PROGNOSTIC

to mainstream, Prog developed from approximately 1969 to one of the most popular directions of rock music. Today it is hard to imagine that Bands such as Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP) filled stadiums with more than 60,000 people. Complex compositions, refined arrangements, moments of surprise, musical finesse, and especially the virtuosic skills of the musicians were mixed to a cocktail that – even forty years later – the magazine "Musikexpress" referred to as the "royal class of rock music". The great successes of the formative groups of that time were also based on a carte blanche from the music industry. They could musically do whatever they wanted, and explore all stylistic directions. Shortly described by Keith Emerson, who died like his ELP colleague and friend Greg Lake in 2016:
“It is music that does progress. It takes an idea and develops it, rather than just repeat it. Pop songs are about repetition and riffs and simplicity. Progressive music takes a riff, turns it inside out, plays it upside down and the other way around, and explores its potential.”

The (commercial) meaning of Prog has diminished strongly today. But the genre is still alive with bands such as Dream Theater, The Neal Morse Band, Steve Wilson, Spocks’ Beard and countless others. It is enjoying a small but loyal and enthusiastic fan base. With PROGNOSTIC we decided not to compete with own compositions, but to build a bridge between the original music and today’s Prog standards. The selection of the songs for a PROGNOSTIC concert is our tribute to the pioneers from the founding period and their successors from the 2nd Prog phase. We consciously decided to not simply copy the originals. The compositions are so rich that we use the opportunity to interpret them slightly with today’s groove and the sounds. Far away from any musically aesthetic mission, we are excited about a live program for head AND legs.