Matheus - Musikk Fra Balders Hage (1974)

The one and only album from this band from Norway.

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

The re-release on CD of some good oldies through the Norske AlbumKlassikere (NACD) has uncovered a lot of old Norwegian progressive rock albums.

And folk rock albums. Or in this case... music with a mix of acid folk and folk rock.

The vocals are in Norwegian and the typical naive lyrics. The vocals are good.

The music is fairly decent. It is guitars and vocals driven with some other instruments more in the background. 

This is not a particular interesting album. Nevertheless....

2 points

 

 

Dreaming David K - Black Cat Metaphysics (2023)

The debut album from this band from United Kingdom.

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

This band is another addition to the British rock and progressive rock scene. 

The music on this one hour long album can best be described as a mix of pomp rock and art-rock. There is also a lot of neo prog in their music.

The Canadian pomp rock masters Saga springs to mind in some of the songs here. Ditto for the Hogarth era Marillion.

The music is melodic with a lot of nice progressive details. Some of the songs are also around the ten minutes long mark.

The music is both interesting and good. I have no idea about the background of these five musicians. But it sounds to me like they know what they are doing and that they are experienced musicians.

Check out this album.

3 points

Asteroid - III (2016)

The third album from this band from Sweden.

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

This is the final album from this trio. 

The music on this album is melodic stoner rock. There is a lot of retro-rock on this album too. 

The vocals is good and the music is a mix of hard stoner and pretty melodic retro-rock.

There is also more than a hint of Swedish progressive rock here. Kaipa springs to mind as a reference.

There is some dissonant and atonal riffs here as the band tries to recapture the early 1970s hard rock sound. Necrodamus is a good reference in this respect.

The quality is somewhere between decent and good. 

I believe we have heard the last tone from this band. Those into melodic stoner rock should check out their three albums.

2.5 points

Enslaved - Utgard (2020)

The 15th album from this band from Norway.

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

Enslaved had by now long established themselves as the most exciting extreme progressive metal band in the world. Not to mention; one of the most interesting bands in the music scene.

Their mix of extreme metal and progressive rock is still what we get here. There are also a lot of viking rock from the good old first two albums from them........ and some electronica.

I am not too impressed by the electronica bits. But it is not too bad. 

The music is still good and interesting.

Enslaved has again delivered a good album. But it should now be about time for the band to deliver another killer album. The band can and should deliver better albums than Utgard.

3 points

Palimpsest. The - Primary (2023)

The debut album from this artist from England.

The artist is GlamDave and he is a bassist and he also does the vocals and programming here.

GlamDave has been active in some smaller regional bands for a long time. Then he has plunged for this album and here it is.

The music is a mix of mainstream rock and neo-prog with some Pink Floyd influences. The music is pretty muscular and based on electric guitars and electric guitar solos.

The vocals are OK and the guitar solos are decent enough.

The music is decent enough on this one hour long album.

The music is not particular interesting though although this album has a concept album ambiance.

The result is a decent album. It is not an album with many interesting details though. 

Hence....

2 points

 

 

Buaas. Anders - The Witches of Finnmark (2017)

 

The debut album from this multi-instrumentalist from Norway.

Anders Buaas did the bass, guitars and drum programming himself.

Anders Buaas is most known for his session work with Tim Ripper Owens (Judas Priest) and Paul D'Anno (Iron Maiden). Was most known for... He is now most known for his own albums and they are all up for review in this blog this year.

The Witches of Finnmark comes in three parts, three albums. As in the rest of Europe, many women was persecuted as witches without any proofs or evidence whatsoever. This is indeed a very dark chapter in the history of mankind. It also hit this province of Norway, the most northern of them all, very hard. There is a big monument on the coast of Finmark in the memory of the many local women burnt as witches.

The music on this half an hour long album is instrumental prog in the vein of Camel.

It is dominated by his guitars and they are very good. The title track is indeed a good track.

The rest of the album is a mix of decent and good stuff. 

This album gives me high hopes for the rest of his handful albums I have yet to review.

2.5 points

 

 

 

Bowness. Tim - My Hotel Year (2004)

The debut album from this artist from England.

Tim Bowness did the electronics, guitars and vocals here.

He got help from numerous guests who added drums, bass, guitars, woodwinds, strings, harmonium, organ, piano, mellotron, electronics and some backing vocals.

Tim Bowness is a big name in the British and world wide progressive rock scene. He cooperated with Steven Wilson in No-Man and has been working with many others before going solo on this album... 

...That is, this album is regarded as his fifth album as his first four albums is in cooperation with Richard Barbieri, Samuel Smiles (two albums) and Peter Chilvers. My reviews will only cover the Tim Bowness solo albums, though. Reviews of a handful more albums to follow later this spring.

Tim Bowness got a lot of famous helpers on this album. Brian Eno, Hugh Hopper, Markus Reuter etc etc.

The music is singer/songwriter with some very sparse instrumenations backing the vocals. 

The songs are pretty melancholic and dark. This is not exactly a sunny, shiny album.

The quality is pretty decent throughout without any really good songs here.

Check it out if the orher Tim Bowness albums is your thing and you are collecting his albums.

2 points

Beaulieu Porch - We Are Beautiful (2013)

The second album from this band from England.

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

This band is a studio project, I guess. Most of the music here sounds computer generated.

This is the follow up to their self-titled debut from 2012. 

That album was pretty heavy influenced by the psych pop and more avant-garde stuff The Beatles did at the end of their career.

We Are Beautiful is still a psych pop album and there is still a lot of The Beatles influences here. But the band has also moved past this millenium.

There are some Indian folk music incorporated into the psych pop. Sitar sounds is all around here. The female vocals is also here, floating on the top of the music.

The quality is still good but the band did not really master the art of good song writing. Hence they are a largely forgotten band.

But if psych pop with some avant garde bits thrown into the mix is your thing....

2 points

Macchina Pneumatica - Riflessi e Maschere (2019)

The debut album from this band from Italy.

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

The band released their second album last year but I have yet to get hold of that album. I will review it when I finally gets that album in my office.

The music is classic RPI. That is the main genre here.

Add in a lot of psych rock too and you get their music.

The vocals are really good and in Italian. The other musicians also deliver the goods.

The music is pretty dark with some twisted atonal metal like sounds and melodies.

Most of the music is pretty dark and pastoral. 

The music is also good on this three quarters of an hour long album.

This is an album all RPI fans should check out.

3 points

Old Mine Universe - This Vast Array (2023)

The debut album from this band from Canada.

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

Two guests did cello on one track on this album.

This band is a new name on the scene. The album is (mostly) a Bandcamp album.

The music is a mix of desert rock, stoner rock, the Swedish variation of stoner rock, and heavy metal. There are also some Rush influences on this album.

The classic heavy metal genre is pretty strongly represented by the strong Judas Priest influences on this album. 

The vocals is good and ditto for the guitars.

The songs are decent to good. This is therefore an acceptable debut album but nothing more than that.

2.5 points

 

Asteroid - II (2010)

The second studio album from this band from Sweden.

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

The band follows up their debut album and the split album with another three quarters of an hour of stoner rock.

There is a lot of hints of Scandinavian folk rock in their music. 

The stoner rock is wholly guitar based and there is a lot of vocals on the top of the guitars.

The quality of the songs are decent enough. The vocals is good and the sound is good too.

The music is primitive back to the stonehenge stoner rock. That does not work if the music is not backed up by some good tunes and songs. There is not a single good song here.

Nevertheless, this is a decent album.

2 points

Enslaved - E (2017)

The 14th album from this band from Norway.

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

A quartet of guests added drums, percussion, flute, saxophones and vocals.

Enslaved has always released engaging, exciting albums. 

The opening two minutes of E proves that we are in for some really special excitement here. The opening minutes is pretty pastoral before the band really kicks in with some more extreme metal and not at least; their viking metal sound.

The music on this album is among their least extreme metal'ish music. Then again...

The band visits King Crimson's own backyard and that makes the music very eclectic. 

The balance between extreme and clear vocals is good. The balance between extreme metal and eclectic prog is good.

There is not a single very good track here. Nevertheless, Enslaved has managed to come up with another interesting, good album and that is what this album is.

3 points

RPWL - Crime Scene (2023)

The eight album from this band from Germany.

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

RPWL is one of the best ever neo-prog bands from Germany. They albm debuted back in year 2000 and has kept on going since then. The members is also involved in numerous side projects.

The music on this album is again a mix of art rock and neo prog. There are also a lot of Pink Floyd influences here.

The music is elegant, clever and melodic. There is a lot of interesting details here too.

The vocals is also really good.

This band is still one of the better bands in the art rock and neo prog genres. Something this album proves. It is not their best album. Nevertheless, it is a good album well worth checking out.

3 points

Psicolorama - Earthquake (2017)

The 12th album from this band from Spain.

The band is a one man band with a lineup of trumpet, guitars, keyboards and computers. 

Psicolorama may be a one man band. But the many different expressions and sounds the main man here manages to express in his many albums is pretty impressive. 

I do not for a second doubts his talent and his abilities. That makes reviewing his albums so interesting. 

This time, we are taken to a dark, dark place.

We get distorted keyboards, trumpets and guitars here. There is a lot of melancholy here too. Some of the music is also pastoral.

There is a lot of beautiful darkness and melancholy in this album. That is the main impression I take away from this album. It is also one of his best albums of the twelve he has released so far.

This is an album well worth checking out.

2.5 points

Alpha III - Sombras (1986)

The third album from this band from Brazil.

The band was reduced to a one man project on this album with a lineup of computers, bass, guitars and vocals.

Amyr Cantusio Jr went on his own on this album after cooperating with others on the first two pretty abysmal albums.

We are again being treated to keyboards driven symphonic prog. That means a lot of keyboards. 

The sound is a bit poor and I would therefore recomend the better sounding 2014 re-release of this album. That said, the band has this 1980s sound and we can live with that.

There is a lot of ELP influences here. The vocals and songs is more towards the AOR genre although we are still in the middle of the symphonic prog genre.

The music and ideas, not to mention the musical abilities, is a substantial step up from the two really bad first albums.

There are indeed some cool stuff here on this fifty minutes long album.

The result is a decent album. It is an album well worth checking out although the 2014 re-release is a better version of this album.

2 points

Beaulieu Porch - Beaulieu Porch (2012)

The debut album from this band from England.

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

This band is a studio project, I guess. The music is difficult to perform live. 

Take The Beatles from their most experimental era. Add a lot of psych rock and then a thick layer of dream pop on the top of the mix. 

The vocals are female vocals and they are floating around.

The songs are short but they floats over into each other. This forty minutes long album is more or less one piece of music.

The music is not my cup of tea. Nevertheless, this is a decent enough album and well worth checking out if psychedelic pop is your thing.

2 points

 

 

Landberk - Indian Summer (1996)

The fourth and final album from this band from Sweden.

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

Three guests added saw, cello and female vocals.

I have reviewed their first three albums in ProgArchives and in # 1 and # 2 of this blog. It was about time to complete my reviews of their albums...

Landberk was a forerunner of Anglagard who then again was a forerunner of Dungen. Anglagard was a brilliant band and I have yet to sample anything from Dungen. That will be done later this year.

The music is heavy, melancholic Swedish progressive rock with some King Crimson and some Genesis and Kaipa influences. 

The music is melodic and brooding. There is a lot of mellotron in their sound.

The vocals is very good and the mellotron adds a lot to their music.

The quality is very good throughout this album. This is a classic album from Sweden everyone into Scandinavian symphonic prog should and must have.

3.5 points

Miss Mellow - Miss Mellow (2023)

The debut album from this band from Germany.

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

Two guests added electric piano and female vocals.

A new year has arrived and new bands their debut albums is popping up at Bandcamp. That is exactly how life and the music scene should be. Organic and with new life.

What we get here can and should be labeled as krautrock. 

But it is more to this album than just this label. The music is a times funky as in Red Hot Chili Peppers. The vocals is very funky. The music is also psych rock and has got some blues and indeed good old krautrock from the 1970s vibes. Amon Duul II springs to mind.

The vocals is very good and the rhythm section does a great job. The other more melodic instruments is also doing a good job and the occasional female vocals is also adding a lot of colours to the music.

The music is playful and krautrock of the good old school.

It is also a very good album and the band should find themselves as a breakthrough act this year if there is any justice.

3.5 points

Ancient Vision - Lost At Sea (2008)

The third and final album from this band from USA.

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

Two guests added saxophones and female vocals.

The final album from this band takes them towards US symphonig prog. This is a genre they claimed they belonged to. They sounded much more like early neo-prog on the first two albums than symphonic prog.

We get a concept album here. 

The music is indeed a lot more like US symphonic prog this time around. There are still some pretty primitive early neo-prog hanging around in some parts of their music.

There is also some Pink Floyd influences here with some saxophones and female vocals.

The quality is again not the best. This band never really released a good album. This album is a decent to good album. There are too much mediocre stuff here for me to really rate this as a good album.

Check out this band if US symphonic prog floats your boat and that you are a collector.

2.5 points

Tabletom ‎- Luna De Mayo (2016)

The seventh and so far last album from this band from Spain.

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

The band had help from some guests who provided woodwinds, percussion, keyboards and female vocals.

This is the latest album from this band but I hope we will get some more albums from this good band from Spain.

We are again treated to a Spanish take/mix of blues, pop, hard rock and jazz. There is also a lot of brass rock in the music and a lot of Spanish folk rock too.

The music is unmistaken Spanish in both vocals and in the music.

There is a lot of woodwinds on this album and the vocals is as per usual very good.

The quality of the songs are somewhere between decent and good. I am not won over by this album but their sound is good. 

This is a band well worth checking out.

2.5 points

Henrytennis - Bay Leaf and Singers (2022)

The fourth album from this band from Japan.

The band is a sextet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, saxophones, flutes, glockenspiel and keyboards.

I was really impressed by their debut album. But I have so far been unable to get their second and third album. So we are now at their fourth and so far latest album.

The band has gone one hundred percent instrumental on this album. The music is still Canterbury scene. But the music is much more jazz this time.

There are a lot of Gilgamesh influences here than anything else. 

The music is still pretty quirky with some eclectic prog influences.

The music is good throughout and the band cements their status as one of the best Canterbury scene bands on this planet.

3 points

Zappa. Frank - We're Only in It for the Money (1968)

The fourth album from this artist from USA.

Frank Zappa did the lead vocals, piano and guitar. His band, The Mother Of Invention did the drums, bass, woodwinds, piano and vocals.

I am on the fourth album in my quest to review all the Frank Zappa studio albums this year. I will probably finish the task/challenge next year. 

His first three albums has not given us much music. We have got a lot of (probably) drug induced ideas on these three albums and I have not been impressed. Not impressed at all.

This album is most known for the original proposed album art-work. It was a parody on The Beatles Sgt Peppers album art work. Legal proceedings followed and that art work were relegated to the inner sleeve. What you see above is the replacement art-work.

The music on this forty minutes long album is naive, childlike ditties which I guess was written and produced under the influence of some illegal drugs. Songs that may sound great under the influence.

The songs are not overly bad. They are actually pretty decent and Frank Zappa proves that he knew what he was doing.

This is not a good album by any means. It is still an improvement and a decent album.

2 points

Beggars Opera - Waters Of Change (1971)

The second album from this band from United Kingdom.

The band was a sextet on this album with a lineup of drums, cow bell, percussion, bass, guitars, organ, piano, mellotron and vocals.

A guest added flute and bass to a couple of songs.

I reviewed their 1970 debut album Act One back in 2008 and then forgot the band. I guess I also reviewed their third album Pathfinder too. I now got a handful of their albums for review this year and will proceed with that task.

The music on this album is a mix of The Nice and Deep Purple. That is again mixed with some more pastoral pieces.

Most of the music here is both theatrical and complex. There are also some hippie vibes here. Mostly due to the vocals which sounds a bit naive and childlike. 

There is a lot of mellotron on this album and mellotron became the major instrument in this band from this album and to the end. 

The music is good throughout this forty minutes long album and I can understand why this band got a good following based on their first three albums. 

3 points

 

Bazar - Drabantbyrock (1974)

The one and only album from this band from Norway.

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

This album was a one-off album released on a local record label. The vocals are in Norwegian and pretty leftist as the album was released on a far-left record label.

The music is a mix of 1970s hard rock, hard prog and folk rock. Led Zeppelin meets Rush and Jethro Tull. There is a lot of hard guitars here. Indeed, the album's closing song is a guitar solo jam.

There are also some pretty pastoral songs here. 

The lyrics are about growing up the suburbia of Oslo. Off course with a leftist, simplified take on the issues. This was Norway anno 1970s and I grew up during those times. 

The vocals and guitars are good. There are a couple of good songs here but most of them are decent. 

This is a nice album, recently re-released on CD through the Norske Albumklassikere series. Check it out.

2 points

Outlaws of Ravenhurst - Myths & Legends (2019)

The third album from this band from Canada.

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

This band is from Calgary in the middle of Canada. Most would say in the middle of nowhere. But Calgary has some good bands.

The band is mostly a straight heavy metal band and I believe their first two albums was just that. They seems to be doing mostly straight heavy or thrash metal festivals too.

This thirty odd minutes long album sees the band doing straight heavy metal... combined with something else again. This is a concept album and there is some symphonic prog here indeed. Add some folk rock too and some more eclectic prog.

There are also some modern stadium rock in their music.

The vocals is good and the music is pretty varied and offers up a lot of contrasts during this album.

The result is a good album from a band that has been flying well below my radar.  

Check out this Bandcamp album.

3 points

Pacha & Pörsti - Views from the Inner World (2022)

The debut album from this band from Finland.

The band is a duo with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, mandolin, keyboards, lyre, electric violin, viola and melodica.

The duo had help from guests who provided saxophones, flutes, bass, guitars and vocals.

This dui is Rafael Pacha and Kimmo Porsti. The latter one has released three solo albums before teaming up with Rafael Pacha for this album.

The music on this one hour long album is mostly instrumental progressive rock. The Oldfield siblings springs to mind here. Both Mike and in particular Sally Oldfield. That means a lot of Irish folk rock influenced progressive rock.

The vocals are good when they comes into play.

There is also some more Scandinavian folk rock influenced progressive rock here.

The music here is in general a blend of folk rock and symphonic prog. The music is nice but it does not have that many interesting details.

The result is an album somewhere between decent and good. 

2.5 points

Ancient Vision - Focus Or Blinders (1993)

The second album from this band from USA.

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

Three guests provided synths, saxophones and female vocals.

Their debut album was a nice mix of symphonic prog and neo-prog. Hence, I was looking forward to this album.

The music is again a mix of symphonic prog and neo-prog. More neo-prog than symphonic prog, it has to be said.

This album is very long... well over an hour long.

The sound is the typical 1990s with a lot of 1980s neo-prog sound too. The music also sounds like 1980s neo-prog. The vocals are really deeply unimpressive.

There are a couple of good songs here. The vast majority of the songs are barely decent.

This is a disappointing release and one best forgotten.

2 points

Tabletom - Sigamos En Las Nubes (2008)

The sixth album from this band from Spain.

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

The band had help from some guests who provided woodwinds, percussion, keyboards and female vocals.

Tabletom had a long career and it was always based around the rather good, Spanish vocals of Roberto Gonzales.

Tabletom has always had a local, Spanish sound and that is also the case for this album.

We get an hour worth of music somewhere between brass rock and jazz. Add a lot of Spanish rock too and you get this album.

The music is pretty dynamic too. The vocals is really driving this album forward. Tabletom has got a strong identity in these vocals.

Not everything here is good. But I respect bands like Tabletom and decent to good albums like this one. They adds a lot of colours to the scene and to my life.

2.5 points

 

 

Les Dunes - Les Dunes (2023)

The debut album from this band from Norway.

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

This band was signed by Karisma Records, one of the better prog rock labels in the scene today, and this is the first album on that record deal.

The music is straight forward post-rock with a hint of stoner rock and jazz.

There is not that much ebbs and flows here either. The guitars are mostly half-acoustic and with colourful, not so post rock sound. That's where the jazz influence and sound comes in.

Their take on post rock is therefore pretty gentle throughout these forty-eight minutes. 

The music is pretty interesting. It is not particular good. What this album is sorely missing is some identity and some better tunes. This album is a run of the mill instrumental post rock album.

The result is a decent album. No less and no more.

2 points

Asteroid - Asteroid (2007)

 The debut album from this band from Sweden.

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

The real debut of the band was a split album with Blowback, another band from Sweden. But that album is a bit difficult to get hold of.

The band has so far released three albums and they are all up for reviews here this spring.

Asteroid plays a power trio mix of stoner, space rock and heavy metal. 

The vocals are pretty good and in the stoner rock vein. I wish there had been more organ here to give the band a more 1970s feel and sound. The guitars is dominating the organ, though and the sound is more like the post-millenium stoner rock sound.

The music is pretty groovy too. This one hour long album has a mix of decent and good songs. 

This is an acceptable debut album and one to progress from.

2.5 points

Tea Party. The - The Interzone Mantras (2001)

The sixth album from this band from Canada.

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

The band was supported by a numerous guests who provided woodwinds, strings, percussion and vocals.

The band continues as they did before with their mix of alternative rock, psych rock and progressive rock.

References are King's X, Pearl Jam and Doors. Add some Led Zeppelin and you got their potent mix.

The strings and woodwinds adds some debt and enhanced sound to their songs. Songs which is pretty muscular and does not adds anything to the imagination.

The vocals is good and the rest of the band does a good job on this one hour long album.

Some killer tracks would have been desirable. Nevertheless, this is a good album.

3 points

Battle Circus - Battle Circus (2011)

The one and only album from this band from New Zealand.

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

Some guests provided cello, violin, double bass, viola and percussion.

The band was very active during their short life and toured both USA and Europe. 

The music on this one hour and six minutes long album is a mix of heavy rock, grunge and some heavy prog in the vein of Porcupine Tree. 

The music is also pretty theatrical with some symphonic prog elements throughout.

The music also has some melodic aspects where the vocals shines through. Some great vocals.

The quality of the music is good throughout. This is indeed an enjoable album and it is still available as a name your price Bandcamp album.

3 points

Otra Vez El Burro Al Trigo - Yes Max (2013)

The one and only album from this band from USA.

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

"Progressive rock  Instrumental  Rock Progressive". This name your price Bandcamp album has been given a total wrong label.

The right label is instrumental gypsy music with a lot of jazz influences. There is a high degree of Latin Jazz influences here too.

There is hardly any progressive rock here, if any. There is hardly any rock here either, if any. The music is instrumental, though.

The interactions between the violin and the guitar is the one thing that carry this album. The music is very dynamic and pretty heavy at times.

This is not a bad album. It is a fairly decent album. It is not an album I want to hear again in my life.

1.5 points

 

 

Henrytennis - Eight Rare Cases (2006)

The debut album from this band from Japan.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, glockenspiel, bass, guitars, melodica, synths, sampler, tape and voice.

This band's 2022 album, their latest album, came as a surprise to me and it has got worldwide praise. Hence I got it and then I discovered their debut album too. I could not find their second and third album though....

But two albums is not bad and a review of their 2022 album comes up later this early spring.

The band plays Canterbury scene prog in the vein of Caravan. That is their musical platform.

They also combines that genre with some atonal Japanese avant-garde pop in the beginning of this forty minutes long album and some improvised jazz at the end of the album.

There is not much vocals here at all. The vocals are thin and the typical Japanese vocals.

The music is pastoral in the beginning and pretty hard at the end.

This band is very talented and masters of their instruments. Their music was not fully developed. But this album got tonnes of charm and the final ten minutes is really powerful and jazzy.

This is a good debut album and one to check out. 

3 points

Amon Düül - Experimente (1983)

 

The fifth and final album from this band from Germany.

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

This is the final album from these infamous jam sessions from 1968 and 1969. Jam sessions who ended up as all their albums and this band.

Cheap, cheap, cheap and very nasty. Not to say; a rip off.

Just to prove that the buyer has been ripped off, the "songs" here is called Special Track Experience and they are numbered from 01 to 24. 

There is no logic in any of the songs and I doubt that the members even knew that they were members of this band and that the, I presume drug induced, mindless misuse of their instruments would end up as five albums. Five albums and a good income for someone who should be ashamed of themselves.

The great krautrock swindle. That is what their five albums is. Thankfully, some of the members went to form Amon Düül II and they released some good/great music.

This album is a rip off, though.

1 point

 

 

Mr. Gil - Love Will Never Come (2022)

The fifth album from this band from Poland.

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

The band had some help from a female vocalist too.

This is the band of Marek Gil from Collage, one of the pioneers in the neo-prog scene in Poland. His guitar sound also gave the sound of this scene.

Mr. Gil's take on neo-prog continues on from Collage and Satellite, another great band from Poland. 

I reviewed Mr. Gil's second album Skellig last week and noted (and hoped) that the sound on that album would set the sound of their future albums too. That is at least the case for Love Will Never Come.

That means melancholic rock somewhere between art-rock and neo-prog.

The vocals are good and ditto for the sound.

The quality is good throughout and this is a nice album indeed. 

3 points

Zopp - Dominion (2023)

The second album from this band from United Kingdom.

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

The band had help from guests who provided percussion, woodwinds and vocals.

This band crashed onto the scene in 2020 with their self-titled debut album. A lot of reviewers had that album as the album of the year. 

Zopp does Canterbury prog. Egg and Caravan is a good reference here. But add The Tangent, Hatfield And The North and National Health to the list of good references too.

There is also some stylish pop and jazz here too.

There is no denying that the music is quirky and eclectic. It is also pretty melodic. The French Horn is always present and add a lot of weird stuff.

The vocals is great and each track, two of them are ten minutes plus compositions, is almost like artworks.

The result is a great album. It is an album we can add to the list of classic Canterbury scene albums. 

Check it out.

4 points

 

 

Enslaved - In Times (2015)

The 13th album from this band from Norway.

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

Two guests added additional vocals.

Enslaved had by now become the most exciting extreme metal band on this planet. 

The band combined their extreme metal with lots of prog. The extreme vocals was combined with clean vocals.

There is indeed a lot of organ and keyboards here too. That in addition to the guitars. The pretty harsh guitars.

The difference on In Times from the previous albums is the incorporation of some Icelandic vocals and metal. The music had matured a lot more too. 

The quality is a per normal from this band good. The music is as per normal exciting and never dull. This is not melodic music and this is not music for the faint hearted. It is indeed progressive music. Very few bands does progressive music better than Enslaved. 

3 points

Ancient Vision - The Vision (1991)

The debut album from this band from USA.

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

This band released three albums between 1991 and 2008 before they gave up the ghost. I got the three albums for reviews this early spring.

The band debuted with this album released on their own record label. The album was recorded in England.

The music is a mix of Genesis like symphonic prog and neo-prog.

The longest epic here clocks in at sixteen minutes and the shortest song at around two minutes. The music is a bit of a mixed bag, in short. 

The sound is good. The vocals is good. The music is pretty melodic and pretty good.

There is nothing bad here and nothing really eye opening great. This album therefore falls between decent and good. Fans of US symphonic prog should check out this band.

2.5 points

Baron Crane - Les Beaux Jours (2021)

The debut album from this band from France.

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

Flutes, saxophones, additional drums and vocals were added to this album too.

The Scandinavian jazz/metal scene has given us some good bands and albums. The Elephant 9 albums springs to mind.

Keep that in mind when I tell you that I got Les Beaux Jours because some places has listed it as a heavy prog album.

Hmm.... Well, yes and no. Heavy prog as in power trios with the basic setup of drums, bass and guitars. No because there is heck of a lot of jazz in their music too. Jazz and space rock. 

Baron Crane is therefore as a band sailing under the jazz x metal flag. 

Then again, there is also a lot of Ange and French symphonic prog references and music here too. Parts of this album is really pastoral and gentle.

The music is very hard at times with some long, lingering and hard guitar solos. The rhythm section is meandering somewhere in the jazz landscape and the vocals is good and heavy. 

A lot of the music is really dissonant too.

The result is also pretty outer space and space rock fans will really love this album.

This album sounds like a breathe of fresh air. The music is also very good and this is and album well worth checking out.

3.5 points

Othello Syndrome. The - The Shadow Of Dreams (1999)

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

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

The band was supported by three guests who added drums, keyboards, sax and backing vocals.

This project.. or was it a band.... released their album on F2 Records and then disappeared. Their short life is a great shame.

Rob Reed was involved as a guest on this album. Not without any good reasons.

Take Van Der Graaf Generator, Peter Hammill and the likes of Magenta and Cyan... then you get this album.

The music is pretty theatrical throughout. It is also pretty eclectic. It still retains a great deal of neo-prog and the music is melodic.

The sax is used with great effect on the top of some good keyboards and guitars. The vocals is really good too.

There is no great songs here. Nevertheless, this is a good album and one to check out for those into melodic British prog and or neo-prog.

3 points

Caravela Escarlate - III (2023)

The third album from this band from Brazil.

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

This is their third album and their record label is based in...... Norway. 

The band is a symphonic prog rock band and their music is pretty close to what the, so far, greatest band from Brazil in this genre released many decades ago. I am off course referring to Sagrado Coracao Da Terre. What a band !

Caravela Escarlate is very much carving out their own niche and platform in the symph prog scene.

The vocals are in Portuguese and the music is pretty pastoral and soft. There is both a lot of old Camel, Genesis and some local folk rock here.

Some of the music is eclectic enough to make the listener drop everything else they are doing and just concentrate on listening to this album.

The organ and guitars are very good. Ditto for the vocals.

The songs are also very good on this three quarters of an hour long album.

This is a band which should by now be fully established as one of the better symphonic prog bands. Not only in Brazil but also world wide. 

This is indeed a very good album.

3.5 points

Amon Duul - Disaster (1972)

 

The fourth album from this band from Germany.

The band was a seven piece big band with a lineup of drums, percussion, maracas, congas, shaker, bass, guitars, piano and vocals.

This is another album released from some jam sessions in 1968 and 1969. If they were ever meant to be released is another matter. But they were recorded. I believe four out of the total five Amon Duul albums has been released from these jam sessions.

The sound is pretty bad and so is the music. It is bordering to a crime to charge money for these albums.

Disaster is a..... well, a turkey. No records is ever disasters. Nevertheless, avoid this album at all cost.

1 point

 

 

Mr. Gil - Skellig (2010)

The second album from this band from Poland.

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

Mr. Gil is Marek Gil from Collage's solo career. It has released five albums. The latest album was released last year and a review is upcoming this weekend or next week.

Neo prog from Poland is a genre Marek Gil had at least one hand in creating... and defining. Marek Gil and the other pioneers added a melancholic, sad undertone to the neo-prog and Polish neo-prog and the Polish neo-prog scene was born.

That is very much evident on Skellig.

Polish lyrics on the top of a lot of melancholic guitar solos and a melancholic sound. The music is pretty pastoral and not so muscular.

There is a lot of beauty in this sadness.... in the rather sad and downcasted music on this album.

The quality of the songs are sadly not right up where they should be. The sound and the guitars are the saving grace here and makes this a good album.

Check out this album and band.

3 points

Rain - Radio Silence (2023)

The second album from this band from England.

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

The band consists of members from Jadis, IQ, Frost* and Arena.

It sounds like a lot of efforts and resources is going into this band. Their debut album Singularity from 2020 was a good album and a heavy backed album too.

The band members comes from the neo-prog genre. As a whole, this three quarters of an hour long album is a neo prog album.

There is some funk and new rock influences here too. 

The music is rather playful and pretty muscular. It is also pretty elegant with some good, elegant vocals.

The result is a good album from a band well worth checking out.

3 points

Psicolorama - No Words (2017)

The 11th album from this one man band from Spain.

Psicolorama does the computers, guitars, organ, piano and keyboards himself on this album.

The ten Psicolorama albums I have so far reviewed has been a bit of a mixed bag. Some has been abysmal bad, turkeys, and a few has been really good.

It is with a lot of trepidations I always approach each Psicolorama album.

The start is good with a lot of organic organ, guitars and piano. The programmed drums are also well suited here. A more organic drummer would have added a lot of fills here and made the stuff even better. I am not complaining too much.

So far.

Well, the rest of this instrumental album is rather good too.

The quality is rather decent to good and some of the organ is so good that it elevates this album to a good rating. More of the same, please.

3 points

Alpha III - Mar de Cristal (1983)

The second album from this band from Brazil.

Alpha III is mr. Amyr Cantusio Jr and he did the bass, guitars, synths and vocals here. He had help from a Mauricio Lambiasi who did bells and drums.

I was not overly impressed by the first album. It was/is in fact a turkey, that album.

The year was 1983 and the decade was a dark decade when it comes to sound and music. Progressive rock was more or less dead. The sound was more or less based on plastic and bad synths.

Plastic and bad synths is what we get on Mar De Cristal. The music is a mix of symphonic prog and pomp pop.

The sound is synthetic and like one of these shopping, carrier bags you get from a supermarket to carry your carrots and beer bottles in. 

The vocals is it's own horror story. The music is pretty poor too.

In short, this is another turkey from Alpha III. 

1 point

Barock - Bare en Blaveis (1976)

The one and only album from this band from Norway.

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

This band from the west coast of Norway arrived in the scene, released this album and then disappeared again. 

The album has recently been re-released on CD in the Norwegian retro re-release albums series Norske Albumklassikere and I therefore thought it was about time to check out this album.

Soft progressive rock was what it was sold as when it first time was released. 

There is indeed a lot of Camel, early Genesis and Barclay James Harvest influences here. The songs are a mix of instrumentals, Norwegian and English vocals.

The music is pretty melancholic and not particular happy chappy.

The mood is indeed pretty dark and that is helped by some pretty dark vocals.

The quality is somewhere between decent and good. 

This album is not among the better progressive rock albums from Norway and Scandinavia. It is still an interesting album and well worth checking out.

2.5 points

OTEME - L' Agguato, L' Abbandono, Il Mutamento (2015)

The second album from this one man band band from Italy.

This band is one of Stefano Gianotti from Nichelodeon's many solo projects. He does the percussion, harp, guitars, banjo, piano, organ and vocals here.

Numerous guests has added drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards, woodwinds and vocals.

The band has so far released four albums but I have only got this album and I shold have reviewed it many years ago.  

OTEME and the other projects Stefano is involved in is all avant-garde prog and RIO projects.

There is a lot of weirdo woodwinds driven melodies and themes here. Mostly by dissonant woodwinds.

There is also a couple of proper songs here too. Folk rock songs, that is. The vocals is good.

 This album is one hour long and gives good value for money.

The music is decent enough and will appeal to everyone into avant-garde prog from Italy or anywhere else. I am not entirely won over.

2 points

Art Deco - Turhat Tarinat (2023)

The second album from this band from Finland.

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

The band album debuted exactly ten years ago with the Syvaan Uneen album. An album I really liked.

I did not think it would take them ten years to follow up that album. But it has.

The band has not changed genre or style between these two albums. Neither is their new album an album of left overs from the debut album.

The music is a mix of Finnish folk rock, symphonic prog and jazz. 

The vocals are female vocals and the lyrics are delivered in Finnish. The vocals are good and perfect for this music you find on this album. 

There are a nice mellotron sound here who keeps popping in and out of the music. The twin guitars are also good. The music is by intent slightly dissonant and therefore pretty eclectic at times.

The music is still melodic but with a lot of interesting details. The music is also pretty quirky.

This is another good album from this band. I do not want to wait another ten years for a new album from this band, one of the best prog bands from Finland.

3 points