Stain Monsters - Still In Love (2024)

The second album from this band from Norway.

The band is a quintet with a lineup of drums, percusion, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

This band album debuted decades ago. It is also regarded as some sort of a supergroup. This band also got Cecilie Leganger on keyboards. In her earlier life, she was a world champ winning handball keeper and widely regarded as the best handball keeper of all time. She was huge in my youth and I was among her fans. On this album, she is not one of the best keyboards players in the world.... But she still does a good job.

Handbal greats and idols aside...

The music on this album is a mix of 1960s pop, indie pop, psych rock and the likes of Traveling Wilburys and Electric Light Orchestra. Jeff Lynne's name is written pretty large on this album, music wise.

The vocals is good and the rest of  the band does a good job too.

This is not music I am particular interested in. Nevertheless, the music is somewhere between decent and good. ELO fans may lend this album their ears.

2.5 points

 

 

Zoltan. Eddy - Be My Guest (1983)

The second and final album from this artist from Norway. 

Eddy Zoltan did the guitars, piano and keyboards here.

He got help from some guests who added percusion, drums, bass, guitars and vocals.

His debut album Spelemann was a decent 1970s rock album. That and this album has just been re-released through the NAK series and that has given them and Eddy Zoltan's reputation a new life. 

Be My Guest is a mix of jazz, rock and pop. Most of the music is big and bold. 

The music is also well delivered with a lot of intricate details. The vocals is pretty good.

The music feels slightly dated. This is still a decent album.

Fans of Norwegian rock should check out this album.

2 points

 

 

Zappa. Frank - Dance Me This (2015)

The 43rd and final album from this artist from USA.

Frank Zappa did the guitar and synclavier.

He had help from three Siberian throat singers.

Frank Zappa had passed on in 1993. The years that followed witnessed a flood of albums with archive material. 

The quality control was very poor at the end and Dance Me This is taken from the bottom of the barrel. 

The only news here is the Siberian throat singers and they and the music around them is half-decent. The rest of these thirty odd minutes is very poor.

.... And so ends my reviews of his albums. Albums who includes some good stuff inbetween some pretty poor efforts. I think I will conlude by saying that Frank Zappa had a big personality but whose discography were not living up to his personality. I am not one of his millions of fans. Nevertheless, he has my respect.

1.5 points

Confirmation Bias - Century Mornings (2024)

The debut album from this band from Norway.

The band is a sextet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

This is a new band in the Norwegian progressive rock scene. 

The band sprung out of the Rush tribute band Rusj. The band members has also played in bands like Misplaced Childhood, Millenya and Magic Pie. That and some local bands. The average age of the band members must be around fifty years old, I guess.

That is reflected in the music on this one hour long album. Music thoroughly rooted in the 1970s prog, psych and art rock scene. There are some hints of Dream Theater and hard rock too.

The music is very muscular and melodic. The vocals is beefy.... and good. 

The result is a pretty impressive album. My only gripe is the missing great song or piece of music. Nevertheless, this is a good album.

3 points

 

Abacus - Everything You Need (1972)

The second album from this band from Germany.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, organ, piano, keyboards, synths and vocals.

I reviewed their debut album back in September 2012 and liked it a lot. 

For some reasons, I did not continue to review the rest of their albums. I will this spring review their remaining five albums.

The music on this forty minutes long album is mostly pop and rock. Vaudeville and a bit quirky pop and rock, but still in that genre.

There is very little prog here. There is some early symphonic prog here and that is all. The music is to a large extent poppy krautrock, though. The band comes from the krautrock scene.

The songs are catchy despite of being a bit quirky.

The quality is still pretty decent. I was so looking forward to sinking my teeth into this album.... Nevertheless, it is still a decent album. The title track is the highlight here and it is a good song.

2 points

 

 

My Dying Bride - Evinta (2011)

The 11th album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a duo with a lineup of electronics and vocals.

A handful of guests added cello, viola, piano, keyboards and female vocals.

I am always looking forward to reviewing EPs or albums from this band as it is one of my alltime favourite bands. So I started to listen to this album...#

... An album that felt a bit odd.

This is not really a proper studio album. It is re-worked for cello, viola, piano, vocals and keyboards old pieces of music. Pieces from their long career.

This album is also long and comes as a double CD.  

Some of the pieces is some I recognise from previous albums. Other pieces are so re-worked that I am not able to recognise them.

All of this also has a lot of electronica and some male and female vocals.

This is really an avant-garde rock album and much more avant-garde than a normal album from this band.

Some of the stuff is good and some of it is decent. I am not won over but this album still deserve some attention.

2.5 points

 

 

Hawk On Flight - Hawk On Flight (1980)

The second album from this band from Sweden and Norway.

The band was a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, keyoards and guitars.

I was pretty impressed with their 1979 debut album In Time For Hawk On Flight. A good fusion album.

The band continued on their second album with their take on fusion.

References are Return To Forever and Weather Report. This on their debut album as on their second album.

The music on this forty-five minutes long album is playful with a lot of solos and quirky melodies. Those who are into Return To Forever will really enjoy this album. The difference is that the musicians in RTF was the best ones in the world at that time. The musicians in HOF was "only" the best ones in Scandinavia at that time. That is the only major difference. That and the music on this album is slightly more laidback.

The result is a really good album.

The band continued to release some more albums. Albums I have yet to find so I will leave the band at this stage.

3 points

 

 

Earthshine - Symbiosis (1985)

The second and final album from this band from USA.

The band was a trio with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars and vocals.

This band is very obscure and their two albums were both self-released. They are both available through Ebay. 

I have not checked out their first album and I have no intentions to do so either. 

The band's music on this forty minutes long album is a mix of mainstream rock, art-rock and AOR. 

The band's musical standards is OK. There are some good guitar riffs and themes here. The vocals are barely acceptable. Hence, the guitars are their main positive feature. 

The music is half-decent to decent. The good guitars elevates this album a bit and up to a decent standard. I still have problems recommending this very obscure album. Nevertheless....

2 points

 

 

Leviathan - Heartquake / Redux (2024)

The fourth album from this band from Italy.

The band is a quintet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

This album is a re-recorded and redone version of their 1988 debut album Heartquake. Hence the album title.

Two of the original members did the re-recording with the help of three guests and now permanent members of this band.

This is another band flying well under my radar and I should therefore check out their second and third album. Both of them was released in the 1990s.

The music is neo-prog anno the 1980s. The style is the British neo-prog style and references are both Marillion and Pallas.

The music is both muscular and elegant. The six songs are medium long. They are pretty punchy too and has got some really good vocals, guitars and keyboards.

This is a good album and one neo-prog fans will cherish and really enjoy.

Check out this album.

3 points

 

 

 

Zoltan. Eddy - Spelemann (1974)

The debut album from this artist from Norway.

Eddy Zoltan Kiss played the organ, piano and mellotron.

He got help from some guests who provided drums, bass, guitars and vocals.

Eddy Zoltan was a Hungarian artist who had fled the oppressive regime in then the Sovietunion occupied Hungary and settled in Norway. One of pretty many Hungarian refugees who made Norway into their homeland. That to the benefit of Norway and the Norwegian society as a lot of these regugees was both smart and artistic.

Eddy Zoltan released two albums and I got both of them for reviews. The second one will follow in some days time.

This album was pretty heavy promoted but still did not sell well. It has just been re-released through the NAK series with the hope that it will sell some more copies and get the attention it deserves.

The music is a mix of Norwegian folk music, 1970s rock, musicals like pop and progressive rock. Procol Harum and Traffic is a good reference. 

The vocals are in Norwegian and pretty good. Ditto for the organs and the mellotrons. 

I had no expectations whatsoever to this album and became pretty positive surprised. The quality is actually decent and there are some good instrumental parts here. 

This is a very obscure band but well worth checking out.

2 points

Zappa. Frank - Feeding The Monkies At Ma Maison (2011)

The 41st album from this artist from USA.

Frank Zappa does the synclavier on this album.

This album was dug out from some leftover material from the Jazz From Hell recording session. A record released long after Frank Zappa's passing and a record who was itself based on leftover materials.

I am debating with myself if this album is a gift to the really diehard fans or just a ripoff. 

Even the diehard fans will have problems enjoying these forty minutes of mindless synclavier noises. 

That is what it is... some samples and mindless notes spliced together to make pointless pieces of noise.

In short, this album is a turkey.

1 point

Big Big Train - The Likes of Us (2024)

The 17th album from this band from Great Britain.

The band is a seven piece big band with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, violin, mellotron, synths, piano, organ and vocals.

A handful of guests added woodwinds.

The sad passing of the lead vocalist and leading light David Longdon was a big blow to this band and the progressive rock scene. There was threrefore some questions being asked about this band.

The ex PFM vocalist Alberto Bravin stepped in as the new vocalist and the band pulled together and pooled their very considerable resources to replace David Longdon. An almost impossible task, but the band has done their best. Not at least to honour his memory.

The music is a mix of symphonic prog and neo-prog with some art-rock incorporated.

The music is lush with both male and female vocals. Alberto Bravin has done a great job here. Just as he did when he revitalised PFM again.

The music is very good with some great guitars and vocal harmonies. The mellotron is great too.

This album is again a proof that this band is the best progressive rock act on these islands and a very good album in it's own right. 

3.5 points

Grand Funk Railroad - Good Singin', Good Playin' (1976)

The eleventh album from this band from USA.

The band was a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, piano, keyboards and vocals.

A guest added guitars.

The band continues with their mix of hard rock, arena rock and americana. 

The songs are pretty catchy on this album. But there is nothing much going on than workman like hard arena rock.

The vocals is good and the band does their best on some decent songs. 

This album, and indeed the band, is something fans of US rock from the 1970s should check out.

2 points

Wyatt. Robert - Radio Experiment Rome... (2009)

The ninth album from this artist from Great Britain.

Robert Wyatt did all instruments here. That is percussion, harp, piano, keyboards and vocals.

This album was recorded for and by a radio station in Rome, Italy back in 1981. It was an experiment, indeed. 

The music is ambient and improvised. The lyrics are left-wing and some praise for the communists in China. Very naive, taking into account how murderous that regime was back then. Not that they have improved a lot in that respect these days....

A lot of things are being used/misused as percussion and Robert uses his voice both as vocals and as an instrument.

On paper, this sounds horrible. But actually, it is not that horrible. Yes, this is an album I will never ever play again. Nevertheless, some parts of this album is pretty engaging and charming.

The result is a half-decent album but nothing more than that. 

1.5 points

Golden Core - Kosmos Brenner (2024)

The third album from this band from Norway.

The band is a duo with a lineup of theremin, percussion, drums, bass, guitars, organ, piano, synths and vocals.

Some guests added woodwinds, organ and vocals.

This is another Norwegian band who has been flying below my radar for the last five years. It is my understanding that their first two albums were stoner rock albums. 

Kosmos Brenner is something altogether different...

Take black and viking metal, add industrial metal, a bit punk and some stoner rock. Then add some heavy metal.

The music on this forty minutes long album is very brutal throughout. It also has a great avant-garde feel. It is indeed avant-garde metal, the genre we can put this album in.

Some brutal vocals also adds brutality. 

The quality is decent to good throughout. This is one of the better new brutal metal albums I have encountered this year. Check it out.

2.5 points

 

 

Earthmark - Megafauna (2022)

The debut album from this band from USA.

The band is a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars and vocals.

This is another album given to me as a progressive rock album....

Another well meant gesture. Nevertheless, the music here is not particular progressive.

Take blues and blend it with psych rock. Add a bit americana rock and you get the drift.

The music is melodic too. It is still pretty traditional and americana.

It is not particular interesting if progressive rock floats your boat. There is not many really good songs here either. Songs who would appeal to anyone but those who are into the americana genre.

This is a decent album. 

2 points

Last Ark Out - Lift (2024)

The second album from this band from Canada.

The band is a quintet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards, voices and saxophone.

Some guests added drums, synths and woodwinds.

This band from Vancouver on the Pacific coast of Canada released their debut album back in 2017. An EP was also released. All this through Bandcamp.

Their music is jazz. Some may even label this as fusion. 

There is some Canterbury scene peculiarities in their music, yes. Nevertheless, this is jazz.

Most jazz bands are either guitars or woodwinds dominated. This is the one hundred years long conflict between mainly saxophone or guitars. This conflict also raged in rock'n'roll before Chuck Berry once and for all made electric guitars the coolest, most rock'n'roll instrument in the world.

In jazz, the debate still rages on. To my joy, and the reason why I enjoy this album, is the woodwinds and guitar solos on this album. 

That elevates this thirty-five minutes long album from being a jazz album only for the jazz fans to become an album also prog rock fans can enjoy.

This is indeed a good album and one everyone, progheads and jazzheads, should check out.

I hope to hear more from this band in the future.

3 points

 

 

Finally George - Icy Skies (2021)

The second album from this artist from Germany.

Finally George did the percussion, bass, guitars, violins, keyboards and vocals here.

A dozen of guests added drums, percussion, guitars, strings, flugel horn, piano, organ and vocals.

This is so far the last album from Georg Hahn, also known as Finally George.

The 2018 debut album Life Is A Killer was a mix of some very melodic psych rock and neo-prog. The music was like Pink Floyd at their most melodic.

Georg Hahn returned three years later with the fifty minutes long Icy Skies. 

We get the same genre and same kind of fare. The music is slightly more epic and it feels like Georg has grown in confidence. There are indeed some interesting details and melodies on this album.

There is a lot of good things to be said about this album. I therefore hope we will hear more from Georg as Finally George in the future.

Check out this album if melodic prog floats your boat.

3 points

Cairo - Nemesis (2023)

The second album from this band from Great Britain.

The band is a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

The band was started by Rob Cottingham from Touchstones and his own solo-career. 

The 2016 debut album Say was quite a good album who showed a lot of promises. It was an album quite close to what Rob did in Touchstones.

He has continued the same path with Nemesis. That means powerful, muscular heavy prog songs with a lot of female vocals. There is also some male vocals here.

Some of the songs are bordering to musicals songs too. The ballads, that is.

The music is well crafted and has a lot of interesting details. The music is also good too.

There is no doubts Cairo will become a big band in the progressive rock scene. They already are, based on this album alone. It will be interesting to see how far this band will go when it comes to commercial success.

Check them out.

3 points

Cambio Della Guardia. Il - Cambio Della Guardia (2023)

The debut album from this band from Italy.

The band is a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

A guest added extra vocals.

The Italian progressive rock scene is a scene that is spawning a lot of new bands. That is mostly progressive rock in the more traditional RPI genre. A genre very popular in the 1970s and where the good old masters are still around. 

Cambio Della Guardia is taking us back to the RPI scene anno 1971-72. PFM and Banco is references here.

The music is a mix of symphonic prog and more pastoral folk rock. 

There is a lot of Italian vocals here and the vocals is very good. 

The music is songs based and pastoral. The tempo is slow to mid-tempo.

There is therefore no fireworks in their music. Just some subtle but still classy songs.  

This fifty minutes long album is a good album and a good addition to the scene. I hope we will hear a lot more from this band in the future.

3 points

Motorpsycho - The Tussler (1994)

The fourth album from this band from Norway.

The band was a trio with a lineup of bass, mandolin, guitars, violin, banjo, recorder and vocals.

A handful of guests added drums, percussion, bass, harmonica, guitars, piano, keyboards and vocals.

This is one of the oddest choices an established band has ever done. A complete weird choice and a massive album full of irony.

This is a country and western album.

Not only that.... the country and western is old style. There is therefore some bluegrass here too.

The music is close to being unlistenable for a reviewer who abhor country and western. I am not even sure what kind of score I should give this album. I am not sure if I should have written and published this review.

This album is abhorrent and horrible. It is a turkey like the vast majority of that genre is.

Turkeys is mostly farmed in the area in USA where country and western is most popular. That is what you can read into this score. Avoid.

1 point

 

 

Mythic Sunship - Upheaval (2018)

The third album from this band from Denmark.

The band was a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass and guitars.

This band is an unashamed space rock band. 

Their first two albums showcased a developing band. A band/rose yet to get in full bloom.

Upheaval is three quarter of an hour long. The music is floating space rock. Outer space rock.

Lots of guitar harmonies and floating guitars. The bass is chugging away like a freight train and the drums is keeping the train coming towards you.

The music is at times beautiful and slightly melodic. The bass keeps things a bit ugly... as ugly as it should be.

There is a lot of very interesting details here and this album is a reminder about how great this genre can be when done properly.

The result is a very good album indeed. 

Space rock bands should check out this album. 

3.5 points

Flax - Flax Tracks (1986)

The third and final album from this band from Norway.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards, harmonica and vocals.

I have always had a soft spot for this band based on their second album Monster Tapes which I bought on LP forty years ago. I regard that as the first ever heavy metal album from Norway. A controversial opinion.

I have also friends from the band. 

I am now being... has been for a couple of days, confronted by this forty minutes long album..... 

The music is a mix of hard rock, rock'n'roll and pub rock. There are also some very bad 1980s rock and funk here too. 

Despite of friendships, I have to be honest and publish an honest review. That is that there is nothing to like on this album. 

This is an album best forgotten as it is a turkey. That is the only thing I can say now. Avoid this at all cost.

1 point

Earth Flight - Blue Hour Confessions (2011)

The second album from this band from Germany.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars and vocals.

This band has so far released three albums and they debuted back in 2007. Their most resent album was in 2018. Hence... this band may have been disbanded.

Their music is what they have called atmospheric rock. Discogs says post-rock.

Both labels are not entirely precise although the band's own words are pretty precise.

Take a bit of Anathema, a bit Katatonia, Radiohead and Coldplay. Add some post-rock and shoegaze. The final bit is melancholic German neo-prog. RPWL is a good reference. 

The music on this three quarters of an hour long album has some good guitars and vocals. The sound is good too.

Not all the songs are good. But there is enough here to make me wonder if I should get the rest of their albums too. This album is not bad at all.

2.5 points

Hackett. Steve - The Circus and the Nightwhale (2024)

The 29th album from this artist from Great Britain.

Steve Hachett did percussion, bass, mandolin, guitars and vocals here.

He got help from numerous guests who added drums, tar, bass, strings, woodwinds, guitar, programming, keyboards and vocals.

This is Steve Hackett finally releasing a concept album. I am not sure about the subject matter here. I am more interested in the music.

The music is what to expect from a Steve Hackett album.

Bombastic, epic and quite eclectic symphonic prog with lots of great guitars.

The music on this album has got both female and male vocals. Several well known artists and long time collaborators are adding their help to this album.

The guitars and the vocals are good. The songwriting.... OK, it is not his best album. It is still a good album but I had still expected a lot more from this album. It leaves me a bit disappointed...

3 points

Finally George - Life Is a Killer (2018)

The debut album from this artist from Germany.

Finally George, real name is Georg Hahn, did the bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals here.

He got help from a dozen of guests who provided drums, percussion, guitars, organ, piano and flute.

Georg Hahn has so far released two albums and they are all up for reviews in this blog. 

The music is melodic psych rock and neo-prog. This blend of music is bordering to mainstream rock throughout this one hour long album. 

The vocals are good and the Pink Floyd influences, the latter days version of Pink Floyd, comes thick and fast.

There is nothing really offensive, interesting or remarkable about the music here. The music is decent to good and Georg knows how to make workman like music. It is not music that really makes my heart run faster in excitement...

Nevertheless, this is a decent to good album.

2.5 points

 

Cairo - Say (2016)

The debut album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards, synths and vocals.

The band was started by Rob Cottingham from Touchstones and his own solo-career.

I really liked Touchstones. They were/are one of the most talented new prog rock bands from Great Britain. I also got one of Rob Cottingham's solo albums but have yet to listen to it.

Cairo, not to be confused with (as I did) the US symphonic prog band with the same name, has so far released two albums. Both are up for reviews in this blog.

The vocals in Cairo, as in Touchstones, is both male and female. The vocals is good. The music is a mix of neo-prog and heavy prog. Porcupine Tree is a very good reference here.

The music is very complex and at times also eclectic. This is not easy listening, this one hour long album.

The quality is somewhere between decent and good. I hope the band learned from this album and came back with a stronger, better second album. I will soon find out...

2.5 points

Laconic. The - Time And Tide (2024)

The third album from this band from USA.

The band is a duo with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, synths and electronics.

The mainman in this band has previously released albums, as late as last year, under the name The Laconica. Their new project is derived from that name.

The music is lush and pretty colourful electronica.

There is also a lot of cinematic rock in the music too. There is a lot of Goblin references here. So much that this Italian band and their many soundtrack albums is the main reference for this album.

The music on this three quarters of an hour long album is not particular interesting. Fans of Goblin will perhaps like this album and so will fans of electronica. I am not won over.

1.5 points

Roxy Music - Country Life (1974)

The fourth album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a sextet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, strings, synths, keyboards, oboe, saxophone and vocals.

The album with THAT cover. A photo/album art-work that is probably on the top ten, if not top five, of the most iconic cover art-works of all time. 

So what is hiding behind this cover ? A forty minutes long art-rock album.

The music is also a blend of quirky vaudeville rock and commercial pop. But art is what this album is all about.

Hence, the music is quirky and a bit eclectic. 

The addition of oboe, electric violin and saxophone adds a lot of spice to some already quirky melodies and songs.

Eddie Jobson should here be credited as a vital addition to this album's sound and music. Phil Manzera also does a very good job on guitars. The band's main man, Bryan Ferry, is still the main engine on this album.

The result is some really good songs. Art-rock it is but some of the songs are pretty catchy too. The music on this album is fascinating and draws the listener in. 

This is a very good album and a fine example of how eccentric art-rock sounds like. It is indeed an iconic album from cover to the music. 

3.5 points

 

 

King's X - Ear Candy (1996)

The sixth album from this band from USA.

The band is a trio with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars and vocals.

A handful of guests added percussion and vocals.

A new album with a new band logo and a hippie psych rock like album art-work. Their record label Atlantic was trying to rebrand the band. They and most others did not really understand what to make of this band.

I understand Atlantic and those who has struggled. This band is totally unique and once in a century event.

The band tried to both grunge up and add some psych rock to their sound and music. But the core is still there.....thankfully.

Their attempts to add something more, something they are not, to the music, mostly fell flat on it's face on this album. 

Despite of this, the music is pretty good though. There is a couple of substandard songs and a couple of very good songs. 

This is by no means a bad album. It is still their weakest album to that date.

3 points

Chronicles of Father Robin. The - Book 3 (2024)

The third album from this band from Norway.

The band was a sextet with a lineup of drums, percussion, glockenspiel, mandolin,bass, guitars, piano, organ, keyboards, synths, flute and vocals.

A handful of guests added strings, mellotron, organ, clavinet, piano, synths and electric piano.

This album concludes the three albums The Songs & Tales Of Airoa series of albums. The series stared last year and the final CD and digital download was released one month ago. A big LP box with all three albums has been released in five hundred copies.

We are in the middle of the Scandinavian symphonic prog landscape here. Just as on the first two albums.

Book 3 is clearly very inspired by the most quirky, eclectic output from Yes. Their Fragile era.

Although the material on Book 3 is highly original, the music is sometimes giving clear and obvious Yes associations.

As with the first two albums in this series, Book 3 is a fascinating half an hour long album. The quality is also very good throughout.

The three albums long The Songs & Tales Of Airoa is one of the more original, eccentric ever contributions to the progressive rock scene. It is also something to be proud of and  something to enjoy in the next years and decades.

Check out this album.

3.5 points

Ebb - Mad & Killing Time (2022)

The debut album from this band from Great Britain.

The band is a sextet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, woodwinds, keyboards and vocals.

This band is from Dumfries in Scotland and they are five girls and one male. They were also voted best newcomers by Prog Magazine last year. That got my attention and I visited their Bandcamp site.

In theory, this makes for some unusual music. And in reallity, this is the case indeed. 

Take fusion, mix with space rock, eclectic prog, psych rock, a bit soul and a bit art-rock/pop.  

The music is quirky, eclectic and strangely enough melodic too. Erin Bennet's vocals is very good. Her vocals is backed up by some frequent very good vocal harmonies too by the backing vocalists. All of them are female vocals.

There are a couple of very good songs here and a couple of not so good songs. The overall quality is good. Add the fact that their music is both original and fresh. 

The band is very active and is working hard this year. A lot of good things can therefore be expected from this band.

Check out this very good album.

3.5 points

 

Arnold's Artrock Project. Marek - Marek Arnold´s Artrock Project (2023)

The second album from this project from Germany.

Marek Arnold did the saxophones and keyboards here.

He got help from numerous guests who added drums, percussion, bass, guitars, synths, strings, keyboards, woodwinds and vocals.

Marek Arnold is mostly known from the DDR band Stern Combo Meissen before the Iron Curtain fell and then as a member of Seven Steps To The Green Door, Manning, Damanek and then a studio musician for the likes as Steve Hackett and Jon Andersen.... just to mention a few thing he is involved in. The full list is very long, indeed.

Together with his friends, he has recorded two albums under the Marek Arnold's Artrock Project.

The music is best described as a mix of progressive metal and art-rock.

It is big, bold and epic. It has pomp and silk all over it. It is really pompeous and well over the top. The music has this rock-opera feel with lots of various types of male and female vocals.

This album is excess all areas. Which is fine if the music is good..

...And it is. There is no great stuff here but the music is really good with lots of interesting details. This is an album well worth checking out.

3 points

Nautilus - Fathom (2009)

The second and final album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards, narrations and vocals.

A guest added saxophone on one track.

Their 2004 debut album was an instrumental prog/cinematic rock album. It did not really impress me either so my expectations for this album was low.

The music here is big and bold. It is a mix of pomp rock, art-rock and neo-prog.

The music on this forty-two minutes long album is also a mix of long and lingering instrumental pieces and proper songs. 

The vocals are good and the saxophones are adding some colours to the music. The more 1970s keyboard sound is adding quality to this album. 

This album is an improvement on the debut album and a fairly good album. It is an album well worth checking out.

2.5 points

Earthside - Let the Truth Speak (2023)

The second album from this band from USA.

The band is a quartet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

Numerous guests added drums, percussion, harp, saxophones and vocals.

Their 2015 debut album A Dream In Static heralded a new era in the progressive metal genre. The album announced these new talents. 

Eight years later and we get the follow up album.

The core of this album is still progressive metal. The band has also branched out into post-rock, jazz, symphonic prog, art-rock, vaudeville rock and eclectic prog. 

The music range from Roxy Music to Dream Theater in other words. 

The music is big and flowery. The vocals is good too. Very good. 

The music here is big, bold, noisy, epic and flowery. 

The quality of the music is also very good and this album was one of the better albums from last year.

There is no doubts that Earthside can become a big force in the progressive rock scene if they desire so. Get this album.

3.5 points

TumbleTown - On the Highwire (2024)

The third album from this band from The Netherlands.

The band is a trio with a lineup of bass, guitars, piano, organ, keyboards, harmonica and vocals.

A guest added drums to this album.

I really liked their first albums, relaesed eleven and six years ago. Long breaks in other words as this band is not these musicians first priority.

Their music is muscular neo-prog with a lot of art-rock influences.

The music is melodic and elegant.

The vocals is good and there is a lot of interesting details here too.

The result is a workman like good album who does not really sparkle but still deliver the goods.

3 points

Zappa. Frank - Jazz from Hell (1986)

The 32nd album from this artist from USA.

Frank Zappa did the synclavier throughout the album and lead guitar on one track.

He got help from dozen guests who provided drums, percussion, bass, rhythm guitars and keyboards.

This album is where Frank Zappa found and used a new electronic instrument called synclavier. Seven of the eight tracks here are Frank experimenting with this new instrument. 

The only non-synclavier song is a live version of one of his better songs.... St. Etienne. Frank makes this into a long, good guitar solo where the rest of the band supports him. This includes Chad Wackerman and Steve Vai. This is the highlight of the album.

The synclavier songs are really avant-garde music. It is also pioneering songs which inspired and made way for today's popular music sound. 

In many respect, this album is a bit of a revolution. And the jazz here, because this is really a jazz album first and foremost, is pretty good. The sound is so far out there that it takes some time to get used to.

This is a pretty weird album. It has some good music though. It is not an immediate hit, this album. It takes time to really appreciate it. 

Everything taken into consideration..... this is a good album and one of those Frank Zappa albums worth checking out.

3 points

My Dying Bride - The Barghest O' Whitby (2011)

The 10th Ep from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a quintet on this ep with a lineup of bass, guitars, violin, keyboards and vocals.

A guest added drums.

I normally never review Eps in this blog. When it comes to My Dying Bride and indeed Anathema, their first Eps were very interesting indeed. They were to a degree genre defining Eps. The genre being slow, progressive doom metal when it comes to both bands.

My Dying Bride was inbetween two drummers on this album and their old drummer kindly helped them out on this half an hour long ep.

New ideas was tested out and then later abandoned on their albums. That itself makes this ep interesting.

The music dark, broody and pretty crass. The art-work tells the story, really. This is not for the faint hearted or those who likes the more gentle sides of this band. Gentle is not how I would describe the music.

The vocals is still pretty clean with some occasional death grunts and dark screams inbetween. There is also a lot of violins here.

The music is still slow, melodic and gothic gloomy. The music is also good and this makes this ep obligatory purchase for anyone into this band. A band I have to admit is on my top ten of my favourite bands.

Check out this ep.

3 points

Manitou - Entrance (1995)

The one and only album from this band from Norway.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

This band only released this album before they gave up the ghost. Most of their members later joined other bands like Spiral Architect and Scariot.

Entrance is regarded as one of the first and most influential Norwegian progressive metal albums. Many, many other albums from many bands has followed hot in it's heals. An album overdue a re-release. 

The music on Entrance is at the darker side of the progressive metal spectrum. There is more heavy and power metal here than progressive rock.

The music is still progressive enough for this progressive metal genre.

The music is hard though...... mostly. There is a couple of softer songs where the vocalist shows a more mature side of his vocals.

The vocals is good and typical for this genre.

The music is barely decent. Still... this album deserve some attention and credit from the metal crowd. 

1.5 points

Elephants Of Scotland - Random Mirth (2016)

The fourth album from this band from USA.

The band was a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, saxophone, keyboards and narration.

This band is one of Adam Rabin's many projects and bands. He also has a pretty successful solo career. 

Elephants Of Scotland has just released a new album and I hope to review that one shortly. In the meantime, I am filling in the gap here as I have already reviewed the first three albums. Three good albums.

Random Mirth is an instrumental neo-prog and symphonic prog album. The blend of keyboards and guitars are pretty good during these fifty minutes.

The quality of the music is decent enough. The music is a bit too formula based and this album does not really have any good or refreshing pieces of music. Nevertheless.... those who likes instrumental progressive rock should get this album.

2 points

 

 

Turbulence - Binary Dreams (2024)

The third album from this band from Lebanon.

The band is a quintet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

I have to admit that their first two albums flew well under my radar. Progressive metal is not a genre I find very interesting. 

I got this album sent to my inbox and this is how this band came to my attention. 

Myrath and Orphaned Land is the bands who put Middle-East and Arabic progressive metal on the map. Turbulence follows in their path and a scene has been formed.

There is not that many Middle-East or Arabic influences here. The band has gone for an US progressive metal sound.

The vocals is slick and so is the music.

Lots of good guitars and keyboards. Lots of good vocals. There is not many surprises here though.

The result is somewhere between a decent and a good album. Progressive metal fans should pick up this album, though.

2.5 points

Nautilus - What Colours the Sky in Your World? (2004)

The debut album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars and keyboards.

This band from Canterbury released two albums before they were disbanded. I got both of them and a review of their second album will shortly be added.

The music on this forty minutes long album is instrumental progressive rock. There are some Anekdoten, Landberk, Porcupin Tree and King Crimson influences here. 

The music is pretty dark throughout this album and that gives this album and indeed this band an own identity. 

It is rare to encounter an instrumental progressive rock album as dark as this. In this respect, you can add some influences from the avant-garde band Present too. 

The music is both driven by keyboards and guitars. The quality is decent enough and this album, and indeed this band, deserve a lot more attention. 

2 points

 

 

Earthside - A Dream In Static (2015)

The debut album from this band from USA.

The band is a quartet with a lineup of djembe, drums, percussion, bass, guitars, grand piano, piano, keyboards and vocals.

Numerous guests added French horn, percussion, guitars, dulcimer, vocals and a full symphony orchestra

This band has so far released two albums and is widely regarded as the next big thing in the progressive metal scene and genre.

The band label their music as cinematic rock. Well, they have a point. Nevertheless, the music is a mix of prog rock and metal. The label "cinematic progressive metal" is the one we should perhaps use on this album and band.

The music is dynamic and at times pretty hard on this one hour and five minutes long album. There is a lot of instrumental pieces of music here. Still dynamic but instrumental..... and cinematic. Yes, I understand what they says.

The sporadic vocals are good and ditto for the many long and lingering guitar solos.

The result is a good album and one that makes me looking forward to give their new album my attention later this week.

3 points

Emerald City Council - Motion Carries (2024)

The debut album from this band from USA.

The band is a quintet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards, saxophone, recorder and vocals.

The band had help from some guests who provided mandolin, guitars, narration and backing vocals.

This band was formed by keyboardist and saxophone player Brent Bristow. Jake Livgren from Kerry Livgren Band and Proto-Kaw joined and that snowballed the duo into a quintet and then some guests added their instruments to this album. This was meant to be a studio-project, but they had a change of heart and has gone on the road as a band, promoting this album.

The album was sold to me as a symphonic prog album. In that case, an US symphonic prog album. The Kansas and Proto-Kaw references comes thick and fast.

There are also some neo-prog, US neo-prog and art-rock here.

This album clocks in at sixty minutes. The first ten minutes sounds like a teenybopper album and those minutes are pretty bad. The album gradually improves and becomes pretty good at the end.

I am not entirely won over by this album and will rate it somewhere between decent and good. I hope this album is not a one-off album from a band who comes and then get disbanded. I hope they are here to stay.

2.5 points

Grand Funk Railroad - Born to Die (1976)

The 10th studio album from this band from USA.

The band was a quartet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

Two guests added harmonica, saxophone and backing female vocals.

The band trundled on, album after album. They never became a huge band. They still had considerable success and were operating on a level a bit below The Eagles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. 

Their music and lyrics had been pretty light and carefree up to now. That changed with this album.

The lyrics is dark here. Ditto for the music. We are still in the hard rock and arena rock genres. But the band has lost this youthful optimism and is more reflecting on death, politics and diseases. 

The music is hard at times. There is no hit single on this album and there is no really good piece of music here. There is no really poor piece of music here either.

The result is a decent album. It is workman like album too. Check it out if 1970s hard rock is your thing.

2 points

Wyatt. Robert - Comicopera (2007)

The eight album from this artist from Great Britain.

Robert Wyatt did the main vocals and some cornet, trumpet, piano, keyboards, guitar and percussion. 

He had help from a lot of guests who provided drums, percussion, bass, guitars, woodwinds, keyboards, piano and vocals.

His previous album Cuckooland saw his music stripped down to mostly vocal droning. Seventy-five minutes off that and the result was not a good album.

Robert Wyatt has thankfully added a lot of instruments to the follow up, this one hour long album. The music is singer/songwriter with lots of jazz and avant-garde influences.

There is a lot of jazz instruments here like the woodwinds. There are also some good percussions here.

The album is split into three parts. That does not really make any difference as the quality of the songs leaves a lot to be desired.

The result is only a marginal improvement on the previous album. Nevertheless, it is still an album well worth checking out as the album is never dull or boring. 

2 points

Pluto - Soundtracks for Inner Movies (1999)

The third album from this artist from Norway.

Petter Esben Guthe did the guitars, vocals and keyboards himself. 

This album was lost for almost a quarter of a century before the people behind the crowdfunded NAK series in Norway discovered that this recording was around and got Petter's permission to release this on an own lost albums series earlier this year.

Petter Esben Guthe is regarded as one of the best ever Norwegian guitarists and the likes of Ronni Le Tekro from TNT, the most famous Norwegian heavy metal guitarist of all time, is among his admirers and ex pupils.

Pluto/Petter released music somewhere between Mike Oldfield and Camel on his first two albums. That very much is the case on this album too.

Take cinematic prog, Camel and Mike Oldfield and mix this together. Add some electronica and ethno rock too and you get this.

Most of album is instrumental guitars supported by keyboards and the occasional vocals. The result is pieces of music and not proper songs.

The result is a good album which has a good sound and ambience. We can only hope that this album reaches bigger audiences than those of us who are followers of Norwegian progressive rock.

3 points

Emerson, Lake & Powell - Emerson, Lake & Powell (1986)

The one and only album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a trio with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

This album was released eight years after the ELP album Love Beach. Keith Emerson and Greg Lake wanted to get together as ELP again. Carl Palmer was on duties and tours with Asia at that time and recommended Cosy Powell as a sit-in drummer on this album.

All three members are legends in their own right and they have all passed on. And this album has been hanging around in my album collection for around fifteen years without getting a review. 

The music is the typical ELP fare after they ditched the more neo-classical and symphonic prog stuff and went more AOR. 

AOR but still with some pretty big influences from the good old ELP. 

Ther version of Loco-Motion, an evergreen, is cheesy to say at least.

Greg Lake's vocals are good and the rest of duo does a good job. We are clearly listening to ELP although the P is Cosy Powell this time.

Yes, the album smells of burning cheese but it is still a good album. Songs like Mars and The Score takes us back to their better days and is alone the reason why this album is worthy a purchase.

3 points

Baguibatus - Manifiesto (2024)

The debut album from this band from Chile.

The band is a trio with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars and vocals.

This band comes from Valparaiso on the coast, just some hundred miles west of Chile's capitol Santiago. Valparaiso has a big prog, metal and folk rock scene too. The biggest and most loved bands comes from this rather big city and harbour.

Only time will tell if Baguibatus will join this list of loved and respected bands from this city.

Their debut album, clocking in at fifty minutes, is a mix of math rock, eclectic prog and jazz. No, this is not fusion.

The music is indeed eclectic and slightly avant-garde. The few vocals and narrations here are in their local tongue Spanish.

The music is mid tempo but still not melodic. The music is decent enough but just that.

Fans of this blend will like this album. I am not won over.

2 points

 

 

Bek. Jef - Distant Starlight (2023)

The second album from this drummer from USA.

Jef Bek did the drums and some keyboards, slide guitar and vocals on this album.

He got help from numerous guests who provided bass, guitars, woodwinds, mellotron, keyboards and vocals.

I was not impressed by their debut album which was a mishmash of all genres with Frank Zappa like sillyness at the end. But I had heard positive things about Distant Starlight.

The music here is a mix of Pink Floyd'ish psych rock, art-rock and neo-prog. Add in some musicals and rock opera stuff and you get it.

All this as bold and brash as most things and prog coming from USA.

The music is pretty varied during these sixty minutes. It is also melodic and straight forward. There is not many quirky details here.

The result is a good album and one neo-prog fans will enjoy. Jef Bek is an artist well worth checking out.

3 points