Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography

THE REBEL WHEEL

Crossover Prog • Canada


From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

The Rebel Wheel picture
The Rebel Wheel biography
THE REBEL WHEEL is a modern progressive-rock band, coming from Ottawa Ontario. Influences lead its music style towards the deep, general or great promises of art rock and heavy prog music, whether that stands for enjoying the range of GENTLE GIANT, RUSH and, more mildly, GENESIS, or manages to go even further and to appreciate very much the innovating accent left by Frank ZAPPA, the passion of fusion and virtuosity (EARTHWORKS, THE ELECTRIC BAND) or, actually, feeling a deep homage for the great artist John MCLAUGHLIN. As influences are always a head start, the band itself will prove many original, independent, rigorous or interesting sounds, in what is music of hard rock, experimental small tacts, fruitful composition and resisting characters. An act of prog joy, moreover, since the music is meant to impress and to impose in front of its tendency (which is between artistic and alternative) and its slow-motion (which can create some vague values).

The history of the band is a bit more complicated and evolved a lot, going through three main phases. The main figure is guitarist David Campbell, playing rock and fusion starting 1991, when asked to collaborate with a band from Toronto called "Larry Stanley and the Family Jewels" (later "The Jewels"). The band is pretty interesting if you care for some multi-instrumental improvisations and arrangements, as well as a sense of variety in songs and streams. Popular as to appear in various shows and side projects, the group also played enough to confidently create a bigger style.

Coming with the idea of a new band, named "The Rebel Wheel Broadcasts", the "Jewels" original ensemble went on playing with even more pleasure, dedication and fray during the next years, until the jams and the long-distance gigs became a problem and paced much of the activity. D. Campbell decided then on another new rock and art orientation and started working immediately after with bassist Pelle Vadim, who is the second core member of THE REBEL WHEEL. Saxophonist and midi-player Christopher Plock, already having collaborated with D. Campbell, drummer Cab Lind and Nils Bell, on keyboards, made the line-up of that moment full. They recorded, in 2003, the debut album, but went in hiatus, once their support for gigs and occasional recordings became fragile, yet again.

Finally, D. Campbell formed a third ensemble under the authentic name of REBEL WHEEL, after having starting a smaller and later unhopeful prog band with C...
read more

THE REBEL WHEEL Videos (YouTube and more)


Showing only random 3 | Search and add more videos to THE REBEL WHEEL

Buy THE REBEL WHEEL Music


THE REBEL WHEEL discography


Ordered by release date | Showing ratings (top albums) | Help Progarchives.com to complete the discography and add albums

THE REBEL WHEEL top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

2.29 | 5 ratings
The Rebel Wheel
2003
3.81 | 26 ratings
Diagramma
2007
4.15 | 27 ratings
We Are in the Time of Evil Clocks
2010
3.47 | 15 ratings
Whore's Breakfast
2013
0.00 | 0 ratings
Filth Therapy
2014
5.00 | 1 ratings
3rd Wheel
2015
0.00 | 0 ratings
Bag of Snakes
2017
3.40 | 10 ratings
Simple Machines
2020

THE REBEL WHEEL Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

THE REBEL WHEEL Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

THE REBEL WHEEL Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

0.00 | 0 ratings
Five Epics
2016
5.00 | 1 ratings
The Futile Etudes
2017

THE REBEL WHEEL Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

THE REBEL WHEEL Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 We Are in the Time of Evil Clocks by REBEL WHEEL, THE album cover Studio Album, 2010
4.15 | 27 ratings

BUY
We Are in the Time of Evil Clocks
The Rebel Wheel Crossover Prog

Review by Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer

5 stars THE REBEL WHEEL are a four piece here on their third studio album led my multi-instrumentalist David Campbell. Based in Ottawa about a five hour drive from where I am mostly east but slightly north I am still in shock mode over this album. Almost perfect for my tastes, very consistent and powerful with that "Red" era of KING CRIMSON standing out the most by far.

Do you like Wetton's bass playing then check out Claude Prince on here from the band NATHAN MAHL this guy absolutely dominates the sound here. I remember how much I loved his sound on "The Clever Use Of Shadows" my favourite NATHAN MAHL album, well he does even better here. Guy LeBlanc keyboardist and leader of NATHAN MAHL adds a synth solo on here, he was also part of CAMEL for a while playing on "A Nod And A Wink" maybe others. Hey if these two guys dropped in from Montreal it's just a 2 hour drive to Ottawa. Claude is playing bass on the majority of this record but wasn't there for three of the tracks so David plays bass on two of those tracks and they brought in another bass player for one other song.

I'm so blown away by this record! How about the cover art with those evil clocks destroying a city and the closest one has numbers going to 13(gasp). Evil indeed. To discover a band like this kind of in my backyard is crazy to me. I mean MAHOGANY FROG from out west gave me the same feelings of pride that we have such talent playing our music. I had heard of THE REBEL WHEEL many times over the years during concert listings that were given on FM radio but like MAHOGANY FROG back in the day I never actually heard their music.

Powerful and dark, lots of atmosphere and the female who adds vocals plays keys and sax and the latter is such a treat on here bringing "Islands" to mind at times. There aren't a lot of vocals on here this is mostly muscular, determined music contrasted with the spacey atmosphere with darkness at times. Released in 2010 we get an hour of very consistent and powerful music with rock guitar, jazzy sax but man that bass blows me away. How did he get that sound? So a concept album that actually doesn't put the focus on the lyrics over the instrumental work? How refreshing.

Check out the intro, kind of a "War Of The Worlds" Sci-Fi start with alarms going off and chaos. When it kicks in around a minute in it sounds awesome! David can sure handle the guitar and we get contrasts here and when the sax arrives it changes the mood but then back to that experimental soundscape. I always check the songs of albums I'm reviewing that I really like, well all but two of the thirteen were checked here and yes that makes this a 5 star recording for me.

How about the bass on "Klak" oh my! Amazing sound 4 minutes in and what sounds like mellotron but maybe spacey synths here. Maybe the most beautiful moment is the opening of "Word Play" with that picked guitar and sound. How about "Scales Of The Ebony" with that nasty bass with guitar and beats mid-paced and features that synth solo from Guy. "Settling Of Bones" reminds me of a song from "The Power To Believe" as she sings in the style of Belew here. The short closer is a killer way to end it, a short, dark, experimental piece, love this stuff. But that 30 minutes multi-part track "The Discovery Of Witchcraft" is the highlight. So epic! More of the same really and thankfully so. There is a section where I'm thinking Free jazz surprisingly and that the "Invitation To Dance" section of course.

This goes directly into my "best of" Crossover section and a major discovery in my music world.

 Simple Machines by REBEL WHEEL, THE album cover Studio Album, 2020
3.40 | 10 ratings

BUY
Simple Machines
The Rebel Wheel Crossover Prog

Review by Rivertree
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator / Band Submissions

4 stars Since several years now THE REBEL WHEEL from Ontario remains a trio around key figure David Campbell (guitars). Andrew Burns (bass) and drummer Alex Wickham are on his side when it comes to the studio recordings. Important to know, all of them are also relying on the keyboard as well as vocal task. And they are clearly emphasizing that the album comes as a real team effort. Coincidence or intended, even band name and album title are correlating in some way. Simple machines are practically inconceivable without wheels, or what? They just mustn't become rebellious :-) The song titles are making the main concept clear in any case. And so the album is based on motifs inspired by the mechanical concept of ... well, machines. The music on the other hand is far away from a motoric attitude in most cases.

Yeah, let's draw in some metaphors. 'From today, into tomorrow, keep on pulling ...', the opening song Pulley rocks straightaway, just a superb entry. 'Falsities and foolery would lead the free world to its knees ...' - Hammer processes and pounds a string of associations, the beat turns out to hammer indeed. Furthermore my current favourite Screw impertinently grooves along. 'Could not have foreseen, flicked the switch ... ' - Jekyll and Hyde, they are intensively flipping the switch from spacy trip to heavy rock behaviour. And then the closing extended WheelSuiteWheel yet showcases some industrial flair in between. Surely the most ambitious album excerpt, brimful of turns and changes. THE REBEL WHEEL music is partially close to the likes of Zip Tang, Godsticks, The Bardic Depths. A worthwhile challenge, the concept is successfully set into motion.

 Simple Machines by REBEL WHEEL, THE album cover Studio Album, 2020
3.40 | 10 ratings

BUY
Simple Machines
The Rebel Wheel Crossover Prog

Review by siLLy puPPy
Special Collaborator PSIKE, JRF/Canterbury, P Metal, Eclectic

3 stars Toronto's THE REBEL WHEEL has been around for quite some time now having formed in 1991 but still remains quite obscure in the world of progressive rock where it has been lurking for almost 30 years now. I'm personally not over familiar with this band myself since i discovered the excellent 2010 release "We Are In The Time Of Evil Clocks" which featured some excellent standard prog tunes plus the mind blowing 30 minute sprawler "The Discovery of Witchcraft" which featured some of the spookiest prog i could find during the 2014 timeline.

Seemingly fascinated with machinery and all things mechanical, this band which is currently the trio of Andrew Burns (bass, keyboards, vocals), David Campbell (guitars, keyboards, vocals) and Alex Wickham (drums, keyboards, vocals) and returns with another mix of "Red" era King Crimson prog which in this case offer a series of melodies and motifs inspired by the mechanical concept of SIMPLE MACHINES, the title of the band's sixth album. THE REBEL WHEEL is perhaps better known as one of those bands that contributed a few tracks to those "Decameron" various artists compilations.

SIMPLE MACHINES seems to focus on simpler more alt pop types of compositions that are somewhat funky, laced with proggy guitar riffs, beefy bass splendor and all vocal driven. I was expecting the rhythmic drives to actually be based on mechanical devices but this all seems like run of the mill generic prog that is pleasant to listen to but nothing that grabs me. I was wondering why this band never caught on because after all the one album i did check out was really well done and i was hoping this interesting idea would yield some really bizarre soundscapes but alas we have a prog band trying to be just prog enough to earn the crossover badge while really just performing some brand of alternative rock with a few experimental touches.

The only truly satisfying track is the closing "WheelSuiteWheel" which offers the usual funk-tinged rock shtick before erupting into a dark ambient fueled style of progressive electronic after the four minute mark and then changing things up a lot. At nearly 12 minutes of playing time THE REBEL WHEEL goes from the formulaic stylistic approach as the fist six tracks and then jumps into the souped up prog-fueled goods that i was hoping the entire album would be. Unfortunately SIMPLE MACHINES lives up to its title and is a bit too simple for my tastes as far as this style of prog is concerned. The pop hooks aren't developed enough and the concept is misleading since it doesn't really deliver what it insinuates. The final track is really good but too little too late for a satisfying album experience. Recommended for the final track and although the rest is tolerable, it's rather meh.

 The Rebel Wheel by REBEL WHEEL, THE album cover Studio Album, 2003
2.29 | 5 ratings

BUY
The Rebel Wheel
The Rebel Wheel Crossover Prog

Review by apps79
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

2 stars Multi-instrumentalist and composer David Campbell is the main figure behind this Canadian act.He was part of a couple of jam bands of the Toronto area during the 90's, when he decided to form his own midi-based Fusion ensemble alongside bassist Pelle Vadim.Thus The Rebel Wheel were born and Campbell recruited sax player Christopher Plock, drummer Cab Lind and keyboardist Nils Bell in a line-up where midi technology met the sound of natural instruments.The band released a self-produced album in 2004 carrying the name of the band as a title.

From the first tracks the aim of the group to combine modern technology with physical instrumentation and influences from Prog Rock and Jazz are more than clear.The 9-min. opener ''1oz'' sounds like the dark side of KING CRIMSON visiting the Latin roots of AL DI MEOLA and the experimentation of HERMETIC SCIENCE, offering smooth acoustic textures and powerful grooves.Next come three short instrumental tracks, where the gears are up and running over a Fusion enviroment filled with changing tempos and atmospheres, delivering echoes from KING CRIMSON, BILL BRUDFORD and RUSH in an amalgam of jazzy, rhythmic and heavier explorations.The ideas are pretty nice and the complexity of the compositions is good enough, but the mass of digital sounds, especially the drumming, is rather disturbing.The last track, ''Crystal rain suite'', is the most ambitious attempt by Campbell to offer contemporary music with old-school roots.Clocking at 28 minutes, this is a piece largely based on keyboards, sampled effects and ambiences with a deep, experimental edge and often a bizarre, almost chaotic atmosphere.The opening minutes sound like a more modern version of PINK FLOYD with vocals, orchestral segments and mellow guitars in evidence, before an explosion towards a Heavy/Fusion style occurs, based on angular electric guitars and layered synthesizers.Again KING CRIMSON and RUSH are good references at this point.A cinematic orchestration at the middle will open the doors for a Jazz/Fusion orgasm of synths, samplers and jazzy guitars, an acoustic part with Campbell vocals in evidence and a finale featuring more or less the atmosphere of the opening section.

Definitely the least known work of The Rebel Wheel, a deep trip into a Fusion world with progressive flashes from past and present and plenty of synthetic vibes.Not very cohesive as a whole, this will please fans of the jazzier and more experimental side of Progressive Rock...2.5 stars.

 We Are in the Time of Evil Clocks by REBEL WHEEL, THE album cover Studio Album, 2010
4.15 | 27 ratings

BUY
We Are in the Time of Evil Clocks
The Rebel Wheel Crossover Prog

Review by siLLy puPPy
Special Collaborator PSIKE, JRF/Canterbury, P Metal, Eclectic

4 stars My first experience with the Canadian band THE REBEL WHEEL is their 3rd album WE ARE IN THE TIME OF EVIL CLOCKS. This is a truly eclectic progressive rock band with a whole host of influences ranging from the eclectic prog champions King Crimson to the spaciness of Pink Floyd and the wild time signatures of classic Yes. There is metal guitar, funky fuzzed out beefy bass lines and jazz-fusion saxophone and keyboard riffs. There are folk passages between highly energetic and heavy ones. There are both male and female vocals trading off when the mood of the piece demands it. In short this is one mighty beast of an album that tackles the ever so occult themes such as clocks turning to the dark side and even worse, witchcraft.

The majority of the album is filled by nice tastily composed instrumental jam sessions with vocal segments punctuating the often time consuming musical workouts. All is timed fairly well to keep your interest and the variety between the songs is surprisingly diverse. The first five tracks are very well constructed displaying their eclectic nature with gusto with titles like "Scales Of The Ebony Fish" and "Settling Of Bones." All tracks are melodic and have well thought-out developments and progressions. The highlight of this album though is by far the 5-star masterpiece of the album, the 30 minute plus 7-part epic "The Discovery Of Witchcraft." This track truly satisfies the progressive itch like few others do. It has heavy dramatic parts followed by folky atmospheric ones followed by incredible progressive workouts only to come back to a more subtly quiet passage. It cleverly ratchets up the energy and mood building crescendos until a satisfying climax is achieved. It is then ushered out with the ambient finale "Evil Clocks" which adds a terrifying layer of weirdness that makes you wonder how evil the clocks really are and if they are really as sinister and nefarious as THE REBEL WHEEL implies.

 We Are in the Time of Evil Clocks by REBEL WHEEL, THE album cover Studio Album, 2010
4.15 | 27 ratings

BUY
We Are in the Time of Evil Clocks
The Rebel Wheel Crossover Prog

Review by Windhawk
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars Third time's the charm for this Canadian outfit, with a CD as dark in mood and atmosphere as the title implies. Aptly named indeed, although witchcraft and not clocks is the dominating theme.

Clocking in at just under 28 minutes, the brooding, ominous suite The Discovery of Witchcraft" makes up almost half the playtime here, featuring eclectic pieces with a distinct heavy psychedelic sound spiced up with jazzy touches and a calmer, folk-tinged theme in the shape of Hags parts 1-3 nicely connecting the different pieces.

The dark and eclectic is very much at play elsewhere on this disc as well, from the non-melodic ominous soundscapes opening and closing the album - the former evolving into more of regular composition and the latter staying put with the dystopian textures - while the tracks Klak through Settling of Bones explore a dark, often heavy and always eclectic and varied musical landscape. For references think King Crimson, at least in approach. The overall sound has so much of a personality that for me no references really stand out.

A challenging, dark and adventurous production, that should appeal to those who prefer to emphasize the progressive part of the genre name progressive rock.

 Diagramma by REBEL WHEEL, THE album cover Studio Album, 2007
3.81 | 26 ratings

BUY
Diagramma
The Rebel Wheel Crossover Prog

Review by Windhawk
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars This sophomore release by Canadian outfit The Rebel Wheel is an adventurous affair, a good release but also one that will only appeal to an eclectic audience.

What's unique with this CD isn't the influences from all over; but how these influences are showcased. Classic symphonic rock, dissonant and disharmonic experimental rock slightly similar to King Crimson, harder riff based rock similar to Rush, fusion and industrial rock are all styles of music represented on this release. But rather than having an amalgam of these influences, The Rebel Wheel mostly choose to showcase the elements individually; either by concentrating one of these influences in one particular composition, or by conveying them one after the other in the individual segments of each tune.

This is especially true of the long title track Diagramma, a composition more or less consisting of various parts in different styles put together as a whole. This approach is the major asset as well as the major weakness of this release. The adventurous listener will enjoy this mix, while the more conservative listener will yearn for something a bit more consistant where there's more of a stereotypical evolvement of a tune from start to finish.

All in all a promising album, and it'll be fun to see where this band are heading for their next release.

 Diagramma by REBEL WHEEL, THE album cover Studio Album, 2007
3.81 | 26 ratings

BUY
Diagramma
The Rebel Wheel Crossover Prog

Review by pots

4 stars Well here is a fresh new band from Ottawa,Canada with their new cd DIAGRAMMA who will be one of the top 10 for 2007. I love it=good quality-nice recording-good voices-nice guitars-powerful bass-excellent drums -short tracks-long tracks instrumental pieces ect... It have everything for everyone.Some Zappa-Yes-Genesis-Gentle Giant-Rush-Pink Floyd But they have their own style it's not a clone of the great bands that I mentionned earlier it's new and fresh not a copy of another prog band.Just listen to the title track Diagramma a 20 min masterpiece (that track alone worth the price of the cd) Threads a nice Rush & Pink Floyd song - Three Valley Gap a beautiful instrumental à la Genesis & Yes Tempra a great jazz-fusion piece - Hiding in Waiting a nice prog commercial song - Arachnophobia a superb instrumental track with a hint of Gentle Giant (my favorite of the album) - Awakened a good prog rock song with few turnovers.You cannot go wrong with this one=4 stars for a great debut album from The Rebel Wheel (with this new line-up ) a few years ago they release a self title cd The Rebel Wheel.They only thing I would suggest is to put more of Angie Macivor voice and sax in their music.But nevertheless it's a great album = one of the best of 2007. Pots
Thanks to Ricochet for the artist addition.

Copyright Prog Archives, All rights reserved. | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Advertise | RSS + syndications

Other sites in the MAC network: JazzMusicArchives.com — jazz music reviews and archives | MetalMusicArchives.com — metal music reviews and archives

Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.