RIO Drop-In Centre

I agree with Eugene on this. I also think oif them as a band that plays eclectic types of music, which metal is only one of them. They experiment with seceral sounds and types of music and cannot be limited to one form. Thereore, I think Avant is the most suitable label.
The problem now, is to take them away from the Prog-Metal Team.

Just to mention - I listened to Secret Chiefs 3 "Book of Horizons" and quite liked it. IMO it is original, extremely diverse and various avant-garde album. Then I suddenly noticed it is listed here under Progressive metal label. This is completely wrong. I mean couple of short periods of idiotic "unhuman" vocals and several metal chords do not make album "metal", it's gotta be full of idiotic vocals and noisy chrods to be metal. On the same merits one could brand Discus as "pop" and exclude it from PA on this basis.

Black Velvet wrote: I have had rather a long look over that list in rate your music and things like this are just another remunder there are so many more new bands I know nothing about. I will writed down a little list of the band just in the top 100 that have caught me by surprise. I really start to get a big shaky the further the list goes on.

Here's a bit of what I know about a few of these...

- Larval

Fusionish band sometimes associated with the downtown NYC jazz scene. A couple albums on Cuneiform I think; I have Obedience which is pretty good, but inessential.

- La Societe Des Timides a La Parade Des Oiseaux

Otherwise known as "La STPO," has been getting good reviews from a variety of places recently (I guess there was a recent reissue?) but I haven't heard them yet. Definitely on my list.

- Jose Luis Fernandez Ledesma Q & Margarita Botello

Fernandez Ledesma is a brilliant Mexican symphonic prog talent, one of the few modern symph composers that still interests me. Sol Central is his collaboration with his wife Botello, and it's more on the avant-rock end of things. It's also absolutely brilliant and my favorite album of his. Just gorgeous stuff, a must for anyone who wishes avant-prog was just a bit less "ugly."

- Il Berlione

Japanese avantish/fusionish group, more complex and less aggressive than Happy Family, and less complex and more aggressive than Tipographica. Their first, self-titled, album is great; the second one drifts uncomfortable close to crappy lite-fusion for my tastes (they could use a better saxophonist for sure).

- Ensemble Nimbus

Samla-esque all-instrumental group, a little less wacky than Samla but with the same jaunty kind of feel. My favorite album is their first (they have three), but unfortunately that one's on APM and thus long out of print.

- Culto Sin Nombre

Mexican chamber-rockish group, I believe has some relation to Decibel but I forget the nature of it exactly.

- Nazca

Probably the best-known Mexican chamber-rock group, ahead of Decibel and Culto Sin Nombre. Two studio albums and a live album that are all sort of like a poor man's Univers Zero. Nothing as good or compelling as that band, but if you like UZ you'll probably enjoy these guys.

- News from Babel

Post-Art Bears group with Dagmar, Chris Cutler and Lindsay Cooper. Also Zeena Parkins I think! These guys have been on my want list for the longest time, need to hear their stuff.

- Pak

New York (I think) "brutal prog" group. Think Hella, Lightning Bolt, etc...

- Pochakaite Malko

Not really an avant-rock group, more of a symphonic band with some zeuhl traces. Seriously bombastic in the style of ELP. Not really my kind of thing. Two albums, I've only heard the first.

- Volapük

Very complex, chamberish group with some albums on Cuneiform. If you like Tipographica or Blast, you'll like these guys (they're maybe a step down from those groups in terms of pure compositional knottiness). I only have Polyglot but it's very, very good.

- Yang

Frederic l'Epee's (guitarist for Shylock and Philharmonie) newest group. Haven't heard, but is reportedly heavier and more clearly rock-oriented than Philharmonie.

Hope some of that helps! Of all these, Jose Luis Fernandez Ledesma's Sol Central would get my highest recommendation.

I haven't look at that list yet, but I shall do.  Thanks for the information.

Assaf is moving, but he'll be back!  I'll let him explain things.

Chris (Syzygy) has posted his review of This Heat - Deceit.
It can be read here:
http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=83580

avestin wrote: I saw a reference to a Japanese Zeuhl band which isn't listed in PA called AMYGDALA. Has anyone here heard their music?I know of their s/t album which was released through SOLEIL ZEUHL.

I think I responded to this the last time - I have their album and am pretty underwhelmed by it. Abrasive keyboard sounds, programmed drums, and underwhelming compositions. I'd say avoid it.

eugene wrote: I am listening at the moment to quite an amazing music. As this is first listen, I am not ready to discuss it in details at the moment, but as long as this is "drop-in centre", I thought I rather metion the band now. Indonesian (repeat Indonesian) RIO/avant band called Discus. I just bought their first album called "1st" and it's playing right now. Anyone who is familiar with this band and this particular album is welcome with his/her comments about them.

Ha, another band I don't really like all that much. I have both their albums and while they are definitely unique, they are just so stylistically aimless that they come off sounding like a cheap gimmick band. Some of the longer pieces have some cool ideas and I really want them to do the whole gamelan-symphonic prog thing well, but there's too much crap in there. And the pseudo-death metal vox on Tot Licht ("better watch out 'cause I'm gonna kick your ass dude!") are just embarrassing.
    

Edited by progreviews - July 12 2006 at 14:11

No I am afraid not. Are you at all farmilar with this band? Heard any of their CD's?

I was having a look around and found some interesting links though, so I though they might be helpful.

www.progressor.net/review/taylors_universe_overall.html

www.cdbaby.com/cd/robintaylor5

www.progressor.net/robin-taylor/index.htm

I'm not sure if anybody is going to get an interest out of this but I thought I would show everybody an album I have been listening to over the last week. This might interest people into experimental music, so I thought this would be the perfect place for this.

U.S Steel Cello Ensemble



This is a recording of a concert by Robert Rutman and his steel cello's recorded sometime in the late 70's at a New York Art Gallery. If you are unfamiliar with the Steel Cello Ensemble, it's basically a few people playing large sheets of metal which produce totaly amazing, spooky, droning outer-space sounds. Very much in the same league as Bertoia's sound sculptures.

And here are some pictures of the "cello's" themselves.

eugene wrote: I am listening at the moment to quite an amazing music. As this is first listen, I am not ready to discuss it in details at the moment, but as long as this is "drop-in centre", I thought I rather metion the band now. Indonesian (repeat Indonesian) RIO/avant band called Discus. I just bought their first album called "1st" and it's playing right now. Anyone who is familiar with this band and this particular album is welcome with his/her comments about them.

I have their album Tot Licht. I heard them likened to the Indonesian Mr Bungle. Not an exact comparison but not far fetched as well. They are less experimental than Bungle but they are as enetertaining. But I find that after several listens it loses its magic a bit and becomes a bit dull. Worthwhile listening to, however.