A Landmark Progressive Rock Collaboration on the High Seas
The Roaring Waves is an instrumental guitar album created by Steve Hackett of Genesis and Steve Rothery of Marillion, a long‑anticipated progressive rock collaboration that uses seven cinematic, sea‑themed compositions to unite their distinct musical legacies through atmosphere, texture, and melody rather than vocals or band rivalry. This project matters because it rewrites what late‑career rock can look like. Instead of nostalgia tours or conservative solo records, two Genesis Marillion guitarists choose to meet on neutral ground, surrendering their iconic song catalogues to chase mood, memory, and storytelling without a singer. Their decision to release the album via InsideOut Music on August 28, 2026, after nearly a decade of intermittent writing and recording, signals that this is not a side quest but a considered statement about where progressive rock can go next.
Red Dragon: Where Classic Prog Fire Meets New Ideas
Red Dragon, the latest single from The Roaring Waves, is the clearest sign that this progressive rock collaboration is more than polite guitar conversation. Steve Rothery is explicit: “Red Dragon shows off the rockier side of our collaboration, it starts with the sound of a hurdy gurdy… followed by a heavy guitar riff by myself and great guitar melodies and sitar guitar by SH.” That opening hurdy‑gurdy, an instrument from medieval Europe, instantly tears down expectations that two legacy players will stick to safe tones and predictable riffs. Steve Hackett’s note that the title comes from an early East India Trading Company ship, and his use of sitar guitar for an “authentic Eastern feel”, turn the track into a mini‑epic about exploration as much as entertainment. Red Dragon is not retro; it is a statement that both Steves still see guitar music as a vehicle for narrative and risk.
Not the Album Guitar Heroes Normally Make
The Roaring Waves refuses the typical guitar‑hero template of endless solos and technical display. As Steve Hackett puts it, “It’s not the kind of album that guitarists normally make together.” Instead, Steve Hackett Steve Rothery work like film composers, using guitar as one color in a larger, oceanic palette. Written and recorded intermittently over nearly a decade at Racket Club and their home studios, the music grew from jams and shared ideas rather than strict song structures. That organic process matters: it lets both players listen more than they compete, letting sensitivity and mutual respect drive the arrangements. Keyboardist Riccardo Romano, who has history with both bands, and drummer Leon Parr from Rothery’s group further erode the old band‑boundary lines. This is what cross‑band collaboration can be in progressive rock: a slow‑cooked conversation where ego makes room for atmosphere.
Painting With Guitars: A Cinematic, Instrumental Journey
Across seven tracks – from The Storm and Sandsend to K‑129, The Black Sea and Pacific Coast Highway – Hackett and Rothery treat instrumental guitar as a storytelling tool rather than a solo showcase. Rothery describes their aim plainly: “You’re trying to create an atmosphere… like painting a picture. Taking people on a journey.” The Roaring Waves moves between the cinematic and the intimate, inviting listeners to drift through imagined coastlines and deep waters instead of waiting for a chorus. Even the release formats reinforce their commitment to immersion: a limited CD+Blu‑ray mediabook with Dolby Atmos and high‑resolution stereo mixes, plus standard CD and a gatefold 180g LP cut at half‑speed at Abbey Road. For fans who grew up on these guitarists, the album is a reminder that instrumental music can still feel narrative, emotional, and big‑screen.
Why The Roaring Waves Matters for Prog’s Future
Two titans of progressive music choosing to collaborate like this is rare, and that rarity is exactly the point. In a genre famous for tribal loyalties, seeing Genesis Marillion guitarists erase old lines to co‑sign an instrumental guitar album is a quiet challenge to fans and peers alike. Rather than chase chart relevance or the comfort of their back catalogues, Hackett and Rothery embrace an almost filmic approach, shaped by memory, imagination, and the elemental power of the sea. Their decade‑long, improvisation‑driven process shows that established rock musicians can still find new creative directions when they open their work to cross‑band collaborations. The conclusion is simple: if progressive rock is to remain “progressive”, it will not be through faster playing or longer songs, but through unexpected alliances like The Roaring Waves that prize shared vision over old rivalries.
