Legacy Pilots - Helix (2023)

The fourth and latest album from this band from Germany.

The band is Frank Us on bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

He had help from around eight guests who provided drums, bass, guitars and vocals.

The guests was again from bands like Marillion and some other great bands.

There is a subtle change of style on Helix compared to the previous three albums.

The music is much more symphonic prog and neo-prog. There is not so much art-rock here.

The music flows a lot better too and there is some really good ideas and details. The sound is very good and ditto for the vocals and the other instruments.

The overall quality during this one hour long album is very good too. 

This is an album well worth checking out.

3.5 points

Kanaan - Downpour (2023)

The sixth album from this band from Norway.

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

Hedvik Mollestad added her guitars to one of the tracks.

Kanaan is one of the leading lights in the Norwegian psych and fusion scene. Their music has always been very eclectic and dissonant.

The same goes for this forty minutes long album.

The music is a mix of psych and fusion. There is also some space rock here. 

The music is pretty hard and dissonant. It is also pretty melodic and not all out avant-garde. 

There are indeed some good melody lines and pieces of music here. 

Downpour is therefore another good album from this Norwegian band and it will again cement their status as one of the more interesting bands from this country.

3 points

HeKz - Terra Nova (2023)

The fourth album from this band from Great Britain.

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

The band had help from a handful of guests who provided moog, keyboards, violin and horns on selected tracks.

I do not know their three previous albums who was released around five to ten years ago. The band plays music I normally tend to shy away from. Progressive metal in other words.

The band has released all their albums through Bandcamp and is not listed in ProgArchives. That is also a reason why I am unfamiliar to this band. Nevertheless, I got a copy of this album.

Progressive metal with some art-rock, folk rock, gothic rock and Broadway musicals influences is what we get here. Almost one and a half hour of it, too.

The vocals is a mix of male and female vocals. Most of it is musicals like vocals and pretty much in the rock opera vein. Rock opera is something I suspect this album is. 

The result is a good album who deserve some more attention. Check it out.

3 points

Voivod - Synchro Anarchy (2022)

The 15th album from this band from Canada.

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

Voivod is without any doubts one of the strangest bands to have escaped from the thrash and speed metal scene. Mekong Delta is the only other avant-garde thrash and speed metal band I can think of. Both Mekong Delta and Voivod are good bands. Both of them are still with us.

Synchro Anarchy is so far the last studio album from Voivod although they released a compilation album earlier this year I will review in a couple of days time.

The band has to a great extent returned to their roots as the music has a lot of thrash metal. The band has mixed thrash metal with psych rock.

The result is something only Voivod does. They are the only band capable of getting away with this clash of genres.

The vocals is good and the many riffs and pieces of music is largely working. The music is pretty melodic at times too. 

The result is a good album and perhaps the album those faint hearted who are curious about this band should start with. I hope we will see another Voivod studio album pretty soon.

3 points

Ave Tierra - Ave Tierra (2007)

The debut album from this band from Argentina.

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

Two guest added extra guitars.

Back in October 2012, by mistake I reviewed their second album Elefantes Negros as their debut album. I was wrong about describing it as their debut album. Besides of that, the album was pretty good.

I have now got their three remaining albums and will review them in the coming two weeks. 

The band's debut album, this one, is one hour long. 

The music is a mix of folk rock, hard rock, Latin prog rock, rock and post-punk. 

The music is at times pretty hard and noisy. There is a couple of more pastoral pieces of music too. Most of the music is somewhere between mid-tempo and fast. 

The Spanish vocals are good and the band does a good job here. The songs and the pieces of music is decent enough but never rise above this level. All their albums and EP are available on Bandcamp and worth checking out.

2 points

Circle Back Again - Reminiscent Lessons (2023)

The debut album from this band from USA.

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

This is a new band from California, releasing singles and this album through Bandcamp. This album is a name your price album too. Potentially a free album if you wish so.

It is also just short of half an hour long too.

The music is a mix of art-rock, neo-prog and indie rock. 

The vocals are good and the music are mid-tempo with some good guitar solos.

The quality is somewhere between decent and good. There is no outstanding, signature tracks here. Nevertheless, this is more than acceptable debut album.

2.5 points

 

 

Radiohead - Hail To The Thief (2003)

The sixth album from this band from Great Britain.

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

A guest contributed with tape loops.

The debate about this band being a progressive rock band or merely a pop act was raging in the progressive rock forums when this album was released. This blog, I, is not that worried about that. There is no doubts that Radiohead is one of the most imporant and groundbreaking bands on this planet since 1990.

Hail To The Thief is a blend of the concepts the band explored and released on OK Computer, Kid A and Amensiac. 

There are some melodic stuff here and there are some trippy ambient stuff here.

The quality is as always pretty high although this kind of music is not my favourite kind of music. 

Neverheless, the band delivers the goods and gives plenty for the brain to devour. It is therefore a pretty fascinating album too.

It is also a good album and one I recommend.

3 points

Ikarus - Chronosome (2016)

The second album from this band from Switzerland.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, bass, piano, male and female voices.

I reviewed their debut album earlier this month and liked it. Good scatting based zeuhl and jazz.

We get the same on thei follow up album.

Minimalistic jazz inspired zeuhl with piano and scatting vocals on the top of that. Mostly female vocals.

There are a couple of short instrumental pieces on this forty-five minutes long album too. But mostl of the music is scatting on the top of some really minimalistic pieces of music.

The quality is again somewhere between decent and good. It is still an album well worth checking out.

2.5 points

 

 

Legacy Pilots - The Penrose Triangle (2021)

The third album from this band from Germany.

Frank Us is the man behind this one-man-band and he does the guitars, keyboards and lead vocals.

He got help from numerous guests who has provided drums, percussion, bass, guitars, backing and female vocals.

I quite like the first two Legacy Pilots albums. They are a mix of art-rock, symphonic prog and neo-prog. The quality has been good too.

Frank Us returns with the same formula and more or less the same ideas on this, the third album.

The music, despite of sounding both elegant and stylish, feels a bit the same here. There is no really sparkling details here. The music feels a bit.......... flat.

The result is an hour of music somewhere between decent and good. I hope for an improvement when I will soon review the 2023 album.

2.5 points

Fairfield Parlour - From Home to Home (1970)

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

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

The band was an offshot of another band, Kaleidoscope. That band released two albums and you will find my reviews of both albums somewhere else in this blog.

Both bands were folk rock bands.

Fairfield Parlour was not as much acid folk as Kaleidoscope. Fairfield's music is much more mainstream and a bit more americana than that. 

There is also some pretty obvious prog rock influences in their music. Enough to give this band a good reputation in today's progressive rock scene.

The vocals is very good and most of the songs are good too.

There is a lot to enjoy on this album. That includes the keyboards who has this good old prog sound and feel. There are even some good details here.

This album is an improvement on the two Kaleidoscope albums and a fine album in it's own right. 

It is indeed a good album and one to check out.

3 points

 

 

Book of Revelations. The - The Plumes of Enceladus (2023)

The debut album from this band from Great Britain.

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

This band is the brainchild of the bassist and wordsmith Gerald Freeman. The band has gigged and recorded this album during the last couple of years. The band has also started work on the follow up album.

Gerald Freeman wanted to re-create the early days of Genesis. Not their debut album. But rather their Trespass and the three early Peter Gabriel albums. 

The guitars sounds more like Anthony Phillips than Steve Hackett. I guess that says everything about the era this band prefers.

This one hour long album is not a tribute album with every sound and tone recreated. The band has also added their own personality and experiences. The average age on the band members seems like fifty so these band members has been around the block, several times.

The music is very complex. The vocals and guitars are good. There is even a reggae theme on one of the songs. 

This album has a nice balance between retro and contemporary sound and music.

The quality is very good throughout and this is an album Genesis and symphonic prog fans should pick up.

3.5 points

Residuos Mentales - A Temporary State of Bliss (2023)

The second album from this band from Greece.

The band is a duo with a lineup of bass, guitars, keyboards, synths and flute.

The duo had help from some guests who provided drums, percussion, bass, guitars, woodwinds and vocals.

Their second album. I was not too impressed by their debut album. A decent enough album but just that.

The music is instrumental symphonic prog. There is some vocals on one of the tracks. But that is all. 

The music is pretty muscular, but never really heavy or hard. The woodwinds are sporadic. The main instruments is the keyboards and then the guitars.

There are a lot of neo-classical music here and some hints of fusion and goth rock.

The quality is pretty good and this album is a small improvement from the debut album. I have yet to be entirely won over by this band.

2.5 points

Dungen - En Är För Mycket och Tusen Aldrig Nog (2022)

The ninth album from this band from Sweden.

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

The music is again psych rock with a lot of acid folk and fusion influences.

The music is pretty commercial too.

The vocals is good and there are a lot of distorted guitars on this album. The organ sound is also good.

The band is threading water here as they have done on their last couple of albums. The music is still good and this is still one of the best bands from Sweden.

Check out this album.

3 points

Heptagram - Submerge (2023)

The fourth album from this band from Bulgaria.

The band is a one-man-band with Daniel Ivanov on drums, guitars, synths programming and vocals.

A female vocalist is a guest on one track.

I reviewed the 2012 debut album Lucidity eleven years ago for # 1 of this blog and then totally forgot about this band. That album is a very good album and a free Bandcamp album. The same goes for this album, the new album. 

The music on the debut album was pretty close to Porcupine Tree. And it seems like Daniel Ivanov has nailed Heptagram to the same mast throughout this project.

The music on Submerge is a bit like Porcupine Tree in places. Most of all, the music is dreamy psych pop with some ambience music and post-rock influences. 

This being a one-man-band, there is not many technical difficult stuff here. It is more a half-acoustic driven straight forward melodies album. 

The album is clocking in at thirty-five minutes. This project and this album, not to mention the very good debut album, deserve a lot more attention. Sometimes, free means quality.

3 points

Zappa. Frank - Sheik Yerbouti (1979)

The 20th album from this artist from USA.

Frank Zappa did the lead vocals and guitars here.

Numerous guests added drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards, clarinet and backing vocals.

This album is one of his most liked and best selling albums. It is a seventy minutes long album which contains a mix of studio and live tracks.

The collection of the tracks for this album is a bit haphazard. But somehow, Frank Zappa hit the jackpot here.

The music varies from puerile childish songs to doo wop, pop, funk, avant-garde rock, psych rock and jazz. 

And most of the songs really works. The reason is that this album also includes some of his best ever songs. And mixed together with some less good songs, the listener forgets/forgive the less good songs and concentrates on the enjoyable, very good songs.

It is a seducing album, indeed.

The quality is all over the place. Nevertheless, this is a good album and well worth checking out. 

3 points

In The Woods - Heart of the Ages (1995)

The debut album from this band from Norway.

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

Two guests added drums and female vocals.

This is one of the bands from the first wave of Norwegian black metal. Because they were neither from Oslo or Bergen, they fell a bit between the cracks. The band comes from Kristiandsand which is, if driving the coastal road nobody use, is halfway between Oslo and Bergen.

From nowhere, the band debuted with a demo/ep and that was followed by this album. They have released six studio albums and they are all up for review this winter in this blog.

The music on this album is a mix of raw black metal and some more melodic stuff. None of it is particular good or even remotely appealing for progheads.

The music on this one hour long album is primitive and only half decent. It is not this album that has given this band it's good reputation.

1.5 points

Legacy Pilots - Aviation (2020)

The second album from this one-man-band from Germany.

Frank Us does the bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals on this album.

He got help from around ten guests who has added drums, bass, guitars, synths and additional vocals. The guests are still from the likes of Dream Theater, Kansas, Deep Purple, Marillion and Frost*.

The 2018 debut album Con Brio was a good debut album. The music somewhere between art-rock, neo-prog and symphonic prog.

Two years later, the sound and music has not changed much. Frank Us has found his genre, his scene, his niche.

The sound is good. The vocals is good and the music is good. It is not sparkling and it feels a bit dead and too safe.

Nevertheless, this is a good one hour long album. Nevertheless, guys like this can do better and must do better albums than this album.

3 points

Foundation. The - Departure (1984)

The one and only album from this band from Sweden.

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

This album is a bit of an oddity... It was first released on LP on a local Swedish label before Musea rightly re-released it on CD with two bonus tracks some ten years later. This review is of the CD as it is still available.

Symphonic prog in the vein of Camel is what we get here.

There are some faint Eloy and ELP influences here. Even some Mike Oldfield influences. But most of this one hour long album is sailing close to Camel.

There is not much vocals here. But the vocals is good.

The music is pretty much mid-tempo with some pastoral and lyrical bits. Each instrument here is being full utilized.

The music is both comfortable and giving. There is a lot of interesting details here and that makes this album both a hidden gem and a good album.

This album is highly recommended to all Camel and symphonic prog fans.

3 points

 

 

 

Looking Glass Lantern - A Victorian Christmas Compendium (2023)

The sixth album from this band from Great Britain.

The band is a one-man-band where Graham Dunnington does everything. That means drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals. I am not sure how much of the instruments is programmed.

I have reviewed a couple of Looking Glass Lantern albums in # 1 and # 2 of this blog. But I have simply forgotten about this band. The reminder came as this Christmas album.

I am not a fan of Christmas music at all. My family even claim I hate Christmas music. Well, I do not hate this type of music. I just detest it = I do my best to avoid this genre at all cost. That sai..... Fairytale In New York, the duet featuring the both sadly departed Kirsty MacColl and Shane MacGowan is a brilliant piece of music. My alltime favourite piece of festive music.

Graham Dunnington takes us back to the Victorian era in these lyrics for this album.

The music is neo-prog and in the British tradition. There is some symphonic prog here too and the music does has some bells and whistle like in festive music. The music is also pretty moody and a bit gloomy.

It is also mid-tempo and does not have many interesting details.

The result is a half-good album. It is some festive music which does not make me feel ill. And that is a good thing. It is also an album suitable for mid-summers too.

My main gripe is the lack of enough good pieces of music to give it a good rating.

Check out this album.

2.5 points

 

 

Residuos Mentales - Introspection (2018)

The debut album from this band from Hellas.

The band is a trio with a lineup of percussion, bass, guitars, strings, synths, programming and flute.

They had help from a handful of guests who provided drums, percussion, bass, guitars, strings, synths, kazoo and vocals.

This band is an offshot of the more famous band Verbal Delirium. This offshot has so far released two albums and I will review the second album before the end of the year.

The music was sold to me as symphonic prog.

Well, that is not so much the case here. There is some of it here. But most of the music is slow and ambient music with a lot of acoustic instruments. 

There are some sporadic outbreaks of some more livelier music here. But there are not enough of that to label this as symphonic prog although the ambient music is pretty symphonic.

The result, this forty minutes long album, is not too bad. This is indeed a decent album and one worth checking out.

2 points

Dungen - Häxan (2016)

The eight album from this band from Sweden.

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

This forty minutes long album is an original soundtrack for a German animated movie called.... Die Abenteuer Dez Prinzen Achmed. The adventures of prince Achmed in other words, translated to English.

This album is a one-off in their discography and a weirdo one.

The music is post-rock with some psych rock influences. The music is still pretty dissonant and avant-garde.

The signatures of the musicians still shines through and it still feels like a Dungen album.

I have spent a lot of time on this album. It is not an album that opens up during the first listening sessions. This album requires both patience and full concentration.

It is a good album though. Another good album from one of the best bands from Sweden. So, no complaints....

3 points

Spurv - Brefj​æ​re (2023)

The third album from this band from Norway.

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

A guest added female vocals on a couple of tracks.

I have been following this band with some interest since their debut album was released some years ago.

This album is a Bandcamp name your price album too and easy available.

The music is very varied and cover a lot of bases during these forty-five minutes. Some of the music is very hard with lots of death metal like guitar riffs. Other parts has got some psalms and gentle folk music influences.

The album is a fight between darkness and light. It ebbs and flows. Just like the whole idea of music in the post-rock genre. 

The result is a good album indeed and an obligatory download. It is an album that will surprise a lot of people and serve as a gateway to the post-rock genre for those yet unfamiliar with this genre.

3 points

Grand Funk Railroad - Survival (1971)

The fourth album from this band from USA.

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

This band grew and grew, album by album. This in status and album sales. 

The music on this album is hard rock. There are some stadium rock and blues influences here too. 

The band always sounded pretty similar to Led Zeppelin and is more or less USA's answer to these British giants. 

It is not a bad answer either as the songs are pretty good and there are some good guitars here. Their cover of the Rolling Stones classic Gimme Shelter is a good cover version too.

The rest of the songs, their original songs, those they wrote themselves, is pretty catchy and hard too. The vocals is good.

The result is somewhere between decent and good. It is an album well worth checking out.

2.5 points

Voivod - The Wake (2018)

The 14th album from this band from Canada.

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

A string ensemble added their strings to a couple of tracks.

The band had taken a five years long album break. Some singles, EPs and boxes was released and the band toured and gigged quite extensive during the album break. And the band finally split up with their original bassist as his second tenure in the band had not worked out.

So a fresh Voivod hit the studio. 

You never know what you get from this very unpredictable band. In this case, take a bit thrash metal, add a bit grunge and a bit psych rock. Then add some heavy metal. Add some fusion too and a hint of jazz.

The strings adds some weirdness and quality to a couple of psych rock leaning tracks. 

The vocals is good and so is the music. This is a weird album but it is also a good album from a band who always deliver plenty of food for thought. 

3 points

 

 

Legacy Pilots - Con Brio (2018)

The debut album from this band from Germany.

The band is a one man band with Frank Us on percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

He got help from a lot of guests from USA and UK who provided drums, bass, guitars, synths and backing vocals.

The guests are from Kansas, Marillion, Frost* and other bands. Legacy Pilots has also released four albums and they are all up for review this winter. 

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

The music is muscular and the songs are all well crafted. They are also smart, elegant and a bit quirky. Each musicians, and in particular Frank Us, does a good job.

The result is a both good and an impressive debut album. I am looking forward to the three remaining albums.

3 points

Fourth Sensation - Fourth Sensation (1970)

The one and only album from this band from Italy.

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

This was a short lived band who released this pretty influential album before they gave up the ghost and were disbanded.

The music on this forty minutes long album is instrumental throughout.

The music is a mix of psych rock and fusion. There are also some hints of beat and some even more vague hints of Italian pop music here.

The organ sound is good and carries this album and these pieces of music. The half-acoustic guitars is also adding a lot of quality to this, the mostly mid tempo music.

The result is a decent enough album and one that should interest both those into psych rock and RPI as this album influenced this scene a lot.

2 points

Pattern Seeking Animals - Spooky Action at a Distance (2023)

The fourth album from this band from USA.

The band is a quartet with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

The band had help from a string ensemble. 

3/4 of this band is Spock's Beard, the best symphonic prog band in USA today and true legends in the scene. 

Pattern Seeking Animals sees a much more americana and pop influenced band on their first three albums. That also goes for this, their fourth album too.

There is still plenty of prog here. But pop and americana has taken over most of this one hour long album.

There is some good pieces of music here and there is some less good pieces of music here. This album is a bit of a let down and a step backwards into obscurity and mediocrisity. 

A slight letdown but still worthy a listen or two.

2.5 points

Libra - Winter Day's Nightmare (1976)

The third album from this band from Italy.

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

Hmm.... I have forgotten to do my detective work on this band. I was about to review their self-titled second album when I thought the music sounded familiar. Indeed it was. It is their English version of the newly reviewed Musica E Parole I reviewed last week. Hence, no review of Libra as it is = Musica E Parole.

Libra was their debut album on Motown Records. The first of ten albums, according to the contract. The band then delivered Winter Day's Nightmare to Motown Records. Both albums were flops. Both artistic and commercial flops. Hence, Libra was not asked to honour their contract. A Goblin like soundtrack album called Shock then followed in 1977 before Libra became a mere footnote in the history of Italian progressive rock.

This album is in short a soul, funk and pop album. It is a horrible bad one too and this album, this turkey, is best forgotten.

Avoid at all costs.

1 point

 

 

ICU - Icu (1997)

The third and final album from this band from Germany.

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

The band tried their luck again after two lacklustre albums. Two albums who did not get them many fans.

Their mix of old style neo-prog and symphonic prog was not exactly in fashion back then. The thin, poor sound on their albums did not win them many fans either. 

So they tried again. This time with a self-titled album.

We get exactly the same again. Fifty-five minutes with a mix of 1980s neo-prog and symphonic prog. The vocals and the sound is thin. It is also poor.

The addition of the flute adds something to the music. Something decent. But as the quality of the songs is somewhere between decent and poor, not even the flutes saves this album from being an unimpressive album.

Only collectors should bother about this band and their three albums.

1.5 points

 

 

Hara, Yumi - Groove Study (2023)

The second album from this artist from Japan.

Ms Yumi Hara did the percussion, lever harp, pipe organ, piano, synths and vocals here.

She got help from a handful of guests who provided drums, percussion, bass, bass clarinet and clarinet.

Yumi Hara is based in London these days but has got help from musicians from Japan, USA and UK on this album. Chris Cutler is on drums on some on these compositions.

Although a couple of compositions has got vocals, it is natural to describe the eight tracks here as compositions and not as songs. 

The music is a mix of eclectic prog and eclectic jazz. Hence no songs... 

Some of the music is also leaning towards zeuhl. The main label here is RIO/avant-garde.

There is a lot of pipe organ and a lot of harps and synths.

The music is at time disharmonic and dissonant. The mood is a bit dark and fiendish.

Not everything here is good. Nevertheless, those into eclectic prog and jazz should check out this album.

2.5 points

 

 

Dungen - Allas Sak (2015)

The seventh album from this band from Sweden.

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

Two guest provided flute and saxophones.

The band started as a folk rock band and later moved onto a much more eclectic landscape.

There are still a lot of acid folk rock here. This album is indeed an acid folk rock album. There is also a lot of psych rock and avant-garde fusion on this album.

The vocals is good. Even the many vocals effects which this album is full of. Those just underscore how acid the music is.

Allas Sak sees the band simply their sound and is also sees them withdrawing from the most eclectic, avant-garde music they featured on their two previous albums.

The music is still not easy listening and it retains a lof of interesting details and pieces of music.

This is another good album from this band and their fans should be satisfied with this album.

3 points

 

 

Help Yourself - Strange Affair (1972)

The second album from this band from Great Britain.

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

Two guests helped the band out on vocals and guitars.

Their 1971 self-titled debut album was quite a revelation. Gospel, acid folk rock, psych rock and americana is a pretty unusual mix on one album. 

Strange Affair sees the band refine and clarify their sound and output. What is left is a mix of acid folk rock and psych rock.

There is a lot of acoustic guitars here, backing up some good vocals. There are also some electric guitars, just to prove that this band is an electric band and not an acoustic band.

There are some good harmonies here. Both vocals and guitar harmonies.

The music may sound a bit dull and not much is happening here. But there is some interesting details and pieces if you listen carefully to the music.

The result is a decent, barely decent half an hour long album. It is not as exciting as the debut album but it still deserve some attention.

2 points

Lalu - The Fish Who Wanted to Be King (2023)

The fourth album from this band from France.

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

The band returned again one year after their comeback album Paint The Sky as a settled, proper band. Damien Wilson was again the vocalist on this album. 

The band has found their feet after the two pretty bad first albums and the comeback ten years later. 

The band is now somewere in the area between hard prog, progressive metal and art-rock.

Damian Wilson's old band Threshold is a good reference. Lalu's music is more complex and more... French though. A bit more pastoral.

The pieces of music has got some air to breathe too. The combination of ambience and hard prog is very good.

The music sounds both eclectic and very intelligent. There is a lot of very interesting details around here.

The result is one hour of very good music and an album that has put Lalu on the map. Check out this album.

3.5 points

Fractal Rock - Fractals and Filigree (2010)

The one and only album from this band from USA.

The band was an eight piece big band with a lineup of percussion, drums, bass, guitars, violin, keyboards, saxophone and vocals.

This band appeared and then disappeared quite soon afterwards. Which leads me to believe this was some friends who went into studio to record and release whatever entered their minds.

That explains the variety of genres on this album.

Genres who goes from blues, psych, Broadway style pop, power pop, post-punk and progressive rock.

The music is fronted by some not so good female vocals. There is a bold and do-not-care sound and attitude in this album too.

The quality is half-decent throughout and it proves that this album is an obscure album for a good reason. 

1.5 points

Vimma - Tornadon Silmässä (2023)

The second album from this band from Finland.

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

I have not had the chance to hear their 2019 debut album Meri Ja Avaruus so this is my first meeting with this band's music.

The band is a folk rock band. Acid folk rock with symphonic progressive rock and power pop influences. 

The female vocals, Finnish, is very good and melodic. 

The music is melodic and mid-tempo. There is a lot of interesting details throughout these thirty-six minutes and it is obvious that the band is very influenced by progressive rock... and is leaning in that direction.

The result is a good album. I hope we will hear a lot more from this band in the future.

3 points

Libra - Musica E Parole (1975)

The debut album from this band from Italy.

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

This band became famous when they signed a ten albums deal with Tamla Motown Records in USA. The band were unable to honour that contract, though. Only two albums were delivered on that contract. Both albums was big flops/failures.

Before signing a deal with Motown, the band released two albums on local record labels and both of them are up for reviews in this blog.

Musica E Parole is a three quarters of an hour long album with a mix of RPI and fusion. There are some soul, Italian beat, pop and jazz here too. 

The Italian vocals is good. 

The music is pretty fast and lively. It is also mid-tempo at times. But not that often. 

The mix of fusion and RPI works and is good. The more soul and beat themes are not that good and does not really work.

The result is half-good album. But a couple of the pieces are very good and elevates this album to a good status. This is an album every RPI fan should check out.

3 points

ICU - Now And Here (1995)

The second album from this band from Germany.

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

This is their second of in total three albums. 

Their debut album contained some pretty good neo-prog in the vein of Pallas and Pendragon. The band is listed as a symphonic prog band in ProgArchives and that got my attention. My hope was that at least their second album would be a symphonic prog album.

The band continued on from their debut album with more of the same. Neo-prog in the vein of Pendragon and Pallas. There is some symphonic prog here and that is the development between these two albums.

The female and male vocals is not particular impressive. The flute is sporadic and the sound is the 1990s neo-prog sound. Too thin and not muscular enough, in other words.

The music is again not that bad. The quality is somewhere between decent and good. It is an OK album..

2.5 points

Solberg. Einar - 16 (2023)

The debut album from this artist from Norway.

Einar Solberg did the keyboards and vocals here.

He had help from numerous guests who added drums, percussion, bass, guitars, strings, woodwinds, piano, samples, choir and a symphony orchestra.

Einar Solberg is the vocalist in the Norwegian progressive metal band Leprous. 

That limits his room as a vocalist. Hence, this solo album where his vocals is pretty much dominating the whole of this seventy minutes long album. Vocals on par with and very similar to the vocals of Morten Harket in A-Ha. They are just a bit better than Morten Harket's vocals.

The music here is bold, epic art-rock with a lot of musicals and neo-classical influences.

 These seventy minutes is so dominated by the vocals that several parts, if not the whole of the album, become a bit love/hate. I am not a big fan of vocals. I want a balance of music and vocals. There is none of it here. This album is therefore for those who admire vocals.

The quality is somewhere between decent and good. It is a more than acceptable debut album, though.

2.5 points

Radiohead - Amnesiac (2001)

The fifth album from this band from Great Britain.

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

Some guests included a drummer, woodwinds players and a symphonic orchestra.

The previous album Kid A was a revolution and a strange album. The music was pretty disharmonic throughout that album.

Some of the Amnesiac album was recorded during the Kid A sessions. Some cynics has dubbed Amnesiac as the Kid B album.

That is not entirely justified. 

Some of the songs and pieces of music here is pretty melodic too. There are some fascinating pieces of music here which proves that Radiohead is one of the most interesting bands in the scene at that time.

The music is also delivered by some great vocals and musicianship.

The result is a good album and one well worth checking out.

3 points

Ikarus - Echo (2015)

The debut album from this band from Switzerland.

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

This band released four albums before they split up. Or they may still be around. I got their albums up for review this winter.

The band is something as unusual as a zeuhl band. This genre is the least populated sub-genre within the progressive rock genre. 

The music is pretty gentle zeuhl and it is leaning towards jazz. 

The music is also dominated by the female voices. Voices but not vocals as there is no words being pronounced or even uttered here.

The music is minimalistic to say at least. It is still pretty effective and melodic.

The quality is somewhere between decent and good.

This is a debut album well worth checking out if zeuhl or jazz is your thing.  

2.5 points

Lalu - Paint The Sky (2022)

The third album from this band from France.

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

The band had help from numerous guests who supplied drums, bass, guitars and keyboards. 

The band returned again after a ten years break. Time to think and time to change the persons involved. Vivien Lalu on keyboards is the only remaining member of Lalu. The excellent ex Threshold vocalist Damien Wilson has taken over the vocals duties.

Vivien Lalu has also ditched the outdated heavy metal sound. Lalu anno 2022 sounds like a hybreed between progressive metal and art-rock. Throw in some neo-prog and heavy prog too and you get the drift.

The music is now much more elegant and clever. It is also pretty much mid-tempo and it has got some quirky twists and turns too.

The song writing is still not great.

Nevertheless, this is a good album and a huge improvement on the two first Lalu albums.

3 points

Frxho - On the Threshold of Eternity (2012)

The one and only album from this project from Mexico.

Frxho is Fernando Gomez on keyboards, guitars and computers.

He released this short album and a single through Bandcamp before he gave up the ghost.

The album is only twenty-five minutes long but I have decided to include it after all. 

The music is mid-tempo, gloomy and a bit ambient cinematic psych rock. There are also some desert rock here.

The half-acoustic guitars are leading the way when it comes to the music. 

The music is not particular original and exciting. There are some decent stuff here and some more really poor stuff here.

It is not an album worth purchasing.

1.5 points

Nospūn - Opus (2023)

The debut album from this band from USA.

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

A handful of guests added drums, keyboards and cello.

This album got my attention as it has been hyped as the next big thing by a lot of people I trust. Hence my purchase of this album.

The band plays a type of progressive metal, highly influenced by heavy prog and progressive rock.

Haken has been quoted as a big reference here and that comes across throughout this seventy minutes long album. 

Nevertheless, this is not a Haken copycat. The band is from USA and that is obvious in their bold, epic sound and music.

The music is very varied and not always great. Most of the album is very good and we are here facing a new star in the progressive metal scene. This debut is a sensational debut album.

3.5 points

 

 

Hackett. Steve - Surrender of Silence (2021)

The 28th album from this artist from Great Britain.

Steve Hackett did the guitars, charango, oud and some vocals.

He was helped by some guests who added percussion, drums, bass, keyboards, saxophone, clarinet, dutar, tar, violin, viola and vocals. 

I have in my reviews ignored Steve Hackett's neo-classical and acoustic guitars albums. Like the Under a Mediterranean Sky, his 27th album, which I do find too uninteresting to review and even give a proper listen. 

So it is back to his prog rock albums. Like this one.

Steve Hackett has reigned back the amount of guests here. Ditto for the sound. It is not as much Indian subcontintent sounding as the previous prog rock album At The Edge Of Light. 

There is still a lot of Middle-East influences here. These has been paired up with influences from the good old English music tradition...... For example Genesis, his old band. There is also a lot of neo-classical influences here. That comes across in the female vocals choir and vocals.

The result is a good album and one he can be happy about. He and his many fans should be happy about this album.

3 points

Gnarbot - Mystery Lodge (2022)

The second album from this band from USA.

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

This is the follow up album to their 2021 debut album Origin. Both albums are Bandcamp albums. 

I had my reservations to the not so good music compositions on their debut album. The result was a pretty dull album. 

So an improvement was needed.

The music is still a mix of jazz, fusion and progressive metal. It is mostly instrumental.

The few songs on this album is adding a lot variations and they are a welcome addition to the instrumental music. Ditto for the keyboards.

The result is a good album and one fusion fans should check out. I am for once happy.

3 points

Hamm. Stuart - Hold Fast (2023)

The 19th album from this artist from USA.

Stuart Hamm did all the basses here and had help from around seven guests who added drums, guitars, keyboards, saxophone and vocals.

Stuart Hamm is a legend in scene, having been the bassist for many other solo artists and contributed on numerous studio recordings as a studio musician.

Besides of this duties as a bassist for numerous other artists, he has also managed to release his own albums and he has also been touring them.

On this three quarters of an hour long album, he has integrated his bass in the many good songs here. There is no show-off bass playing here. It still comes across as great.

There is some really good guitar solos from the likes of Alex Skolnick and Michael Lee Firkins. 

The music is pretty mid-tempo and a mix of rock and fusion.

Most of the music is instrumental. The final track is a jazzy track with some jazzy vocals and saxophone.

This is the first ever solo-album I have heard from Stuart Hamm and it is a good album. Check out this album if a mix of fusion and rock is your cup of tea.

3 points

Zappa. Frank - Sleep Dirt (1979)

The 19th studio album from this artist from USA.

Frank Zappa did the guitars, keyboards, percussion and synths here.

He had help from around ten guests who added percussion, drums, bass, acoustic guitars, brass, keyboards and female vocals.

You never know what you get when you put on a Frank Zappa album. The level of quality had increased though. 

Frank Zappa is exploring jazz on this album. That means jazz with female vocals, three songs, and some more experiemental jazz. There is also some fusion on this album. 

The best piece here is the thirteen minutes long guitar solos who are ending this album. A superb piece of fusion and guitar solo.

The result is forty minutes of very good music and one of his best albums so far. This is an album prog rock and fusion fans will enjoy.

3.5 points

ICU - Moonlight Flit (1993)

The debut album from this band from Germany.

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

Two guests added flute and vocals.

The band released three albums before they gave up the ghost. I am reviewing these three albums this month.

The band is listed as a symphonic prog band several places. That cannot be based on what we get on this, their debut album.

Mid 1980s neo-prog is what we get here. Neo-prog in British vein is what we get here. References are Pallas and Pendragon.

The music is very melodic with some good keyboards and guitars. The vocals are good.

The sound is the typical 1990s neo-prog sound. It it not muscular at all. The music is not complex either.

Some of the songs are good and some are rather decent. There are not many interesting details here.

This is a promising debut album and but I hope the two remaining albums is better than this album.

2.5 points

 

 

Lalu - Atomic Ark (2013)

The second album from this band from France.

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

I was not impressed by their debut album and their take on heavy metal. Second division heavy metal it was.

The band returned one year later and with more or less the same fare as on their debut album.

Again, we get a run of the mill heavy metal album. The album includes all the cliches and all the hallmarks of heavy metal who are true to the narrow heavy metal formula.

The vocals are OK and the same is some of the songs. This album still falls way short of being an acceptable album. Unless you are a heavy metal fan who wants everything, bypass this album.

1.5 points

 

 

Full Force - Next Level (2012)

The second and final album from this band from Sweden.

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

I have not had the chance to sample their 2011 debut album One. Neither do I have any plans to do so either as Next Level ended up in my collection by pure accident.

The band consist of two ex Hammerfall members and at least one Narnia member.

We are in the middle of the heavy metal genre in other words. 

The music is as standard heavy metal as it is possible to be. The music is not particular inspiring and the vocals is not particular good.

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

1.5 points