Pain of Salvation is a Swedish progressive rock band headed by Daniel Gildenlöw; the band’s lyricist, chief composer, guitarist, and lead vocalist. Their sound is characterised by powerful, accentuated guitar work, broad vocal range, abrupt switching between heavy and calm passages, intense syncopation, and polyrhythmic experimentation. Another trademark of the band is that each album is a concept album. Some of the topics addressed in the band’s albums include sexuality, war and its effect on family and humanity, environmental issues (such as nuclear power), the forming of the individual, and the nature of God, humankind, and existence.

Oklahoma City based powerhouse VANGOUGH may be named after a post-impressionistic artist, come from a conservative bastion of the U.S. and draw inspiration from a variety of exotic musical styles; yet driven by the explosive, cutting edge vision of guitarist and lead vocalist Clay Withrow, the band’s incisive and infectious songs and intense energy requires adjectives far beyond words that describe mainstream artists. So here’s an opening attempt: committed to drawing listeners into their melodies before totally upending the tea table, they spit fiery madness by drenching your ears with a purple sunrise of melodic cocaine.

Originally formed around Withrow’s well-received 2007 solo debut and evolving over two incredible discs, Vangough – whose current killer lineup includes drummer Kyle Haws, keyboardist Corey Mast and bassist Jeren Martin – combines the groovy attitude of southern metal stalwarts and the quirkiness of contemporary art rock with melodies and textures inspired by music from all over the world. Their often times vintage sound harkens back to the forebearers of progressive rock, giving them a slightly retro feel while retaining the freshness of a forward thinking contemporary band.

With their newly completed second album, the grandiose “Kingdom Of Ruin”, VANGOUGH have taken their conceptual visions another step ahead. The story of The Rabbit Kingdom is about a man who is stepping through the veil of two realities. One of his human life and the other a land where rabbits rule in an idyllic forest kingdom. Through the course of the story he begins to realize his link to this other world and has to come to the difficult decision if he should stay a human or take his place as the rightful heir to the throne in this faraway kingdom. With the concept split in two halfs; one “metal” and one “rock” oriented, “Kingdom Of Ruin” is sure to become a landmark on the current music scene and a staple for future progressive bands.

Riddle House is an instrumental progressive rock trio started by brothers Ben & Rob Lerner. Their debut album was released in 2012 followed up by their 2015 concept EP, “Nature of the Story.” Guitarist, Ben Lerner moved to LA in 2016 where he recorded and/or performed with Dug Pinnick of King’s X, Marco Minnemann, George Lynch, Gregg Bissonette, Joe Travers and many more. After a few years on hiatus, the boys are back and preparing to release a 10 year anniversary edition of their debut album as well as a new single featuring bassist, Dug Pinnick and Daniel Jakubovic in early 2023!