ADN - Prelude (1999)

The one and only album from this band from France.

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

A handful of guests added guitars, violin, trumpet and baby vocals.

This band was only around for some years before they split up. They managed to release this album.

And their music is a mix of symphonic prog and neo-prog. 

The vocals is a mix of French and English. It is the French vocals who suits the music best. That just proves my point that French is an excellent language for symphonic prog.

One of the songs clocks in at twenty-three minutes and there is also two songs who clocks in at over ten minutes each. Add a nine minutes song and two sub-five minutes long songs and you get the picture.

The band is best when they are crossing into symphonic prog. Their symphonic prog has some Canterbury prog influences and are pretty quirky. 

There is a lot of interesting details here, to say at least.

The music is very good throughout. A killer track is the only thing missing here. 

This album is indeed a hidden gem and one to really dig out and cherish. I am impressed.

3.5 points

 

 

Proage - A Different State of Reality (2017)

The debut album from this band from Poland.

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

A guest added vocals on two tracks.

This band has so far released four albums. The last one earlier this year and I am going to review that album later this summer.

Proage is a new band to me. They are mostly a local band in the neo-prog and progressive rock scene in Poland.

This fifty minutes long album contains music somewhere between power metal and neo-prog. There is not much progressive metal. Power metal and neo-prog it is.

There are even some growls here and the guitars are chugging as in power metal.

There are some more melodic pieces here to.

The quality is decent enough. It is debut album and I hope their new album is substantial better than this album.

2 points

Pattern Seeking Animals - Prehensile Tales (2020)

The second album from this band from USA.

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

I really liked their debut album and rated it pretty highly. Then I forgot all about the band before their two follow up albums dumped into my inbox.

Three of four members in this band also earn their daily living in Spock's Beard. 

So why this band ?

Pattern Seeking Animals is not as symphonic prog as their employer. There is some traditional rock and americana in their music.

Some keyboards generated Mellotron and trumpet adds a lot of colours to this pretty colourful album.

The songs are good and there is a lot of interesting details here. 

This is another good album from this band.

3 points

 

 

Time Horizon - Power of Three (2022)

The third album from this band from USA.

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

This US band has reached the grand old age of three albums. Which is an achievement in itself in today's music business.

I am not so sure why people have such a hang up on their Christian lyrics. For me, this band plays a mix of US neo-prog and AOR. End of....

There is even some glam rock here and that in particular on the opening track Living For A Better Day who sounds like a song from Saga.

There is indeed some Saga in their music. Add Asia too and numerous other AOR bands.

The proof in the pudding is the quality of the songs.

There is some good details here and the songs are all good. The vocals too is good and the music is not too glam and sugary sweet. The band has found a good balance. 

This is indeed a good album from one of the better AOR bands out there in that overcrowded scene.

3 points

 

 

 

Ozric Tentacles - Swirly Termination (2000)

The 15th album from this band from England.

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

Ozric Tentacles from Brighton, the south coast of England, have had a pretty busy and interesting career before they released this album.

Their previous two albums had been pretty techno and ambient albums. So more of the same....

No. The nice thing about this band is that they have found a formula wide enough to vary their musical outputs.

The band returns to a more organic sound on this album. A warmer sound with some melody lines and lots of guitars.

This is also a side of this band they used a lot in the beginning of their career.

The band has even incorporated some Middle East feel and sounds on this album.

The quality of the music on this three quarters of an hour long album is good. The melody lines and the details is good and the band cement their status in my home as a band to follow. 

3 points

 

 

 

Groundhogs - Who Will Save the World ?...(1972)

The fifth album from this British band.

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

This band has had a nice development on the last albums. This once blues band had moved towards psych rock and progressive rock. 

Lead by the great guitarist Tony McPhee, the band takes another step towards psych and progressive rock on this album.

There are even some of The Beatles on this album. The Beatles on their most psych rock/pop songs. The Groundhogs used the mellotron to soften their normally quite so hard psych rock.

The music is still pretty hard. But the band shows that they are not just a one trick pony on this album.

Their take on the trad hymn Amazing Grace is a bit of an oddity. It is an OK version but still one of the strangest versions you will ever hear of this hymn.

The rest of the songs are not bad. They are not good either as the quality of the songs are somewhat lacking.

It is a decent album and just that.

2 points

Dice & The Acid Warrior Lord - Ignition (2022)

The debut album from this band from Ukraine.

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

This is a new band from Ukraine. The supporters of the band plays on the fact that Ukraine are now in war with Russia and that we should therefore give this band a chance.

I am totally on the side of Ukraine when it comes to their struggle to survive against the attack from Russia. I still want to give this album a fair review not so based on my emotions. I still want to add that the persons in the band has my total support in this difficult time.

The music on this album is a mix of psych rock and the hard prog the likes of Rush gave us. The mentioned Rush and Porcupine Tree is therefore good references.

The sound is good and the vocals is also very good.

There is a lot of interesting details throughout this one hour long album. There is only a few good songs through. The rest is decent enough.

It is well worth checking out this album.

2.5 points

Pi Xprnc - Oblivion Works Inside Us (2016)

The second and final album from this band from Venezuela.

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

I cannot remember anything from their 2008 debut album Algenia. I do not think I even have reviewed it. 

This band plays a mix of goth metal, progressive metal and neo-prog.

We get female vocals and some pretty bombastic music. 

There is some narrations and it feels like a concept album although it is just clocking in at just over half an hour.

I am struggling to find anything positive about this album. I am struggling to remember anything from this album five minutes after it has stopped.

This album is therefore a turkey.

Sorry....

1 point

 

Action - Action (1972)

The one and only album from this band from Germany.

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

Being from Germany and playing some progressive rock, this band is very often being labeled a krautrock band.

And there is very good reasons for that. But there is more to this album than that. 

The English vocals are good and fitting this hard rocking music we get on this album. The music is still pretty melodic with some psych and some really good organ solos. 

There are also some good guitars here and some of the music is also drifting towards symphonic prog.

The quality is somewhere between decent and good throughout this album. An album who was re-released on CD through Garden Of Delight in 2009. Go for the CD as it has three good live tracks.

This album is a bordering to being a hidden gem.

2.5 points

Project Creation - Dawn On Pyther (2007)

The second and final album from this band from Portugal.

Project Creation was Hugo Flores on samples, synths, guitars, bass and vocals.

He had help from ten guest musicians who provided drums, woodwinds, saxophones, percussion, guitars and female vocals.

I was not won over by the 2005 debut album Floating World. A seventy minutes long opus somewhere between progressive metal, goth and musicals.

The band returns again with exactly the same, plus five additional minutes, on Dawn On Pyther.

There is more of musicals and sugary progressive metal on this album. A rock opera, no less.

Which is fine for me if the songs were any good.

The female vocals are good and the music is intricate and bombastic.

There is not much good stuff on this album.

The end result is again somewhere between decent and good. 

Check out both their albums if this sounds like your music. I am not a fan.

2.5 points

Piramide Di Sangue. La - Sette (2014)

The second and so far the latest album from this band from Italy.

The band was a seven piece big band with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, synths, loops, feedback and clarinet.

I was not very impressed by their debut album Tebe from 2012. 

I thought this band was a space and psych rock band. That is not really what I have got on their two albums. Maybe their artworks is making people jumping to the wrong conclusion.

The music on this half an hour long album is mostly RIO. Rock In Opposition, that is. Univers Zero is a good reference here. So is Area too.

There are also some jazz and a bit psych rock here too. There is a lot of raga rock too here.

The clarinet gives this album a cool sound.

The result is actually a good album and one to look out for if RIO floats your boat. The music is also pretty original and makes this band stand out from the rest of the crowd.

Check out this album.

3 points

FernandeF - Magnetic Fabergé (2022)

The debut album from this band from Poland.

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

This band is a new band to me and I got their album from their Bandcamp site.

The prog and rock scene in Poland is a gift to us which continue to give and give. It is a great scene.

It is still an open question what this band will develop into.

Their music is a mix of krautrock, space rock, West Coast psych rock, trip hop, waltz, acid rock, progressive rock and post metal.

There are some hippie vibes on this album. Most of the album and the vibe is dreamy and laid back.

There are some good guitars here. Both electric and half-acoustic guitars. 

The quality of the music is somewhat good.

This is indeed a good album and a pretty refreshing album in this, broadly speaking, space and stoner rock genre.

3 points

Oldfield. Mike - Voyager (1996)

 

The 18th album from this artist from England.

Mike Oldfield did the guitars and synths himself here.

He had help from numerous musicians, choir and a symphony orchestra who provided pipes, programming, vocals and numerous instruments.

Mike Oldfield has arrived again with a new album.

The cover art-work gives me bad vibes. 

This album is pipes dominated and we get lots of cover versions here. 

The pipes and the other musicians drowns out all music here and we are left with muzak.

A muzak album, it is.

It is also a turkey with no creative value. 

Avoid at all costs. 

1 point

Miller. Rick - Windhaven (1987)

The third album from this artist from Canada.

Rick Miller does all the guitars and synths on this album.

I have got a handful of his albums for review this year, starting with a cassette-album most seems to have forgotten. But Discogs and himself regards this as one of his albums.

Rick Miller started out as a ambient electro artist before he changed to a more prog rock artist from 2009 and onwards.

He got a minor hit in 1984 with his first album and song Starsong. A song and album I have never heard.

This album has nothing good or even decent going for it. It is ambient music and it does not have much value.

I think I understand why this cassette never saw a re-release on CD. The music is too bad and should be forgotten.

It is a turkey.

1 point

Moonwagon - The Efficient Use of Space (2022)

The fourth album from this band from Finland.

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

This album is my first ever meeting with this band.

The psych/space rock label gave me hope about some weirdo Finnish space rock. 

This is not the case here.

Most of the album is instrumental rock with some psych rock influences. There are only sporadic vocals on a couple of Depeche Mode'ish songs. 

The music on this one hour long album is not particular good.

It is a decent enough album.

This album does not give me the urge to check out their first three albums, I am afraid.

2 points

 

 

 

Romanza Bekkan - A Grand Romance In Far East (2005)

The one and only album from this band from Japan.

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

This band was a side project of Pageant, another Japanese progressive rock band. Some of the musicians ideas did not suit that band so they did this self-released album to find an output for these songs.

We get some really beautiful female Japanese vocals throughout this album.

The music is a mix of neo-prog and symphonic prog. That off course with a Japanese sound and take on these genres.

The word "romantic" is a word used here by the band and I would agree with that label. 

The music is indeed romantic symphonic prog and neo-prog with a lot of references to Genesis. 

The music is also melodic and this is one of the better symphonic prog and neo-prog albums I have heard from Japan.

This is indeed a good album and a bit of a hidden gem.

3 points

 

 

 

Zarg - Zaravásh (2002)

The one and only album from this band from Brazil.

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

This band appeared and became a good live band. That is what they are most known as. In their local area, though.

This album was almost like an afterthought and just to register this band as recording artists.

This album is seventy minutes long and it has a blend of art-rock, Latin Rock and rock.

The vocals and the musicians does a good job on some pretty dull songs.

The whole album is decent enough.

And that is what I will remember about this very obscure album.

2 points

Henry Cow - Western Culture (1979)

The fourth and final album from this band from England.

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

Henry Cow was among the five original RIO bands and they have got quite a following.

The four musicians got long careers in other RIO and avant-garde bands and projects. 

Their music is dense, very dense avant-garde. 

This time around, the sound is also very dark. They sounds like Univers Zero at times. The use of oboe and tuba gives the music a dark feeling.

The music is mostly acoustic on this forty minutes long album.

The music is somewhere between decent and good. Which tells you that I am not one of those who worship this band. 

I am not a fan of this band but this album is not too bad.

2.5 points

Congreso - La Canción Que Te Debía (2017)

The 17th album from this band from Chile.

The band was a seven pieces big band with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, saxes, flutes, keyboards, piano and vocals.

This is so far the final Congreso album and very likely their final ever studio album. 

I have reviewed most of their albums over the last year in both this blog and # 2 of this blog. I have mostly liked what I have heard and I respect Congreso as one of the best ever bands from South America.

Congreso bails out of history with an hour long album which is a mix of South American folk music, fusion and Latin rock. There is even some tango here.

The vocals is very good and the music is full of interesting contrasts and details.

The quality of the music is indeed good and this is an album well worth checking out.

Thank you for the music, Congreso.

3 points

 

Knekklectric - Alt blir verre (2022)

The third album from this Norwegian band.

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

I have never ever heard about this band before this album was given to me as a promo album. I thought it was their debut album. Their Bandcamp page says their debut album was released in 2014 and their second album was released in 2018. Albums I will have a look for now.

The reason is that the band plays some form for progressive rock.

Take early symphonic prog, add some fusion, Gentle Giant and a lot of Caravan like Canterbury prog.  

Both the music and the lyric is very quirky and nerdy.

This is music played by nerds and for nerds. 

The music has a good sound with some half-acoustic guitars and some subtle organs too. The vocals is really cool too.

I am really surprised by this album. It could had been better as it falls a bit short when it comes to really great melodies.

This is a good to very good album, well worth checking out.

3 points

Long Distance Calling - Avoid the Light (2009)

The second album from this band from Germany.

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

They had help from some friends who added voices.

Long Distance Calling has established themselves as one of the better post-rock bands in the scene. 

Avoid The Light is almost one hour full of post metal and post rock. The album starts with some really hard post metal with some stoner influences and continues down the same path.

There is not much light on this album.

There is some vocals at the middle of this album and the album becomes a bit softer at the end.

The result is somewhere between decent and good.

I still got some more of their albums to review and I am looking forward to that.

2.5 points

 

 

Kanoi - Cosmosis (2012)

The second album from this one man band from Austria.

Benjamin Kantschieder did the bass, guitars and drums on his own. That and vocals.

This is the first really one man Kanoi album. This is where Benjamin does everything.

The first part of the album contains a pretty good song and some structured music.

Not of all this structured music is good though and the more ambient stuff does not feels right on this album.

If Benjamin had shortened this album by half of the running time, this album would had been far better. As it is now, it is barely a decent album.

This album runs the turkey yard too close for my liking. Hence.....

1.5 points

 

 

Tales Of A Liquid Dawn - Morning (2022)

The debut album from this one man band from England.

The band is Anthony Yip on all instruments. That means bass, guitars and drums. Some may be programmed.

The music is post metal with a lot of post-rock and doom.

These forty-five minutes is mostly filled with guitars and is ticking over quite nicely.

This type of metal is a bit of an acquired taste. 

The music is short on variations and the album feels too long. 

A bit more quality next time would be nice.

2 points

 

 

Ryliemn - The Assembly (2014)

The one and only album from this US one man band.

Ryliemn is Rylie Nelson on vocals, guitars and probably a lot of programmed instruments.

He got some help from two guest vocalists.

This is another one man and his computers album released on Bandcamp.

That is not a bad thing and I think albums like this deserve a review in this blog.

The music is a mix of college rock, grunge, art-rock and rock. There is some metal and neo-prog too here. 

The guitars and vocals are pretty good and the dominating instruments here.

The songs are pretty long and the artist has ambitions with this album.

The songs are pretty decent but does not really impress. This is another album I fear has drowned among many similar sounding, but better albums.

2 points

ZeptoSegundo - Memorias de Tiempos Perdidos (2015)

The one and only album from this band from Costa Rica.

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

This album was released though Bandcamp and I got it some years ago. I still got hundreds of albums for review and the time has now come to this album.

The band is from Latin America and that shows in their music.

The music is indeed a mix of Latin American rock, jazz, Spanish prog and rock.

Spanish prog is probably the label their music deserve.

The album is clocking in at fifty-two minutes and the music is pretty cool with some good vocals and guitars.

The quality is not really here though and that is my gripe with this album.

It is a decent enough album but nothing more than that.

2 points

 

  

Project Creation - Floating World (2005)

The debut album from this band from Portugal.

The band/project is a nine piece big band with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, sitar, cello, flute, saxophone, synths and vocals.

This band/project released two albums before they gave up.

Hugo Flores was and still is an active musician in the prog rock scene in Portugal. This is one of his creations. 

The band/project is labeled as progressive metal. That is not the whole truth.

These seventy minutes gives us prog metal, musicals, goth, symphonic prog and eclectic prog. All of this pretty bombastic and epic.

The vocals are both male and female.

The music is epic but does not have many good pieces or melodies.

The quality is somewhere between decent and good. 

If this sounds good to you, check out this album.

2.5 points

 

 

 

Piramide Di Sangue. La - Tebe (2012)

 

The debut album from this band from Italy.

The band is a seven piece band with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, clarinet, synths, feedback and loops.

This band released two albums some years ago and I got both of them for reviews.

The music here is not easy to explain.

Take space rock, add some Eastern and Arabic influences and a lot of RIO and avant-garde influences. Zeuhl too can be added.

The clarinet is a dominant instrument here besides of guitars and programming.

The music has an Arabic feel on the top of this kind of space rock.

The music is also instrumental throughout these forty minutes.

The quality is not particular good. The music is quirky but not particular good.

This is a decent enough album well worth checking out.

2 points

Nathan - Uomini di Sabbia (2022)

The third album from this Italian band.

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

Six guest musicians added drums, bass, backing vocals and choirs.

Nathan is a band in the middle of both the new RPI sound while they are also heavy influenced by the old RPI sound. Yes, Italian progressive rock.

Italian symphonic prog to be more precise.

Their two previous albums are very good indeed and I was therefore looking forward to this album.

There is no long suites here. Only one song, the final song, is longer than ten minutes. However, the short'ish songs are up to ten minutes long and they are both full of melodies and elegant details. Some of the details are even quirky.

The vocals are very good and the band and their guests are showcasing some very good musical abilities.

The songs are also pretty complex and keeps giving the listener new details on every listening sessions.

One minor minus is the lack of a killer track or three. I do not think the band has reached their potential yet.

This is a very good album indeed and one to check out.

3.5 points

 

  

Enid. The - Arise And Shine (2009)

The 15th album from this English band.

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

The Enid is a band who has created their own genre somewhere between symphonic prog and classical music. Just as Karfagen from Ukraine has done.

The music on this seventy minutes long album is majestic and epic.

It is also pretty bombastic and very melodic.

The fusion between classical music and symphonic prog is working very well here and most of this album is working very well.

The music is also pretty romantic and flowery.

There is some good guitar solos on this album too.

This album is one of their best albums and it is indeed a very good album.

This is an album you should have from The Enid.

3.5 points

 

 

 

Contraluz - Americanos (1973)

The debut album from this band from Argentina.

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

This band was one of the first ever rock bands from South America and this album is a historic album, being one of the first ever rock albums from this continent.

The band has released four albums and I am reviewing all of them the upcoming weeks.

The music on this album was sold to me as folk rock.

 I do not agree with that.

The music is somewhere between hard psych rock, blues, rock and some folk rock.

The music is at times very hard and wild.

There are also some more pastoral pieces here.

But most of this music is hard and wild.

The quality is decent enough. It is a historic release and should therefore be checked out. 

2 points

 

 

Whitecave - Times Of Trouble (2022)

The debut album from this band from the Netherlands.

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

I was sold this album on the basis of it being a symphonic prog album.

It is not.

There are some neo-prog on this album. But most of it is rock and AOR.

The vocals are good and the musicians is doing a job on this not so technical difficult stuff. The band is more about creating ambience and good songs instead of being clever and technical. 

The songs are not good at all and this album falls a bit flat on it's face.

This is a decent album but nothing more than that.

2 points

Relayer - The Teething Fashion (1996)

The second album from this US band.

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

This band should not be confused with the other band named Relayer whose only album I reviewed last week. 

The Relayer whose second album I am now reviewing, has so far released six albums. I reviewed their third album around ten years ago and did not rate it.

Their music is a mix of early English neo-prog and US symphonic prog.

On paper, this sounds good. Very good.

The vocals on this album is pretty dire/bad and the musicians does not really impress me either.

The music is decent enough but that is the best thing I can say about this fifty minutes long album.

It is not an album that shines brightly.

2 points

Windmill. The - Tribus (2018)

The third album from this Norwegian band.

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

It is my understanding that The Windmill is no longer with us. They have broken up. This may be due to their drummer Sam Arne Noland passing away during the recording of this album. A tragic loss.

The band has been labeled as heavy prog. This more or less because they do not fit into the symphonic prog genre. Neither do their music fit into the heavy prog genre.

Tribus is fifty-three minutes with a mix of 1970s symphonic progressive rock and more stadium rock from that time. They are a 1970s band.

The sound is modern though and muscular.

The music is a mix of pastoral and epic. Italian symphonic prog springs to mind. A Norwegian RPI band ? There is still this Scandinavian sound from the likes of Kaipa in their sound.

The vocals are good and the saxophone adds a lot of quality to these songs. Songs who are not as good as the songs on the previous two albums.

This is an interesting album and well worth checking out. It is still a good album too.

3 points

Henry Cow - In Praise Of Learning (1975)

The third album from this British band.

The band was a seven piece big band with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, clarinet, xylophone, organ, oboe, bassoon, guitar, piano and vocals.

The band had help from a handful of other musicians who provided trumpet, saxophone, oscillator, clarinet, guitar and vocals.

The third album from this RIO band. A band who delivered the most dense avant-garde I have ever heard on the first two albums.

Two not so good albums either. Hence, I was not looking forward to reviewing this album.

The first part of this album is vocals orientated with some good vocals and good weird instruments. Dagmar Krause did the vocals and she did a great job.

The second part is more a drone and a sound collage. There are some vocals here too.

The first part with the vocals is good.

The overall quality is in short good and this is the first Henry Cow I have really connected with. 

Check it out.

3 points

 

 

Congreso - Con Los Ojos En La Calle (2009)

The 15th album from this band from Chile.

The band was a seven piece big band with a lineup of percussion, drums, marimba, bass, guitars, tarka, woodwinds, piano, keyboards and vocals.

The band started out in 1971 in a country who security and politics wise was very insecure. People voiced their opinions and got a bullet in their heads as a thank you.

Their albums has had some twists and turns over the years. Not all of them in the right direction.

The band's music was rooted in the Latin American folk music tradition. The band has been great in adding in rock and jazz into that universe. 

This album is one hour long and is more rock and jazz than purely folk music. It still retains these Latin American folk music roots.

There are also some pop along here.

There is a pretty huge variation of music here. From folk rock to progressive rock, psych rock, pop, fusion and jazz. That is what this band was about on their previous albums.

The result is a very good album with good vocals and good melodies.

This is an album everyone into South America should have.

3.5 points

Asgaard - What If... (2022)

The seventh album from this band from Poland.

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

This band album debuted back in 1994 and has released seven albums. That well below my radar as this is the first album from them I have ever sunk my teeth into. 

I thought this was an album from the Italian band with the same name.... In other words, there are some other bands with the same name. Beware.

The Polish band is a goth rock band. There are some melancholic rock here too and the goth is not too overwhelming. Hence this review.

There are also some goth metal and some death metal growls.

The music is medium epic and the vocals, in both Polish and English, is pretty good.

The same goes for the music. It is a pretty good album who are not shaming this band at all. This will be my only album from this band and it leaves me with a good taste in my mouth. This band and this album deserve a lot more promotion and attention.

2.5 points

Ozric Tentacles - The Hidden Step (2000)

The 14th album from this English band.

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

The band from the south coast of England is still going strong.

The band started out in the Hawkwind vein. But they branched out and became more electronic after a while.

This album gives us a fifty minutes blend of space rock and more ambient rock with some Middle East and Indian subcontinent feelings.

The music is pretty relaxing. It also has some more dynamic interludes too.

The band is subtly, subtly moving towards post-rock on this album.

The music is still space rock, though.

The music is also good and offers us another dimension of this band.

The band has a again released a good album and it is well worth checking it out. 

3 points

 

 

Groundhogs - Split (1971)

The fourth album from this British band.

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

The band tried to follow up the good Thanx Christ For The Bomb from 1970 with another original sounding album.

Their style was somewhere between blues, psych, hard rock and progressive rock.

A heady mix.

There is a suite here called Split which take up over twenty minutes and the full side A on the album. The band also got a hit single here with Cherry Red.

This trio format creates a lot of noise with their music. Music very much rooted in the early 1970s sound and music. It is a bit dated.

The vocals and the guitars are good.

The songs are all decent to good. It is an album well worth checking out.

2.5 points

Adventure - Tales of Belle, Part 1 (2022)

The fifth album from this Norwegian band.

The band is a sextet on this album with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, flute, piano, organ, synths, keyboards and vocals.

It is not often I review their albums as I got a bit of a bad impression of the band based on their debut album. Progressive metal is not my thing, really. Less so bad progressive metal.

The band's record label sent me this album and I decided to give them another try.

There is not much progressive metal left.... if any. 

The band is now a Scandinavian symphonic progressive rock band with a lot of the sound adopted from the likes of early Kaipa and The Flower Kings. Throw in the early Norwegian symphonic prog scene and you get this album.

The album is # 1 of a concept which I gather will include some more albums. 

It is forty minutes long and has some folk metal in addition to the symphonic prog. The sound is good and so is the vocals.

This is a good album indeed. A couple of very good or great tracks is missing but that is my only gripe with this album. Besides of that, check out this album.

3 points

 

Relayer - The Relayer Album (1977)

The one and only album from this band from USA.

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

They had help from a sextet of guests who provided drums, percussion, bass, guitars and saxophone.

This band should not be confused with the other US band called Relayer who has so far released six albums. I have previously reviewed a couple of their albums.

This album is a strange one as the band could not really decide if they were an ELP like symphonic prog band or a southern rock band. Yes, your eyes is not deceiving you. 

Although the band has not mixed these two genres, this album has healthy amount of both southern rock and ELP like symphonic prog.

Weird.... Weird thirty-four minutes.

It is a pity that the band only released this album as I would had liked to see what the band would have developed into. 

This album is an oddity. This is also a decent to good album and a hidden gem. 

Check out this album.

2.5 points

Yleclipse - Trails Of Ambergris (2008)

The fourth album from this band from Italy.

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

I reviewed their third album around eleven years ago and their fifth album nine years ago. Albums I liked a lot. 

I have yet to review or find their first two albums though. I will make an attempt to get them.

Their music is a mix of English symphonic prog and neo-prog. There is no RPI here.

Marillion from the Fish era is a major influence on the band and on this very long album. 

The songs are long and epic. We are very much in the symphonic neo-prog genre here.

The vocals are OK. The guitars are OK too. 

The sound could had been better and that is the only letdown here.

This still means this is a good album and one to enjoyed for symph prog and neo-prog fans.

Check it out.

3 points

Quecia - Quecia II (2005)

The second and final album from this British band.

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

This band was fronted by Kirsty McCarrick and the later pretty successful artist Chris Picton was the bassist on both their albums. He did indeed released an album with reworked Quecia songs not so long time ago.

The music is again a mix of Americana, pop, neo-prog and rock. 

The main focus is again the vocals. The vocals is really good and she is on par with some of the better vocalists in the female rock scene.

The songs lets her and this album down. Not to mention the band.

The songs are somewhere between decent and good. They are a small improvement on the debut album, but not by much.

This is another band who did not make it.

2.5 points

Pentwater - Out of the Abyss (1992)

The second album from this US band.

The band was a sextet on this album with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, violin, oboe, flute, keyboards, theremin and vocals.

The debut was an OK mix of classic progressive rock with lots of Gentle Giant, Kansas and Yes references. 

So they found that formula and decided to keep it on album # 2. 

There is some added King Crimson here and lot more Gentle Giant than on their debut album. The album is more eclectic than before.

There is still some Yes and Kansas influences here. But the band takes more chances on this album. They are more playful. 

The vocals are good and the other instruments does their bits too. The sound is pretty good too.

This is indeed a good album. A one hour long album who also include a live track at the end.

It is a hidden gem and it is well worth checking out.

3 points

D'Virgilio, Morse & Jennings - Troika (2022)

The debut album from this US-UK trio.

The lineup is drums, percussion, bass, guitars, organ and vocals.

Tony Levin plays bass on one track. 

The trio is Nick D'Virgilio, Neal Morse and Ross Jennings. They have played in bands like Transatlantic, Spock's Beard, Big Big Train, Haken, Novena and Flying Colours. Ross Jennings has one solo album out and Neal Morse has released around ten solo albums. All of them up for reviews in this blog later this year.

The story has it that all three of them was about to release their own acoustic album when they got wind of each other's plans and merged these plans into one album. The trio contributes with approx the same number of songs.

Yes, the main part of this album is acoustic rock with some influences from Spock's Beard and Neal Morse's own solo albums.

But most of all, this album and this trio reminds me a lot about Crosby, Stills & Nash. Something neither themselves and their promotion people denies. 

A Crosby, Stills & Nash for this day and age ? Yes, they are.

They sounds fresher and like these days and age. The vocals are top notch. The songs are not of the same quality of Crosby, Stills & Nash output, though........yet.

This is a good album though and one to check out. I hope we hear more from this band in the future although I would prefer it if the band members released more progressive rock albums. 

Troika is a good album, though.

3 points

Oldfield. Mike - The Songs Of Distant Earth (1994)

The 17th album from this English artist.

Mike Oldfield does the guitars, synths and samples here.

He is supported by numerous other musicians who provides tablas, percussion, keyboards, programming and vocals.

A lot of samples also contributes to this album.

Mike Olfield has released a lot of ambient world music albums. Albums that sends listener to sleep or to peace.

This album is one of them.

He is briefly touching into Tubular Bells here before he gives us some sampled and added female vocals.

It is nice and not offensive. It is somewhere between music and sleepy noises.

That is the meaning about this album.

The music and noise here is not bad at all. It is somewhere between decent and good. I quite like this album. Nevertheless, it is not an album who should be reviewed or taken as anything else than background noise for a nice, fitful sleep.

2.5 points

 

 

Henry Cow - Unrest (1974)

The second album from this British band.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of guitars, drums, bass, xylophone, bassoon, saxophone, oboe, recorder, piano, clarinet, violin, organ and vocals.

A guest added extra vocals.

This band is probably the most avant-garde of all the band from the original RIO scene and concert. 

The music is at times impenetrable.

Just as on the debut album which I did not rate particular highly.

This album clocks in at forty minutes and I am still a bit baffled about their all out avant-garde. Most of the music is pretty much anti-melodic and anti-establishment.

There are some half-good stuff here. 

But this album is still only a decent album and just that.

2 points

 

 

Marillion - An Hour Before It's Dark (2022)

The 19th album from this British band.

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

It seems like the leading and best progressive rock bands is making comebacks after the Covid epidemic has closed down the industry for the last three years.

Marillion is indeed among the best progressive rock bands on this planet..... and probably in the universe too.

Their last album was in 2016 and a comeback was in order.

We get the usual art-rock from the band on An Hour Before It's Dark. 

There is a lot of melancholy in their music. That suits their music.

The songs are on average very long. The longest song is clocking in at over fifteen minutes. The vocals is very good and ditto for the guitars. There are a couple of great guitar solos here. 

The overall quality is very good indeed.

Marillion has made a convincing comeback and will regain their throne with this album.

3.5 points

Relative Rabbit - I Could Be Mistaken (2019)

The one and only album from this US band.

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

This album has by sheer mystery made it's way to the top of my to-review list. Hence, I am reviewing it.

I have no idea about this band as the album was digitally released.

The music is a mix of vaudeville rock, US neo-prog and art rock. Add some college rock too and you get it.

The music is also pretty commercial and quirky at the same time. 

I guess this is what US rock fans anno 2019 was listening to.

There is some interesting details here to make this album pretty interesting.

It is still miles from being a good album and only fans of modern US rock will like this album.

2 points

Yak - Quest for the Stones (2015)

The fourth album from this band from England.

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

This is as we speak the last album from this band. I hope we will get more albums and music in the future.

The band plays instrumental symphonic prog.

The music is both romantic, dynamic and bold.

There is a lot soaring guitars and keyboards here.

The bass and drums is also adding some interesting rhythm patterns.

The quality is somewhere between decent and good. It feels a bit like one of the many run of the mill albums in this genre and it is not really able to offer something extra to this instrumental symphonic prog genre.

2.5 points

Quecia - This Is Where We Are (2003)

The debut album from this band from England.

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

This band worked under the name Polar Reign for a while before changing name to Quecia. 

Quecia released two albums and I am reviewing them this month.

The solo artist Chris Picton was the bassist and keyboardist on both albums.

Formalities over and done with.... back to this album....

The music is female fronted mix of Americana, rock, pop and neo-prog.

The vocals is very good but it is too dominating. It is like the music is clinging onto the vocals. 

The music is not that really good and it falls a bit flat on it's face.

The result is a half-decent album who are clocking in at just fifty-five minutes. I am not impressed at all.

1.5 points