Rushfan4's New CD Thread 9 - Roswell Six
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Recommendations/Featured albums
Forum Description: Make or seek recommendations and discuss specific prog albums
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65438
Printed Date: April 25 2024 at 16:01
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Topic: Rushfan4's New CD Thread 9 - Roswell Six
Posted By: rushfan4
Subject: Rushfan4's New CD Thread 9 - Roswell Six
Date Posted: March 01 2010 at 10:53
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In continuation of my meager attempt to divert some PA forum discussion time away from Porcupine Tree, Dream Theater and the other usual suspects, here is my 9th installment of Rushfan4's New CD Discussion Thread. The Shadow Circus thread was relatively successful as I enjoyed learning more about the album than I might otherwise have learned, so maybe something similar can occur with this one. This month's album is Roswell Six's Terra Incognita: Beyond The Horizon. There is one slight deviation from my devious plan to divert attention from bands such as Dream Theater, because James LaBrie is one of the vocalists on this album. This is in fact an album performed by a prog rock all-star team. The vocalists are James LaBrie, Lana Lane, Michael Sadler from Saga, and John Payne from Asia and GPS. The album is produced by keyboard player Erik Norlander. Guitars are by Gary Wehrkamp from Shadow Gallery. Bass guitar is Kurt Barabas from Amaran's Plight, amongst others. The drummer is Chris Quirarte from Prymary. Also involved are Kansas' David Ragsdale on violin, IQ's Martin Orford on flute, and Chris Brown from Ghost Circus. The album's concept was written by and is based on a novel by bestselling Sci-Fi author Kevin J. Anderson and his wife Rebecca Moesta. There is a companion novel to go along with the CD. I haven't purhased or read that yet, but I am certainly intrigued and it is on my to-do list.
The tagline is "Sailing ships. Sea monsters. A clash of religions. And a love that will reach to the edge of the world".
 Here is a link to their PA page, http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=4479 - http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=4479 where you can listen to the song Here Be Monsters.
I've given this album a few listens now and have really enjoyed it. I think that fans of the above listed musicians would probably enjoy this album as well. In my mind, this is the sort of album that should appeal to fans of traditional prog and concept albums. If you found yourself enjoying Porcupine Tree's The Incident and Transatlantic's Whirlwind, then I do believe that this here is an album for you.
Shawn Gordon from ProgRock Records is the Executive producer on this album. It is available for purchase on ProgRock records website. Shawn is offering a deal for PA members who would like to purchase a physical CD. Under promotion codes enter "2009" and you will receive $2 off on your purchase. http://www.progrockrecords.com/shop/view.php?id=188&PHPSESSID=a87847eca49b9a49bba4ece1a65e45b7 - http://www.progrockrecords.com/shop/view.php?id=188&PHPSESSID=a87847eca49b9a49bba4ece1a65e45b7 There are also multiple reviews on the website for you to peruse before purchasing.
The album can also be downloaded from Mindawn in either Flac or OGG format. http://www.mindawn.com/search.php?PHPSESSID=215a3f78322afd017bd310ce9b4405b6&s=roswell+six - http://www.mindawn.com/search.php?PHPSESSID=215a3f78322afd017bd310ce9b4405b6&s=roswell+six It is also my understanding from past posts from Shawn, that the music can actually be listened to a couple of times on Mindawn before you purchase it. Therefore, you can decide whether or not the music fits your tastes or not.
The album is also available from Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Terra-Incognita-Horizon-Roswell-Six/dp/B0026IZRHA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1267462012&sr=8-1 - http://www.amazon.com/Terra-Incognita-Horizon-Roswell-Six/dp/B0026IZRHA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1267462012&sr=8-1
There are actually 11 ratings from PA users on this album, so check out those reviews to see what you think. Hopefully, some of those reviewers will see this thread and also participate. Please use this thread to discuss your thoughts on this album. Your likes and dislikes regarding the music and the lyrics, etc... I look forward to what I hope will be an active and lengthy discussion.
In case you missed the first eight installments of the New CD discussion thread please check them out here at these links as I am more than happy to go back to these threads and further discuss them with anyone who is interested:
Astra - The Weirding- http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=59071&PN=1 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=59071&PN=1
The Wishing Tree - Ostara - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=59948 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=59948
Eureka - Shackleton's Voyage - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=60977&PID=3398325#3398325 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=60977&PID=3398325#3398325
Lobster Newberg - Actress http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=61661&PN=1 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=61661&PN=1
Knifeworld - Buried Alone: Tales of Crushing Defeat - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=62529&PID=3457937#3457937 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=62529&PID=3457937#3457937
Brother Ape - Turbulence http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=63402&PID=3504510#3504510 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=63402&PID=3504510#3504510
Black Bonzo - Guillotine Drama http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=64197&PN=1 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=64197&PN=1
Shadow Circus - Whispers and Screams http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=64762 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=64762
I should note that for those who frown about these things, I am not a representative of any of these bands. I do not get paid to endorse them. All of these albums are albums that I purchased as downloads. Actually, I did purchase the Roswell Six CD from ProgRock records, so it wasn't a download. They are all albums that I have really enjoyed and therefore I am trying to bring them to the attention of PA members so that they may enjoy them to. Obviously, I can't guarantee that anyone else will like these albums since it is all a matter of taste, but I have a feeling that there are some of you out there who will.  I should also mention that although I am a Collaborator here at PA, this thread and recommendation is made entirely independently of my duties as a PA collaborator, and is also totally independent of the PA Artist of the Month that is endorsed by mailto:M@x - M@x , the site's owner. ------------- 
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Replies:
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: March 01 2010 at 11:14
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As a caveat, I would like to post Windhawk's review of this album as I do have a feeling that it will probably unfortunately reflect many progger's views, but as I do lean towards the crossover and mainstream sides of prog, I have found this album to be enjoyable with my first few listens to it.
Anyhow here is Olav's review:
Review by Collaborators.asp?id=11631 - Windhawk SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Neo Prog/Xover Teams & Band Submissions http://www.progarchives.com/Collaborators.asp?id=11631">   A somewhat underwhelming debut by this US project; serving up a long concept album somewhere in between symphonic prog and progressive metal in style.
It's not an album without appeal though, despite of or because of not hitting off straight away with a jaded reviewer. There's some obvious similarities to Ayreon here - albeit more of an Ayreon light in terms of musical and compositional complexities - but the story told is much more fathomable than Lucassen's excursions into the literally field. Indeed, fathomable and likable are words one can describe much of the material on this album as. Not that interesting to most proggers I'd think, but rather music that should appeal to those mostly listening to and interested in the less complex aspects of music in general and rock in particular. A concept story, some melodramatic twists to music and story and a sad love story thrown in for good measure makes me conclude that this is a production aimed at a crossover market first and foremost. An album for the girlfriends of male proggers as well as a general mainstream-oriented audience. And I think chances are good that it'll be a hit in those market segments. Hardcore proggers should approach with a bit of caution though. -------------
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Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: March 01 2010 at 11:14
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Thanks Scott....its available on Zune Marketplace with my Zune Pass so I am d/l now and will listen later at the gym... -------------   
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: March 01 2010 at 11:28
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Thanks Jose. I hope that you enjoy it.
In the liner note author Kevin J. Anderson talks about how his stories are influenced by Rush, Kansas, Styx, Pink Floyd, the Alan Parsons Project, and more recently Dream Theater, Tool, A Perfect Circle, Lana Lane, Rocket Scientists, etc... At any rate, there is something to be said about that for prog fans and the type of music included.
The book is called The Edge of the World. And his website is http://www.wordfire.com - www.wordfire.com .
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Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: March 01 2010 at 11:32
^ I am not a big book reader......But I'll check out the website. I do like all the bands listed as influencial...including DT 
hehe -------------
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Posted By: progmetalhead
Date Posted: March 01 2010 at 11:47
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I'll be downloading it from Mindawn sometime this week Scott.
Comments to follow.  ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/colt2112" rel="nofollow - http://www.last.fm/user/colt2112 Colt - Admin Team MMA 
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Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: March 01 2010 at 14:48
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Got thru the first 4 tracks...Good stuff for sure!!! As usual Lana Lane comes thru on Halfway....and Labrie sounds very good.
I'll finish it tonight..Thanks Scott. -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: March 01 2010 at 14:55
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Sounds like your off to a good start with it. Hopefully, the middle and ending will continue through for you. Keep us posted. -------------
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Posted By: BigBoss
Date Posted: March 01 2010 at 15:55
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What fortunate timing, I'm working on a press release for the next album for next week as we speak, I've got some details to work out still, but all the music is done and almost all the vocals, we should be in to mixing in about 2 weeks. I can tell you that Steve Walsh of Kansas and Sass Jordan, who you may or may not known, but she's sold millions of albums and had the exact sound we needed, are on vocals. This new album focuses the battles in the 2nd novel and we needed a different sound, so we have Henning Pauly doing the music. Personally I'm really pleased with how this has come out, of course I'd say that, but really, this is the best stuff I've heard Steve do in an outside project, and he really took his time with it. I'll have audio samples up with the press release, so I won't prejudice it ahead of time with a description, but it's very different than the first one. ------------- Best Regards, Shawn Gordon President ProgRock Records www.progrockrecords.com www.mindawn.com |
Posted By: TheGazzardian
Date Posted: March 01 2010 at 16:26
No kidding - Sass Jodan? That was not a name I expected to hear in a prog context. I used to own "Tell Somebody" back in the day. It'll be interesting to hear, that's for sure! |
BigBoss wrote:Posted By: Queen By-Tor
Date Posted: March 01 2010 at 17:36
| Sadler on Vocals?? Awesome! Saga aren't the same without him, sadly. |
Posted By: BigBoss
Date Posted: March 01 2010 at 18:01
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Sadler continues to be one of my very favorite vocalists and he still knocks it out of the park. He's getting close to finishing our band project Psychic for Radio as well. Imagine how cool it is to have your favorite singer, singing songs you wrote.
------------- Best Regards, Shawn Gordon President ProgRock Records www.progrockrecords.com www.mindawn.com |
Posted By: Queen By-Tor
Date Posted: March 01 2010 at 18:24
That'll never happen, Michael Kiske retired from Metal 
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: March 01 2010 at 18:33
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: March 01 2010 at 18:37
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BTW, I am giving this album another spin as I type. -------------
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Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: March 02 2010 at 15:34
Had it on last night...problem was I was working on my taxes...UGHHH!!!!!! So I need to give it another listen...What I heard thru all the adding machine noises I very much enjoyed.
The Sinking of the Luminara, middle section with jazzy drums and heavy bass lines, I enjoyed...That's probably my fav track right now.-------------
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Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: March 02 2010 at 15:39
I really enjoy Saga....I saw them back in the day on the Heads or Tales tour in Baton Rouge, LA. Sadler just has a great voice...Saga is certainly not the same without him.
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: March 02 2010 at 15:43
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I am generally so busy preparing other people's taxes that I generally don't get around to mine until April 15th. I ended up giving it a couple of listens last night. This really is up my alley, and I enjoyed it more with each listen.-------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: March 06 2010 at 10:09
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It has been a few days. Time to give this one another spin and listen. I guess this album doesn't seem to hit the wow chord for others as much as me. I am a huge Erik Norlander fan. To me, Erik is kind of like the second coming of Keith Emerson on the keys. And I am always up for a concept story to go along with my music. Thus, I listen. -------------
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Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: March 06 2010 at 10:16
| Some time ago I almost bought the book, which I will probably do in the near future (now I'm busy with another prog-related read, or better re-read - Elric of Melniboné's series). As to the album, I believe I heard a couple of tracks on MySpace, but didn't pay them too much attention - or probably they didn't impress me too much. I might give them another try, though - in spite of the music overload I'm having these days. |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: March 06 2010 at 10:24
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I am quite interested in getting the book as well so as to tie it in to the music and the story. Unfortunately, I probably won't have time to read it until post-tax season vacation. -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: March 06 2010 at 10:36
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Alright, I've created a tie-in thread. Choose your favorite band from this All-Star cast's main projects. http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65570&PN=1 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65570&PN=1
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Posted By: BigBoss
Date Posted: March 06 2010 at 10:46
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I like it, but you left out Erik Norlander (which is really funny) and Under The Sun :)
------------- Best Regards, Shawn Gordon President ProgRock Records www.progrockrecords.com www.mindawn.com |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: March 06 2010 at 10:53
I was kind of going with one band per artist so for Erik, I chose the Rocket Scientists, although he does have quite a number of solo albums as well. That, and of course he also plays on his wife's albums. I suppose that I could give him a two for one there. I did miss Under The Sun.  I didn't realize that that was Kurt Barabas' band. I just knew that he was in Amaran's Plight along with Gary Wehrkamp of Shadow Gallery. -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: March 08 2010 at 12:05
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I went up to Barnes and Noble yesterday and they had the book, so I bought it and started reading it. So far it is alright. So far it seems to be a Sci-fi world based on the Middle Eastern conflict. -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: March 12 2010 at 09:00
I'm still really enjoying this album, but I now have 1 problem. Now that I have decided to read the book, having listened to the album is kind of a spoiler for the book.  -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: March 17 2010 at 17:18
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The turnout for this thread has been really disappointing this month, especially after the success of last month's thread with Shadow Circus. I am basically just talking to myself in this one. Oh well, at least I am enjoying this album even if no one else is. -------------
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Posted By: TheGazzardian
Date Posted: March 17 2010 at 17:50
I'm expecting my copy to show up next week, I'd have been in here sooner were it not for shipping times
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: March 17 2010 at 17:53
Darn shipping times.  I look forward to hearing your thoughts once you do receive it.-------------
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Posted By: The Doctor
Date Posted: March 17 2010 at 18:59
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I keep wanting to like this album as I'm a huge sci fi fan and a pretty big norlander fan. it's not bad, but has failed to really capture me. i'm giving it a break for now, and will come back to it in a week or so and will report whether a little time has made a difference. ------------- I can understand your anger at me, but what did the horse I rode in on ever do to you? |
Posted By: progmetalhead
Date Posted: March 18 2010 at 02:30
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Sorry Scott, I need more time here too.
------------- http://www.last.fm/user/colt2112" rel="nofollow - http://www.last.fm/user/colt2112 Colt - Admin Team MMA
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Posted By: progmetalhead
Date Posted: March 18 2010 at 13:30
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I think I would sum the album up as a PA 3 Star, "Good but non-essential".
It was enjoyable but I'm not really into female vocals at the moment and they spoiled it a bit for me.
I also felt the tracks meandered at times and also not really metal IMO.
Hopefully you'll get some more feedback soon Scott.
What's your opinion - pluses and minuses? ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/colt2112" rel="nofollow - http://www.last.fm/user/colt2112 Colt - Admin Team MMA
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: March 18 2010 at 13:51
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I agree that it really isn't metal too. I would say that it is more neo or symphonic with metal tinges at times. I'm a fan of all of the vocalists and I like the contrasting styles that they bring to the album. Rather than the same voice for the entirety I like the switching off from song to song as well as during songs. I really like Erik Norlander as a keyboard player and I like the sound that he brings to the album even if it isn't all that different from the sound that he brings to his and Lana Lane's albums. I like the concept story as I understand it but once I finish the book I'll be really curious to compare the album to the book to see how well they have put the story to music.
I guess the biggest minus is that there isn't really anything musically groundbreaking on here. I suppose that to many it probably sounds like prog by numbers. This isn't something that bothers me because I like prog for this sound, but I suspect that it might bother many. -------------
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Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: March 18 2010 at 13:59
| You know, Scott, if you had to listen to a slew of 'prog-by-numbers' albums for reviewing purposes as I do, you might eventually come to dislike the whole approach. Personally, I have given very high ratings (both here and on Progressor) to albums that were not exactly ground-breaking, but had a certain quality that lifted them well above the run-of-the-mill crowd. An example of this is Martin Orford's The Old Road, whose review you can read here on PA as well. Unfortunately, very few albums manage to achieve that quality. |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: March 18 2010 at 14:05
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Or it may just not bother me like it seems to bother everyone else. -------------
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Posted By: jampa17
Date Posted: March 19 2010 at 09:58
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I only have the chance to listen to 4 tracks of the album at their myspace site, because I don't have enough money right now to spend in an import... my comic book geekeness is leaving me poor... but what I have heard is quite interesting, less bussy than Ayreon in the musical approach. I find very interesting the vocal colors, which are very different but merged very well...
I hope I get enough money to buy the album, like it seems the art is interesting... Is it digipack or regular cd artwork? ------------- |
Posted By: TheGazzardian
Date Posted: March 22 2010 at 21:48
| My copy arrived in the mail today ... I'm heading to listen to it for the first time now. Will return with my first impression! |
Posted By: TheGazzardian
Date Posted: March 22 2010 at 23:37
| Alright - I have now gone through it once. It was pretty enjoyable. I enjoy the whole bombastic concept album/metal guitar undertones/melodic theatric music. Stuff like Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Pictorial Wand, Jesus Christ Superstar, etc... and this stuff fits into that mould. So it's pretty much a guarantee I'm going to like it to some extent. I don't think it's the strongest I've heard in this style of music but I still enjoyed it. |
Posted By: BigBoss
Date Posted: March 24 2010 at 09:16
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I've just run the press release for the new album and posted 3 new songs on the Myspace page if you want to check it out www.myspace.com/roswellsix
------------- Best Regards, Shawn Gordon President ProgRock Records www.progrockrecords.com www.mindawn.com |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: March 26 2010 at 10:38
I'm glad that you enjoyed it. It has grown even more on me with each listen. The book is starting to get pretty good too. -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: March 26 2010 at 10:40
I never really went through a comic book geekiness phase. I'm not really sure why since I fit the bill. Anyhow, my copy is regular CD artwork. I'm not aware if there is a digipack version or not. -------------
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Posted By: jampa17
Date Posted: March 26 2010 at 10:52
Well, until I get a new job, seems like I won't be able to buy a copy of it... but I'm really interested in the production... now, the book sounds interesting but what give me the creeps is how they are selling it like "based on the best seller epic..." you know... if a book is a best seller, that's the best thing for me to NOT buying it...
Well, one day you will find a comic that you will like Scott, and then, the rest is that you need a new library to put all your collections of comics... I know I only buy one comic book collection of GIJOE just to see how it was and now I have 5 collections... and I'm really poor... jajaja... ------------- |
Posted By: BigBoss
Date Posted: March 26 2010 at 10:55
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There is no digipack, and right now we're running a special at ProgRock Records to get both CD's for just $23.95. The press release is talking about Kevin Anderson being a bestselling author in general, he's had a good half dozen books on the NY Times bestseller list. It's all part of the promotion, we need to get eyes on this, so we have to talk up the pedigree of thepeople involved. I'd be curious to hear peoples thoughts on the 3 new tracks we put up this week. I'll have audio samples of all the songs up later today probably. ------------- Best Regards, Shawn Gordon President ProgRock Records www.progrockrecords.com www.mindawn.com |
Posted By: BigBoss
Date Posted: March 26 2010 at 13:19
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ok, we now have 3 songs in full and shorter samples of all songs on our site at http://www.progrockrecords.com/shop/view.php?id=222 there are a variety of pre-sale offers that you can see by going to http://www.progrockrecords.com/artists/view.php?id=116 To address an earlier comment about 'breaking new ground', I saw this on a number of reviews and it really kind of had me puzzled. We in no way ever said anything about the music breaking new ground, the music was the tool for telling the story, and we talked a lot about instrumentation to use and such, like avoiding contemporary instruments, but doing it all on a Lute and skin drums wasn't practical, so we went with Eriks strengths with writing and instruments. So the 'breaking new ground' was sort of a false expectation. The idea was to have the music help tell the story and take you away. Now, that all said, the new album is radically different than the first album with Henning Pauly doing the music. Give it a listen and see what you think. ------------- Best Regards, Shawn Gordon President ProgRock Records www.progrockrecords.com www.mindawn.com |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: March 26 2010 at 13:27
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I'll definitely check them out shortly. I have a number of Henning Pauly and Chain albums, so I do like his work. I am curious to hear how the new album sounds. -------------
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Posted By: progmetalhead
Date Posted: March 26 2010 at 14:02
Liking it, especially Barricade!!  ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/colt2112" rel="nofollow - http://www.last.fm/user/colt2112 Colt - Admin Team MMA
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: March 31 2010 at 13:03
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I was hoping to have finished the book during the month but I still have quite a ways to go. Anyhow, as is my custom on the last day of the month I am giving this month's album its final spin of the month before I move on to next month's recommendation. I am looking forward to the sequels, both in the book and the new CD. I still need to give those new songs a listen. Maybe after I finish this album up. Hopefully at least a few of you found a nice album with this recommendation. -------------
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Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: May 28 2010 at 08:22
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2 months later, but I finally finished reading the book this morning. That is what happens when you only read in 10-15 minutes stints once or twice a week. Anyhow, I found the book to be an entertaining read. I was left wanting more, and fortunately there is/will be a sequel available to provide more. I am looking forward to seeing where Mr. Anderson takes the story. Now that I have finished the book I am revisiting the CD. I wish that my ears were better at picking up the sung words so that I could follow along with their story as I listen, but I don't seem to be capable of doing so. (One of my biggest problems with most of the music that I love). I will have to resort to following along to the words in the booklet, which means finding an hour to lock myself in a room by myself with no distractions, which is mostly always easier said than done. Anyhow, hopefully I will be able to do so shortly (hopefully sooner than the additional 2 months it took me to read the book). And if it all goes well, maybe, just maybe, a review will follow. -------------
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