It’s a fairly well known fact that Progressive Rock has had a hand in influencing Heavy Metal. Bands like Dream Theater and Fates Warning would not exist without earlier bands like Yes and Rush. Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris, I am told, virtually worships Jethro Tull (to the point that Maiden’s recent work is showing traces of Prog Rock). There is even a crop of bands that still carry on a tradition of Progressive Rock. Now, I’m aware that “tradition” and “progressive” seem to contradict one another, but the latter generation of Prog Rock bands take what came before them and build upon it so that “progressive”, much like “alternative”, carries two meanings, the literal and the figurative. Into this current crop of Prog Rock bands steps Edensong. Relying heavily on 70s styled composition ala the Gabriel-led Genesis, Kansas, Tull & Yes, while not forsaking the literal meaning of their genre’s tag, Edensong brings musicianship & vibe together as one and into the here and now. Here’s my conversation with main-man James Schoen.

Many lovers of Metal music tend to venture into the realm of Prog Rock from time to time. Take into consideration the popularity of bands like Spock’s Beard, Enchant and The Flower Kings among certain Metal fans (usually those into the more Progressive side of Metal) and this is easy to see. Lucky for these […]