Cid. José - Vozes Do Além (2021)

The 21st album from this artist from Portugal.

Jose Cid did the vocals and keyboards here.

He got some help from some guests who provided drums, bass, cello and guitars.

This album is his fourth progressive rock album, he and this record label has claimed.

This album comes as a double CD and clocks in at over ninety minutes.

The music is...... a mix of pop, rock and psych rock. Mostly pop and rock. This with a pretty decent vocals in his mother-tongue. It is clear that the vocalist is old and that the his voice is pretty much shot and about to cease to be. There is lots of lots of vocals here as this album is totally dominated by vocals. It is impressive that he has managed to get one and an half hour out of his diminishing voice.

There is one thing you will not find on this album and that is progressive rock. A couple of psych rock songs, yes. But that is not progressive rock.

The quality of the songs are very poor and this album is a borderline turkey. A handful of half decent songs saves it from that destiny. Nevertheless, those into progressive rock should give this album a wide berth. 

1.5 points

Fish On Friday - 8mm (2023)

The sixth album from this band from Belgium.

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

Three guest added flute and female vocals.

I was not too impressed by their 2020 album Black Rain, reviewed some days ago. The band had lost their focus and the songs were not good enough. Hence my disappointment.

Three years later and Belgium's finest are back again.

The band has developed from a pure neo-prog band to a much more art-rock band. The band now sounds like crossbreed between Pink Floyd and Marillion.

The music is also melancholic. The flute, provided by the guest Theo Travis, and the female and male vocal duets and vocal harmonies adds a lot of melancholy. 

It also add some quality to the songs who are mostly much better than the ones on Black Rain. 

The result is a good album, indeed. Check it out.

3 points

Longhare - Radio Rebelde! (2018)

The debut album from this band from Croatia.

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

Two guests added bass and extra vocals.

This band has so far released four name your price (?) through Bandcamp and I am reviewing these albums this winter.

I am not used to get albums from countried like Croatia and I therefore grabbed the chance when I was offered these three albums.

The music is a mix of post-punk, hard rock, stoner rock and space rock. 

The sound and the guitars are dirty. And they should be dirty too. The vocals are ok. The samples adds some colours to this album.

The music is decent throughout this almost one hour long album. It is an album well worth checking out, indeed.

2 points

Landmarq - Solitary Witness (1992)

The debut album from this band from Great Britain. 

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

The band originated in Quasar, another band who released two albums in the 1980s and one in 2016. I reviewed their 1989 album The Loreli ten years for # 1 of this blog and has recently aquired their debut album. I intend to review that album later this winter.

Landmarq released five albums and I will review all of them this winter. 

Quasar and Landmarq was both involved in the British neo-prog scene. None of them were particular successful. But they did their best while the likes of Marillion hit gold.

The music here is a mix of Genesis and more melodic prog and rock. Neo-prog in other words. 

The music is pretty good throughout. The quality is somewhere between decent and good. As a debut album, it is an acceptable debut.

Check it out.

2.5 points

Chronicles of Father Robin. The - Book 2 (2023)

The second album from this band from Norway.

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

Three guests added clavinet, mellotron, synths, strings, electric piano, piano, organ and keyboards.

This album's full title is The Songs And Tales Of Airoea, Book 2: Ocean Traveler (Metamorphis) and it is part 2 of the three parts long epic piece of music The Songs And Tales Of Airoea. We will get the final part later this year. 

This trilogy has been on the planning stages since the 1990s. But their regular bands like Jordsjø, Samuel Jackson Five, Wobbler and Tusmørke got their full focus instead.

Book 1 (see review, October 2023) was a full on mix of folk rock, symphonic prog and eclectic prog. The same goes for Book 2, indeed. It two parts of a trilogy...

The music is very complex, wild and untamed. There is a lot of flutes here and the music is very much unmistakenly Norwegian symphonic prog.  

The quality is again good, although not as high as on Book 1. I suspect this trilogy will get a cult status when the dust has finally settled and the scene has recovered from the shock this trilogy no doubts has given it. 

3 points

Armalite - The Position of the Sleepers (2007)

The one and only album from this band from Italy.

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

The band was a sort of a supergroup with members from the likes of Nathan and La Coscienza Di Zeno. Under the name Armalite, they released this album and took part in a lot of tribute albums. I guess the band is no more.

The Position Of The Sleepers is a kind of a journey back to the British neo-prog scene in the 1980s. It is a kind of a tribute to this scene. 

That means some poppy songs and some more long suites pieces of music. This with some pretty heavy accented mediocre vocals and the thin and wet 1980s sound. 

There is a couple of decent to good stuff here. Most of the stuff is decent.

This is an album from and to fans of the 1980s neo-prog scene and it should be purchased and loved by them although the quality of the songs are not the best.

This is a decent album, well worth checking out.

2 points

Fish On Friday - Black Rain (2020)

The fifth album from this band from Belgium.

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

One guest added female vocals.

I had almost forgotten this band until a copy of their new, released last year, album dumped into my inbox. That's when I discovered they had released two albums since the 2017 Quiet Life album I reviewed for # 2 of this blog some years ago. A good album.

Hence I now have their two latest albums and a review of their latest album will be added in some days time. 

Black Rain is an hour long album. The music is a mix of neo-prog, art rock and commercial psych rock. The latter one means Pink Floyd.

There are a mix of male and female vocals here. There is a lot of vocal harmonies here. The music is packed around these vocals and harmonies. That means not so many interesting details and instrumental melodies.

The music sounds too wishy washy. The quality is not on par with their previous albums.

The result is an album somewhere between decent and good. I hope their newest album is better but I fear this is not the case.

2.5 points

 

 

Høst - Pa Sterke Vinger (1974)

The debut album from this band from Norway.

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

Høst released two studio albums. Both of them are classic albums in the Norwegian scene and there is indeed an argument that this band is the best Norwegian progressive rock band of all time. That is not my view, but I have heard this argument many times. Not at least from the leading musicians in today's prog rock scene in Norway.

I got both their albums up for review this week and is off course starting with the debut album.

The music is a mix of hard rock and folk rock. In this respect, they sounds like the more obscure Norwegian band Hades whose one and only album I reviewed some days ago.

There is also some progressive rock on this album in addition to the folk and hard rock. The musicians showcases their great skills and most of the songs are both catchy and has a lot of interesting details. The vocals is also good.

The title track is indeed very good and the highlight of this album.

The result is a good album and one to check out.

3 points

Cid. Jose - Pelos Direitos Do Homem (1996)

The 13th solo album from this artist from Portugal.

Jose Cid did the vocals here and got help from a band/some guests who added drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and female vocals.

Jose Cid is the biggest local artist in Portugal and he debuted in the 1970s. He was mostly a Latin pop/rock vocalist. But his 1978 opus 10 000 Anos... is a good prog rock album and I reviewed last week for this blog. See review. 

Pelos.... is not a prog rock album. It is a Latin pop/rock album. 

The melodies and vocals is sugary sweet. The quality is poor. 

This is in short a turkey. I have one more of his albums to review and I have heard it is a progressive rock album/opus. I hope so. Sincerely.

1 point

Fifth Note - Here We Are (2023)

The debut album from this band from India.

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

A Christian band from a very remote part of India.... I never thought I was ever going to write these lines. But this quintet and their record label Frontiers Records has proven me wrong.

It has to be said that their Christian beliefs has been toned down on this, their debut album, and that the band is now a more secular band. The band also deserve a contract with a multi-national record label like Frontiers as they are a very talented band. Young and talented.

Their music is a mix of old, 1970s hard rock and these days progressive metal. References are as varied as Rainbow, Fates Warning and Dream Theater.

The music is also pretty melodic. The screaming vocals is a bit annoying and far over the top at times. The rest of the band does a far better job on their respective instruments.

Not all the music is good here. The vocals is also barely decent. That said, there is a lot to enjoy on this album. The band is talented and they may go far. This band is one of the very few new prog metal bands worth keeping under observation. I hope we will hear a lot more from them in the future.

2.5 points

Radiohead - In Rainbows (2007)

The seventh album from this band from Great Britain.

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

A guest added extra vocals and a string ensamble added lots of strings. 

The band had by now settled into their role and sound as an art-rock band.

The music is a mix of trip hop, electronica and art-rock. Hence.... the art-rock label.

There is lot of very interesting details in their music on the top of some pretty simple, but still stylish and elegant melodies/songs.

That adds a lot of quality to this album.

The songs are not particular good if the trip hop and electronica is stripped away from them. But all the details makes this album a really good album. I am pretty impressed by this band and they are one of the most interesting, genre defining bands who has come out of Great Britain in the last thirty years.

3 points

King's X - Out Of The Silent Planet (1988)

The debut album from this band from USA.

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

King's X.... why they did never had a solid breakthrough was a mystery to me when I was a big fan of them back in the 1990s. A view shared by a lot of my fellow music journalists back then.

I am now returning to the band and will review their so far thirteen studio albums this year. 

The band was signed on the same label who gave us Led Zeppelin and Rush. The label thought they had another Rush on their hand. And they were rigth. They had indeed a...... cult band on their label. Not a best selling band, though.

The music on this album is highly influenced by the likes of The Beatles, Rush, Led Zeppelin and even Black Sabbath. Add some funk, raga and soul too and you get the drift. 

The musicianship is superb and the vocals is good. The band was still developing on this album. They had yet to arrive at their sound and music. 

The result of is a good debut album but there was still work to be done. This is still a good album, though.

3 points

 

 

Hades - Hades (1992)

The one and only album from this band from Norway.

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

This band appeared, gigged, recorded some of the gigs, released a twenty-four minutes long album with studio and mostly live tracks and then disappeared again. Then they got a bit of a cult status and their LP was then re-released on CD last year on the crowd funded NAK series.

This series has a lot of really good albums. This album is not one of them.

We get twenty-four minutes of a mix of folk rock and hard rock. Jethro Tull meets Atomic Rooster. 

The flutes is everywhere and the vocals is fairly good. The music is raw and as untamed as a wild stallion. The music is hard in other words.

The songs, mostly of them presented as live tracks, is decent enough. The sound is pretty dire.

This is an albm with a cult status and no matter how this album sounds, this band and album will always have a cult status. This despite of this only being a half decent album.

1.5 points

Aragorn - The Suite (1975)

The one and only album from this band from Australia.

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

The phrase "hidden gem" is rarely more true than in the case of this album. It was printed in 50 x and then bootlegged on CD by a company in South Korea. It is still a pretty unknown album.

Shame.

The music on this album is a sixteen piece big suite. Hence, the music is primarly symphonic prog.

Take a bit of ELP, add Eloy and some more krautrock, symphonic prog and then jazz and progressive folk rock. Yes, that includes some influences fromJethro Tull and their Aqualong album. Pretty strong at times, too.

The music is a bit heavy at times too with a lot of flutes. It is also pretty epic.

The vocals and the sound is good throughout.

The result is indeed a good album who deserve the attention from symphonic prog and other prog rock fans. This is indeed a hidden gem. Dig it out.  

3 points

Barrdo - Jour inouï (2023)

The sixth album from this band from Canada.

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

A handful of guests added woodwinds and strings.

This French speaking quintet from Quebec in Canada is one of the latest addition to the Quebec scene. A scene where Harmonium is the most known band. And the best band.

Barrdo's music has always been quite close to Harmonium's music.

This means lush, colourful folk rock with some symphonic prog and jazz influences. 

The music is also pretty eclectic with some dissonanse and quirky details.

The vocals is great and the music is lush. The songs are pretty good. This is not their best album, though. Nevertheless, this is still a good album from a band who deserve a lot more attention and fans.

3 points

 

 

Help Yourself - 5 (2004)

The fifth and final album from this band from Great Britain.

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

Two guests added guitars.

Most of this album, eight out of the eleven songs, were recorded in 1973. Three more songs were written and added in 2003. 

The band members had left the ship and this album were released and bought by the fans of this band. It is one of these many albums released after the demise of a band and/or an artist.

The music is left overs from recording sessions and would probably never see the light unless some fans wanted everything this band has recorded. They got their will here.

The music is folk rock with some acid folk and whimsical pop/rock thrown into the mix too. The vocals is good and the band does their best on some sub-standard songs. 

The result is a half decent album and nothing more than that. For fans only, I am afraid.

1.5 points

Ikarus - Plasma (2022)

The fourth album from this band from Switzerland.

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

The band's take on zeuhl is very original, indeed. Their take on music is even more original and the band has managed to carve out their own niche in the music scene.

Voices based zeuhl with a lot of piano. That is what we get here.

The music is intense and full on. It is not hard or heavy. It is just intense and very much in the zeuhl genre.

There are some more piano and more creative use of piano here than on previous albums. Some good melodies is the result. This as a small, but vital development of their music.  

The result is their best album so far and a good one. It is also one of the most unique albums in my large collection of progressive rock albums. Ikarus is a band I will keep my ears and eyes open for.

3 points

Soniq Circus - Chapter 2 The Accident (2023)

The fourth album from this band from Sweden.

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

This band from Sweden has really impressed me on their first three albums. Their music has been mostly symphonic prog. Swedish symphonic prog.

The band was on a more transitional phase on the previous album, the 2022 album Chapter 1 The Game Begin. 

The band was switching more to heavy prog and progressive metal.

That transition has been mostly completed here. There is not much symphonic prog left on this half an hour long album. 

The music has some good details and the vocals is good. The music is very hard throughout and very much in the progressive metal genre.

Some of the music is decent and some of the music is good. This album is mostly a step in the wrong direction and this album is one of the disappointments of last year. 

2.5 points

Zappa. Frank - Joe's Garage Act I, II & III (1979)

The 22nd album from this artist from USA.

Frank Zappa did the guitars and vocals here.

He got help from numerous guests who added drums, percussion, bass, guitars, harmonica, strings, woodwinds, keyboards and backing vocals.

Joe's Garage I, II & III is the double album which defines Frank Zappa as an artist and song-writer. The almost two hours of music here.

The music range from doo-wop to children rhyme like songs with offensive, stupid lyrics to more rock, jazz and long guitar solos.

The jazz pieces and the guitar solos is the best pieces here. The more cynical observations of the western culture is also expressed in some of the songs. The part of our culture where females are treated like pieces of meat. The problem with his lyrics is that they do not express if he approve of these views on women, just observe them or condemn them. Frank Zappa went to his grave without clarifying his views on women. That means some of the biographies has branded him as a sexist. 

The lyrics on this album does not really do Frank Zappa's reputation any favour.

Most of the music is good though and this is a good album. It is also his best selling album of all time and a minor icon of our western culture.

3 points

In The Woods - Omnio (1997)

The second album from this band from Norway.

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

A handful of guests added strings, keyboards and female vocals.

I was not impressed by their debut album. A out and out black metal album. But the band were soon to develop into something far more progressive.

Omnio is still a metal album, with a lot of goth and black metal influences. It is mostly a doomy goth metal album.

The sound is not particular good. But the band shows that there is something here.... talent. This album is too much of an oldstyle run of the mill goth metal album to be of any big interest to prog rock fans.

It is still a decent album and well worth checking out if goth and black metal album from last century is something you fancy.

2 points

 

 

Bridges - Fakkeltog (1980)

The debut album from this band from Norway.

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

Bridges is most known as the forerunner of A-Ha, one of Norway's most successful bands of all time. 2/3 of A-Ha is on this album Magne Furuholmen and Paal Waaktar. Bridges was their band with the bassist and drummer more like supporting members.

Fakkeltog is ironic enough one of the biggest flops/commercial failures in the history of Norwegian modern music. It was pressed up in 1000 x and it sold nothing. It was not until the breakthrough of A-Ha that this band and album became known in Norway and the world. 

The reason for the poor sales is the music. The poor quality of the music.

The band sounds like a very poor second hand The Doors copy. 

The vocals is dark and the music is pretty whimsical and all over the place. Unfocused is a nice word for it.

I find it hard to comprehend, as an admirer of A-Ha, how bad this album was. Morten Harket deserve more credit for A-Ha than I have previously given him. This because his two bandmates dropped a solid clanger, a turkey with this album. 

Avoid this album. 

1 point

Ave Tierra - La Razón De Las Almas (2018)

The fourth album from this band from Argentina.

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

Some guests added violins, piano, organ, synths, keyboards, trumpet, male and female vocals.

The band continues with their mix of folk rock and post-punk. Although with some subtle additions this time to their music.

The band has added a lot of jazz and some Latin pop with female vocals and catchy melody lines to their normal fare. The music has also been tightened up a lot and the music sounds a lot more structured.

This name-your-price Bandcamp album is therefore an improvement on their previous albums. It is indeed an album well worth checking out.

2.5 points

Kerzner. Dave - Heart Land Mines Vol. 1 (2023)

The sixth album from this artist from USA.

Dave Kerzner did the percussion, acoustic guitars, keyboards and lead vocals here.

He got help from numerous guests who added drums, bass, guitars, bouzouki, sitar, strings, horns and vocals.

I reviewed his fourth album, the 2017 album Static some years ago and that was a good album. His 2022 album The Traveler passed me by, though. 

Dave Kerzner had his breakthrough as a member of Sound Of Contact. He co-wrote their debut album together with Simon Collins, the son of Phil Collins. A great album and that gave him lots of other session work. 

The music on this album is a mix of americana and progressive rock. There is some Kansas and some Genesis influences on this album. There is also lots of mainstream rock on this one hour long album. Music that most of all reminds me about the last albums from Electric Light Orchestra.

The quality is decent to good. There is no sparkling great songs here and most of the music is meandering and pedestrian. 

It that floats your boat.....

2.5 points

Help Yourself - The Return Of Ken Whaley (1973)

The fourth album from  this band from Great Britain.

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

The album title is a bit of an oddity..... A celebration marking the return of a bassist who were absent on one album. The art-work leaves a lot to be desired to as it is an one-off compared to their four other albums. Not impressive. Not at all.....

The band continued on. This time with a bit hard edged rock. Indeed, with some slightly hard rock incorporated into some psych rock. 

The basis is psych rock but it is very hard at times. There is also some strong blues influences here.

A couple of the songs are borderline good whilst most of the music here is too much run of the mill to get the full attention of the listener.

The result is still a decent album, despite the change of direction. It is an album well worth checking out.

2 points

Ikarus - Mosaismic (2019)

The third album from this band from Switzerland.

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

The band returned again after their second album.

The band's music is very original to say at least. Their music highly unique even in the everything-goes progressive rock genre. That says a lot....

Their music is zeuhl. Voices driven zeuhl. Thei male and female voices is floating over a melody driving piano, supported by bass and some sparse drums.

To my knowledge, no other bands does vocals dominated zeuhl. 

These fifty minutes is a bit of a shock like their two first album was and no doubts their fourth album will be too.

The music is decent to good though. Fans of zeuhl and jazz should really check out this album and this band. I really take my hat of to this band. Most of the music is rather good too and this album should be checked out.

2.5 points

Gong - Unending Ascending (2023)

The 25th album from this band from Great Britain.

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

Daevid Allen passed on five years ago, but the band continued without him or any other original members. 

The band continued on in his spirit and with his blessing. Nevertheless, the albums post his departure has sounded a bit weird and more like a tribute to him than the Gong albums from where he was a member and song writer.

It is still fair to run and record albums as Gong without Daevid Allen as a member. Gong's sound is permanent and Unending Ascending has all the hallmarks of a Gong album. That minus the more ditty irrelevant lyrics and childish songs Daevid Allen sometimes came up with.

Unending Ascending is a bit slick but it is also very quirky and a nice run through of Gong's universe and ideas.

A bit better songs is what is missing here. Nevertheless, this is a good album who lives up to this band's good name and reputation.

3 points

Grand Funk Railroad - E Pluribus Funk (1971)

The fifth album from this band from USA.

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

A symphony orchestra helped out the band too.

The band was touring the Americas and the world inbetween recording and releasing albums. The band was and still is mostly a band with a pretty huge following in USA & Canada and next to no following outside North America.

Their music is still very influenced by a British band....... Led Zeppelin. Then again, Led Zeppelin did not have a typical British sound as they were so influenced by US blues and rock.

The music is on this thirty-five minutes long album is both hard rocking and pretty bluesy. 

As the album title alludes to, the band wanted to move more towards more mature, progressive music here. Music from a symphony orchestra was added into their music. That did not add any more quality to their music.

The result is still a decent enough album. It is not as hard rocking as their previous albums. Neither is it any better than their previous albums. It is a bit different from their first four albums. 

2 points

Wyatt. Robert - Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard (1975)

The third album from this artist from Great Britain.

Robert Wyatt does some of the drums, electric piano, piano, organ and all the vocals here.

He got help from a dozen of guests who added drums, bass, guitar, woodwinds and piano.

I reviewed his masterpiece and the forerunner to this album; Rock Bottom, back in November 2013 for # 1 of this blog, having reviewed his debut album for ProgArchives back in November 2009. 

It is my aim to review the rest of his albums this winter. 

Robert Wyatt was once a leading member of Soft Machine before he had an accident and became paraplegic. He still had a long career as a composer and a vocalist. An ongoing career and he is one of the national treasures in United Kingdom and in the world of music.

The music on the forty minutes long Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard is divided into a Ruth part and a Richard part. Strange but that is what it is.

The music is a mix of jazz and singer/songwriter rock. 

The music is slow to mid-tempo. It is also pretty pastoral and very quirky. The music is mainly performed by Robert's vocals, piano and woodwinds. 

The result is a good album. It is not as good as Rock Bottom. But it is still an album well worth checking out. 

3 points

Temic - Terror Management Theory (2023)

The debut album from this band from Norway.

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

This band originates in Norway as the main songwriter and vocalist is Norwegian. The three other band members are from UK and USA. But it is marketed as an album from Norway.

The music is progressive metal. It has some djent pieces too and the music is pretty brutal at times. 

Dream Theater is an obvious reference. But the music is far more guitars focused and far heavier than anything from Dream Theater. 

The vocals on this one hour long album will get some raised eyebrows. They certainly gave my facial hair some work. The vocals is some of the best I have ever heard on a progressive metal album. And I have got a lot of progressive metal albums. Fredrik Bergersen's vocals has a massive range and they are also very powerful. I guess we will hear lots more from him in the coming decade.

The music is good and the vocals are pretty sensational. Hence, that makes this a very good album and album worthy of the hype it has created since it was released only a few weeks ago.

3.5 points

Flying Caravan. The - I Just Wanna Break Even (2021)

The debut album from this band from Spain.

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

This band is from Alicante on the south coast of Spain and this is their only album so far. It may even be their only album ever.

The album is very long... one hundred minutes long.

The music is a blend of melodic symphonic prog, fusion, elegant pop and lounge jazz. 

The female vocals is pretty cold. It is good though. The other musicians does a good job.

The main problem with this album is the lack of quality. There is nothing here I remember two days later. This album leaves no short term, long term or ever lasting impressions. 

It is still an album worth checking out of the music genres listed above and/or elegant music floats your boat.

2 points

Shadow Circus - From the Shadows (2023)

The fourth album from this band from USA.

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

This band took a long break after their third album and there was talk of either permanently disband the band or a radical, a very radical change of direction. 

To my surprise, the band returned again and with the same type of music as on their first three albums. The band has developed and matured a lot, though.

The music is hard prog with some quirky art, psych and goth rock influences. The music is also as bold as in the general mood of USA. Only a band from USA would dare to write and publish music like this.

The music is very hard at times and there is even some djent in their music. This album is still in the same vein as their first three albums and Shadow Circus has carved themselves out a nice niche in the heavy prog genre.

The quality is good throughout this album. An album it takes some times to get used to as this band is one of a kind. 

3 points

Voivod - Morgöth Tales (2023)

The 16th album from this band from Canada.

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

Two ex members added guitars and bass on a couple of songs. 

This is not a new studio album. All the songs, with the exception of the brand new title track, is re-recorded versions of songs from their first twenty years, 1983 - 2003. 

That means nine of their old speed and thrash songs has been re-recorded in a proper studio anno 2023. 

That means a new light has been put on their old stuff. This is a new reappraisal of the band, indeed. 

Voivod is one of the most weird bands around and has been for the last forty years. This album more than proves that. The music is hard, full of speed but also progressive. 

The title track is also a good one and this album is the best gateway to this quirky, weird and great band.

3 points

Ave Tierra - El Hombre Nuevo (2014)

The third album from this band from Argentina.

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

The band had some help from some guests who added theremin, guitars, violins and vocals.

The band's music is again a mix of folk rock, post-punk and psych rock.

There is also some elements of metal here. But not more than just some elements and hints.

The music is hard and not for the faint hearted and/or those who are seeking melodic music. 

The music is eclectic and the Spanish vocals is pretty good.

The quality is decent enough on these forty minutes. The music is pretty original and not the normal fare. The album is a name your price Bandcamp album and it is an interesting download. 

2 points

Trip. The - Now the Time Has Come (2023)

The sixth album from this band from Italy.

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

Three guests added organ, keyboards and vocals.

This band album debuted back in 1970 and released four good RPI albums back in that decade. Then there were some decades of silence. 

The music here is mid-tempo, commercial RPI with a lot of pop and mainstream rock influences.

There is not much progressive rock here. 

The songs on this fifty minutes long album is pretty good and the Italian vocals is good.

The result is a decent to good album too. I am not really won over. Nevertheless, it is good of them to release an album fifty years after their last studio album. 

2.5 points

 

 

Cid. Jose - 10.000 Anos Depois Entre Vénus E Marte (1978)

The third album from this artist from Portugal.

Jose Cid did the piano, organ, keyboards, moog, mellotron, synths, strings and vocals here.

He got help from a handful of guests who provided drums, percussion, bass and guitars.

Jose Cid was a member of the band Quarteto 111 who released three albums before they split up. He has as a solo artist released tens of albums. I am reviewing three of them in the coming ten days. 

This album has a reputation as a mellotron lover's dream. And yes, there is lots of lots of mellotron on this album.

The music is a mix of epic but still softly spoken symphonic prog and psych rock.

Both Eloy and Ange is good references here.

There are some good vocals here too in addition to the cascades and tonnes of mellotron. There is still plenty of spaces left for some good guitars here too.

The music is also at times dynamic and mid-tempo.

I don't think it is wrong to label this album as a semi-classic. The music is pretty unique. It is also symphonic prog.

The result is a good album well worth checking out. An album any symphonic prog fans should have in their collection. 

3 points

 

 

Help Yourself - Beware The Shadow (1972)

The third album from this band from Great Britain.

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

The band was a strange band in the UK folk rock scene. The reason was that they were very heavy country'n'western and gospel influenced on their debut album. Something they did not really managed to shake during the rest of their career.

There are indeed some country'n'western on Beware The Shadow too. But most of all, the music is acid folk rock with some psych rock elements.

The music is at times pretty hard rocking and this is perhaps an album too hard rocking for most folk rock fans. The band sounds like a hard rocking Jethro Tull on some of the songs. That....without the flute.

The result is a decent enough album and one to check out. 

2 points

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