Shamblemaths - Shamblemaths 2 (2021)

The second album from this Norwegian band.

The band is a duo with a lineup of drums, xylophone, bass, guitars, saxophones, keyboards, tin whistle and vocals.

Numerous guests added double bass, guitars, bass, keyboards and vocals.

This band got a pretty good reputation after the release of their 2016 self-titled album.

How could they follow up that album ?

Well, with a pretty big and bold sounding album that at times sounds like an inferno and is out-doing the local black metal scene when it comes to heaviness.

There is a lot of King Crimson in their music. There is also a lot of zeuhl and avant-garde here too. 

The music is pretty much an atonal inferno.

This album is forty-seven minutes long and it is not for the faint hearted.

The quality is good but there is no great pieces of music here. That is my only gripe with this album.

Check out both their albums.

3 points

Ovni - Salvadoreno / Alien (2011)

The fifth album from this band from El Salvador.

The band was a.... I do not know as there is no info about this band besides of them having released seven albums so far.

The band should really be more open about who they are and who does what on the different albums. I want to support them but that is not possible.

This album is a double CD with over two hours and ten minutes with music.

The music is everything from progressive metal to more classical music. This album also includes good old rock'n'roll, pop, rock and some fusion too.

It is like a compilation album with many different bands. 

I am not sure what this band is all about as this album is both long and pretty confusing.

The music is pretty poor too. Half of the music is decent though. I cannot recommend this album to anyone, though. It is too much all over the place and the quality is no more than decent.

1.5 points

 

 

 

Embryo - We Keep On (1973)

The sixth album from this German band.

The band was a quartet on this album with a lineup of drums, percussion, marimba, bass, guitars, vibes, mellotron, piano, organ, saxophone, clavinet, flute and vocals.

Embryo is a band who mostly changed styles and music between each album. They also changed a lot of their members too with only one member being the band owner and the only member on all their album.

The band continues down on a rather jazzy path on this album.

There is also a lot of raga-rock and fusion in their jazz here. But most of the album is jazz.

The jazz and the music here is very eclectic with some pretty obvious King Crimson influences. There is also some Amon Duul influences here.

The music is intricate. It is also at times melodic jazz.

The end result is almost forty minutes of good music. 

This is an album well worth checking out.

3 points

 

 

Fermata - Pieseň Z Hôľ (1976)

The second album from this band from Slovakia.

The band was a quartet with a lineup of bass, percussion, bass, guitars, organ and synths.

A guest delivered violin and harp.

The music scene from the Eastern Bloc, hidden behind the iron curtain, had a lot of very good bands. Bands with no exposure here in the west. 

Fermata really proves this point. 

Their debut album really got my attention and a good review from me. As I got a handful of their albums to review this winter, I was really looking forward to sink my ears into their second album too.

The music is again fusion with a mix of rock and jazz. Mostly jazz, I have to say when it comes to this album.

There is no really great pieces of music here. But the opening track is very good and the rest of the album is good indeed.

This is another album who never got the attention it deserved because of this East/West conflict in Europe. Attention it now deserve.

Those who likes fusion with lots of guitars should get this album.

3 points

 

 

Big Big Train - Common Ground (2021)

The 13th album from this British band.

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

Some guest musicians added their woodwinds, violins, keyboards, guitars and vocals.

This review was done a week after the passing of the vocalist David Longdon. His passing is a big loss for us all. But mostly for his family and long term partner. R.I.P, David Longdon.

His vocals on this album is as usual great.

The music is again a mix of symphonic prog and neo-prog. The band is now the biggest British progressive rock band and that status is well deserved.

The band has scaled down their sound and setup on this album.

The music is still very good though. 

This is not their best album. Nevertheless, it is an album well worth checking out and that goes for all their albums.

3.5 points

Dear Hunter. The - Act V: Hymns With The Dev.. (2016)

The seventh album from this US band.

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

Some guests added winds, strings and vocals.

The seventh album sees the band broaden and develop the path they had taken on the last albums.

The music is orchestral art-rock with lots of classical music and musical influences.

There is also a lot of Marillion in their music. 

The music is big, bold and very melodic.

It is also good with the usual great vocals.

The music lacks a bit in quality to make this somewhat better than a good album. Nevertheless....

3 points

Scarlet Skies - Perseus (2015)

The one and only album from this French band.

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

The band released this album as a Bandcamp name-your-price album. Then..... nothing.

I dug them out of my archives as I had downloaded this album ages ago. And then forgotten about it.

Their music is an interesting mix of neo-prog, art-rock, eclectic prog and French symphonic prog.

The music is melodic but it still has some edge and some eclectic details.

There is a lot of keyboards and a lot of very good vocals here. The vocals are hitting the deep tones. 

There are also some good guitars here too.

The music is really both stylish, classy and elegant. It has a French undertone although the vocals are in English.

The music is really good and this album goes into my list of one of the better name-your-price progressive rock albums out there.

Get this album.

3 points

 

 

Buco del Baco. Il - Sotto Il Segno Della Lampreda (2021)

The debut album from this Italian band.

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

The legend/the publicity claims this band were formed in 1970 and just recently changed name after being dormant for over forty years. 

The fact is that this band has some well known ex New Trolls members. 

The music is RPI - Rock Progressive Italiano. 

This album contains no less than thirty-two minutes of classic RPI with one and a half leg in the early 1970s. The band therefore label their own music as regressive rock.

I see where they come from but I do not agree. Yes, the music is from that era but the music still sounds fresh and relevant. 

The Italian vocals is good and so is the music. Music with a lot of organs and moog. My only gripe is that the songs could have been better and had more of an identity. This is good but still average RPI.

It is still a really nice album and one I will listen to again.

3 points

 

 

Sun Or The Moon. The - Cosmic (2021)

 

The debut album from this German band.

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

A couple of guests added saxophone and guitars.

This band is a new band in the German krautrock scene. A band I think we will hear some more from in the future.

The music is what they label as neo-krautrock. I label it krautrock.

The music is mainly electronic spacerock with some soul, pop, psych rock and electronica.

This album is a seventy minutes long Bandcamp album. The album and music is quite a mouthful and offers a lot of variations throughout these seventy minutes.

The quality is somewhere between decent and good. I am not won over but this is a more than acceptable debut album and the band can build on that.

2.5 points

Overload - Pichal Pairee (2009)

The second and final album from this band from Pakistan.

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

Numerous guests added bass, dhol, percussion, electronics and vocals.

This band released two albums during their lifetime before the band owner passed on. 

The first album got them a reputation as a neo-prog band. Hence, I got this album.

The music starts out as a bit of progressive metal before the female vocals in the local language takes over.

The rest of the album proceeds down a road of local pop, folk music and electronica with some progressive metal included. There is no neo-prog on this album.

The music is not particular good or even decent. 

There is some decent stuff here but most of the music is pretty dire. Hence the rating.

1.5 points

Enid. The - Six Pieces (1980)

The fifth album from this British band.

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

The band had by now settled down in their style and genre..... 

.... A genre difficult to describe. 

I will try. Symphonic prog merged with neo-classical music.

There is a lot of bass and guitars in their music. The rock element is very much present in their music.

The music is pretty much neo-classical, performed with rock instruments.

The Enid is the progressive rock band who went most further into neo-classical music and this album proves this point.

The music is both elegant and bold.

It is also a good album indeed.

This is an album well worth checking out.

3 points

Congreso - Pájaros De Arcilla (1984)

The seventh album from this band from Chile.

The band was an eight piece big band on this album with a lineup of drums, percussion, marimba, congas, bass, guitars, cello, charango, saxophones, flute, triangle, piano and vocals.

The band has arrived at their seventh album.

And changes are coming....

The band were mainly a folk-rock band up to now. That has changed on this album.

Take a large chunk of jazz, add some fusion and some folk rock. Folk rock with Spanish vocals, that is. Pastoral folk rock with some great male vocals.

The jazz is pretty avant-garde at times and not far removed from what Soft Machines did. 

There are some real contrasts throughout this thirty-five minutes long album. The music is always lush and colourful. It is also intricate where all instruments plays an important role.

This is by no means an easy listening album. It is also an album that grows on the listener. It is also a very good album indeed.

Check out this very good album.

3.5 points

 

 

 

 

 

Kornmo - Fimbulvinter (2021)

The third album from this Norwegian band.

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

This band is the continuation of the Norwegian band Morild which sadly seems to have split up. 

I have reviewed their two first albums for this blog (#2 of this blog) and has liked what I have heard.

This despite of my not so happy relationships with instrumental prog rock albums. 

This is again what we get here. Scandinavian symphonic progressive rock without any vocals.

The music is pretty bold and has this Scandinavian sound. There is a lot of folk rock in their symphonic prog too and some Edvard Grieg and Sibelius like classical music. 

The music is good throughout this seventy minutes long album. A killer track or two is what is missing here. Besides of that, this is still a good album.

3 points

King Of Sweden - The Training (2021)

The debut album from this band from Finland.

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

This band has chosen quite an original band name. This also taken into the account the hundreds of years Finland suffered in the hands of Sweden and Russia. The (sporting) rivalry between Finland and Sweden is therefore fierce to say at least.

The music on this album is a mix of post-metal and 1970s hard rock. There is also some post-rock here.

The songs are pretty long and the music is pretty harsh. The Welsh band Man springs to mind here. But as a less melodic version of Man's music.

The music is harsh indeed and bases on rhythm guitars and bass. There are the occasional guitar solo and decent vocals too.

This is not a bad effort at all.

The music is pretty good but without really being impressive.

The quality is somewhere between decent and good.

Check out this album if this sounds tempting.

2.5 points

 

 

Selfish Cales. The - Throw Your Watch To The Water (2015)

The debut album from this Italian band.

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

The band debuted with this free download Bandcamp album.

This band is new to  me although they have released two or three more albums. I am not sure. 

The music is mainly psych rock with a lot of The Beatles, Byrds and Jefferson Airplane influences. Yes, it is retro-rock.

The retro-rock still got a contemporary sound and sounds pretty fresh.

The vocals and the sound is really fresh and cool here. The implementations of some Indian raga-rock stuff on this album also adds a lot to this album. Some homages to Yes is also a plus here.

A download of this album is a no-brainer and it will brighten up your day.

The quality is also good and this is a band well worth checking out.

3 points

Agusa - En Annan Varld (2021)

The fourth album from this band from Sweden.

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

I have with great interest followed this band's career since their debut album back in 2014. 

Agusa is one of the more interesting prog bands from Sweden and every album has been reviewed by me in one of my blogs.

The band plays a mix of Swedish symphonic prog, folk rock and psych rock.

The music is instrumental and with a great deal of Swedish/Scandinavian sound and ambience. There is plenty of trolls, smorgasboard and sauna ambience in their sound and music.

The flute works as the vocals here and it is the solo instrument on this album.

I am not a fan of instrumental prog and some of the stuff here is slightly on the dull side. I would prefer some vocals in addition to the flutes. 

Nevertheless, this is a quality product and a good one too. 

Check out all Agusa albums, including this one.

3 points

 

 

Accept - Apogee (2021)

The seventh album from this one-man band from Japan.

Accept is the brainchild of Hisao who plays bass, programming, guitars, synths and also does the vocals.

A guest does some drums.

Accept has silently and with not so much promotion released seven albums since I interviewed Hisao eleven years ago. I think I should get some more Accept albums and review them here. In the meantime, here is the review of the new album.

We are somewhere between symphonic prog and neo-prog on this album.

The music is pretty melodic with some strange details too. The music is at times pretty eclectic. 

The (English) vocals is very good throughout this pretty eccentric take on these two genres.

The music is not straight forward and it has some strange details which adds some spice to this album. A lot of spice, in fact.

It is a good album too and I get the feeling that this is a one-man band well worth exploring. 

3 points

Other World. The - 39 (2013)

The one and only album from this Dutch band.

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

This album was released on Bandcamp before the band split up.

The album and the band is therefore very obscure and with good reasons.

The music is pretty standard rock with some heavy metal influences and riffs. 

There are a few prog influences here, but they are not many.

The vocals and the guitars are poor. It seems like the lyrics is the most important bit here and the music is not that important.

The music is indeed poor. Very, very poor.

This album is a nice addition to mine and anyone's collection of turkeys. 

1 point

 

 

Ozric Tentacles - Pungent Effulgent (1989)

 

The sixth album from this English band.

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

This band has released zillions of studio albums and I am reviewing most of them. Something I find enjoyable

The band had again developed their sound and craft on this album.

There are some vocal tracks here and some pieces with some proper song structures. More or less proper song structures.

There is still a lot of space rock and dub here.

There is a lot of synths, samples and guitars here.

This is one of their almost-good albums. Some stuff is decent and some is good.

I am not won over by this album. Hence....

2.5 points

Dear Hunter. The - Act IV: Rebirth In Reprise (2015)

The sixth album from this US band.

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

Some guest musicians provided orchestration, percussion, winds, strings, harps and vocals.

I am now at album # 6 in my reviews of their albums and I am still not sure what to feel about this band.

The band plays a bit of a mix of art rock with some Radiohead, Marillion and Coheed & Cambria influences. 

The Dear Hunter is most and foremost an US band with the US bold and brave sound and music.

The melodies and songs are big and has a lot of classical music and musicals influences. 

I am still not really won over by this band. But I really enjoy large parts of this album. My only real gripe is the lack of some better songs. 

Nevertheless, this is a good album.

3 points

 

 

Purple Overdose - Reborn (1999)

The fifth and final album from this band from Greece.

The band was a seven piece big band with a lineup of effects, cymbal, drums, congas, percussion, jug, bass, guitars, sitar, organ, keyboards, mellotron, flute and vocals.

I have had the joy of reviewing all their albums and it has been an interesting journey.

Their 1988 debut album Exit 4 is a turkey. The rest of the albums has become better and better by every album.

The music we get is classic psych rock with a lot of Jefferson Airplane influences. There is a lot of flower power and hippies here. 

The sound is very much both contemporary and the late 1960s. It sounds both new and ancient. 

The music is pretty romantic too and takes the listener on some flying carpets.... in particular if you are enjoying this album flat out on a sofa. But all other listening positions also delivers the flying carpets mood.

This one hour long album delivers the goods and it is indeed a very good album with a lot of intricate details and good moods. The vocals is great and this band has cemented their position as one of the all time great European retro psych rock bands.

3.5 points

Zahorí - Preso Y Animal (2021)

 

The debut album from this band from Spain.

The band is a quartet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, sitar, violin, electric piano, organ and vocals.

Three guests added additional bass and vocals.

The art-work of this album drew me into getting this album. I am also a bit of a fan of Spanish progressive rock and that too made me get this album.

Something I do not regret.

Take a mix of 1970s Spanish progressive rock, the 1960s and today's psych rock scene. Add a hint of Spanish folk rock too and you get this album. An album with some good vocals too.

The vocals are indeed lush and so is the organs and electric piano. The sitar adds a lot of flavour too.

This is indeed a spicy, colourful album. The music fully lives up to the art-work.....

This is indeed a good album and I really like this band. A band I have added to watch list for the coming years and decades.

Check out this album on Bandcamp.

3 points

Shingetsu - From a Distant Star (2016)

The second album from this band from Japan.

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

This Japanese band has got a bit of a mythological status in the scene after their self-titled 1979 debut album. An album I reviewed back in February 2009 for ProgArchives. 

Their music is Japanese symphonic prog. That means a lot of Genesis influences.

That also goes for this album, indeed. Add a lot of Banco and PFM from the Italian prog scene too and you get it.

The vocals are in Japanese and that is a plus as the music itself is universal, although pretty much Japanese too.

The music is very pastoral with these Italian influences. 

The songs are indeed very good and the symphonic prog part of me is really enjoying this album.

Check out this very good album.

3.5 points

Liquify - Illusionary Reality (2021)

The third album from this one-man band from USA.

The name of the band member is Tanner Ratcliffe and he does the guitars, bass and drums here.

I am always wary of one-man acts who does instrumental music. The result is rarely any good and I have recently abandoned several reviews of projects like this as I find them hopeless to review.

Mr. Tanner Ratcliffe offer something more substantial than just the guitars. 

What we get here is space rock with a lot of psych rock and post-rock influences.

The space rock is pretty heavy too. It has a lot of chugging guitars.

There is not much variety on this one hour long album. A too long album.

Nevertheless, the quality is somewhere between decent and good.

Check out this album if post-rock influenced space rock is your thing.

2.5 points

Otger Dice - Garden Of Pleasure (1977)

The one and only album from this band from Belgium.

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

This band released a single and this album before they disbanded and left the scene without a trace.

Discogs has for some reasons labeled this album as a symphonic prog album and I were looking forward to listening to an album from my favourite genre.

I was in for a disappointment.

The music is a mix of Bad Company and the likes of Chicago. Chicago without the brass/woodwinds.

The vocals is good though on this thirty-six minutes long album.

That is the only good thing about this album.

The music is pretty commercial but is missing out on some good tunes/songs. 

This obscure album is a decent enough album. It is an album which will remain obscure until the end of time, I am afraid.

2 points

Magnésis - Légendes de nos campagnes (2021)

The 12th album from this band from France.

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

Two guests added their narration, vocals and keyboards.

I do not deny that I regard Magnesis as one of the best progressive rock bands ever to come out of mainland Europe. I base that on the eleven reviews I have made on their eleven albums. 

Yes, I have reviewed all their previous albums and it is now time to review their new album.

The band has taken the inheritance from Ange and added some more colours and flair to their take on symphonic prog. That also goes for this album too.

The result is a very French eccentric album. I cannot for the life of me imagine that any other band and individuals from other nationalities would have come up with an album like this... and most of their previous eleven other albums.

Magnesis music is also eclectic and eccentric. It is also bold and melodic.

This album has seven shorter songs and one half an hour long suite.

All of the music is very good and this album is at times a joy to behold. The sound and the vocals elevates this album too being a great album.

Magnesis is a band every symphonic prog fan should know.

4 points

 

  

Oldfield. Mike - Crises (1983)

The ninth album from this British artist/legend.

Mike Oldfield did all the electronics, strings, keyboards and synths himself. He also did vocals on the opening title track.

He had help from some other musicians who did drums, percussion, vibraphone, bass, guitars and vocals. The vocalists was Maggie Reilly, Roger Chapman and Jon Anderson.

Mike Oldfield continued his career into the 1980s with this album. A break with previous albums.

We get a game in two halves here. First the title-track, a twenty minutes long piece of music which is rather good. It has some new-wave punk and 1980s electronica.

That track is followed by probably his biggest ever hit, and a proof that Mike Oldfield could write short catchy songs too. I am off course talking about Moonlight Shadow. It is performed by Maggie Reilly and it is a very good song.

The rest of the album is not on par with the two first pieces of music.

This is though a good album and one well worth checking out. It has a lot to offer to everyone.

3 points

 

 

Ritual - Ritual (1995)

The debut album from this band from Sweden.

The band was a quartet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, mandolin, guitars, bouzouki, mandola, harp, tin whistle, recorder, dulcimer, keyboards, mallets and vocals.

Three guests added their narration, accordion and harmonica.

This band released four albums before they split up. But an EP was released last year so there may be some hope for some more albums.....

Their music is a mix of Swedish symphonic prog, folk rock and eclectic prog.

The music is really bold and epic at times. It is still very Swedish with a lot of Kaipa references.

The vocals are very good too.

It is obvious why this band is regarded as one of the best Swedish prog bands ever and I am really looking forward to listen to and review their other three albums.

This is indeed a good album and a more than acceptable debut album.

3 points

 

 

Eros Necropsique - Crises De Lucidité (2003)

The third and final album from this French band.

The band was a trio with a lineup of synths and vocals.

The band became pretty big in the goth electronic scene with their three albums. I got them and has reviewed their first two albums somewhere else in this blog.

The music is far from being the normal fare in this blog but it is nice to stray into strange territories now and then.

The vocals are in French and they are floating on the top of some female voices and synths.

The music is sad and melancholic.

There is not many interesting details but the music is not bad at all.

This is a decent album from quite a decent band. I am not a fan but I give them all my respect.

2 points

Deafening Opera - Driftwood (2021)

The fourth album from this German band.

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

Two guests provided keyboards and additional vocals.

I have had the pleasure of reviewing a couple of their first albums and I have liked them.

Heavy prog is a genre I quite like.

And that is the genre we are not getting on this thirty-seven long album.

The band has gone in another direction altogether here.

Take some americana (country'n'western) and add some sing a long rock. 

The music is not progressive at all. The music is also acoustic. 

There is some decent details here but this album is one of this year's biggest let downs.

2 points

Siani. Paolo & Nuova Idea - Faces With No Traces (2016)

The second album from this Italian drummer.

Paolo Siani did the drums here and has got support from guitars, bass, organ, synths, piano, keyboards, mellotron, strings, woodwinds and vocals.

Paolo Siani was a member of the Italian RPI band Nuova Idea before he released the first solo album in 2010. He followed up Faces With No Traces with an album in 2019 too.

There is no RPI on this album at all.

Instead, we get some kind of art rock with some funk and rock'n'roll influences. 

The music is pretty commercial. It still got a few interesting details.

The vocals are in English, performed by several different vocalists. 

This is a decent album, with the exception of a rockabilly song which feels totally out of tune with the rest of the album. A pretty abysmal bad song it is, too.

I am not won over by this album. Nevertheless, it is a decent enough album.

2 points

Orgaan - Storkk (2018)

The one and only album from this band from Switzerland.

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

This band has been listed as a progressive rock band and this album has been listed as an instrumental album.

I have a case to send to the trading standards regarding this album.

The music is some sort of funny rock and there is plenty of vocals here.

There are also some metal here.

The quality is pretty poor and I guess the band is much more a live band than an album band. Keep the live scene alive and perform these songs there. 

This album is pretty close to being a turkey.

1.5 points

Iron Maiden - Senjutsu (2021)

The 17th album from this British band.

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

A keyboard player adds some keyboards too.

This band needs no introductions and I make no excuse when I declare myself as a fan of Iron Maiden. This based more on earlier albums than the latter ones.

I am not big enough fanboy to declare that they are gods and untouchable. This review is based on the usual methods (of madness) used on my reviews in this blogs.

The band is still very strong when it comes to musical skills. Nicko has probably done one of his finest ever albums. Steve is great and the three guitarists are delivering their goods. Bruce too is great.

The songs are growing on me. But not fast enough. I think this album is more for my old age, me sitting in a rocking chair and drinking coffee through a straw, than the current state of mind. 

The songs are too much following the Iron Maiden formula and there is not a wow factor here.

This is still a very good album from the kings of heavy metal and an album well worth checking out.

Iron Maiden is still one of the best bands on this planet and they deserve a lot of credit for this album.

3.5 points