Let’s Hear It for Citizen Cain

Cinema wrote: And by the way, has anyone paid attention to Cyrus' lyrics? They're quite bizarre. Definitely fascinating in there own right.

His lyrics are highly original, and highly provocative of both emotion and intellect.

sigod wrote: Citizen Cain - Hooray!

THAT'S RIGHT !!  'Somewhere' and 'Raising' are among the best 90s symphonic (neo-)prog recordings I've ever got to know. Strong compositions, complex arrangements, robust performances, and as a plus, hyper-fantastic lyrics, very much influenced by the apocalyptical delusions of the great poet-visionary John Milton.

Well, their last release (2002) took 5 years, so there's hope yet. I just hope they return to a 5-person line up and create something as great as Somewhere But Yesterday. And to think that album only took a year. (progarchive ratings below). And btw, I think Serpents is easily as good as Yesterday.

1993	3.67 (9 ratings)	Serpents In Camouflage	Major Release
1994	4.90 (10 ratings)	Somewhere But Yesterday	Major Release
1996	2.25 (4 ratings)	Ghost Dance	Major Release
1997	3.10 (10 ratings)	Raising The Stones	Major Release
2002	3.50 (12 ratings)	Playing Dead	Major Release

kirklott wrote: Cinema wrote: My Cinema user name is a nod to the name the band adopted during the 90125 era When Jon Anderson rejoined they changed their name back to Yes.

Did you know 90125's original name was The New Yes Album?
That would have been cool...albeit a little confusing.

Hey, to all good people on this thread, I also HIGHLY recommend the band Little Atlas. Amazing. See my review below.

You can hear sound files and order the album from www.progrockrecords.com and www.kinesiscd.com

My review: Progarchives asks you to confirm a 5-star rating, and there's little hesitation here: Little Atlas is the best new prog band I've heard in years. If I recall, I've heard some comparisons to Spock's Beard, which are unfounded because Little Atlas is better (with this album being on par with Spock's all-time best, Beware of Darkness). Historical references: you hear a bit of the atmosphere of Genesis, the expertise of Yes, the quirkiness of Gentle Giant. Where to start: the musicianship from everyone is excellent (the one downside - a bit too much guitar from the King Crimson Discipline era). The vocals are interesting and unique: so many prog singers are either Gabrielesque, or airy fairy Anderson, but the vocals are - in a happy way - more similar to someone belting out fantastic tales at an old pub. The songs are epic in structure and very serendipitous, yet somehow Little Atlas manages to achieve in say, 7 minutes, what might take a lesser band 14 minutes. Each track is a mini-epic. But the best quality is the songwriting: the melodies are timeless, remarkable, and stay with you. This is a great album recommended to any prog fan.

Salmacis72 wrote: I have all of their albums. Somewhere But Yesterday is my favourite, but I also love Raising The Stones (what an intro!!), and their most recent Playing Dead, which is autographed by the whole band.

OK, Salmacis, my soul brother along with Dalt99 and Cinema, do Raising the Stones and Playing Dead ever get upbeat, like To Hack the Enamel Faced Queen or the title track of Serpents?

I had Raising the Stones, and it sounded like two dudes with keyboards doing this lethargic stuff without melodies. I jetted it quick. Perhaps I didn't listen to it enough times? And as for Playing Dead, I wasn't impressed by the MP3 samples on the band's web site. Perhaps their not good clips?

Again, they just didn't sound like the all-around, 5-star classics that are Somewhere But Yesterday and Serpents.

What's your read on this?

kirklott wrote: If you dig Citizen Cain, you'll dig Italy's The Watch. www.thewatch.it I think Vacuum is their best album. Re recommendations from Dalt99, gentleman and scholar: Blue Shift - like 80s Yes in a good way Akacia - like demo-ish Fragile/CttE Yes, with Christian lyrics IZZ - very cool modern prog, sort of like late 70s/early 80s Genesis but much smarter Ad Infinitum - overrated in my book Puppet Show - pretty good, new album coming soon, but their singer sometimes sounds like Axl Rose. Great musicianship though.

GAK! I still need to get The Watch. I forget to buy them for some reason.

Good descriptions my friend Kirklott! Axl Rose huh? LOL, well, sort of yah. His voice does take a bit getting used to that's for sure. Not bad, just a bit in-your-face singing.

I don't think Ad Infinitum are overrated though. NOBODY mentions them LOL. I agree that they aren't super great but if you love Genesis, they are a band to look into at some point anyway  I enjoy them but my friend, who is a big Genesis fan, really likes them. Though he says they are a bit too "mellow".