Fernando Perdomo 2016 / 2026 Exposing the creative processes many prefer to keep concealed, American tunesmith mines the hidden depths of his own psyche. There’s a sense of losing himself – not in terms of total abandon, which is always … Continue reading
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Our list of the 10 best Elton songs from the 2000s continues our look back at each decade of Elton John’s long career. We just finished the 90s, a decade in which we saw him improve on what he had put out in the 80s. I truly believe that the improvement continued even more strongly into the 2000s. In the new century, Elton John released three new studio albums in the first decade. But it’s the first album, Songs from the West Coast, that came out in 2001 where for the first time in over 20 plus years Elton returns
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by Dave Campbell
Emerging from a small coastal town in Massachusetts nearly two decades ago, psychedelic proggers Elder have continually evolved well beyond their early roots in stoner and doom metal. Across seven studio albums, the band has developed a distinctive sound that blends elements of progressive rock, psychedelia, and heavy rock into something unmistakably their own. Their latest album, Through Zero, continues that progression, delivering another ambitious collection of songs that reinforces Elder’s reputation as one of the leading forces in modern heavy psychedelic rock. This music is called “Heavy Psych,” for a concise term. Based on pentatonic scales (five notes per octave), their music often consists of long songs, heavy, fuzzy riffs, and downtuned guitars. Through Zero is a music engineering term describing a frequency that passes through zero and continues into the negative instead of stopping.
The album’s title, Through Zero, could refer to a metaphor that something that seems like an ending may be a transition point in something bigger…something that we can’t see when we are bogged down in the day-to-day of this thing called life. It can represent a continuity, even a rebirth of sorts. Take a look at the album cover. There is a thick underbrush of prickly vegetation colored in black, which can often represent death, morning, or even things that cloud our vision…things that seem impossible to see through or overcome. However, the hues of bright orange and red with the sun as a focal point represent the light and warmth just out of reach from the darkness…something we often use as a guide or even an ideal. Meaning: We all have struggles…things that are both seen and unseen, but if we can just cut through some of the thick underbrush that mars our lives, there is something out there that we can strive to become…some good in life if you will. The cover art reminds me of a quote that reads, “Dreams are what makes life tolerable.”
“Sigil to Ruin” is first. Although the background is shadowy at first, meaty bass notes come pushing in with both hands raised, along with eerie lead guitar work. There is also some tension, and the sound makes a quick segue into the psychedelic, with keyboards and lead guitar notes traveling in unison over a thick bed of bass. Some vocals pepper the song, adding just the right seasoning at just the right times, and you get a clear sense of progressive music from all of the dexterous timing shifts. “Capture/Release” has that cathartic effect that some music can create for the listener, and rhythm guitars and bass notes keep it moving quickly, with keyboard notes providing a lot of the muscle. It’s catchy and captivating, and makes you feel alive. The vocal harmonies are executed wonderfully, and the song moves with the energy and undulation of ocean waves. The “release” happens towards the end, when it heads for a crescendo, and crashes into a retaining wall.
The title track is a little more brooding. Settling down with a slower pace, menacing riffs combine with “thicker than country bacon” bossy bass notes and keyboards to create a firm sound without cracks. One thing that the band is outstanding at so far is balancing the brood with outright feel-good tones, and the tension with release. In many ways, this phenomenon mirrors our lives. Segueing into “Strata,” the title refers to “one of a number of portions or divisions likened to layers or levels.” In other words, a song that has more than one message or meaning. There are many layers of the music on the album, especially in this song. It moves forward with an infectious energy, seemingly singular in vision but slowing at times just enough to give you pause. Firm and fuzzy guitar riffs provide much of the fuel needed in the song, acting like high-octane gasoline that you would fill your performance machine with. Yet, as firm as you press down the gas pedal, there’s a cliff at the end of the road that springs up from nowhere, and the roar of the engine dissipates.
Making a smooth and quiet segue into “Sight Unseen,” there is a mute calm that settles in. It’s a gentle, psychedelic ride from there, and keyboards provide much of the direction. Layers are added to the song along the way, and you pass through bright colors, perceived textures, and even some dark, menacing passages. The calm returns at the end, and it’s as still as the night air. “Blighted Age” is the final song. Simply defined, blighted means a thing that spoils or damages something. Taking the phrase a step further, a blighted age perfectly describes the times we find ourselves living in these days. They talk briefly about how “it’s not enough, we know there’s gotta be a better way.” There’s a stillness that develops from there as the song rides into the sunset, and I’m not sure if any of the questions the album asks were answered, but it doesn’t take away from it being a useful exercise.
Although Through Zero can seem straightforward, uncomplicated, and even elementary at times, that is indeed its smoke and mirrors. It holds the illusion that it is more complex than it appears. The layers on the album are like an onion; with each further peel, you discover more and more. ELDER offers two main ideas on their new album. First, they prove that riffs are still relevant, and even vital in today’s Progressive Metal scene. Even though some bands have all but abandoned them, some of the riffs they play are downright bossy, in the same manner as an overgrown playground bully. Second, the corollary with the album title asks us to think bigger, rise above the things we can see and touch, and trust the process that even though we think we’ve reached the end, there are still things to learn.
YouTube Links:
Released May 29, 2026, on Blues Funeral Recordings
https://beholdtheelder.bandcamp.com/album/through-zero
Tracklist:
1. Sigil To Ruin
2. Capture/Release
3. Through Zero
4. Strata
5. Sight Unseen
6. Blighted Age
Lineup:
Nicholas DiSalvo – Guitars, Vocals, Synthesizer
Jack Donovan – Bass
Michael Risberg – Guitars, Rhodes Piano
Georg Edert – Drums, Percussion
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In 1982 the members of Toto discovered an angel in their midst. Her name was Rosanna Arquette.
She was a 20-something actress whose career was still three years away from pay dirt in 1985’s Desperately Seeking Susan, and whose fledgling relationship with Toto keyboard player Steve Porcaro meant she occasionally dropped off beers as the band recorded what would become Toto IV.
“We got on quite well with her,” former Toto singer Bobby Kimball told Classic Rock in 2008. “She was going out with Steve and we were always respectful to each other’s partners. I mean, how hard is it to have a beautiful woman around?”
Arquette was not the only thing of beauty in LA’s Studio 55 during that time. One track recorded for Toto IV stood out above all others. In contrast to some of the album’s harder tracks, this was a lilting power ballad, sketched out by band lynchpin David Paich, hopelessly romantic in its sentiment (‘All I wanna do when I wake up in the morning is see your eyes’) and titled simply Rosanna.
“David was constantly writing songs at that point,” recalled Kimball, “and he came to us with Rosanna half-finished. The first time we ever heard it was when we walked into his living room in Encino. He had this grand piano, and he told us: ‘I want you to check this idea out’. He was pleased with it, and we were too. I knew it was a hit.”
Each member of Toto played a part in bringing Rosanna to fruition. Kimball and guitarist Steve Lukather transposed the musical key so the verse and chorus could be traded between them as a duet. Porcaro and Paich ironed out the keyboard solo at five o’clock in the morning. Late drummer Jeff Porcaro laid down a masterful shuffle inspired by John Bonham.
“Jeff was really into Led Zeppelin,” Lukather told Classic Rock, “and for Rosanna he morphed Fool In The Rain [from Zep’s 1979 album In Through The Out Door] with a Bernard Purdie drum groove [a renowned session drummer, Purdie invented the Purdie Shuffle]. And we took it from there.”
As former session musicians to a man, it was little surprise that Toto bottled Rosanna fast in the studio. “In one afternoon we did the basic rhythm track,” Lukather said. “And that first guitar solo was made up on the spot the first time we played it. You just get lucky with stuff like that sometimes.
“I remember that I had my two-year-old daughter listening to my vocal as I recorded it. And when the band recorded their parts, I knew it was something special.”
Less expected was Rosanna’s impact upon its release in the summer of 1982, with US No.2 and UK No.12 chart placings suddenly making this most faceless of muso bands a household name. “We loved it,” recalled Kimball in 2008, of his overnight ubiquity. “Any time you can get a leg up in the music business you have to go for it. The fact that Rosanna was such a hit made all the difference in the world. It’s like winning a Grammy or something – people take notice.”
And yet, even as it was a hit around the world there was a major bone of contention surrounding Rosanna. On the television networks of America, Rosanna Arquette was informing audiences that the song had been written in tribute to her.
“It was just an opportune moment for her to grab the brass ring and run with it,” said Kimball. “She was just starting her career, and the song was so big that she went on several talk shows and said it was about her. But I can tell you that it wasn’t. David’s line was always that he just used the name because it fitted into the song. Then she came into the picture and claimed it.”
That sentiment that has always been supported by Paich. “Rosanna is about three girls I knew, all rolled into one,” he explained in 2008. “After I met Rosanna Arquette I just stole her name and stuck it on there.”
As the years went by, the war of words between Arquette and Toto over the spiritual ownership of Rosanna went back and forth, ranging in tone from playful to hostile. In one 2006 interview Lukather openly expressed the opinion that “that bitch has ridden our coat-tails long enough”. Arquette, meanwhile, claimed that she doesn’t even like the song. “That’s because it’s no longer useful to her,” Kimball told Classic Rock.
Rosanna has never been left off a Toto setlist since it was written. Kimball, who spent much of the second half of the 80s and most of the ’90s out of Toto, returned to the band in 1998 for another 10-year-long stint. Even then, he observed that it was still the moment in the show that received the most feverish reception.
“It’s the one song the crowd are waiting for,” he said back in 2008. “And I can’t tell you the number of people who have come up over the years and told me that they fell in love or made babies over that one song!”
Originally published in Classic Rock issue 115 (January 2008). Updated in July 2026.
Thirty years in and fifteen albums deep, Sevendust made a deliberate choice with their newest album, One, to stop trying to make a deliberate choice. No overarching concept, no sonic direction, no pressure to be heavier or leaner or more polished than the last album. Just five guys, Lajon Witherspoon [vocals], Clint Lowery [guitar], John Connolly [guitar], Vince Hornsby [bass], and Morgan Rose [drums] writing songs and seeing what survives.
The result is ten diverse and muscular songs, introduced by the title track “One,” which sets the album’s tone off with a brooding riff, an unshakable groove, and Lajon’s unmistakable melodic voice. Songs like “Unbreakable” lean into a big, soaring chorus built for live crowds, while “Threshold” injects a sharper, more progressive edge, offering some of the album’s deeper moments. It’s an album that showcases a band deep into its career yet still hungry to push its sound forward.
In my interview with Morgan Rose, he offered an insightful, often humorous look at the creation of One. Rather than approaching the album with a predetermined direction, Morgan explained that the band abandoned the idea of forcing a specific sound and instead focused on writing the strongest songs possible. He also described the importance of the sequencing process, ensuring that One flows like a complete listening experience rather than simply a collection of songs.
The result is an album that embraces the full spectrum of Sevendust’s identity with deeply personal themes. He also shared the band’s kind yet hilarious way of tossing a member’s idea for a song to the curb. In fact, it even happened to him when pitching an idea.
He went on to highlight the close creative partnership with vocalist Lajon during the making of One, which was unlike anything he had experienced previously. Morgan noted that both men were navigating similar personal struggles and found themselves speaking the same emotional language throughout the writing sessions. He said, “We were both miserable,” with characteristic bluntness. “We were speaking each other’s language, which doesn’t happen all the time.” Songs such as “Bright Side” and “Is This the Real You?” emerged from those shared experiences, blending personal reflection with universal themes that listeners can relate to in their own lives.
Some of the more comical moments came when Morgan revealed he had practiced only once in his life. It was 11:00 pm in MI (Musical Institute) when his roommate called him a loser for never showing up to class. In a drunk “I’ll show you, moment,” he went and practiced. By his own admission, he had no idea what he was doing. The irony of that story is that his playing on One is some of the tightest of his career. His approach sat between two poles: let the groove breathe on some songs, lock the kick drum to the riff on others.
Order your copy of One here.
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R.I.P. Shaun Glass.
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(written by Islander) As you can see, despite yesterday being the Fourth of July, I carved out enough time to find music worth recommending today. I had made some of today’s selections before yesterday but completed the grouping while people were getting ready to make a lot of loud noises last night — or so […]
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