNT) on bass and Carola MAGERMANS (SEVEN DAY HUNT) delivered a vocal contribution. TumbleTown's debut album was released by FREIA Music, a Dutch independent music label in June 2013. ::biography provided by and publish with permission of the artists::

Francisco RAFART is A chilean Chapman Stick performer since 2005, one of the first to play the instrument in Chile. He has a degree in Music Composition from the P. Universidad Católica de Chile, where he studied with m. Aliocha Solovera. In these years his work focUsed mainly in avant garde atonal composition. At the same time RAFART studied on his own the Stick, composing progressive music on a parallel fashion as a soloist and as a part of the band SPACE OREGANO. As a composer his scores have been performed in several stages in Chile and Argentina. In 2007 he won the audience´s price for the piece ?Sinapsis II? for Chamber Orchestra, in the III Luis Advis National Composition Contest. He worked as part of the NGO Germinaciones Chile, an organization of latinamerican composers. He also has been teacher at the Conservatory Universidad Mayor in Chile and has attended various composition seminars. As a stickist he has performed in the I and II International Stick Encounters in 2006 and 2007, in Santiago, Chile. In 2013 he was part in the II Compilate of Hispanic Stick players and at the time a representative of Círculo de Stickistas (stickist Guillermo CIDES´ organization) in Chile. In 2013 he released his first Stick solo album ?The Handbook of the Acid Rider? under Mylodon Records. Band RAFART is the solo band of Stick peformer Francisco RAFART. The band´s current line up (2013) is Fernando DAZA (OCTOPUS) on guitars and Pablo MARTINEZ (ALL TOMORROWS) on drums. The music is instrumental progressive rock with influences of electronic music. ::biography submitted by and reprinted with permission of the artist::

SUNRISE AURANAUT is a Russian studio project, led by multi-instrumentalist and composer Vitaly KISELEV, who creates music mainly in the traditions of the classical school of Prog 70s. KISELEV cites the creativity of GENESIS, YES, E.L.P., CAMEL, URIAH HEEP, ELOY and HAWKWIND, as his major influences. Between 2009 and 2012 he produced three demo albums, Way Of The King'', ''Childhood's End?'' and ''Spirit Of The Rain'', before being discovered by Musea Records. KISELEV decided to make every effort to implement his debut ''Childhood's End?'', which displays romance, inner freedom and happiness that any human experiences in early childhood. This instrumental album was released eventually in the spring 2013 on Musea Parallele. Here's a contemporary personal vision of childhood, illustrated with the beauty of Nature, a sea of energy, vivid feelings and images, mystical fear, mystery, magic and belief in miracles, linked with a cosmic inspiration. The very important for Vitaly KISELEV instrumental concept-album Way Of The King was published on Musea Parallele in autumn 2013. Back in 2009, being in the demo, it was very warmly received by the listeners. Way Of The King is mostly in the symphonic Progressive rock genre, with frequent incursions into Progressive heavy-metal territory. Music on this album illustrates stories from the life of the king who, in order to find itself and to be happy, decides to refuse the throne and all riches. He then becomes a wandering musician. Throughout both albums, quiet and peaceful parts alternate with fast and energetic sequences. Keyboards and electric guitar rule, leaving room for acoustic guitar though. All this is combined with a powerful rhythm section.

Composer from 1977, he plays keyboards, guitars and electric bass. After short experiences with various progressive-rock groups, he started a solo research activity, moving on electronic, new-age, rock, folk & other contaminations. At this time is keyboardist with AD MAIORA, a prog band in Milan. ::biography submitted to Progarchives.com for publication by the artist, Sergio CALECA::