Instrumental US prog rock trio Lux Terminus launched their second album, Cinder, final month. The band characteristic keyboardist Vikram Shankar (who additionally options in Silent Skies and performs dwell with Ache Of Salvation), bassist Brian Craft and drummer Matthew Kerschner. The trio launched their debut album, The Braveness To Be in 2018
“Cinder, for us, is a musical reflection of our core imaginative and prescient as an artist,” the band say. “We purpose to create instrumental music the place the piano and keyboards are on the forefront, breaking free from their standard position as a supporting aspect in progressive steel. It’s essential that melody, dynamics, and emotion stay on the coronary heart of the songwriting, whilst we push technicality and ‘djenty’ heaviness to the restrict. Cinder is about burning with depth and threat—creating passionate, vibrant artwork that challenges each private limits and traditional boundaries.”
Shankar took day trip of his busy schedule to decide on his 5 favorite instrumental prog albums so that you can take pleasure in…
1: PLINI – HANDMADE CITIES (2016)
A contemporary traditional, and with good purpose. Plini manages to strike a exceptional stability between technical mastery and considerate melodicism, and the melodies and moods all through the album are actually gorgeous. I additionally love the nice and cozy, natural manufacturing, which manages to have a up to date degree of punch however nonetheless sound satisfyingly pure.
2. DAVID MAXIM MICIC – WHO BIT THE MOON (2017)
Just like the above, Who Bit The Moon is a kind of albums that blends instrumental excellence and melodic storytelling – a top quality that I attempt for in my very own writing with Lux Terminus as properly. David Maxim Micic’s model has a cinematic grandeur that I discover extraordinarily charming, and his writing is at all times clever and mature.
3. PLANET X – QUANTUM (2007)
My very own private style sometimes leads me to favor progressive music that emphasises environment and melody, however Quantum’s formidable brilliance is not possible to disclaim. All instrumentalists are firing on all cylinders, and the extent of mastery on the entire Planet X data holds up remarkably properly at the moment – a formidable feat contemplating the quantum leaps (no pun meant) that appear to happen within the technical sphere with every passing yr.
4. INTERVALS – CIRCADIAN
One of the particular features of Intervals for me is the electrifying power of the writing. Whereas hitting a number of marks that many improbable fashionable prog artists do, akin to heaviness and instrumental ability, in addition they handle to create a sure infectious character, each within the melodic writing and in manufacturing and association, that makes Intervals music charming for me even after I discover myself fatigued by progressive music (it occurs to the very best of us!).
5. JORDAN RUDESS – RHYTHM OF TIME
So far as I’m involved, Jordan’s solo albums are iconic for us fashionable keyboard gamers, with dazzling virtuosity dwelling alongside passionate artistry. Whether or not taking part in extraordinarily technically or with soulful maturity, Jordan exudes a real love for the craft of music making that’s palpable in each notice. In that regard I may possible nominate any of Jordan’s solo albums to incorporate on this checklist, however the writing on Rhythm of Time has a sure ‘spark’ that I discover merely plain.
