There are fewer joys greater than listening to articulate parties talking about their passion for music. Thank you, gentlemen.

Just hunted down some T.R.A.M. on youtube. Jaw-droppingly good. Cheers chaps!

Yeah, like that Be-Bop Deluxe shirt. One of the most underrated bands ever!

Luis and Andy were a great combination...fan opinions and reactions are great, but I also love hearing fascinating insights from people who are professional musicians. When you have two people like Luis and Andy on, you hear the type of insider gems you also get on a channel like Rick Beato. So SoT is delivering on all fronts!

Awesome show! Two highly intelligent and creative people discussing two highly intelligent and creative albums. One of the best album homework assignment shows I’ve seen. Nice job Pete!

I love listening to these two musicians sharing their thoughts on challenging music. Down deep they really are just passionate music fans like the rest of us. Oh, and they also may have played with Robert Plant, IQ, Frost and/or be a Physics Prof! ;-)

Wow,Andy,I couldn't agree more with what you said about modern recording techniques. You took the words right out of my mouth. All the human elements are eradicated making for a very lifeless,static listen. Luis was his usual mega-compelling self. Good stuff,gents.

The Golden Palominos is another way to get a taste of the Bill Laswell touch. I have Visions of Excess and Blast Of Silence and both are great albums. This was huge fun! Another great show.

"Metal is the gateway to everything" - Andy Edwards

Praxis! yes! I know and love them! I used to have just about every album on Axiom and I am a huge Laswell fan too.

Looking forward to this HWA between two of the SoT musicians ... always great musical compositional and lyrical insights from them.

Luis mentioned Reckless Records in Chicago. Let me add my praise for this wonderful gem that continues to service the needs of the “Old World Music Collector”. For those of us who still feel a jolt of adrenaline when we step through the doors of a tucked-away, independent, used CD and record store, these brick and mortar treasures are becoming more rare and harder to find. I live in St. Louis and travel to Chicago about every 18 months or so. Every trip includes a mandatory visit to the Wicker Park neighborhood and a stop at 1379 N. Milwaukee Ave. to browse the aisles of Reckless Records. I always leave with a gold nugget find and a bag of tunes that I wasn’t even aware of, but was turned on to by the friendly staff there. Thank you Pete, Luis, Andy and all the other contributors to “Sea Of Tranquility” and “In The Prog Seat” for your insightful and always helpful recitations on the Prog Rock universe.

I listened in awe, at the sheer breadth of musical knowledge on display. Outstanding discussion...

Tram is such an awesome Jazz Fusion album from front to back!!

Very cool episode, nice constellation. It's also very nice that Andy mentioned Laswell's "Orgasmatron" production. I'm one of those people on who especially that one had an immense impact to this day and probably forever. I haven't heard a Rock/Metal production before or since that even remotely sounds like this. This guy truly has his own visions.

An excellent match-up for Album Homework since hearing two musicians discuss the specifics of the music they were assigned and what attracted them and/or distracted them from listening to their assignments. Makes me want to go listen to each of the albums to hear what they heard. Particularly enjoyed the aspect of the discussion regarding 'real' music playing compared to the technological impact of the creation and enjoyment of music. Thanks to Andy and Luis for stepping in this week for the Assignment episode. Thanks to you, Pete, for continuing to make great match-ups for these episodes.

Great stuff! That t.r.a.m is super cool and really interesting. Javier's other project mestis is fantastic too!

Totally agree with Andy on the modern metal and prog sound.

This is truly a meeting of the minds. Great show, guys.

Great show. Andy and Luis were great together.

Great episode. Luis is one of my favourite guests, great music knowledge and Andy was very interesting…..very cool. Cheers 🤟

A Laswell ranking show with these 3 SoT contributors would be interesting and helpful.

Great show I . of course have to give a big shout out to your shirt Pete. I have a Futurama shirt and it cracks me up when I wear it out and about people stare at me because nobody has a clue what it is

Great conversation. Both albums worth checking out

Most interesting episode of SoT for a very long time. Andy is to be praised for criticising quantization, which is otherwise never mentioned on this channel. Dross like Black Country Communion and its contemporaries is further destroyed by the sterile editing. William Burroughs, Archie Shepp...intelligent discussion of music. Wonderful. And does anyone else hear Fishbone coming through as an influence in Praxis?

Pete looking fly in his Be Bop Deluxe tee. Luis's Bill Laswell appreciation was v nice to hear; as was his plug for Reckless Records - it was my local store (on Upper St, N London).

Fascinating Episode!!! Great job guys! Thank you!

I am a huge fan of Buckethead and Mike Patton, why did I never heard about this lol ? I am going to check both albums. Very interesting and insightful discussion between two great guests

I learned a lot.Great show. Thanks gentlemen.

Wow that really was a fantastic show guys!

Love the discussion here guys. Great insights. Cheers

Hey its Andy! Awesome

Listening to the T.R.A.M album. This is truely some groovy sh…sorry…stuff :) Really like it !

I have a massive Laswell collection. Praxis, material, tabla best science, arcana, psycho navigation, all axiom albums, etc.

Finally Buckethead makes a SOT appearance. Love Profanation.

the two albums are great .Buckethead is a very underrated guitar player with an Unique tone.

Always great when Andy or Luis are on SoT.

Get well soon Chris 😊

Luis touches upon a topics Andy has discussed, and that is ‘listening’ to music. Maybe for many of us, music is so critical to our lives that when young listening to music was a spiritual experience intentional or not. And we still ‘listen!’

Both of these records sound interesting, I had the album Sacrifist from Praxis at one point, and it was absolutely crazy. I know some Animals as Leaders (a favorite of some of my friends) but they haven't excited me for a full record, as they throw every trick they have into every song. But I will check both of these out.

" lets see what that sounds like"? we are nearing the end...

very interesting album assignment this one, partly because of the interesting choices of albums, never heard Tram, but do know the members involved and from a brief listen to see what it was al about, not to shabby at all, coming from a snob like myself, and as with Praxis and the VAST catalogue from Mr Laswell, i was pleased to hear that name, though i'm not an expert on all things Laswell, but i do like some of the stuff he's worked on, not so much Praxis, but Painkiller which he did with Mick Harris from Napalm Death and John Zorn (who has done som amazing albums, both featuring himself i different constellations but also by other artists he has but out on his Tzadik label) and also some of the more dub based stuff that Laswell has done over the years is also great, and NOT to mention Andy Edwards feelings towards modern metal bands and their choice of production, to sum it up shortly and to the point; AMEN to that, you are RIGHT on the money there, sir

I missed the first few minutes. Is Luis OK? He looks like I feel (day 5 of Covid here). Hope he's well. Great musician, deep analyses on music & life, + a physicist?!?! We're blessed here at SoT. And Andy is generous with his time, talent, & treasure. He has some killer recordings out there, a cool YT Channel, and he gets a shoutout from Narada Michael Walden?!?! Thanks, Pete, for knowing these two!

I’ve known and loved that Praxis album but haven’t actually checked out any other ones, or many others with Laswell involved. Definitely have to rectify that soon! I am a Buckethead fan but haven’t heard a whole lot of his stuff either. I know a few Animals as Leaders songs but never heard of T.R.A.M… Really like The Mars Volta though. Thanks for the great show as always, Luis and Andy make a great combo. And I got some homework to do which is always a plus! 🤘🤘

Love William S. Burroughs' voice is sooo cool!!

All the issues that Andy brought up about modern metal (which I agree with) are also remedied with the band SCOREDATURA. A modern metal band/project that keeps one foot planted in organic hard rock/metal and fusion. They've got 2 albums and 2 singles (22 songs), all on a KZfaq mix. I try to promote them as much as possible because I want them to do more, and I think a lot of prog/metal people would love them as much as I do. By the way, I'm 60 yrs. old, but like modern music too, though I do have a bit of a problem with the 'borgish' extreme technical expression of modern prog metal.

I will check out Tram, but Praxis...I don't know, I have their first album (Transmutation) but it's a bit too much of crazy genres put together. Cheers.

I’m guessing that Buckethead has released more albums than any other artist, even Sun Ra or Zappa. Metatron is my favourite by Praxis. Saw Laswell with Tabla Beat Science about 20 yrs ago & they were an incredible band too.

Praxis PROFANATION is a free stream for Amazon Music members...no cd there, however.

Absence of body is a super group releasing their first album, Igor cavalera from sepultura on drums, the other guys are from neurosis and amenra

Did anyone catch the details on the thing that Andy was plugging at the end? Sorry, I couldn't quite figure it out. It sounds great, though!!

Are either of these albums in print? Can't find on amazon.

If you like Thundercat or experimental-ish jazz check out anything from the International Anthem Bandcamp. Everything on the label is great.

Luis, can you provide a link to your paper?

Okay...just ordered that Ginger Baker album you guys talked about :-) . Cheers

Great panel, love Andy's "inside baseball" about drums being manipulated on modern records (this makes guys like Neil Young even more important who record albums "live" in studio, the best way to do it). Also LOVE Pete's Be Bop Deluxe shirt...I totally agree with Andy's take on Animals As Leaders, not my thing. I have the T.R.A.M album & I like it. I believe it's their only one from this supergroup. I'm not huge into metal or free jazz but this appeals to me as a fan of guitar-based fusion & a lot of prog. "Seven Ways Till Sunday" is quite proggy with different musical sections, so's "Endeavor" with its flute passages, and "Haas Kicker" with its 7 minute running time. "Hollywood Swinging" gets the closest to outright jazz. On the other hand, "Hollywood Swinging" is too free jazz for me. "Inverted Ballad" is really angular, like some sort of insane pop ballad. Maybe what someone like Syd Barrett might've done in 2012 had he gone the fusion/prog/jazz route (and stayed out of the Insane Asylum). Not sure it totally works, I like melody in my music, but it's definitely interesting... The playing's really tight throughout & to me it's not even all that heavy. Certainly less metallic than you might think by looking at the lineup on paper. I can imagine fans of the individual members' bands maybe being confused by this, especially AAL fans (I think Mars Volta fans, including me, might not have been shocked - don't know about Suicidal Tendencies, not one of my bands). BTW: A big thanks to Andy for his fusion shows (which I only recently got into), it's tough finding good web shows about fusion & his is one of the best! The other album here is Luis' assignment Praxis/Profanation. 5 total albums I believe, the great Buckethead is the featured guitar player on most of their albums. As if he already didn't put out enough solo albums (literally hundreds - I have maybe 50 or so, in all kinds of musical styles. He's nothing if not versatile)! Labeled as "experimental rock" - my web download service has it categorized as "new Wave"(?). So my take...Unlike Luis I honestly don't enjoy the vocals on this record. Are they experimental & even well done? Maybe, but I find that I just don't wanna listen to them. Can also do without the spoken word stuff, something I also don't generally go for in my prog either. Of course the playing's super tight & "experimental" (mostly in a good way) but those vocals... I like "Babylon Blackout" & "Endtime", mostly simply for the lack of the (to me) annoying vocal effects. The only vocal track that works for me is "Worship", and even that one doesn't work completely. This tells me that this could've been a MUCH better album with less-to-no vocals, an all-instrumental version of the record I think would really appeal to me. Hip Hop honestly does nothing for me. Buckethead is really a great player, I think largely completely under the radar of many listeners out there. I also had never listened to much of their other releases but gave them a try: 2015's Sound Virus is much heavier (I'd call it "Experimental Metal"), didn't like that one. "Turbine" comes closest. Mold from '98 is more "laid back" (well it's all relative). "Meldt" is pretty cool, rhythmic/"trancey". Pat Thrall is on guitar here. A bit too electronic for me overall though (talk about processed electronic drums), not a metal album at all, maybe "avant-garde"... On Sacrifist we're back to metal, some interesting ideas but I hate the drum sound on this one (Brain from Primus), I'll pass even with Buckethead on guitars. "Crossing" is the best tune with some cool keys...Metatron again has Brain on drums. "Wake The Dead" is a really nice ballad, I like it a lot. "Cathedral Space (Soft Hail Of Electrons)" sounds like a track off on of Buckethead's Pike records even with the spoken dialog (aka it's good). Could also be at home on a Bill Nelson solo album from the 80's or 90's. Overall another avant-garde type album, much of it I'd call more "soundscapes" than actual songs (a la solo Nelson)...Finally there's their debut Transmutation (Mutatis Mutandis). Pretty far out there too & also has vocals like Profanation. Nothing here I really need to own except for "The Interworld And The New Innocence" which isn't bad, kinda atmospheric, and "After Shock (Chaos Never Died)" which is quite proggy. If you're not already familiar with Buckethead's solo work, to me his best are: Captain Eo's Voyage, Crime Slunk Scene, Decoding The Tomb Of Bansheebot, The Dragons Of Eden, The Elephant Man's Alarm Clock, Hold Me Forever, Pike 15: View Master, Pike 249 - The Moss Lands, Population Override & The Spirit Winds. Not sure he'll ever get his due as a great player...

What was the album Andy was given? I don't think he ever said the name of it.

I thought Pete had found Rory Gallagher's long-lost brother from the thumbnail.

Oddly enough there’s a connection between Eric Moore and Thundercat via Suicidal Tendencies.

Well that's not fair. Two college professors discussing the virtues of quasi-fusion (djent & hip-hop no less!). Actually this was a five star (out of five) exchange. Prof. Edwards disappointment for (slight paraphrasing) "modern metal/prog and its quantization with Pro Tools...". Then Dr. Nasser proceeds to note (again slight paraphrasing) "Prog fans being open minded and advanced in their listening are really very parochial...". These two statements couldn't be more true. I know Andy is a big endorser of Bill Laswell (particularly on his channel; I am also a subscriber); and Laswell rightfully belongs in discussions on SoT. This is one of the Praxis albums I do not have, now I have to seek out. The T.R.A.M. "Lingua Franca" is indeed challenging but rewarding as well. These two prof's have to challenge the listeners again!

Wow, mindbending episode. I too have come to hate the "pro-tools sound." So many new releases end up sounding completely two dimensional by the time the original signal is processed digitally dozens of times. Lately I simply skip tracks with these attributes as fatiguing and unnatural. All the technology makes (some) music worse, lol.

2012 was ten years ago.

Andy is right about Animals with Leaders and modern progressive metal, it’s got no soul and very clinical, now I have to check out Tram, it sounds a bit like John Zorn’s Naked City.

Stop hold up the CDs only hold up only the Lps!!!

I haven't any idea of what Luis is talking about because he has too low of a voice and he only held up the tiny little Cd for a second too short of a time to identify it!!