NEO-PROG

BAKELIT is the new project founded by Carl Westholm, known for his avant-garde CARPTREE albums.

"The Coolest Place on Earth" opens with a disconcerting, electro-syncopated sound; the vocals are in sync, letting their words flow over the orchestration with a catchy chorus from the start; a mix of prog art-rock, velvety keyboards, then vintage, assisted by Cia, who worked in the equally incredible JUPITER SOCIETY; in short, a slap in the face that feels good. "Remember Who You Are" features this vocal duo, the band's strongest, navigating between sung, whispered, and high voices; a nod to the distant sounds of the '60s for the choruses, a reminiscence of new-wave electro sounds, rich and swirling, with Carl playing with genres. The vocals become dramatic, speaking of the fading environment, the sound drastic. "Two Living Things" with that austere, dark, mysterious keyboard again; the sound pleasantly reminds me of CARPTREE's; the track blends industrial prog, electro, and dark wave prog; the break with Cia sharply interrupts this sensation, giving it height; the languid keyboard and Lars' tribal pad build to a unique, captivating crescendo. The bass vibrates, the theremin does the same, adding to the solemnity, imbuing the album with an evolving conceptual effect. "Asleep or Insane" has a cinematic sci-fi vibe from the start; its languid, dark, heady, almost mantranesque sound, on KILLING JOKE and JOY DIVISION. The chorus is enlivened with martial choirs; a keyboard tinkering worthy of AMAROK flirting with an intergenerational sound; a dreamlike and enjoyable break.

"My Punishment" or the conceptually Dantesque intro; GABRIEL era 'III', BOWIE, an aggressive, grinding sound, wanting to hit the listener on our life on earth. The chorus of the refrain hypnotizes, a vocoder emerges, a bit of 'The Wall' in the distance, CHURCHILL preacher. The martial drums amplify the despair, we will be punished; the emphasis is on the velvety synths and the choirs. "This World Belongs to Me" changes tone, metronomic AYREON electro, like a war machine, with superimposed languid, pleading voices. The intimate synthetic piece which explodes moderately on a melancholic crescendo; the sound makes me think of the glacial DEPECHE MODE of 'Music for the Masses' before the finale where the hypnotic choirs and the metallic guitar remind us that this world belongs to us after all. "Silence is Weakening My Thoughts," with its drums, echoes the somber air of Lucassen's work, and its heavy sound; a crescendo with the guitar and keyboards in a duo?yes, it's not just Cia and Öivin who do this. The sound also recalls the work of CEN PROJEKT in its darkest form. "Death Without Angels," a latent electro intro, coming from the Heavens; the message reminding us that we are trapped, this album is coldly real, darkly atmospheric, and strangely premonitory. A deafening bass, a cruel chorus, a heady track; the apocalyptic evolution is measured, controlled, the hope of seeing an unrealizable happy ending. The haunting title track, with a message from the Theremin announcing a possible end without going through the angels, is a long, dark and beautiful crescendo.

BAKELIT is a blend of captivating music, with a touch of progressive dark wave, art rock, and dark contemplative rock. A beautiful album offering a strong, tenacious sound, reminiscent of the aforementioned bands. Originally published on Profilprog.

Following the departure of original vocalist Peter Nicholls, IQ continued with singer Paul Menel, who appears on the band's third studio album called 'Nomzamo'. This is a 1987 release that sees a dramatic change in style, incorporating a more radio-friendly sound, which is perhaps in line with the direction of the neo-progressive movement in the late 80s in general, with many of the scene's major bands experimenting with less sophisticated arrangements (with AOR and progressive pop being strong influences here). At the same time, the new lead singer brings a completely different energy, with the overall feel of this "new" IQ sound being comparable to Asia, Yes, Pallas and It Bites, which is natural given that Nicholls' voice is much more idiosyncratic. And in this context comes 'Nomzamo', a less diverse and more predictable record that preserves some of the progressive tendencies of the band's music but comes off as misdirected and mediocre.

The synth-driven sound of earlier IQ albums is at least partially informing this 1987 studio LP, but 'Nomzamo' has a tendency for much more atmospheric, even "skeletal" soundscapes, which provide for a laid-back feel, with the guitars being less prominent than on 'The Wake'. The recording quality is actually rather decent, even if the vocals can be a bit of a disturbance, especially for those who associate the IQ sound with the voice of Peter Nicholls. Some of the longer tracks on the album actually echo the progressive ambition of preceding releases, and the listener should be able to appreciate the intricacies of some of these compositions, especially the 10-minute opus 'Human Nature', which is excellent and beautiful as well as the tracks 'Common Ground' and 'Nomzamo'. Opener 'No Love Lost' is interesting, too, while radio-friendly numbers like 'Promises', 'Passing Strangers' and 'Screaming' are just bland and forgettable. In summary, this album really jumbles between beauty and mediocrity, and this might as well be why it has never been a fan-favorite.

Carl Westholm is well known to the prog universe as he fronted the critically acclaimed Carptree, who had released 7 well received albums from 2001 to 2018. He has also played with Hollingshead, Jupiter Society, Krux, Avatarium, Candlemass, and Dec Burke. This is a new project that will also include drummer Jonas Kallsback, guitarist Ulf Edelonn and two vocalists Cia Backman and Oivin Tronstad, with Carl handling his arsenal of keyboards as well as bass duties and backing vocals. As with his numerous past endeavours, the music incorporates heavy doses of metallic electronics into the cutting-edge mix, with boldly accentuated art rock tendencies, forging the next level of evolution in electronic prog rock. The cover art perfectly transmits the stark mood of this Kafka-esque production, shrouded in a pattern of steely girders bolted with dire precision, interconnected into a perplexing mass of construction.

As if rising from the center of the netherworld, 'From the Underground' paints a bleak sonic picture, an unambiguous panorama of textured sound, heavily echo-laden and an Orwellian utopistic delivery, with layered voices as well as a male and female duet struggling for air and gasping for liberation. The hurricane winds add to the suffocating angst, souls kneeling at the shrine of deliverance. One word fits perfectly : harrowing! Lying in a pastoral field, trying to recover from the tormenting escape, 'Moment of Peace' expresses the trauma of freedom, and the need to breathe in the air. Eventually, the lungs are filled to the brim with expectation and exaltation, as the shrouded electronic sheen masterfully conveys the perfect platform for an acidic guitar solo that screeches in healing delight. Utopian prog soundtrack of the finest caliber.

Then comes the emotional outburst obscured by clouds, a slew of wayward feelings of inner turmoil, long incarcerated and finally expunged on 'We Still Hate You', a lyrical harangue that fits perfectly in the current media fueled extremism, two-hued diatribe of endless nihilism and self-immolation. The musical arrangement is disconcerting, as the expansive keyboard backdrops highlight the petty drama, focusing more on the 'still' than on the already tedious 'hate'. I prefer colour in my daily outlook, and this is a reminder of how primitive darkness can be.

Keeping the narrative in full progressive expansion, the quasi-Wagnerian onslaught on 'Weak, Immature , Aggressive' is certainly far removed from pretty, cute or even attractive. 'Sad, childish, and forgotten, no surprise , nothing new'.Just a state of mind' stated with a state of mind verging on abject surrender, forcing a retreat into an inner world of love, caring and peace. The raging guitar powerhouse riffs send a concrete message of outer imprisonment, a world gone mad where everyone has become a prosecutor/judge/jury and executioner and led by those who eschew the need for critical balance of thought. Oppressive, tyrannical and suspicious, billions of opinion-peddlers questioning everything yet offering zero solutions. How convenient! The apotheosis finally arrives when the inexorable numbing conditioning has taken away everything and replaced with only eternal apathy, 'No Fear of Drowning' sends us the message that senses have conclusively tumbled into the Red zone, an area of possible no return, unless the accelerator is replaced by some intelligent braking reflection on how the hell we got here in the first place. Fixing what works and not repairing what is in dire need of a retooling. 'No way home'? Pity, it used to be where the heart really is.

The explosive finale is reached on the atomic 'Bombs in my Head', a sonic deflagration that underlines the casualties of the mind, faced with endless confusion, diluted information overkill and depressive fatigue. The match was lit back in the day when lighters were used to create fire , the slow burn leading to a world where no one is 'safe' anymore , even though their PC shamelessly states all is okay with the 5-bar reception. The music is suitably overbearing, an electronic symphony with Magma-like eruptive power, merciless choral onslaughts, lathered in a gruesome veneer of electronic keyboard orchestrations and catacomb percussive thunder.

With this second instalment, Bakelit becomes a new light within the still obscure darkness of the future of music, and we wish them well on their quest for offering something factual, in the present and with heavy doses of raw power. This album best illustrates the current miasma we collectively find ourselves in. Endless confusion, diluted information overkill and depressive fatigue. The lyrics are some of the most clearsighted and impactful I have had the pleasure of reading. Thoroughly apocalyptic

4.5 Sweltering burns.

IQ followed-up their excellent debut album with 1985's 'The Wake', a record that has since been considered one of the high points of the neo-progressive movement, and this rather peculiar album is indeed a fine continuation of a style the band had been pioneering and refining since their formation. For what concerns this LP, it is a daring record that introduces a darker, more compelling and emotive atmosphere, definitely soaking up the gothic undertones of its predecessor and the popular early releases by Marillion and Twelfth Night. The result is an album in which the overly theatrical and dynamic symphonic passages dominate, all while preserving the intricate synth-driven style of play that had been introduced on the debut album. At the same time, Mike Holmes' guitars are more prominent and aggressive on 'The Wake', which is commendable. It seems like IQ are experimenting with heavier, more ominous tones here, which would necessarily turn out to influence the entire sub-genre.

Opening track 'Outer Limits' picks up where 'Tales' had left off - with the quirky and pastoral symphonic build-up, we also have a thumping rhythm that really drives the song. This piece is a fine example of the predictable "Genesis-worship" style of writing and playing, which many neo-prog bands of the 80s champion. However, at the other end of the spectrum, this album offers several irresistible pieces of melodramatic, dark and brooding progressive rock with stabbing synths and atmospheric, dreamy guitar solos, always placing a great emphasis on the melody, on the transitions between different section, and the staggering musicianship - 'Widow's Peak' and 'Headlong', together with the title track all carry these characteristic elements that make early IQ so compelling and influential. 'The Magic Roundabout' is another interesting longer-format song, this one centered around the lush, synth-laden soundscapes of the band's debut album, while tracks like 'Corners' and 'The Thousand Days' tend to wander off a bit, interrupting the otherwise excellent flow of 'The Wake'. Excellent neo-progressive rock with strong melodies, a theatrical presentation and impressive musicianship.

'Tales From the Lush Attic' is the famed 1983 debut studio album by IQ, one of the pioneering acts of the second wave of the British progressive rock scene, and as one of the first neo-prog records (alongside Marillion's 'Script'), it is characterized by a synth-driven style of rock, atmospheric guitars and a tendency for long and sophisticated suites with multiple tempo changes, in the vein of the genre's originators - Genesis, Camel, and Yes in particular. Characteristics of neo-prog are the semi-gothic aesthetics of the bands and the traces of a post-punk affinity in the songwriting, which are elements carried by multiple early releases coming from this underground scene, with 'Tales From the Lush Attic' being no exception. The melodramatic, high-pitched singing style of Peter Nicholls is definitively one of the key elements behind IQ's appeal, together with the intense and technical playing.

For what concerns the contents of this album, this is a five-track LP split in two sides, with a short instrumental interlude and a rather unrewarding attempt for a marketable single (in the face of the second album track). Apart from these, what one might find really appealing on here is the majestic 20-minute-long opening suite called 'The Last Human Gateway'. A composition that is directly inspired by the classic progressive rock records of the 70s and impresses with its pastoral soundscapes, masterful instrumental parts and vigorous melodies - of which the main one carries a moodier sentiment, which immediately gives the whole record a darker edge. 'Awake and Nervous' from side two brings the trademark symphonic sound, with some sophisticated passages and enjoyable sweeping guitars, while the closing piece 'The Enemy Smacks' seems to be the most relentless song on the album, and for what concerns the reviewer, one of the perfect neo-prog epics. This is a theatrical, up-tempo retro prog album that showcases most of IQ's strengths and capabilities - and while some may dislike the synth-driven dynamics of this early 80s album, it remains an essential neo-prog classic.

There have been some changes within DLP, as originally the band was called Deaton LeMay Project, but drummer Craig LeMay is no longer involved. However, keyboard player Roby Deaton is still there and singer Hadi Klani has been on all three releases while bassist John Haddad played on the last one. Guitarists Josh Mark Raj and Ehsan Imani have reprised their session roles, with additional guitarist Frank Jung and there are two drummers in Mike Thorne and Phil Hronas and an additional bassist in Danny Miranda.

When I first came across this band and their debut, I said they reminded me of Kansas, and then with the second added ELP to that mix. Now I think we are going for much more of an AOR feel with classic Styx mixing with Kansas and even some Journey, but much less in the ELP realm. This is a concept album, with the rather worrying story of an A.I. robot giving birth to an A.I baby. The offspring grows up and wants to be part of humanity but is rejected. In its anger, it wants to take revenge on mankind. The question that must be answered: Did mankind create A.I., or is humanity a failed experiment of the digital world? What we perceive as A.I. trying to take over mankind and render us obsolete, might just be that the digital realm trying to take back control of an out-of-control experiment. All of this is wrapped up inside a wonderful musical world packed full of melodies, great performances and stunning vocals. Klani is an amazing singer, the perfect front person for a band who somewhat amazingly are still flying under the radar.

This is class Seventies melodic rock, with a depth and breadth of sound with Roby using lots of different sounds, including a lovely rich Hammond, a rhythm section that provides a firm base, guitars sometimes taking the lead and at others sitting just behind to let others be dominant, and then right over the top there are the vocals which take them to the next level. This is a top class progressive melodic rock act with great songs who may have changed their name but continue to deliver the goods.

— First review of this album —

It should be noted that the most important words on the cover are at the bottom, where it says, "Recreated by Clive Mitten" as what we have here are all the tracks from both 'Fact and Fiction' and Geoff Mann's two final shows in November 1983, of which six tracks became 'Live and Let Live'. On Bandcamp it states, "Re-imagined, arranged, new performances added, engineered, produced and mastered by Clive Mitten". The result is something which is undoubtedly confusing to my ears, as we have music I know very well indeed, but which has additional keyboards (in particular) added, and the mix has been changed.

'Live and Let Live' is one of my all-time favourite live albums, while I believe it is a travesty that 'Fact and Fiction' was not recognised as one of the greatest studio albums of all time as it should have pushed them to superstar status. It has now been more than four decades since both original albums were released, and Clive was an essential part of both so if anyone has the right to revisit and "improve" them then it is him. However, while this may well appeal to many, especially those who have not previously heard these albums, and there is no doubt that Clive is a hugely talented multi-instrumentalist, I found that part of me was enjoying the songs, but a large part was also asking, "Why?".

I appreciate Clive may well feel that due to financial or time constraints the original releases were not exactly as he had wanted them, and Brian, Andy, Rick and Jane could well all be onboard for the changes he has made, but I honestly do not understand the need. The originals may not have been perfect to his ears, but to mine (and many others) they are the twin highlights of Twelfth Night's career, and albums I often revisit which is not something I can say about this release. My ears are so tuned into the originals that I kept questioning the additions/changes and hearing them as something placed over the top as opposed to seamlessly fitting in.

I fully expect to be in the minority, as I am sure there are many fans of the band who will enjoy this reimagining, but while I can never get enough of the Mann, here we have music which I have always thought at being 5* on steroids being somewhat reduced.

Art is something that, at first, seems to have no purpose at all?but once we touch its essence, it can turn an ordinary full-moon night into the most sublime moment of the day. Suddenly, the mundane is redefined and becomes beautiful and profound. That is the power of good music: it invites us to reflect, to question, and to understand. This album does that with a mastery that borders on the transcendental. The synthesizers take us on an intergalactic journey, guiding our souls with melodies that echo in our minds like cosmic waves. There are long tracks that never become tiresome. On the contrary, the emotion poured into them and their formal complexity make time pass more quickly, always drawing you toward the next chord. There is one piece that, to me, stands out above the rest: "Blue", my favorite on the album. A true masterpiece. A call to reality in its purest and most beautiful form. The piano solo is a whisper of Chopin. It reminds me of Étude Op. 10 No. 1 in C Major. It is magnificent?supremely elegant. Without a doubt, the best piano solo I've ever seen intertwined with rock. It is completely hypnotizing and overwhelming in its depth. After hearing it for the first time, I sat in silence, motionless. At its core, it is phenomenal. Certainly one of my all-time favorites. I believe that alone is enough to give it 5 stars. Well-made art has the power to transform.

Elleven, a band formed in 2001 with two former members of Chandelier, wanted to showcase Julia Graff, who deserved partial recognition for this slightly atmospheric progressive pop.

"Contact," with its latent, gentle atmosphere and prominent electro-pop synth, beats with new-wave sounds. The Gilmourian guitar arrives late, slowly, and matches the marshmallow sound. Julia's languid vocals are enhanced by the soaring acoustics; the sloping notes are jazzy if it weren't for the melancholic guitar; a second heavy- psychedelic break elevates the song, which was missing. "Persuasiveness," a hypnotic, high-pitched, and insightful hang, with sharp guitar, a hint of Minimum Vital, rhythm with the heavy bass, and a soft air with the vibrant synthesizer. A beautiful exercise in a more accessible, fresh, and pop-like style. "Attraction" changes direction with the short track, featuring train station hall sounds and ethereal vocals, followed by "Unvertainty," a synth pop-rock tune worthy of The Cranberries, even shorter as a choral interlude. "Desire" lingers, with ambient space, deep bass worthy of Alan Parsons, and enchanting piano, with Julia's voice as sensual as can be. An exotic blend of captivating emotions in a latent tune, a beautiful crescendic rise, and the final, energetic guitar solo tearing the air from its notes; an airy, symphonic melancholy, à la Pink Floyd, that lifts the album off the ground.

"Venture ~ Clash ~ Clarity," for the second of the three long tracks; an atmospheric, languid atmosphere; a romantic, suave, and erotic twist with the snare drum, juggling sensuality and the agitation of words. A latent track, subdued, then fiery, with Carsten's insistent guitar, oozing with melancholy; the long finale. "Deception" for the atmospheric dark rock track, Banks-esque keyboard, Mason-esque pad, and furious guitar. A blend of gentleness and controlled aggression from Julia. "Release" takes a turn worthy of Anathema's third period, overwhelming; a metronomic, emotional, and captivating keyboard, an atmospheric basic sound, and staccato vocals for a slow melodic decline reminiscent of Pendragon and New Age. A risky pairing with the fiery finale. "Conciliation" for the finale, with its long crescendo, moves forward with this painful story by offering a warm, airy atmosphere, a sign of openness and sharing. The cinematic, spatial outro is a sign of hope.

Elleven offers ethereal progressive pop where the ambient atmosphere exudes emotion in spades. A musical landscape offering gentleness and moderate power. The technically flawless album is a bit long on its tracks, which can unfortunately detract from the concept.

Heavy space/psychedelic rock that satisfies the prog qualities of those looking for music to remind them of their old HAWKWIND, ELOY, PINK FLOYD, and BOWIE (and even early PORCUPINE TREE) heroes.

1. "Cyclical Night" (12:35) interesting. Not bad. Definitely retro-NeoClassic . Everybody on board is sufficiently skilled and versed to pull of solid, polished song that sounds as if it could've come from a 1970s album. Roger Lopes has a strong if-familiar voice and laid back singing style (somewhere between BLUE Ã?YSTER CULT's Eric Bloom, FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM's Carl McCoy, and IRON MAIDEN's Bruce Dickinson). There's even a bit of BÃ?C's "I Love the Night" quality and feel to the overal sonosphere. The spaciousness and maturity of this song make it quite comforting, even inviting. It just keeps getting better with each and every listen! And the warmth of the wrap-around sound is so amazing! (22.75/25)

2. "Digital Coma" (17:19) mostly soundtrack-like synthesized space and weather sounds for the first seven minutes: it's like we're floating in the silence of space, hearing the internal computer and machine-generated sounds of our otherwise-uninhabited, barely-functioning, life-support vessel. (It's also quite like Vangelis' music during the scenes in Blade Runner in which Deckard is hunting Sebastian, Pris and Roy in the derelict hotel in the Ninth Sector.) Then the prog song that emerges (and carries through to the end of the 17+ minutes) is one that reminds me very much of the music from one of my favorite Smooth Prog albums from the past 15 years: LIFESIGNS' wonderful self-titled 2013 debut. In the 12th minute the music comes to fullness with a FLOYDIAN palette before going down a kind of BÃ?C tangent in the 14th. The instrumental sections that follows is quite powerful: with perfect electric guitar serving as our guide--within a sonosphere of some very protective bass and keyboard guards. At 14:20 we return to the Lifesigns/Floydian pastiche--complete with strong Floydian background vocal choir (all from Kim Chandler?) The song ends surprisingly, rather suddenly, on a couple of kind of simple guitar riffs, leaving me scratching my head as to what was just (supposed to be) happening over the last 17 minutes. Elements of this song are absolutely great--especially the amazing sound engineering. (It really does feel as if you're inside a sphere of virtual reality in which everything is occurring around you, coming at you, comforting you, from every possible direction.) There are some elements that don't quite work (for me). But the good far outweigh the questionable. (33/35)

3. "Violeta's Dream" (23:44) this one comes across as a total extrapolation of the spaciest of Pink Floyd: the original aim of Steven Wilson's Porcupine Tree project taken to the next levels--taken far beyond Steven/Tree, Bruce Soord, Riverside, Mystery, Airbag or anyone else in NeoProg's Floydian Universe has ever accomplished. To me, it's like taking Floyd into the Eighth Dimension. It is not, however, always the best choices of construct and sound palette to achieve such attention and honor: there are plenty of segments and motifs that fall back onto fairly simple structures and/or minimal sound palettes. It does feel like traveling through someone else's dream but a dream that is often mundane and forgettable. (39.75/45)

4. "Blue" (14:46) Tangerine Dream-like electronic piano and spiraling church organ chords fill the first two minutes of this before the full rock band ensemble kicks into gear. The song that ensues sounds like some solid NeoProg that could come from any number of second-tier NeoProg bands. (Bands like Grand Stand, Silhouette, Cosmograf, Galahad, Drifting Sun, Gandalf's Fist, Comedy of Errors, Evership immediately come to mind.) There are passages in which I'm reminded rather strongly of both Giancarlo Erra's NOSOUND and Jason Hart's I AND THOU projects of the last decade. It's nice, with great sound, but rather simple music and a less-fully-developed sound palette. Nothing to write home about. Gabriel D'Incao's grandiose Gershwinian classical "grand piano" solo in the tenth through thirteenth minutes comes as a bit of a surprise (I'll bet he'd been sitting on that little gem for many years), but it serves as a very nice little interlude and reset. The return to rockdom for the finish is not as pretty or satisfying as one might hope. (I think I like Gabriel's solo piece better.) (26.125/30)

5. "Voice of God" (16:53) now the band is back on track: a wonderful, fully-formed and full-surround sound visceral experience with some very proggy music. (Great drumming, guitar play, and wordless vocalese, courtesy of Kim Chandler. Is this the band's homage to Floyd's "Great Gig in the Sky"?) In the middle of the fourth minute the music suddenly stops and then restarts with a vocal-led motif that feels like something off of a lost SEAL album. Incredible! The sixth minute brings heavy power chord explosions before the underlying piano leads us into a race-against-time instrumental passage in which guitar, piano, and percussion take turns leading the way--often in theatric, even jazzy, time-syncopated ways. Pedro D'Incao's searing electric guitar now sounds like a cross between that of cookin' Carlos Santana and Stephen Thelen/SONAR's David Torn. The ninth minute sees the piano-leadership taking the music into a bit of a Billy Joel pop-jazz direction, and then, thereafter, the band trying to bring it back to progland. But first we have to have another classical piano interlude (starting at 10:00). Spacey pitch-warped synth riffs and synth chords join Gabriel's gentle, pensive Chopin-like piano play, keeping me, as a prog hopeful, satisfied--reminding me somewhat of some of Rick Wakeman's interludes in his (or Yes's) prog music. At 12:20 "horns" help us emerge out into a Floydian "Light" for a gorgeous section of "As Sure as Eggs Is Eggs"-like prog orgasm and ecstatic rapture. Return Ms. Chandler's vocalese to the mix, culminating in a scream of seeming-relief, and then a piano, synth, and cymbal crashing finish/dénouement. Well met, boys (and girl), well met! Not quite what I'm expecting beyond the Pearly Gates but a nice human version of that which might be. (31.75/35)

Total Time 85:17

As with the fellow-2025 release from the DOCTORS OF SPACE, Fusing Your Synapses, there is true innovation going on throughout this album. For me it is in the engineering feat of complete surround sound--what I've come to call "the sonsophere," that is, the effect of the sounds coming from the instruments feeling as if they are surrounding, engulfing, swirling, even guiding you--from all directions--directions which change, are somehow able to change (like the old-fashioned "panning" effects one could manipulate on the engineer's sounding board only in all dimensions). I've been hearing and feeling more and more of this effect in the studio productions of recent years (thanks to my wonderful Soundcore Space Q45 noise-cancelling headphones) and am not sure how the sound engineering technologies have accomplished this--what enables them to manipulate sound "directionality" the way they seem to be doing--but it is amazing! It is fulfilling an achievement that I've been seeking, wondering if possible, waiting for, since my Brian Eno audiophile days of the late 1970s. This is, in my opinion, a revolutionary achievement in sound delivery technology. While I'm not ready to grant Atomic Time full credit--nor their engineering and production crew--but they have definitely presented sound in the complete fullness as I've never heard it until now: 85 minutes of complete and total musical immersion. Amazing!

A-/4.5 stars; a minor masterpiece of highly creative retro-respective NeoProg that presents Prog World with some truly extraordinary sound innovations. I urge everyone in the Prog community to check this album out--especially if you have good headphones--and especially the first two songs. Highly recommended!