Did you listen to Unitopia's "Artificial"? Unitopia was a falling apart of Sean and Mark, but they got together in UPF and played ROSfest in an incredible show, the last one in Gettysburg. If Unitopia keeps Steve Unruh, who played in UPF, Unitopia will kick ass. Years ago I started with Unitopia's The Garden and was so glad to hear more output. I was looking forward to the 2020 Rosfest and another UPF performance. Unruh is worth a listen on his solo stuff.Originally Posted by MJBrady
Big Southern Empire fan here. Danny is a phenomenal vocalist and super nice guy. We met 3 years ago in Chicago and totally hit it off. Been hoping they'd make it to the states eventually, but with the state of touring what it is today, who knows? UPF was supposed to do a show here this coming Saturday, but that's been pushed to next year.
That is a nice song-Tesla, and would validate your feelings of their reunion, Yet with only the two CD releases, and a dvd, SE appears to have incremental talent advantages, particularly the drums, bass, guitars and vocals, but it's the vibe that makes a band. That's all open for interpretation. Both have created some delightful music. Maybe we can have both?
I rather enjoy all these related groups. Good listens. Some of the lyrics on the last UPF album were a bit too obvious for me but the environmental message was appreciated. I look forward to whatever happens with these groups moving forward.
Last edited by Splicer; 04-28-2020 at 02:52 PM.
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I feel the same about that.
Wanted to add that Danny Lopresto of Southern Empire has an absolutely gorgeous voice. Stunning.
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And yet he can't top Mark Trueack on the 2 tracks that also appear on the first UPF album.
It's hard to compare them because their voices are quite different. I like them both for what they each bring.
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I've been listening to the first Southern Empire. There are elements I like, but I also find the lyrics full of cliches. This usually doesn't bother me too much, but it's sort of nonstop in these. I also find the soloing to pretty familiar sounding, although it can still be enjoyable. It sounds like there are a lot of Dream Theater/Jordan Rudess pre-programmed sounds being used.
BTW, have you guys heart the new album by Sonic Divide, which I believe was produced by Sean Timms and is on Melodic Revolution Records? It's great!! Straight ahead old-school metal, but really great sounding with a great vocalist. It's an Australian band. I've been cranking it a lot in the car (when I get to drive somewhere!)
Agreed again. My first exposure to both was the same night in a very intimate setting. Truey blew me away. Beautiful voice. But Danny is a monster in his own respective style.
Just started listening to Southern Empire in the last few weeks. I really liked The Crossroads, but that chorus was so familiar to me! I swear it came from Sons of Apollo or something, and I could hear Jeff Scott Soto singing it, but then I realized that it was from United Progressive Fraternity (Travelling Man). Interesting that they took some of these riffs from co-writing, and then it turned into 2 different albums/projects.
Now I'm digging into Southern Empire, United Progressive Fraternity and Unitopia, glad to have found out about all of these projects! Often I'll need several listens to fully "understand" prog rock bands, but all of these have instantly clicked on the first listens for me.
Add Damanek to the mix ... also linked to Soutern Empire, Unitopia, UPF.
There is indeed a common sound between these bands. It's also true that after Trueack and Timms' acrimonious split in 2014, they each used the songs they had written together, which eventually appeared on both the first UPF and the first two Southern Empire albums.
You should definitely check out Damanek, which I think is part of the same family of bands as those you mentioned. It was founded by Guy Manning and features Sean Timms as well as other members of both UPF and Southern Empire. As you may know, Manning was heavily involved in the first UPF album. He had started writing songs for the follow-up but found himself sidelined when Mark Trueack formed a songwriting partnership with Steve Unruh. As a result, Manning started his own project which definitely shares a similar sound as UPF, Southern Empire and Unitopia. They have released 3 albums to date, of which I would recommend the first, On Track, as a starting point.
Not just a Genesis fanboy.
I heard an interview with John Greenwood on NewEars radio show (Delicious Agony) yesterday and sounds like he's got a killer solo release out, "Dark Blue." He mentioned it's sold 80 copies.
Danny Lepresto exited Southern Empire recently. They have a new vocalist now who's name I don't recall. Also a new album, "Another World". I'm having a hard time with this one. It's got a few songs that seem much longer than they need to be, but I will give it another spin. The talent and chops are undeniable.
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