HEAVY PROG

Seattle's progressive scene is well known for its high level bands like Wah Wah, Exit Wound, Spacebag, Panther Attack!, Bone Cave Ballet, and The Autumn Electric. Though not as famous as the city's grunge scene, these bands are highly regarded in progressive circles.

Remember Echolyn when they were good more experimental, before going bourgeois? Well, this band is somewhat similar to that version of Echolyn. They're also quite original, with an eclectic style that ranges from Gentle Giant to Fates Warning and Dream Theater but with a vintage flavor, all in a single song. That's how wide a spectrum this great band can reach.

Moon Letters presents its third full-length after its 2019 debut Until They Feel the Sun and 2022's Thank You for the Future. Now Dark Earth is the latest work from this great band, and it's their darkest to date? yet also their most complex, with outstanding instrumental passages and moments of heightened virtuosity. The band works incredibly well together here; they sound tighter and more mature. The album is tremendously entertaining and well executed. The truth is, I had a great time listening to it. 4.5 out of 5.

I didn't think of RIVERSIDE once despite the heavy and atmospheric sound that we get in spades on here. This is for sure more of a Heavy Prog record. We get nine tracks worth around 50 minutes. The album opens and closes with these short 2 plus minute atmospheric pieces with repetitive guitar lines. I have a top four but I have to mention the second track and how surprising it was to hear the singer for the first time. Where did Duda go? Haha! The next song "Escape" is a top four. Just a nice heavy sound to this one. Love the synths here and throughout the way they create so much atmosphere. This theme is contrasted with the more laid back sections with vocals and emotion.

"More" and the next two songs round out my top four. So much depth of sound with "More" and it's mid paced with reserved vocals. Again so much atmosphere. Check out that dirty little guitar line that comes out of that. "Violent Dream(Pt.2)" is my favourite and this one is heavy and rhythmic. Check it out after 1 1/2 minutes. Inventive stuff here and later at 4 1/2 minutes. What a song! "Chaos" rounds out my favourites. Again it's heavy and catchy and mid paced. This one does get intense. Some powerful music on here.

I really connected with this album. I'm such a huge fan of their sound and feel that both of their records need to be heard. I do prefer this one though for being more original sounding.

Cherry Red Records have now remastered and expanded that release with 11 additional tracks, many of which are demoes (including a version of "Play It Again" ? I bought the 12" version of that single when it was released and still have it), plus a bonus CD which was originally released separately by Angel Air in 2002. That CD is a recording of Crane and DuCann being reunited with Hammond and recorded live at The Marquee. I was fortunate enough to be at university when they undertook that tour, and one of my happiest gig-going memories is standing right in front of DuCann as he and the guys blasted through an amazing set packed with classics. That live album actually sounds better for being put together with this set as it all seems complete, with DuCann proving he really was an aggressive rock singer and guitarist, Crane demonstrating he really was a master of the Hammond and Paul Hammond doing much more than just keeping a beat.

One can only wonder what would have happened if the band had managed to stay together back in the early Seventies, as they never met their full potential, but when the trio reunited it showed just how much they had to offer, but when Du Cann left in 1982 that really was the end and in 1983 the band imploded for the final time. A new version of the band formed in 2016 around former members Pete French and Steve Bolton, but any version of the band without Crane can never truly be valid, while DuCann was the voice. This expanded version is well worth discovering, bringing together their final album together and the live recordings. The band were much more than "Tomorrow Night", "Devils's Answer" and "Gerhatsa" and this proves it.

"Aquarius" is a robust musical proposal, which feeds on the structures of traditional symphonic rock, adding touches of jazz, a bit of hard rock, and a lot of the vigorousness of progressive metal. The predilection for extended, dramatic passages very much in the vein of Dream Theater, tinged by brief, oxygenated pauses, are present throughout, starting with the somber "The Point of No Return" and the synthesizers of Richard Henshall and Diego Tejeida, the guttural imposition of Ross Jennings, and a suffocating instrumental improvisation in between, and also the intriguingly dark "Streams", the more emotive "Aquarium" and its watery introductory keyboards before dizzyingly derailing in its second half, the cybernetic "Eternal Rain" and the futuristic rasposities of "Drowning in the Flood".

And after so much sonic hyperactivity, the melancholic "Sun" is a peaceful semi-acoustic truce that precedes the portentous and very progressive "Celestial Elixir", a 17-minute emotional roller coaster that goes through moments of both euphoria, theatricality and despondency, always charged with an intense and deep musicality, an excellent song and an unbeatable ending to round off the presentation in society of the English band that already hinted that the best was yet to come.

4 stars

Kicking off with a brief instrumental, the first proper song 'Initiate' soon comes sweeping in with its acrobatic guitar playing and complex verses, despite being a more 'traditional' prog metal piece that works really well and introduces a dense, almost paranoid feel. '1985', which is third on the tracklist, is a strong composition that combines the complexity of Haken's music with their ability to write catchy melodies and playful hooks, and while the sonic intensity of this 9-minute piece might seem overwhelming, just wait until they hit you with the jarring 80s-inspired synth solo. Then comes 'Lapse', a moody but heavy number, that gives way to the album's centerpiece - the 15-minute opus 'The Architect', a complex, futuristic and driven piece of Haken glory that also features Einar Solberg of Leprous doing harsh vocals around the final third of the song. After this incredible first half, the second half of the album feels weaker and meeker in comparison, the songs are too spacey and filled to the brim with electronic instruments, and with the exception of 'The Endless Knot', it is all mostly forgettable and derivative, which can really make listening to 'Affinity' feel a little timid, especially when you get to those final songs. Still, the production is great all over and the playing is as technically proficient and astounding as ever, but some of the songs really miss something essential.

ARCANE would break up after the mammoth "Known/Learned" where it was like albums from two different bands. A different bass player too on each side. And that second disc is full of ballads. Not my thing, and for whatever reason the band had had enough and vocalist Jim Grey would turn his complete focus now to CALIGULA'S HORSE. I prefer ARCANE. And my expectations here were low despite the very high ratings this 2009 release gets. I found out fairly quickly(2 spins in) that this record was on another level when compared to anything else by this band or the related band CALIGULA'S HORSE.

I just feel that this album is their sweet spot as it were. This clearly was the record fans loved out of the three they released. A surprisingly abundance of keyboards, even over the guitar. We get two guest female singers who add a lot, changing the flavour on two tracks. I like how they inserted these short "Silent Year" pieces(three of them) throughout this record. Besides these three short pieces we get a couple of long ones at 12 and 13 minutes respectively. There are four tracks that stood out for me so lets look at them.

First though the song "Glimpse" is a strange way to start the album as it opens with the sounds of a desperate man talking. He mentions May 26 a couple of times, and we also have a song called "May 26". The first song to really grab me was track three called "The Malice". The music and vocals get pretty intense but we get a 2 minute calm as well. "Secret" is another top four and this might be my favourite song for the guitar. Lots of piano too. The sounds of kids at recess can be heard before 6 minutes before a child sings "la la la" over and over, then it turns heavy. The atmosphere(synths) is incredible. The sound of children playing ends it.

Another top four is the next track "Fading", and at almost 12 minutes this is a ride. My final top four is the third and final interlude track called "The Third Final Year" with guest female vocals and plenty of atmosphere. May 26 is mentioned again. If you are a CALIGULA'S HORSE fan you should check this record out, this is my favourite Jim Grey vocal performance as well. Everything seems to work on this one, while with both of these bands I have had my issues with their other records. A solid 4 stars and a very enjoyable concept album.

CD2: "Dream Of The Collapsing Now" for the captivating, long, captivating, dolphin-like sound; a labyrinthine depth to the plaintive Arabic vocals; the crystalline piano, the solemn Yessian atmosphere. "Faded Lullaby" with the integration of melancholic strings, the voice over a lament, and the lengths that gradually transform into monotonous languors. "Eve" for the declaration of love to AI on a melting piano base. "Still, They Dream Of Angels" with its tempo-changing melody, the break on YES with the church organ, and the melancholic-bucolic derivation with cheerful melancholy. "Echoes of Man" with a Rush-like rhythm, a modern, surgical, staccato sound with a captivating melody and a romantic melancholy tone. A love story between the hero and the machine with a WHO- style break, symphonic and solemn. "Requiem at the End of Time" and a siren, phrasing, elegiac tone as a closing interlude before "The Calming" and its robotic finale, a VANGELIS-style film soundtrack with a spatio-Olympian air, a final clap.

A double concept album to be listened to separately to avoid weariness or addiction. Intertwined musical touches, tempo changes, cinematic-classical breaks, languor, torpor, music from nowhere between space and abysmal depths. Originally released on Progcensor. (3.5).

The muscular guitar tones and the flashy riffing become central to this album's architecture, and with an apparently strong influence from extreme metal acts such as Opeth, Meshuggah, and even experimental metal outfit Tool, there is a lot to unpack from the twelve-track album that plays for a little more than an hour's time. This record is also significant for marking the first appearance of drummer extraordinaire Gavin Harrison, originally a fusion player who has been said to have impacted the music strongly, with his masterful, groovy yet expansive playing and intelligent fills. Of course, then comes the role of Richard Barbieri, here occupying an interesting spot in providing various sounds and effects and adding his own personal flavor when necessary, which often comes in the form of gloomy, synth-ridden ambient tones - subtle, minimal, but brilliant and an essential accessory to the music. Same goes for bassist Colin Edwin who also does a fantastic job on the album, his playing is precise and really upfront.

And then amidst all that, the crumbling eclecticism of the album reveals itself as each one of the twelve album tracks unfolds itself before the listener - in-between the quirky alt-rock hooks and memorable choruses, Porcupine Tree experiment with song structures, moods and tempos shifts, and uncommon time signatures, offering an uncompromising collection of killer songs that indicate just how relentless this band can be as well as the sheer consistency and emotive quality of Steven Wilson's songwriting, the mastermind behind this contemporary classic. Thematically, 'In Absentia' is a rather dark album, which is in line with this renewed direction for the band, as Wilson discusses a lot of serial killers and the psychology behind their actions, together with themes relating to death, love, melancholy and profound grief. Memorable numbers like 'Trains' and 'The Sound of Muzak' give us a glimpse of the commercial capacity of the band, while lesser-known tracks like the moody and ominous 'Gravity Eyelids' and 'Heartattack in a Layby', or the funky and aggressive numbers 'The Creator Has a Mastertape' and 'Strip the Soul' offer a punchy, raw and invigorated intensity that could only be compared to some of the most novel prog metal acts of the early 2000s. Other marvelous songs on here include the instrumental 'Wedding Nails' and the mini-suite formed by 'Prodigal' and '.3', while some special editions of the album feature no less fascinating Porcupine Tree numbers like 'Chloroform', 'Drown With Me', and 'Futile'. Just an incredibly rich, rewarding and immensely influential work; a rock album that in many ways defies categorizations, despite the fact that it virtually inspired an entire movement in progressive rock - or simply put, an all-time Steven Wilson masterpiece.

Pentiselea Road is the project of Italian multi-instrumentalist Vito Mainolfi, which has included high-profile collaborators such as Ray Alder and Mark Zonder from Fates Warning. Today, after two albums, the band features Michele Guaitoli, Vito F. Mainolfi, Giovanni Montesano, Ezio Di Leso, and Alfonso Mocerino.

Pentiselea Road's music moves between heavy prog and neo-prog, with strong influences from power metal. On Sonnets from the Drowsiness, the band sounds more progressive than on their debut, leaning closer to the style of neo-prog acts like Arena, while at the same time delivering a heavier, more intense sound.

Despite having a style that has been widely explored by other bands, Pentiselea Road manages to sound very original, with a clean and pristine production where each instrument is allowed to breathe and expand freely.

The album's 18 tracks, spanning over 1 hour and 40 minutes, delve into themes of modern dissidence, societal critique, and introspection. For instance, the track "Worlds Apart" addresses issues like deception, conformity, and the struggle for individuality in a controlled society. The lyrics question concepts of reality, democracy, and collective identity, reflecting a deep narrative thread throughout the album.

Sonnets from the Drowsiness it's a concept album inspired by Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities, taking the listener on a post-progressive journey through imagined landscapes and existential themes. The careful production and literary depth make it a rewarding listen for fans of thoughtful, modern progressive rock.

1. "Gorgon" (5:44) here the quartet tries out the style and sounds of The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Though the song opens with 90 seconds of beautiful acoustic guitar chords being picked while Paul's heavily-effected voice give the music a very proggy psychedelic sound, once they establish the Experience sound they do a pretty good job! Paul Williams' lead vocal is actually quite like Jimi's and the music is solid with, of course, some great bluesy rock guitar work from Allan. Did I mention how great these guys blend as vocal harmonists? (9.25/10)

2. "Foyers Of Fun" (3:41) CREAM, RARE EARTH, with a little GRAND FUNK RAILROAD in the mix and some stellar rock lead (and rhythm) guitar work. This band is made up of four very top notch musicians who can pull off very high quality "reproductions" of other band's styles while still instilling their own talents, skills, and creativity to make them sound even better than the originators. (9/10)

3. "Dark House" (5:02) the first "weak" song on the album falls short not due to poor performances or sound but for the sake of being long and overly-drawn-out with no real relief or high points. (8.75/10)

4. "Brothers" (3:37) a little funk in this melodic rocker. Great drumming, rhythm guitar work and group vocals with Paul's Richie Havens-like lead. The problem is that the gospel-blues-like stops and slow downs are a bit disruptive to the overall flow and power of the music. Great little guitar solo in third minute. Not a particularly great or memorable song, but that musicianship! (8.875/10)

5. "Up And On" (4:19) Paul's David Clayton Thomas voice sings over a pretty standard rock anthem. Great performances from all--especially Jon Hiseman (who is quickly climbing in my esteem of all-time great prog/rock/J-RF drummers). Again, this is not necessarily anything to write home about, but the musicianship is amazing--earning it extra points. (8.875/10)

6. "Grey And Black" (2:29) sounds like STYX before Styx had really evolved into the Styx sound that Styx has become known for. (4.375/5)

7. "Strangeher" (4:07) blues/blues-rock on the level with and in the style of ZZ TOP. Impressive but not my cup of tea. (8.667/10)

8. "Upon Tomorrow" (6:41) Allan plays the violin! And he plays it well! The accompanying jazz-rock music is awesome if a little rudimentary. Luckily they have Jon Hiseman to fill in all the spaces with plenty of drumming awesomeness. (Plus, a track of Allan's rhythm guitar and a joinder in the third minute of Allan on lead guitar in place of the violin). The rockin' vocal second half of the song is okay with Paul's Richie Havens-like vocal performance being a highlight more than the music and other band members' performances. (8.875/10)

Total Time: 35:00

There is no doubt that these guys could easily have made a career at this power rock format: they are so talented and so good at making every minute of their songs full of clever and skilled creativity.

B+/4.5 stars; an album displaying some truly astonishing musical skills! I have to admit that this album would most certainly have earned higher marks had the music been more in the styles that I prefer.