THE RAVEN THAT REFUSED TO SING (AND OTHER STORIES)

As a big fan of the classical era progressive rock, I very often have a hard time appreciating new releases even if they are highly acclaimed. The one's that I really like are few and far between like "To Shatter All Accord" by Discipline or "Sleeping in Traffic" by Beardfish. "The Raven That Refused To Sing" is yet another one of these that I would put without any hesitation among the great releases in the history of prog. The holy drinker for example is a song that really has that progressive feel to it, just as the watchmaker. Some people complain that they hear Genesis, King Crimson and even Yes out of the album. I don't understand why that should be a bad thing? We are not really drowning in high quality music nowadays and just as a sommelier after tasting a glass of wine is getting hints licorice, tobacco, leather and black currant, the perception of a little bit of the old grandeur makes it all the more enjoyable. Or do people just complain because they have no other means to express their elitist musical pattern recognition other than to bash the record? In any event, if I had to recommend only 5 releases from the past 10 years of the genre, this one would be in there for sure! 5/5