tszirmay wrote: What a coincidence, as I just received Dave Bainbridge's Celestial Fire album, and promptly reviewed it yesterday. It features Damian Wilson as lead vocalist and he does a masterful job with material that is somewhat more gentle than his usual gig with Threshold (which  have recently got into also!). Steve, this is right down your alley, me thinks......Let me know what you think should you decide to follow my advice.

Thanks Thomas. I saw your review, and it certainly wouldn't be the first time I got a cd based on one of your sets of words!

Mr Bainbridge added to the listening list.

Edited by lazland - February 10 2015 at 15:35

So, I have listened, and now I report. I must confess that before this thread started, I was rather unaware of Damian Wilson. Of course, I had heard of Threshold, and may even have heard them a couple of times, but the connection was unknown to me.

I firstly listened to I Am Anonymous by Headspace. Soldier, the recommended track by Nicholas, is a lovely track, moving & rich. The rest? Good heavy Prog, but nothing standout, although moments of Daddy f**king Loves You had me tapping away. So, Headspace will probably not trouble the Lazland pockets.

Then I moved onto That's Why We Came by Threshold. This is a hugely superior slab of heavy Prog, great stuff. I may well get March of Progress, the album from whence it came, which had me deeply impressed on the journey home tonight.

I have heard Clive Nolan's Alchemy before, albeit a little while ago. I really must revisit it, although, disappointingly, I couldn't get it on Spotify this evening.

Then, I Thought The World Was Listening. Disciple, the first track on this album, I have mentioned before as being a beautiful piece of music, but, tonight, I put on the whole hog. The album is a 2011 retrospective of Wilson's solo work, and is simply superb. This is precisely the type of intelligent, soulful, musically precise stuff that I adore, although quite a long away from the likes of Threshold! I can see why he isn't on the site as a solo artist, because much of this is probably not "rock" enough to pass an evaluation (although, personally, I believe that acoustic and stripped down Prog should be here). It is, though, great stuff, and I have ordered the album tonight.

There we go. Thanks Nicholas👏 Getting great new music is just why we are here, and this is simply so moving, I had to get it. I would also mention just how fantastically diverse Wilson is.

I mentioned Spotify before. I put the IPad app back on at the weekend, having deleted it some time ago when the adverts were getting on my pips. I never did get around to subscribing, mainly because of stories I kept seeing here and elsewhere about the pittance artists get for each listen.

I did go through a digital download phase a few years back, but swiftly went back to buying hard copy cd's only. I like to own music, and I am rather old fashioned in that I like to be able to hold what I own.

In the last couple of years, my only streaming has been done on Progstreaming site, which I have always found to be a great site, and has spawned more than a few purchases. And this is how I propose to use Spotify. The Damian Wilson related tracks suggested have been played on Spotify, and I am listening to the retrospective solo album on there now. This listen has prompted me to buy, so the artist will now get his deserved royalties for making music that moves me and brings me pleasure. I am aware that many prefer to simply listen, and not buy, but, surely, even if a percentage only buy the cd, it will have been worth it for the artist? What do you all think?

Anyhow, I have a funny feeling that when I have finished my outstanding reviews in the next week, I will be exploring both PA and Spotify to expand and explore my newly found enthusiasm for modern Heavy Prog. It was about time I moved away from Rush and found out what else was there😛

Either method could be used Steve, but since neither has actually had a dedicated thread posted for them in the New Suggestions forum up to yet, I will do the honours for both bands once my shifts for the week at work are over. That will be on Tuesday.

progbethyname wrote: I'm sure eventually While Heaven Wept will have their own spot rightfully here on PA soon. They are a blessing in the modern Prog metal world. A thankful discovery for myself.

Cristi wrote: progbethyname wrote: As promised. Just a few Damian Wilson gems to really enjoy the versatility of this incredible singer. Hope you like these tracks. 1) I am A Soldier (with Headspace.) 2) That's Why We Came ( with Threshold) 3) Burial At Sea ( With Clive Nolan's: Alchemy) 4) Eat The Unicorn ( Early Threshold) That Headspace album is awesome! All Threshold albums with Damian are really good (and I'll admit that the albums with McDermott are my favorite though) Also, Damian was in band called Landmarq (3 albums if I remember right) - some good stuff there, too.

I'll be exploring these,over the course of the next couple of days, and will report back

progbethyname wrote: As promised. Just a few Damian Wilson gems to really enjoy the versatility of this incredible singer. Hope you like these tracks. 1) I am A Soldier (with Headspace.) 2) That's Why We Came ( with Threshold) 3) Burial At Sea ( With Clive Nolan's: Alchemy) 4) Eat The Unicorn ( Early Threshold)

That Headspace album is awesome!
All Threshold albums with Damian are really good (and I'll admit that the albums with McDermott are my favorite though)

Also, Damian was in band called Landmarq (3 albums if I remember right) - some good stuff there, too.


Edited by Cristi - February 07 2015 at 04:52

Hey Steve, just wanted to thank you for the Mostly Autumn suggestion a while back. I liked it so much I added it to my top ten in the Collab AOTY vote:

Edited by The Dark Elf - February 02 2015 at 20:29

I wanna recommend something since i saw you liked the doom-ish While Heaven Wept and appreciate a good female vocalist. Well, you have them both with a band called Avatarium (from Sweden) who released their self-titled debut in 2013. To me, that's an amazing album. As you like WHW then there's a chance you would enjoy Avatarium.


Edited by Cristi - February 01 2015 at 17:11

^Thanks, Nicholas.

Listening to new music has always been, to me, the whole purpose of coming onto this site, so I have given your suggestions a shot, and given some comments below.

By the way, I should, perhaps, state, for the record, that my expressed surprise at an act not being included on PA should not be interpreted as a negative comment on collabs in the teams. I used to be one myself, and I know it is a difficult job sometimes.

Having said that, I do think that it might be an idea to start a thread on the site asking for suitable rejected candidates to be reevaluated, this based on new releases only, and definitely not Bandcamp only artists!😉

Anyhow. Delain. I rather enjoyed this, and not just owing to the eye candy evident on the Starlight video I have just watched. This strikes me as being perfectly good commercial Prog metal, well played, well produced, and, well, decent enough stuff. Personally, if I were still on the New Act suggestions team, I would send this over to Crossover. There is, IMO, enough there for a serious consideration.

Now then. While Heaven Wept. I have just finished listening to the 15+ minute epic that is The Furthest Shore. Absolutely stunning. Staggering. I am not ashamed to state that the final two minutes, with that soaring guitar, virtually had me in tears, it was that good.

I did actually start off as a metal fan way back when. Sabbath, Purple, Rainbow, those were the bands I started off with, and they remain favourites to this day. Having said that, it is true that, in latter years, I have tended to not enjoy a great deal of modern metal. I think this is more down to the fact that I don't really look that hard.

Anyhow, While Heaven Wept are Prog metal, pure and simple. I, too, am astounded that they are not here. Have they been suggested? There are moments of utter beautiful melody, soaring keyboards, pounding rhythm, screaming guitars, a suitably 'eavy, and strong, vocalist, all this in a dramatic setting which screams to me to be included on this site.

So, thanks, Nicholas. This album has been placed on the brand new, 2015 "to buy" list in Lazland. Great stuff!

Lastly, Damian Wilson. I am familiar with Damian, and, you are right, he has a lovely voice. I have just listened to Disciple, a gorgeous acoustic piece whose lyrics also resonate strongly with me. As a result of this, I will explore his solo work a bit more.

As for the rest of the few days since I last posted, life carries on in its own fun fashion. I am beginning to get a bit of a backlog of new albums to review, this, owing to the fact that I am studying for my final exam at work this Wednesday - my promotion is dependent upon passing, so it has been rather busy.

But, in between, I am really digging, and looking forward to reviewing shortly, Lee Abraham's album, Distant Days, Steve Rothery's fine Ghosts Of Pripyat, and the exceptionally talented Harvest, who very kindly sent me this week their third cd, Northern Wind. I will not write my review in this blog, but, suffice to say, I find that Harvest have really upped their game on this new album. It is a fantastic leap forward in their sound, and will be highly recommended when I get the review out.

Talking of reviews, some people made some very kind comments on my Renaissance review last week, so thank you for your messages. That was one of those reviews which just came out. I felt like listening to the album, was enjoying every second, and the words just blurted out.

Happy days. Thanks for reading. See you soon.

Every now and again, I feel it is only right that a blog should be used to promote acts or artists that might otherwise get lost in the mix. Even worst, Prog artists who cannot even get included on this site.

I tend to visit the wonderful Progstreaming website about once a week, more often if I am faced with long train journeys with work for visits and the like.

Today's visit coincides with my lovely wife watching something on the telly of little interest to Mr Laz, and I am listening to the beautiful and talented Anne-Marie Helder, together with her Panic Room cohort, the exceptional Jonathan Edwards. Both of them hail from a part of Wales not that far from where I live, although I have seen them live once, I have never had the pleasure of meeting them, which I hope might change one day.

Panic Room are one of my favourite bands in the new generation of female led progressive rock bands. I gave, rightly, a glowing review to their latest last year, Incarnate. The finest piece of music on that wonderful album is the incredible Start The Sound, a warm, glowing symphonic pastiche with very knowing popular music nods.

If, like me, you love that, basically the best of the more gentle side of Prog, then you will love the offshoot, Luna Rossa. My good friend, David "Yam Yam", publicised this on the "Get The Word Out" thread, and, regrettably, I have not gotten around to listening until today.

The album, Secrets And Lies, is quite wonderful, a beautiful collection of ballads and acoustic workings of original Welsh songs. Listening to the pure voice of Helder in harmony with acoustic guitar and piano is a lovely way to spend a joyous day in a joyous life, and I have just ordered the cd from my friends at Caerllysi Music.

Talent such as this is a rarity, and I believe that one of the prime functions of this site is to provide a receptacle for visitors to see and learn about such music, thus increasing sales, thus giving us more of the music that we love. A virtuous cycle, indeed.

If this had been an album released under the Panic Room "brand", then I would be preparing to review it on Prog Archives. It is, though, a spin off, and, even though it has warranted a feature in Prog magazine, a slot on Progstraming, available for sale on various specialist progressive rock sites, if is not deemed to be "Prog enough" for this site.

This really is such a shame, and a massive disappointment. This site exists in order to catalogue and bring the wonder of Prog music to people who might be interested. No, Luna Rossa do not have crashing guitars, thumping drums, complex musical operettas, mellotrons soaring. No. What they have is a voice, and an acoustic approach to some wonderful music. It is distinctly folk in places, and, actually, would probably warrant a place within Prog Folk on this site. We certainly have far less credible acts in that category, and elsewhere.

The pointI am making here is that this is intelligent, thought provoking, wonderful music, which, whilst stripped down, is not "simple". It is, in other words, an acoustic Prog album, and shame on us for failing to recognise that.

Anyhow, I know that there are a few who read this blog and my reviews who share my tastes in music. Well, this one, my friends, comes very highly recommended.

There is a thread elsewhere on the site discussing the old and new Prog. I love classic era Prog, but I value just as highly new Prog. Indeed, my greatest pleasure in music these days is not picking up and playing something I have listened to thousands of times, as nice as that can be. No, it is the thrill of listening to wonderful new sounds such as this.