I didn't plan on reviewing this on Halloween night, but how appropriate of me. This Italian band has expressed their love for the early BLACK SABBATH albums, GOBLIN, POPOL VUH, 70's movie soundtracks, RPI and more. If you heard their 2003 debut you would have to acknowledge that this all makes complete sense. I reviewed that one almost 14 years ago to the day and gave it 4.5 stars. My appreciation for that one has grown even more to the point I added it to my "best of" RPI list. An album based on fear that is dark and fascinating to me. And strangely uplifting as well.

Well, it would be ten years before we would get a followup to that one and this is it. And I was pretty disappointed with this one. I expect some changes after ten years but this one can't stand next to the debut in any way. Based on an E.A. Poe short story "The Mask Of Red Death" I do find the story really interesting. Mainly because of the Covid thing we all went through. The idea here is that this plague sweeps through the land and this rich man invites all his friends to party at his house while all around they die. Suddenly the plague enters the party in the form of a large gruesome presence. They all died.

There's a lot of narration on here telling the story of course. That's the focus like most concept albums. They did drop to a three piece here with the bass player leaving and not replaced. They have released two more albums since this one, bringing them up to four studio albums. They released one in 2016 and another in 2019 that I have not heard. Perhaps the biggest surprise with this recording is that it's under 25 minutes, making it an EP no? Six tracks and three consist of spoken words. We also get the sounds of the country side at times with the wind, mooing cows and wind chimes.

I am in the minority here with the three stars but that's what it's worth in my musical world. Please check out their incredible debut, where their youthful enthusiasm and passion for the music they love comes out in spades.

One of only a few live releases from the Zappa archives to feature keyboardist and vocalist Lady Bianca, who was in his touring band briefly but ended up parting ways after she'd frustrated Zappa by talking back to an audience member who'd been yelling sleazy nonsense at her, and Zappa frustrated her by suggesting she show a little more skin onstage. Apparently the actual parting was amicable, but it's pretty evident from the story that Bianca might not have been the best fit for the lewd and occasionally kind of sexist Zappa's lyrical direction was going at the time, and Zappa was perhaps being a bit too blase about the frat boy-ish audience that material had been attracting.

Still, this particular gig is pretty solid, not least for how it showcases a sort of middle ground between the muscular rock of Zoot Allures and the approach of Zappa In New York. After Zappa's touring lineups went through a patch from 1975-1976 where they were very slimmed down, this finds Zappa expanding his live sound again, and whilst the Lady Bianca experiment did not work in the long run her Gospel-inflected vocals add new dimensions to the music this time around.

"Absolute Elsewhere" is the third full-length studio album by US, Colorado based death metal act Blood Incantation. The album was released through Century Media Records in October 2024. It´s the successor to "Hidden History of the Human Race" from 2021, although the two full-length studio albums are bridged by the 2022 "Timewave Zero" EP. Three of the four members of the band have also been busy recording the second Spectral Voice album titled "Sparagmos", which was released in February 2024. Blood Incantation and Spectral Voice share all members except for the drummers of the two bands, who exclusively play in one of the groups.

While Blood Incantation have been brewing music since 2011 and have been relatively active since their formation, it wasn´t until the release of "Hidden History of the Human Race" that they had their underground breakthrough. Almost universally lauded for it´s intricate, progressive, and abstract death metal sound, "Hidden History of the Human Race" certainly made sure that Blood Incantation were placed firmly on the death metal map. It´s an interesting death metal release, because for all its sophistication, technical playing, and complex song structures, it´s still inherently an old school death metal release, featuring a gloomy and filthy brutality.

While a large part of the playing time of "Hidden History of the Human Race" was made up of the 18:05 minutes long "Awakening from the Dream of Existence to the Multidimensional Nature of Our Reality (Mirror of the Soul)", writing such a massive progressive death metal track obviously haven´t satisfied Blood Incantation´s cravings for abstract and complex death metal constructions, as "Absolute Elsewhere" contains only two 20 minutes plus tracks titled "The Stargate" (20:20 minutes long) and "The Message" (23:23 minutes long). Both tracks are subdivided into three shorter tracks, but you still get the experience of listening to two long tracks, as the sub-tracks seque into each other.

Stylistically Blood Incantation take their music to a new level. While still featuring loads of old school technical death metal parts, the album features just as many 70s influenced tripped-out space rock parts (Artists like Tangerine Dream, Eloy, and Pink Floyd haven´t lived in vain), which have nothing to do with death metal. So how does two such different music styles co-exist? It should be impossible, but it actually works incredibly well. Blood Incantation ensure that there is a good balance between death metal brutality, technical playing, progressive song structures, and the 70s progressive/space rock influences. "Absolute Elsewhere" is epic, melodic, and atmospheric, but also brutal, dissonant, and raw. Gloomy atmospheres are followed by epic melodic moments, and laid-back psychedelic journeys into space.

The growling vocals are cavernous, but higher in the mix than on the previous releases from Blood Incantation, which is a plus in my book. "The Message [Tablet II]" features a strongly Pink Floyed influenced section with clean singing in the Gilmour vein, and although they are relatively sparse and subtle, they provide a great contrast to the brutal growling vocals, which dominate "Absolute Elsewhere". The instrumental part of the album is well performed too, and the band are arguably a talented unit. It´s the multifaceted songwriting and unconventional progressive ideas which make "Absolute Elsewhere" such an interesting release though. These days you kind of expect that bands can handle their instruments, but it´s never a given that they can write intriguing music. Blood Incantation master both disciplines with ease. Featuring an organic, powerful, and detailed sound production "Absolute Elsewhere" is a high level release on all parameters and a 4.5 star (900%) rating is fully deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

Les genois de MELTING CLOCK nous reviennent cinq ans après le super album "Destinazioni" qui avait fait l'objet d'une chronique sur profilprog.com, déjà sous ma modeste plume. Voici donc en cette fin d'été 2024 son successeur "Altrove" avec le même personnel, la fratrie AMADEI en tête de pont.

La plage inaugurale "Vernice" (9/10) est une déambulation dans les rues de GENES, particulièrement la vieille ville, un véritable labyrinthe, vu par des gens qui n'y résident pas donc avec un regard biaisé sur la réalité quotidienne, le tout remarquablement chanté par Emanuela VEDANA et propulsé par une six cordes enchanteresse et une paire rythmique bien en place et efficace.

"Altrove" (9/10) la pièce titre en deux parties s'avère ni plus ni moins comme une échappatoire au stress et aux soucis de la vie quotidienne, un refuge sur une ile lointaine sans contrainte de temps, les vacances perpétuelles (un petit côté Patrick MCGOOHAN, cinquante ans après) qui comme chacun sait ne dévoilera jamais son numéro un. Comme le suggère Sandro AMADEI, c'est l'horloge à remonter le temps vers l'enfance, l'innocence que tout le monde a connu à un moment ou un autre. "Il Mondo al suo Risveglio" (7/10) le titre qui me plait la moins sur l'album est une réflexion sur la perception de la réalité et la façon dont elle change en permanence à mesure que la conscience évolue (merci à Alessandro BOSCA le bassiste). C'est aussi le lien entre l'enfance, l'adolescence et l'âge adulte de tout un chacun ("plait le moins" ne veut aucunement dire qu'elle est mauvaise loin de là).

A contrario la plage suivante "Citta Spenta" (9/10) est l'une des plus passionnantes du disque, référence à la perte soudaine d'un proche, mêlant rêve et réalité, le premier surpassant la seconde en tous points et à tout instant.."Tramonti di Cenere" nous alerte si besoin est sur le changement climatique en cours sur notre chère planète, vaste chantier pour nos gouvernants (dont certains se fichent éperdument....), un mid tempo énergique, les cavalcades guitaristiques donnent le poids nécessaire à l'urgence de la situation comme le chant puissant d'Emanuela VEDANA (9/10).

La pièce conclusive "Endurance" (9/10) rend hommage à l'un des plus grands hommes du vingtième siècle, Sir Ernest SHACKLETON et son navire pris par les glaces sur la banquise en tentant d'atteindre le POLE SUD, avant de prendre le chemin du retour et d'arriver sains et saufs en GEORGIE DU SUD (on entend le souffle du vent et les pas des hommes dans la glace en introduction) comme EGDON HEATH et son "Killing Silence" en 1991 (pour ne pas nous rajeunir).Un titre musclé, avec là encore des six cordes qui pulsent fort et des vocaux au diapason, chant féminin et masculin ( Sandro AMADEI) pour la seule fois sur l'album mais remarquable dans son agencement et sa conception.

Très belle réussite que cet "Altrove" qui place derechef MELTING CLOCK après deux réalisations parmi les formations transalpines de pointe en matière de musique progressive.

The three written reviews before mine need to be commended. In fact it's a little embarrassing giving my brief opinion after reading those. I learned some stuff from those reviews, and it helps having some Italian speakers on here. For example the cover art is meaningful for those in the know. A historical site with fires rising on the cover art reflect the wild fires that went through that area the year before this album was released. And "fire" is a theme here. The album's title means "fire under the ashes". And they use the word "fire" in different ways with each track pretty much.

This is the album to get by this band. I just realized a few days ago that they have released an album in 2023 that I haven't heard, but of the three I own this is easily the best. There's some lineup changes on this one with two of the three guitarists leaving. They replaced one and brought in a second keyboardist giving some much needed balance to their sound. The variety of keyboards helps a lot in my opinion. Also we have three veteran guests helping out, each on one track only. NUOVA IDEA's drummer and singer/keyboardist both help on track six with those skills, and we get the singer from IL ROVESCIO DELLA MEDAGLIA on track three.

I feel like they improved on just about everything here. The inconsistency is pretty much gone, and really it's only that sixth track that I still can't get into. I spent a week with this over five years ago, and have been spinning this over the last few days to reacquaint, and that song is just different from the rest, but not a good different. My top three are tracks 2 to 4 but the self titled opener is also quite good meaning this album starts off amazingly well.

This 2017 release at under 50 minutes is a feel good album, with emotion, and a really good Italian singer to boot. Highly recommended!

Hackett's Out

Some people may disagree, but as a Genesis fan since Trespass, I believe the band's live sound improved after Peter Gabriel left. Yes, some fans might think this opinion is sacrilegious, but Gabriel's departure may have inspired the band to grow and ultimately deliver a richer musical experience. This growth was clear?even during a brief reunion with Gabriel in the studio during the A Trick of the Tail sessions. After that session, Gabriel himself noticed the improvement in their sound, just nine months after he had left.

In July 1977, the Genesis lineup?including lead singer and drummer Phil Collins, keyboardist Tony Banks, bassist Mike Rutherford, guitarist Steve Hackett, and touring drummer Chester Thompson?wrapped up a seven-month tour supporting Wind & Wuthering (1976). After the tour, the band began compiling a live album, selecting recordings from their 1976 and 1977 shows for their first official live release since Genesis Live (1973).

Seconds Out mainly features recordings from the band's four-night run at the Palais des Sports in Paris, from June 11?14, 1977. Collins remarked that the quality of these recordings was better than those from the year before, especially in his vocals and Banks's keyboard work. The extra time in Paris allowed the band to perfect their performances and produce high-quality recordings. One track, "The Cinema Show," was recorded at the Apollo in Glasgow on July 9, 1976, during the A Trick of the Tail tour, which featured Bill Bruford on drums. Other recordings from 1976, including "Firth of Fifth," "Los Endos," "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)," and "White Mountain," were mixed but later discarded. The band also recorded "Inside and Out" from the Spot the Pigeon EP, but they couldn't match the quality of the studio version. Notably, "I Know What I Like" includes a brief piece of the 1953 song "I Love Paris."

Seconds Out was announced to the press on October 8, 1977, but this news came with the surprise of Hackett's departure from Genesis. He had shared his decision with the band two months earlier while the album's tracks were being selected and mixed. Collins remembered seeing Hackett on the street and offering him a ride to the studio, which Hackett turned down. Collins only learned of Hackett's decision later from Banks and Rutherford. Hackett later reflected that if he had accepted that ride, Collins might have been the one person to make him reconsider.

Seconds Out shows us how Genesis improved their live sound and became one of the best progressive rock bands of the '70s. With Hackett's departure, Genesis was now preparing to face the future as a trio.

Homunculus Res is a band with a name as hard to spell as any RPI band, even though the hard part isn't another language, and also these Italians aren't playing RPI. Rather, the Res here are chasing the Canterbury sound, that happy jazzy little circle of prog where everything is stuffed full of fuzzy organs and other double-entendres. Despite the language barrier, some (I can't say all, since I don't know what I may be missing) of the album's humor comes across. Look at the first song being called "Il Gran Finale," I don't need to speak Italian to guess what that means. Good song too, they all are.

Quintessenza la la la is probably my favorite song on the album. I listen to this one the most, I love the buildup that continues all the way to the end. I'm also an admitted sucker for "la la la" type stuff, cheesy I know, but this is a prog site so cheesiness shouldn't be frowned upon anyway. The song plays with the la-las quite a bit too, another reviewer said it was poking fun at the concept of music itself in a way. The next song, Il Bello e il Cattivo Tempo ("Good an bad weather") also starts with some repeated harmonizations, not really "la" but in the same vein. This song is a lot poppier than the previous, though still pleasant.

Then comes Viaggio Astrale di una Polpetta, which translates apparently to "Astral Travel of a Meatball." Fun sentiment, the song is certainly bouncy enough to do such a whimsical concept justice. There's some high-pitched vocals in the second half, and the whole song has some fun spacey synths. Then there's Fine del Mondo, which takes a tonal turn in the title ("End of the World"), if not the music itself, which is happy as ever. Perhaps the dour guitar tone is the differentiator. Pentagono, about a (the?) Pentagon, is another jaunty joint, also a tad on the darker side like the previous song.

Parole e Numeri ("Words and Numbers") is a slower one, but still very nice. Qinque Sensi, which I probably don't need to translate, speeds back up. The album has a good balance between more laid back songs and ones that put a little bit more in your face. Fiume Dell'oblio ("River of Oblivion") is a bouncy tune, with some diversions into a more avant territory with discordant warbling underneath downbeat la-las. Then it ends with a trickle and a whistle; another reviewer says the whistler is showering, but I think it may be something else. A strong wee in the garden, perhaps.

Doppi Sensi ("Double Meaning") is the final and longest song. The first half is very jazzy and typical canterbury fun, I don't know the lyrics but I can hear them singing "blah blah" at many points. The second half of the song is a slower ambient piece with some chattering children echoing beneath the synths. A different side of the classic Canterbury scene is explored here, the more spacey Gong side.

This was my favorite album of 2023 on PA's album ranking thread, and I think it still is. It hits all my favorite things, the humor, fun instrumentation, lush and varied synths, and a whole heap of whimsy. I've listened to all of Homunculus Res' albums after this one, and I still think this is my fave of the five.

— First review of this album —

"Cupid and Death" was the second TONY WAKEFORD solo album from the 1990s that was forged with a SOL INVICTUS nameplate in the 2010s. Where with "La Croix", the docking to the mother ship was achieved through an interminable version of the title track, here it's through bonus live versions of tunes long established in the SI universe. More palatable but also more conventional.

After a decent opening title track in line with the band's contemporaneous work, the next 4 numbers are all ambient instrumentals to one degree or another, like part 2 of Wakeford's exploration in this area, and perhaps justification for a side solo venture split off from what is already essentially a Wakeford and friends project anyway. "Jardin de Luxembourg" is the least gaseous of the group, and quite lovely, but "La Nuit est Arrivee" recalls some of MARK ISHAM's work in the prog arena, the trumpet of Eric Roger classily holding court, and in the similar mood of "Day of the Angel" is inserted flute and droning keys.

"A Rose in Hell" is most in the style of Wakeford's best folk influenced ventures of that time, an acoustic ballad with a sentimental core that is written for his voice. "Heaven and Hell" is a piano ballad of some merit and the original album closes with the second title track as is Wakeford's wont, this one tries to be hypnotic but just ends up tiresome, in this case the same thing.

As with "La Croix", "Cupid and Death" is a tad askew, but each of its awkwardly thrown together parts retains enough interest to stand on its own, though you may not fall in love with the result.

Backed by a short-lived touring lineup (more or less the most trimmed-down his backing bands would ever get), Frank Zappa visited Australia in early 1976 to perform; some 26 years later, the Zappa Family Trust launched the "Vaulternative" line of releases of live shows with this. It's not exactly from one of the more celebrated or well-documented period of Zappa's work, but that's perhaps part of the point - illuminating that odd little gap between Bongo Fury and Zoot Allures.

It's not the most pristine of live releases, but it's perfectly serviceable and along with the Zagreb/Ljubljana live set from late 1975 constitutes some of the only material we've got from this particular era, and as with that set illustrates how Zappa tuned up his sound into a tighter, more muscular, more rock-oriented approach suited to this smaller band and forming the basis of the sound of Zoot Allures (even though only Bozzio of this lineup would remain standing by the time the sessiosn for that album were done).

Review Nº 832

Starcastle is an American symphonic progressive rock band from Champaign, Illinois, which was formed in 1972. It was disbanded in 1987, reformed between 1997 and 2007 and that was re-reformed again since 2018. However, Starcastle was born in 1969 with the name of St. James. Strongly influenced by the British progressive rock movement of the time, the band began writing material that would eventually appear on their first album. They also began a rigorous schedule of support club shows throughout the Midwest, refining their stage show and working on some original cover material. Despite the relative success, and the release of a single they needed something else. So, was Starcastle born with firm, rare musicality, glorious vocal harmonies, and a fast fingered bassist named Gary Strater. Now, they were on their way.

Thus began the band, with a self titled debut studio album that was released in the early of 1976. The response to Starcastle's music was overwhelming and despite some accusations, the band was accused of being a clone of Yes, the album received heavy airplay on FM throughout the USA and Canada. The group began an even more intensive concert schedule, including some of the biggest shows of their career. Since they were a very successful band in the beginning of their musical career, they were opening acts for bands such as Jethro Tull, Gentle Giant, Kansas, Boston, Rush, Journey, and some many others. The first album sold well, and Epic Records sent the band to Le Studio in Morin-Heights, Quebec, with producer Roy Thomas Baker. But this is another story. This review is about their debut album.

So, "Starcastle" is the eponymous debut studio album of Starcastle. The line up on the album is Terry Luttrell (lead vocals), Matthew Stewart (backing vocals and electric guitar), Stephen Hagler (backing vocals and electric guitar), Herb Schildt (piano, synthesizer and organ), Gary Strater (backing vocals, bass guitar and Moog Taurus) and Stephen Tassler (backing vocals, drums and percussion).

"Starcastle" has seven tracks. The first track "Lady Of The Lake" is the epic track on the album. The epic contains many various sections, many abrupt tempo shifts and many sizzling solos. The band extends the theme with their 10 minutes. The instrumental dynamics and the created atmosphere are fantastic. The second track "Elliptical Seasons" comes with the guitar in front and an unbeatable dual, bass and keyboard. Once again the vocals in choir deserve great attention. Undoubtedly, they took the best of the English progressive rock and put a little American accent. And in this case it's very welcome. The third track "Forces" comes with an altered and broken rhythm and the close vocalization accompanies everything else. And this is a good thing. Another good thing is that sound we usually hear coming from the guitar like it's a wha wha pedal, but it's really just the volume of the guitar being shifted, giving it that effect. This is a very interesting track too, really. The fourth track "Stargate" is a track that after a few seconds of silence it begins its journey with the synthesizer prophesying what will come. This track has the already famous "strategic stops" in the music world. Here we have a calm mood. This isn't an easy thing to achieve in music without having something boring. The fifth track "Sunfield" is a track with the vocals in an extreme peace of mind. They get the theme right and Gary's bass once again is excellent. It has a very good integration between guitars and keyboard from the fourth minute. The theme is quite surprising from a melodic point of view. However, this is another great track on the album. The sixth track "To The Fire Wind" is a track started by the organ. Evoked by the band, the melody cuts the silence and style, resonating gloriously. The organ rules the sound, with the proper presence of the guitar and the magnificent vocals. The great guitar work at the end shows that the two guitars aren't just there for the sake of embellishment. The seventh track "Nova" is another short instrumental piece that clearly displays the chops of each musician in the band's line up. It's a small ending without further ado and winding. But I think that it could well have ended with a more striking theme.

Conclusion: Starcastle is probably the most extreme Yes' clone band I've ever heard, besides Druid. The band did absolutely everything to sound exactly like Yes, and above all, they succeeded extremely well. Starcastle cloned Yes so perfectly that it's in fact a pure delight to listen to them. Of course I'm talking about the two first studio albums of them. The performance is simply awesome. You can really hear that these are musicians of a high class. The same goes for the songwriting. The keyboard arrangements are just so tasteful and perfect that you could cry. This is the way that symphonic progressive rock would mean to be in the difficult times of the end of the 70's. You can probably say that this isn't genius and that Starcastle did nothing else than writing songs which they played with another band's sound. I even can agree. But they did it so well that I just can't find anything negative to say about that. This is cloning as art, and this album is a treasure for any Yes' fan. So, "Starcastle" is one of the better albums that Yes never made, indeed.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)