Earthside - Let the Truth Speak (2023)

The second album from this band from USA.

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

Numerous guests added drums, percussion, harp, saxophones and vocals.

Their 2015 debut album A Dream In Static heralded a new era in the progressive metal genre. The album announced these new talents. 

Eight years later and we get the follow up album.

The core of this album is still progressive metal. The band has also branched out into post-rock, jazz, symphonic prog, art-rock, vaudeville rock and eclectic prog. 

The music range from Roxy Music to Dream Theater in other words. 

The music is big and flowery. The vocals is good too. Very good. 

The music here is big, bold, noisy, epic and flowery. 

The quality of the music is also very good and this album was one of the better albums from last year.

There is no doubts that Earthside can become a big force in the progressive rock scene if they desire so. Get this album.

3.5 points

TumbleTown - On the Highwire (2024)

The third album from this band from The Netherlands.

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

A guest added drums to this album.

I really liked their first albums, relaesed eleven and six years ago. Long breaks in other words as this band is not these musicians first priority.

Their music is muscular neo-prog with a lot of art-rock influences.

The music is melodic and elegant.

The vocals is good and there is a lot of interesting details here too.

The result is a workman like good album who does not really sparkle but still deliver the goods.

3 points

Zappa. Frank - Jazz from Hell (1986)

The 32nd album from this artist from USA.

Frank Zappa did the synclavier throughout the album and lead guitar on one track.

He got help from dozen guests who provided drums, percussion, bass, rhythm guitars and keyboards.

This album is where Frank Zappa found and used a new electronic instrument called synclavier. Seven of the eight tracks here are Frank experimenting with this new instrument. 

The only non-synclavier song is a live version of one of his better songs.... St. Etienne. Frank makes this into a long, good guitar solo where the rest of the band supports him. This includes Chad Wackerman and Steve Vai. This is the highlight of the album.

The synclavier songs are really avant-garde music. It is also pioneering songs which inspired and made way for today's popular music sound. 

In many respect, this album is a bit of a revolution. And the jazz here, because this is really a jazz album first and foremost, is pretty good. The sound is so far out there that it takes some time to get used to.

This is a pretty weird album. It has some good music though. It is not an immediate hit, this album. It takes time to really appreciate it. 

Everything taken into consideration..... this is a good album and one of those Frank Zappa albums worth checking out.

3 points

My Dying Bride - The Barghest O' Whitby (2011)

The 10th Ep from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a quintet on this ep with a lineup of bass, guitars, violin, keyboards and vocals.

A guest added drums.

I normally never review Eps in this blog. When it comes to My Dying Bride and indeed Anathema, their first Eps were very interesting indeed. They were to a degree genre defining Eps. The genre being slow, progressive doom metal when it comes to both bands.

My Dying Bride was inbetween two drummers on this album and their old drummer kindly helped them out on this half an hour long ep.

New ideas was tested out and then later abandoned on their albums. That itself makes this ep interesting.

The music dark, broody and pretty crass. The art-work tells the story, really. This is not for the faint hearted or those who likes the more gentle sides of this band. Gentle is not how I would describe the music.

The vocals is still pretty clean with some occasional death grunts and dark screams inbetween. There is also a lot of violins here.

The music is still slow, melodic and gothic gloomy. The music is also good and this makes this ep obligatory purchase for anyone into this band. A band I have to admit is on my top ten of my favourite bands.

Check out this ep.

3 points

Manitou - Entrance (1995)

The one and only album from this band from Norway.

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

This band only released this album before they gave up the ghost. Most of their members later joined other bands like Spiral Architect and Scariot.

Entrance is regarded as one of the first and most influential Norwegian progressive metal albums. Many, many other albums from many bands has followed hot in it's heals. An album overdue a re-release. 

The music on Entrance is at the darker side of the progressive metal spectrum. There is more heavy and power metal here than progressive rock.

The music is still progressive enough for this progressive metal genre.

The music is hard though...... mostly. There is a couple of softer songs where the vocalist shows a more mature side of his vocals.

The vocals is good and typical for this genre.

The music is barely decent. Still... this album deserve some attention and credit from the metal crowd. 

1.5 points

Elephants Of Scotland - Random Mirth (2016)

The fourth album from this band from USA.

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

This band is one of Adam Rabin's many projects and bands. He also has a pretty successful solo career. 

Elephants Of Scotland has just released a new album and I hope to review that one shortly. In the meantime, I am filling in the gap here as I have already reviewed the first three albums. Three good albums.

Random Mirth is an instrumental neo-prog and symphonic prog album. The blend of keyboards and guitars are pretty good during these fifty minutes.

The quality of the music is decent enough. The music is a bit too formula based and this album does not really have any good or refreshing pieces of music. Nevertheless.... those who likes instrumental progressive rock should get this album.

2 points

 

 

Turbulence - Binary Dreams (2024)

The third album from this band from Lebanon.

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

I have to admit that their first two albums flew well under my radar. Progressive metal is not a genre I find very interesting. 

I got this album sent to my inbox and this is how this band came to my attention. 

Myrath and Orphaned Land is the bands who put Middle-East and Arabic progressive metal on the map. Turbulence follows in their path and a scene has been formed.

There is not that many Middle-East or Arabic influences here. The band has gone for an US progressive metal sound.

The vocals is slick and so is the music.

Lots of good guitars and keyboards. Lots of good vocals. There is not many surprises here though.

The result is somewhere between a decent and a good album. Progressive metal fans should pick up this album, though.

2.5 points

Nautilus - What Colours the Sky in Your World? (2004)

The debut album from this band from Great Britain.

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

This band from Canterbury released two albums before they were disbanded. I got both of them and a review of their second album will shortly be added.

The music on this forty minutes long album is instrumental progressive rock. There are some Anekdoten, Landberk, Porcupin Tree and King Crimson influences here. 

The music is pretty dark throughout this album and that gives this album and indeed this band an own identity. 

It is rare to encounter an instrumental progressive rock album as dark as this. In this respect, you can add some influences from the avant-garde band Present too. 

The music is both driven by keyboards and guitars. The quality is decent enough and this album, and indeed this band, deserve a lot more attention. 

2 points

 

 

Earthside - A Dream In Static (2015)

The debut album from this band from USA.

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

Numerous guests added French horn, percussion, guitars, dulcimer, vocals and a full symphony orchestra

This band has so far released two albums and is widely regarded as the next big thing in the progressive metal scene and genre.

The band label their music as cinematic rock. Well, they have a point. Nevertheless, the music is a mix of prog rock and metal. The label "cinematic progressive metal" is the one we should perhaps use on this album and band.

The music is dynamic and at times pretty hard on this one hour and five minutes long album. There is a lot of instrumental pieces of music here. Still dynamic but instrumental..... and cinematic. Yes, I understand what they says.

The sporadic vocals are good and ditto for the many long and lingering guitar solos.

The result is a good album and one that makes me looking forward to give their new album my attention later this week.

3 points

Emerald City Council - Motion Carries (2024)

The debut album from this band from USA.

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

The band had help from some guests who provided mandolin, guitars, narration and backing vocals.

This band was formed by keyboardist and saxophone player Brent Bristow. Jake Livgren from Kerry Livgren Band and Proto-Kaw joined and that snowballed the duo into a quintet and then some guests added their instruments to this album. This was meant to be a studio-project, but they had a change of heart and has gone on the road as a band, promoting this album.

The album was sold to me as a symphonic prog album. In that case, an US symphonic prog album. The Kansas and Proto-Kaw references comes thick and fast.

There are also some neo-prog, US neo-prog and art-rock here.

This album clocks in at sixty minutes. The first ten minutes sounds like a teenybopper album and those minutes are pretty bad. The album gradually improves and becomes pretty good at the end.

I am not entirely won over by this album and will rate it somewhere between decent and good. I hope this album is not a one-off album from a band who comes and then get disbanded. I hope they are here to stay.

2.5 points

Grand Funk Railroad - Born to Die (1976)

The 10th studio album from this band from USA.

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

Two guests added harmonica, saxophone and backing female vocals.

The band trundled on, album after album. They never became a huge band. They still had considerable success and were operating on a level a bit below The Eagles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. 

Their music and lyrics had been pretty light and carefree up to now. That changed with this album.

The lyrics is dark here. Ditto for the music. We are still in the hard rock and arena rock genres. But the band has lost this youthful optimism and is more reflecting on death, politics and diseases. 

The music is hard at times. There is no hit single on this album and there is no really good piece of music here. There is no really poor piece of music here either.

The result is a decent album. It is workman like album too. Check it out if 1970s hard rock is your thing.

2 points

Wyatt. Robert - Comicopera (2007)

The eight album from this artist from Great Britain.

Robert Wyatt did the main vocals and some cornet, trumpet, piano, keyboards, guitar and percussion. 

He had help from a lot of guests who provided drums, percussion, bass, guitars, woodwinds, keyboards, piano and vocals.

His previous album Cuckooland saw his music stripped down to mostly vocal droning. Seventy-five minutes off that and the result was not a good album.

Robert Wyatt has thankfully added a lot of instruments to the follow up, this one hour long album. The music is singer/songwriter with lots of jazz and avant-garde influences.

There is a lot of jazz instruments here like the woodwinds. There are also some good percussions here.

The album is split into three parts. That does not really make any difference as the quality of the songs leaves a lot to be desired.

The result is only a marginal improvement on the previous album. Nevertheless, it is still an album well worth checking out as the album is never dull or boring. 

2 points

Pluto - Soundtracks for Inner Movies (1999)

The third album from this artist from Norway.

Petter Esben Guthe did the guitars, vocals and keyboards himself. 

This album was lost for almost a quarter of a century before the people behind the crowdfunded NAK series in Norway discovered that this recording was around and got Petter's permission to release this on an own lost albums series earlier this year.

Petter Esben Guthe is regarded as one of the best ever Norwegian guitarists and the likes of Ronni Le Tekro from TNT, the most famous Norwegian heavy metal guitarist of all time, is among his admirers and ex pupils.

Pluto/Petter released music somewhere between Mike Oldfield and Camel on his first two albums. That very much is the case on this album too.

Take cinematic prog, Camel and Mike Oldfield and mix this together. Add some electronica and ethno rock too and you get this.

Most of album is instrumental guitars supported by keyboards and the occasional vocals. The result is pieces of music and not proper songs.

The result is a good album which has a good sound and ambience. We can only hope that this album reaches bigger audiences than those of us who are followers of Norwegian progressive rock.

3 points

Emerson, Lake & Powell - Emerson, Lake & Powell (1986)

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

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

This album was released eight years after the ELP album Love Beach. Keith Emerson and Greg Lake wanted to get together as ELP again. Carl Palmer was on duties and tours with Asia at that time and recommended Cosy Powell as a sit-in drummer on this album.

All three members are legends in their own right and they have all passed on. And this album has been hanging around in my album collection for around fifteen years without getting a review. 

The music is the typical ELP fare after they ditched the more neo-classical and symphonic prog stuff and went more AOR. 

AOR but still with some pretty big influences from the good old ELP. 

Ther version of Loco-Motion, an evergreen, is cheesy to say at least.

Greg Lake's vocals are good and the rest of duo does a good job. We are clearly listening to ELP although the P is Cosy Powell this time.

Yes, the album smells of burning cheese but it is still a good album. Songs like Mars and The Score takes us back to their better days and is alone the reason why this album is worthy a purchase.

3 points

Baguibatus - Manifiesto (2024)

The debut album from this band from Chile.

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

This band comes from Valparaiso on the coast, just some hundred miles west of Chile's capitol Santiago. Valparaiso has a big prog, metal and folk rock scene too. The biggest and most loved bands comes from this rather big city and harbour.

Only time will tell if Baguibatus will join this list of loved and respected bands from this city.

Their debut album, clocking in at fifty minutes, is a mix of math rock, eclectic prog and jazz. No, this is not fusion.

The music is indeed eclectic and slightly avant-garde. The few vocals and narrations here are in their local tongue Spanish.

The music is mid tempo but still not melodic. The music is decent enough but just that.

Fans of this blend will like this album. I am not won over.

2 points

 

 

Bek. Jef - Distant Starlight (2023)

The second album from this drummer from USA.

Jef Bek did the drums and some keyboards, slide guitar and vocals on this album.

He got help from numerous guests who provided bass, guitars, woodwinds, mellotron, keyboards and vocals.

I was not impressed by their debut album which was a mishmash of all genres with Frank Zappa like sillyness at the end. But I had heard positive things about Distant Starlight.

The music here is a mix of Pink Floyd'ish psych rock, art-rock and neo-prog. Add in some musicals and rock opera stuff and you get it.

All this as bold and brash as most things and prog coming from USA.

The music is pretty varied during these sixty minutes. It is also melodic and straight forward. There is not many quirky details here.

The result is a good album and one neo-prog fans will enjoy. Jef Bek is an artist well worth checking out.

3 points

Ando. Yusuke - Solitary Faith (2023)

The fourth album from this drummer from Japan.

Yusuke Ando played the drums on this album.

He had help from a handful of guests who added bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

I was not impressed at all by his second album, the 2020 album Rinntensei. Wishy washy cinematic fusion.

....And this is what I believed Solidary Faith would bring me too. I was in for a surprise.

Mr Ando had got together a band and he has gone 1970s hard prog on this album. 

Take 1970s hard prog, a bit arena rock, symphonic prog and neo-prog. Then you get this album.

The sound is the British take on these genres. Yes, Arena and IQ is good references. 

The music is smart, clever, has a lot of interesting details and dynamic songs. 

The band, I believe this is now a full band, knows what they are doing and the songs are very good. 

This is one of the more positive surprises from last years crop of albums. Check it out !

3.5 points

Karfagen - Messages from Afar: Second Nature (2024)

The 18th album from this band from Ukraine.

This is in reality a one man band with Antony Kalugin doing all keyboards and some percussion, guitars, bass and vocals.

He had help from some guests who added drums, bass, guitars, keyboards, saxophones and vocals.

The maestro, for this is what Antony Kalugin really is, has taken Karfagen through some phases and genres since the debut album was released back in 2006. All of the phases has been centered around symphonic prog and neo-classical music.

This album is not a radical departure from the previous seventeen albums.

The saxophone adds some cool jazz here. This comes a bit unexpected too. As a follower of this band, I am more used to symph prog and neo-classical music. The jazz is cool enough and not eclectic. It does not really add much quality to this album as it feels a bit too odd for this band and music.

Most of these forty-five music is mid to slow tempo cinematic music. Lots of piano around. It is supported by guitars and the saxophone.

We also gets some Pink Floyd/David Gilmour like songs here. Both female and male vocals.

The music is a bit too wishy-washy and this album does not bring is much interesting stuff. 

This is a fairly good album, but nothing more than that. This album is not the maestro's finest hour.

2.5 points

Motorpsycho - Timothy's Monster (1994)

The third album from this band from Norway.

The band was a trio with a lineup of drums, maracas, bass, guitars, sitar, banjo, piano, mellotron and vocals.

They had help from some guests who provided theremin, vibraphone, organ, electronics, strings, synths, piano and vocals.

If my thirty years old memory serves me right, this album broke the band in Germany where they got a good fanbase. The album also sold well in Norway and Scandinavia.

Which is a bit strange as the music on this album is pretty eclectic. It is also a double album.

The double album kicks in at ninetynine minutes.

The first disc contains grungy garage psych rock and it is strangely melodic. It is also weird. The band actually created a new genre called psychonaut on this album.

The second disc is more of a spaced out krautrock album.

Both discs are interesting. It is far from what is my normal fare of music in this blog. I have actually never heard anything like this before. Then again, that was the challenge of diving into this band and their many albums. It is my intention to review all their albums and this album is a pretty good album.

This album is recommended to those who want to expand their minds, without using illegal drugs.

2.5 points

Mythic Sunship - Land Between Rivers (2017)

The second album from this band from Denmark.

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

This band has so far released six albums and they are all up for reviews this spring.

The band's debut album was a pretty good album. So I had hopes for this album and their remaining albums.

Their music is space rock. Rock from outer space, that is. A good reference is the likes of Electric Orange from Germany.

The music on this half an hour, three pieces of music, long album is pretty hardcore outer space rock. The guitars are pretty harsh and at times.. dissonant. 

The music is hard and full on. 

The quality is decent to good. There is no outstanding pieces of music here. The band is talented, but is having problems expressing that talent on this album.

Space rock fans should check out this album.

2.5 points

 

 

Elds Mark - Elds Mark (2020)

The debut album from this band from Norway.

The band is a trio with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, clavinet, mellotron, piano, organ and flute.

This band is a side project of Jordsjo and have already released a live album.

The music is a mix of folk rock, prog and jazz. Chamber rock, it is also called. 

The music is most definate chamber rock. The mix of jazz, folk and prog is evident and runs through the whole album. 

The music is mid to slow tempo. It is still very melodic and has some rather catchy stuff.

This forty-five minutes long album, so far only released as a digital download, also has this Scandinavian folk rock and trolls feel. It's ambience takes the listener into the deep forests in Scandinavia. 

This album is indeed a bit special and fans of Scandinavian prog rock should really check out this good album. An album I hope will be followed up by other albums from this duo.

3 points

 

 

Cosmograf - Heroic Materials (2022)

The ninth album from this band from Great Britain.

Cosmograf is now Robin Armstrong on bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

Two guests added drums and piano.

I thought I had reviewed the previous album Rattlapante last year but it turn out that I have not done so. I normally get around to review all Robin's albums as he is one of the most interesting voices in today's music scene.

Cosmograf has always been a crossover act somewhere between singer/songwriter, symphonic prog and neo-prog. 

Those three genres has been pretty much combined on this album. This three and a quarters hour long album.

Robin's vocals is very strong and good. It is more in the forefront this time.

The music is pretty somber, bold and longing. The matter in hand is a bit sad and melancholic.

Hence, this is a melancholic album with a lot of good pieces of music and songs.

This is perhaps not his best album. It is still a good album and one that enrichen the life of the listener.

3 points

Nexus - Insania (2023)

The eight album from this band from Argentina.

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

This is the follow up album to the 2017 album En El Comienzo Del Topos Uranos. An album that did not hit the right notes and were all over the place.

Six years has gone and the guest female vocalist from that album has taken over the bass and has become the full time vocalist. The band is now fronted by female vocals. Good vocals indeed. 

The album starts with a monumental, epic piece of symphonic prog before the vocals kicks in. A repeat of the previous album's music has been avoided....

The vocals and the music is pretty pastoral, but still symphonic. A bit like RPI. A lot like Latin and Argentine symphonic prog. A lot like the good, old Nexus.

This album is clocking in at thirty-seven minutes and it heralds their return to form. Something that is very much welcome.

3 points

Bek. Jef - One f no C (2023)

The debut album from this artist from USA.

Jef Bek plays all instruments here. A couple of vocalists has helped him out on female vocals.

No, this is not Jeff Beck. Jef Bek is a fulltime musician with a lot of TV, theatre, radio and movie work. He was also a member of Cheer Accident back in those years.

After a decade of silence, he released two albums last year. This one and a more band focused prog rock album. The latter one will be reviewed shortly.

The music here is a mix of musicals, rock opera, some rock and some Frank Zappa copycat weirdness.

It sounds like Frank Zappa is the big inspiration for this album.

The result is a decent album who manages to jump in all direction during this half an hour. Jef Bek has packed in a world full of weirdness and various music genres in that half an hour. 

I hope his other album is more focused... This is still a decent enough debut album.

2 points

Ando. Yusuke - Rinnetensei (2020)

The second album from this artist from Japan.

Yusuke Ando did the drums himself.

He got help from some guests who added bass, guitars, voices and keyboards.

Japan has their own scene. They also has their own take on progressive rock and fusion. 

This is very much the case with this drummer. I got two of his albums for review and I have heard a lot of good things about them.

The music is cinematic prog rock and fusion. 

The music is dynamic with some sporadic female voices and electronics in addition to the guitar driven music.

The quality is decent enough. There is no real good piece of music here and that is my only gripe with this album. Check it out if instrumental prog is your thing.

2 points

 

 

Filibuster Saloon. The - Going Off Topic (2023)

The debut album from this band from USA.

The band was ten piece big band with a lineup of xylophone, marimba, percussion, bass, accordion, guitars, strings, woodwinds, piano, electric piano and programming.

I take it that this is a studio project more than a band as it has somewhere between ten and twenty listed contributors. The album has been digitally released through Bandcamp too.

And no, it is not a rock band. We are more in the RIO/avant-garde area..... although the music is jazzy and quirky. There is also some zeuhl here. It has been suggested that the band and this album has more in common with the Canterbury scene than any other scene.

All above is correct as the band is visiting areas normally visited by Jean Luc Ponty and Aranis. 

The music is both quirky and melodic. There is a lot of xylophone and marimba here. Ditto for violins. 

The music is good throughout. 

This half an hour long album reveals that this band/project is one of the more talented entities in today's scene. I hope we will hear a lot more from them in the future.

3 points

 

 

Roxy Music - Stranded (1973)

The third album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a quartet with a lineup of timpani, drums, bass, guitars, electric violin, oboe, saxophone, piano, keyboards, synths and vocals.

A handful of guests added bass and a full male choir.

The band returned again. This time without Brian Eno who went onto doing his own things. Mostly ambient music.

The music is a lot lighter and more positive than on their previous album. The music is still a bit dark as in the obvious VDGG influences here. Nevertheless, there is also some sun and happiness on this album.

The label "eclectic art-rock" is the one to be used here. There is also a lot of pop here. The use of oboe and saxophones, used quite often throughout this album, saves the music from being commercial.

The music is decadent and very much centered around the fleshpots in London. That shines through the album and it is enforced by the rather dirty vocals of Bryan Ferry. A husky voice which is pretty essential for the music here. 

There is a weird, good ambience throughout this forty minutes long album. The music is pretty good too and the vocals is the x factor that makes this a good album. Barely but still a good album. I have yet to make up my mind about this band, though.

3 points

King's X - Dogman (1994)

The fifth album from this band from USA.

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

A guest added percussion and keyboards.

This very underrated band soldiered on. Mostly without getting paid as their manager was hopeless and then ripped them off.... big time. Something that took a huge strain on each band member and their families/marriages. 

But they still soldiered on. That means a soulful, grungy mix of The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Rush. 

The big name producer Brendan O'Brien was the producer here. A producer with a past from the grunge and heavy metal scene. A man known to remove any waste from albums he produced.

The result is a much leaner, harder and slimmed down sound and music. A lot of the eastern feel has gone. The funk is still there but the songs are harder and more angry.

The band still managed to write some really good songs. Even the Jimi Hendrix cover track Manic Depression, forced on them by their record label Atlantic, sounds good in their version. 

Their own songs are also good. But this does not disguise that this album is their weakest, least great album so far. Nevertheless, great bands mostly always comes up with the goods.

3 points

 

 

Minas Tirith - Mythology (1993)

The debut release from this band from Norway.

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

There are some really hidden gems in and from Norway. Bands from where Norway was a white spot on the metal and music map. Bands like Minas Tirith.

Hidden gem as it was released before the whole black metal scene, with murders, arsons and genre defining albums, really kicked off. Many of these black/doom/death metal and prog rock bands were indeed to lesser or a large degree influenced by this EP. Minas Tirith is indeed Norway's answer to King's X. Very popular among musicians & mostly unknown among the general record buying public. 

We get sixteen minutes and four compositions/songs of totally off the wall prog metal, thrash metal, jazz and eclectic prog. References are Gentle Giant, King's X, VDGG, Voivod, Radiohead, Cynic and King Crimson. 

The four compostions are twisting and turning like an crocodile after attacking an electric eel. There is lots of weird and atonal stuff here. Not at least the vocals. Most of the music here defies belief.

This EP is indeed a hidden gem and a very good EP. It also deserve a re-release.

3.5 points

 

Btw It seems like I reviewed this Ep for ProgArchives 15 years ago. Nevermind....

7th Overture - These Words Remain (2020)

The one and only album from this band from USA.

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

This band released this album themselves and it sold some hundred copies before the band gave up the ghost.

The music is progressive metal with a lot of heavy metal and some speed and thrash metal influences.

The six songs, make that compositions, are pretty long. The longest one is twenty-seven minutes long. The album is clocking in at over seventy minutes.

The ambitions of the bands were sky high. Their ability to carry out their visions for this album was pretty poor.

The sound, vocals and guitars are pretty poor. The ideas are decent. Half of the compositions are decent enough. 

The result is only a half decent, half-baked album. If you fail..... give up. They did.

1.5 points

Moongarden - Christmas Night 2066 (2023)

The tenth album from this band from Italy.

The band is a sextet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, violins, piano, mellotron, keyboards, samples, taurus pedals and vocals.

Moongarden has been and still is the leading Italian band in the neo-prog scene. They album debuted thirty years ago and is still alive. Mostly as a studio project, I suspect. I have yet to spot any gigs and tours they are undertaking this year.

The music is a mix of pastoral and epic neo-prog. 

Their take on neo-prog is pretty much in the middle of the road, standard neo-prog. The music is still very effective and showcases this genre.

We get a forty-three minutes long journey through this genre, done with both elegance and power. 

The songs are good and ditto for the sound and the vocals. The violins is adding some spice and quality here.

This is a good album and one to check out.

3 points

Rubber Tea - From a Fading World (2023)

The second album from this band from Germany.

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

They had help from some guests who provided strings and woodwinds.

Their 2020 debut Infusion was a bit of a revelation and the band was tipped as one of the better talents in the scene. 

The follow up has retained the best from the debut. That means German neo-prog with a lot of art-rock and some folk rock influences. There are even some jazz and RPI influences here.

The folk rock and RPI elements has been added as the band has expanded their horizons a bit and incorporated new ideas into their songs and music.

The music is lush and flowery. This is a lot due to the saxophones. Vanessa Gross vocals is also a big plus in their sound and music. Her English vocals are very good.

The result is forty-five minutes with some very good music. Check out this band and both their albums. 

3.5 points

 

 

Permian Incident - All The Things No Tomorrow Brings (2020)

The second album from this band from Norway.

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

The band is building on the platform they build on their 2015 debut album. A more than acceptable debut album in the good old hard rock and hard prog genre.

The band is still to be found in this genre on the follow up album. On the fifty minutes long follow up album, that is.

The vocals is still impressive. Yes, I am talking about your pipes, Johannes Hulleberg. 

The band has cleaned up their sound and expression a lot and become more self assured in the 1970s hard rock and heavy prog genre. Uriah Heep is a big influence.

The sound is modern, 2020'ish. The ambience and the music is the 1970s hard rock scene. The music have a mix of ballads and hard rockers.

Most of the album is mid-tempo and hard rockers. The music is also complex and at times epic and bold.

The quality is good throughout and this is an album for those who loved this genre. This is so far their last album but I hope that the band will return with some more albums.

3 points

Yobrepus - A Rhizome Revolution Part 1 (2024)

The second album from this band from Norway.

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

A handful of guests added guitars, violas, violins, cello, loops and piano.

This is one of the new'ish bands from Norway who has bypassed me as I am writing these lines from an office many hundreds of miles from Norway. Hence, my radar has it's faults. 

The band released their debut album in 2020 and I have just ordered it for a review sometimes later this year. 

A Rhizome Revolution is an album in two parts, released with a six months split between part 1 and 2. 

The music is art-rock. Very quirky art-rock. 

Take a mix of The Beatles, Gentle Giant and A-Ha. Add in some King Crimson and Yes too. You get thirty-five minutes of music which is running in all directions. It is like herding a flock of wild cats. The music is that diverse. 

The music is elegant, though... Very elegant but not sweet or sugary. 

The music is most of all quirky. It is not particular dissonant or even eclectic. But it has a lot of twists and turns.

The result is a very good album indeed. It is an album that surprises me. Part 2 will be released 18. October. I cannot wait.

3.5 points

Zappa. Frank - Them Or Us (1984)

The 27th album from this artist from USA.

Frank Zappa did guitars and vocals himself.

He had help from numerous guests who provided drums, percussion, bass, guitars, woodwinds, piano, minimoog, keyboards and vocals.

Frank Zappa had stopped writing and recording new material long time ago. What remained was albums with rehashed material.

This seventy minutes long album serves up a wide variety ranging from bebop, doowop, pop, guitar solos and some jazz.

Some of the old songs has been rearranged and reworked. Some of the material has poor sound. 

The result is a barely decent album which has some whiffs of rip-off. Albums like this is not good for his reputation.

2 points

My Dying Bride - For Lies I Sire (2009)

The tenth album from this band from Great Britain.

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

The band had been around for twenty years by now and they had not changed much. Yes, there had been the album where they flirted with grunge and stoner. But most of their output had been epic, slow doom metal.

That is also what we get here..... mostly. There are some flirtations with goth rock and more mainstream metal. The music is not overly epic and slow doom. The speed is a bit faster than that.

The vocals is mostly clean vocals and there are some violins here. The guitars are also mostly clean and in their usual sound range.

The music is pretty epic though and most of the songs and pieces of music is pretty good.

This is not one of their finest albums. Nevertheless, this is a good album.

3 points

 

 

Finjarn & Jensen - Finjarn & Jensen (1970)

The debut album from this duo from Norway.

The duo was Svein Finjarn on guitars and vocals plus Leif Jensen on drums, guitars and vocals.

They got help from a trio who provided bass, guitars and backing vocals.

This duo was the result after the Norwegian supergroup Jumbo lost all their members, with the exception of these two musicians. The result was this album which the band members, both the duo and those who left Jumbo, has described as half-baked.

Svein Finjarn was Norway's first super-guitarist and a big name. Hence his face as the big face on the album cover. Leif Jensen, the small face on the album cover, was more a studio musician who took part on a lot of albums, including most of Svein Finjarn's solo albums and bands.

The music here is a mix of blues, hard rock and rock. The inclusion of the pretty good hit Lady Windsor adds a decent song to some material which is only saved by Svein Finjarn's great guitars. 

The result is still only a half-decent album and one better forgotten. It is one of the many albums who has been re-released on CD during the last years on the NAK series. My opinion is therefore not shared...

1.5 points

 

 

3rd World Leader - Picture Imperfect (2015)

The debut album from this band from USA.

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

This band from Ohio has released two albums without making any waves in the progressive metal ocean.

Yes, this album is a sort of a progressive metal album. Sort of as there is some post-punk and djent here too. The sound is a bit light and fluffy. Hence a bit confusion about what the band is trying to do here.

The vocals are OK. The sound is light and teenybopper like.

Yes, there are some teenybopper post-punk here and that is not a good thing.

The band tries to get some going with some sub-standard songs. This throughout this forty-three minutes long album.

The result is only half decent and I think I will bypass their second album. This is not a talented band.

1.5 points

Pourpre - Pourpre (2023)

The debut album from this band from Canada.

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

This is a new group in the Quebec scene. This scene has given us some really interesting bands like Maneige and Harmonium. The scene is still very active with some new bands popping up.

This half an hour long album gives us a mix of heavy prog, folk rock, eclectic prog and some jazz. 

The female vocals are partly soprano. They are also great.

The music is lush and flowery. It has a homely, cosy feel. The music is also complex and eclectic at the same time.

In addition to the vocals... the music is also pretty much benefiting from the half-acoustic guitars and the violins. The drums is also really good here with the bass underpinning the good songs.

Pourpre is very much an album that promises a lot and I hope we will hear a lot more from the band in the future. 

3 points

Rubber Tea - Infusion (2020)

The debut album from this band from Germany.

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

Some guests added saxophone, percussion, vibraphone and trumpet.

This is a new band, new talents from Germany. Their music is neo-prog with some art-rock influences.

The music is very much German neo-prog and in that tradition. What sets this band a part from the other German neo-prog bands is the use of woodwinds and female vocals.

Ms. Vanessa Gross is the one who sets this band a apart from the other bands. Her flute, saxophone and female vocals. All three contributions is good to very good. Her vocals is understated but still very good. Very suitable to this music. I get the feeling, from the music, that she is indeed the creative force in Rubber Tea. 

The music is mellow and pretty pastoral. The music has also a lot of Marillion influences. There are a lot of good guitars here too.

The album is clocking in at forty minutes. It is indeed a good album which throws a punch and it lands on those who like melodic, mellow neo-prog. 

The band released their second album last year and it is up for review later this week. I get the feeling that may be something to look forward to, reviewing that album.

3 points

Permian Incident - Songs of Solitude and Sorrow (2015)

The debut album from this band from Norway.

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

This band has released two albums so far and I have got both of them up for review.

The band and other reviewers has named Uriah Heep as the reference for the music on this and their other album. That is not a bad reference.

The music is what we can call heavy prog. That is.....with a mix of today's sound and the 1970s sound. 

Johannes Hulleberg vocals is very good and has this classic hard rock sound. The organ and guitar sound is also good.

This album is almost eighty minutes long. All the songs are pretty good.

It still falls a bit short. Nevertheless, this is a more than acceptable debut album and one well worth checking out.

2.5 points

Runaway Totem - Creators (2023)

The 12th album from this band from Italy.

The band has been reduced to one man, Roberto Gottardi and he does the guitars, synths and electronics.

He got help from numerous guests who has provided keyboards, piano, saxophones, flutes and vocals.

This is a band I really like and I have reviewed all their albums. I was not impressed at all by their previous album, the 2019 album Multiversal Matter. So I had no hope for Creators.

The album is one hour long and include some prominent guest musicians like Nik Turner, David Jackson and Sophya Baccini. A bit quality...

The music is a mix of some really eclectic, but still melodic music ranging from full on zeuhl to a bit more avant-garde rock and cinematic rock.

The references is as diverse as Magma, Pink Floyd and Goblin. Which is almost impossible...but this is what we get here.

The music goes from atonal zeuhl and avant-garde to some really melodic psych and cinematic rock.

The quality is very good on the zeuhl pieces. It is not as good on the more ambient cinematic rock pieces. This is still a good album which has a good blend of guitar solos, saxophones and soaring female voices. 

This is an album fans of this band and more ecletic prog will enjoy. I am delighted that the band is back in good form again. 

3 points

Grand Funk Railroad - All the Girls in the World... (1974)

The ninth studio album from this band from USA.

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

Some guests added strings and woodwinds.

The band continued on as a quartet. The band had also mellowed a lot since the last album. Their sound and music, that is. 

There is a lot of brass on this album. There are also some strings here. 

A lot of their hard rock has been dropped. What's remaining as an US rock band/album. An album which has also incorporated some soul and southern rock too.

The quality of the music is decent enough. 

This is not their finest album. It is a child of it's time. A time now forgotten.

2 points

Wyatt. Robert - Cuckooland (2003)

The seventh album from this artist from Great Britain.

Robert Wyatt did the vocals and some piano, keyboards, percussion, cornet, trumpet and drums.

He had help from a lot of guests who did drums, bass, guitars, woodwinds, accordion, harmonica, keyboards and backing vocals.

Seventy five minutes long..... Seventy five minutes with mostly droning vocals. That is this album in a nutshell.

There are a lot of trumpet and some other instruments here too. There are also some instrumental pieces here.

The music is at times also pastoral. The tempo is slow to very slow. Droning in other words.

Robert Wyatt's vocals is very good and he has managed to come up with a couple of good songs here too. But most of this album is failing to really capture the attention of the listener. There is too much of barely decent songs here.

The result is a decent album and so far his weakest album. For fans and collectors only, I am afraid.

2 points

 

 

Moose Loose - Live At Kongsberg Jazzfestival 1973 (2023)

The live album from this band from Norway.

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

I never review live albums and this is probably the first ever live album I have reviewed in this blog, all the three editions, since it was launched in 2012. I have no plans to review any other live albums.

This album is a bit special and I bought it from the NAK series where it was released. I am sniffing around the edges of Norwegian jazz these days and this review is the result of that.

I have reviewed the two Moose Loose studio albums and I have never really been impressed by them.

This live album has a mix of material from these two albums and some cover tracks. Weather Report and Miles Davis covers, that is.

The album was recorded at the annual Kongsberg Jazzfestival in Norway. That one, Vozzajazz and Molde Jazzfestival is the three big ones in Norway and pretty big in Europe too.

The guitar and organ solos are really cool here and those are the ones that attracts me most to this album. The material is not the best and the music is pretty complex. The music is a mix of fusion and jazz too.

This album is one hour long and it is a good album. Barely a good album but the guitar and organ solos elevates it to a good album.

3 points

Hora Prima - L'uomo Delle Genti (2020)

The debut album from this band from Italy.

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

The band has stated that the purpose of the band and the music is to honour and play RPI from the 1970s. This with their own self composed original music.

Hence this forty minutes long album.

The package comes complete with some good Italian vocals. The music is of the more pastoral end of the RPI spectrum.

The music is both pastoral and symphonic. It is also melodic and complex at the same time.

And yes, the music is both their own and a tribute to the RPI bands from the 1970s Italy.

The sound is modern, the vocals is very good and so is the music. RPI fans should get this album.... those who has not already got this album. What a gem of an album !

3.5 points

 

Miller. Rick - Altered States (2023)

The 17th album from this artist from Canada. 

Rick Miller did the programming, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals himself.

He got help from six guests who added drums, percussion, guitars, violin, cello and flutes.

I have reviewe around ten of his first albums back in 2022 for this blog. He is now releasing a new album so it is about time to get myself updated on his albums.

Altered State was released one year ago. 

The music is the usual fare we can expect from him. That means soft rock with some ambient pieces, neo-classical pieces and some soft symphonic prog pieces.

His vocals is very good. The music is slow to ambient.

The music is not particular technical or full of details. The guitars are good though. The melodies are good and memorable.

Altered State is one of his better albums and it is indeed a good album. Do not expect to be knocked over by musicianship, dynamic music or uber-intelligent life on this album. 

3 points

 

Meer - Playing House (2021)

The second album from this band from Norway.

The band is an eight piece big band with a lineup of glockenspiel, drums, percussion, bass, guitars, mandolin, violin, viola, keyboards, electric organ, piano and vocals.

Their debut album was pretty good, A bit uneven but still acceptable.

Playing House sees the band being, and rightly so, signed by Karisma Records, one of the biggest indie companies around. A label with a great progressive rock roster.

Meer's music is more a blend of elegant pop and art-rock. A-Ha meets Marillion.

And that blend is what we get on Playing House.

The vocals are a mix of female and male vocals. They are both good and not at least.... lush. That also in line with the music on this album. The music is really lush and lively. It has a wide variety of tasteful instruments and the arrangements are really impressive. 

The result is a good album. My only gripe is the lack of some really great pieces of music. But this is a very talented band, capable of becoming one of the great bands of our time.

3 points

 

 

Marekvist - Varde (2023)

The second album from this band from Norway.

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

I am not a big fan of their 2021 debut album Solrenning. Nevertheless, the band showcased a band with a lot of talent. Talent I was hoping we would see a lot more of on this, their second album.

The music on this forty minutes long album is a mix of post-rock, post-metal, psych rock and...... Norwegian folk music. An odd blend which gives the band their own identity.

The use of some very good female vocals, is a good thing here. It serves as the cream on the cream cake.

Before we have arrived at the cream, the band also does a good job over some melancholic, atmospheric music.

The vocals are in Norwegian and there is some proper songs here too. The best parts of this album is the more post-rock stuff. Nevertheless, the mix on this album is clever, good and original. 

This is a band well worth keeping an eye on. They may go far. 

3 points

Vrajitor's Tenebrarium - E.N.L.D. (2023)

The debut album from this band from Finland.

The band is a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, bouzouki, synths, clarinet and saxophone.

This album has been described as a symphonic prog album and that made me jump and get this album.

That is not entirely what we get here. Yes, there are some classic sounding symphonic prog here. But most of the music here is cinematic rock in the same vein as Goblin, Jacula and Devil Doll as symphonic prog bands.

The mix of symphonic prog and cinematic horror movie soundtrack is obvious during the first half of this forty minutes long album.

The musis is pretty dark and the band says their music is very inspired by horror movies. A genre I am not familiar with. But that make sense. Goblin did a lot of horror movie soundtracks and some of this album feels like that. The majority of this album has a horror theme running through the music.

It does not come as a surprise to learn that the band members also has been involved in the metal scene. It has some metal undertones.

The music is pretty good and this is a debut album they should be happy with. I hope we hear a lot more from this band in the future.

2.5 points