Camel - The Single Factor (1982)

Their ninth album.

It seems like the band were in a spot of a trouble here and had to come up with an album to fulfill a contractual obligation at the same time as one of their members had a serious injury to it's hand. The Single Factor was the result. An album where the band tried to write singles for radio airplay and for the charts.

The result is a pretty catchy melody orientated album with vocals and catchy tunes. Very much as the record label ordered and I guess they were kept busy by sending out promotional tapes and '7 to the radio stations. Radio stations who were in there for the taking in 1982 where this kind of music were the norm. AOR and bubblegum pop in other words.

That is what this album is. A pop rock album. That with some good songs, but not much else satisfaction. The songs are sparse on substance and interesting details. It remains me about 1982, the year where bad taste ruled the world.

The Single Factor is a decent enough album. Even bordering to a good album. But not a good Camel album. Check out other Camel albums instead of this one.

2.5 points

Fruitcake - A Battle a Day... (2001)

The sixth album from this Norwegian neo prog band.

The band continues from where they left it on their 1998 album Power Structure. That means the usual keyboards, bass, guitars and drums setup. Paal Sovik's vocals is still pretty odd and gives the band it's trademark identity.

The music and sound is still pretty much influenced by Genesis. We still get some pretty good interchanges between keyboards and guitars. The songs are medium long and based on the usual neo prog formula.

This one hour long album offers good value for money and is one of their best albums. I have never really rated this band, but still gives this album a good rating.

3 points

Product - On Water (2000)

The debut album from this US neo prog band who so far has released four albums.

To my knowledge, Product was a duo at the time of this release. They used hired hands to create their rather big expansive sound with a lot of different instruments. An expansive sound which places them somewhere between neo prog and art rock. I am more leaning towards art rock than neo prog.

On Water is also a concept album about a drowning merchant navy sailor and his thoughts. It has all the hallmarks of a concept album. The mood and ambience is rather somber and melancholic. This is not a happy album. The frequent use of acoustic guitars in combination with synths and some very good vocals underlines this. This one hour long album has a Pink Floyd feel and that is a good comparison.

The end result is a very good, impressive very good debut album from this US band who seems to have fallen well below the radar of most prog fans. I have never heard about them before and I may purchase the rest of their albums now. Check them out yourself.

3.5 points

ADM - Arena di Tollo Marras (2012)

ADM is a three letter name for the cooperation between Adriano Arena, Maurizio di Tollo and Christian Marras. All of them have decades of experiences from various Italian prog rock bands. Maurizio di Tollo also have a very good solo album which I have reviewed too.

ADM is therefore a gathering of those three talents where they do something entirely different from what they do in their daytime jobs. We are here deep into jazz land. Well, maybe fusion. But I feel most of the material here is pure jazz. Not in the Dixieland tradition, but more in the sole guitarist backed up by bass and drums. This is very much a guitarist, bass and drums trio. Though helped out by some synths too played by the guitarist.

The music comes in three chapters, more or less. One for each musician here. One of the chapters is loud and orchestral in the fusion vein. The two other chapters are very laid-back and understated. The guitarist Adriano is using both acoustic, half acoustic and electric guitar. He is very much setting the tone here. The other two does a very good job on their respective instruments too.

This is a forty minutes long album and a pretty stylish one too. It does lack enough good tracks to make this more than just background noise for someone like me who are not an all out jazz fan. This is more music for the jazz crowd than anyone else. I like a couple of tracks here and that is really it. This is a decent to good album which does not hit me home. Fans of the MoonJune bands should check this out despite of this album being released on the Italian label Mellow Records.

2.5 points

Incredible String Band. The - The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter (1968)

Their third album in as many as three years.

The Incredible String Band were a Scottish band who released thirteen studio bands between 1966 and 1974 before they split up. This album is pretty typical for their music. Pretty monotone atonal vocals driven folk music with sitars, percussions, acoustic guitars and a bass. Very primitive music.

In the case of this album, we get almost an hour with this type of music. I am not a big fan of vocals driven music unless the vocals is great. The vocals here are not great. The only good thing about this album is a couple of good songs and the sitars which sometimes is allowed to breathe on their own. The rest of this album is pretty decent though. I like folk music with more instruments and focus on melodies than what these Scots comes up with on this album. This album is not for me and neither is is any good.

2 points

Canamii - Concept (1980)

A South African project which modeled themselves on the Alan Parsons Project. This album was supposed to be the first of many albums. That was not meant to be.

Alan Parsons Project is a good reference for the music here. Light, flowery, slightly progressive rock with both male and female vocals. The female vocals is trying to copy Kate Bush without hitting the right tones. Nevertheless, these vocals are very good. The rest of the instruments are saxophone, guitars, synths, bass and drums.

The music is pretty good at times. Ditto for the sound. There is no really great, or even good songs here. The whole album, all forty minutes of it, sounds wishy washy and in dire lack of any personality. I think I understand why this project got abandoned after this album. Nuff said.

2 points

Gran Torino - Fate of a Thousand Worlds (2013)

The second album from this instrumental Italian band.

Instrumental prog rock in the borderlands between fusion, prog metal and symph prog is what we get here. Almost an hour full of it. The music is created with guitars, piano, synths, flutes, bass and drums.

The music is at times very heavy and intense. But not as intense as really intense fusion, unfortunate. It still has a lot of fusion incorporated. There is also some avant-garde tendencies here too. Not to mention pretty epic symphonic prog melodies too.

The music is well performed. My main gripe with this good and rather enjoyable album is the lack of any really great tracks that grasps my attention and holds it. There is no such tracks here. Besides of that; this is a fine album well worth checking out.

3 points

Phaedra - Ptah (2010)

The debut album from this Italian symphonic prog band and an album I have really been struggling with for the last two months.

Struggling to get my head around, that is. It is one of those albums where I really cannot make up my mind about. The music on this seventy-five minutes long album is Italian symphonic prog with flutes, Italian vocals, keyboards, guitars, bass and drums. Phaedra is by no means a new band as they have been around since 1998 as a band. The musicians probably has longer experience than that. I notice this because the music is far from being run of the mill Italian symphonic prog rock. The music here is both complex and multi layered. Most of the music is pretty eclectic and not so much straight forward symphonic. It also visits chamber orchestra territory on more than one occasion. It also have some King Crimson like melody lines too.

Ptah is a big mouthful. Not only because of it's length. It is an album without any great song and/or melodies either. It is a good album though. It is also a very dense album which does not easily gives up it's secrets.

3 points  

Doracor - Onirika (2007)

The sixth album from this Italian band.

This Italian band started out as a pure one man instrumental symphonic prog project for later to expand to a full band and a move into mainstream prog. In the case of this album; they are almost a mainstream rock band. Pomp rock, that is.

We still gets the keyboards cascades here, supported by guitars and a symphony orchestra. The vocals are in Italian and is both male and female. All of this supported by drums and bass. This is to my knowledge a concept album, a rock opera too.

The music most certainly sounds like a rock opera. It is monumental massive at times. Unfortunate without really offering up any great songs. This album is a bit step back from their previous two albums. It is still a good album well worth checking out though.

3 points

Elegant Simplicity - Unforgiving Mirror (2013)

The twentieth album from Steve McCabe's Elegant Simplicity.

Elegant Simplicity is a project where he mostly plays all instruments himself. Which sometimes becomes a bit one dimensional to say at least. Something his albums has been suffering from and I suspect this is the reason why twenty albums has come and gone without really setting the prog rock world on fire.

Most of his music is instrumental guitars in the Camel vein. That without Camel's quality. An extreme difficult genre to make good music in. It makes a bad situation a lot worse when he then get lumped into the much derided and unloved neo prog genre. Life is indeed very hard.

We still get the Steve McCabe's guitars and not much else here. That with one exception and that is a big exception. The second track Feels Like A Lifetime. This is an album I am pretty sure could had gone straight into a classic Camel album. The mix of vocals, guitars and keyboards is perfect on this ten minutes long album. A very melancholic song and by far the best song Elegant Simplicity has ever done. A superb track.

The rest of the album is good enough. Tracks for the fans of the band. The above mentioned track will give Steve McCabe some new fans though.

This is a very good album well worth checking out on Progstreaming and on Bandcamp.

3.5 points

The album

Proteo - Under A Polar Red Light (2009)

The debut album from this Italian band who released their second album four years later.

We are in neo prog land again. This time with a more flowery and expanded sound than traditional neo prog bands and albums. In addition to the usual keyboards, guitars, bass, vocals and drums, we also get woodwinds and half-acoustic guitars. The vocals are in English too.

The end result is an album with some post rock influences and a lot of Roxy Music influences in addition to the usual Genesis influences. So much that art rock is perhaps a more fitting label than neo prog.

The sound is great and the music on this fifty minutes long album is good. There is no killer tracks here and no really great tracks. The band has put out their stall on the market with this album and it is perhaps a good idea to keep an eye on them.

3 points

Visible Wind - Catharsis (1988)

The debut album from this Canadian band who released six studio albums between 1988 and 2001. I don't know if the band is still alive. I got two albums by them and this is the first of two reviews.

Neo prog is what these Canadians were up to throughout their career. That means plenty of guitars and keyboards supported by bass and drums. That and some great vocals by Christopher Wells. The sound is a bit 1980s and classic neo prog.

Classic neo prog means they are very Genesis at times. They are also leaning towards Pendragon too. Most of all; this is as classic neo prog as it can get. Plenty of long intricate keyboards runs is assured. The keyboards is the main instrument here and the long keyboards runs is a joy to behold. Ditto for the vocals.

Despite of lacking a killer track or two, this forty-five minutes long album is a very good album which maybe is a bit too slick, but still a great listen. Recommended !

3.5 points

Panta Rhei - Panta Rhei (1980)

The second of in total three studio albums from this Hungarian band.

Their debut album was an ELP copycat album christened Bartok. They left their ELP adulation phase on this self titled album though. What we get here is a lot of vocals, some dodgy synths, guitars, bass and drums.

The end result is a pretty pop rock orientated album with some jazz, symph and neo prog influences. But mostly; pretty commercial pop rock. The sound is the pretty typical plastic fantastic 1980s pop sound. The vocals, in their mother-tongue, is pretty bad and very much in the pop music vein. This is in short a commercial album and it may have gone down well behind the then iron curtain.

Anno 2013, this album sounds hopeless dated. It has this Europop sound and feel. There is no really good songs here either. A couple of good melodies saves is from the turkey yard. But that is all. Feel free to download it from the link below and make up your own mind.

1.5 points

The album

Hopo - Senti (1982)

The first of two albums from this Italian band. I really loved their second album Dietro La Finestra from 1991 and was really looking forward to hear Senti too.

We are in the middle of the Italian prog rock scene here. The music is very lush and warm. The vocals is great, ditto for the keyboards and the guitars. Flutes and trumpets is also making a valuable contribution and they are all backed by bass and drums. The sound is very good too.

The music is not particular heavy although the guitars are a bit distorted now and then. A good comparison is Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso. Very good in fact. The first part of the album is great with some great details and melody lines. OK, they sounds a bit generic and is leaning too heavy on the RPI tradition. But still great. The final half of the album is loosing it's way a bit with a foray into fusion and eclectic music I don't feel is suitable here.

Nevertheless, this is a very good album from a sadly forgotten band. A band with two recommended albums.

3.5 points

Paradiso A Basso Prezzo - Paradiso A Basso Prezzo (1992)

A 1973 live album from an Italian band whose only sign of life is this album. This band briefly appeared and then died again within a couple of years. No studio recordings has been found.

We are on the more jazzy and eclectic end of the Italian prog rock rainbow here. Gnidrolog springs to mind and so does Area. The music is very complex at times. The band is really pushing the envelope a lot here. Hence; no commercial success then.

What is really galling here is the very poor sound quality throughout this one hour long album. If the band had released the material on a studio album, that would had been quite an album. The cascades of keyboards, vocals, pianos and guitars can be heard. The small details cannot be heard, though. The songs seems to be great though. They are all being killed by the piss poor sound quality.

This is a decent to good album which I cannot really recommend due to the sound quality.

2.5 points

Three Monks - The Legend Of The Holy Circle (2013)

The second album from this Italian church/pipe organ project.

Their 2010 debut album Neogothic Progressive Toccatas was a sensational debut and a genre in it's own right. Take a pipe organ, add some drums and bass and you get this genre. We are talking more neo classical music than progressive rock. Neogothic Progressive Toccatas also had some stunning tracks which I suspect had been long in making. An absolute essential album for those into symphonic prog.

The Legend Of The Holy Circle is still in the same vein as the debut album. It is not as bombastic though. The aural bombs and grenades has been stored away and replaced with a slightly less bombastic sound. That was my disappointment when I put on this album for the first time. I was looking forward to some aural bombs and grenades.

Paolo Lazzeri has gone for a much more pastoral sound this time. One of the tracks has an almost Chinese classical music feel. On other tracks, he goes a bit more down the bombastic aural assault path. The music here is by no means soft or ambient. This is still a pretty bombastic album which will give most people a lot of joy.

This album does not have those "hits" the debut album had too. The melodies here is much more subtle and deeper to a great deal. We still get almost an hour with neo-classical pipe organ music here though. It is still the type of music I have not heard anyone else do. Three Monks is a genre in themselves and this is a very good album, bordering to a great album.

3.5 points

Ejwuusl Wessahqqan - Ejwuusl Wessahqqan (1975)

A one off German krautrock band with an almost impossible name to remember. Let alone spell. Copy and paste from another blog, it is then.

Their music is not that original. But it is refreshingly krautrock with the emphasis on the space rock end of the krautrock scene. No vocals at all can be found. Instead, we get bombarded by keyboards and guitars work outs. That on the top of bass and drums who anchors the music to this world. The music is mostly pretty intense with some shorter pastoral pieces too. The sound is not too bad and very much suits the music performed here.

This album is a sixty-seven minutes long aural assault of the finest krautrock and my kind of music. I think this is a great album and one hidden gem in this scene. Hidden gems I run this blog for. My kind of joy. Not everything is great here though. But a weak four points is awarded nevertheless.

4 points

Tisaris - Once Humanity (1994)

The second of total three albums from this Brazilian symph prog band. I was not overawed by their first album. But I am giving them another chance.

I was starting to wonder if I had got the wrong CD when I listened to the first ten minutes of this album. It was pure Eloy all the way. Very odd. Then the music goes back to neo prog again and more Pendragon like neo prog. There are also some symph prog here.

The sound is not particular good. Ditto for the vocals. The music is very varied and all over the place. I get the feeling this is a compilation album from Tisaris. There is a couple of decent songs here. But that is all. A weak decent rating, it is.

2 points

Quella Vecchia Locanda - Il Tempo Della Gioia (1974)

The second and final album from this Italian band.

Their self titled debut album caused quite a stir. It still does, btw. This band's blend of King Crimson'ish eclectic prog and symphonic Italian prog is a pretty unusual blend. It was back then, anyway. There is probably more King Crimson anno Red than symphonic prog on this album.

This album is a very complex piece of music and it was created by piano, keyboards, guitars, bass and drums. That and Italian vocals. There are almost some Area and Univers Zero over their more jazzy parts of this album. An album which combines eclectic, avant-garde and jazzy with a lush sound too. It is quite a remarkable combination.

This album does not really have a great track though and some of the music here is not great too. This is a very good album though which I would recommend to anyone.

3.5 points

Electric Light Orchestra - Secret Messages (1983)

The eleventh album from this English band.

This band have had quite a remarkable career, being mixed up with the disco scene for a while too. They originally started up as an orchestral version of The Beatles and they have returned to their roots on this album too. Gone is the disco flirtations. But gone is also their naive late 1960s/early 1970s sound too.

What remains is a pretty ordinary album who fitted into the scene at that time. Pop rock in other words based on songs and songs alone. Jeff Lynne was not so lucky in this respect on this album. The sound is good, but the songs are not.

This one hour long album has a couple of good songs in Bluebird and Letter From Spain. The rest is cosy, nice but only decent. The band is out of form here, but is still showing signs of improvements.

2.5 points

Scaramanga Six. The - Phantom Head (2013)

The seventh album from this British band.

Hmm.... This is not what I expected from a band which has been labeled crossover prog in ProgArchives. So let me elaborate on this in this review. Which is exactly what a review is for.

I would place this music and band in the art rock, post punk genre. There is a very big slant of post-punk here. Steam punk, I guess this may be labeled. There is also a lot of pub rock here and indie rock. Some rockabilly can also be detected and a lot of eclectic rock. The music is very eclectic and avant-garde. This at the same time as the instrumentations is pretty simple. If my ears does not deceive me, the music is being performed with guitars, piano, bass, drums and vocals. The vocals is pretty dominating. The guitars sometimes reminds me about The Smiths. They also have a lot of heavy metal and punk riffs. The bass is pretty basic and ditto for the drums.

The end result is pretty eclectic and probably an anathema towards fans of Genesis and Yes. In that respect, the music here is progressive with a great deal of punk rock attitude. I am not easy offended so I take that on my chin. I have to admit I don't really find any good songs here though. Maybe I am too old, but this album does not really appeal to me at all. This is my first meeting with their music and very probably my last one too. This is not my type of music. I am too old for another revolution.

2 points

Mostly Autumn - Passengers (2003)

Their fifth album.

Mostly Autumn is an English band whose mix of celtic folk music and progressive rock influenced a generation of similar sounding bands. It took the band sometime to find their voice, though. They found it on this album. In my opinion, though. Many will disagree with me.

Passengers is an hour long romp through symph prog songs with strong celtic and folk rock influences. Heather Findlay's vocals is excellent. The same goes for the rest of the band. A bit pedestrian and mainstream rock at times. But flutes and the celtic sound saves the bacon many times. The balance is pretty close to perfect between the mainstream instruments like guitars and keyboards and the more celtic instruments.

There is also a lot of great details here. The vocals and the vocal harmonies is superb and really add warmth to this album. The title track is also a superb track. The rest of the album is also a joy to behold.

Passengers is a great album and one I very much enjoy. It comes highly recommended.

4 points  

Evolution - The First Signs Of Life (1996)

The so far only album from this English band. A one man project by Ken Senior.

We are in neo prog land again. Neo prog land is an alternative name for England, I sometimes feel. This is one of many bands, projects and albums who follows in the wake of the likes of Genesis, Pendragon and Marillon.

This almost seventy minutes long album offers up a good run through this land with some added Camel influences too. The sound is not good though. Neither is Ken Senior's vocals is pretty poor. The songs are pretty long with a lot of guitars, keyboards, drums and bass. The music is very generic neo prog and offers up nothing new. Hence this being a one album only project, I guess.

This is a good album for those who want old style neo prog. I only rate this as a decent album because I am not a big fan of that genre. I think the album is streamed on Mellow Records homepage, alternative their Bandcamp page if you want to check out this album.

2 points

Amon Düül II - Eternal Flashback (1996)

Their fifteenth album.

This once so great German krautrock band was now only running on fumes and barely that. Eternal Flashback is a sixty-seven minutes long piece with throwaway stuff from 1969 to 1971. Bits and pieces discarded from other albums. A riff here, a short melody line here, a fifteen seconds long piece there. Everything cobbled together.

The result is chaos and a dispirited album. It is also a cash in on a good band name. This album is not worthy such a good name, although this name has been damaged after the very poor Kobe album. Frankly; this album is a rip off and a worthless piece of junk. Enough said.

1 point

Janus - Under The Shadow Of The Moon (2013)

The tenth album from this British band whose the 1972 debut album Gravedigger is still regarded as a classic album.

Janus has been releasing new albums on an irregular basis and has got a pretty loyal following. I have yet to sink my teeth into Gravedigger so I barely know this band. Under The Shadow Of The Moon is indeed my first meeting with this band.

The music here is mainstream rock with a pretty major psychedelic rock and folk/country rock edge. This is by all means a very English album with guitars, saxophone, keyboards, bass, drums and vocals. Some of the music is also pretty folk halls influenced. Good references is David Bowie.

The guitars are pretty good and the main good thing here. The music itself is not particular good on this one hour long album. I find it boring and uninspiring. Hence my not so generous points. It is a safe album though.

2.5 points

High Wheel - 1910 (1993)

The debut album from this German band who so far has released four studio albums. I reviewed their last album Back From The Void last year.

We are deep into neo prog land again. Neo prog with some added space rock, King Crimson and symph prog influences. The band expands their neo prog here. Tries to expand their music, that is. The setup is still the usual synths, guitars, bass, drums and English vocals. None of the musicians impresses me and the sound has a bit of a ramshackle feeling. The vocals is also weak. The music pretty generic too. The word "professional" does not apply here. Neither does the word "charming" applies. However, the word "dull" applies.

This is a decent debut album and nothing more. There is no good songs here and nothing much to shout about. It is a pretty dull album, ready to put any unaware listener to sleep. Don't drive and listen to this album.

2 points  

Lizard - Master & M (2013)

The fifth studio album from this Polish art rock band.

I know next to nothing about this band whose debut album was released back in 1997. A rather good debut album, I have been told. The band is highly rated and that is why I forked out some dollars to get this album.

Lizard is an art rock band, much more than a progressive rock band. Their music is somewhere between fusion, funk, AOR and in particular; King Crimson'ish eclectic prog. The music is very funky throughout where the bassist and the drummer is working overtime. They are supported by synths, piano and guitars. That and some very good Polish vocals. Yes, this is one of the very few Polish bands who does vocals in their mother tongue. Something that enhance this album instead of doing it down. It also feels like a natural fit to the music itself.

The sound is top rate, but the music is lacking in the great songs department. This is by all means a good album though. But it does not gel with me as I am not a fan of this funky type of music. Sorry, but this is not for me.

3 points

Magdalena - Lanean Sartzen (1981)

The so far only album from this Basque region, Spanish band.

Magdalena is connected to the most famous Basque region band of them all; Itoiz. I am not familiar with them and the connection between those two bands though.

We are in any case in the prog folk/folk rock genre here. Basque folk rock, that is.... or Spanish folk rock if you want. The vocals are in either the Basque language or in Spanish. I don't know. This album is by no means a run of the mill folk rock album. Take a large chunk of folk rock, add some heavy guitars and some very jazzy, funky that is, melody lines. The result is a very Spanish album with a lot of passion and life. Music done by guitars, flutes, keyboards, bass and drums. That and the vocals. Good vocals, btw.

It is also a heady mix of three different genres. It is a bit like Jethro Tull too. But with a Spanish flavour. It also reminds me about Italian prog rock too. Still with a Spanish flavour.

The end result is a good album with a very good sound. There is no great songs here. I like Spanish prog a lot and this album is right up my street. Check it out if you can.

3 points

Fruitcake - Power Structure (1998)

The fifth album from this Norwegian neo prog band.

Fruitcake is a strange band in many ways. Their mix of neo prog and symph prog with some added Norwegian naive sound is pretty unique. I would compare them to Prudence in many ways. Not in their music, but with their DIY attitude and naive sound. There is a bird with a broken wing feel over their music. Most of it is due to Pal Sovik's vocals which is special to say at least. Not particular good either.

On Power Structure, they have gone more symph prog than on previous albums. A rich and majestic keyboards sound is obvious a big help to them. The guitars too is also majestic. The bass, mandolin and drums tags along on this journey too.

The result is a good one hour long album with some very good melody lines. Even the vocals is tolerable on this album. Well, it is their trademark. I still recommends this album.

3 points

Grendel - The Helpless (2008)

The so far only album from this Polish band.

There are numerous bands with the Grendel name. There is only one Polish neo prog band though with this name and this is the band whose album I am now reviewing.

Neo prog is the call here and pretty much classic neo prog too. Riverside, Marillion and Genesis springs to mind. The sound is great and the music is in the more melodic poppy commercial end of the neo prog scene. The music is uncomplicated straight forward and made by keyboards, guitars, bass, drums and English vocals.

The compositions and the music is good. Good a couple of times before I am asking myself if there is nothing more to this album than surface based music with no really hidden dept. There is none here. It is good on the ear, but not for the brain. A bit unsatisfactory, but still a good album.

3 points

Tabula Smaragdina - A Szavakon Túl (2010)

The so far only album from this Hungarian band.

Hungary has a rather good prog rock scene. They also had a couple of very good bands when they were behind the iron curtain which divided Europe into "them and us" between 1945 and roughly 1990.

In the case of Tabula Smaragdina, we are somewhere between neo prog, a bit jazz, a lot of straight rock and a bit symph prog. The male vocals are in their Magyar language. The setup is the typical guitars, keyboards, bass and drums in addition to the vocals. The bass is pretty funky and jazzy. The synths too plastic fantastic. The drums are steady and the guitars are pretty neo prog'ish. The vocals are really good too.

This fifty minutes long album is really a debut album where the band tests out various things to see what works and not works. I don't feel the world need another bland neo prog band so I would put the neo prog stuff in the bin if I was them. I would rather develop the symph prog bit and include a healthy Hungarian folk rock influence too. Those pieces works well here. Add more moog and melotron in the mix and you got a winner.

The end result is a good debut album from a band I hope we will hear a lot more from in the future.

3 points

Tisaris - What's Beyond (1992)

Tisaris was a Brazilian band who released three albums between 1992 and 1997. What's Beyond is their debut album.

It is also a neo prog album in the best Marillion tradition. Or worst, if you want. The setup is the usual neo prog setup. Keyboards, guitars, bass, drums and vocals. The English vocals is in the Fish tradition.

The band is close to being a Marillion clone. At times, they are just that. The sound is not good at all and the songs suffers from that. The music is pretty good though. This seventy minutes long album is a slow starter and really only gets going halfway through it with some, well, Marillion cloned melodies. There is nothing really exciting here, to be true.

The end result is a decent to good album which is suffering from a bad sound and too many obvious Marillion clones. Fans of Marillion should check out this album.

2.5 points

Flash - Flash Featuring Ray Bennett & Colin Carter (2013)

The fourth album from this English band and their first since 1973. That is a gap of 40 years, ladies and gentlemen.

Flash was Peter Banks band. Peter was most known as an ex Yes member and played on some of their early albums. He is a legend who sadly passed away some months ago. I have to admit I have yet to hear a tone of Peter Banks version of Flash. But I am not sure why this album was released under the Flash moniker as I have heard that the 1970s Flash were an eclectic prog band.

Flash anno 2013 is nothing but eclectic prog. We are talking straight rock here with some neo prog and AOR influences. But most of all; this is some great old grandees having fun on an album. I cannot begrudge them that and it is nice that this album has become quite popular. It is possibly the best selling Flash albums of them all.

The Hammond organs and the guitars are very good here. Ditto for the vocals. The music reminds me about Bad Company to a certain extent. Good old 1970s rock with a slight edge. And this is a good album though in it's own right. I don't like the album title that much and I think the album cover is a lazy letdown. A bit better packaging would had been a lot more respectful towards the Flash brand. The music itself is good and a reminder how straight rock with the 1970s sound sounded like. Check it out.

3 points  

Califfi. I - Fiore di Metallo (1973)

The second album from this Italian band who in total released four albums... so far. Maybe they are still around.

I Califfi was a member of the pretty big and active Italian beat scene in the late 1960s. As many other beat bands, they saw where the wind was blowing and turned into an Italian progressive rock, RPI band. Fiore di Metallo is said to be their only prog rock album though. I have no idea how their three other albums sounds. I guess their debut album was a beat album.

The music on this album is performed with organ, synth, piano, percussions, guitars, bass and drums. That and some very good vocals and vocal harmonies.

The band announces their new style on the first song, the pretty catchy Nel Mio Passato. The best song on the album is the title track though with a very good hook and melody. Their new style, their style on this album only is a mix of beat and prog rock. Mostly prog rock, but the band is not completely giving up on the beat music. They have also mixed in some Italian pop music, hard rock and some classical music into the mix too. ELP, Deep Purple and Le Orme springs to mind.

The end result is a charming, pretty catchy forty-five minutes long album. It is also a good album which should satisfy the cravings of every RPI fans out there. I really like this album and would recommend it.

3 points

New Grove Project. The - Brill (2005)

The second and so far final album from this Swedish-US band.

Roine Stolt has left the band since their Fool's Journey album from 1997. They have also largely abandoned their symphonic prog roots and their Flower Kings inspirations. What is left is....... well, that is a bit difficult to explain. Take a lot of Balkan folk rock, pop music, rock, showbands music, folk hall music and waltz.
Mix that with some symphonic prog and neo prog. The end result is something entirely different from my daily fare. It is still rock music, but also very weird.

The music is still based on Hammond organs, piano, guitars, bass, drums and some more untraditional instruments like dulcimer. That and some rather poor vocals.

The end result is a barely decent one hour long album which falls very short of what I expected from them. I am not sure if I can recommend this album at all. The vocals is rather poor and the music falls flat on it's face. There are still some sporadic good stuff here. Mostly when the band returns to their symph prog roots. Besides of that; avoid.

2 points
 

Panta Rhei - Bartok (1977)

The first of in total three studio albums from this Hungarian band.

The album title is a give away for what you will find on this album. It is all about the Hungarian composer Bela Bartok (1881 - 1945). A classical composer which rightly is a hero in Hungary and much loved in the rest of the world too.

Panta Rhei is a four man piece + a vocalist who were educated in the Hungarian music academies and then let themselves loose on this project. A very, very ELP like project. It is not much wrong to call them ELP copycats. The synths and keyboards sounds like Keith Emerson. Even the sporadic vocals sounds like Greg Lake too. Most of the music is keyboards and more keyboards.

The end result is a.... well, not particular original album. The sound is not that good either. It is muddy and compressed. The music far too ELP like. This and other Panta Rhei albums is free downloads from their homepage (see link below) and feel free to check out this half an hour long album yourself. This is a decent album in my view, but nothing more.

2 points

Homepage

Osada Vida - Particles (2013)

The sixth album from this Polish band.

Osada Vida is one of those bands from Poland who sits comfortably between neo prog and prog metal. Very melodic, very clever and a bit soulless. Their music has been created with keyboards, guitars, bass and drums. That and English vocals. Vocals which alternate between melodic and some djent growling.

I have to admit that this is really not my cup of tea. But the band is really good and they sporadic also manages to create some melancholy in their music. Most of this album is in the clever and rather soulless category.

Despite of this fifty minutes long album being a good album, I do not find much that capture my attention. I do admit that this is a good band though. They manages to come up with some really good details and melody lines. But this is not for me, though.

3 points

Amoeba Split - Dance Of The Goodbyes (2010)

The debut album from this Spanish band after their self titled EP in 2003. The band is not particular active when it comes to the studio in other words. Let's hope they are still around.

Amoeba Split is a pretty jazzy band. I have seen them being put in the Canterbury prog genre. Hence my purchase of this album as that is one of my favorite genres. I have no objections to that label on their music. I do feel that their music is on the cool and detached side though. The female vocalist has a pretty cool voice. Almost a lounge jazz voice. Well, she has a lounge jazz voice. Her name is Maria Toro, btw and she also contributes with flutes here. The other instruments are woodwinds, piano, keyboards, bass, guitars and drums. A pretty jazzy setup in other words.

Their music has been compared to Soft Machine. Well, we talking Softs and Bundles era Soft Machine. Not to mention Land Of Cockayne. The music is never as intense as on their Third  to Seven. The music is also mainly instrumental throughout. Pierre Moerlin's Gong and Caravan has also been mentioned as a reference. I also agree with that.

This is indeed a cool album where my only gripe is the lack of any really great songs. It falls a bit short in several areas. I like my jazz a bit more intense too. This is nevertheless a very good album which I would really recommend to everyone. The band should get together and release more albums.

3.5 points

La Barca - Eclosion (2011)

The second album from this Argentine band if I am not much mistaken. I know nothing about them as they are very much a local band.

La Barca is a band who is trading their stuff in the borderland between neo prog, rock, pop and heavy prog. The setup is the usual keyboards, guitars, bass and drums. This in addition to some very good Spanish vocals.

The vocals is their biggest plus. The guitars, keyboards and the rest of the instruments is just tagging along and supporting the vocals. The songs are in the middle of the road throughout this forty-five minutes long album. An album which clearly has been released for the local market; Argentina and perhaps the surrounding countries. A wise choice as this is a big area who can support a band like La Barca.

The end result is a decent album which does not appeal to me that much. I wish them the best and suggest that they should keep it local.

2 points

Present - High Infidelity (2001)

The sixth album from this Belgium based avant-garde band.

A highly rated band too by many people. Their band name is grossly misleading as their music is on the claustrophobic darkened side of the avant-garde spectrum. Positive cinematic horror movie like music and not for the faint hearted.

It has to be said that this album is the least horror gruesome album they have ever released, if my memory serves me right. It feels very claustrophobic and their trademark atonal piano is still there. The vocals is more of the cinematic screamo kind of vocals. The guitars are dissonant and the woodwinds is also very present here. The bass and drums is grinding away in the background.

On this album, I feel the band is in repeat mode. Repeat of their previous albums. I much prefer their two first albums. They have also taken a step towards jazz here and that adds another dimension to their music. Music which is sometimes bordering to zeuhl on this album.

High Infidelity is a bit of a backwards step for this band. It is still a good album which I recommend. I recommend all their albums as Present is an important band in the scene. Their dissonance is needed in the scene.

3 points

Fairport Convention - Unhalfbricking (1969)

The third album from these English folk rock legends.

Both Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson is involved in the band and this album at that time. Both legends in their own right as this band is also legends. Sandy Denny is now sadly departed and much missed. Richard Thompson is still very much with us and has just released a new album.

Both are in free flow on this forty minutes, eight songs long album. Sandy's vocals are wonderful while Richard does a brilliant job on guitars and everything else with strings he could get his hands on. They are very much supported by bass, backing vocals, fiddle and drums.

Folk rock is a genre which was and still is pretty limited in it's expression. This album is pretty much pushing the envelope in this genre and musical expression. The eleven minutes long A Sailor's Wife is Richard in full flow on his guitars and strings. A genius at work, no less. That goes for a lot of other songs too. Although I love Sandy's voice, I have to admit this is Richard's album. Sandy does some stunning vocals on this album too. The opening song Genesis Hall is her in full flow. Her best song is Who Knows Where The Times Goes where her vocals is simply stunning.

The rest of the album is not up to that standard. A couple of songs are throwaway songs and barely fillers. This leaves a very good album which I really like a lot and which rekindles my interest in a band who can only be called legends. A band who every year is staging the Copredy festival and a lot of good things for the British music scene.

3.5 points

Terraced Garden - Braille (1984)

The second album from this Canadian band.

Their debut album Melody And Menace from 1982 was an eclectic prog album with a lot of references to the likes of King Crimson and in particular Gentle Giant. A very good album too. They have changed their tune two years later on this album, Braille.

First of all; their vocalist Carl Tafel now sings like if he was Richard Sinclair in Caravan. The rest of the band has also shed of most of their King Crimson and Gentle Giant attitudes and adopted a much more Caravan like style. At times, they sounds like Caravan. The introduction of violins and a more folk rock sound sets them apart from Caravan though. There are also some typical 1980s like new rock stuff here.

I really like the vocals as I am a big fan of Richard Sinclair's vocals. The music on this forty-five minutes long album is still on the complex, eclectic side and still pleasantly enough influenced by Gentle Giant. The music here is by no means straight forward and has several layers of details and melodies.

Braille is a very good album which I recommend. Check it out if you can.

3.5 points

T - Psychoanorexia (2013)

The fourth album from Thomas Thielen from the band Scythe who also release albums under the moniker T.

There seems to be various sub genres within the neo prog genre these days. Some tries to sound as commercial as possible, preferable with a female vocalist. A sure winner. Others again tries the prog metal route. Also a winner. Musicians like Thomas Thielen and mostly German bands tries the melancholic, still very majestic route.

Psychoanorexia is a majestic album with a lot of soaring guitar solos, great keyboards runs, piano, bass and drums. And let's not forget; Thomas excellent understated vocals. That is a good recipe for creating moods and ambiences. A bit ebb and flows, symphonic drama and time to let the melodies develop over a long time. Which he does on this almost seventy minutes long album which is divided into four songs. Four suites, I think it is right to call them. Three of them are twenty minutes long. The fourth song, make that song three on the album, is only ten minutes long. I think it is still only fair to regard this as one seventy minutes long piece of music.

The sound is excellent and the album is both an immediate hit and a grower at the same time. It grabs hold on the listener from first minute, but it still needs some listening sessions to really sink in properly.

There is no really killer tracks here. Nevertheless; this is a great album and one heck of a classy neo prog album. It comes highly recommended.

4 points

Zartong - Zartong (1979)

The only album from this Armenian band. Back in those days, Armenia was a member nation of the USSR, Soviet Union. Now, they are independent.

Zartong is nominally a folk rock band. But they have mixed in disco, a lot of pop music, fusion and rock into their Armenian folk music. The music is rather commercial. Or make that; very commercial. Back in 1979, that is. This album is a melting pot of violins, local instruments, bass, drums, guitars, keyboards and male vocals.

The result is a couple of good songs in the folk rock vein and some rather dubious material throughout this almost forty minutes long album. The band is trying to cater for a lot of various scenes and does not really satisfy any of them. Check it out if you want, but be warned. Those disco rhythms is nasty.

2 points

Elegant Simplicity - Studies In Heartbreak (2005)

The seventeenth album from this Steve McCabe project since 1992. A pretty impressive work-rate, although quantity rarely means quality. But as long as he and his fans loves it; no harm is done.

Studies In Heartbreak is another instrumental symphonic prog album. Loosely, in the Camel genre. But Steve also uses more classical music instruments on this album in addition to his guitar and keyboards. I guess most instruments are sampled as hiring a full orchestra is beyond the financial means of this project.

There is a lot more to this band and album than electric guitar solos. Of whom, there is not many off, in fact. Flutes seems to be everywhere, though. The music is very elegant at places. Elegant, but not toothless and new age and ambient.

The result is a pretty good one hour long album and I now understand why Steve and this band has enough fans to sustain this amount of album releases. I am not a fan of instrumental albums. But this one is rather good and a weak good status is awarded.

3 points

New Grove Project. The - Fool's Journey (1997)

The first of two albums from a Swedish/USA based band. Roine Stolt were a member of this band too on this album and this album is therefore an obligatory album for those who want a complete Roine Stolt discography.

Fool's Journey is a journey through neo prog and symphonic prog land. Very light and flowery music, it is too. Roine Stolt does all guitars here and he is supported by keyboards, bass, drums and vocals. The vocals are pretty decent. There is some Flower Kings over this music. There is also some retro 1970s and Kaipa feel over this album. Kaipa is probably the best comparison.

The music is not particular good. Not to mention impressive. It is very sparse on details, melodies and hooks. The sound is very good though. But that is really it on a decent album I really don't like that much.

2 points

Thork - Nula Jedan (2007)

The third and so far final album from this French eclectic prog band.

Their previous two albums were all pretty dark and eclectic. They established this band as a hidden gem in the French scene. They never got the attention they deserved. Their more accessible symph prog eclectic sound on this album, Nula Jedan, may have been an attempt to reach out to more people at the same time as keeping their core eclectic sound and music ideas alive.

Nula Jedan is pretty much symphonic and majestic at the same time as being eclectic. I don't think it is much wrong to point out that this may be the French answer to the more eclectic Gentle Giant albums. Nula Jedan is more elaborate and melodic at the same time. There is a richness of details here which is one of Thork's trademarks. Nothing here is what they seems. Hence; this album requires a lot of time to really gel with the listener.

The end result is a very good album and a confirmation that Thork was a unique band. Their mix of traditional instruments with the likes of violin, cello, trumpet and other woodwinds is really great. Ditto for the French vocals and the many different type of vocals and vocal harmonies. Thork went where very few dared to go. The end result is their three albums which is highly recommended. That includes this album too.

3.5 points

Corte Dei Miracoli - Corte Dei Miracoli (1976)

The debut album from this Italian band who went on to release in total two albums. The final album in 1992.

This band was a five piece with Vittorio De Scalzi guesting as a guitarist. The main instrument here is keyboards though as they had two keyboards players. Guitars, bass and drums is supporting the keyboards and the Italian vocals. Very good vocals, it is too.

Music wise, the two keyboards gives the music away a bit. Italian symphonic prog, it is. ELP and Keith Emerson is a big influence here. They have also combined this with Italian rock, folk and pop music. The arch typical Rock Progressivo Italiano sound & music, in other words. Good references are the likes of Banco and Le Orme.

The songs and material here is good throughout. A great or even a killer track is missing here. It is good to hear the ELP like keyboards riffs on this album. It brings a smile to my face. Besides of that; this is a good album well worth checking out.

3 points

Daymoon - Fabric Of Space Divine (2013)

The second album from this Portugal based band. Or rather; project lead by Fred Lessing. Their debut album, All Tomorrows from 2011, turned a lot of heads and gave the band a solid platform. Hence my curiosity and purchase of this album.

To say that I was surprised is a bit of an understanding. Fabric Of Space Divine is truly an album full of ideas and different music genres. The music is all over the place from Eastern music to more Americana, calypso pop music, prog rock and other more obscure musical expressions.

The music is created by a bewildering amount of instruments, the list far too long for this review.

Strangely enough, the music here works. I am not so sure if it works under the album concept. But it still works. The music is good throughout. It is far, far out though. A kind of an anarchistic commune somewhere in the forest. But the music is good.....

3 points

Killed On X Mas - III (2000)

The third and so far final album from this German krautrock band.

The previous two albums were pretty hard metallic growling affairs where the listener was hit by a wall of sound. A wall of disharmonic guitars, that is. Krautrock meets metal and sludge. This album though is a very different kettle of fish again.

The band has gone far more indie rock and ambient on III. The music is still spacy and you get the occasional guitar walls with some feedbacks and distortions. The main emphasis is half accoustic guitars and vocals though. That and bass with drums in the background.

This album is sixty-three minutes long divided on eleven songs. That means this album is more songs orientated than spaced out as their previous albums too. They have in the process lost some of their charm and is now demanding to be taken as a serious space indie rock band.

That is a bit difficult without any really good songs. The album is middling along here. The sound is good and there are some good ideas along the way. There are also some dull moments here too. I land somewhere between decent and good on this one, a free download album. Check it out yourself.

2.5 points

The album