Arguably the purest of all progressive rock groups, Gentle Giant may not have reaped the same commercial rewards as their brethren Yes, ELP and Pink Floyd, but god-damn, they sure made some fine prog music. Essentially, Gentle Giant's album career, which spanned just over a decade, can be split into three distinct phases. Their first four albums - which featured all three Shulman brothers - exhibited a complex sound embellished with an acoustic timbre and medieval hues. Then older brother Ray left the fold, his place going unfilled, and Gentle Giant toughened up, producing three outstanding rock-orientated albums between 1973 and 1975 in the shape of 'In A Glass House', 'The Power & The Glory' and 'Free Hand', undoubtedly their peak phase of productivity. Finally, however, as punk broke and the post-1976 musical landscape began to radically shift, the group adopted a slightly more commercial sound, producing this underrated little jewel and it's equally undervalued follow-ups 'The Missing Piece', 'Giant For A Day' and 'Civillian'. Often cast as the weak links in Gentle Giant's discography, the final four albums plus the excellent live album 'Playing The Fool' can now be acquired together as one package. Titled 'I Lost My Head', this retrospective of the group's latter years proves a truly ear-opening experience, showing that despite the external pressures and lessening progressive overtones, Gentle Giant could still create awe-inspiring music, both as quirk-pop merchants and as serious prog-rock titans. The pick of the Punch - and the album which features the track 'I Lost My Head' - 'Interview' is in fact a concept piece reflecting the individual members utter boredom with the whole media circus surrounding rock groups, the tracks separated by several 'real-life' interview segments. It may lack the youthful fire and vigour of their more expansive works, yet, conversely, there is something immensely satisfying about hearing a super-talented group such as Gentle Giant turning their attention to less esoteric material. Highlights include the aforementioned 'I Lost My Head', which grows carefully from dinky little piano jingles into a full-powered rock thumper, and the equally catchy 'Give It Back', which fires off a series of multi-layered melodies in the group's usual impressive style. STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2013

A former alumni of both Herbie Hancock and Pharoah Sanders, trumpeter Eddie Henderson belongs to that small group of first-rate performers who lit up the early part of the 1970's with their quicksilver fusion of jazz and rock. Essentially in the same stylistic mould as Billy Cobham, Lenny White, Miles Davis and Hancock, Henderson issued his first solo album, 'Realization', in 1973 before subsequently enjoying a steady stream of work over the next three decades as both main-man and side player. However, for the best of Henderson as a solo performer look no further than his stellar 1975 album, which blends funky rhythms, spacey fusion soundscapes and classic jazz-rock ingredients into a refreshingly upbeat whole. Featuring a slightly more commercial sound than Billy Cobham's first two LP's but still firmly rooted in the classic 1970's fusion style, 'Sunburst' treads a slick line between attention-grabbing funk strut and progressive-tinged space-bop, the album gradually moving through from the playful opener 'Explodition', to the beautiful galactic swirls of 'Involuntary Bliss', the dense, star-kissed synth-jazz of the title-track, and eventually, to the blissed-out psych- fusion of album highlight 'Galaxy'. The longer 'Sunburst' plays, the deeper into progressive territory you get. As a result, 'Sunburst' proves a dazzling slices of early-seventies fusion, both for the jazz-funk crowd and all you lovers of Miles Davis and McLaughlin's Mahavishnu crew. Certainly up there with the likes of 'Spectrum', 'Big Fun' and 'Crossings', 'Sunburst' may well be the peak of Henderson's impressive career. The only problem? At the time of writing, 'Sunburst' isn't available on CD. Pity. STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2013

This is the other album I just bought, following a hype. (The first one being Big Big Train: English Electric Part II) And this time I was lucky. I was looking for some new approach, blending Progressive rock with maybe Radiohead-like electronics, maybe a bit of Sigur Ros, certainly a lot more 80ies new wave (the antichrist of prog so to speak... why this is so, I cannot tell) and The Cure. To make it short: Thielen does just that and he does it perfectly. Yes, perfectly. He draws a lot from New Wave, the typical melodies, the guitar sounds, the atmosphere. But he omits all the things that make New Wave dated, like the repetitive structures, the plastic keyboards and the rather too simple Punk relation. Then he adds the structures of classical progressiveness and gets somewhere completely elsewhere. This is true innovation, progressive rock in the true sense of the word. The "masterpiece" part then is that it really works from a listener's perspective. The music is both, new and innovative on the one hand, emotional and highly digestible on the other. What a surprise from such an artist who is all but famous. I will certainly try and get the other cds as well.

So much boasting and enthusiasm going on. So little to talk about really with this album. So much empty fandom and so much noise. So little signal, so little essence.

I bought this album on behalf of its rating of on many sites. (So, all you tiny amateur bands: Just get a hype going somehow! Sales figures will follow... Stupid me!) It was claimed that it was a highly emotional and highly innovative approach towards crossing over New Wave / artsy pop and Progressive Rock. Well, frankly, it isn't. It is just another neoprog record without much going on in the individuality sector. It is not really bad, but it certainly is not in the least up to all that noise about Big Big Train that is going on. It is somewhat disillusioning that even this tiny genre seems to suffer from promo wizardry.

— First review of this album —

I really need to get my butt over to RoSfest. I mean, I live in OH, which isn't ridiculously far from Gettysburg, PA. In fact, I think it's 8 hours or so. Anyways, this festival is starting to get some seriously good line-ups every year, and this live album from IOEarth proves that.

Usually, I judge a live album by whether or not the experience comes off as better than the band's albums. I know that being at the concert is a different story all together, but a live album can be exciting, too. IOEarth is known for their dynamic live shows, and I think this transfers to the album quite well. I love the song selection here: Some of their best songs are present, such as "The Creation", "Harmonix", "Moments", etc. I also love how they performed them differently than the studio album. "The Creation", for example, has whale noises as mimicked by a guitar---genius. Other times, the guitar solos might be different or altered subtlety. Although I love the song selection, I do wish that they could have chosen one or two more vocally driven songs. They have plenty to choose from: I would have loved to hear "Come to Me" or "Mountains Start to Fall". I think I know why they did not explore these options, though.

One of the downers for this live album is the fact that female singer, Claire, was starting to have issues with her voice. She had some sort of throat condition, and has since stepped down as the vocalist for IOEarth. This is tragic because she has an immense voice, and it is this quality that is missing from Live in the USA. She misses high notes, sounds very masculine at times, and sounds like she is in pain. Don't get me wrong: She still sounds great and did an amazing job. However, she didn't quite have the power available to create the truly stunning moments that IOEarth usually presents. I was left thinking, "If only she'd hit that note, my legs would have turned to jelly". Or whatever.

The vocals aren't my only complaint: I feel that guitarist Dave Cureton tries to rush things a bit. His studio recordings are crisp, clear, and purposeful. In this live album, his guitar work is often muddled, not by the recording quality (which is excellent), but by his own messy attention to detail. He completely misses some foundational notes in some of his solos. I can't help but wonder if he was stuck between wanting to improvise and trying to remain true to the original recording. The result is a muddy sound at times.

I can't emphasize enough, though, that this album is still excellent. My issues with the album are only present at certain times, but I do feel that they reduce the overall quality. With that said, any IOEarth fan NEEDS to hear this, and hopefully I can experience this group live someday.

What if Hawkwind or Gong went folk, with Nico on lead vocals? Perhaps they would have ended up with a sound a bit like the one exhibited by Catherine Ribeiro's backing group Alpes on this release. Sputtering hazily between psychedelic space rock vistas and hippy folk chants and songs, this bizarre release combines adventurous musical experimentation with capable and diverse vocals on the part of Catherine herself, which have a resonance and a boldness to them matched by very few. There aren't many groups who can count themselves as having a truly unique sound, but Alpes might just be one of them.

Random's unique brand of avant-progressive metal on this debut album has at the heart of its sound a metalcore framework, twisted out of all recognition by the ornate musical tangents built on top of it. Ra'l Garc'a Posse on guitar and vocals is inevitably in the spotlight a lot and brings a lot of the metalcore to the table, but the tight rhythm section of Marcos Crosa and Pablo Lamela Bianchi play an essential role in shepherding the band's compositions through their labyrinthine coils. One which demands a few listens before its secrets open up for you, but I think it is worth the effort.

To follow a band's discography and see what happens with the music during the years is very interesting. Now I have examined some great 70s proggers late records. I found they(for example Caravan) were great dispite changing members, styles and instrumentation. Ange's "Vu d'un Chien" is another example of that.

Ange's seventh record was made in 1980 and got a mostly blue cover with a picture in a heyhole. At that time Ange consisted of Francis and Christian Decamps, Jean-Pierre Guichard, Robert Defer and Didier Visieux. The two brothers were the only original members left. What's most significant Ange here is the very dramatic vocals we hear right from the start in "Les temps modernes" which is a fast hard rock song with great guitar that screams in the solos. "Les Lorgnons" is a classical Ange song and the best on this record. It also features a great guitar solo and the keyboards reminds me of the German symphonic band Novalis. Just unfortunately I can not speak or understand french. "Foutez-Moi La Paix" is short but special with its uninhibited vocals. "Je Travaille Sans Filet" is also very rocky and in the end we hear a church organ and strong guitars. "La Suisse" is different. It is both mainstream and polished to an intelligent unit with a great perfektion of the sound. And what would the 80s be without languishing saxophone. "Personne Au Bout du Fil" is not very interesting, a fast rock song but "Pour un rien" contains much more interesting stuff. The ending and title track "Vu D'un Chien" ends up with a symphonic background with a praising audience.

In terms of progressivity this isn't the most complicated Ange record but that doesn't make it less good. I think Ange managed to seek out new life forms for their music with keeping its spirits. This is better than "Par les fils de Mandrin" which had som inferior tracks but not as good as "Cimetière..." or "Carricatures".

Could do with some Vitamin B, perhaps?

Working my way through the band's studio discography, I can hardly wait to get to the more satisfying live releases. But first things first and then - hopefully - time for a massive helping of "dessert".

"The Rock" is another hybrid of mismathing styles, the band has become prone to in recent years. Largely enjoyable, but rather fragmented.

Starting off with a big bang, a heavy riff that would to justice to Black Sabbath, followed by a pleasant Rock ballad. Then the band remembers of their origins and does a nice instrumental run - for a change. So far so good.

Then another reasonable Rock ballad before a painfully melancholic noodling that sounds like Bob Dylan on sedatives. Back to another ballad territory and by this point the wailing, whining guitar prevalent throughout the album reaches the threshold of irritation.

Arabic.Balkan inspired singing then culminates in an enjoyable Moog run before yet another ballad accompanied by organ and more wailing guitar. With different orchestration this piece could have been turned into a memorable one.

"Zug A Zene" is a straight Rock tune with a catchy chorus line where Tamas SOMLO is guesting on vocals. SOMLO was part of early OMEGA, then a circus performer before joining LOCOMOTIV GT on sax, bass, vocals and occasional stilt walking on stage. He has a unique, powerful and truly exceptional voice, unfortunately he didn't make good use of that here.

The bonus tracks are just a bit of lightweight fooling around. Indeed, the entire album represents of just having some fun and perhaps not meant to be taken too seriously? It doesn't really go beyond 3 star category - if at all.

By this stage, VdGG were easily rivalling King Crimson for most insanely heavy prog band, and Pawn Hearts is without a doubt their most demented work, with vocalist Peter Hammill screeching and wailing like a complete madman. However, what sets this album apart is a sense of theatrical drama, evoked not only through Hammill's roaring vocals but also through deft use of psych organ and some Frippian guitar riffs & solos. There's a palpable sense of dread when listening to the evil "Man-Erg", and a sense of psychotic downward-spiralling from "Lemmings". You can really feel your mind fracturing as you listen. "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" is the band's longest epic yet, and is thoroughly dramatic and affecting, a painful lament interspersed with instrumental insanity. So, this is definitely one of the best prog albums ever made, and it's also worth picking up the version with some of the bonus tracks, like the epic orchestral "Theme One", for extra prog goodness.

Utterly superb.

The Prophecy are a band who were designed for me to like. Blending my two favourite metal genres, progressive and doom, but keeping elements of melodic rock music and pentatonic vocal lines? It's as if the band I've been trying to form for the past 3 years suddenly exists, and obviously is much better than anything I could ever produce.

It's no surprise then, that after only one listen, I was already putting this at the top of my 2013 list, and after four, I can quite honestly say this will finish up there too. The band blends beautiful baritones similar to that of Opeth's Mikael Akerfeldt with the aesthetics of doom metal, but if it weren't for the greatly executed death growling segments, I would say this has very little to do with metal itself, most of the time developing a modern progressive rock feel similar to that of Riverside and recent end Porcupine Tree. But unlike Riverside, who also have a release ranking high in my 2013 list, The Prophecy avoid tedious solos, using the doom approach of only soloing when absolutely necessary, and going for a more modern production sounds, unlike Riverside's strange 70's sound job.

With 5 tracks spanning only 50 minutes, "Salvation" keeps within a decent range, and doesn't suffer the common doom trait of overstaying its welcome. But the frequent breaks from the slow and pummeling to well-voiced and melodic mean the 5 songs fly by, with the albums four 10+ minute tracks barely feeling like epics at all.

"Salvation" is The Prophecy's fourth album and the first to grace my ears, but judging from this album alone, this is a band who are in dire need of recognition, blending two very good styles to produce a possible album of the year. And it has a good cover as well.

The Dear Hunter were formed out of the ashes of post-hardcore band The Receiving End Of Sirens in around 2005, with vocalist Casey Crescenzo looking to create a more conceptual and progressive rock based band. Crescenzo came up with the 6-album concept of the Dear Hunter, and completed three of the six albums before getting bored. And after 2011's 36-song "The Color Spectrum", which entitled of 9 four-song EPs on each of the colours, The Dear Hunter have released their first album without a concept, "Migrant"

Although I do love a good concept to keep an album together, I feel that Casey and his men were leaning on it a bit too much, and this album definitely shows them stretching lyrically and musically. Although the early Dear Hunter releases certainly dwelled on the progressive and alternative scenes, "Migrant" is a straight-up indie rock record, and one of the best in recent years. Taking influence from the orchestral and chamber indie of Sufjan Stevens and Fleet Foxes, Crescenzo has created a wonderful standalone record, with as many wonderful pop hooks as progressive touches that gained him a following in the first place.

Opening single "Whisper" is a shoe-in for one of the top songs for 2013, with the sort of delightful chorus that I'd love to hear grace modern radio waves, if only they paid attention to the music scene. This entire album reeks positive energy, in fact. Album opener "Bring You Down" is one of the best feel-good songs I've heard, and the orchestral backing influenced by the aforementioned Sufjan Stevens throughout the album really works toward The Dear Hunter's newer, more uplifting style.

Ever since its sudden stride into existence 15 years ago, post-rock has become the dominant style for instrumental bands wanting to stretch their atmospheric and layering limbs, but in recent years of increase in availability of music, post-rock has become the genre of choice for bands who aren't really good at anything, but still want to make music. The waves and waves of generic Explosions In The Sky clones poured through sites like Bandcamp and Soundcloud, ending most innovation in the genre and causing breakthroughs to be very difficult.

Germany's "Long Distance Calling" was a victim of this. Their very well produced and rather beautiful early music was put aside because, to be honest, it brought nothing new to the table. It was run-of-the-mill post-rock with the same crescendos and atmospheres we expect from the genre. But now, with 2013's "The Flood Inside", they've changed it up. They've got a vocalist.

Going through the current reviews and fans' reactions to this album, it's not looking good for LDC, but the simple fact is that they are being innovative, something the post-rock genre has needed since 1999. Marsen Fischer's voice, which appears on 4 of the 9 tracks, brings the band back to a more alternative rock style, but their roots as an instrumental band remain. Any generic alternative rock band with a guitar and a bass would think very little of the noise going on underneath the hook lines, but it's quite clear the vocals here were the last thing on, with LDC's signature layering of sound and texture crawling underneath Fischer's crystal clear vocal lines.

The backlash against the band is only expected, they have dropped an underground and progressive style for a more mainstream and accessible one, but I think they have simultaneously improved both genres in doing it. Long Distance Calling are simultaneously the most innovative post-rock band of today, and the most innovative alternative rock band of today, and that is something that will let them break through.

After years of floundering creatively due to the loss of frontman and mastermind Syd Barrett, you would be forgiven for thinking Pink Floyd was over by 1971. At best, you'd expect them to improve slowly and steadily, moving away from experimental tracks and towards more clear- cut songwriting. But what happens on Meddle is the least thing you'd suspect: The new Pink Floyd has arrived practically over night, finally applying their soundscapes and experimental working methods to a solid set of memorable songs. The transformation to the band you know from The Dark Side of the Moon is not entirely complete, as Roger Waters' morose lyrics are nowhere to be found and the band still dabbles in subdued folk and experimental psychedelia, but whatever elements remain from their old style are seamlessly integrated into Meddle's aesthetic.

Meddle inhabits a strange middle ground in Pink Floyd's discography, sitting between the psychedelic excesses of their early years and the focused songwriting that was about to come. But it's also the band's most pleasant and expansive album, one that leaves you deeply relaxed, if a bit exhausted (which is why I can't give it a higher grade), after listening to it, which is a nice change of pace from the band's usual misanthropic attack. It might not have as many big songs as the following two records, but for what it's worth.

Well. Truly this is symphonic prog.

And symphonic prog in the line of Renaissance oldies.

Yes in comparison to some of their latest .."pop prog albums"....a real advance.

But well years pass....and the product can,t be (or is difficult to be)as good as the ones in the best of times....Scheherazade,Turn Of The Cards,Ashes Are Burning....

Annie Haslam vocals got tired...composition inspiration not as good... instruments playing not so genial...

Mostly all the songs are like opera little arias ....Haslam s voice now is more operaness......but in general boring songs..not inspired...

So some things of the best Renaissance...but don t expect long masterpieces of the old times.

2,5 stars for me.

An absolutely stunning BluRay disc where we find the band on fire in Mexico City. I must congratulate Steven Wilson and his production team for the sheer quality of this release. Every instrument is clearly heard and, well of course, the music is outstanding. Who would have thought we would see clarinet and saxophone on a Steven Wilson release, but the results are tremendous. The bass guitar is prominent and that is very important of course for a live performance. I have seen Porcupine Tree in concert 3 times but must admit that his solo career is now even more interesting. Grace For Drowning is a marvel of intrigue; transcending the dark, heavy and majestic side of his thoughts. Just how he churns out quality tracks after tracks is something to only imagine. Porcupine Tree fans will love this release. At the time of writing, Steven has already released The Raven and this is yet another masterpiece........tickets duly purchased for Madrid 2013 to see one of the undisputed greats of the modern prog era.....nothing less than the maximum 5stars for this release.

I got a whim to write a review of this album: "Pictures in a dream" by the Norwegian heavy prog band "Arabs in Aspic 2" from this year 2013. Immediately I got the feeling that this is a strong and talanted band which makes a kind of retrospective progressive hard rock. The thoughts of for example Uriah Heep is hard to don't get. I am not a big fan of the heavy genre but like some Uriah and some Rush stuff. This is a modern band from my neighbour country in the west which mostly sings in English but two of the songs are sung in Norwegian. It features Jostein Smeby (guitar, vocals), Stig A, Jörgensen (Hammond, piano, synth, vocals), Eskil Nyhus(drums, percussion)and Erik Paulsen (bass, fretless bass, vocals) and Rune Sundby participates as a guest singer. The cover is amazing like an expressionist painting with a big head from which other things happen to rise. Like on King Crimsons early efforts there seems not to be any text on the front page.

This is heavy but very melodical and sweet hard rock with high intentions. The groovy organs make this retro style which actually feels honest and original. The first song "Rejected Wasteland- Pictures in a dream" is very good. Most of the tracks are actually worth listen to where you can listen to the meanings of the guitars and in "You are blind" i hear something which perhaps is a theremin. "Lifeguard at Sharkbay" is one of the best tracks with a symphonic ending and a clear melody. I even like "Vi mötes sikkert igjen" where we can here how this music could could have been in Norwegian. I think it works out well.

Over all I must say the musicians are very good and the music has a great flow which is nice to fly in. But I don't like the vocals unfortunately. When they're not to screamy I just don't think they're good. I'm not either a fan of heavy prog in particular so this wasn't the best for me. The qualities of this music could has brought four stars, but I am a partial person so I give it three stars. Let me know your statements about this record!

Self-published by the band, Prosper's debut Broken Door really deserved more attention. Bridging three distinct musical worlds of the 1970s - the avant plains of Krautrock where the tripped-out psychedelic spaciness of the 1960s never quite went away, the gorgeous melodic realms of the softer symphonic bands like Camel, and the whimsical, jazzy territory of latter- period Canterbury - it's an album which prog fans are certain to find something new and unexpected to enjoy on every listen-through. Gets within a hair's breadth of snagging that fifth star, that's for sure, and it's a real shame the band don't seem to have persisted after this release because who knows what they could have accomplished with proper support.

Beginning with a doom metal blueprint based on the model of My Dying Bride and similar death-doom acts - which usually I find a rather hit-and-miss proposal - The Prophecy's Salvation wins me over with the band's adept use of progressive rock song structures and carefully crafted atmospherics. Typically, progressive rock influences in metal have tended to focus on faster playing than this - what better way to showcase your technical skills and your super-proggy wacky time signatures, after all? - but here The Prophecy manage to tap into spacier precedents and unlike, say, Anathema don't lose themselves in starry-eyed Pink Floyd worship. A solid release which won me over despite initial scepticism; tack on another star if you're a fan of My Dying Bride or other members of the Peaceville death-doom crowd.

Primus' Sailing the Seas of Cheese showcases the funky bass and eccentric, off the wall vocals of Les Claypool. Combine this with the band's general love of experimentation and yuou end up with a credible contribution to avant-garde alt-metal. The schtick doesn't quite last the full running time of the album - it isn't quite as varied as, say, Mr Bungle's material, and whilst the band regularly aim for a funky, hypnotic groove sometimes it falls flat and they just sound dull and repetitive. But these are occasional stumbles on an otherwise entertaining album which manages to walk the careful tightrope of introducing a general audience to Primus' unique sound without compromising that sound in the process.

When it comes to progressive rock, things become complicated. Especially for the artists, I always think. The term is so overused and understood in so many different ways that it hardly helps when classifying new acts in the rock sector. "Psychoanorexia" is a case in which this seems to lead to very different emotions with very different listeners. Firstly, there are those who simply like Yes, Genesis and Pink Floyd and their sound. These are the people who will always praise albums with a retro sound, often because it reminds them of their youth. Secondly, there is the Neo Prog generation who want their unicorns and Tolkien-like characters on the cover. If there are no guitar solos that copy Steve Rothery and no eighties reverbs and no synthetic string pads on the album, then it is no good. Thirdly, there are those who applaud to innovation and novelty and take the genre as what it was meant to be in the seventies, in unison with that famous ad by Steve Hackett when he joined Genesis: To explore how to break through boundaries in musical taste and zeitgeist matters.

T is a bit of a hard case for the first two fractions. This is nothing special, every true artist has to face these drawbacks of avantgardism. What actually IS special is that T succeeds where, e.g., Steven Wilson with his raven fails: He creates a mixture of classical and avantgarde elements that still sounds like nothing I ever heard before without neglecting actual musicality or melodic "well-being". This is what I call a genius. And this is, I think, why people are so diverse in their reactions: It takes some time for new grounds to be really covered and for people to follow explorers. Let's just hope that the artist does not listen to those who want him to wallow in retrospections and cheap effects that would certainly make a man of his craftmanship a lot more money.

To me, this is the one album you must have heard in 2013. You will then either hate it or love it - as the ratings here on progarchives seem to prove.

Covering new grounds is always difficult. You lose loads of fans, you will be misunderstood, you might even be called a traitor, a fake, amateurish or worse. I think all of this happened to Radiohead when "Kid A" came out.

The band had just brought their explorations in symphonic rock to a phenomenal ending with "OK Computer". It must have seemed impossible to them to reach even higher into the realms of bombastic perfection: an artistic deadend and nightmare for every artist.

But Yorke and co. just switched into reverse mode. Minimalism and electronics were focussed on, retro sounds and swelling symphonies were kicked out. So "Kid A" must have come like a slap in the face for those who simply liked the sound of "OK Computer" and set high hopes into Radiohead as the new spearhead of Progressive Rock.

Actually, to those who entered into the spirit of their artistic path, "Kid A" did actually increase those hopes. Rarely has one single album so altered the course of mainstream tastes. Yes, there have been predecessors in different electronic genres, but the combination of these influences and Yorke's voice and songwriting techniques was just brilliant.

A real eye-opener for me. Still love it in 2013 - so it's no less than a groundbreaking classic!

Kerrs Pink is one of the legendary norwegians progressive rock bands beggining their career in mid '70s. Their second album from 1982 is considered among their best release if not the best they ever done, named Mellom oss (between us). Musea records re issue the album in 1992 I guess with nice pictures, story of the band and lyrics and aswell has 6 bonus tracks, 5 of them never released before. Well, the music offered is something between symphonic prog of the mellower kind but quite well played, something between Camel and german band Rousseau, with some folk pastoral passages. The title track is more then ok and the ending tune the longest Mens Tiden Forgår clocking around 17, is pure delight, the rest are also quite good. There are plenty of melodic guitar parts and great keyboards passages that will pleases every fan of prog rock music. For me was a good ride and for that reason worth 3.5 stars. Great cover art, simple but so evocative.

Its because this is?? 5/5

If you're looking for unique and a top class prog rock album, De-Loused in Comatorium comes in the forefront of that list. It is the best work The Mars Volta have ever put out. The genius mind of Omar Rodrigues Lopez is in full flow here. He must be one of the best prog rock guitarists of 2000s. To combine acidic, retro, complex, melodic music at the same time must require some unique talent which TMV have plenty in tandem. Everything from guitar bass, drums and the synthesizers are so uniquely blended together that most bands do not even come close to what TMV are able to put across in a single song let alone the whole album. How are they able to make such a cohesive music out of all the combinations that I mentioned above is a question that always amuses me. The music is hypnotic at times.

The album starts with a really tense and sharp intro 'Son et Lumiere' and continues to 'Iniertiatic ESP' and like the name suggests the song gets stronger as it progresses. Starting with a very intense melody, the song builds into something really great during its middle parts. If only you listen to the riffs that Omar plays in the song along with excellent drumming, the uniqueness of this album must be crystal clear to your ears. 'Roulette Dares (The Haunt of)' follows which is one of the best TMV songs ever. From starting riff it feels like a real classic. The verses and chorus are at their melodic best and the chorus part where Cedric Bixler-Zaval yells "Exoskeleton junction at the railroad delayed" remains in your head forever once you hear the song. The instrumental part after the chorus with intense drumming of different kind and a long guitar solo is even better and the song flows in the same vein throughout with a superb ending. This is a song which represents Mars Volta on top of their game. An interlude follows in the name of 'Tira Me a las Aranas'. Then another magnificent song follows in 'Drunkship of Lanterns' which starts with a percussion domination. Their Mexican origin in brilliant incorporated in this song with Mexican style percussion and guitar. The song is also brilliant because of the unique atmosphere it leaves on the listener. In the next song 'Eriatarka' they showcase their way of starting with a very slow melody and building it into an intense hard rock part to slow parts back and forth again and again. The tempo and time signature changes in this song are something really to behold and for me this song is one of the best example of use of synthesizer in TMV's music. The next song 'Cicatriz'is again a descent song that almost starts off with almost hip-hop style beat but soon leaves TMV stamp on it with constant tempo changes, awesome background guitar lead and awesome drumming. The middle section of the song is full show-off of their synthesizer skill but it was one moment in the album where I was put off. The song makes up for that in later section with a melodic over the top solo and an awesome ending. Another great song follws in 'This Apparatus Must be Unearthed' which again consists of all the goods that TMV can deliver. The one song that surprised me the most 'Televators' then comes next which is a full ballad. This song again showcases the musicianship and songwriting skills that are on show with the use of banjo as percussion and is a slap on the face of those who complain TMV being less melodic, more annoying and all that. The final song 'Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt' is a fitting end to the album which again is more than a descent song.

So this is a pure gem of modern progressive rock music and if you are also a fan of unique prog rock albums like me, this is a must have with The Mars Volta at their freaking best.

Caravan left Canterbury and entered Crossovertown or perhaps Art Rock City but after hearing this pretty record I must confess that was not a bad development. I am happy how a band can change style and go to new dimensions but keep their excellent feeling for the art of music. Because music can still be fine art without being too progressive. On "Cunning stunts" Caravan also became harder than before. Caravan 1975 consisted of Pye Hastings, Richard Coughlan, Geoff Richardson, David Sinclair and Mike Wedgwood and Jimmy Hastings. Of these two sides of one record, the second makes this music brilliant.

Put "Cunning stunts" on and perhaps it will sound a little bit like the art rockers "10cc" (which is another great band). Caravan nice sound and catchy melodies has allways made a bridge to poular music and here they did it even clearer. But this is not a failed try to be popular, it feels honest every minute. "The show of our lives" is the starter with nice vocals and melody. "Stuck in a hole" is better with speed and interesting feeling. "Lover" has string and brass arrangements which makes it feel classical. "No backstage pass" is the albums second best track with the typital withdrawn vocals and a wonderful melody. Small influences of jazz in this pearl. "Welcome the day" is more ordinary but a clear rock song where the singer is aloud to show more of his abilities. "The badsong conshirtoe" is a true masterpiece of art rock like "Feel the benefit" by 10cc. It's a clever composition with a lot of intertexts from different styles and cultures. Maybe Caravan fans are unused to this new heavy Caravan but it is truely worth listening. The closer "The fear and the loathing in Tollington park rag" is short but not less beautiful. An acoustic little rag.

I don't think I can hear any Canterbury scene here but I hear wonderful music and what is wrong with that? A somewhat inferior A-side takes away one star but four remain. Recommended!

What we have here is a one-man show, combining Greg performing some of his most well- known songs (with a backing track) along with stories of things that have happened in his life. So, we hear about the Beatles, and when he saw Elvis in concert and so forth. The one thing I did learn from this was that the artist behind 'Court of the Crimson King' died only three days after he presented the artwork to the band, at the age of 21. There is no doubting Greg's musical ability or his stunning voice, but is this really the best way to hear him? Rick Wakeman has been performing a similar show, on and off, for some ten years or more where he tells stories and plays the piano. The major difference there is that Rick is providing new interpretations of songs, with no backing music whatsoever, whereas here we have instances such as on "From The Beginning" where there is quite an extended keyboard solo yet at that point all Greg does is play chords as that was his part in that section of the song.

I have always enjoyed Greg's performances with ELP (and I loved it when he fronted Asia, I just wish that they had recorded a studio album together), but he hasn't done a great deal outside that and definitely comes across better in the band environment. This has been billed as 'Songs of a Lifetime' but the most recent song here is the mighty "Touch and Go" from the Emerson Lake & Powell album in 1985, so what happened in the last 28 years? Greg also performs some covers that were important to him in his musical life, such as "Heartbreak Hotel" yet while it is interesting to hear Greg's version I would much rather hear more ELP. The stories are fairly lengthy, which means that the album doesn't benefit from repeated plays either.

All in all I would rather play the compilation of his that was issued a few years ago, 'From The Beginning', but although I can't see myself returning to it very often he still has a wonderful voice..

No other independent label can be said to have done as much for progressive rock in the UK as Cyclops, and with this sampler Malcolm marks his 125th release. This double CD features 19 bands with 20 songs, with only one being previously available in this form. The collection shows the diversity of styles on Malcolm's label alone that can be called 'progressive' from the folk stylings of Mostly Autumn through the classical influences of Karda Estra to the more rocky Nice Beaver. The traditionalist may prefer Parallel Or Ninety Degrees, while those who like the old school would definitely want to own the previously unreleased CBS studio version of "Fact and Fiction" by Twelfth Night.

There are so many different styles of progressive rock that to the outsider it can be hard to work out who is what, and what styles of music are covered under the banner. There are also some sections of the scene that are quite incestuous with musicians appearing in each other's bands although this only happens a small amount in these acts.

If you have ever enjoyed prog bands then why not try this collection of what is going on now? It is a sad indictment that if Genesis, Yes, King Crimson, Van Der Graaf Generator or any of the other wonderful prog bands that this country developed thirty years ago, were starting life now then they would be destined to the same fate as the acts on this sampler. Why will hundreds of fans go to see a tribute band but not try something they have never heard before? Many of you have contacted me to say that you enjoyed the Black Widow sampler that was in #71 well why not try out the UK's No 1 progressive label and see what it has to offer? You may not like all the bands on here but you will find plenty that you will.

Originally appeared in Feedback #73, Apr 03

Everybody knows (this is nowhere"... just kidding) that Wish You Were Here is a wonderful album. I rate it 4/5 stars, but I will tell you the "dark side of the wish", the dark star that won't shine and make it a fullstar (5/5) masterpiece here in my collection.

After Dark Side of The Moon, the awesome and one of the most influential albums of the progressive music (maybe a little bit overrated), this is where Pink Floyd found themselves: believing more in the equalization, effects and... believing more in the Pink Floyd name than in their own music. Currently the #4 at the Top Prog Albums here. Sorry, but I just can't understand this. I love David Gilmour guitar playing. But I think this album is a little bit... exageratted. And god knows how it could be a way better. We know it too. We know Animals. Shine On Your Crazy Diamond (both tracks) is something like a hymn. I like it. But after many years living and learning with Pink Floyd albums, I really can't rate it a 5 star song. The songwriting at this album is a formula. It works, but most of the spacey parts are just formula. They could write 500 different albums with similar track and junkie fans would rate it 5/5. Have A Cigar is the worst track, I have that feeling that "I had heard it before" at my first listening. It's a boring track for me. It's not like Gentle Giant formula, that I always find something new. This is like, ah, another pink floyd song, cool. The main track, Wish You Were Here, it's awesome, but I can't listen to this song anymore. Every radio station plays, every guitar boy on the streets or bars are playing this one. Welcome to the machine is the most... 'cyberpunk' track, it's my favorite, but without the effects, it would be very simpleton.

Great album. Have fun.

"The Ghost Moon Orchestra" was more or less my introduction to this prog folk band, Mostly Autumn. I've been really getting into prog folk lately, as I've been enjoying Dead Can Dance, Blackmore's Night, and I've always loved Colin Masson's work. The thing I love about prog folk is that you never know what you'll get: It's all unpredictable seeing as there are many kinds of "folk" music.

Mostly Autumn represents my favorite type of folk: Their music is rather European in its folksy style, so their music contains all sorts of violins, bagpipes, flutes, and ethereal keys. On top of that, Olivia can sing like an angel, so that helps their case even more. I do prefer her vocals over that of Bryan Josh, the male vocalist. He has an interesting, breathy voice that I like, but I don't think 90% of singers out there could hold a candle to Olivia.

All of that being said, this album in particular is sweeping, climactic, soothing, and wispy all at the same time. The soaring symphonics always goad me into the music, while the Colin Masson-ish guitar work feeds my nostalgia. I especially liked the title track, "Tennyson Mansion", and "Top of the World". It seems that Mostly Autumn wears their poetic influences on their sleeves, but I can't help but wonder if The Carpenters were an influence here as well. Something I can't put my finger on tells me that. Either way, this is a great album that really lives up to its title, and it also rather handily earns 4 stars.

Here I am writing a belated review of the first Oblivion Sun CD. I will say up front that I shot photos of a Happy the Man show at least once in the 1970s and became a regular photographer at their shows in the 2000-2005 time frame. I have done the same for Obilvion Sun. I donate the photos to the bands; often the bands arrange for me to be admitted as a guest, i.e., for free.

I've been listening to this album since it was first released.

This album struck me as being true to several themes. Stan Whitaker once said HtM needed to rock a bit more, and the Whitaker tunes here are first and foremost rockers. That's only the beginning of the stylistic tour, though. There's jazz, lots of intense and intricate keyboard interactions among Frank Wyatt and Bill Plummer, surprisingly a bit of funk, and yes, Stan does sing again.

A very welcome surprise to me was the powerful compositional influence of Bill Plummer, who contributed three tunes. Bill was a roadie for HtM and an audio tech production wizard; for a short while he took keyboard lessons from Kit Watkins of HtM, the son of two music teachers at James Madison University in Virginia. Stan once told me he proposed Bill for the lead keys seat in HtM in 1999 and was outvoted. Of Bill's contributions, I adore the sublime Tales of Young Whales, a haunting submarine instrumental excursion with an especially powerful midsection.

The overall top pick for me from this collection is Catwalk, composed by Frank Wyatt. It charmed me, and it charmed my kids. This is a jazzy sequel to the story of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, updated in many ways for the modern age and its sense of the mind and imagination as a definite locale and in particular somewhat akin to a computer. All of that in words and music, with the powerful development of themes and variations that consistently characterized the best work of HtM. Probably Stan's best vocal work ever.

From this CD the following tunes migrated to my iPhone: Tales of Young Whales, Catwalk, Chapter 7.1, Noodlepoint, and Golden Feast. In rotation with 900+ other prog tunes via Shuffle. Feels a lot like the prog tidal wave of my college days never ended.

How many stars? Four in my opinion, a lot of great stuff on this CD, but keep in mind I could be biased for the reasons noted above.

Better than Genesis!

At least if we are talking about debut records. In that case Caravan is better than most rock bands. Beatles debut wasn't fantastic, not Genesis and Yes' was good but not as good as this. Sure even Caravan developed but their original sound was almost precised.

The disc Caravan has a cover showing the members looking sacred with minds devoted to god(or music?) and an emply dusk background in yellow and orange. Caravan (Richard Couchlan, Richard Sinclair, Pye Hastings, David Sinclair, Jimmy Hastings) does a very good record here. Back in 1968 the sound has more psychedelic influences than later and what makes this so pleasent is that it's like joyful pop melodic performed in a sophisticated progressive way. The vocals are magnificent here. I think they work better than on next record. Every song is great and worth enjoying but my favourite track is the longest(as it use to) "Where but for Caravan would I" which is a angelic composition with beauty and power. "Love song with flute" is also one of the best, perhaps by matter of the flute and you can't escape this feeling of genuineness. On many tracks, like "Grandma's lawn" you want to dive into the rich organ orgies which are so cleverly played. The drums are also amazing and make this so powerful as a unit.

Caravan's music is nice, and it was nice from the very beginning. Just its niceness makes it the perfect music to introduce someone to prog rock with. It's no way a matter of crossover stuff or something like that, just very nice, that's it. I won't say it's a masterpiece or perfect, not today after a first listening, but it was an impressing start of this wonderful band.

Four stars with opportunity to be raised even higher!

Diverse, or directionless? Big question.

At this point the band bears little semblance to the approach that made them famous nearly four decades earlier. It's fair to say that as musicians they've matured considerably The style however has changed quite markedly/. Not for the worse, only different.

What's on offer here is an absolute mixed bag of goodies - and a bit of an eye opener. Starting with a pleasant, organ driven symphonic piece, followed by an almost mediaeval track is in stark contrast with the title track. "Blue Trance" is like ZZ Top doing Arena Rock. Not bad at all, but the point is?

Then, we get to some tracks in the Jazz-Rock vein, reminiscent of Pat Metheny's approach. This is where Skrzek delivers his most refined keyboard runs in living memory. Fluid, yet relaxed improvisations rarely encountered before.

Apostolis also excels on guitar, focusing on sound in place of speed. These (incl. the bonus tracks) are the highlights of the album. Drummer, Gabor Nemeth, who is a seasoned musician of the Hungarian Rock scene complements the works with ease. More of a hired hand than a devotee of SBB's music, he plays with extreme precision.

This album is full of surprises, some of which are very welcome. Curiously, the excellent bonus tracks lift the game for me. Without them I would have had to round my rating down by one point.

Hmm, what could I say... Centurionaut is an instrumental heavy and atmospherical rock, including organ and keys (sometimes noise and experimental, but not innovative). I like the cover art and the album theme. Never heard of this band before this release, and I have to admit that I checked this album from start to end because of the organ. And I'm wondering to myself if they had already used the organ as a fanservice for proggers. Commercial prog? Maybe not. But I haven't found a very catchy riff during the whole album. I listen to it once, it's just fine, but I really don't want to play this album anymore.

9.5/10

2012 was an important year for progressive rock, with the release of a considerable amount of masterpieces, and in the midst of it a sextet British melodic progressive metal / neo-prog with a long (and underappreciated) career launched another album breathtaking as only they can do.

Between 2007 and the last year many things happened in Threshold, and the most striking of these was the departure and death of Mac. A terrible loss for the members and for the fans, but fortunately we have the band went ahead and recruited Damian Wilson, lead singer of his debut Wounded Land and Extinct Instinct, and needless to say that while my first listen did not impress me much, subsequent fazeram I love March of Progress as the masterpieces of the past decade and proves that the band is only to continue in his excellent level of musicality that has made ​​throughout his career.

Damian Wilson seems to be better than never, it seems that fifteen years have passed since the last time he was at the Threshold (and as good as the debut of the band and their top performance in extinction Instinct). Well, on the other members in there muiot what to say except that I have ripped the compliments on my previous reviews. Although I liked the fact that Richard West have "expanded" somewhat their keyboards to use a "church organ" in the closing track The Rubycon.

There is virtually no low point here. The highlights are the great Return of Thought Police (whose lyrics combine perfectly for me before the series of protests that have occurred in large cities here in Brazil), Staring at the Sun, great Colophon, the ballad That's Why We Came (more once Threshold showing that it does not fail in his ballads), Coda and mini-epic The Rubycon.

5 stars, no doubt.

As a big fan of history in general, watching and listening to a band growing, developing and evolving record by record is fascinating. Spock's Beard is an excellent example of adaptation and evolution.

Right away, "Beware of Darkness" sounds much crisper, much sharper. The quality is much better. The lyrics are a bit iffy songwriting wise, but the instrumentation is spot on. "Thoughts" is right there in the same wheelhouse. The carnival house 'chorus' is kinda cool, though. It gives the song it's own USP. Even the scattered chord blotches scattered throughout the piece add to the uniqueness of it, making it one of my favorites of this album.

Strangely, though, where the songwriting on "Beware of Darkness" is fairly average, "The Doorway" is the perfect song to weave lyrical majesty over, and Neal Morse does just that. The melodies are perfect, it's not too soft, it's not too harsh, it's a well balanced track. Funny however, though, up to this point that Spock is at it's lyrical, songwriting best when composing longer songs, as opposed to shorter songs. Just something to think about for future reference.

"Chatauqua" is a nice, quick little guitar ballad that sounds very Trans-Siberian-esque in its playing. "Walking On The Wind" is not like that. At all. In fact, the keys sound very ELP from the get-go, perhaps because this is the debut of famed keyboardist Ryu Okumoto. The composition is much more balanced, and the songwriting is improved once again as well. In fact, I can tell that the lengthy tracks on this album are much more balanced, but also better lyrically. It's as almost if Alan and Neal Morse realized that, on shorter tracks (9-11 minutes as opposed to the 23-minute "The Water") that songwriting and lyricism takes center stage over quick changes and sudden displays of musician ship that peppered much of "The Light".

Now, is that a bad thing? Depends. Everyone is going to have their own opinion over this, and has for the past 20 or so years. Some people prefer Neal's songwriting, others prefer the magic made by the instruments these men wield. I, for one, prefer the latter over the former (which is why I'm one of few who prefer the post-Neal Morse Spock albums), but I have no problem with Neal's voice or songwriting. It's just that even with these great, early songs, you can sense a conflict between the songwriting and the composition. Perhaps even in 1997, the wisest prog fan could sense Neal Morse's departure from the Beard, even then?

Yet, we come to "Waste Away", a perfect 90's radio song that's catchy, acoustic-al, Neal's pipes get a center stage showing, and it's a song that's just cool. No, it's not very proggy, but it's a radical departure from "Beware of Darkness" which is only 20 seconds shorter. Here I am, bashing Spock for not being able to be good songwriters for short songs, and yet "Waste Away" completely destroys those notions. So, what do we make of this album?

Perhaps we need to listen to the closer and headliner, "Time Has Come", to get a clearer picture. The intro, much like any Spock epic, is perfect. The atmosphere it sets is perfect, the emotion is there.

And yet, 2 minutes in, the music stops, a guitar comes in and Neal Morse puts on his best Nirvana impression.

It's not bad, but it's just not clean, the transition just isn't smooth. Instead of fading out and in to the guitar, it abruptly cuts out. It just sounds pasted together, much like "Go The Way You Go". Once it's developed, though, the grungy first verse sounds cool. The lyrics definitely fit the mood and attitude. It's just the way it starts that just leaves me feeling confused. The transition out of the grunge phrase is nice and the song continues nicely to the halfway point about 7 minutes in.

Once the fade out and and the synths re-emerge, though, it sounds like a completely different song. The hardcore grunge of the first half is gone, and the hectic, stop-and-turn- on-a-dime routine of "The Light" is back, and there's no reference of the first half at all. Now, obviously, this isn't classical music. There's no recapitulation of the main theme like in a sonata, but it still feels like they recorded the first 7 minutes one day, and then recorded the next 8 minutes some two weeks later and decided to squish them together to create one long song because they haven't recorded an epic on this album similar to "The Light" or "The Water". Neal's grungy voice tries to make a reappearance at the end, but it just doesn't have the same effect as the first time. It just doesn't work.

VERDICT: Spock fan's will surely love this record, but it's not without its faults. "The Doorway" and "Walking On The Wind" are the two big standouts. "Time Has Come" isn't bad, but it's just one of many examples throughout the album where the band is trying to progress musically rather than just technically. Yet there are still songwriting pitfalls, quality issues, and just flat-out question marks in general.

So, really, Spock's sophomore album isn't as good as the first, but its got sparks of future Spock hidden in its genes. It's a transitional album. For the better or for the worse? That's up for you to decide.

Top Tracks: The Doorway, Walking On The Wind, Waste Away

— First review of this album —

In the last decade or so Poland became a country that releases more and more Prog music, every year a dozen of bands (or more) release new albums. Not just that, many bands play in the country and end up releasing live albums and DVDs of these concerts, showing that the audience is interested.

During last year I reviewed bands like Quidam, Lebowski, Riverside, AnVision and played on my weekly podcast SBB, Votum, Paweł Penksa, Millenium, Osada Vida and Believe. And that's only the tip of the iceberg, because it would be impossible for me to cover every new release.

So, to try to expand a little bit more the Polish coverage, I'm reviewing today Soma White a new band from Gdańsk, Poland. Their self-titled debut album was released in March and it is an independent album recorded in the PG Studios also in Gdańsk and produced by the band itself.

Soma White is a sextet formed by Hania Żmuda (vocals), Piotr Pastwa (guitars), Paweł Wysocki (keyboards), Kzrysztof Szymczak (drums), Marek Chudzikiewicz (guitars) and Robert Majewski (bass). They say that nowadays before you actually listen to the music you need a good presentation and that your eyes listen too. This is something that will make people pay attention on your music. Soma White has it.

As soon as you get Soma White (2013) in your hands you're amazed by their CD right away. They were able to present a completely new and superb digipack. It's pretty hard to explain what they did so you better check THIS (facebook.com/photo.php? fbid=651040218255457&set=a.616071718418974.1073741825.155970594429091&type= 3&theater) link and try to understand. There's one and only complaint about it. When it comes to the info, there's only the basic on the digipack. No lyrics, no pictures, etc.

As for the music, Soma White (2013) is on the modern Prog side. There's a new wave of bands that was born in the last decade or so that uses Prog Rock in a different way. More 'appealing' for a bigger and younger audience, maybe. Soma White (2013) has this kind of sound, heavy guitars here and there, a solid duo with low bass and drums and an ethereal kind of keyboards. On top of that, many vocals in each track.

The songs in Soma White (2013) are pretty much lengthy, resulting in 9 tracks in 70 minutes. Track one 'The Mind Paradise' has been one of my favorites since the first listening of the album. Another highlight is 'Better Reality' with more than thirteen minutes and layers and layers of vocals by Hania Żmuda.

Paweł Wysocki is a name to be praised on Soma White His keyboards elevate the music many times with different 'noises', beauty piano passages and weird synths. Guitar players Piotr Pastwa and Marek Chudzikiewicz are sometimes pretty much faded away and sometimes is hard to tell that there's two guitars, but very often they'll come out of nowhere with double guitar riffs, like in the track 'Travel Story'. 'Respect ? A Tribute For Nature' closes the album with a simple and pretty piano and many vocals.

Soma White (2013) is a great debut album, high quality and diversity, tough I would still prefer the album a little shorter or maybe some editing on the songs. If you have in your shelf bands like Anathema and Porcupine Tree then you probably will want to have Soma White too. Especially if you want to have one of the nicest digipacks around.

(Originally posted on progshine.net)

The best Roger Waters album and one of the best concept works in rock music history. I believe I got Amused To Death on a cassete the year it was released and I have not got tired of it since. Each song has a strong melody and music is absolutely outstanding. I catch myself humming or singing its songs quite often, with "Perfect Sense Parts I and II" and "Amused to Death" being the favourites. I don't remember who called this album "TV for the ears", but this person nailed it for me for each song draws a vivid picture or story in my brain. The album was underappreciated upon release but time has corrected this. It is sad but its message holds true in the 21st century as it did 20 years ago, but on the other hand it proves the timelessness of the album.

Seeing as I've been curiously playing Neal Morse's "Momentum" on repeat over and over again, I felt it necessary to revisit his back catalog of music, starting, unsurprisingly, at Genesis, "The Light".

I still find it odd to this day that this was a record released in 1995. The opening track shows little evidence of its age. Perhaps the studio quality could've been a lot finer. Neal's voice at the 2:30 mark feels a bit muddled. Then again, I'm sure that was the point, but I still feel the quality could've been improved. A lot of synth stylings here also definitely hint at a bit of an 80's sound. That's not necessarily a bad thing, merely an observation.

Still, despite the obvious age of this 15 minute goliath, it's still a very enjoyable track. The melodies laid down by Alan are absolutely unique unto themselves. The way this outfit just picks up and moves into a different direction instantly is baffling to me. If you weren't paying attention half the time, you'd figure you were listening to about 5 different songs, when in reality, the song never changed. Honestly, the song goes through so many changes, it's nigh impossible to state them all. In short, this may be the first song of Spock's first album, but it's a doozy, and one of my absolute favorites.

"Go The Way You Go" is a bit of a misfit to me. Even in the intro, the song snakes back and forth between chaotic chords and playful little melodies. Right from the get-go, though, the quality sounds much better here. Right up to the moment where the entire band cuts out to go to Neal and the guitar melody. It feels a bit, I don't know, cut-and-pasted together. That said, the chorus is catchy and enjoyable. It's not a bad song, but the main reason why it's not one of my favorites is because Neal seemed to take a lot of liberties with the vocal line, and as such, the transitions seem to be abrupt and not totally smooth, same with the rest of the band. It doesn't feel as smooth connected as "The Light". The licks just don't flow smoothly into the next phrase, the key signatures just don't match up half the time.

And, I'm sorry, I'm all for the crowd noises. But that sample just sounded way too cheesy.

Still, the jams in the middle were nice. And that's always nice.

Still, in terms of length, neither of these two tracks can stand up to the 23-minute length that is "The Water". Again, from the intro, I hear no real quality issues. You'd never be able to tell how old it was if you didn't know when it was released. Until the 2 minute mark. The bell chords are decidedly 80's-ish. Still, Neal's harsh tone of voice pulls it back into 1995, while the guitar licks sound eerily 70's Pink Floyd-ish (a mash of generational sounds here). Even the female chorus sounds like it came straight out of Pink Floyd's repertoire.

Not like that's a problem though. This is, quite simply, an epic track. It's one of those you just can't listen to everyday. You have to make an occasion for it, put some time off to just encompass those 23 minutes. The songwriting is epic, you can just tell these guys worked their tails off to put this piece together. The transition (unlike the ones from "Go The Way You Go") from the bluesy ballad to Neal's "f*ck you" rant is seamless. The whole song, really, is just expertly put together, a memorable song and one of the prog greats.

"On The Edge" feels like a misfit as well. The shortest track (at ONLY 6 minutes), it's not a really great intro. There's a sense that it was quickly cobbled together to form a quick B-side track, if you will. This song definitely feels its age here. Yes, the chorus is catchy, but it definitely feels like a dated track today, and as such, it's just a bit cheesy. No fault of the Morse brothers and the rest of Spock, though. This was the sound of 90's prog, as the new age of prog was still in its infancy.

VERDICT: "The Light" and "The Water" just don't feel dated, though. They just feel better, like all those melodies and phrases were just made to be together, like puzzle pieces, and as such, you should buy this album for those two alone. Granted, the two best tracks are also the two longest ones, but that's not to say the other two are bad. They're just not in the same sentence as the former two. And, of course, throughout the record there are a few reminders that this was an album made in the 90's, where hints of the wretched 80's-pop war machine are still present. All aside, though, this is a must for any Spock fan, and a great album for anyone looking for past classics of melodic prog.

3.5 stars really

Accordo dei Contrari is a well known and respected progressive/jazz rock band from Italy with two albums in their pockets so far. Kublai is the second offer released in 2011 and is to my ears a winning one. I like that the album is quite diverse in compositions, from jazz rock passages to prog rock elements added and even some canterbury moments are present, we have here on L'ombra di un sogno the famous Richard Sinclair who sings, the song being dedicated to his dog who just passed away. The album is all instrumental minus the piece where Siclair are present with his voice . The opening track G.B. Evidence is excellent and sets the mood for what to come.Is an energic jazz rock tune with nice musicianship and great parts. Arabesque is a very intresting piece and as the title sugests has arabian atmosphere. All in all a good towards great album, I like it but I prefere for example other bands from Italy with same attitude and playing same type of prog jazz rock/fusion like The RedZen or Gran Torino, both bands being little more intresting for my taste then Accordo dei Contrari. 3.5 stars for Kublai.

I still love this album even 25 years after discovering it. And that's the problem for the "newbies" who are used with modern production : It sounds like most of self production from that area. Back in 1987, 'Vision of the dark' was considered as one of the 'Album of the year' amongst the few remaining progfans and it's still the case. The cover paintings show a strong reference to Marillion (as well as singer's name : Jester) but i, a musical point of view Deyss are closer to IQ's Tales from the lush attic (Mainly in the last track with long instrumental parts). So back in 1987, I would have given 4.5 stars but 3.5 according to 2012 standards...

With Dick Taylor jumping ship, Twink departing to kick off Pink Fairies, and S.F. Sorrow performing dismally as far as sales went, The Pretty Things had plenty of reason to be demoralised. One more Electric Banana album of library music to re-charge the band's coffers later, and they got back in the saddle with Parachute. Slightly less ambitious than S.F. Sorrow, Parachute opens with a dazzling side-long suite about subjects ranging from social conformity to romantic failure to rainy-day misery and beyond, whilst the second side offers a range of different songs in a remarkable range of styles. Moving beyond the Beatles influence which the previous album had show, Parachute finds the Pretty Things on absolutely top form and doesn't deserve to be neglected in the shadow of its more famous predecessor.

Dream Theater side projects and spin-offs are thick on the ground, and I personally find them rather hit and miss, but Derek Sherinian has really landed on his feet with this Planet X deal. What makes Quantum such a joyful listen is its seamless blending of progressive rock subgenres you wouldn't have otherwise expected to work so well together. There's a jazz fusion underpinning to affairs which reminds me a lot of UK - indeed, UK's own Allan Holdsworth guests on a couple of tracks - and the guitar performances tend to be metal-oriented, but the overall aesthetic of the compositions, especially when Derek's keyboard textures come into play, remind me of nothing less than space rock in the Ozric Tentacles mode. On the whole, it's a highly competent album which will appeal to anyone in the market for spacey, technically complex instrumental prog.

Another well attempted effort by Algerian/French extreme metal band Arkan. Following the path chosen on their previous abum, they once more give us their perfect blend of extreme metal and ethnic North African (Algerian) music. Due to the many character changes, their music keeps you exited right from the start. By assimilating North African music in a true way in their music they have really added a new dimension to extreme metal. Again the grunts are alternated with Arabian sung melodies and once more the playing of the oud (Arabian lute) is perfect. This time Sarah Layssac, already present on the previous album as a guest, has entered the band as a member and supplies us with well-sung female vocals. A touch of viruoso flamenco guitar (which ofcourse is in its origins North African) concludes (before the "hidden" bonus track another fantastic Arkan album. This is a band to check out !!! Danny Martins.

A perfectly succeeded blend of extreme metal and ethnic North African music. Extremely heavy & progressive metal is alternated with well performed compositions on the oud or as we call it: the Arab lute. Most of this type of bands only add a little bit of ethnic to spice up their music as a sort of gimmic, but here we have the real thing. Abder and Mus are true masters of the oud. Listening to "Hilal" is never boring. We have aggressive grunts over heavy dark metal riffs following fluently sung arabian melodies, accompanied by the oud and ethnic percussion. An album great to discover, the only weak spot being the too machine like sounding drums in the heavy parts, but this seems to be the problem with most power metal bands. In Rotterdam we have lots of ethnic music of all kind, but I wish we had ARKAN !! Danny Martins.

3.5 stars for sure

One of the most pleasent discoveries I've made in last years in music is for sure german band Argos. Formed around 2005 as a trio and evolved on their second album from 2010 as quartet, Argos mange to capture my intrest big time. The selftitled album saw the light in 2009 released by Musea records. Argos is divided in 3 parts with each part having small pieces but some how conected between them as a real story. Each parts as the title of the part implies have different musical influences, first one is something between Genesis Gentle Giant and VDGG, the second part is a tribute to the canterbury sound not far from Hatfield and the North or Caravan and the third remind me of maybe The Beatles but more complicated for sure. Very polished album with lot to offers, very diverse in manner of composing. Nice instrumental arrangements with eclectic sound, electronic keyboards and awesome voice very much towards Peter Hammill fame. Intresting orchestrations, complicated yet melodic guitar lines, some excellent keyboards and crystal clear sound overall. A pretty good debute, I really like the combination Argus offer here of aformentioned bands, it has a very good atmosphere and is quite intresting most of the time. 3.5 stars. Argos is definetly one of the best kept secrets Germany has today in prog rock scene. With 3 album released so far they definetly are among the most intresting bands around.

(8/10)

Things didn't get any less bizarre on Höyry-Kone's second album, "Huono Parturi". In fact, they took a lot of the ideas and approach from "Hyönteisiä Voi Rakastaa", added a bunch more, and pushed it to another level. This time around, the band seems a lot more together too, and the material is a lot more memorable as a result.

Much like 70s Finnish proggers Haikara, Höyry-Kone draws inspiration principally from King Crimson (though probably Haikara too), but Höyry-Kone also branched out enough to make it into the Avant-garde. However, more important than sonic similarities, the levels of creativity and willingness to experiment also remind me of KC. There is just such a feeling of freedom about this album, like they were just going to do whatever they wanted. Oh, and it sounds great too; that always helps.

The core sound to this album consists of a raucous blend of harsh guitars and impressive violin/cello, along with pounding complex rhythms and interspersed with occasional booming male vocals and quieter sections. Well, that still doesn't really encapsulate the core sound, but then there are quite a few songs that are nothing like it anyway. For instance the first song, "Beata Viscera", is a serene Latin opera, completely unlike the rest of the album, and goes on for about 7 minutes. Unlike some other reviewers I definitely enjoy this song, but it is a complete misdirect as to what the rest of the album will sound like. It's even in a completely different language (the rest of the vocals are in Finnish).

After the opening, the album launches headlong into madness with "Terva-Antti Ku Häihin Lähti". The first time I listened to this album, I had turned up the volume quite loud to listen to the quieter parts of the first song, so the harsh strike of the opening riff actually made me jump when it caught me completely by surprise. This song is a dramatic string fuelled gallop, where the guitar sounds like it's in pain at times, the way it screeches. Whilst no song on here could be fully representative of such a diverse album, it nonetheless does give a better indication of what the rest of the album will sound like. The next song, "Karhunkaato", also really rocks. The strong male vocals return, and the violin guides complex rhythms that still manage to be strong and driving.

Things don't let up with "Lumisah", another quite heavy song. The percussion really crashes here and the violin floats around sinisterly as it so often does on this album. Weird but headbangable (yes that definitely is a word)! For me, headbanging then turns to a sort of enjoyable bemusement, with the good humoured interlude "Baksteri". It's a Silly little piece of old school jazz that (at less than two minutes) manages to be a fun interjection without outstaying it's welcome. It provides a brief but welcome break before just ending strangely and without much ceremony.

The title track, "Huono Parturi" takes us back to the hard rocking mix of harsh Frippish guitar riffing and slithering violin. Once again Topi Lehtipuu shows great strength with his vocals, and good range too. As with the rest of the album, Höyry-Kone play very well as a unit, often stopping and starting together, or paying intricately across each other without ever getting into a mess. This leads into another two minute interesting little track, which again is completely different to the rest of the album. "Ullakon Lelut" is an atmospheric ethereal piece, that holds attention intensely, and again is just the right length. It also serves as proof Höyry-Kone can be subtle as well as bold.

Once more, just when they've set you into one mood that's when they slam you in the face with the aggressive heavy stuff, in this case "Tottele". I Think I can hear some growling noises in the background at certain points, which is fun. I also like the thick distorted bass soloing on this song, which puts me in mind of John Wetton. "Tottele" is another short song, but heavy and mad this time, so it feels like a hit and run. The album then continues with "Kala" and "Laahustaja", both of which take their time a bit more and move between slower, quieter, calmer sections and more exciting sections, in quite a natural manner (not an easy feat for weird music like this). "Laahustaja" also features some enjoyable guiding contributions from the flute which I liked.

After an exhausting journey, things finally conclude with "Laina-Ajalla". There are some high quality vocals here, Finnish does really accent the delivery in a good way, I think. It does mean I have no idea what the song is going on about, though according to google translate, some sort of photographer. The other songs appear to be about tipping bears, attic toys and fish, so I can only assume all manner of spectacular nonsense is being sung about. There is some more guitar torturing (definite squeals) and the song (and indeed the album) ends with a crescendo of wailing vocals before fading away to some odd noises. Phew!

Late 90s Finland might not be an obvious place to look for imaginative and exciting Avant-Prog, but this album really impressed me, and you should definitely check it out. It's full of ideas, and great inventive musicianship from all instruments. Even the percussion has some odd sounds (e.g. metal clinks). The mix of shorter pieces and heavy bombardment, along with the variety of music on offer make this a brilliant album to get into. It's such a shame Höyry-Kone ended things here; goodness knows where they would have gone next!

2.5 really

Celebration of birth from 2010 is the debute album of this obscure band from Indonezia named Montecristo. Ok, now what I've heared here is quite mediocre most of the time with sporadicaly good moments. If the music let's say is ok like on opening track Ancestral land, good pieces, the vocals in some parts are simply almost horrible, it ruins the album big time. I forgot Montecristo offers a kind of prog rock with some edgy guitar parts in places and some neo elements throuwn in. The rest of the track are so so, not really bad but nothing really to talk about. A quite under the standards release from these indonesian guys and not polished enough to really pleases me big time . For sure I will not "celebrate the birth" of this album and for that matter I'll give 2.5 stars. Nice cover art and logo by the way.

The best so far! Why? Phil Manzanera cuts it short with the insisnting "Latin" flavor of most of his songs. This guy may not be a "natural" songwriter but in the proper atmosphere; he can work out some great songs; scarce; but great. In 6PM he manages to hold an entire album; without the aid of some of his "solutions" to music. Of course the guy usually accompanies himself with a great group of very well known musicians; and this work is no exception. But what really makes it tick; is precisely that in this project he lets others make full; uninhibited participations. So it feels more surprising when you in contrast; listen to the Latin-fusion he normally works with. In my opinion; his best songs except for "Southern Cross" are normally non Latin fusioned based; or at least more balanced in that regard. So... polished songs, outstandind musician; nothing could turn wrong; with Phil you never know; but "6:PM" proved me wrong; Yes! Phil Manzanera is able to run through an entire album; with grace and restraint in an all great songs and astounsing performance project, To be honest I never thought he could pull it off; But he did. 4 "well worth the wait Stars"

— First review of this album —

If ever there was a band that doesn't like to rush things, Italian proggers Adramelch has to be it. Their debut came out in 1988, but they split up soon afterwards. The lead singer Vittorio Ballerio and guitarist Gianluca A. Corona decided to create a new version of the band in 2004, primarily to record songs that they had written before the original split, and the follow-up 'Broken History' came out in 2005. So now, only seven years since the release of their second album (this came out in 2012 but I have only just come across it), and the same line-up from the last album have stuck around to record a third. These guys are coming towards prog from the areas of hard rock and metal, but also bringing in melodic rock as well. The result is an extremely well crafted and constructed album that is going to appeal to fans of many genres.

Imagine Savatage combining with Porcupine Tree, City Boy and Uriah Heep and you may just come close to what these guys are all about. Twin guitars and a very strong rhythm section (hats off to bassist Maurizio Lietti who provides some incredible runs when the mood requires it) means that this is an album that hits the spot on so many levels. It is easy to listen to and enjoy from the very first play, and the more attention it gets the more rewards it gives out. It has now got me wondering what the other albums are like, and just how long we may have to wait for the next one! Not for those who really want crunching riffs, as they certainly are no Threshold, but if well-crafted music is what you are after then look no further. www.adramelch.com

8/10

Fluent Like A Falling Feather.

Metalcore and Mathcore are the two genres that most frequently split the metal community right in two: some love it its complexity and mixture with Hardcore Punk, others loathe it. But The Dillinger Escape Plan are one of the few bands that always had a great amount of fans and relatively small amount of haters. 'One of Us Is The Killer' is the band's fifth studio album, and is what some call a game-changer: by far, it is the most mature album of theirs yet, their first LP that has greatness all over it, without ever getting lost into pretentiousness or instrumental wankery.

For starters, the production on 'One Of Us Is The Killer' is some of the most lush and polished heard this year, that however doesn't let the distortion and the heaviness lose the fierce momentum that is characteristic of Dillinger Escape Plan. But the big bonus that makes this album really stand out is a well-developed sense of melody and an overall more mature level of songwriting. Then, there's the aspect for which the band risked the most, as for every album, to sound pretentious or over-the-top: the Mathcore side of the equation, the odd-time signatures and improbable riffs that usually sound way too over-studied. While a lot of thought was undoubtedly put on these riffs as well, here these flashy moments are fun to listen to and obviously showcase a great deal of talent on behalf of the musicians, even because they miraculously sound spontaneous and well-placed, with the exception of a few spots here and there.

There is not one dull moment throughout the short period of time in which this album prolongs into, not only thanks to the catchiness and all those positive points I mentioned earlier, but because of a quality most albums these days lack: a flawless, perfect flow, that seems to understand when enough is enough, when it's time to turn things down, or slow the tempo down to a more straight-forward groove. Right off the bat you get two heavy, fast and Mathcore-to-the-core tracks that immediately grab the listeners attention: but the title track right after turns it down a notch, and for the first time in the album some melody is introduced. It's not necessarily a loud-quiet formula all of the time, because there's also the fast and Mathy tracks rigorously alternated with ones that manifest quite a bit of melody: 'Hero Of The Soviet Union' followed by 'Nothing's Funny', followed by the multi-faceted 'Understanding Decay' is an example of the clever pacing OFUITK pulls off. As far as further individual highlights go, 'Paranoia Shields' is almost a radio-friendly metal track, while 'Crossburner' slows things down in tempo but not in volume.

Probably one of the few Mathcore albums in existence that manages to sound fierce and technical and at the same time that gives the impression that it was an effortless achievement for the musicians. With an excellent boost in songwriting and sense of melody, Dillinger Escape Plan now have the respect they deserve.