Michael's Record Collection

My guest for this episode is vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Eric Gillette of The Neal Morse Band. NMB just released its fifth studio album, L.I.F.T., on Friday, Feb. 27, and it's another standout concept album from the five-piece veteran prog rock ensemble. Eric was kind enough to discuss the making of the album, his musical beginnings, playing bluegrass at a young age, getting into progressiv...

Legendary Irish rock vocalist Robin McAuley returns for his third appearance on the show to discuss the latest album from his supergroup Black Swan. Paralyzed drops February 27 from Frontiers Music and is a high-energy, melodic rock tour de force from this all-star group of musicians that also includes guitarist Reb Beach (Winger, Whitesnake), bassist Jeff Pilson (Dokken, Foreigner), and drummer M...

My guest for this episode is Big Big Train vocalist, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Alberto Bravin. Arriving from legendary Italian prog band PFM a couple of years back, Bravin discusses the band's new album (his second with Big Big Train), Woodcut. It's the 16th studio album for BBT but the band's first concept album. Alberto sat for the interview in early December 2025, but the al...

My guests for this special episode are all four members of veteran progressive rock band Echolyn — Raymond Weston, Christopher Buzby, Brett Kull, and Jordan Perlson. The four musicians joined me to discuss their self-released twin albums, TimeSilentRadio II and TimeSilentRadio vii, which came out March 7. The band just released a new video and these outstanding modern prog albums are well worth yo...

Nick D'Virgilio returns to discuss the reissue of his 2008 Rewiring Genesis A Tribute to The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway album. The reissue drops Friday, with some new parts recorded, including guitar by Genesis legend Steve Hackett and strings recorded at the iconic Abbey Road Studios in London. Nick discussed what's been added, what makes The Lamb special, his own personal history with the classi...

My guest for this episode is vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Ted Leonard, who is the front man for Spock's Beard, Pattern-Seeking Animals, and Enchant. Ted and his Spock's Beard mates are set to release the band's 14th studio album (the fourth since Ted came in to replace Nick D'Virgilio as vocalist after the latter left the band). The Archaeoptimist drops Friday from Madfish Music. Ted talks a...

My guest for this episode is Swedish multi-instrumentalist and composer Jonas Lindberg. His band/solo project, Jonas Lindberg & The Other Side is set to release its third album, Time Frames, on Nov. 7. Jonas was kind enough to tell me about the new album, his approach to songwriting, why the band hasn't played live in more than 10 years, his musical influences and background, and more. The mus...

My guest for this episode is founding member and keyboardist of Norwegian progressive rockers Gazpacho. This is one of the most interesting bands in modern progressive rock, and they're back with a new album on Oct. 31 called Magic 8-Ball, a conceptual piece that provides everything you already love about Gazpacho and yet delivers some fresh new sounds and ideas as well. Thomas was kind enough to...

My guest for this episode is Polish composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Mariusz Duda (Riverside, Lunatic Soul) about the upcoming Lunatic Soul album, The World Under Unsun. It's the first double album for Lunatic Soul (the name under which Duda records his solo albums). Despite being a double concept album, he keeps the length manageable, and Mariusz was kind enough to tell me about the...

My guest for this episode is vocalist/keyboardist Lawrence Gowan of Styx. The Canadian musician took over for Dennis DeYoung ahead of the 2003 album Cyclorama and although he's only been part of the band's last five studio albums in that time, Styx continues to find ways to explore interesting musical ideas and create memorable music. Lawrence was kind enough to discuss the new album, Circling Fro...

Jon Lamoreaux from the Hustle Podcast has been on the show before, and he returns to go track by track with me through the 1985 synth-pop masterpiece Dream Into Action by Howard Jones. The album turned 40 earlier this year and Howard is currently on his 40th anniversary tour for the album, playing most of the songs from it, along with other hits and favorites. We discuss the stories behind the son...

My guest for this episode is IZZ co-founding member Tom Galgano, who has finally put out his first solo album after more than 25 years as a professional musician. Sleepwalking in a Strange Land will present many surprises for longtime IZZ fans, but at the same time, there is a lot that the band's longtime supporters will love. Tom was kind enough to take me through his process, his musical backgro...

Arjen Anthony Lucassen, best known for his Ayreon all-star progressive rock project, is back with his first solo album in 13 years. Songs No One Will Hear is a conceptual piece about the world finding out that an asteroid is coming to destroy the planet in five months' time. The music is eclectic — at times fun, at others serious, with an excellent blend of darker and lighter moments. Arjen was ki...

It was my honor recently to speak with music writer Andrew Wild, who has written books about the likes of Queen, Fleetwood Mac, Dire Straits, and Pink Floyd, as well as about the iconic Live Aid concert festival. Andrew just released his second book about the 1980s "neoprog" era in England, chronicling six British bands that kept the progressive rock torch alive when the 1970s bands were either fa...

My guest for this episode is Warlord and former Fates Warning drummer Mark Zonder, who was kind enough to talk to me about A-Z's sophomore album, A2Z2, which dropped June 6 on Metal Blade Records. A-Z provides catchy and accessible hard rock music that's a bit more adventurous than your typical AOR fare. The band is made up of accomplished musicians and they just flat out rock. The band's second a...

I welcome back the legendary Roine Stolt from The Flower Kings to discuss LOVE, the new album from the Swedish progressive rock masters. This 17th studio release is sure to appeal to longtime fans of the band, as The Flower Kings have produced an album that builds on their recent releases while calling back to their classic sound. Roine was kind enough to tell me the stories behind the recording a...

My guests for this episode are Tony Piccoli and Pete Hopersberger from Michigan-based progressive metal outfit Imminent Sonic Destruction. Tony has been on the show before, back on Episode 58 to discuss the band's third album, The Sun Will Always Set, but the band is back with fourth album, Floodgate, which dropped April 25 on FC Records. Tony and Pete discussed the making of the album, the storie...

My guest for this episode is legendary guitarist Phil Keaggy. Phil has joined forces with Neal Morse, ex-Genesis drummer Chester Thompson, and noted session bassist Byron House to form a new prog rock supergroup called Cosmic Cathedral. The band's debut album, Deep Water, drops April 25 from Inside Out Music. Phil was kind enough to tell me how the project came about, the making of the record, his...

After the heavy, guitar-driven science fiction epic Arise (2023), Glass Hammer returns with the band's most accessible album yet. Co-founder Steve Babb returns to Michael's Record Collection to discuss the brand new album Rogue, the most human of all Glass Hammer's concept albums. Drenched in keyboards, Rogue shares connective tissue with some of Glass Hammer's most beloved albums, with hints of G...

My guest for this episode is repeat offender Dave Kerzner, making his third appearance on the show. In his first, we discussed one of his all-time favorite albums, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis. That was a few years ago and he hinted about a Lamb tribute album in the works featuring performers such as Francis Dunnery (It Bites), Nick D'Virgilio (Big Big Train), Billy Sherwood (Yes), St...

For this episode, I'm joined by three members of Grackle, a Louisville, Kentucky-based indie/progressive rock band that defies simple classification, with elements of prog, alt-rock, jazz, classical, folk, classic rock, and more. Primary songwriter Steve Katsikas (vocals, keyboards, saxophone, etc.) along with backing vocalist Jennifer Lauletta and drummer Jeff Gard stopped by for a discussion of...

My guests for this episode are the principal writers for the British progressive rock band IQ, Peter Nicholls (lyrics) and Mike Holmes (music). The lead singer and guitarist, respectively, along with their bandmates are set to release the band's 13th album, Dominion, on Giant Electric Pea Records on March 28. The two discussed the album's music, lyrics, and writing process, their musical backgroun...

It's Part 2 of my interview with bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson! In this episode, Kevin discusses how he found out he was going to write the novelization for Rush's Clockwork Angels album, working with Neil Peart on the books, his friendship with Neil, his love of Rush's music, and his thoughts on the Clockwork Angels album. Visit  wordfire.com  for more information on Kevin's work. Get in o...

My guest for this episode is New York Times bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson, who is firing up a new Kickstarter (see URL below) today to reissue his outstanding Terra Incognita trilogy in special hardcover and bespoke editions. What does this have to do with my record collection? All three of Kevin's novels in the trilogy have a companion album of original progressive rock songs performed by...

Current Steve Hackett bassist and ex-Flower King Jonas Reingold is back with the sixth Karmakanic album, Transmutation. The new album sees Karmakanic as less of a band and more of a collective of musicians, featuring a new lead vocalist in John Mitchell (Lonely Robot, Arena, It Bites, Kino, Frost*). Jonas was kind enough to tell me about the making of Transmutation, his musical background, joining...