METAPHYSICAL ANIMATION formed in Gainesville, Florida back in 1968. They would move south to Miami where there would be more opportunities for them to succeed. They were a four piece with the singer being the keyboardist. These guys can play I'll say that. They would go into the studio and record this album but it would be self-released as they couldn't get any interest from record labels. A run of only fifty made this one as rare as hen's teeth. Black Widow out of Italy would re-issue it but not until 2019.

It's kind of crazy that their first release would be a double album. My two issues with it are the production which is poor at times, but also the vocals. Sure he can sing but it dates the music and I really don't like them. Like an AOR vocalist. These two things keep this at 3 stars. Too bad in a sense because I really enjoy some of those long instrumental sections. The organ and guitar are the solo instruments mostly but the bass is upfront and really good.

It's almost like each song has it's excellent moments when it's all instrumental, but also it's "oh no he's singing again" moments. This is a very up and down listen for me. There's a bit of blues with the guitar on "I've Been Blue" but many more jazz moments where the bass helps a lot with this style. There's a lot of jamming it feels like, with many extended instrumental sections throughout.

So while I applaud Black Widow for the re-issue after such a long time. I sadly have to say that this one just doesn't catch my fancy. 3 stars.

— First review of this album —

This third solo album by multi-instrumentalist Wippy Bonstack grabbed me instantly and makes me un- grumpy every time I listen to it. "Tactile Demons" is all instrumental and loaded with variety... hard rock, classical, jazzy, acoustic interludes, avant and proggy riffs, and every song is fabulous. Complex yet emotional compositions that are loaded with groovin hooks that keep you coming back for multiple listens. Wippy is a master at all the instruments he plays and he sounds smokin doing it.

There have been a lot of killer albums this year but this release is a master class in song crafting, musicianship, arranging, positive vibes, and blows everything else away. Most definitely a must have and worthy of five stars.

Matthew Parmenter and company are back with yet another poignant yet powerful offering of simple-yet-masterful prog songs.

1. "Breadcrumbs" (16:56) I feel as if this song represents a couple of old friends who hadn't seen or played with one another got together for lunch, talked about the state of the world (America, Detroit), which fueled the question: "We've still got something to say! With our music! Do you think we've still got it?" and this was the result: three guys getting together in their musty old basement studio with Matthew's "young kid" sitting behind la batterie to help them out, coming up with some simple music that could serve to see if they still had chops (barely) and could still turn a phrase (yes, if extemporaneously and as generically as ever). They sat down, found an Elton John "Someone Saved My Life Tonight"-like riff to build upon, and then pushed "record" on their digital tape recorder--and this is what they got! Not bad for a bunch of old geezers! It'll serve! (31.25/35)

2. "Keep the Change" (7:06) the first song I heard from the album, I thought I was listening to something from around 1970--something from The Outlaws or a rock band whose music would soon become established as what we in the US of A would soon be calling "Southern Rock." I swear I thought it was some long-lost song I'd missed from an old Buffalo Springfield, Stephen Stills, or The Allman Brothers album--or even something from early Lynyrd Skynyrd or very early Bon Jovi. I never in a million years would have pegged this as a Discipline song or coming from the voice of Matthew Parmenter! In the end, it's a nice, solid song--even though it definitely feels like one of the new AI-generated songs meant to recreate an old sound or style. Amazing the power that maturity can spawn. (13.875/15)

3. "When the Night Calls" (5:25) I am not used to hearing this version of Matthew Parmenter: his voice sounds thin, weak, even frail while I'd been used to him being so almost-over-the-top theatric. The style and melodic choices are all him, it's just that the voice sounds like . . . something has happened to him! (Like life, you moron!) Interesting sound engineering with minimal effects deployed on the band--almost sounding like one of those single microphone Joe Jackson recordings--here used on a older Billy Joel composition. Great Discipline/Parmenter-like chorus. I love the simple near-Latin riffs the whole song is built upon, the little but very effective accents, flourishes, and solos from Chris, Henry, and Matthew's organ, as well as his brief little Demetrios Stratos-like vocalese warbles at 3:40. (9/10)

4. "Aloft" (7:46) this one sounds like an instrumental continuation of the previous song on which the musicians pick up different instruments to lay over the steady foundation of bass, piano and drums. As Matthew's piano riff provides the song's foundation we are thereby offered a display of some of Henry Parmenter's instinctual talents on the drums. Chris Herin's choice for guitar sound reminds me at first of some of Robert Fripp's "Frippertronic" like stuff but then, around the mid-point of the song he switches (or else Matthew takes a turn on his own guitar--or vice-versa) to something more in the realm of Randy Bachman's sound on BTO's "Blue Collar" (as well as Roy Buchanan's beautiful tone for his classic "Fly ? Night Bird"). Matthew's overdub of violin (joining in at 3:10) sounds a lot like something from Mark O'Connor in his old (Dixie) Dregs-Shankar days. And then there's the interesting injection of what sounds like an old Farfisa organ. Peaceful and steady, the song is quite a balm for people craving less-complex prog music. (13.5/15)

5. "Aria" (10:41) though far more delicate and jazz-crooner like, there are moments on this song in which the power of the old Matthew can be felt and heard--and definitely in the melodic choices he takes. Piano based for the first five minutes, once Matthew steps back from the vocal microphone the band enters into some interesting, very proggy instrumental music--for about a minute. But then things settle back into the piano's pocket and by 6:45 Matthew is back at the mic, Chris, Mathew, and Henry stepping into line behind him. Enjoyably, there is a full three minutes given at the end for instrumental work: some really nice low violin strikes, smooth lead guitar work and jazzy lounge piano work over Henry's steady jazz-support drums. It's very pretty, very engaging and soothing. There's nothing like a good old solid song as medicine for the soul! (18/20)

Total Time 47:54

I have to give it to these old reptiles, they do still have it! Still using minimal tactics to tell their stories with their usual and very effective power and force. Mega kudos, Matthew, Chris, and Mathew (and Henry!).

The band may have mellowed over the years but then, like a fine aged red wine, it just goes down so smoothly, so satisfyingly.

A-/4.5 stars rated up for consistency and sustained allure: it just keeps growing on you! I don't know how these guys keep doing it with such simple music but they do keep doing it!

Have to give a massive shout out to Garage Ink. One of the best examples of how to do a covers album right. The first half of this compilation is studio recordings of covers, showing off a very wide range of influences. The band are able to add their own style perfectly to these songs without insulting the artists themselves. The second disc is a collection of their covers from the start of their career, and again it's a perfect amalgamation of showing off influence and progression of their own style throughout the years. If you want a list of good bands or artists to get into, then checking out the original artists is a great idea.

A band of promising young Norwegians are showing their serious enthusiasm for a career in music as they have, with this album, returned (in less than two years) with their sophomore album release.

1. "Preceding" (3:13) solid instrumental power prog with a great sound palette, great rhythmic force, and cool engineering. I'm not as much of a fan of the monotonous single chord motif that dominates the third minute, but otherwise a song that gives me great promise for the rest of the album. (9/10)

2. "The Trauma" (5:17) picking right back up from where "Preceding" left off, I'm discovering reminders of bands like Distorted Harmony, Stare At The Clouds, Atmospheres, and Taylor Watson as I listen to this. When Simon Bergseth's vocals enter to become the featured item of the song, my associations to American and Australian Heavy Prog/Prog Metal bands only increases--and then you get the Death Metal growls at the end and the categorization is complete! I like it! (9.125/10)

3. "Families are Forever" (7:49) the requisite slowed down, spacious complex drum play that seems so common to 21st Century Prog Metal bands--especially the good ones who use atmospheric sections in some of their songs. Here is where the quality and skill of a singer's voice is really tested and Simon flies through with great results! He's no Ian Kenny (Karnivool) or Einar Solberg (Leprous) but he is great--on a level with The Contortionist's Michael Lessard and others. Awesome synth-wash-backed guitar solo in the seventh and eighth minutes! A song worthy of a place in the pantheon of great atmospheric Prog Metal songs! (14.375/15)

4. "Conflating Memories" (6:59) what starts out fine seals the deal with that awesome key/chord change at 0:49! Genius (and daring)! The multi-voice chorus singing is a bit hokey/fake sounding, but the compositional surprises and rich sonosphere more than make up for it. In the fourth minute Edvard Seim gives us another guitar solo that really grabs the listener's attention: it's not so flashy just solid, melodic, smooth, and satisfying--like something by Mirek Gil or perhaps David Gilmour. Then, at the end of the fifth minute a Moog-like synthesizer solo takes over as the band shifts into a darker, heavier minor chord structure. A little more singing, a little more guitar soloing, and the band decides on a long fade out to end it. Great stuff! (9.25/10)

5. "The Malevolent" (3:24) a solid song that feels like a 21st Century sound palette presentation of a 1990s LINKIN PARK song--and it sounds so easy for them: they sound like their just cruising along on laid back autopilot! At the same time, something minor is missing: I'm not sure if it's enthusiasm or originality but there's just a little too much ease. (8.875/10)

6. "Ghosts of Yesteryear" (6:17) a complex and challenging composition in which the band display some quite diverse and sophisticated stylistic and sonic faces: after starting out with some high-speed intricate instrumental djenty metal play while incorprating some B parts with Haken-like synths they suddenly switch early in the third minute to a Motorpsycho/Needlepoint-like pastoral acoustic vocal folk sound and motif--and then back to the crashing metal motif at the end of the fourth, employing the folk melody for a bit before descending back into the sophisticated djenty stuff! And then they kind of combine it all with Simon singing in a mellifluous voice. Very interesting . . . and bold! (9.125/10)

7. "Waving at the Sky" (12:19) the album's only epic, it comes in three parts, ABAB-CD-EF. The first two minutes sounding very much like the Naughties' hot Manchester band, DOVES, the next section (chorus) coming across as more THE PINEAPPLE THIEF despite the return to the opening motif after the first chorus. At the 4:00 mark, segueing from the second chorus, the band sways into a C section before devolving into a cacophony of distorted gremlin voices seeming to be in the middle of arguing while a PORCUPINE TREE-like motif materializes at 5:45 from behind before taking over. The ensuing synth-arpeggiated three-chord odd-timed motif is as much like Fear of a Blank Planet PT as anything, but then in the first half of the eighth minute Simon's death metal growls segue into some of that middle-register saw-synth soloing that we hear near the end of "Conflating Memories." But then we come out "into the Light" with a Neo-Prog like ending. Great drumming--as it has been throughout the album; mega kudos to stick man Martin Utby. (23/25)

Total Time 45:21

The band's 2023 debut, The Approbation, leapt onto the scene to great acclaim, presenting a band with great promise. Well I'm here to tell you that that promise (or potential) is being realized!

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of refreshing new prog. Highly recommended for all prog lovers.

In the early 1980s, the tireless Ian Anderson decided, without abandoning his glorious 1970s harmonies, that Jethro Tull should incorporate a greater dose of synthesizers to meet the challenges that the nascent decade presented. First came the more electronic rock of 1980's 'A', a solo project by the multifaceted musician that ended up being signed by the band, and a couple of years later it was the turn of 'The Broadsword and the Beast' (1982), the British band's fourteenth album.

And that inclination to 'modernise' the band's sound on 'The Broadsword and the Beast' (even though the cover suggests the opposite...) doesn't quite work when the keyboards are so prominent, as in the introductions to the simplistic 'Beatsie', with its bland chorus, or in the insipid middle section of 'Flying Colours', which detracts from Peter John Vettese's beautiful piano introduction, or in the hybrid melody between rock, folk and synth pop of 'Watching Me Watching You', which seems out of context.

In contrast, the album has its moments of greatest clarity when it approaches more folk structures with Anderson's acoustic guitars and flutes seasoned with ingredients from classic hard rock courtesy of Martin Barre's guitar riffs, as in the medieval 'Fallen on Hard Times' and Barre's outstanding use of the slide, also in the baroque sounds of the welcoming and emotional 'Slow Marching Band' (a gem), in the ceremonious mid-tempo of the epic 'Broadsword', or in the more progressive 'Seal Driver' and David Page's enveloping bass counterpointed by the guitarist's riffs and under an atmospheric blanket, probably the track that best encapsulates Anderson's stubborn quest to find the balance between the band's musical universes.

The brief and warm 'Cheerio' provides an interesting close to an album that, despite the ups and downs of its disjointed compilation, is a commendable attempt by Jethro Tull (or rather Ian Anderson...) to remain relevant.

P.S. From the 2005 remastering, both the pastoral 'Jack Frost and The Hooded Crow', the beautiful first part of 'Jack-A-Lynn' and the acoustic delight 'Mayhem, Maybe' would have deserved to be part of the main album.

3 stars

The Astonishing is one of Dream Theater's most ambitious albums, but also apparently one of their most divisive!

From the start, with the ambient instrumental The Scent of the Nomads, the album presents itself as a cinematic, theatrical experience. The Gift of Music offers hope, with an energetic intro and some beautiful instrumental passages, but quickly loses steam when James LaBrie's vocals come in, exposing a central problem of the album.

This record marks a clear turn towards melody, narrative, and mid-tempo pacing. It's structured entirely around a concept story, resembling a rock opera more than a traditional progressive metal album. The songs are shorter, simpler, and focused on advancing the plot rather than showcasing musical creativity. Unfortunately, the dramatic responsibility falls heavily on LaBrie, whose voice lacks the versatility and emotional range required to convincingly embody multiple characters.

There are evident aspirations to match masterpieces like Metropolis Pt. 2 or even the second disc of Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. Jordan Rudess shines more than ever here, with lush, orchestral keyboards that recall moments of past greatness. Other instruments, like bagpipes in The X Aspect or strings scattered throughout the album, add color to the sonic palette.

However, despite all these efforts, the songs simply don't hold up. Unlike great concept albums from bands like Savatage (The Wake of Magellan, Dead Winter Dead) or Ayreon, which use multiple or at least more versatile vocalists and strong songwriting to support the narrative, The Astonishing offers little in terms of individually memorable tracks.

Moment of Betrayal is a rare highlight, more focused and rooted in Dream Theater's classic style. But the second half of the album becomes dull, meandering, and hard to follow. It's simply too long, too soft, and too forgettable.

Conclusion: The Astonishing turns into a never-ending stream of uninspired, overly slow songs. The intensity, complexity, and technical brilliance that defined Dream Theater are largely absent.

It's a bold experiment, but one that ultimately fails to deliver.

Best tracks: The Gift of Music, Moment of Betrayal, select keyboard passages by Jordan Rudess.

The band's most progressive album, it saw their songs become longer and more expansive. The guitar sound is heavier, and riff wise at times it compares to the early death metal at the time. Loud, fierce yet at times incredibly beautiful, especially with the epic track One, which has one of the best music videos every made in my opinion. The lack of bass is petty and a massive mistake for the band, but it does give the album a certain a certain metallic feel. Lyrically the album is one of the bands best, dealing with topics like the environment and political issues. I do think that the seeds of what was soon to come were spread on this album, but it's overall an achievement.

The idea that they sold out for this album is a tale as old as time and will be debated until the sun runs out of energy. Yes they did streamline to a more acceptable sound, but they were getting over indulgent with their progressive elements, and a change was needed. Groovier than before, almost reflecting the change Pantera made at the time, the riff was more important than the overall journey of the song. Their is more intricate arrangements even within the song's strophic structures. The album tracks are fun while the singles are pretty much fire. Possibly overplayed, but it is basically the Thriller of metal.

A lot of people consider Styx to be a "Kansas at home" kind of band. And honestly?yeah they kinda are. Ironic since they came out first before Kansas' self-titled debut, but these bands always have been neck and neck with each other in the whole classic American prog ethos. Obviously I am more of a Kansas fan, but I do enjoy some Styx from time to time. And honestly, I sometimes forget they're still going, especially when I heard they made a new studio album this year. They're such an old band, and they're still going strong. You gotta admit they have determination.

And what surprises me a lot is that this is probably their best record since 1978's Pieces of Eight.

Circling from Above takes all the right notes of Crash of the Crown, and refines its qualities to make something much more charming. It has a good mix of flavorful progressive rock moments that feel right at home in their 70s catalog, whilst also showing a clear love for more of their mainstream elements, with a bit more of a pop edge to the entire thing. I honestly think it's a great direction the band is going, and it makes for some really fun music, such as with the almost power pop It's Clear, or the Queen-like Everybody Raise A Glass. A good mix of prog and pop.

I also like how they managed to make the songs definitely progressive rock, whilst keeping them relatively short. Obviously this can be a bit of a double edged sword in my opinion, as I generally prefer the more longer Styx pieces like Movement for the Common Man, or Come Sail Away. You can only do so much when your longest track is three minutes and fifty four seconds.

But I do admire them for making these little bite sized pieces of progressive rock goodness. Admittedly sometimes not even I, someone who consumes prog rock as if it was water, feel like listening to like eight minutes of a very niche genre. Sometimes you just gotta have that 3 minute track that is jam packed with carefully constructed scores.

Honestly I think this record's biggest charm for me is that it just?doesn't feel old. Like Styx is an old band, but where some long lasting legacy prog rock groups like Yes or Premiata Forneria Marconi clearly show their age, I think Styx, at least with this effort, doesn't really share that sentiment. Yeah it sounds like dad rock, but it doesn't really feel like it. Guess to sound fresh, you gotta just sound your best.

While not perfect, I think Circling From Above is a really great effort from this long lasting band. Would I say any of the songs hold a candle to some of their older bangers like The Serpent Is Rising, Blue Collar Man (Long Nights), or Suite Madame Blue? No. But I think this assortment of songs are still charming in their own right. Perhaps in the 21st century, Styx has lost their "Kansas at home" status. Now that status goes to Toto.

Best tracks: Michigan, Everyone Raise a Glass, She Knows, The Things That You Said

Worst track: Ease Your Mind