When they pay the money to be featured, absolutely. ;-)

I had never heard of these guys before, thanks for mentioning them, they're really good, although I don't think that name is good for their marketing, hahaha.

I love Symphonic and like it or not, what some call retro Prog is the most popular sound in this site, if you make a poll, probably the bands sounding like in the 70's will win in popularity by far.

 

Contrarian dares to use influences, but they don't clone anybody, they take this influence and work it in a different and more aggressive way, they keep the spirit of USA Prog but dare to be adventurous.

 

I believe it's a real promissing band, the funny thing is that when HT added them everybody agreed we were talking about a solid Prog band, but now that is featured, everybody has something to say against them.

 

Iván

 

Your commentary was positive Raff, I know we will not agree with something and you know I fought for that, and this is not the problem.

 

Phrases like "Retro Cheese" are offensive and uncalled, yes, I like music with roots in the 60's and 70's, normally I don't like Avant (Well, as everybody knows I fought for the addition of Factor Burzaco which I believe is pure genius), and that makes me no less proghead than anybody.

 

Others say: " but I think we should aim for the ones with less of a 70's sound, and go for the ones who are a bit off the grind, and original, or at least portray some form of originality"

 

The question is why? Because this person doesn't like 70's oriented bands? Well, most people here like 70's oriented Prog much more than anything else, and we should accept any Prog band who wants to invest,. doesn't matter if they sound as in the 60's or 00's, as long as we can express our opinion, there should be no problem.

 

Personally I would point towards these bands, because this is the sound I like more, but that'ds not the point, we should promote and support every form, style and sub-genre of Prog, without any limit.

 

What do this guys want? Google based propaganda of unknown churches or X rated sites as we had to accept before?

 

Some time ago a group of Dream Theater fans though they had the only truth, now some fans of more adventurous Prog are looking traditionally oriented bands as if they were second class, this is absurd, Prog is Prog, some is good, some is band, I believe CONTRARIAN is really good but agree to disagree, that's not the problem.

 

Micky, don't be disappointed, I'm in favor of multiple tastes, that's what Prog is about, but I see people judging CONTRARIAN without haven't heard more than two samples, but what is worst, questioning them as being not worthy of receive advertising by us.....Hey, people is not knocking at our doors begging us to give them a spot, mailto:M@X - has to search for supporters, we're N° 1 Prog site in the net, but there are lots of musical sites with more visits than us outside the Prog universe.

micky wrote: re: the finanical side.. .we all know the story on that... 'paying the bills' doesn't wash.  M@X is free to earn what he can... but we all know that this is more than just keeping PA's afloat and the survival of our beloved site.  That was made clear to us.

 

Believe me Micky, it's just keeping the site alive, the whole world is in crisis, I been trying to help mailto:M@X - with some advertising (without asking for a dime, just in case), I talked for example with Viajero Inmovil Records who manage Factor Burzaco because I made a good personal connection with the owner of the label, and they simply can't afford the US$ 100.00 a month of propaganda because the situation in our part of the world is critic, we pay 10 times the taxes than anybody else, they just can't do it now.

 

Big bands (which are not always the best) won't invest directly in advertising, they allow their labels do that for them and believe me, most big labels just don't care about the Prog sites to advertise them, they rather pay a spot in Rolling Stones because they sell millions of copies.

 

We have to stay with new bands willing to take the risk (we are a risk also) and with some money to spend, and we must be proud that bands like Glass Hammer or CONTRARIAN who are considered by many as part of the peak of USA Prog trust us.

 

And this is excellent, we are supporting new bands, the future of Prog, like it or not, CONTRARIAN will be one of the biggest new acts, they are doing things right and have the talent, some will like them, others won't, what the hell, some people hate Genesis or ELP despite they are icons.

  

By my side I can't be happier  this guys are placing their trust in us, because they could also had gone to other non Prog sites that have the same number or more visits than us, and believe me, they would had got some thousand albums sold also.

 

Lets thank those who trust in us and support all Prog, and if you believe you can do it better, go take the chance and search for some propaganda.

 

BTW: Listen all CONTRARIAN album before giving an opinion.

 

 

 

 

As you may have seen elsewhere, it has been suggested that the server needs upgrading again. That's just one of the many costs mailto:M@x - M@x looks after for us without ever calling upon us for contributions.

 

Here I have a friendly disagreement Micky, if Prog doesn't have the site that deserves in the world musical context is because lack of support, what we MUST do here is essentially support new bands if we want Prog to survive.

 

Of course support with absolute freedom and respect, we won’t say a band is great if we believe they suck, but we can always find something good in every band, and if they also support us….much better, it’s a symbiotic relation for the good of Prog.

 

We’ve done this a lot of times, for example last year I received the album “Dreamer” by Anton Roolaart, I made an honest review in which I said the music is outstanding but the voice is hard to get in, he published the review in his site equally and despite my comment, because we are here to say our truth and ghe accepted it.

 

But we also gained something, we were the ONLY Prog site in the world to add Anton Roolaart and review “Dreamer” the exact day of it’s world official debut, I still receive some comments from Anton who I see as a friend.

 

The same goes with bands as Shadow Circus or even bands I didn’t liked too much like Er. J. Orchestra or Rumblin Orchestra, but they are Prog bands so I felt my duty to support them, won’t give them a 5 stars rating, but tried to be 100% honest without prejudices.

 

There’s nothing wrong in supporting new artists, it’s a duty for those of us who love Prog, I don’t understand people who write pages of pages insisting for Boston or Toto which at the most are tangentially related Prog (I believe not even that) and don’t need our support, but this same people feel embarrassed to support 100% PROG BANDS that deserve and NEED our help.

 

Years ago I used to talk with Lynette from The Red Masque, a fabulous Avant Band from Philadelphia, who told me how they were at the border of quitting because simply there was no support.

 

Timothy Boney from CONTRARIAN has to work  in the legal area furing the day because there’s not enough support for the artists, he could be using all his available time to be even better, but he has to live and has a family, why can't we promote them with the truth?

 

I see no problem in supporting new artists, as a fact I feel it’s our duty.

 

Iván

 

Giving opinions is necesary, I never chalenged that, but calling them retro Prog just because we believe that anything remotely inspired in the past is bad, is wrong.

 

As I said neither I give a blind applause, to say the truth, but also to guive them a place where to promote what they are doing, like it or not.

 

And fogetting them is not my style Micky, I keep in contact with most of the bands I added and which whom I made contact, I don't believe Contrarian is going to be crushed and forgotten, they are doing what most Progheads like and they are doing it very well, but this is only my perspactive.

micky wrote: Prog will only survive Ivan.. by expanding the horizons.. not by putting out generic been there and done that stuff.  When that happens.. prog becomes as fomulamatic and simple as the pop music we all love to sh*t upon.

 

Not necesarilly Micky,  Prog doesn't have to change for everybody, Prog can be reinvented, Anglagard and Par Lindh Project did it in the 90's when most of the people believed Prog was dead...Did they made something new? No, they went more radically classic, and they are icons.

 

There are bands who are expanding Symphonic, take Deluge Grander for example, they are absolutely respectful to the 70's but they are also doing something new, re-inventing Symphonic in the 21st Century, that's also a way of making Prog.

 

micky wrote: That is why I promote groups that I just don't like.. but also groups ..and there are a lot of them these days .. that are taking new and different musical influences and creating something new with it.  Just as they did in the 70's.

 

Why do they need to change? Some wil and some won't, I believe Prog is wide enough for everybody, I love Symphonic Prog from Eastern Europe, and they are creating nothing radically new, they just take good old Symphonic, blend it with their natural ethnic sound and re-invent a new fresh sound.

 

Some people like old Melodic Prog, we don't need to like ultra complex structures or radically new things, some will and some won't, as simple as that, and I believe we must promote and support all of them.

 

Almost everything hads been done in music, there's nothing absolutely new under the sun, everybody has an influence, and who else will a Prog band search as influence than another Prog band?

 

Iván

 

 

 

Based upon the tracks available for streaming here, I certainly wouldn't question the addition of Contrarian.  One of them put me in mind of a poor man's Symphony X, while the other was forgettable enough that I can't remember who it reminded me of.  It was definitely a respectable prog act, though.

 

It is enough that these prog acts are willing to pay mailto:M@X - M@X for the exposure they get here.  I certainly let myself be exposed.  It may be too much to insist that they be great, or even good.