I hope you still enjoy the 3000 reviews in this blog.
The blog is now an archive.
It is an archive as # 1 became an archive in 2016.
The new and very active blog, The Sound Of Fighting Cats # 3 is available at
The second album from this UK band.
The band is a quintet with a lineup of percussion, drums, bass, synth, guitars and vocals.
I very much liked their 2017 debut album Wish For Spring. A good album indeed from this Brighton band.
The band continues to play heavy prog. This time much more harder, bolder and complex than before.
The music is bordering to symphonic prog at times. It is also bordering to neo-prog.
There are also some djent here and harsh vocals too.
The music is very complex and still melodic at the same time. I guess this is called modern progressive rock.
It is also guitars based with some synths in between just to fill in the empty spaces in the sound. There is also a lot of good vocals here.
I prefer the debut album to this one. But just marginally as this album is a good album too.
This band deserve a lot more attention and should get it through this album.
3 points
The third album from this band from Germany.
The band is a trio with a lineup of drums, guitars, bass and synths.
I am not familiar with this band's previous two albums as this is not really my type of music.
The music is stripped down psych rock with a lot of post-metal influences.
The music is in trio format and very simple.
There is not much going on during these forty minutes and this album is not really anything for a progressive rock fan.
Half a point for some half decent details and that is it.
1.5 points
The fifth and so far latest album from this band from Switzerland.
The band is a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards, synths and vocals.
This band has developed a lot since their debut album.
The band started out as a clean sounding neo-prog band with the English sound. Then they developed and they have also ended up with this one hour long album.
The music is a mix of neo-prog and art rock. There is also a lot of symphonic prog in their music.
The music is pretty complex and bold.
It is also pretty melodic with some great vocals.
The end result is a good album from a good band. It is well worth checking out.
3 points
The debut album from this Australian band.
The band is a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, programming and vocals.
I have recently got three of their albums and will review these albums this summer.
... Starting with this album.
The first that hit me is a wall of sound. On the top of that wall, we get some really powerful and melodic female vocals.
There is some post-rock in their music. The main part of the music is a mix of hard prog and neo-prog. Both Marillion and Porcupine Tree has been pretty influential on this band and their music.
The sound is both big and bold.
The quality of the music is a mix of good and decent.
I like this album and is looking forward to reviewing the two remaining albums of them I have got. I may even get the two albums I am missing.
This band sounds like they know what they are doing.
2.5 points
The second album from this US band.
The band is a trio with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars and guitar synths.
I got three albums with this US band out of in total five albums they have released. I will probably get the two remaining albums too. The three albums I have got is now up for review this summer.
This band delivers some strange music, indeed.
The basis is very rhythm based rock/jazz/fusion. There is a lot of Indian and Balkan influences in their music.
Flairck seems like a good reference here. So does many of the jazz/fusion albums released through MoonJune Records.
This is indeed a weird album and not the typical progressive rock album. It is too rhythm based to really be melodic.
The album has a lot of good things going for it. But the quality is not always good.
This is a decent to good album from one of the more original and eclectic bands in the scene.
2.5 points
The third album from this US band.
The band is a sextet with a lineup of drums, percussion, theremin, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.
They were helped by some guest musicians who added sea organ (?), choir and backing vocals.
I really liked their debut album but has lost out on their second album. An album I will soon get. So I was looking forward to review this album.
The band is clearly a symphonic prog band on this album. US symphonic prog, that is.
There is lots of references to Genesis, Kansas, The Flower Kings and Yes here. There is also a lot of Supertramp, Styx and Trans-Siberian Orchestra references here.
The music is big and bold. Very big and bold.
The music is complex too and offers up a good ride during this one hour long album.
It is a very good album indeed and one to cherish.
Check it out.
3.5 points
The 12th album from this British band.
The band was a sextet on this album with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards, synths, programming and vocals.
The band had help from three guests who did strings, drums, percussion, programming and bass.
The band was well established and safe in their new environment. Which is.... ?
Well, the band's music is a mix of post rock, ambient, Marillion like art-rock, metal and a lot of Pink Floyd'ish psych rock.
The music is really emotive and melodic on this album. There is lots of female and male vocals here.
The quality is good throughout. This is not one of their most interesting albums though.
Nevertheless, this album is another reason to really like this band. A band I have grown to get very fond of.
3 points
The second album from this band from Denmark.
The band is a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, synths, flute and vocals.
I very much liked their 2016 debut album Kometen Kommer and was looking forward to review this album.
The name of the album means Silverbrains in English.
The music is fittingly enough space rock with some psychedelia and hard rock included.
The flute gives me a lot of 1970s vibes and this album has indeed at least half a leg in the 1970s.
The guitars and bass is everywhere. The music is pretty melodic as it has a lot of hard rock and psych incorporated.
There is no great songs here. But the album is nicely working out fine during the forty-five minutes it's last.
It is good to see so many new space rock bands these days. Maneskjold is one of the better ones from Scandinavia.
3 points
The one and only album from this British band.
The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, flute, percussion, mellotron, keyboards and vocals.
It is my understanding from their discography that this album was recorded in 1972 and was then quickly forgotten before an obscure label released it in 2001.
I am glad they did that.
The music is a mix of folk rock and progressive rock. Progressive folk rock, it is called.
The mellotron sound is good and ditto for the vocals.
The music is pretty complex, yet melodic with a clear folk rock sound.
The sound is also the typical 1970s sound.
The music is at times good. This is indeed a good album and a forgotten gem well worth checking out.
3 points
The eight and final album from this Swedish band.
The band was a quartet on this album with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.
The band quit the scene after eight albums and minimal success. The truth is that the music was too complex and too eclectic for even the progressive rock scene. The split up of this band is one of the greatest tragedies in this scene.
The band gives us an hour of eclectic progressive rock. The music is a mix of Scandinavian symphonic prog, folk rock and eclectic prog in the King Crimson and Gentle Giant mould.
The vocals are really great and the music is pretty melodic too.
This album also has some majestic pieces of music and showcases a band who are sorely missed.
This is their swansong but all their last six albums is albums all prog rock fans should own.
This is indeed a very good album.
3.5 points
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The one and only album from this Dutch band.
The band was a trio with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards, synths and vocals.
Me and this album goes back a long time. I got a cassette promo of it from the Dutch death metal/grindcore label Cyber Music. Their albums so far had been of the more ultra-brutal metal sort.
I really liked this album back then and compared the band to Rush. I also regarded this album as a progressive rock album.
I had been looking for this album again for the last ten years before it popped up on Youtube. That made me happy.
The music has some Yes and Rush influences. It also got some Pearl Jam and grunge influences. Not to forget the frequent neo-prog influences.
The vocals sounds strained and the musicians does not really do a good job. The music is pretty simplistic and not so developed.
The album is not as good as I thought it would be, 27 years after I started to listen to it.
This album is a pretty decent albums but nothing more than that.
2 points
The fourth album from this US band.
The band was a quartet on this album with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, keyboards, guitars and vocals.
The band had help from some guest musicians who provided saxophones, harmonica, electric harmonica, percussion, keyboards and vocals.
The band was by now pretty established and their frontman Rickey Medlocke, who today plays in Lynyrd Skynyrd, had got a semi-god status in the scene.
The band was by now pursuing a career in the heavy metal and hard rock genre. That is where we find this album.
The music is somewhere in the crossroads between US hard rock and heavy metal. The music is hard throughout.
There are also some southern rock and stadium rock here. But not as much on previous albums.
The result is a decent enough album. It is not particular interesting and it feels like the band was by now overtaken by the new young guns in the scene.
Those into hard rock should check out this album.
2 points
The debut album from this band from Chile.
The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, piano, recorder and vocals.
A guest contributed with flute on some tracks.
I got most if not all albums of this band and will do a review of them during the rest of the year. Or even into the new year. I will see how this pans out.
The band is quite important in the South American scene and well worth a series of reviews.
Their debut album is a folk rock infused rock/pop album.
It is more or less a folk rock album but with some sparse instruments. The flutes are the ones that shines through as the most folk orientated sound.
The vocals are really good and this forty five minutes long album is quite good. There is no real good songs here but the sound and ambience is good.
Check out this album. The album is a positive surprise.
2.5 points
The fourth album from this Norwegian band.
The band was a quartet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, clavinet, keyboards, synths and vocals.
The band impressed me with their third album, my first ever meeting with them, Aimless Mary from 2015.
I was looking forward to this album.
The music is art pop and art rock. There is also some progressive rock here.
The music is not as immediate accessible as on their debut album.
This album contains melodic, arty rock/pop and the music is really good.
There is no real outstanding killer track here. But the music is really good.
This album is well worth checking out.
3 points
The third album from this Swedish band.
The band is a quartet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars and vocals.
Two guests added keyboards and female vocals.
I really liked their debut album a lot and voiced my opinions in this review. I have bypassed their second album before this album showed up in my inbox.
Their debut album was indeed a very good album.
The band continues in the pure heavy metal genre with some hard rock incorporated in their sound.
The heavy metal cliches comes fast and is pretty overwhelming. Traditional heavy metal, with the exception of Iron Maiden, is a genre I am not fond of.
This album falls a bit flat on it's face as the songs are not good either.
Some of the songs dives down towards turkey status. But some other more decent songs saves this album from my turkey yard.
Fans of heavy metal should check out this album.
1.5 points
The second album from this French band.
I believe this band is a quintet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.
This band is unknown to most of you. Their music is a bit borderline progressive rock without really being fully progressive rock.
Take some neo-prog, some heavy prog from the 1970s, stadium rock, soul and funk. That is when you get this band and album.
The vocals is a mix of female and male vocals.
The music is pretty good throughout these seventy minutes.
The sound is good but the songs are a bit lacking in quality.
It still makes this a pretty good classic rock album well worth checking out.
2.5 points
The debut album from this English band.
The band was a quintet with a lineup of drum programming, percussion, bass, guitars, mandolin, oboe, synths and vocals.
This band is a new band to me. They have just released their second album and I will review it later this summer.
The music is a bit flowery progressive rock. There is a mix of progressive metal here and neo-prog. There is also some symphonic prog on this album.
The music is pretty quirky and also pretty melodic.
The music is pretty hard and the label heavy prog suits this music best.
The music is good throughout and England, the city/town of Brighton has got a new good band in Azure.
Check out this album.
3 points
The fourth album from this band from Switzerland.
The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.
The band was back again with their fourth album.
We are again being treated to some neo-prog.
This time, the band has moved away from the more simplistic neo-prog from the 1980s/early 1990s to a more art rock style. Steve Hogarth's era Marillion springs to mind here.
The vocals are good and the album is really long.
The musicians also do a good job.
There are some good songs here. But the overall impression is not that good. There is too much sub-standard material here to make this a good album.
It is an album somewhere between decent and good. It is not their best album.
2.5 points
The debut album from this Danish band.
The band is a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars and vocals.
I am pretty fond of the space rock genre. There is a lot of Scandinavian bands who agree with me and who does some very good space rock.
This band is new to me and they released a new album this year. I will review that album too in the coming weeks.
Kometen Kommer was released through Bandcamp and is just under forty minutes long.
These forty minutes consist of dirty space rock in the vein of good old Hawkwind. Fans of that band will love Maneskjold.
The songs or make it compositions are all good with some good guitars and guitar solos. The vocals too is good.
It is a really good space rock album and fans of that genre should pick up this album. But I guess most fans of this genre already knows about this band and album. The rest of us too should now rate this band pretty highly.
3 points
The ninth album from this German band.
The band is a quintet on this album with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, percussion and vocals.
A guest guitarist did a guitar solo on track 7.
I have never ever been a big fan of speed and thrash metal. German speed and thrash metal is one of the least interesting genres I know about. But Mekong Delta has always fascinated me....... from afar.
Coming a bit closer to their music, I have found an interesting band with some interesting albums. Their music is indeed progressive thrash metal.
The band take a stab at some classical music pieces and make them into some power, heavy and in particular thrash metal pieces.
The result is not bad at all. There are some good pieces here and some rather mediocre pieces here. This album still cement the band's status as one of the more interesting and challenging bands out there.
Check out this album.
2.5 points
The eleventh album from this English band.
The band was a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, synths, programming, keyboards, piano and vocals.
The band was supported by a string orchestra and some other guests who provided strings, bass, drums, piano, narration and backing vocals.
I was not a big fan of their previous album Falling Deeper as it was a re-recording of their earlier works. It is not my thing, these re-recordings.
So I was looking forward to give Weather Systems my attention.
The band plays on their strengths on this album.
That means post-rock and post-metal with a lot of ambience and soul. The music is far from pedestrian... There is actually a lot going on here. Proper melodies but not in the traditional songs settings.
The main theme here is bordering to being great and it is repeated throughout this almost one hour long album. The vocals and the whole instrumentation is very good and so is the average quality of the music.
This is a very good album from Anathema and one I will play over and over again when I get time.
3.5 points
The band was a quartet on this album with a lineup of percussion, drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.
I was really impressed by their previous album Mammoth and was looking forward to this album.
This sixty-six minutes long album starts out with a lot of progressive metal with some growl vocals too.
The album gets back to a more safe Swedish progressive rock area after that. But the progressive metal is comes back on this album on an irregular basis throughout the album.
The music is pretty quirky too and there is some folk rock influences here. Yes, this is a Swedish progressive rock album.
The quality is good throughout. It is still a bit of a backwards step from Mammoth.
Nevertheless, this album is well worth checking out from one of the more interesting bands in the progressive rock scene.
3 points
The debut album from this band from Portugal.
The band is a sextet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, synths, keyboards and vocals.
Artnat = Tantra spelled backwards. And by that, the band is referring to the Portoguese band Tantra from where this band comes from.
Tantra was a really good symphonic prog band from Portugal who released five albums.
The music we get from Artnat is more or less in the same vein.
That means symphonic prog in the Yes vein with a lot of jazz too. And there is some goth rock here too.
The female vocals reminds me a lot about The Third And The Mortal and there is some of their debut album here.
There is no real killer tracks on The Mirror Effect. But the overall quality is really good and this album and band is bound to get a lot of fans. This is a band I have included in my top talents list for this year.
3 points
The debut album from this French artist.
Roland Gassin does the drums, bass, guitars, banjo, synths, keyboards and vocals on this album.
He is helped by a quartet of musicians from the band Spin'X who adds drums, bass, keyboards and voice over.
This album came out of the blue to me and it very much reflects the retro-rock movement we witness these days.
I guess we can label this album as a progressive rock album. In that case, in the heavy rock genre.
The music is a throw back to the arena rock genre we saw in the 1970s. Lots of Deep Purple and Free references here with a rampant organ and some good guitars. The vocals too are good.
The sound too is very much retro.
The music is good although not that exciting. This album breaks no new ground but it is still a good album and a very useful party album during warm summer days........ or cold winter days.
Check out this album.
3 points
The 11th album from this Dutch artist.
Christian Bruin does the vocals and programming here and is helped by a handful of guests on drums, bass, guitars, cello, synths and vocals.
Christian has released albums under various disguises like Chris, The Black Codex and now under his full name.
The music is neo-prog based.
Christian is exploring this genre and adds some avant-garde and eclectic elements to the melodic music. Music best described as eclectic neo-prog.
The vocals are a bit distorted and the music has some classical music influences and parts.
The music is as always good from this composer and artist. His albums are always interesting.
There are no killer tracks here and that is my only gripe with this album.
3 points
The 13th and final album from this band from Argentina.
The band was a quintet with a lineup of percussion, drums, bass, guitars, pan flutes, saxophones, flutes and synths.
They were helped by a handful of guests who provided charango, guitars, cello and bass.
This band had served the community with distinction since the early 1970s and they were winding down with some pan flute dominated fusion.
Well, folk rock and pop dominated fusion, that is.
The music is pretty light and fluffy.
It is OK music but the music is not a reminder of the great band who did those two double albums in the 1970s and set the standard for South American progressive rock.
This is a decent enough album from a band who should be remembered with affection and pride in the progressive rock scene.
2 points
The one and only album from this band from Canada.
The band was a sextet with a lineup of percussion, bass, guitars, piano, accordion, piccolo, flute, sitar, narration and male & female vocals.
This is another band from the Quebec scene in the French speaking part of Canada. The band played some festivals and recorded this album before they split up.
Good references are Harmonium and Maneige in that respect.
This fifty minutes long album is much more a folk music based album than a rock and fusion album. There is not much rock here.
The music is also very bombastic with a lot of thunder and lightening vocals. Both male and female vocals. The music itself is also bombastic.
Mostly bombastic, that is.
The result is a decent album who does not have any good songs. It is an album for the Quebec scene fans and collectors..... and mostly them.
2 points
The third album from this Norwegian band.
The band is a quartet with a lineup of percussion, drums, bass, guitars, clavinet, keyboards, synths and vocals.
This band is a new one to me. They released their new and fifth album earlier this year and I got that one and the two preceding albums. Reviews of the two other albums to follow later this summer.
This band should have been on my radar much earlier than this year. And I am a bit miffed about that.
The music is pretty much in the vein of Caravan with a lot of Canterbury prog influences. It is Canterbury prog by all means.
That means quirky melodies with a lot of pop sensibilities, 1970s symphonic progressive rock and laid back jazz.
The songs are really good here and the vocals too is good. The music is quirky and there are a couple of almost great songs here. The title track is a great song.
This album has grown a lot on me and I would rate it as a very good album indeed. Check it out.
3.5 points
The ninth album from this Finnish artist.
Pekka Pohjola on bass had help from a dozen of musicians who provided drums, woodwinds, strings, guitars, piano and keyboards.
Pekka Pohjola has always been in the fusion genre or thereabout.
That too goes for this album.
In most cases, his albums has been relevant and has had a lot of interesting melodies and details.
Flight Of The Angel starts of with some acoustic music before the rest of the hired hands comes in.
And the music is bordering to cinematic and TV series music here.
Although the music is decent enough, it is a pretty dull album and not one of his best albums. It is actually one of his worst and least interesting albums.
Do not choose this album if you just want a nibble of Pekka's creative output.
2 points
The one and only album from this Israeli band.
The band was a sextet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, flute, keyboards and vocals.
Wow, this is even to Fading Records standards an eclectic album. And the Italian label Fading Records, who has unleashed this album, did and still do release a lot of eclectic prog albums. This one just about takes the biscuit....
Take classical music, Israeli folk music, doom metal and symphonic prog. Mix it together and you get this album.
......Somewhat, that is.
Most of this album is vocals driven and songs based. But the songs are weird and can sometimes reminds me about the Third And The Mortal's debut album.
This is truly a weird, eclectic album. It is just a great shame that the final ten minutes is just mindless jam and instrumental who goes nowhere fast. The rest of the album is actually good.
Check out this album as it may be one of your alltime favourite albums.
2.5 points
The second album from this one-man band from Finland.
Time Traveller is Juhani Nisali on mellotron, piano, synths, organ, bass, guitars and vocals.
He had help from some guest musicians who provided drums, percussion, banjo, moog, clavinet, organ and backing vocals.
I very much liked the first two albums and was looking forward to this album.
The music is mostly instrumental progressive rock bordering to fusion. There are also some songs here in the good old 1970s heavy progressive rock vein.
The music is very lively with a lot of tangents and guitars. It is hard, but not heavy.
There is a lot of life in the music. Both in the songs and the instrumentals.
My only gripe is that this album does not have any great pieces of music.
This is another good album from Juhani Nisali and one to check out.
3 points
The fourth album from this band from Poland.
The band is a duo with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.
The duo was helped by two other guests who provided vocals and saxophones.
Moonrise has so far given us three elegant neo-prog albums. That was before this one..... Travel Within.
The band continues down the same path on this album.
Elegant neo-prog with some pop and Pink Floyd like rock.
There are some prog metal influences here too. But most of the music is really melodic with a lot of very good vocals.
This album is not their best album. It is still a good album and one who will please all neo-prog fans.
Moonrise is one of the better neo-prog bands and their four albums has proved that.
3 points
The debut album from this multi-national band.
The band is a quintet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.
Arc Of Life is 4/5 ex and present Yes members and one Sound Of Contact member.
Jon Davison is the ex Yes vocalist who sounds like Jon Anderson. He does the vocals here.
This album starts with a good songs who reminds me about good old Yes.
... And that song is a false summer as the album dips into a bit of a funky AOR territory with lots of strange melody structures. The Owner Of A Lonely Heart era springs to mind and it is not a good memory. Ditto for the last two Yes albums.
And that is where we can place this album. As a kind of an unofficial Yes album with music from the last two Yes albums era.
The result is a bit of a disappointment from an album I had been looking forward to give a long listen. It is a decent enough album and that is all.
I am left wanting a lot more.
2 points
The one and only album from this US band.
The band was a quartet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, moog taurus, keyboards and vocals.
This band released their name-your-price album on Bandcamp on the 31. May 2015. See this link to get it.
The music is what they call jam progressive rock. The album was jammed and recorded in two days.
There are some songs here and a lot more instrumental pieces.
The music is guitars based and pretty rocking. Hard prog is what some will call it. The songs with vocals are more in the AOR tradition.
The sound quality is good.
The quality of the music is poor and this is indeed a turkey. One of the few turkeys I have encountered so far this year.
There is simply nothing on this album I can remember at all even minutes after listening to it. It is music without originality or any purpose outside having a very good time jamming to it.
But check it out to see if I am wrong.
1 point
The one and only album from this Irish band.
The band was a quintet with a lineup of percussion, bass, bodhran, guitars, wood chimes, mandolin, violin, tin whistle, harpischord, organ, moog and vocals.
This album is a semi-classic album in the folk rock scene. It had an impact on bands like Horslips and Thin Lizzy.
The music is psych rock with a lot of folk rock influences. Steeleye Span is a good reference here. There are also some Fairport Convention similarities here too.
The music is pretty lively and rocking. The vocals are also good and so is the instruments. The sound is OK too.
The songs are pretty good and with a good psych feeling. Their three hit singles is not included on this album. But if you get the 2012 re-release, they have been included on the bonus disc.
This is a good album and well worth checking out if acid folk is your thing.
3 points
The third album from this band from Switzerland.
The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.
The band is a neo-prog band in the Pendragon school of neo-prog and has never ever hidden that.
This is British neo-prog from a band from the Alps in the middle of Europe.
The vocals are pretty good and the band deliver an hour of good, stylish neo-prog.
This is perhaps not the most exciting neo-prog there is as the music is really rooted in the 1990s. But it works and gives the listener a very good experience in short spurts.
Check out this album.
3 points
The sixth album from this Swedish band.
The band was a quartet on this album with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, ARP synths, keyboards and vocals.
The band was supported by a trio who added saxophones, growl vocals and tambourine.
Beardfish was one of the most interesting Swedish bands during the beginning of this century. They started out as a Frank Zappa band and moved onto a more eclectic part of the progressive rock scene.
Their music and sound is normally very eclectic. But not on this album....
Take Zappa again, add in a lot of Kaipa, Gentle Giant, The Flower Kings and a lot of flower power psych rock. A lot of it from the 1960s, no less.
The guitars, synths and keyboards sound is very 1960s & 1970s. But also updated to this day and age.
The music is really bold and brave. It is also big with some great vocals on the top.
The result is a great album indeed and one to really threaten to occupy a spot on the top 5 Swedish progressive rock albums of all time.
This album is indeed one to be checked out and I totally get their great reputation in the scene.
4 points
The twelfth album from this band from Argentina.
The band is a sextet with a lineup of percussion, acoustic guitars, bass, various woodwinds, flutes, pan flutes, synth and vocals.
The band was still going pretty strong so many decades after their album debut in 1970.
Their music still had some relevance too.
The music is a mix of local folk music, pop and fusion.
There is still a lot of pan flutes here in addition to local percussion and guitars.
The music is rather jazzy on most of the songs and that is a good thing.
There are some vocals here too and they are pretty good.
The music is somewhere between decent and good when it comes to quality. The band still gave us some good music here and this album has by no means disgraced the band's good name and reputation. Check it out.
2.5 points
The 20th album from this band from Mexico.
The band was a seven piece big band on this album with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, violin, keyboards and vocals.
Let me first of all congratulate this band with their 20th album. Cast is one of those underrated and underappreciated bands who continues to release albums.
I rate Cast as one of the best progressive rock bands in the world. That also mainly based on a lot of their previous albums.
Cast offers up eighty minutes of a kind of a concept album. The first five minutes long track is clearly an intro before the band starts with a combination of male and female vocals.
The music is pretty big and bold throughout. The outro, a ten minutes long piece, is pretty dark. The final half of this album is pretty dark. The first half is a bit lighter.
This is indeed symphonic prog and Yes is a good reference.
The music is very good throughout and this album has a lot to offer everyone into progressive rock. It is about time Cast gets the attention they deserve.
3.5 points
The second album from this Italian band.
The band was a sextet on this album with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.
A guest vocals did the vocals on the final track.
This is the second studio album of in total three albums this semi-legendary Italian band has released. They have also released three live albums.
This is also the follow up to the legendary classic album Zarathustra from 1973.
The legend Stefano "Lupo" Galifi does the vocals on the two other albums. His vocals on Zarathustra made that album. So did their take on RPI - Rock Progressive Italiano too.
The vocals on Exit is nowhere near as good as on that album and on their 2013 album Barbarica. The vocals on Exit from both lead vocals leaves a lot to be desired.
Ditto for the music.
Poppy and fluffy pop/RPI with some folk rock is what we get here.
The music is not particular good either. It does not really deserve this band name tag as this album is pretty much a sidetrack from the two other Museo Rosenbach albums.
Not all is bad here but this is still only a decent album and just that.
2 points
The sixth album from this band from Poland.
The band is a quintet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.
A guest guitarist added a guitar solo on one of the tracks.
I have to admit that I have not been really singing this band's praises in my reviews of their previous two albums. But I am giving them another chance.
Loonypark gives us forty-seven minutes of Polish neo-prog on this album.
They use female vocals and Sabina Sajac's vocals are very good. They are also full of muscle. Muscle that suits the music perfectly.
The music is melodic, melancholic neo-prog with a few prog metal influences.
There is a lot of intricate, interesting details on this album. An album with some really good melodic neo-prog.
This is indeed a good album and one I really enjoy. Some better songs is the only thing missing here. Check out this album and indeed.... this band.
3 points
The second album from this French drummer.
Serge Bringolf had with him an eight piece big band with a lineup of woodwinds, bass, guitars, marimba, vibraphone and vocals.
Serge Bringolf was playing with Art Zoyd, Jaques Thollot and Zao before and during his release of his only three albums. These three albums were all released in the 1980s. A live album was also released.
We are again in the zeuhl genre.
This album is very much in the Magma zeuhl tradition. But there is some significant differences.
The music on Vision is much more jazz based than the usual fare from Magma. The zeuhl here is also a bit understated and laid back.
The drums is very tight though. Serge Bringolf's drums.
There are some nice vocals here too in addition to a lot of vibraphone and woodwinds.
The music is somewhere between decent and good. I am not entirely sold on this album.
2.5 points
The one and only album from this German band.
The band was a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, cemballo, grand piano, organ and vocals.
This band came and went again during a short period of time. They left this album behind them. It is quite a popular album too, forty years later.
The music is pretty heavy with some classical music pieces. It is kind of a bluesy, heavy ELP with a lot of krautrock influences.
The music is pretty much krautrock.
There are some pretty heavy use of organs here and the band is clearly obsessed by classical music.
The vocals are pretty good and bluesy. The band rocks hard at times.
The songs are decent to good. Their forays into classical music gives this album it's own identity. It is a pity that this band did not release more albums.
This is a decent to good album.
2.5 points
The third studio album from this US band.
The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.
The band had some help from harmonica, keyboards and guest vocalists.
This band continued on their southern rock path towards a respectable position in the US musical landscape. Their image as native americans played a role in promoting this band.
This album sold reasonable well and has reached more than one million sold copies as we speak.
That is not undeserved at all.
This album offers up some medium hard rocking southern rock with some arena rock influences. There are also some good vocals here and some good details.
The emphasis is on pretty commercial southern rock. But the band also delivered good rock which has survived the test of time.
It is not a good album but some of the songs are somewhere just below that area.
Check out this album if authentic southern rock and US rock is your thing.
2.5 points
The eleventh album from this band from Argentina.
The band was a sextet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, charango, woodwinds, flute, pan pipes, synths and vocals.
The album was also released as Peace Pipes.
The first thing that hits me on this album is the pan pipes. And there is a lot of pan pipes muzak albums out on the market so pan pipes has got a bit of a cheezy reputation these days.
Arco Iris is a band far above the level of cheezy and cheap. So there is no reason to worry.
The music is fusion with a lot of local folk music incorporated. And most of it with pan pipes as the major instruments. The pan pipes is played here with a lot of technical prowess.
The music is rather eclectic and quirky. Even the pan pipes are that on this album.An album that proves that not all pan pipes music is cheezy. It more than proves that.
Not all music is good here. But there is a lot of good music on this album. It is an album well worth checking out and it will change the listeners views on pan pipes.
Check out this album.
3 points
The third album from this English band.
The band is a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.
The band was supported by a quartet of guests who provided acoustic guitar, violin, cello and female vocals.
This band had a big breakthrough with their debut album around eight years ago and followed that up with their second album back in 2017.
Both albums got very positive reviews in this blog.
I was therefore looking forward to this album.
The band delivers neo-prog with some folk rock and classic rock influences.
The vocals is very good and these fifty-five minutes is full of very interesting details. Details that makes this album a lot better than it could have been.
This is another very good album from this band. I still feel a bit let down as I had hoped for a better album than this one from one of the leading bands in the British prog rock scene. Nevertheless, check out this album.
3.5 points
The debut album from this Swedish band.
The band is a sextet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals. Both female and male vocals.
This band is new but the members has been around and in the Swedish prog and metal prog scene for a long time.
What we get is also a mix of Swedish symphonic prog and Swedish progressive metal.
There is a lot of Kaipa, the last albums, references on this album. In particular in the female vocals and some of the music.
There is also some pretty light progressive metal here with references to the bigger Swedish bands in that scene.
The music is melodic and full of interesting details. Details with some hints of folk rock too.
This is an album which will spread joy and happiness among those who like the special Swedish symphonic prog sound and music. That is what this album basically is. And we get an hour of this music too.
It is a very good album in it's own right and one to really check out.
3.5 points
The debut album from this US band.
The band was a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.
This and their following album was released through their Bandcamp page.
I fell for their art-work and got this album.
The music is a mix of post-punk, Depeche Mode, post-metal and post-rock.
There is a lot of samples here and the music is rather harsh and hard.
There is not much to be happy about here and I am not really enjoying this album at all.
A few decent melodies and details saves this album from being labeled as a turkey. Just about...
1.5 points
The third album from this band from Poland.
The band is a quintet on this album with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, saxophone and vocals.
Moonrise is back again with their third album after their very good first two albums.
My expectations to this album were high in other words.
A lot of more softer Pink Floyd like rock has been introduced here and the music is much more ambient and pastoral than before. There are still some neo-prog here.
The music is more mood based than based on technical details and skills. The music is really laid back.
It is also based on some very good vocals and guitar solos.
The quality is really good throughout this album and this album does not change my views on this band. It is one of the better prog bands from Poland. Put Moonrise among the three best prog bands from Poland.
Check out this album and find out why.
3 points
The third album from this Norwegian band.
The band was a quintet with a lineup of percussion, drums, bass, guitars, bouzouki, sitar, organ, piano and vocals.
I reviewed their fourth album, the 2014 album Mannsverk, back in October 2014 but never came around to review Smorgasbord before now although I have had this album for the last eight years.
That has been my mistake.
The band is regarded as a space and psych rock band. I would rather say psych rock and that too is the case for the Mannsverk album.
Melodic psych rock with a lot of The Beatles and 1960s beat is what we get here. There is also a lot modern psych rock on this album.
It is interesting to see that many Norwegian prog bands from the same city as this band has adopted their sound and music too. As far as I know, this band is no longer around but this genre is very much around in Norway.
This one hour long album has some good vocals and a lot of quirky details. This is indeed a good album and one to check out.
3 points