Cruise To The Edge, progressive rock’s largest festival at sea, is back with another incredible lineup for 2027. For the first time, the cruise is six nights, April 2nd to April 8th, sailing out of Miami, Florida, with stops at Cozumel, Harvest Caye, and Costa Maya.
On Sale Dates:
2026 Alumni: Monday, June 1, 2026 at 2:00 pm Eastern
Past Alumni: Wednesday, June 3, 2026 at 2:00 pm Eastern
General On Sale: Monday, June 8, 2026 at 12:00 pm Eastern
Crusie to the Edge 2027 is headlined by Kansas, Steve Hackett, Big Big Train, and Asia. As always, there is a brilliant mix of classic and modern prog with some returning names alongside some first-timers.
Returning are cruise favorites Haken, Pendragon, Neal Morse & The Resonance, Von Herzten Brothers, Caligula’s Horse, Temic, Crown Lands, Spock’s Beard, and Moon Safari, as well as, Jane Getter Premonition, Thank You Scientist, Rendezvous Point, Lari Basilio, Gazpacho, Mike Keneally & Beer For Dolphins, Dave Cureton, Dave Kerzner and Friends, Marbin, and Gabriel Agudo.
Joining the cruise for the first time are The Dear Hunter, Lunatic Soul, Voyage 35, Ozric Tentacles, Cheeto’s Magazine, Haunt the Woods, Spafford, and Dim Gray.
Returning as hosts are Jon Kirkman, Roie Avin, and Mike Dawson.
Beyond the sun, fun, and exquisite dining, guests can look forward to artist/cruiser Photo Experiences, Q&A sessions, Theme Nights, Dueling Pianos, Late Night Karaoke, Wheel of Prog – Live, and much more—all designed to enhance the artist/fan experience.
In addition, the cruise will once again feature the incomparable CTTE Late Night Live, hosted by Rob Rutz, where fans can sign up to showcase their own musical talents.
Cruise to the Edge is truly the greatest prog-rock show on earth and is a can’t-miss event for prog enthusiasts throughout the world.
For more info, visit CruiseToTheEdge.com and follow @cruisetotheedge on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The LA musician Syd is a veteran of Odd Future and the leader of the Internet, but she’s really come into her own as a solo artist, singing tough but expansive alt-soul. It’s been about four years since Syd released Broken Hearts Club, her last album. Last year, she shared the one-off singles “Die For…
In 2024, Austrian police arrested two men who were reportedly planning an attack on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concerts in Vienna. One of the suspects pledged allegiance to ISIS, and a police bomb squad claimed to find “chemical substances” while arresting. Swift cancelled all three shows for safety reasons after the arrests, and an impromptu Swift fan convention broke out in the city’s streets in lieu of the concert. Now, one of those suspects has pleaded guilty to terrorism-related offenses and been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Imagine the scene, if you haven’t already experienced it. You’re sitting in a dentist’s chair. You’re nervous, you don’t know what’s going to happen. Your wandering eyes settle on a humorous sign that reads: “Dentists don’t die, they just lose their pull”. You’re unsure if it’s a joke – or if it even works as a joke – but you’re not laughing, and at that moment, you see the outline of a silver-haired dentist in the doorway. Fear courses through your body. He says you “need some work”. And you’re thinking of that sign hoping upon hope that he hasn’t lost his pull and that this isn’t going to hurt.
Jim Ward has been making music since 1993; first as a founding member of At The Drive-In and then for 25 years with Sparta. He’s a musician with a lot of experience and he’s still making music, but has it lost its pull? Should you quake with fear? Is the record like a trip to the dentist?
The answer is a resounding “no”. ‘Cut A Silhouette’ is Sparta’s sixth album, the third since ending their creative hiatus in 2020. It’s an album clearly trying to recapture something. The title implies an outline or a shape they’re trying to fit into, but it turns out it’s not a sound they’re after. It’s a feeling.
Opening with ‘Split Lip’, the band quickly establish that they’re playing with the familiar Sparta sound. It’s post-hardcore, usually with a verse/chorus structure. There are lead guitars threaded through the songs, often playing around with different effects pedals for texture, and there’s a mix of sung and lightly shouted vocals – that sound. However, you can’t ignore the bigger, stadium, U2 edge to songs like ‘Mystery Of Missing’ and ‘Daydream’. That’s the shape they’re after – that’s the feeling. It’s like breathing – a combination of the intimate and the exhale.
Sparta’s defining feature (as with At The Drive-In) is the approach to lead guitar. Each song is shaped by guitar effects. On the louder songs like ‘Split Lip’ it lends definition. Notably, the sliding, pinching riff on ‘Mystery Of Missing’, or the really noisy blast of lead on ‘Everything You Say’, offer a slightly dangerous thrill and a knife-edge of tension. Elsewhere, on ‘See You Soon‘ and the soft, sparkly ‘Midnights’, they lend a soft atmosphere, enhancing Ward’s songwriting, which is remarkably strong.
Of course, Ward’s work exists in the shadow of At The Drive-In but what’s interesting about that is how it affects his place in culture. He was part of a band that sparked a genre and a movement, whose music captured a moment, whose subsequent work rode that momentum, but who then aged and evolved out of that centre of gravity – it leaves him in a strange place. Sparta have a certain cultural cache that allows them to retain an audience but they actually exist outside the bubble of mainstream excitement. It gives them licence to be creative, to soften the edges and to create something personal, for not just Ward, but for bassist Matt Miller and drummer Neil Hennessy too. The album’s sound relies on them actively working together in a room. You can hear this clearly on the stunning ‘Mouthbreather’, where the shuffling drums and twangy bass create an anxious tension, or ‘Crater’, where the interlocking parts function like a machine, allowing Ward’s vocals to drift gracefully over the top. It gives the record a newfound vitality, meaning it’s about recapturing that pull – the outline may be be similar to previous work but the figure casting the silhouette is revitalised.
Creativity and time have an unusual relationship. While you’re unlikely to write a symphony in a week, working quickly and under pressure can force innovation. This was Ward’s experience of making early records and the intention here was to capture the early thrill; not overthink, not overplay, just feel what is right. Given the evidence here, it appears to be a great way of working. Produced, engineered and recorded by J. Robbins, they have managed to capture a focused and fresh sound that wrings every bit of emotion from the songs. Perhaps the clearest example is the relatively stripped-back ‘Glimmer’, a quality piece of songwriting presented in a way that enhances its delicate vocal parts and allows the burnished honesty to shine through.
In many ways the record flows like a river. Although songs like ‘Without Your Hands’ offer a blast of energy, it feels like it’s flowing downhill, losing momentum but becoming broader as it does. In the second half the waltzy style of ‘I’ll See You Soon’ brings a pleasing change of pace, while ‘Mystery Of Missing’ feels like a crowd pleaser. Finally, ‘Glimmer’ sighs out the last of its energy in a wash of guitar effects like the mouth of an estuary meeting the sea.
Sitting in that chair, staring at the silhouette in the doorway, you don’t know what to expect, but with the strength of experience Sparta prove that musicians don’t age like dentists. They have more than just pull, they have their own gravity. ‘Cut A Silhouette’ is one of their most intimate and compelling records. A combination of inspiration, great songs and strict production choices make for an intoxicating mixture. Take a mouthful, rinse it around and you’ll find it leaves a strong taste.
Today is the official release date of Decibel Books’ Sodom: The Official Authorized Biography, and to celebrate Decibel is proud to reveal a new excerpt from the fully authorized biography of the German thrash legends, finally translated into English! The following passage transports readers back to 1985-1986 in Gelsenkirchen, where a freshly reconfigured Sodom (this will be a recurring theme) head to Berlin to record their first full-length album, Obsessed by Cruelty. Twice.
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Admittedly, it was only a brief stint with Michael “Destructor” Wulf, who, representative stopped by and said, ‘We can’t being a calm and quiet individual, never seemed to feel truly at home in Sodom. Former guitarist Josef “Peppi” Dominik brought Michael in from Altenessen, once again recruiting a musician from their immediate circle: “Wulf was a buddy of mine, I recommended him. He lived right on our city block.”
Sodom lineup, circa 1986. L to R: Angelripper, Witchhunter, Michael “Destructor” Wulf
Now alongside Michael, the two core musicians, Tom “Angelripper” Such and Chris “Witchhunter” Dudek, remained undeterred on their path—providing the occasional cult interview to fanzines such as Devil’s Poison in January of 1985, which, when read today, elicits knowing grins. Even back then, they didn’t mince words, speaking openly about what was on their minds. The journalist writing under the pseudonym Death Trash (“Trash” indeed without an “h”) wrote:
When I called Witchhunter, his mother answered the phone.
DEATH TRASH: Hello, Mrs. Dudek, is Christian there?
MRS. DUDEK: Yes, he’s making a racket with his friends! I’ll get him. [Witchhunter and Angelripper both came to the phone.]
DEATH TRASH: How did you get the idea to play Ultrahardcore?
ANGELRIPPER: Well, we always wanted to be the hardest band in the world.
DEATH TRASH: Are there any bands you absolutely can’t stand? I heard there was some drama going on with Hellhammer?
ANGELRIPPER: Yeah, a lot was written about them. You know, Hellhammer had the slogan: “Venom is killing music, Hellhammer is killing Venom,” so we added another layer: “Sodom is killing all.” But there was never any real beef.
DEATH TRASH: What do you think of scene magazines?
ANGELRIPPER: Yeah, that’s good, especially fanzines that cover a lot of hardcore are great. I don’t know, are you familiar with Rock Hard magazine from Germany, for example?
DEATH TRASH: Yeah, for sure.
ANGELRIPPER: They’re the worst bunch of posers. Their review of our mini LP was just atrocious.
Once again, Sodom went to Horst Müller’s studio in Berlin, this time to hammer out their first proper album. The band promised to put in extra effort and work more professionally. However, that wasn’t exactly the result, as nightly parties with gallons of beer remained a dominant factor in the recording process. Whether that was the reason for the record label scrapping the recordings entirely remains an open question. Tom: “Once again, a label representative stopped by and said, ‘We can’t release this. This sound is abysmal.’ It definitely sounded worse than In the Sign of Evil.”
Hence, the album had to be re-recorded. SPV/Steamhammer founder/owner Manfred Schütz personally intercepted his protégés on their way to the studio, warning them: “Boys, get your shit together!” And with that in mind, the sessions were supposed to take place in Hilpoltstein, Franconia—in the middle of nowhere—and under strict no-alcohol rules imposed by SPV. In that very same studio, Destruction had recently recorded their second album, Eternal Devastation. Just imagine the villagers’ faces when they saw these curious figures clad in leather and studs, babbling in their Ruhrpott slang, wandering down the streets. The trio, who aimed to please no one to begin with, naturally ignored all the label mastermind’s directives. “We were staying in a small guesthouse where there was absolutely nothing going on,” recalls Tom. “But I was on good terms with the landlady—she’d always leave a crate of beer up in our room for us. We, of course, had to hide the beer from the producer, or we’d have been sent packing. So, we built a fake Marshall decoy cabinet and hid the beers inside of it—the producer never got wind of it.”
When Schütz came to the studio to check up on things, about 300 beer cans came crashing toward him as soon as he opened the front door. He summed it up later in the 2005 Sodom documentary, Lords of Depravity: “If I remember correctly, once leaving the guesthouse, the guys had to relieve themselves and pissed on one of the neighbors’ doors. And I knew right away there would be trouble.”
Tom Angelripper in studio, circa 1986
Despite the beer and urine scandals, Obsessed by Cruelty (1986) marked a proper step forward, which was also due in part to the addition of their new guitarist, Destructor. “He was a bit more intricate on the guitar and recorded our first real album, which ended up doing very well,” notes Tom. “Back then, I didn’t even think to tune my bass. Some people love that and claim we went commercial once I did. Of course, other bands like Celtic Frost were already further along, way more professional than us. But the Obsessed album had something special about it. It’s a document of its time for sure. That’s exactly how we were, that’s exactly how we played. Whether the guitars were in tune or not didn’t matter at all. And that has its charm. I stand by it, and I think it’s a shame when musicians disown their old songs.”
Magazines such as Rock Power (issue #6, 1986) acknowledged a “tremendous leap forward,” while Editor Holger Stratmann of Rock Hard magazine noted at least “a slight improvement.” In Metal Hammer’s sales charts, Obsessed by Cruelty reached position five in the July 1986 issue, topped only by giants such as Judas Priest and AC/DC, showing there was indeed a market for such extreme music.
Even more surprising is the fact that Sodom had a second guitarist in their ranks at the time—Darkness axeman Uwe “Assator” Christoffers, who otherwise wreaked havoc alongside drummer Andreas “Lacky” Lakaw at Zeche Carl under the nickname “5-Fingers-Uwe.” He had written the track “After the Deluge” at Sodom’s rehearsal place, which was intended to be recorded as a bonus track, prompting the band to invite him to the studio, just in case. “We had him there as a backup guitarist,” explains Tom, since neither Witchhunter nor he was sure whether Wulf would see the production through. At the time, Lacky was “totally pissed that they snatched Uwe away from us.” Wulf, for his part, didn’t seem particularly thrilled about the dual duty situation and was nervous about playing the songs live.
Still, according to Witchhunter, the recordings were a major step forward: “That was a lot better, almost professional, the way that we performed.” Destructor left the band immediately after the sessions wrapped up. Straight out of the studio, he joined Kreator’s ranks, though he didn’t last long there either, performing only one show with the band in 1986. “I would have liked to try and continue working with him,” says Angelripper. “When you get the chance to talk to each other, a lot can be sorted out. But he plain walked out; he was gone. He seemingly just couldn’t connect with us.” Unfortunately, Destructor’s musical career lasted only a few more years, as he died in a motorcycle accident in 1993.
At least he left behind a classic album as part of his legacy. Obsessed by Cruelty received significant approval from the metal music press. Götz Kühnemund from Rock Hard magazine surprisingly awarded the album 7.5 out of 10 points and noted, “The guitar parts recorded by Michael Wulf (now with Kreator) and a further session guitarist are in no way comparable to the shoddy hackwork of Grave Violator, though of course no strokes of genius should be expected here either. The drum and bass work has also improved, but again, do not expect too much; the song material sounds significantly more nuanced this time around.” Curiously, in a 2016 interview with Rock Hard (issue #355), Destruction frontman Schmier claimed that the solos were recorded by guitarist Uwe “Schmuddel” Hoffmann, who was a member of his side project Headhunter.
The third Sodom performance at Zeche Carl in 1986 with Uwe Christoffers on guitar
The local scene reacted to the band’s growing profile with some amusement, to say the least. “I can still picture it,” chuckles Kreator’s Ventor. “Sodom had just released their album, and the band was driving past the Mephisto club in their red little Simca with ‘Sodom’ written in large white across the hood. Witchhunter was leaning out the open window, shouting their latest sales numbers out at the top of his lungs: ‘3,000! 3,000 copies sold!’ And Tom was at the wheel, sporting his Bundeswehr buzz cut. It was pretty hilarious.”
Nearly four decades later, Tom remains true to the earliest steps of his musical path: “I still stand completely behind the album. We just listened to the songs again for [40 Years at War – The Greatest Hell of Sodom re-recordings] and tried to figure out how everything was played. It wasn’t easy, but it was interesting.”
Also memorable were the last days of Angelripper’s military service, during which he produced a special calendar to count down the days until freedom. His final day, however, offered his most creative number reveal. Stoney explains: “On the last day, he showed up to one of our parties with a huge blue number sign ‘0’ from an Aral gas station around his neck (he had stolen one of the large number cards used to advertise the current gas prices to passing traffic) and yelled, ‘Zero, you blockheads! MOTHERFUCKING ZERO!!!’—it was unbelievably funny.”
Last summer, Blood Orange released Essex Honey, his first proper album in seven years. It’s awesome, and it’s on our list of the best albums of 2025. Since, then Dev Hynes and his collaborators have played a bunch of festivals, toured with collaborators Lorde and Turnstile, and covered the Smiths and Coldplay. Today, we get…
About two days ago, Freedom 250, the Trump-backed public-private partnership that intends to celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States in lavish form, announced the lineup for the Great American State Fair, a series of concerts on the National Mall. Moments after that unveiling, the series was the subject of a whole lot of jokes because so many of the acts are ’90s hitmakers who aren’t taken very seriously. Since then, there’s been an avalanche effect, with most of the artists dropping off and a few reaffirming their commitment to perform. And then there’s Flo Rida, the biggest artist of the bunch and the only one who hasn’t said anything.
