Days Before Tomorrow - The Sky Is Falling (2009)

The one and only album from this US band.

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

Two guest musicians helped out on keyboards and piano.

This album has been listed as a neo-prog album in ProgArchives and other places. So I went for it.

I am not so sure about this neo-prog label on this album, though.

Take some Marillion and add some AOR, pop and hard rock. Neo-prog ? Hmmm.... not that much.

The sound and the vocals are really good. 

The music is too much based on a pop and AOR formula to really make this album particular proggy. There are some good details in a few places. The songs are not really up to scratch and the vocal harmonies reminds me too much of boybands and pop bands. 

I am no fan of pop and boybands. 

The production is slick and ditto for the vocals. 

The quality is missing in large parts of this album and the album never really rises above a decent level. Hence my sparse use of points here.

2 points

Pohjola. Pekka - Views (2001)

The 13th album from this artist from Finland.

Pekka Pohjola played bass and keyboards here.

He had help from an orchestra, drummer, bassist, vocalist and guitarist.

This is the next to final Pekka Pohjola album before he sadly passed away in November 2008. 

He has left us with a treasure trove of albums. Not all of them are good in my opinion. Then again, that is my opinion. I am sure he has got many fans and will get many more fans when people discover his albums and his work.

Views is a more lyrical, laid back album with a lot of classical music inspired cinematic music. There is also a couple of songs here. One of them is a funky, jazzy song.

Most of the stuff is cinematic though.

I do not rate this as a good album as it has some pretty dull stuff and melodies. It is a decent album though. It is not one of his best albums, though.

2 points

 

Enid. The - Fall Of Hyperion (1974)

 

The debut album from this British band.......sort of.

The band was Robert John Godfrey on keyboards.

He was supported by a cast of other musicians who added percussion, bass, guitars, organ, orchestral instruments and vocals.

This album is regarded as the debut album from both The Enid and the prolific composer Robert John Godfrey.

Robert John Godfrey was a member of Barclay James Harvest band before he split with them and released this album. Then he formed The Enid.

I will now review every single one of their studio albums....or most of them. That is 20+ albums. I will see what I can get.

This album is a natural beginning and it is an interesting debut album.

I am a fan of symphonic prog and it goes without saying that reviewing the full The Enid discography is something I have been looking forward to. 

Take some classical music, a lot of Barclay James Harvest, some pop, eclectic prog and a lot of symphonic prog. That is when you get this symphonic prog album. 

The vocals is good and there is a lot to be enjoyed on this rather peculiar album. It is an album full of eccentric ideas. But most of them are working.

This is indeed a very good album and one that has made me really look forward to give this band my attention in the coming months and perhaps in the next two years.

3.5 points

 

 

Congreso - Congreso (1977)

The third album from this band from Chile.

The band was a seven piece big band on this album with a lineup of drums, congas, percussion, harp, bass, guitars, cello, charango, flute, harp, tarca, cuatro, quena, panpipes and vocals.

The band had some help from some guests who provided oboe, trumpet, cello, violin and viola.

The band continued to release albums. 

This band felt they had settled down on one genre and celebrated this by naming this album in their own name. It was quite a popular album too and it has sold very well.

The music is mostly folk music with a lot of influences from rock, pop and jazz. 

The music is lively and full of exotic sounds and melody lines.

In the ears of a Nordic European, the music sounds strange and unfamiliar. But the quality is there and there is a lot of it.

The music is decent to good throughout. 

This is another interesting album from this band from Chile. Check it out.

2.5 points

Mahogany Frog - In The Electric Universe (2021)

The seventh album from this Canadian band.

The band is a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards, synths and samples.

The band returns after seven years with this LP in 2020 and the CD/digital downloads this year. 

It is a kind of a comeback from a band I really liked. So I was looking forward to this album.

This version of Mahogany Frog was an intense disappointment after the first listening session. 

Electronic space rock is what we get here. There is a lot of cinematic music too and that is what it is meant to be. A soundtrack. 

There are, as I discovered after some more listening sessions, some fairly OK melodies here in the rather distorted spaced out music.

This is so far their weakest album and a disappointment. 

The music is barely decent and just that.

I am not impressed.

2 points

SoundDiary - A Book in My Hand (2014)

The second album from this Austrian band.

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

This is another new band to me.

I have not had the chance to hear their first or third album. Their third album is so far their latest album.

Based on this, their second album, I hope we will hear a lot more from this band. I will also probably get their two other albums too and review them.

The music is a mix of German & Polish neo-prog, a bit Marillion and a bit Pink Floyd. Add some Radiohead too into the mix.

The vocals is very good at times. The tempo is a bit laid back.

The music is good throughout with some good melodies and details. There is a lot to be enjoyed on this album from this rather unknown band. A band who deserve a lot more recognition.

Check them out.

3 points

Blackfoot - Siogo (1983)

The sixth album from this US band.

The band was a quintet on this album with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, slide guitars, keyboards and vocals.

The band continued their career with this album. 

Ken Hensley from Uriah Heep debuted as  a Blackfoot member on this album. The first of two Blackfoot albums he played on. He also wrote some songs on this album.

The band still stick to the well known Blackfoot formula.

That means US hard rock blended with some southern rock. Fifty fifty of both genres, I would say.

The songs are decent enough with a couple of pretty good Ken Hensley penned songs as the best songs.

The music is pretty hard and very typical US hard rock. 

The result is a decent enough album who will please all fans of old US hard rock.

Check it out.

2 points

Single Celled Organism - Percipio Ergo Sum (2021)

The second album from this German band.

The band is the brainchild of the drummer Jens Lueck who also contributes with keyboards, guitars, bass and vocals.

He has got help from eight other musicians who added guitars, cello, violin, viola, recorder and vocals. Both male and female vocals.

This is another German one-man progressive rock project. 

I have yet to get the debut album. An album I guess I should really get, based on this album.

Single Celled Organism gives us one hour full of Pink Floyd influenced neo-prog. 

The music is really melodic and it has some female vocals at the end. The male vocals are really good and so is the other musicians.

There is a lot of soaring guitars and guitar solos here. The references to Pink Floyd comes thick and fast. The references to German neo-prog also comes thick and fast. This is indeed a German neo-prog band/project and album.

The overall quality is very good with some very good melodies and details. I really recommend this album and will keep an eye on this band.

3.5 points

Days - Days (1970)

The debut album from this Danish band.

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

This band released three albums before they gave up the ghost. 

1970 was a great year for the music with some groundbreaking albums.

Days debut album is not a groundbreaking album.

The music on this album is mostly beat music. The Beatles springs to mind and the music is very much in their vein. The organ adds some more early symphonic prog and psych prog to the sound and music. The Moody Blues springs to mind here.

The songs are really poor.

This album is very obscure and that for a good reason. It is mostly a turkey. I rate it as a turkey and will not review their two other albums.

1 point

 

 

Old Dead Tree. The - The Water Fields (2007)

The third and final album from this French band.

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

A keyboardist added keyboards.

The band gave up the ghost after this album after this album. 

Their second album, the 2005 album The Perpetual Motion, is regarded as a bit of a semi-classic in the French extreme metal scene.

The band won themselves a listing in ProgArchives based on that album and that got my attention. Hence these reviews. Reviews I should have done ten years ago.

The Water Fields is a rather gothic extreme metal with some elements of death metal, black metal and..... Porcupine Tree.

The use of clean and growling vocals are fairly good. The musicians also do a fairly good job.

The music is a bit run of the mill and pretty much the standard type of music so many other bands did at that time and still does. 

The quality is poor and only the few good details here saves this album from being named a turkey. I am not won over by this album or this band.

1.5 points

Ozric Tentacles - Tantric Obstacles (1985)

The second album from this English band.

The band was a sextet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars and synths.

I have got around seventeen of their twenty-one albums to review. That will take me well into next year, I guess. 

Ozric Tentacles is a space rock band who comes from the south coast of England. They have released a lot of albums and gigged a lot too. They are still active and I have always been curious about them.

Hence this upcoming list of reviews.

The band has been compared to Hawkwind. That is not evident on this album where there is a lot of ambient and dub in addition to some pretty gentle space rock.

The music is indeed very laid back and I relaxing.

There is a lot of subtle details on this album and some of them are decent to good. But most of this album is decent enough.

This is not a bad album at all.

2 points

 

 

 

Dear Hunter. The - Act II: The Meaning Of, And All Things Regarding Ms. Leading (2007)

The second album from this US band.

The band is a quartet with a lineup of percussion, glockenspiel, drums, timpani, tubular bells, piano, bass, guitars, organ, electric piano, marimba and vocals.

The band had some help from some guest musicians who provided cello, harp, violin, French horn, trumpet and banjo.

This band is a typical new US progressive rock band. They are highly influenced by The Mars Volta and Coheed And Cambria. 

But that is not the full story. Add some David Bowie and Marillion influences too. Some of the music is vaudeville and theatrical rock. Alice Cooper springs to mind.

This is a very long album, clocking in at seventy-eight minutes. That is as much as you can pack a single CD with. 

The music is bold, varied and melodic. The music is also good throughout although some may find it a bit on the radical side and too much of a mouthful. 

This is an album well worth checking out.

3 points

Brave New Worlds - .Net of Illusions (2021)

The debut album from this Italian band.

The band is a trio with a lineup of electronic drums, guitars, synths, samplers, programming, percussion, piano, keyboards and vocals.

The band had help from a handful of guests who provided clarinet, saxophones, violin, viola, electric violin, chapman stick, bass, drums, percussion, guitars, female and male vocals.

This band is new to me. This album is also a double CD, lasting two hours.

The music is melancholic, dark progressive rock. It is to a large extent also RPI.... Rock Progressive Italiano. The vocals is in English but the music has incorporated a lot of the RPI old bands.

There is also a lot of Van Der Graaf Generator and Peter Hamill references. In particular on the pretty dark second CD.

The music is very melodic. There is also a lot of intricate melody lines and details here too.

The female and male vocals are very good.

The quality of this album is very good and I would be surprised if this album will not win many fans.

Check out this album.

3.5 points

 

 

Southern Empire - Civilisation (2018)

 

The second album from this band from Australia.

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

The band was helped by a trio of guests who added saxophones, violin and flutes.

Southern Empire is one of the two continuations of the excellent Australian band Unitopia who broke up in 2010'ish. 

I have yet  to hear their debut album and I will add a review when I get it. In the meantime..... their second album Civilization. 

There are four songs here. One of them clocks in at half an hour, another one at twenty minutes and the two other ones at ten minutes each. 

The music is still a mix of Unitopia, Spock's Beard, Kansas, Yes and modern prog metal. The music is by no means all out symphonic prog. 

The music is indeed intricate and full of details. It also have some beautiful melody lines and hooks.

The quality is good and this album is well worth checking out. It comes recommended.

3 points

Castanarc - Journey to the East (1984)

The debut album from this UK band.

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

This band has just released their new album and I will review that later this fall. 

I also got this album and I have reviewed their second album Rude Politics some years ago. That album was a turkey and a horrible album. Journey To The East is regarded as a mini-classic album though....

We are in the middle of the British neo-prog scene here. The band is one of the unknown neo-prog bands and really never made it. 

This album contains almost forty minutes with neo-prog in the same vein as Pendragon, Jadis and Pallas.

There is a lot of keyboards on this album and not so much guitars. The vocals are rather good.

The sound is rather thin and this album is a typical 1980s neo-prog album.

The music is decent enough without really being good. 

Neo-prog fans need to check out this album and this band. 

2 points

Mirage - The Tyler Durden Project (2021)

The fourth album from this French band.

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

This band released three albums from year 2000 to year 2008 before they took a long break. 

Only one of the original members/the 2008 band are left in Mirage. Back then, they sounded as a mix of Camel and fusion.

The band has changed sound and music on this album. 

The band now do a mix of symphonic prog and in particular; neo-prog. Their new genre is indeed neo-prog.

There is still some fusion and some hints of Camel in their music and their music is not standard neo-prog. The band has managed to give their music it's own identity.

An identity with a lot of classic Camel references.

The quality is good and this one hour long album is well worth a purchase.

Check it out.

3 points

Datura - Mr. Untel (1982)

The one and only album from this French band.

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

This band arrived, released this as a self-released album and then disappeared again.

The French symphonic prog and neo-prog scene is pretty different from most other scenes. The emphasis is on the theatrical and the more folk rock like Jaques Brel.

When it comes to Datura and their fifty minutes long album, the likes of Atoll and indeed Ange springs to mind.

There is also some Genesis here.

Datura is very much a French band and the vocals is good.

There is some simple pop music who sullies the good impression most of the album creates. 

The quality is therefore somewhere between decent and good. 

Collectors of French progressive rock should check out this album.

2.5 points

 

 

 

Adekaem. The - Sound Coloring (2017)

The third album from this band from Poland.

The band is a duo with a lineup of keyboards and guitars.

The duo has got help from a bass player, drummer and a vocalist.

The neo-prog scene in Poland is very strong and healthy. The Adekaem has just released a new album and I also got this album to review before reviewing their new album.

The music on this forty minutes long album has some hints of Americana and some symphonic prog influences. 

Besides of that, the music is pretty standard Polish neo-prog. 

The opening instrumental is at times very good. The rest of the album is not of the same standard.

The standard falls a bit in the middle of the album before the band gets their act together on the final song.

The result is a rather good album. It is not as good as expected, but it is still a good album and an album fans of neo-prog from Poland and/or melodic neo-prog should check out.

3 points

Oldfield. Mike - Incantations (1978)

The fifth album from this British artist.

Mike Oldfield does the guitars, bass, farfisa organ, harp, piano, synths and percussion himself.

Some other musicians contributes with a female choir, string orchestra, drums, vibraphone, flutes, female vocals and trumpet.

During the last ten years, I have sporadic reviewed his first three albums. That is Ommadown, Tubular Bells and Hergest Ridge. But I have not gone through his full studio discography before........ now.

I am starting with his fifth album as this is the first one I have yet to review.

It is said this is one of his final flirts with classical music before he went down the songs tradition.

This album is seventy-two minutes long and it has some female vocals and some choirs. The rest is some good electric guitar solos and synths.

The music is not really that interesting. It is very, very much the same theme and the shine falls of this album and music halfway through these seventy minutes.

This is a decent album but nothing more than that.

2 points

Porcupine Tree - Deadwing (2005)

The eight album from this British band.

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

I did the reviews of the first seven Porcupine Tree albums years ago for # 1 of this blog before I dropped the band and decided to do the remaining three albums on a later date.

That time has now come and I am doing these three albums this autumn.

This band is one of the biggest bands in the progressive rock scene and it's founder Steven Wilson is one of the most influential musicians and persons in the scene. And rightly so. It is a deserved status for both him and this band.

The music on Deadwing is melodic hard prog with a lot of Marillion influences. 

The band has gone melodic here with some medium long songs. The songs are really accessible and offers both ear candy and a lot of intricate details.

The result is a very good album and one to have in your collection of progressive rock albums.

3.5 points

Keor - Tearoom (2021)

 The third album from this French artist.

Victor Miranda Martin Keor did the keyboards, guitars and vocals.

He had help from some other musicians who added guitars, flute, drums and backing vocals.

His 2018 album Petrichor was a good album and made me interested in this album when it arrived.

The music on Tearoom is all over the place.

From mostly eclectic rock and theatrical rock to some more melodic stuff. There is also a lot of Middle East folk music here too.

Everything is bungled together as in a concept album. There is some spoken words who does not really bring clarity to the concept.

The word here is "eclectic" and it is indeed that. It is also pretty unhinged too.

The quality is barely decent. It is a massive disappointment compared to Petrichor. 

Hence my lack of enthusiasm for this album.

1.5 points

 

 

Spectrum Orchestrum - It's About Time (2018)

The third album from this French band.

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

The band has been around for around ten years. They have been gigging a lot and they also have their own Bandcamp page from where they sell their albums.

The band is rather unknown and that is for a good reason. Their music is nowhere near commercial.

The music is improvised spaced out jazz. 

There is a lot of avant-garde and zeuhl here too. 

The music is really eclectic and a bit lacking in quality. 

Parts of this album gave me some enjoyments as a Soft Machine fan. Other parts left me cold. 

This album has awoken my interest in jazz. But this album falls a bit short.

2 points

 

 

 

Mekong Delta - In A Mirror Darkly (2014)

The 11th album from this German band.

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

Mekong Delta is one of those weird and wonderful bands in the metal scene. 

Their base camp is thrash and speed metal. German thrash and speed metal. From that base camp, the band has climbed the hills towards fusion and progressive rock. Not to mention classical music.

Their latest albums has been more in the thrash and speed metal vein.

...Although In A Mirror Darkly sees them expand towards heavy and progressive metal.

The music is still weird. There is a lot of method in the madness and weirdness.

The result is not one of their best albums. It is still a pretty compelling listening and a decent album indeed.

Mekong Delta is a band everyone into progressive rock and weird music should check out.

2 points

 

 

Ciccada - Harvest (2021)

The third album from this band from Greece.

The band is a seven piece big band with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, woodwinds, recorder, mellotron, harpsichord, synths, piano, electric piano, glockenspiel, clavinet, organ and vocals.

This band caused quite a sensation with their 2010 debut album A Child In The Mirror. The 2015 follow up album The Finest Of Miracles cemented their status as one of the finer bands in progressive folk rock.

Their music is a mix of folk rock and progressive rock. Add some of the magic from The Third And The Mortal too and you get this album.

The music is as lush as the cover artwork alludes to.

Lots of various instruments here. Most of them are acoustic and gives the music a nice folk rock feel.

The overall quality is very good and this is another very good album from this band. A band with a lot of admirers in the scene. 

I am one of them.

3.5 points

 

 

Darwin - Origin of Species (2018)

The debut album from this UK band.

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

The band had a lot of help from two strings quartets, a chamber orchestra, flute, saxophone, spoken words, bass, keyboards and guitars.

Darwin is a new band who has so far released three albums. 

The concept is sci-fi and post-human beings. It is set in the future. 

Despite of Darwin being a trio, the sound on this album is big and bold. Music wise, the music is somewhere between symphonic prog, hard prog, some prog metal and a lot of neo-prog.

The music is mainly neo-prog and has it's base in that genre. Sci-fi is the concept and music though.

The album is long.... almost one and an half hour long. It is a concept album and it has a lot of guitars and vocals.

The overall standard is good throughout. It has a nice blend of tech and melodies. 

Check out this album if neo-prog and sci-fi floats your boat.

3 points

Dead Letter Circus - Dead Letter Circus (2018)

The fifth album from this band from Australia.

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

The band continues as they did before with their mix of hard prog, neo prog and progressive metal.

The result is some pretty intense music. 

The intensity does not relent during these forty minutes and it leaves the listener gasping for air.

The twin-guitars are pretty intense throughout and has at times a post-rock sound. That gives the band their own sound.

The vocals are good. 

The quality of the songs are good throughout. It is an album which can be branded modern progressive rock as it has incorporated a lot of post-metal and post-rock. ....Or it is just plainly Australian.

Check out this album.

3 points

 

 

Embryo - Opal (1970)

The debut album from this band from Germany.

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

A handful of guests provided motocello, bongos, bass and female vocals.

Embryo was a fusion/psych band who are still around. I got around ten of their albums and will review them in this blog.

Opal is a psych jazz album. That is the best label I can put on this album.

There is some Gong, Soft Machine and general German mad offbeat krautrock influences on this album.

There is a lot of saxophones here on some rather weird psych tunes. The jazz also comes in on regular intervals.

This is a really weird album but most of it makes a lot of sense. 

There is indeed some good music here although some of the music falls a bit short.

This is a decent to good debut album and well worth checking out.

2.5 points

 

 

Efecto. El - Como Qualquer Outra Coisa (2004)

The debut album from this band from Brazil.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, ukulele, flute, trumpet and vocals.

This band has released five albums and I am reviewing them all this year....

... Starting with this, their debut album.

I was looking forward to sinking my teeth into this album as eclectic prog is a genre I really like.

But eclectic also means downright weird and unhinged. 

The music on this album is all over the place from folk rock, avant-garde, death metal, sanson, punk and salsa. 

There is a punk attitude throughout this album. Post-punk, that is. 

The music is too unhinged and too much all over the place to really enjoy this. 

The quality is not good at all. It is barely a decent album and it is only saved by some decent pieces of music. It is still not a good start on this adventure.

1.5 points

Astral Bazaar - A Sudden Realization (2021)

The second album from this band from Finland.

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

I really liked their 2018 debut album Pictures Unrelated and was happy when their new album arrived.

The band plays a mix of indie rock, progressive rock and psych rock. 

The sound is light and fluffy. It has a bit of a West Coast ambience. 

The vocals is really cool and breezy. The sporadic saxophones adds some teeth to the music too.

The songs are good to very good. There is no outstanding track here though and that is the only thing missing from this album.

The band is onto something here. Even commercial success if this album is being marketed and distributed properly.

Check out this band, both albums.

3.5 points

Spektakel - Spektakel (1974)

The one and only album from this German band.

The band was a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, organ, Mellotron, Moog and vocals.

This band is a forerunner of the band Schicke Fuhrs Frohling. But Spektakel was a band in their own right.

They were famous for their gigs and looooong improvisations. Their gigs could last for five hours or more. Most of the gigs was improvisations and jams. 

The three studio pieces on this album is much more structured, though. The final songs, a live track, is a jam and all over the place.

The music is a bit of symphonic prog meets space rock and King Crimson.

Genesis, King Crimson, Eloy, Novalis and Schicke Fuhrs Frohling is good references here.

The songs are pretty long and complex. At the best, the music is really good. At worst, it is decent.

The sound and vocals is good and this is not a bad album at all. Symphonic prog fans should really check out this album.

2.5 points

Consider The Source - World War Trio Parts II + III (2015)

The fourth album from this US band.

The band is a trio with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, ukulele, guitar synths, banjo, percussion and some Middle - East and Indian instruments.

This band is really left-field and totally out on the fringes of the prog rock and jazz scene. Something their previous albums has demonstrated.

Two hours and twelve minutes of instrumental music is what we get here.

There is a wide variety of music though. From Western metal and fusion to much more North - African, Middle - East, Asian and Indian folk music.

That makes the music pretty interesting indeed and keeps up the listener's attention.

That itself is difficult with instrumental modern music.

First and foremost, this is a good album indeed and it does not feel too long.

Strangely as that sound.....

This album is well worth checking out from this weird band. A band I really respect as a truly unique band.

3 points

 

 

Yawning Sons - Sky Island (2021)

The second album from this US - UK band.

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

The band's debut album Ceremony To The Sunset. was released in 2009 and it has taken them twelve years to follow up that album. I reviewed that album for ProgArchives and liked it a lot.

The reasons for the long silence is perhaps that the band is a coop between two other bands. Yawning Man and Sons Of Alpha Centauri. Two bands who has been far more active than Yawning Sons.

Is the long wait worth it ?

Yawning Sons does what it says on the cover art-work photo. Desert rock with some mountains in between. The music is actually very cinematic too.

There are some male and female vocals here. Most of the music is barren and desolate guitars.  

The music on this three quarters of an hour long album is good indeed. It really keeps the listener's attention despite of it being quite horizontal and laid back.

Maybe I should explore the desert rock genre a lot more in the future. Yawning Sons has got my attention and I really like their two albums.

Check out this album.

3 points

Dark - Round the Edges (1972)

The one and only album from this British band.

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

This band came, recorded an album and then split up.

It is quite incredible that the original LP pressing is the most sought after and valuable LP today by British band. This album has also been pressed on CD at least three times. 

A rehearsal studio CD was also released in 1994 and that album is rightfully ignored. It will not be reviewed in this blog.

The music is a mix of hard rock, psych rock, blues and some hints of progressive rock.  

The music falls very short of the expectations I have had to this album. I was really looking forward to review it.

The music is decent enough. The musicianship is half-decent and that also goes for the vocals.

This album is decent enough but not good enough to pay a king's ransom to get a copy of it. Get the CD version instead as it has some decent bonus tracks. The CD is altogether one hour long and a decent album.

Hence this verdict.

2 points

Pohjola. Pekka - Pewit (1997)

The 12th album from this artist from Finland.

Pekka Pohjola played bass and keyboards here.

He had help from piano, percussion, strings, woodwinds, drums and guitars.

The quality of his last outputs had not been great. He had released classical music album and a more new-age album too.

There was a big variety in his output. He also worked with TV and movie productions.

Pewit sees Pekka Pohjola go back to his jazz roots.

This is a jazz album, first and foremost.

Some of the music is really heavy with a lot of very heavy guitar solos and riffs. There are also some avant-garde jazz here and some more melodic stuff.

The end result is an album somewhere between good and decent. I am not totally sold by this album. The first part is really good where the album tails off at the end.

Nevertheless, check out this album from this fine artist.

2.5 points 

Blackfoot - Marauder (1981)

The fifth studio album from this US band.

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

They were helped out by a quintet who added banjo, horns, trumpet, keyboards, percussion and backing vocals.

The band continued their mix of southern rock, stadium rock and heavy metal. US heavy metal, that is. 

The band and their music is as American and born in America as it is possible to be. They have even thrown in some rockabilly and country'n'western here to underline where they comes from.

The music is a mix of what USA could offer in the late 1970s.

The music is decent enough and so is this album. Ricky Medlocke sings as good as he can. The rest of the band is OK too.

This is not the most exciting band and music around. But it is still a decent album.

2 points

 

 

Congreso - Terra Incógnita (1975)

The second album from this band from Chile.

The band was a sextet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, charango, rondador, tarca, cello, flute and vocals.

This is the follow up to their rather good debut album.

Congreso is one of the bigger folk-prog-rock bands from South America and they are still around. I am reviewing their albums for this blog. 

Their debut album had a lot of pop and beat. That is not the case when it comes to the follow up album.

Terra Incognita contains fifty minutes of some pretty straight folk music with some rock tendencies.

There is a lot of pan flutes here and other local instruments.

The result is a decent enough album and a bit of a step backwards from their debut album. 

You really have to be pretty hardcore folk music fan to really fully appreciate this album. I am not.

2 points

Sylvan - One to Zero (2021)

The 10th studio album from this German band.

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

A handful of guests contributed with guitars, viola, violin, keyboards and vocals.

This band is one of the greatest and best German neo-prog bands. They album debuted back in 1999 with their Deliverance album and has been a force to be reckoned with since then.

The band can be compared to IQ and to a lesser degree; Marillion.

Classic neo-prog in other words.

Sylvan has always had a metallic edge in their music and that is also the case on this album. 

Their music is muscular in other words. It is also melodic too on this one hour long album.

There is no great tracks here and the album tails of at the end. This is another good album from this band. A band well worth following.

3 points

 

 

Sphinx - Here We Are (1981)

The one and only album from this German - Italian band.

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

This band released one album and then broke up. One of many one-albums bands.

The music is a mix of heavy prog, some symphonic prog, a lot of pomp rock and some AOR.

There is even a couple of ballads here too.

The sound and music is the typical 1980s fare. Too much plastic fantastic for my liking. 

The vocals are OK though.

The music is barely decent and I can understand why this is an obscure album. It deserve the obscurity it has got.

I am by no means won over by this half-decent album.

1.5 points

Old Dead Tree. The - The Perpetual Motion (2005)

The second album from this French band.

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

The band returned again for their second album of in total three albums they released. I have been told the band has no plans whatsoever to return again.

This album is widely regarded as their masterpiece. 

The music is a mix of post-metal, progressive metal and death metal.

There is a French off beat ambience and sound in their music. Their music is a bit of a diversion from the Anglo-US version of these three genres.

The vocals is a mix of clean and death metal growls.

The music is decent enough. I am not a fan of this type of music. 

Fans of post-metal and extreme metal should check out this album as it has it's qualities. I tries to avoid this genre and I find things here I really like.

That says a lot about this album.

2 points

 

Chain Reaktor - Homesick (2021)

The debut album from this Dutch band.

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

This name is a new name on the Dutch neo-prog scene. It has been self-released too.

This band is a side-project of Silhouette who has released some albums. 

We get almost an hour of Dutch neo-prog. There are some hints of rock here too. 

The vocals is really good and a big plus.

The rest of the album has some good and some decent songs. Songs who are medium long where only one song tops the ten minutes mark. 

The music is easy on the ear and does not tax the brain that much. That is the main weakness here. The songs could have been better. Hence this lack of superlatives and points.

2.5 points

Dandelion Charm - Tiny Drop (2016)

The second album from this British duo.

Dandelion Charm is John Fowler on drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals. Clare Fowler does the vocals too.

This band is from Brighton and they got a good reputation in the folk rock genre.

Their music is indeed a mix of folk rock, The Corrs like pop and a bit neo-prog.

The music on this fifty-two minutes long album is pretty elegant with lots of vocal harmonies and some good guitars.

Elegant but not with that many good details. 

The quality is somewhere between decent and good.

I still think the band deserve a bit more attention. That goes for this album too who can be purchased from their Bandcamp page.

Check out this album.

2.5 points

 

 

Dead Letter Circus - The Catalyst Fire (2013)

The second album from this band from Australia.

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

A guest helped out with strings on one song.

I quite liked their debut album and was looking forward to give this, their second album my attention.

This band is fronted by a female vocalist and their music is somewhere between prog metal, heavy prog and neo-prog.

Powerful prog is probably the best label.

There are some hints of goth here too.

The music is big, bold and powerful with lots of female and male vocals. There is also a lot of guitars cascades and walls.

Subtle is not a word I would use on the music on this album. 

The quality is somewhere between decent and good. I am not won over by this album. 

Nevertheless, this is a good band and well worth checking out.

2.5 points

Mekong Delta - Intersections (2012)

The tenth album from this German band.

The band was a quintet on this album with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars and vocals.

This album is re-recording of some older tracks with a new lineup.

We are in this case talking about pure thrash and speed metal.

I have not been particular fond of German thrash and speed metal since.... Well, I have never been a fan of German thrash and speed metal. I liked the band Vendetta a lot and that was the only band and albums I liked.

I have very much disliked German thrash and speed metal.

But there is something special, something almost magic about Mekong Delta. 

OK, this is not a good album and I am not won over by all means. But I quite like some of the stuff here. The band is really, really clever in their presentation of their thrash and speed metal. Not clever enough for me to fall for it.

Nevertheless, this is a decent album from one of the few, if not the only thrash and speed metal band I really like. 

Check out this album even if thrash and speed metal is not your thing.

2 points

Dear Hunter. The - Act I: The Lake South, The River North (2006)

The debut album from this US band.

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

They got help from some guests who provided trombone, trumpet, French horn, organ and vocals.

I am again doing a full review of a band discography. This time of this US band's discography, starting with their debut album. 

Their cover art work has most certainly caught my attention and so has the album titles. 

I have heard a lot about this band. I have also heard that their music is somewhere between The Mars Volta and Coheed And Cambria. Two bands I have avoided so far. Maybe I should include those two bands in this blog too.

The music has some vaudeville rock elements too and some post-hardcore elements. It is pretty melodic throughout and the vocals are really good. At the time of this album, their debut album, The Dear Hunter was only a side project of a post-hardcore band and was not taken too seriously.

The music is pretty good though and is well worth checking out. There is a lot of good details here and the post-hardcore breaks up the music who could have been too sugar-sweet, too much like Muse.

It is a barely good album but I am already looking forward to sink my ears into the rest of their albums + upcoming albums.

3 points

Fool's Gambit - Syzygy (2021)

The debut album from this Swedish band.

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

This band is from the far north of Sweden and they are a new name to me. This album is out on Bandcamp too. 

The music is pretty untraditional.

Take a big chunk of Beck and Frank Zappa. Add a lot of jazz and eclectic prog. Add some vaudeville rock too. Gong should be added too.

This is where you find this seventy minutes long album.

The vocals are good and the band does their best on some quirky, weird songs.

The quality is somewhere between decent and good. The music is a bit on the simple side, although it is quirky enough to get the attention from the prog rock world.

Check out this album if quirky prog/jazz is your thing.

2.5 points

Splinter - Devil's Jigsaw (2004)

The debut album from this Dutch band.

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

This band released two albums. The second one was released in 2007. I do not have a copy of that album and I am not sure if I will ever bother to get a copy either.

The music is neo-prog in the English tradition. There is also some Dutch neo-prog influences here. And there some Spock's Beard references too.

The vocals are not particular good.

The music on this fifty minutes long album is decent enough and this album is a fine addition to anyone's Dutch neo-prog collection. If there is anyone collecting Dutch neo-prog albums, that is.

The music is rather inoffensive and a bit bland.

There is nothing bad here and there is not many good things here either.

It is a decent enough album.

2 points

Karmamoi - Room 101 (2021)

The fifth album from this Italian band.

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

The band had help from a handful of guests who provided flute, violin, piano, keyboards, solina, moog and vocals.

This is my first ever meeting with this band who has been around for a decade. They are pretty big but they have not really got my attention. That is my fault and nobody but my mistake.

This album is inspired and lead by George Orwell's 1984 book. A book that has inspired hundreds of other bands and albums too.

Their music is a mix of heavy prog and neo-prog.

They got female vocals and quite a commercial sound.

The music on this one hour long album is a bit of a grower. It is not an immediate hit.

However.... this is not a good album either. Some parts is good, some parts are decent. This album feels slightly bland. I am not entirely won over.

2.5 points

Consider The Source - That's What's Up (2010)

The third album from this US trio.

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

This band is one of the strangest bands in the progressive rock scene. I reviewed their second album in # 2 and found that album a challenge.

Seventy-seven minutes of instrumental music with guitar, drums and bass is a challenge too.

The music is not particular interesting.

The band can play though and that is the only saving grace here.

In other words, if you are a musician, you should be listening to this album. If not..... perhaps this is not an album for you.

The music is decent enough with some jazz and oriental influences. It is pretty intense and heavy too. But I have heard this type of music before, done by other bands.

A decent album but nothing more than that.

2 points

22 Layers - Isotope (2021)

The debut album from this duo from England.

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

A female vocalist also helps out on this album.

The duo is Peter Coyle on vocals and Tony Lowe on all instruments.

This band has released two singles before they released this album through Bandcamp.

The music is melodic neo-prog.

The music is not the most complicated sort of neo-prog as it is bordering to art-rock and rock throughout this album.

The vocals are good though and the sound is very good.

The songs are rather good and that is the main thing on this album in the absence of some tasty details.

Maybe this album is too uncomplicated. Nevertheless, it is a good album and well worth checking out if neo-prog is your thing.

3 points

Jordsjø - Pastoralia (2021)

The sixth album from this Norwegian band.

The band is a duo with a lineup of drums, percussion, keyboards, flute, guitars and vocals.

The band had help from a sextet who provided double bass, violin, guitars, bass clarinet, spoken word and vocals.

Jordsjo exploded on the scene some years ago and the debut album got rave reviews also in this blog, # 2 if I am not mistaken.

Their music is a blend of Norwegian folk rock, symphonic prog, eclectic prog and jazz. 

The music is melodic. It also has some King Crimson and Gentle Giant intricate details. Even Yes has influenced this album.

This Scandinavian noir mix is very effective and creates some really memorable music and albums.

Jordsjo has established themselves as one of the most interesting and best prog bands from Scandinavia and this album is not a disappointment.

It is indeed a very good album, full of strange and good details.

Check out this album.

3.5 points