And the band announcements continue: The Generation Prog Festival 2011 on September 23 and 24 will see the German debut of the brilliant To-Mera from England, the return of our celebrated February headliner, Relocator, and the live premiere of the new quintet lineup of our local heroes Theory of Elements. A great prog weekend is pretty much guaranteed! 🙂
Five years after the release of their debut album Transcendental, To-Mera finally make their debut on German soil! Started as a multinational band with Hungarian involvement, the quintet around vocalist Julie Kiss has since firmly established itself on the stages of Britain – which they already got to share with legends like Dream Theater and Emperor. Musically, To-Mera are a lot more daring than most metal bands with female vocals: Rhythmically the music is reminiscent of Meshuggah and Textures and there are detours into jazz and other surprises, raising the music far above the level of the all-too-common Nightwish copycat bands.
Relocator‘s 2010 debut turned quite a few heads as it featured none other than former Dream Theater keyboardist Derek Sherinian as a special guest. But the album had more to offer than just star power: Helped by Dutch drummer Frank Tinge and Polish electric Violinist Bartek Strycharski, project founders Stefan Artwin (guitar) and Michael Schetter (born Pruchnicki, bass) delivered a varied, dense mix of progressive metal and modern fusion. The album was praised by critics all over the world and nominated for “best debut album” at the Progawards 2010. The live unit retains the core band featured on the CD, with newcomer Sergej Schamber (Ocean Spout) taking the place of Derek Sherinian.
Theory of Elements have been a fixture on the Nürnberg prog scene since 2005. Playing countless live gigs and two editions of the Brainmusic Festival, organized by bandleader Enzo Ferrara, the Franconian quartet earned its reputation as a commanding live band. The Generation Prog Festival will see the live debut of their new quintet lineup with two guitarists and returning keyboardist Martin Koralewski. The band are currently working on a new EP that should be available in time for the festival and they can’t wait to bring some of that new material to the stage!
The three remaining bands (including the big Saturday headliner) will be announced soon.