Bilston Robin 2 always gets good crowds whoever is playing. Mostly Autumn usually get decent-sized audience, and Heather Findlay’s debut solo tour was pretty well attended too. And The Reasoning sold out The Borderline last July.

Saying that, when I saw Sonata Arctica (who are power metal rather than prog), I was struck by how close to Mostly Autumn many of their songs were; the biggest difference was how the guitars sounded. They attracted a big crowd midweek in Reading, and I’m sure it ought to be possible to sell bands like Mostly Autumn, The Reasoning or Touchstone to that sort of audience.

luv Delly

ps Jerry Ewing is a star and I wouldn’t have discovered the Reasoning, Panic Room or any new prog without his support and excellent magazine.

What impact will Panic Room’s signing a record deal have on the Italian metal band of the same name? As far as I can tell, “our” Panic Room have been in existence for longer and have a prior claim to the name.

It probably didn’t matter much as long as neither band had an international profile, but now Panic Room seem destined for bigger things, it may well become an issue. I hope it can be resolved amicably by both parties.

Anyone who thinks what was said was fair comment or valid constructive criticism ought to speak to the band themselves. Whatever part Jerry Ewing played in getting them the record deal doesn’t change that.

I also accept a degree of disingenuousness (disingenuosity?) in talking about “Prog”s London-centric gig coverage as if you are solely to blame for it. Clearly, as the Editor, you are in no small part responsible for how the mag operates, but it is not *solely* down to you. So if my previous commentary feels like me “slagging you off”, then I do apologise. That doesn’t make the commentary any less true, though, as borne out by other comments here and elsewhere.

I won’t apologise for any remarks I’ve made about the Panic Room live review, though. I can see that the intent was maybe to try and give the band a push, but – as I know you’ve discovered – that’s certainly not the effect it had, nor was it how it read. I, more than most people, know how it is to (a) be misinterpreted, or (b) insert my foot in my mouth, but that really was, as they say, a humdinger .

I’m not interested in starting an argument (“is this 5 minutes or the full half-hour?”), and it’s not my intent to offend (perhaps needle a bit, or even bait, but never offend). If we must, perhaps we should agree to differ, but I’d prefer to think that I/we may have a point (or points), however coached in sarcasm it/they might be.

And when it comes to higher-profile bands like Marillion and Opeth, the London date is always somewhere bigger, more corporate and less intimate than the equivalent venues in places like Manchester.