Ed’s Letter
Welcome to the latest issue of Prog. The Readers’ Poll issue, if you will. Always an interesting time, when we see what’s filtered through to the readers, what you’re really digging. It was a close call this year across the board, but one band came out on top, echoing the magazine’s belief that they’d made the best album of their career. But what is perhaps most pleasing is the variety of the winners. There are established favourites rubbing shoulders with more left-field artists featuring in the poll for the first time, and evergreen favourites continuing their rise in popularity. And a few surprises to boot. In all, I’d say it’s a good spread that reflects where prog is at these days.
This issue, I’d like to bring your attention to our feature on page 80, in which we celebrate the role of women in progressive music. In this post-Weinstein world, we ask: is our house in order? It’s something that our sister titles Classic Rock and Metal Hammer are also doing within their respective genres this February, and the likes of Anneke van Giersbergen, Heather Findlay, Marjana Semkina and more shed fascinating insights into the way that progressive music has changed and continues to evolve. It’s an important issue, and it’s imperative we get things right: not simply for the sake of equality, but also in terms of treating your fellow human beings with decency and respect. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
It’s already the end of January, but we have some great things planned for you this year. Last year was an interesting one, as the magazines were resurrected and we settled into our new home. Now is the time to truly push on, to challenge and defy convention, and help move progressive music ever onwards. As always, we cannot do this without you. Your support, as always, is something we hold dear.
So, welcome to 2018. It’s going to be a great year. Let us prog on together…