1000 Prog Albums Over 46 Years: 1966-2011

 

689

Signify
Porcupine Tree

A review by Bonnek:

Porcupine Tree's Signify is a wonderful album that realizes the full potential of Wilson's psychedelic years. The excellent song writing and clever arrangements had always been there, but were never played by a real band. It always lacked a bit of bite and punch. Not so on this album which is both written and executed to perfection.

After a bit of ambient fun the albums kicks off with the kraut trip Signify. The track grew out of an improvisation around Hallogallo but only retains the bouncy rhythm of it. The basic riff is transformed into a Rush meets Hawkwind trip. Great space rock.

Next is Sleep of No Dreaming. Like much of the music here, it's a dark and sensitive track with a gorgeous chorus that has a very eastern flavour to it, similar to Dislocated Day.

Even though the two previous tracks are excellent, they are surpassed by the stellar Waiting phase 1 and 2. The way the guitar solo bursts out on top of the brooding music in phase 2 is one of those rare moments in rock that make me shiver from delight. There is no other album from Porcupine Tree that connects with me in such an emotive way.

Right, we're only in for a bit more than 20 minutes and this album deserves five stars already. And the party isn't over yet. Tracks like Sever and Every Home is Wired are a first forebode of things to come on the ensuing album Stupid Dream, with their acoustic guitar driven songwriters approach they would have fit perfectly on SD or LS.

They are balanced against instrumental tracks like Idiot Prayer and Intermediate Jesus. Especially this last one, which also features in its full 15 minute glory on Metanoia, is the second highpoint of the album. This song is built around a very gentle bass line and amazing percussion from Maitland. Wilson spins his most out-there solo from his entire career around it. Simply superb.

Light Mass Prayers is a minimalist ambient piece that was written, strangely enough, by the drummer. It's well placed on the album to let us catch a little breath after the cosmic rock that came before and the darkest matter it introduces.

Porcupine Tree is often criticized for being too much in debt of Pink Floyd. That is certainly true for the previous album Sky Moves Sideways, but I fail to see why on this album. Apart from a few touches of slide guitar that indeed come straight out of the Dark Side of the Moon this is a very personal blend of many styles, ranging from ambient to pop, kraut, prog and space-rock.

 

 

690

Läther
Frank Zappa

A review by UMUR:

Läther is a 3 CD album set released in 1996 by American experimental rock artist Frank Zappa. The album was originally intended to be released as a 4 LP box-set in 1977, but Zappa´s record company at the time Warner Bros. Records refused to release Läther, supposedly because they had doubts about the commercial potential of the project. Frank Zappa asked to be released from his contract to the record company in order to release the box-set as he intended it to sound, but unfortunately for him he had already delivered the box-set to Warner Bros. Records and as his contract with the record company was still four albums short of fulfilment he was forced to edit the Läther box-set into four individual albums. So most of the material on Studio Tan (1978), Sleep Dirt (1979), Orchestral Favorites (1979) and Zappa in New York (1978) originally comes from Läther. It should be noted here that this is Gail Zappa´s version of the story and others claim that the individual albums were made as individual albums and then later put together by Zappa to form Läther.

 

There are also songs on Läther that would appear in other versions on Sheik Yerbouti (1979), Joe's Garage (1979) and Tinsel Town Rebellion (1981). Frank Zappa had a major dispute with Warner Bros. Records over this matter and that´s why the material on the four albums only appeared in 1978 and 1979 even though Zappa had delivered Läther to the record company in late 1976. He was so frustrated with the situation that he actually played the whole Läther box-set on Pasadena's KROQ radio station and instructing listeners to record it in December 1977. Therefore bootlegs of the box-set have been circulating and was, until the release of the Rykodisc 3 CD box-set, the only way you had a chance to hear Läther.

While most of the material was released on the four above mentioned albums, most of the Läther versions of the songs differ a bit from the versions on the individual albums and, therefore, Läther is still a worthwhile purchase for those who already have the individual albums. Many of the songs are also linked with snippets of mad talking and strange sound experiments in the same style as on Lumpy Gravy (1968) and, as the songs appear in a different order and in another context than on the individual albums, this gives the listener a very different listening experience. The songs are a mix of live and studio recordings as usual.

Disc 1:

Disc 1 starts with Re-gyptian strut which is a bombastic instrumental song and a great way to start the album. After this song we´re treated with both avant garde classical music in Naval Aviation In Art?, silly (sophisticated as always of course) pop songs like A Little Green Rosetta and For the Young Sophisticate, as well as some great guitar soloing (on top of what sounds like the Whole Lotta Love riff by Led Zeppelin) by Zappa in Duck Duck Goose (which also contains a sound experiment section and an avant garde classical part), and a nice little instrumental in Down in the Dew. The hilarious and very sexually oriented songs Tryin' To Grow A Chin and Broken Hearts Are For a****les are up next, both telling stories of the various grief and challenges of social interactions between humans. Both songs would appear in other versions on Sheik Yerbouti. 

The Legend Of The Illinois Enema Bandit which would later appear on Zappa in New York shortened to The Illinois Enema Bandit is next. The great Ray White shines here with his elastic vocal performance and that guitar solo by Zappa is excellent stuff. This version is different to the version that would appear on Zappa in New York but only slightly. The song has some of the most controversial and often criticized lyrics Zappa ever wrote. The three next songs Lemme Take You To The Beach, Revised Music For Guitar & Low Budget Orchestra and RDNZL made outside 2 of the original LP releases of Studio Tan (1978) and appear here in the same order as on the LP. The CD re-release of Studio Tan has another song order. Lemme Take You To The Beach is just a great fun surf-rock song. Fast paced and with some hilarious high pitched vocals courtesy of Davey Moire. Eddie Jobson (Curved Air, Roxy Music, UK, Jethro Tull) also appear on this song with his futuristic keyboards approach. Revised Music For Guitar & Low Budget Orchestra was never my favourite song from Zappa. I never really felt that the mix of classical music and rock worked that well in this song. It´s not bad though. The instrumental RDNZL is a great closer to disc 1 but this studio version is not up to par with earlier and later live versions of the song.

Disc 2:

Honey, Don't You Want A Man Like Me? starts disc 2, an absolutely hilarious song about social behaviour on a date. Lots of little quirky instrumental moments are in this song in addition to the funny lyrics. The Black Page #1 (this is the version Zappa refers to as the teen-age version on Zappa in New York) is next. This is a 2 minute studio version. It´s really nice finally to be able to hear this extremely challenging instrumental in a studio version. Up until the release of Läther, The Black Page had only appeared in live versions. Big Leg Emma is a short live R´n´B track which also appeared on Zappa in New York. Punky's Whips was censored by Warner Bros. Records and removed from Zappa in New York shortly after it´s original release. It has since been restored and appears on the CD version (as well as newer LP versions) of that album. Here on Läther it appears in a seemingly similar version as the one on the CD version of Zappa in New York. The sound is a bit different though. But don´t shoot me here I´m not sure. 

Flambé, which would be re-named Flambay on the Sleep Dirt, appears on Läther in a short 2 minute long version. The version on Sleep Dirt is almost 5 minues long. The Purple Lagoon starts with the Approximate instrumental track but most of the song consists of soloing by sax and guitar. It´s a rather avant garde/ jamming live song and has a total playing time of 16:20 minutes. It´s not my personal favourite but those who seek adventurous playing and sound should be able to find enjoyment here. The musicianship on this track is excellent. Pedro's Dowry also appears on the Orchestral Favourites album and is classical music piece. Läther which is called I Promise Not to Come in Your Mouth on Zappa in New York appears in the exact same version on both albums just with different titles. Great little instrumental track that one. Spider Of Destiny is an instrumental track which appears here in the same version as it appeared on the original LP version of Sleep Dirt (the CD version has added female vocals). Duke Of Orchestral Prunes ends disc 2. A great orchestral version of that song. To my ears this version sounds similar to the version that appears on Orchestral Favourites.

Disc 3:

Filthy Habits which shows Zappa´s skills with feed-back is one of my all-time favourite tracks from him. A dark and menacing instrumental track. Titties 'n Beer which is a hilarious song where Zappa and Terry Bozzio interact in a story about the devil, Titties, beer and pickles (you figure it out). Titties 'n Beer appears on Läther in the same short version as the version on the original LP version of Zappa in New York. The version on the CD version of Zappa in New York is almost 2 minutes longer. The Ocean Is The Ultimate Solution was originally released on Sleep Dirt in a 13:18 minute long version but appears here in a shorter edited 8:31 minute version. It´s a bit of a shame that this great instrumental is edited like that. I like the original version better. 

The Adventures Of Greggery Peccery is a fantastic 20:56 minute long track; a mix between rock and classical music with added cartoon like storytelling and singing. Not only is this great fun, it´s also a challenging listen and note the conceptual continuity in that song (Billy the Mountain). This is where the original version of Läther was supposed to end but the 3 CD Rykodisc version has 4 added bonus tracks; Regyptian Strut (1993), Leather Goods, Revenge Of The Knick-Knack People and Time Is Money. Regyptian Strut (1993) has re-recorded drums and a different mix. Leather Goods is one of Zappa´s improvised live solos. It ends with the guitar solo section from Duck Duck Goose. Revenge Of The Knick-Knack People is a short avant garde piece while Time Is Money appears to be in the same version as the one on the original LP release of Sleep Dirt.

Conclusion

Läther is an excellent collection of Frank Zappa´s mid- to late seventies output and it could be a great place to start for the curious new listener as almost every style that Zappa played are represented here. Some might find it a bit too diverse though. I think Läther holds great value for both fans and the more casual listener and fully deserves a 4 star rating. The quality of material, musicianship and production is top notch. Don´t despair if you already own the albums I mentioned in the beginning of the review. As I also pointed out, most of the songs appear here in slightly different versions than on the individual albums and that fact, in addition to the fact the versions of the songs from Sleep Dirt which appear on Läther does not include the added female vocals from the Rykodisc CD re-issue (the original LP release of that album did not include vocals), should make Läther a worthwhile purchase. Even though you own the individual albums, especially if you only own the CD versions of said albums, this is a must.

 

 

691

Painting on Glass 
The 3rd And The Mortal

A review by Mellotron Storm:

This Norwegian band are known for being the first to play that doomy, atmospheric style of music with a female vocalist. Bands like THE GATHERING, NIGHTWISH and many more have been inspired by their debut "Tears Laid In Earth". This is their second studio album and their first with Ann-Mari Edvardsen on vocals after Kari left to pursue a solo career. I must say that Experimental/Post Metal is one of my favourite genres. Not a lot in the way of metal here though as the band really lays down some atmospheric soundscapes that are so inspiring.

"Magma" features these industrial-like sounds as drums join in around a minute banging slowly. Vocals before 2 minutes join in. Trombone after 2 1/2 minutes. Cool song. "Commemoration" opens with gentle trombone and some noises. It kicks in heavily after a minute and vocal melodies join in. Amazing sound as mellotron also blows in. Drums become prominent 2 1/2 minutes in with the guitars playing over top. Vocals are back 4 minutes in. Incredible track!

"Crystal Orchids" is mellow with soprano vocals throughout. "Persistent And Fleeting" is another favourite of mine. It opens with female vocal expressions that sound other-worldly. The music kicks in after a minute and I'm really reminded of THE GATHERING. The guitar is so tasteful before 5 minutes as it goes on and on. "White Waters" is brighter sounding with heavy drums. "Aurora Borealis" is the shortest song at 1 1/2 minutes. It's basically a spacey soundscape. "Dreamscapes" has this killer intro then it settles right down with piano only. Reserved vocals come in. A heavier sound comes in a minute later with some nice guitar. Excellent track. "Aurora Australis" has this haunting atmosphere then we get some loud but slow drumming later.

"Azure" is such an impressive soundscape that is powerful and dark. That has to be mellotron. "Veiled Exposure" is slow moving with lots of bottom end and vocals. The guitar sounds great before 4 minutes. Just screaming. Waves of sound after 5 minutes. "Stairs" has this melody that slowly swirls in a powerful atmosphere. The music then stops late and you can hear someone walking up the stairs then opening a door.

"Eat The Distance" has some interesting sounds on it including Didgeridoo. Just listen. Vocal sounds join in around 2 1/2 minutes. "Vavonia Part II" kicks in with a full sound before a minute. The mood continues to change until acoustic guitar comes in after 3 minutes. Vocals 4 minutes in. Vocal melodies 6 minutes in. "Horizons" is a soothing song to end the album. Acoustic guitar and synths are joined by vocals after 2 1/2 minutes. Beautiful!

Easily 4 stars. Music to drift far away in.

 

692

Retropolis
The Flower Kings

A review by UMUR:

Retropolis is the second official studio album from Swedish progressive rock act The Flower Kings. If you count Roine Stolt´s Flower King album (which I do), Retropolis is the third album from the band. The music on all Flower King’s albums is of a very high quality but some of their albums can seem a bit unfocused which means that only a few truly stand out as being masterpieces (the rest are still excellent even with the obvious flaws that mar some of them). Retropolis is a masterpiece in my book and maybe the best album The Flower Kings have yet released.

The songs are generally pretty long (Though not as long as some of the songs on later albums) and complex in structure which is business as usual for The Flower Kings but the mood in most songs on the album is very dark and intense which is quite unusual for the band. There are songs here and there on some of their other albums that are dark too but The Flower Kings music is predominantly positive and light. I really like this dark side of the band and songs like the title track, Rhythm of the Sea and The Judas Kiss are some of the greatest Flower Kings songs ever. The usual Pink Floyd, Yes, Genesis, King Crimson and Frank Zappa influences are present as ever. The Zappa influence is particularly strong in some of the instrumental sections with Hasse Bruniusson´s (Samla Mammas Manna) various percussion skills on full display.

The musicianship is excellent. The rhythm section plays some incredible tight and interesting parts while Bodin and Stolt really shine in the melodic department. I´m especially impressed by Roine Stolt´s guitar solos on Retropolis. He has never sounded more intense. I really enjoy his singing as well. He often receives critique for his vocal style but his approach soothes my ears. Hasse Fröberg guests on a couple of tracks, most notably on one of the few lighter songs on the album, the 10:15 minute long There Is More To This World. I prefer Roine Stolt´s vocal style but Hasse´s more hard rock/ Jon Anderson style is a welcome variation.

The production is excellent. Very professional and well sounding. Polished as always. As I said in the beginning of my review I regard Retropolis to be a progressive rock masterpiece and I will rate it 5 stars. I often hear people complaining that The Flower Kings is a retro prog band with no original ideas which is not my view on the band. I actually find it a bit unfair to such a great band but people of course have a right to their opinion. If you´re new to The Flower Kings I would start here.

 

A review by Gatot:

". and I woke up in the city of Retropolis, a place where the future and the past is constantly morphing into historic hybrids."

I have owned the CD since 1999 when InsideOut released this album that originally was a 1996 release. This album blew me away at my first spin of the CD. This is a masterpiece work. I will express my view based on what I think in my head. This is my track by track review.

"Rhythm of Life" is nothing I can review as this is just a very short opening of human voice with no musical instrument involved, I guess. I just want to ignore it as it lacks its purpose to open the album. The album title song "Retropolis"s opening features symphonic style of guitar followed with a nice transition in the form of string orchestra. The music then turns into a solid passage with excellent bass guitar and stunning guitar solo. The organ fills in the music in the background during the guitar solo. The organ then takes the lead of solo. The music then turns into quieter passage in avant-garde style before it finally returns back to the original rhythm section. There is a significant jazz influence. The inclusion of Chinese music during the transition at the ending part is fantastic. This is a SUPERB tune of the band that has become my all-time favourite since I heard it for the first time. Great composition with a variety of moods.

"Rhythm Of The Sea" starts with an ambient sounds in the vein of avant-garde music. The acoustic guitar sound brings the vocal line enters in a mellow style followed with keyboard/ piano that sometimes reminds me of Tony Banks (Genesis) but packaged with a different style. The lead guitar enters nicely at the background of the music and singing piece. The music is a blend of jazz, blues and rock in relatively slow tempo. The soft piano work [5:09 onward] combined with a soft guitar work is really excellent!

The opening of "There Is More To This World" reminds me of the musical "nuance" of Genesis "Wind and Wuthering" album. (Don't get me wrong: I don't mean that there is any similarity with Genesis, melody-wise or composition-wise). But when the voice enters the music, it's definitely the sound of The Flower Kings music. It provides the right balance of guitar and keyboard solos with a great rhythm section of bass guitar and drums (I like the drumming style really!). The ending part of this track is mellow with acoustic guitar and vocal. It turns to full music again but still in slow tempo style.

"Romancing The City" is a very nice and short instrumental outfit heavily influenced by classical music. It's basically a piano solo to serve as a transition piece.

"The Melting Pot" opens nicely with a piano solo followed with a continuous stream of full music led by the soprano to play the tune's melody. Yes, you can guess that it's a jazz influenced track. Guitar solo fills the transition piece with a soft sound at the back. I really enjoy this track especially on the rhythm section that accompanies soprano sole. The keyboard solo continues wonderfully and it is then followed with a stunning guitar solo. What a great composition! There are some chanting in some segments of the tune with male voice. The church organ voice using Hammond C3 has enriched the tune so much. The soprano then brings the music to the end. Superb!

"Silent Sorrow" kicks off in a medium tempo with keyboard and bass line followed with uplifting voice line. Keyboard takes the lead during the opening part of the tune. The duet voice line in the refrain "I'll be down in a silent sorrow" is excellent especially as it is then followed with a single voice sung differently. The guitar solo starts to roll [2:42] in a bluesy solo continued with voice line. The guitar plays it’s important role in a rocking solo [3:08 onwards] stunningly! It is augmented by a very dynamic and powerful drumming. Oh man, what a great rocking part here! The keyboard continues the solo [4:06] wonderfully with various styles. I love this part, really! The music brings us back to the original rhythm with voice line.

Another favourite of mine "The Judas Kiss" starts with a distanced bell sound and suddenly followed with a dazzling Hammond C3 sound that brings the guitar, bass and drums into the music stream. When the voice line enters with "Mother, what's it all about.." with a very unique Stolt singing style, it amazes me how powerful this opening voice line is. Especially when I observe the bass line that accompanies it. Oh man, this is a very satisfying musical piece! The lead guitar work that creates the sound at the back is also an excellent outfit. The dogs barking soundscape enriches the nuance of this track. Keyboard plays at the back and provides a symphonic nuance for the tune. At [3:17] the music starts bringing us to the centre of musical orgasm with a very nice instrumental, exploring the very soft sound of piano and guitar. At [5:02] the guitar solo demonstrates its rocking style combined with stunning keyboard sounds and effects. Stolt brings his guitar solo in its peak augmented with symphonic keyboard of Bodin. It's so colossal, I don't believe any progger cannot enjoy this adrenaline exploding part! Four thumbs up!

"Retropolis By Night" is a spacey musical exploration with chanting and African music background mixed thinly at the back. As an individual track, there is nothing special with this track but it serves really well to support the whole music of the album.

"Flora Majora" is an instrumental piece exploring keyboard/ organ at the beginning, backed up with powerful drumming. The guitar solo continues the melody and it is later combined with keyboard. It is performed in medium tempo. The music turns fully symphonic in the middle of the track. I enjoy the combination of guitar and keyboard work. The rhythm section with bass guitar and drums are also excellent. This is not a track that will make my adrenaline heat up, but it's still an excellent track!

"The Road Back Home" starts off with an acoustic guitar rhythm followed by a duet male voice in a mellow style. The music moves in a crescendo but still maintaining the slow tempo - followed with great soprano work (Ulf Wallander; guest musician). At the end of soprano the music continues with a bluesy guitar work and continues again with soprano. At [4:21] the organ brings the music into an uplifting mood that lets a keyboard solo enter into a more enjoyable part. It's an excellent track.

Overall Recommendation

When I reviewed the compilation CD of "Scanning The Greenhouse", I did mention: "It's a masterpiece compilation of prog tracks from the band's finest selection even though there are still many great tracks of the band that are not included in this CD." And by now, you know that I place a vast majority of tracks on this album as "high" points. That proves my statement that "there are still many great tracks" that would not be possible in a single compilation CD. And for this album, it's definitely a masterpiece with a 4 ¾ out of 5 stars rating. I want to leave out the ¼ for the "Rhythm of Life" and "Retropolis by Night" that do not deserve a full five stars. The Flower Kings is a powerful prog band.

 

693

Harbour Of Tears
Camel

A review by SouthSideoftheSky:

Irish air

I first heard this album recorded live in its entirety on the Coming Of Age live DVD. I was living in Ireland at the time (for the summer only) and little did I know beforehand that Harbour Of Tears was a concept album with a very strong connection to Ireland. This turned out to be a very moving experience for me, walking around the Irish country side during the day and listening to the Harbour Of Tears performance in the evenings. Much later on I finally got to hear the studio version of this great concept album.

Dust And Dreams had been the best Camel album for a very, very long time (even if Stationary Traveller is not bad at all!) and Harbour Of Tears continues this new direction for the band. Indeed, I think that Harbour Of Tears even betters Dust And Dreams and is thus, for me, the best Camel album since Mirage, released more than 20 years earlier!

As I said, Harbour Of Tears is a concept album about Ireland, or rather about the Irish people leaving the emerald island for the United States during the great famine. Given the subject matter it is easy to understand that this album is a somewhat mellow affair. However, there are many different moods and tempos during the course of the album. This music really evokes images of the beautiful Irish country side, the coast line, the busy harbour, and many other interesting places.

Harbour Of Tears is also the most folky album Camel ever made. Acoustic guitars are more prominent than on other Camel albums and you can even hear traditional instruments such as penny whistles, harmonium and violins as well as some female vocals. This is almost what you would expect from an album about Ireland isn't it? Would I say that this album is Prog Folk? Well, yes some parts are Prog Folk, but most of the album is Symphonic Prog and sometimes it even comes close to sounding like Neo Prog, but all the time it is the classic Camel we all know and love. And I would say that the mix between Celtic influences and Symphonic Prog is unique, and achieving this balance while at the same time retaining the classic Camel sound is truly impressive.

Coming Of Age is the track on the album that rocks the hardest, and probably the track that appeals the most to fans of classic Symphonic Prog. Overall the album is quite soft and mellow with only occasional outbursts of harder edged Rock, for example, at the end of Coming Of Age. Latimer's exceptional electric guitar work is absolutely stunning on the whole album! His guitar sound is so distinctive and special. He is one of those few guitar players with an identity all of his own. He is such an underrated guitar player and he is up there with Steve Hackett and David Gilmour in terms of holding long sustained notes that keeps the listener simply mesmerized.

In my opinion, having at least one version of Harbour Of Tears is an absolute must. I would opt for the live version, simply because there you get some older Camel classics in addition to a great full performance of this amazing piece of music. But this studio version is a masterpiece in its own right! This is not only my favourite Camel album (together with Mirage), but one of my favourite albums of all time!

Extremely recommended!

 

694

Pride
Arena

A review by SouthSideoftheSky:

Songs From The Lions Cage part II

Pride is Arena's second album and it is another great album that pretty much follows the formula of the debut. Again we have five proper songs plus four further Crying For Help interlude pieces, three of which are instrumentals. The biggest changes are not in the musical direction of the band but in the line up. Vocalist Paul Wrightson joins the band here replacing the previous singer John Carson. Also on bass there is a change with John Jowitt taking over those duties. The early days of Arena was a turbulent time with many line up changes. Not until the Immortal? album would the band have a stable line up. It is simply remarkable that they could make such amazing music in the midst of all that turbulence!

There are some truly impressive and moving vocal moments on this album. I think that Paul Wrightson is a more distinctive vocalist than John Carson (great though he was on Songs From The Lions Cage) and with his arrival, Arena took a small step towards the excellence they would achieve with their next studio album, the even more brilliant The Visitor.

The songs here sound like a crossover between Marillion and Iron Maiden with a touch of Queen and Asia as well as the seed of what would become Arena's own fully "mature" sound on later albums. But they really manage to capture the best aspects of the bands that influenced them and make their very own thing of it. Still, I think that Pride is slightly less original than Songs From The Lions Cage and it also has a somewhat "thinner" (but also cleaner) sound compared to the debut.

The further proper songs, Empire Of A Thousand Days, Medusa, Fool's Gold and Sirens are all great songs. Almost up to par with the songs from Songs From The Lions Cage, but not quite as good as the very best ones like Solomon or Jericho. The overall quality of Pride is not that far behind its predecessor. However, Pride lacks a real ballad like the previous album's beautiful Crying For Help IV. This makes Pride a bit less varied and a bit more straightforward. Pride was thus easier to get into compared to Songs From The Lions Cage and I initially liked this one a bit more than the debut, but unlike most Arena albums, this one hasn't grown that much on me since I first got into it. It could perhaps be argued that this album constituted a small step back for the band, it was at least not a significant step forward for the band. However, they manage to create yet another very good album here.

The Crying For Help pieces continue here in the same vein as on the debut album and the first one here (which is the fifth overall continuing for the debut) is a nice folky/medieval piece with flute like keyboards. The second piece, Crying For Help VI has the same kind of feeling but this time based on harpsichord like keyboards. These pieces would perhaps not stand up very well as stand-alones but they should not be judged as such. Crying For Help VII, on the other hand, is an a cappella piece that possibly is the highlight of the whole album! At first I did not like it, but now I find it very captivating and convincing. It has since become a live favourite (but not performed a cappella live).

The last, Crying For Help VIII, is the least good of the four; it runs for more than five minutes and it could be characterised as New Age, almost nothing interesting happens in the piece. This particular instrumental mostly feels like transportation. The instrumentals generally are not as well integrated into the overall set as on future albums like The Visitor and Contagion where the instrumentals form part of a more continuous piece of music, but here the instrumentals fill another function.

While listening to Pride I sometimes feel that had they taken the best material from this album and put it on Songs From The Lions Cage or perhaps made a single album out of the best material used on these two first albums (perhaps with the same line up that later did The Visitor), it would most probably have been an even better album than any of the two as they now stand. The live album Welcome To The Stage is as close as we will come to that fantasy. However, as they stand, both Songs From The Lions Cage and Pride are great albums in the very consistent Arena catalogue.

Pride is certainly very recommended, but perhaps not the ideal starting point despite several excellent songs and moments. For people who already owns, and enjoys, other albums by Arena, Pride is an excellent addition.

 

695

Eternity
Anathema

A review by Warthur:

Of all the bands in the "Peaceville Three" of Anathema, My Dying Bride, and Paradise Lost - pioneers of both a death/doom hybrid sound and, later, gothic metal, Anathema are by far the group I enjoy the most. On Eternity they play an intriguing blend of doomy gothic metal with goth indie rock which reminds me of The Chameleons - in particular, Vincent Cavanaugh's lead vocals put me in mind of the vocals of Mark Burgess of Chameleons fame, and both bands tend towards a similar "wall of guitars" sound.

I think the reason I like Anathema more than the other two boils down to them showing real taste and discernment when it comes to the alternative rock and gothic rock influences they weave into their music; Eternity is a good case in point.

A review by Mellotron Storm:

This record is the start of a new era for ANATHEMA. Gone for good are the death metal vocals, and they would become more PINK FLOYD sounding. The best song for me on the record is "Hope", which was co-written by David Gilmour, and is a cover from the Roy Harper and Jimmy Page record called HARPER AND JAGULA. The monologue to open the song was also done by Roy Harper. I really like the guitar line in this one. Duncan Patterson's finger prints are all over this album, from the lyrics to the excellent bass playing. Compared to the albums that follow, this is a little dingy sounding but it's no less emotional or atmospheric. For me it's one of their top four.

The first song "Sentient" has some nice piano and guitar, and ends with some vocal sampling sounding a lot like PINK FLOYD. "Angelica" has a quiet beginning that builds in intensity until the vocals come in. Great vocals and emotional guitar on this amazing tune. "The Beloved" is a rocker, much more aggressive than the first two tracks. Some incredible guitar 4 minutes in. "Eternity Part 1" is emotional much like most of this record, love the line "do you think we’re forever?" "Eternity Part II" is atmospheric with a guitar line that comes and goes, with some faint spoken vocals 2 1/2 minutes in.

"Suicide Veil" is pretty much a gothic tune, dark and slow, with lots of bass, ending with some beautiful acoustic guitar and rain. Brilliant. "Radiance" kicks in around a minute and gets heavier with synths before 3 minutes. Passionate vocals and guitar after 4 minutes. I love the chorus on "Far Away", and the bass is great too. I like the way the song speeds up at around 4 minutes and then the guitars of Vincent and Daniel shine.

"Eternity Part III" is a dark tune that gets heavy with some nice guitar. "Cries On The Wind" features some heavy passages early. Check out the ripping guitar solo after 3 minutes, then the tempo picks up. It ends with spoken vocals. "Ascension" is a melodic instrumental, ending emotionally with piano.

Overall this fits in well with the very best recordings of ANATHEMA. It's all a matter of taste really. For me this album along with "A Fine Day To Exit", "Alternative 4" and "Judgement" are all essential.

 

696 – live

Keys to Ascension 
Yes

A review by Sean Trane:

I missed this bit of info (the classic Yes reunion gig) back then, but then gain the prog web forum groups were not really efficient or even active back in 95, and even if they had been, I'd probably have heard it too late (I only started my web addiction a small decade later), but the Yes classic quintet reunion was most likely a real buzz, especially for those living in the new world. I was quite surprised when I saw this Roger Dean logo double Yes affair, because I'd been used to these awful and very disappointing 80's and early 90's releases, but I brought this set home with only a tiny listen in the record store. The double album coming with a Dean artwork is a bit of a strange deal, as the group chose not to do a 70's Double-Live thing, but opted to fill the rest of second disc with two lengthy recently recorded tracks, forgetting the rest of the live material from their reunion concert.

As such, it was probably a smart move, because it brought much exposition to those new tracks, but knowing now that a second set came later, I can't help but feel manipulated. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with the two Keys sets, but I'd have been happier with a Keys Live and another Keys studio set. Anyway, onto the first disc and the more obvious selection of tracks from that reunion gig.

It was a real pleasure to hear Awaken and the S&G cover of America. I was a bit wary of the TFTO track, but they chose the better track from that sub-par album, but it's still the low point of that concert, as far as I am concerned. Onward is a bit of a surprising choice, but it works rather well. The studio stuff is not bad either also but those two tracks (That That Is and Be The One) sonically strongly remind me of the Drama album. Actually they led me to re-discover this album that I had sort of discarded as the beginning of the end for the group, until this double set.

The announcement of this album made me jump up and down when they reunited and were planning a world tour playing all their classic tracks. Before we got a chance to see them on the European continent, they had released the atrocious Open Your Eyes album, but when they did tour for that album, the set list was very similar to that of San Obispo, with hardly any newer tracks. The following Keys To Ascension 2 set has a lesser choice of live tracks, but a so-much better selection of new studio tracks, so I'd be hard-pressed to choose one over the other.

 

697 – live

Buried Alive
Anglagard

A review by Ivan_Melgar_M:

ÄNGLAGÅRD was like a bright star, they shone from "Hybris" (1992), but burned too soon. After "Epilog" (1993), and even when their members were in the late teens or early twenties, they had vanished in the air, but there was still one more chapter to be written. The band had to release a live album, so in 1994 their Progfest presentation was recorded and released as "Buried Alive" in 1995.

Many people criticize this album because it doesn't sound like their two previous and spectacular releases, but they don't seem to understand that the band was practically retired and making a tremendous effort to play without the help of overdubbing, being that their music because of its complexity can't be reproduced on stage without losing some of the magic. As a fact in a presentation I saw on video, they had to ask Par Lindh to help them with the double keyboards required to reproduce what was done in the studio.

There's another problem that fans often ignore. ÄNGLAGÅRD'S music is so complex and technical that it doesn't suit perfectly on stage where you need more improvisation and emotion instead of surgical precision, that is what the band gives us.

But let’s be honest, despite the limitations and obvious lack of emotion of a band that was thinking of an early retirement, they give an excellent concert, with the usual accuracy and quality in their performance, plus they give us a chance to listen them on stage.

I won't review the tracks as I normally do, because the correct analysis was done on "Hybris" and "Epilog", the natural environment in which this material must be listened.

So, if you are a newbie, start with the studio releases, but for any fan of the band, “Buried Alive” is an excellent addition that deserves no less than 4 stars.

 

 

At least 11 of these are in Santa Barbara:
Procol Harum (2)
Moody Blues (3)
Uriah Heep (2)
Aphrodite's Child (and Demis Roussos) (5 -- 4 of these not listed here!)
Rick Wakeman (3)

At least 50 LP albums and 15/20 hours of Space Pirate Radio cassettes were destroyed in a very large rain storm here in the area in Portland/Vancovuer. These include Colosseum (1 on the list 3 total), Soft Machine (2 on the list 4 total), Egg (1), Jethro Tull (2 on the list), Traffic (1 on the list the other repurchased), Atomic Rooster (1) from the list. Also destroyed were 2 albums of Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come.

Guy also played the likes of Area, Reale Academia de Music, Uno, Socrates, Holderlin, and many others, that I have never purchased. These would include Achim Reichel, about the only noisy ones I never got.

698

Huono Parturi
Höyry-Kone

A review by Sean Trane:

This second album sees Höyry-Kone reduced to a sextet (from the original octet), but believe me, they make as much chaos (if not more) now then back then. Again, released on the small Swedish label APM, this album is probably just as rare as their debut in today's market. Graced with a strange artwork featuring what appears to be a hairdresser (the scissors on the second page), the gatefold and back cover presents the group with a full black tie orchestra affair with a strong sense of derision. For those who have seen them live (I am among the lucky ones), this postures an integral part of their show, making them quite a wild experience live as well. Again Anekdoten is present in this album in the form of their drummer Nordins adding some drums on two tracks. Although not playing with the group, he was present accompanying HK on their tour for the only concert that I saw.

A very lengthy intro of almost 7-min with heavenly vocals on a new age soundtrack opens the album in a rather unexpected manner, but this is a strange calculation for the crazy Crimsonian (circa Aspic) follow-up. Three tracks with Topi Letihuu's operatic vocals are at the forefront and Manninen's cello underlining the whole thing giving a power that rises the dead from their graves. While their music is melancholic, it is not as dark as their debut album (and much less depressing than most of the Scandic fellows) and at times is so weird that it becomes almost funny by derision. I would not say that they are funny in a Zappa fashion, but there is certainly a dimension of Frank included, but mixed with Crimson and X-Legged Sally (but less so than on the debut album, for this effort is less jazzy), even if just as I write this, comes a short full jazz interlude Baksteri, but this is almost it.

The second part of the album is off with the weird title track with a quaint rhythm and almost ridiculous vocal part. But blistering underlying guitar parts are just waiting to explode after the vocals leave the fore front, though never really comes to fruition. After a short violin-cello-synth trio (Ullakon), the hardcore-like Tottele, the hard-soft Kala, the album ends with a series of tracks that are sometimes reminiscent of Crimson's best moments (I love the middle section of Laahustaia) and the closer has some dramatic vocals accompanying a desperate music. Grandiose!!! Well, Kone's swan song is a fitting one when thinking of the group's overall originality in sound, and I must say that one of the good things about bands that record only two or three albums is that they do not end up like the shadow of their previous selves. Hard to say which of the two albums I prefer, but this one appears more even in terms of strength of songs.

 

698

Unfolded Like Staircase
Discipline

A review by Ivan_Melgar_M:

Despite that I am a huge fan of DISCIPLINE, I've been avoiding the chance to review "Unfolded like Staircase", not because of it's quality, which in my opinion is simply outstanding, but because of it's complexity and how difficult it gets to express in words what you are listening to. Proof of this is that most reviews online are extremely short, despite the high ratings, something that demonstrates that the problem is common.

Just to start, I believe it's impossible to talk about influences with coherence, because the album is a paradox. The listener is bombarded by sounds of the 70's and 80's but you can't be precise as to which is which, being that their approach is as unique as Matthew Parmenter's personality.

Every person who has read some of my reviews, will know I'm not precisely a fan of KING CRIMSON or VDGG, and at the first listen you notice the spirit of both bands is present in this album, but taken in such a different way that you can't point to one coincidence at all. I love it from start to end, in the same way I'm a fan of GENESIS, but except in the melancholic and dark use of the Mellotron; you can't be precise as to what comes from the Charterhouse School band. "Unfolded like Staircase" is a puzzle that I enjoy trying to decipher.

The album starts with "Canto IV (Limbo)", the breathtaking moment in which I can point a clear KING CRIMSON (Lark's Tongues in Aspic) influence, but after a short wind passage, it changes into something much less complex and more melodic that flows gently.

The obscure, almost depressive voice of Mathew Parmenter is just perfect to create the heavy mist effect that floats over the head of the listener, like the song points in the title with the word Limbo; a place between nowhere or more properly "an intermediate, transitional, or midway state or place" where rules of physics seem not to apply.

But this is not all of the radical changes, as the almost terrifying violin sections, the aggressive guitar, everything that makes up "Canto IV" is thirteen minutes of the purest expression of art Progressive Rock can present us. I won't even attempt to describe the multiple parts listed in this track, this just would kill the beauty, so follow my advice and know that some things must not be enjoyed without an exhaustive description.

"Crutches" marks a radical change, after a softer and acoustic introduction where Matthew demonstrates the ductility of his voice with just a guitar, almost in the vein of a hard neo Prog band. The music starts to go "in Crescendo", but seems to never explode in an absolute climax, until the guitar by Jon Preston Bouda, perfectly supported by the rhythm section formed by Matthew Kennedy and Paul Dzendzel, proves that they can rock. Even if in this case it is just for a short period to allow the heavy mist of mystery descend over us again. This is simply contradictory and perfectly developed, dramatic to an extreme, and at the end, this is what Prog is about; to expect the unexpected.

I don't know if "Into the Dream" is the central piece (because everything is central here), but it is the longest epic of the album, 22:03 minutes of pure Progressive Rock. Again it is almost chaotic and depressive, almost impossible to describe, changing from complex and dissonant to melodic and coherent in a matter of seconds, and not only one time but all along the track. In some moments, while the keyboards add that strong and heavy melody, the rest of the instruments hit us with all the strength they are capable of, while the vocals keep the perfect balance between one world and the other.

"The album ends with "Before the Storm," another long fifteen minutes Suite that begins with a beautiful piano and vocals melody. After a couple of minutes it seems that they are holding themselves to avoid the burst of power strength that apparently we can expect, until they seem to lose a bit (just a bit); the power is controlled, as if they were giving us the first pieces of a work that the band is building step by step. A Baroque organ break announces the first change in the vein of ÄNGLAGÅRD meets KING CRIMSON and GENESIS but with a moody violin in the background, but still everything is progressive; they don't run, the band take their time to do what they intend.

But again, by surprise, the beast is let free. Guitar, keys, bass and drums are allowed to slap us in the face with pure power for another short period of time before they fall into that place between two universes, where they have taken us before.

These guys are masters of timing, they know precisely what to do and, what is even harder, when to do it, because the song flows until the end with this illogical logic that only an expert band is capable of creating.

Four tracks, four hits, no fillers, no boring moments; neither further questions or empty words. 5 stars is my rating, because if this is not an essential masterpiece of Progressive Rock, I don't know what the expression means.

 

A review by Gatot:

I am truly amazed with the music quality produced by this four-piece American prog band. The music can be summarized this way, probably: early King Crimson with vocalist's voice quality in between Peter Hammill (VdGG) / Greenslade's or Nick Barrett’s (Pendragon) vocalist and the music is combined with neo prog. So what would it be like? It's a mixture of everything, I think. But, you will find there is not a single track that is bad or good, as every single track is truly excellent. If you like symphonic prog music with soaring keyboard / organ sounds which sometimes turn out to be a mellotron, you will definitely enjoy this album.

Songs like the epic track "Into The Dream" (22:03) comprises multi segments with relatively long duration, individually, with keyboard-based music as a main rhythm section combine tempo changes augmented with powerful mellotron inserts. The inclusion of neo prog style guitar solos have enriched the song textures.

There are some soft guitar riffs but they are far from being prog metal. On soft music like "Before The Storm" there is similarity in style with the music of Pendragon or Arena - the neo prog bands. The only difference is probably the accentuated vocal line and the heavier use of mellotron that remind me of the early Crimson albums.

Definitely it's a highly recommended album.

 

699

Paradox
Royal Hunt

A review by Gatot:

This album and "Moving Target" represent my first introduction to the band sometime in 2000, I think. It really blew me away the first time I listened to it at the record shop in Jakarta. This might not be categorized under progressive music but I like it very much. It's a blend of pop-rock, metal, symphonic and neo-classical music. One thing for sure, all tracks in this album are excellent; melodious, upbeat keyboard-based music with some flavour of rocking electric guitar. The band is led by Andre Andersen (keys and guitars) backed up by DC Cooper (voice), Jacob Kjaer (guitars), Steen Mogensen (bass) and session player Allan Sorensen (drums). The music of ROYAL HUNT is unique in terms of keyboard sounds; it sounds like an orchestra behind their music. You will find also the influence of classical music in the keyboard sound. It's interesting and very enjoyable music. I like almost all of their albums, regardless whether they are prog or not. Their music is so inspiring and the compositions are top notch!

The Awakening - An album opener with a relatively short duration (1:39) that serves to set the whole atmosphere of the entire album. It consists of a stormy soundscape followed with simple acoustic guitar work to accompany the vocal, augmented with a flute sound from a keyboard. It's a melodic opening and ends up with a simple drumming that indicates the transition to the next track.

River of Pain - A wonderful track that starts seamlessly from the previous track with simple solo drumming in a slow mode. At first listen this song seemed too simplistic for me as the tempo is probably too slow as a rock song. But when I listen to the structure and basic melody, I admire how great the composition was written by Andersen as songwriter. It's composed very neatly and performed flawlessly so that I really enjoy the music. I learn that good music is not necessarily complex; even the simple music like this song is also wonderful. All musicians contribute their skills excellently.

Tearing Down The World - This song starts beautifully with a killing keyboard melody. Again, this song is truly melodic with great vocal lines by DC Cooper and backing singers. DC is one of rock’s greatest singers that I've ever known! Throughout this song you will hear very nice keyboard sounds as melody or as background during vocal singing parts, augmented with some guitar work.

Message to God - This track starts with a catchy (but simple) piano work with a classical touch. The bass line by Steen Mogensen brings the entire instruments rolling into the music in relatively medium to fast tempo. The electric guitar produces some soft riffs that accentuate the background music. It turns into great and stunning guitar soloing during a transition piece between lyrical passages. Keyboards still form a basic component of this song with a lot of catchy melodies during lyrical passages as well as in transition segments; "Can't reach you, can't meet you. I gave you everything I've got." It's beautifully composed music!

Long Way Home - This song starts mellow with simple acoustic guitar fills and catchy flute sound produced by keyboard instrument. It's a killing melody. DC’s voice enters nicely, "When the night is calling". The tagline melody of the intro is borrowed from the first track "The Awakening", but when the singing line increases to higher notes, it's different in melody. The keyboard plays an important role in forming the basic melody. The drum starts to roll and bring the music into an upbeat tempo with guitar as rhythm combined with heavy use of keyboard sounds. Jacob Kjaer plays his stunning guitar solo in a slow rock style accentuated with great keyboard at the back. DC shows his ability to sing high register notes. The song ends up with a nice flute sound (from keyboard) augmented with acoustic guitar work.

Time Will Tell - This is probably the true progressive metal vein from the band as it is indicated by the opening part of this song where the music is characterized by heavy riffs. The keyboard brings the music into an uplifting mood with some symphonic sounds. The transition pieces before the vocal enter the music varied, exploring keyboard, bass as well as guitar. When the voice line enters, the music turns into a melodic metal music with excellent symphonic sounds produced by keyboards. In the break between lyrical passages, the music turns into some wonderful symphonic orchestra kind of music using keyboard as main instrument that provides orchestration. What a WONDERFUL composition this one is! It's one of my all-time favourite tracks.

Silent Scream - It starts off with a catchy keyboard solo followed with some riffs that bring the music into a faster tempo with DC’s powerful voice. It's like a hard rock kind of music with powerful vocals in high register notes. The only different thing is how keyboard is added melodically, forming the basic rhythm melody. The music itself contains some upbeat surprises that create an uplifting mood and energy. Bass line and drums form an excellent variation between musical segments. Jacob performs his guitar solo stunningly. This track ends beautifully with a great orchestration that flows seamlessly to the opening of the next track. Oh man, what a great composition!!!!!

It's Over - It starts off with an uplifting orchestration continued from the orchestration at the end of the previous track. It's so powerful and so colossal that this track is wonderful. The orchestration suddenly stops with the entrance of DC’s voice into the music. The acoustic guitar solo in the middle of this track backed with the keyboard sound is really stunning. It is continued with short keyboard soloing and it grows into a nice keyboard sound in higher notes. At the end of this track, there is a piece of "The Awakening" partly repeated shortly to conclude this album.

To summarize, this album is probably not as prog as you imagine. Basically, this is melodic rock music with some orchestration in a keyboard style. It's up to you whether you consider this PROG or not as you view it from the perspective of the approach the band has taken to compose the music. Yes, you can say this is prog, but do not imagine this to be in the vein of Dream Theater as this is not as heavy. But in terms of composition that comprises song writing and arrangement, this album is truly TOP NOTCH! The production quality is also excellent. That's why I give full five stars rating solely in this respect, ignoring whether or not this is prog. My CD has two discs whereby disc two contains the live version of the album in its entirety, with the same song sequence. It's an excellent show. It would be wonderful if the DVD version of the show is released in the future, I hope. Highly recommended!

 

700

A Pleasant Shade Of Gray
Fates Warning

A review by SouthSideoftheSky:

A little bit gray perhaps, but very pleasant indeed

A Pleasant Shade Of Gray was another step in the evolution of Fates Warning. While the previous album, Inside Out, was a continuation of Parallels, the present album constituted a significant step forward for the band. It is arguable that A Pleasant Shade Of Gray is Fates Warning's most progressive album, only rivalled by Perfect Symmetry. The whole album is one continuous piece of music divided into 12 parts running for over 50 minutes. It took several listens to get into and at first I did indeed find it a bit "gray", but over time new layers revealed themselves and it grew on me.

Kevin Moore of Dream Theater fame once again provides piano and keyboards to great effect and there are some superb but subtle acoustic passages. The whole album was performed live and the whole first disc of the live album Still Life is occupied by a very good performance of the album in its entirety.

Highly recommended!

 

 

A review by Mellotron Storm:

This album would see the band moving in a different direction on a number of fronts. First would be the exit of lead guitarist Frank Aresti and bassist Joe DiBiase. Bassist Joey Vera would be added as the sole new member. If your familiar with their previous two records "Inside Out" and "Parallels" then it won't be surprising that they didn't replace Frank on lead guitars as one lead guitarist would be enough. Kevin Moore would play an integral role on this album as a guest keyboard player. This wasn't his first time playing with FATES WARNING as he did guest briefly on "Perfect Symmetry". The sound of the two previous records were much more commercial sounding then anything they had done before while this one would be a return to the progressive sounds of "Perfect Symmetry" only different. This is different than anything they had done in the past, a slow moving, atmospheric and melancholic album. Yes this is a gray record as the title suggests. I laughed when I  read the thankyou section in the liner notes. They thank producer Terry "How much grayer could it be?" Brown. That shows you they got their desired results. They also thank "Mike Portnoy (an honorary Fates member)". Cool. Hugh Syme again does an excellent job on the cover art. It's gray.

This album is supposed to be one song broken down into 12 parts. I must say this doesn't feel like one song as there are breaks between songs at times and it just doesn't flow well at times either. Certainly not like GREEN CARNATION's "Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness" which is truly one long song.

"A Pleasant Shade of Gray" appears to be about the thoughts (or words) of a man towards his partner as he lies in bed. It opens with a guitar being strummed once as you hear the rain fall. Vocals come in. Part II is atmospheric with processed vocals and it has an industrial, mechanical feel to it. The mellow sections of Part III remind me of PORCUPINE TREE. The drumming from Zonder is great! Nice bass as well. This is a heavy passage. Zonder shines again on Part IV, the sound is fantastic on this one. Part V has a good piano melody followed by some complex guitars and drums. Synths follow and the sound is great! Part VI is my favourite section. It opens with a FLOYD-like melody before we get some ominous bass lines. A guitar melody rises slowly and builds out of the soundscape. The vocals come in as only bass remains. It gets heavy 4 minutes in and the long slow guitar solo is incredible.

Part VII opens with some great keys from Moore. Heavy drums and guitar come in as well as rough vocals from Adler. Part VIII has some beautiful piano melodies. Part IX is a gorgeous song with acoustic guitar and fragile vocals. A tasteful guitar solo 3 minutes in. Part X is industrial sounding. Part XI is an uptempo rocker and it's great! Part XII is dark, heavy and atmospheric. Nice. The song ends as it started with rain falling before you hear an alarm go off.

I really like this album but I  feel that it doesn't measure up to "Perfect Symmetry". Both are progressive and complex but "Perfect Symmetry" is more metal. 4 stars.

 

701

Entropia
Pain Of Salvation

A review by Conor Fynes:

...And thus begins the journey of one of my favourite bands of all time, Pain of Salvation. Even early on, this band demonstrated a wide array of talent. From the first few minutes of the epic, socially conscious opener '! (Prologue)' to the striking sentimentality of 'Plains Of Dawn,' Pain of Salvation has crafted a fantastic, mind blowing album that remains an underrated testament to their consistency as quality- driven performers and artists.

'Entropia' tells the story of a family that is estranged in the heat of a war. This concept gives opportunity for Gildenlow (the vocalist and primary songwriter) to explore a wide range of emotions. There is Sadness to be found here, as well as Anger, Love and Fear... None of the emotions feel undercooked or half-baked. Emotionally, everything works on a high-calibre level.

Musically, this is probably the most 'funky' Pain of Salvation ever got. Of special note is the fantastic bass playing that this album enjoys. The intro of 'People Passing By' and the song 'Circles' are a great representation of the bassist's great talent. It's a real shame this bassist only stayed with Pain of Salvation for the duration of one album.

For a debut album, you would expect sub-par recording quality, but this album is certainly an exception to that rule! The recording quality is (for the most part) fantastic, and all of the instruments can be heard clearly (this album's successor, 'One Hour By The Concrete Lake' however, would suffer from recording quality problems.)

While it would probably be better for those new to Pain of Salvation to check out the true masterpieces first (The Perfect Element, Remedy Lane, Be), this remains a fantastic album, and while it may not share the phantasm of the later works, 'Entropia' remains one of the greatest progressive debuts of all time, and a great work by a highly talented group of musicians.

 

A review by UMUR:

Entropia is the debut studio album from one of the leading progressive metal acts Pain of Salvation, from Sweden which is clearly heard in their very melodic sound. I purchased Entropia as my first Pain of Salvation album and I remember that I was quite disappointed when I came home with my purchase. I had been listening to the CD in the store and found some truly beautiful moments but now it seemed too incoherent and badly flawed. I have learned to appreciate Entropia more these days, but only after listening to some of the later albums from Pain of Salvation like Remedy Lane did I get my curiosity back and ended up listening to Entropia again.

The music is pretty eclectic (not unlike a band like Faith No More which Pain of Salvation is undoubtedly influenced by) and covers a lot of genres and moods from Funky parts, melancholic subtle beautiful parts and progressive metal parts with both clean singing and occasional rough guy vocals (that I can´t stand). The music is just as I remembered it; a bit incoherent but my biggest problem has always been with Daniel Gildenglöw´s vocal approach. Way too pathetic and theatrical at times which is a shame as he has a very beautiful voice. I want to stress that this is only a problem occasionally. I generally enjoy the vocals from Daniel. The music is very melodic but it takes some time for the songs to become memorable.

Some songs do catch on from the get go though. Oblivion Ocean has for example always moved me even though Daniel´s voice makes me cringe a time or two in that song too. I have always disliked the funky parts so a song like People Passing By has always been a bit trying for me, but I´ve learned to appreciate it more with time.

The music is very dynamic and shifts between beautiful melancholic acoustic parts and progressive heavy metal parts. I always liked the melancholic parts the best and found the heavy parts way too generic. Pain of Salvation is actually best when they play progressive rock and leave the distorted guitar riffing to someone who knows how to play innovative and progressive things. There are a few guitar riffs I enjoy but basically they are way too simple and trivial.

The musicianship is excellent and even though I have complained about el Gildenglöw´s vocal approach earlier I have to praise him for being a very skilled singer. He actually masters many styles. Too bad I don´t like some of them, but I guess it´s an acquired taste. The production is good but not as good as the ones on later albums.

Entropia is still a disappointment after all these years, but it´s compared to what Pain of Salvation and other top class progressive acts like Dream Theater and Fates Warning have done on other albums. If you look at Entropia isolated from other great albums in the genre it´s quite a good album and deserves 3 stars. It´s one of those albums where I can fully understand why others would give it more. Sometimes it just comes down to personal taste. Pain of Salvation should be considered one of the most distinct and influential bands in progressive metal though, I won´t dispute that.

702

The Divine Wings Of Tragedy
Symphony X

A review by SouthSideoftheSky:

The divine music of Symphony X

This brilliant album kicks off excellently with Of Sins And Shadows. The song starts in an interesting way and it is clear right away that this is not conventional metal music. During the first track alone we are treated to a Yes' Close To The Edge-like vocal break, a Brian May-like guitar break, a Queen-like operatic vocal section, a guitar/keyboard duel strongly influenced by the ones between Yngwie Malmsteen and Jens Johansson in Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force. With all this going on they still manage to keep the song focused on the strong melody and riff.

The lead guitar playing of Michael Romeo is obviously and most strongly influenced by Yngwie Malmsteen's style, but also influences from Brian May, Ritchie Blackmore and other guitar heroes can be detected. Romeo is able to mimic Malmsteen well, and very few other people (if any!) could do that. The reoccurring guitar/keyboard duels very often sound like those between Malmsteen and Jens Johansson in Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force. A side note: Romeo actually played together with Jens Johansson on an album called The Last Viking by a group simply called Johansson which is led by Jens and his brother Anders Johansson. A great album by the way!

However, even if the guitar and keyboard sound often is highly derivative. Romeo and keyboardist Michael Pinella incorporate this influence into an often quite different musical framework making the end result not so derivative. The overall musical influences on Symphony X's music probably include Queen and Rainbow as well as European Power Metal and Classical music. Anyway, this music is more epic, elaborated, progressive and complex than anything ever done by Yngwie Malmsteen (even if some of his material is clearly progressive in my opinion).

The vocals of Russell Allen have a wide range from quite gruff to almost falsetto and it is clear that he is a very competent vocalist. Freddie Mercury, Ronnie James Dio and Bruce Dickinson might be good reference points for the vocal style involved (even if Allen is hardly as distinctive as those rock icons).

After the opening track, the album continues with two further high powered, melodious songs with great heavy riffs and lots of things going on. Out Of The Ashes is strongly neo-classical and I love that kind of stuff! The Accolade is the first song of the album that slows the tempo down and it offers a welcome respite from the onslaught of the first three tracks. This almost 10 minute piece is perhaps not exactly a ballad though, but in relation to the other songs it might perhaps be called a ballad. It speeds up a bit after a while and transforms several times, it is clearly the song that comes closest to classic Symphonic Prog. It features violin and reminds me a bit of Kansas at times. I find this song quite brilliant and it clearly contributes to making this album as varied and diverse as it is.

Pharaoh, The Eyes Medusa and The Witching Hour raises the tempo and again the third of these is the most strongly neo-classical. The acoustic beginning of this song is fantastic, but once again it could have come straight off one of Yngwie Malmsteen's better albums.

The 20+ minute title track begins with a somewhat sacral, yet strongly Queen-like a cappella vocal section. Then enters a marching beat and heavy riff and on top of that some Brian may-like guitar notes. This epic song then moves us through all the different aspects of the band including a somewhat surprising Jazz-Rock Fusion influence! It is in this track where Symphony X reminds me the most of their biggest competitors Dream Theater, but not that much I would say. At first I thought this was the weakest part of the album, but it grew on me after some listens.

The album ends with a lovely song in Candlelight Fantasia that might be labelled a ballad. It has a very strong vocal melody that will leave one humming for the rest of the day. This is based on a lovely vocal and piano, but it also includes a few surprises. A great way to end the album!

I did not like the music of Symphony X very much at first, I used to find them a bit cheesy and far too bombastic and over the top. However, I got used to it after some listens and now I find the cheesiness and bombast rather charming! Overall, I consider The Divine Wings Of Tragedy, together with Dream Theater's Images And Words, to be one of the very, very best progressive Metal albums of all time. Very highly recommended!

 

 

703

Toscco
Happy Family

A review by Sean Trane:

Happy Family had existed for quite a while before they actually released proper albums: apparently three self-made cassettes were sold at their concerts. By the time that their eponymous debut album was released, HP was heavily into a weird Crimsonian Zeuhl music (as if Fripp had cross-pollinated with UZ and Vander's bunch in a metal container), and while fairly different, Toscco is the logical continuation of their first utterances, though it is much more mastered in its own art.

Toscco is definitely a full-blown Zeuhl album (and a dynamite one too), even if the metal tendencies of the previous album are again "interfering" (for lack of a better word) with the genre's more recognizable traits. If HP does not sound like Magma, they certainly sound a lot more like Univers Zero, Present and carry a lot of darkness of Island (the Swiss group), while their hi-energy RIO side of their music is also another dominant facet of their sound.

Starting on the calm clarinet-driven intro of Great Man, the album is mostly based on the longer tracks such as Nord Company, Sushi Bar (with its excellent clunky piano intro before exploding into a wild riff series before returning to the clunky piano) and Three Leaves Insect, where the group is most at ease developing Present-like grooves (the piano is so reminiscent of Trigaux's lines, even if he didn't play them in his group, he still wrote them), while the relentless drumming is a cross between Bruford and Daniel Denis, but also Dave Kerman (again Present).

The shorter pieces are not to be overlooked, though: Picture Book (with a King Crimson crescendo ala Starless), Locomotive (with its incessant Present groove constantly interrupted by the piano breaks) and Tokyo Station (with its almost macabre middle section) are the legs and arms of the album on which ii stands on, and offers you what 90's prog has done best; intense power prog music.

Happy Family might just rank as my fave group from Japan along with Stomu Yamashta and the Far East Family Band, even if those two are more into cosmic music. Possibly one of the best mid-90's album, Toscco is for me almost essential. Actually it is fully essential, but unfortunately, it is a little lost in the last decade's myriad production of such albums, a good deal of them on their own label, the great Cuneiform. Though it is slightly too derivative of Present and this may be its only "flaw" if it can be seen as one.

 

704

Omnio
In The Woods. . .

A review by Finnforest:

"as I turned my fragile skin-I reached Omnio."

"Omnio" is a dark, melodic album with a crushing wall of guitar sound guaranteed to please fans of metal and guitar-based prog rock. The mood is mostly dark, spacey, and quite hypnotic.

The 15 minute opener starts with lovely yet tense strings that lead into the first of many monster chordal assaults, some slow and lumbering, some chugging at maniacal speeds. There are nice transitions that do not sound forced. The vocals consist of a male/female team who are both decent, dramatic, sometimes even operatic in sound. Occasionally the heavy rock stops and you move into calm waters where acoustic guitars and strings clear the air; these moments are very nice and provide a well-rounded experience. The melodies in these quiet portions are very beautiful. This is really a great song that is accessible to all prog fans, not just prog-metal fans.

"I am your flesh" begins with more dual-guitar chug. They love to layer the guitars and let them twirl over each other which gives the album a unique sound-very powerful. The drumming is plenty competent but I agree with another reviewer who noted that the mix seems a bit strange on the drums. This track is OK but probably the least interesting and most predictable to me.

"Kairos" is next and this is a short vocal track that is really lovely and haunting. Next comes "Weeping Willow" which continues the vibrant guitars while the early vocals are softly delivered over piano and are hard to understand. The song picks up speed to a good clip and coasts until the 7 minute mark when it gets better with a softer prelude to a nice guitar solo.

The long title track is last and begins with a spacey sequence giving way to acoustics and strings again; lovely. This song is another stunner on par with the opener; lots of movement, lots of changes, passionate vocals, interesting chord changes, beautiful lead work, creepy psych passages. What a great closer!

So, in summary, this album is bookended by two tracks that are just absolute stunners, and together they comprise most of the album. I can easily recommend the album on the strength of those two songs. However I believe that "Flesh" and "Willow" are well below the quality of those two songs. They do not sustain their length and are less interesting and far less adventurous. The short breather "Kairos" is somewhere in between. The booklet also features some nice artwork and the complete lyrics. So not a masterpiece in my eyes, but still mostly excellent.

705

Ocean Machine: Biomech
Devin Townsend

A review by UMUR:

I´ve been a fan of Devin Townsend since his collaboration with Steve Vai on the Sex & Religion album. The first time I heard Devin sing I knew he was something special and I have followed his career ever since. I´m a big fan of his work with Strapping Young Lad and I absolutely love his album Ziltoid the Omniscient. I have never been a big fan of his solo albums though, but I have started to listen to them again from start to see if I was wrong the first time round.

Ocean Machine is an album full of heavy metal tunes with full symphonic keyboard backup and of course Devin´s diverse singing on top. Anyone who has heard Devin´s work knows what I mean when I say full symphonic keyboard backup. Devin (yes he also produces his own and other band´s albums) has made it his trademark to slap you in the face with a symphonic wall of sound which also includes the extensive use of samples. It´s actually a very ambient sound. I can´t think of any other band that sounds more innovative in the heavy metal world than Devin. The man is always on the forefront of new things.

This debut solo album from Devin is actually very nice and listenable, far from his more aggressive outbursts in Strapping Young Lad. There are some really beautiful moments on the album, but I do get a little tired towards the end. It´s a very long album and I don´t think the songs are especially memorable which means the songs blend together. This is of course negative and the reason why I will only give the album 3 stars. I miss variation, so I can remember the songs better.

The sound quality is extremely good as on every album Devin Townsend has produced, the man is a genius behind the mixing. All in all this is a very nice start to his solo career even though it´s not excellent in my book.

 

A review by Mellotron Storm:

This is a difficult album to write about really, I don't have any reference points to offer you either. It starts off with four tracks that are powerful, energetic, melodic and catchy, then we get flooded with samples, atmosphere and emotion the rest of the way. Yes we still get these heavy, powerful tunes but the mood has changed. In fact from that fifth track ("Sister") to the final song ("The Death Of Music") it's pretty much perfect. I can't get over the production on this album either and the layers of sound, this is so epic. Many of these tracks seem to blend into one another as well which is cool.

"Seventh Wave" opens with someone quoting a poem then some heavy guitar kicks in which turns even heavier as the sound gets fuller. The tempo picks up, then the vocals join in. The tempo continues to shift. Great sound 5 minutes in and I like the atmosphere to end it. Excellent track.

"Life" is the only ordinary track on here in my opinion. I know many who list this as their favourite but it's too commercial sounding and upbeat. Still a good song though and I understand how it fits in. "Night" opens with guitar as a full sound kicks in quickly and the tempo picks up. Vocals join in. This rocks out pretty good.

"Hide Nowhere" is nice and heavy with a few screams from Devin. "Sister" is interesting as we get this noisy atmosphere with voices and other sounds as Devin comes in barely singing "Sister" as he strums his guitar. Thunder and crickets late. "3 AM" sounds like the start of a FLOYD track with the voices and atmosphere as spoken vocals come in. Emotion. "Voices In The Fan" has a catchy mid paced rhythm as the vocals join in with some passion. This is so good. A calm after 3 minutes then these operatic female and male vocals come in.

"Greetings" is guitar led as vocals join in. It turns more powerful. Nice. These last four tracks are freaking amazing. "Regulator" is heavy duty and vocals come in around a minute. Love how he screams "I'm regulated" again and again. The heaviest track on here. "Funeral" kicks in around a minute and the vocals come in after 2 minutes. I adore this song. Nature sounds 6 minutes in as it settles. It turns powerful again.

"b*****d" opens with atmosphere and percussion. This is a mechanical beast. Incredible ! "The Death Of Music" is more Electronic than Metal. A beat with atmosphere and sampled voices. Vocals after 2 minutes. Atmosphere and whispered vocals a minute later and they will come and go. So much tension when the vocals return. It's haunting at times as well. This has to be heard to be appreciated. The bonus track "Thing Beyond Things" is a nice addition. A laid back but powerful song.

I feel like I should have listened more before reviewing this album because the further the album plays out the deeper it gets, just like an ocean.

 

706

F# A# ∞
Godspeed You! Black Emperor

A review by AtomicCrimsonRush:

F# A# ∞ - what a concept

In actuality I cannot review this album conventionally as it simply defies explanation. How can you explain this music; you simply cannot. You have to experience it, feel it, wallow in its tranquil beauty and sudden darkness that overwhelms each track. And they aren’t even tracks - they are something undefined. Is it music or is it an expression outside the realm of sound?

There are musical instruments but they are played with almost infinite and at times maddening patience. This is as slow as I have heard, minimalism, repetition and trance like rhythms. You cannot really expect to enjoy this music in one listen, it has to enter the conscious. Once it does, the realm of music is reinvented. It is not at all pleasant but it is nonetheless invigorating to the soul.

Maybe I should write in stream of consciousness style: It is gentle it is relaxed it is bold it is original it is an acquired taste and many will be turned completely off, similar to Magma I guess.

Perhaps this music is supposed to be a message? Perhaps it is just enigmatic for its own sake - but underlying the whole thing there is a definitive monologue that is haunting and disturbing. "The Dead Flag Blues" speaks to us of fiery disasters and doom. But it is honest and sincere and downright raw emotion! I saw this clip and it was emotionally arresting. There are doom laden basslines and violins and piano staccatos that stab and weave like a tapestry among the maelstrom of sound.

I still cannot really enjoy this music - perhaps it’s not meant to be thoroughly enjoyed - but I can give it at least 3 stars for pure inventiveness and daring.

 

A review by Conor Fynes:

Post-rock has been said to be a genre in decline, but at its peak was once Godspeed You! Black Emperor, a band who really went beyond the minimalistic guitar flourishes many have become accustomed to with the genre and amped up the orchestrations with lush string sections and electronic ambiance. Here is the band's debut, 'F# A# ∞', which, possibly dwarfed only by the band's sophomore, is among the most highly regarded works in all of post-rock, and worshiped by critics across the board. While 'F# A# ∞' is certainly in no dearth of intelligence or passion however, its indulgent sense of ambiance and mellowness can tend to make the album a toss-up between what sections of brilliance there are present here, and the somewhat more common quiet soundscapes and tedious stretches of silence that plague the record.

Being my first true experience with the band sparing a remarkably fitting sequence their music was set to in the film 28 Days Later, 'F# A# ∞' comes to me only with the knowledge that the band is one of the most well-regarded in both indie and progressive music scenes. With that having been said, I can simultaneously see why they might herald such acclaim, but I am also remarkably underwhelmed. Even after several listens to the record, 'F# A# ∞' remains to me an album that seems to have a world of potential and unfulfilled brilliance in it. Instead, Godspeed seems to get lost in their own indulgences with their debut. Although the album is over an hour long, there are only a few precious minutes on each track that truly warrants a listener's excitement. Most notable among these are actually the more conventional post-rock moments on the album, which bring about a great deal of emotional resonance to them. Besides that, the instruments are used quite frugally, giving way to very minimalistic electronic samples, tape loops, and even a few spoken word dialogues in each of 'F# A# ∞'s three parts. The dialogues do come as a bit of a system shock- the sound of a human voice in this mostly instrumental affair comes as something of a surprise each time- but despite what philosophical ponderings they may stir the first few spins around the record, the rough way they are mixed and the somewhat off-putting way they are integrated into the music doesn't work so well.

'F# A# ∞' is certainly a diverse album, but the proportions are all out of place. Had the band used the exact same ingredients but used them in such a way where much of the droning silence was taken out in the favour of cohesive composition and musicianship, Godspeed could have easily convinced me of their excellence. The band shows themselves to me as an act with some of the most potential the post-rock genre has ever seen, but while 'F# A# ∞' may be still very good for what it is, it is still a record that can only be played for very specific moods.

A review by Sean Trane:

4.5 stars really. Although all of the albums of GYBE! are good, this first album is the utmost original as the following ones only repeat the formula albeit more refined. I have a tendency to couple this debut with the EP second release as my favourite one. It is always disturbing to see that a group is not giving more info about itself or its music and is maintaining this "flou artistique " that we as progheads find derangesome . My fellow reviewers describe accurately the music especially with the astonishingly patient rhythm section.

GYBE! is seen now as the leading group in this strange current of music called Post-Rock and somewhat give a new meaning to that music genre: The Post Atomic Rock . Some of the climaxes have all the drama of an atomic explosion and the quieter moments are sometimes so gloomy (and tearingly beautiful) that it feels just like the survivors of the blast are gathering what they can.

A real must hear and listen and worth hunting down and acquiring for fans of unconventional music. From my experiences, most neo-prog fans (at least the ones I know) do not really endorse this band, as the constant mayhem seems to disturb them. 

But after reading ALL your posts and reviews, I'm amazed You have done  a fantastic work, because using other people's reviews is not as easy as copying them, you have to use balanced opinions (some positive and other negative but all coherent) and you have done it perfectly and with good taste.

You have added a few albums I don't like and i'm sure that some you don't like too much, with this you have proved that recognizing talent and quality is a work for don't fall in "fanboyism", BRAVO.

I always felt proud of having you in the team, but now I feel even more........ MAGNIFICENT WORK

Iván

That is very encouraging Ivan! Thanks for that I really appreciate it.

and also Mellotron Storm too for your kind comments.

Its been great to be able to incorporate your reviews and has really opened my eyes and my ears to the diverse music out there

moving into the 2000s soon and cant wait...!

 I have very little from the 80s but now in the 90s I found I had more than I thought.

Working on more entries this week.

Easily on par with "The divine wings..."