In the ever changing weird world of Yoshida Tastsuya and Hisashi Sasaki came yet another RUINS release in the busy year of 1998 when they released four albums ("Refusal Fossil," "Vrresto," "Tohjinbo" (as Derek and the Ruins)" as well as their eleventh album SYMPHONICA which found the duo expanding their sound a bit by adding keyboard player Kenichi Oguchi and not one but two female singers, Emi Elonola and Aki Kubota. The tracks included are remakes from earlier RUINS albums with "Thebes","Infect" and "Big Head" coming from "Stonehenge," "Praha In Spring" from "Burning Stone," "Graviyaunosch" from the same titled album and "Brixon Varromiks" and "Bliezzaning Moltz" coming from the "Hyderomastgroningem" album. The results of these additional characters at play creates one of the most fulfilling RUINS experiences to date and offers a greater expansion into the world of prog and a sound even more reminiscent of their primarily zeuhl inspired influence of Magma. With the extra touches of the keyboard there is also a rather avant-prog approach as heard by the Italian band Area as well in some of the unhinged riffing touches and the male vocals remind me of the crazy vocal antics of Demetrio Stratos as well in his more outrageous form.

As usual Yoshida and Sasaki pound out their most frenetic Magama inspired zeuhl rhythms cranked up on overdrive and turned up to "ultra-freaky," however despite the hyperactive freneticism that RUINS so deftly churns out at light-speed, SYMPHONICA as the name implies has a more smoothed-around-the-edges feel due to the suave effects of the keyboards that help craft one of the most "accessible" RUINS albums in their canon if that adjective can truly apply to anything that RUINS pumps out. While clearly closer in sound to traditional 70s Magma on such albums as "Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh" with the female singers creating a comparable operatic frenetic whizzing up and down the musical scales, RUINS as expected takes it all to the next ten levels and beyond by pumping out more bombastic rhythms laced with angular time signature frenzies gone absolutely wild with keyboard runs jolting around as quickly as Yoshida's percussive limbs pound incessant chops about.

While being crazed and technically demented seems to be the primary goal of the RUINS experience, on SYMPHONICA there are plenty of passages that simply allow notes to sustain while the divas grace the listener with utterly pure vowel sounds approaching glass shattering magnitudes. This is a really impressive album as all the members are extremely playful and a rather tight unit as the vocals, keys, bass and drums can play in complete unison or meander and leap frog around each other creating bizarre musical atmospheres. While the two long time members have always been an impressively tight unit, the magic of this album derives from the stylistic diversity and virtuosic deliveries of Kenichi's mastery of the synthesized effects. Likewise the duo diva effect of Aki and Eleonola not only match the magnitude of their Magma influences but take them places those pioneers never dared venture. This is one of the most adventurous zeuhl releases i've ever heard and despite the usual freneticism of a typical RUINS release seems a little more disciplined here as the crazy parts are mixed stylishly well with more contemplative and "normal" aspects of the music. This is one of my favorite RUINS releases. The extra musicians add the very touch many of their albums lack.

4.5 but rounded down

As the new renaissance of the progressive rock 90s churned on into the new millennium, it seems everyone was getting in on the act and the Scandinavian countries of Europe produced more than their fair share of some of the best new acts to emerge in the newer waves of the progressive rock world. Norway's MAGIC PIE was one of many to take the retro approach which adopted as many styles from the golden era and piecemeal them together into a fine tapestry of tradition all the while keeping the updated stylistic approaches and superior production values in full play. The band began as a cover band but soon gained enough confidence to begin crafting their own compositions out of the templates of the past masters. They soon released their debut album MOTIONS OF DESIRE in 2005 which was touted as being one of the best prog releases of the year and successfully gained them an instant following by those who would become instantly addicted to their heavy organ drenched riffs and rhythms in well-crafted musical territories where catchy earworms danced side by side with choppy angular prog accoutrements that harkened a blast from the past while tacking on the current passions of the present.

MAGIC PIE is a sextet coming from the south-eastern city of Østfold on Norway's eastern border with Sweden, another nation of seemingly endless musical talents that contributed to the fully fueled prog revival in the 90s with talents such as Ånglagard and Anekdoten. Each musician is a master of his respective instrument with Kim Stenberg leading the way with his crafty guitar oriented songwriting structures feeling equally at home on both happy-go-lucky rhythmic chord strumming or sizzling face-melting solos. Another prominent feature of the MAGIC PIE experience is the prominent use of the dreamy keyboards which emulate organs, mellotrons and all the atmospheric aspects of classic 70s prog. Gilbert Marshall, while a virtuoso in his own right on the keys is in no way a Keith Emerson type but rather focuses on the more ambient textures of Genesis' "Wind & Wuthering" era as well as Deep Purple type hard rock keyboard bombast. There are also many sections that would feel right at home on neo-prog albums as the textures often are superimposed on the band to augment a heightened melodic counterpoint. MAGIC PIE also employs two vocalists. Both Erik Hanssen and Allan Olsen complement each other as they sing in unison or cleverly craft madrigal polyphonies that offer nods to Gentle Giant without sounding like total ripoffs.

MOTIONS OF DESIRE is a lengthy beast consisting of eight tracks clocking in at almost 75 minutes. The opening track "Change" is a truly ambitious monster of a prog track clocking in at over twenty minutes and zigzags through many moods, textures and musical parades, however like the rest of the album is based in melodic rock that is more heavy than not that to me sounds like it inspired by some of the 70s classics like Mott The Hoople, David Bowie and other melodic rock giants, at least in compositional structuring. MAGIC PIE doesn't just stop with their melodic roots as the template but its how they build upon these different riffs and rhythms, tones and timbres and construct some of the most emotional drenching meets technically demanding tracks that have both the ability to weasel their way into your consciousness with their hooks but also bedazzle with their technical wizardry that not only delivers frenetic guitar and keyboard solos but run the gamut of completing the prog lover's workshop course by including crazy time signature change segments as well as polyphonic visions of 70s prog perfection.

Overall i find MAGIC PIE has that post-Morse Spock's Beard or Flower Kings symphonic prog sound as they carry out sprawling melodic segments that morph into different ones at least for the mellow and dreamier aspects of the album such as the neo-prog sounds of the title track and "Dream Vision. The band are perfectly capable of dishing some heavier parts and tracks with the highlight coming on the lightning technical speeds and bombast of "Illusion & Reality - Part III: Final Breath" with all the modern day virtuosity you could ask for. There are also parts such as the alternating rhythms in "Change" that display a rather flamenco rhythmic flare as well as ska rhythms emerging periodically. MOTIONS OF DESIRE contains an additional track "Full Circle Poetry" that is just over fourteen minutes in length as well as a sprawling three part themed chunk of time dedicated to "Illusion & Realty" that between the three tracks hit over the eighteen minute mark which gives this album all the pomp and overweening progitude that caused the genre to peak and ultimately decline during the heyday. MAGIC PIE unapologetically resurrects these ambitious attributes in full glory and runs away with it.

MAGIC PIE seems to catch a lot of flack for seemingly being "souless" and "insincere" as they unapologetically borrow riffs and rhythms that pinpoint to a time in the past but i can't help but to really love this one. Every track flows with the perfect amount of all ingredients finding their way into the mix. While the music isn't designed to create a new direction in prog, it certainly succeeds extremely well in stitching all of the ingredients together and making a bona fide retro prog sound that i find pleasing from beginning to end. I enjoy all the musician's idiosyncratic plays on the past masters as well as the more sophisticated approach of adapting them to the modern age. Both vocalists work in tandem and it's usually impossible to distinguish that there are indeed two vocalists participating. With a knack for interesting compositional zigzags through stylistic changes that intuitively keep the tracks exciting, i find MOTIONS OF DESIRE to be an excellent piece of modern prog that straddles the perfect fence that divides the dreamy folk placidity and the heavy energetic rocking side of their style. MAGIC PIE are genii at melodic flow as they manage to create a super lengthy album (a feature i usually shy away from) and keep me entertained on repeated listens. Strong melodies, strong compositions with respectful reverence to tradition. My kinda album!

This album oozes quality. I was very happy to hear that Mike Portnoy was heading back to Progressive Metal, because that is like returning home. You can absolutely hear how talented these guys are with the first track, and they sound like they are having fun. A supergroup of top notch musicians is a welcome and appealing prospect. The biggest surprise for me was the vocals. Jeff Scott Soto really impressed me with the tone of his voice, and it really fit the music well. Psychotic Symphony is a great first album for this band, and I expect big things in the future. It is a excellent addition to any Progressive Metal collection.

3.5 stars. CELLAR NOISE are a young band out of Italy forming in 2013 and this is their debut released this year(2017). Fabio Zuffanti became a fan after hearing some of their music and offered himself to help them out with the recording process, and they of course welcomed his help and so he became the Artistic Director. The vocals are in English and there's a strong GENESIS vibe especially with the keyboards but also beyond that. We get three guests helping out with oboe, flute and cello.

"Dive With Me" is the 9 1/2 minute instrumental to get us started. It opens with the sounds of a subway train(see album cover) then the atmosphere slowly pulses. Piano only takes over after 1 1/2 minutes as the oboe joins in. It's building as the drums, bass and synths arrive. This sure sounds like GENESIS with those pulsating synths. It kicks in a minute later, mellotron too. It becomes uptempo and synth driven 4 minutes in. I'm not into this but I like when it returns to that GENESIS sound as contrasts continue. Piano only 5 1/2 minutes in as it slowly winds down and cello joins in. Oboe is back then mellotron and piano a minute later. It kicks back in after 8 minutes then piano only ends it.

"Underground" again brings GENESIS to mind right away with the acoustic guitar and gentle vocals. Mellotron joins in along with synths. The vocals stop before 2 minutes as the drums, organ and guitar lead the way but vocals are back quickly. Organ and spoken words 4 minutes in then fast paced acoustic guitar takes over as drums, bass, organ and more help out. Synths lead before 5 minutes in this uptempo section. A calm before 6 1/2 minutes with strummed guitar and almost spoken words, piano too then it kicks back in.

"Embankment" along with the next track "Temple" are my favourites from this album. "Embankment" opens with piano as reserved vocals join in. I like this a lot. Some emotion here. The mellotron rolls in around a minute followed by drums. It then turns fuller before 2 1/2 minutes before becoming heavier with guitar before 3 minutes. Nice. The synths are very GENESIS-like 4 minutes in then the vocals return.

"Temple" opens with picked guitar before it turns dark. It's building as some powerful organ joins in. A change before 1 1/2 minutes as vocals and a lighter sound take over. That darker and heavier sound will come and go. Check out the mellotron that storms in before 4 minutes during a heavy section. Picked guitar and vocals are back before 5 minutes like the intro. It starts to build then the guitar starts to solo over top around 6 minutes in, oboe too.

"Blackfriars" is one I'm just not into at all. Mostly because of the vocals. It's uptempo with lots of vocals. More GENESIS-like synths and a calm with mellotron ends it. "Move The Stone" is a relaxed tune starting out with piano and reserved vocals. Cello will join in as well. Laid back guitar, oboe, piano and mellotron after 3 minutes. It ends as it began with vocals and piano.

"Monument" is not a cover of that amazing FATES WARNING track unfortunately. It opens with acoustic guitar as drums join in followed by a fuller sound. This is fairly heavy until a calm with bass and mellotron arrives. Vocals 3 minutes in during a calm then it builds. Mellotron follows then we get another calm after 4 minutes. It does build again then we get a guitar solo after 7 minutes and it continues for about a minute.

A good album for sure but for various reasons I can't offer the fourth star.

Here's another supergroup of talented musicians who got together from the desire of Mike Portnoy and Derek Sherinian who are almost like old brothers in need to make another album under this "modest" new band name "Sons of Apollo". The album starts with the opening track "God of the Sun" who will not please those who are against every band that does a copy of Dream Theater. The time signatures are almost the same as the "god" of Prog Metal and the guitar sound almost like Mr. Petrucci. The typical sound of Derek Sherinian keyboards can be heard throughout this album and in the song "Divine Addiction" there is a reference to John Lord with the Hammond organ. The drum playing of Mike Portnoy is not at rest as the guitar playing of "Bumblefoot" with some guitar solos. As for the vocals of Jeff Scott Soto, he doesn't have the greatest voice, but it seems to work here. The music is not always progressive, there is some classic hard rock music but it's always pretty intense. The most enjoyable songs are the more complex ones with a long instrumental break like "Labyrinth" who got a nice atmosphere with that ELP and UK keyboards sound and impressive playing of Derek, and as for the last epic song "Opus Maximus", this is an instrumental "tour de force" that sound like Liquid Tension Experiment. Here each musician shows their technique in a very fast tempo before slowing things down with a guitar solo.

You can either love this album and see as a masterpiece or hate it. I don't think it's a classic, but it's a very good album of Progressive Metal. 3.6 stars.

When speaking of exceptional bands being out on business in the neo prog scene, MYSTERY will belong to the ranking for many. If anything will prove this largely enough than 'Second Home', which features a bunch of live recordings taken at Progdreams Festival 2016 in Zoetermeer. The band is from Canada, as for that one might not really expect a huge fanbase being present over there in the Netherlands. But you can distinctly hear it, it's not for the first time and they must have made an impression on many already three years before. The crowd seems to be in joyful anticipation, in enthusiastic mood, right from the very start. A proper reason to reserve some time for this double album, isn't it?

And so indeed, here we have a prolific performance to notice, this time with front man Jean Pageau aboard, who is equipped with a strong singing voice. I wasn't aware of any studio output beforehand, but this will be a best-of collection for sure, deriving from their albums they have produced during more than 20 years. My highlights on CD1 are the opener Delusion Rain and the extended as well as tricky Another Day. CD2 then especially shines with Song For You and Superstar. Awesome album. 'Second Home' delivers an entertaining blend of neo prog and AOR with a heavy edge. A full load over the course of more than two hours. If you like catchy, highly melodic songs presented in a playful mood you can't fail here.

'Stoned Gold' is the fifth album of the American psyche-space-prog-rock band 3RD EAR EXPERIENCE from Joshua Tree, CA. And this is arguably the most diverse, intricate, and colorful offering from the band to date.

Clocking in at about 70 minutes, the album features 6 mostly instrumental compositions which crystallized during extended jam-sessions in the studio involving Amritakripta (keyboards, synths, vocals), Robbi Robb (guitar, vocals, productions), Richard Stuverud (drums), Jorge Carrillo (bass guitar), and two guest singers ' Alex Perez and Steven Young. In some way, the music illustrates the aesthetic views and theoretical foundations which one can find in Robbi Robb's 'The Art of the Jam Band: Concepts and intricacies for collective improvisation', 20-page musicological essay attached to the CD/Vinyl release. The essay itself is a sort of recourse to the young generation of aspiring musicians stating that Improvised Rock is incredibly rich and imaginative array of modern music.

While many modern impro-instrumental bands adhere to the principle 'play what you can' (creating actually the same sounds over and over), 3RD EAR EXPERIENCE are here to elaborate huge variety of creative approaches and bring multiple different colors to each new composition. In fact, each track on 'Stoned Gold' has its own stylistic identity (or even several identities). From vintage and forceful, classic power-trio Acid-Psyche-Rock (on opening 'Infinite Unmanifest'), through esoteric and synth-textured Space-Rock ('Iceberg Dreams' and 'Stoned Gold'), groovy-motoric, droning, distorted, and riffy Kaut-Rock and Heavy-Psycho ('I Am Not Robot'), towards Tribal-Rock and Afro-Beat ('No Walls, No Wars' and 'The Drone'). Each track on the album offers kaleidoscopic variety of stylistic elements and influences. As well as each track showcases intelligent, thoughtful, absolutely competent and artistic performance of each musician involved.

Summing up, 'Stoned Gold' is highly representative, expressive, inventive, stylish, challenging, and enjoyable album. This is 'must have' for lovers Psychedelic-Prog, Space-Rock, World-Fusion, and modern Impro-Rock in a broad sense. There is no Progress without Experiment, so yes, don't be afraid to experiment and try yourself in what you don't know yet!

Fourteen years before Enigma, ever curious musician/composer Eberhard Schoener was exploring the possibilities of melding electronic beats with liturgically (and ethnically) derived vocal themes. But Schoener, never willing to sit with one idea when he can throw in a handful, also covers ambient electronica and analogue space drift in this cohesive 1977 album. The composer plays moog, organ, piano and mellotron while the tasty guitar cutting through the keys is courtesy of Andy Summers (Police). It may seem an unlikely collaboration, but Summers is a skilled and versatile guitarist whose presence here adds much to the music. A transporting and satisfying album.

Although there are but four side-long tracks, each comprises several discrete parts. Live, the classic Froese/Franke/Baumann line-up of Tangerine Dream passed the initiative deftly between their multitude of keyboards as they spontaneously created unfolding musical landscapes and then explored them. Having said that, there are some sections referencing album pieces while others joyously bring together their combined creativity into a shifting, swirling whole. Some piano softens 'Monolight' while Froese's psychedelic guitar provides adds a welcome charge to 'Coldwater canyon'. Perhaps falling slightly short of greatness, this excellent recording?made during the US tour of 1977?nevertheless offers a fine introduction to the Virgin era of a seminal electronic outfit.

Whenever I see this first Ashra album (or final Ash Ra Temple album, if you prefer) listed in New Age discographies, I get a bit irritated. Perhaps because I've been following Manual Göttsching's musical career since the mid-70s, I saw him as progressive/electronic or even Krautrock psychedelia. The New Age label?so eighties, I sniffed?seemed somehow demeaning in its implication of featureless massage muzak. Then, years later, I realised there was a defensible reason for this appropriation of Ashra's delicate electronica: the title of the record. And also, the music. It's drifty and more gently rhythmic than most of Göttsching's work; kind of new age-ey in fact. Ah well.