Lady Lake - No Pictures (1977)

The debut album from this Dutch band.

The band is a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and percussion.

Two guest musicians provided drums and vocals.

The band has taken their name from the famous Gnidrolog album Lady Lake. Something they admit. 

The music is much more symphonic prog, though. 

The first part of the album, a forty-one minutes long album, is pretty good symphonic prog. Good symphonic prog in the vein of Camel and Genesis. 

The band has indeed stolen some themes from Genesis and that is very noticeable. 

The last half has some vocals. It still follows the Camel theme but it is less good and some of the music here leaves me a bit cold.

This album is an album in two halves. One good and one decent. 

Hence the verdict and split points.

2.5 points

May Blitz - The 2nd of May (1971)

The second and final album from this British band.

The band was a trio with a lineup of bass, drums, guitars and vocals.

Their 1970 self-titled debut album did not really move heaven and earth. So the band was back with one final attempt to break through. 

The music is hard rock with a lot of psych and blues influences.

The band was very much branching out into the psych rock scene on this album. 

The music was still very hard at times. But there is a lot of psych here too. And a couple of eccentric songs based on folk music.

The band does a good job on some pretty decent songs.

This band will always remain a minor player in the scene and their two albums is rightly so regarded as obscure. They may be worth checking out, though.

Their two albums are indeed decent enough.

2 points

Wild Geese - Flight 2 (1979)

The second album from this band from Ireland.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of bodhran, uillean pipes, tin whistle, mandolin, guitars, flute, fiddle, concertina and vocals.

The band returned again after their debut album.

They returned again with an album with mostly traditional Irish folk songs. One song are written by two members of the band and the rest is traditional songs written well back in time.

The music is decent enough. It is not progressive rock at all, though.

Irish folk music is pretty cool though and this album can be quite enjoyable.

But be warned, there is not much of technical brilliance. Just some sparse instruments and songs sung in a broad, thick Irish accent.

Which is decent enough....

2 points

Marillion - Afraid Of Sunlight (1995)

The 8th album from this British band.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

The band had now really gotten up to steam again after the change of vocalist. Even I, as a Fish fan, has to admit that these days Marillion with Steve Hogarth is a very good band.

Afraid Of Sunlight is a strange album.

The opening song Gazpacho is a very good song. Then the band goes of on a pop, funk song and I am left scratching my head. That is an un-Marillion song.

Normal procedure is more than restored with both Afraid Of Sunrise and Afraid Of Sunlight. Both of them with Steve Hogarth doing some absolute great vocals. Vocals that more than justify his position. Both songs, epic songs in the mid-tempo range, is among the better Steve Hogarth era songs I have so far heard. Best Of material, both of them.

The rest of the album is also mid-tempo and slightly melancholic. These are also pretty much very good songs and well worth checking out.

Afraid Of Sunlight is indeed a great album and one to enjoy.

4 points

Pineapple Thief. The - Someone Here Is Missing (2010)

The 9th album from this British band.

The band is a quartet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, programming, keyboards and vocals.

I got a handful of this band's many albums and is trying to offer them any justice by reviewing these albums.

The band is very much a modern progressive rock band. Their sound, that is.

Take neo-prog and add a lot of Steven Wilson and Porcupine Tree to their sound. Then add some post rock and some post metal too.

Then you arrive at this album.

The vocals from Bruce Soord is very good and the main strength of this band. The guitars are chugging and good too. The programming stuff is also good.

This album is forty-five minutes long and I cannot fault it for anything. 

This is a good album but it is not giving us anything but a solid, good experience. Some great pieces of music would had been cool... but I hope they will add that on the remaining albums I have yet to review.

3 points

Blue Öyster Cult - The Symbol Remains (2020)

The 16th album from this US band.

The band is a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards, synths and vocals.

A guest musician delivers cowbells and backing vocals.

Wow..... I did not see this band making a comeback. But they have and in the worst possible year. But the music needs to be released and it will hopefully be followed up by gigs, tours and festivals next year.

The music on this album is very much meant to be delivered from a stage to a cheerful audience.

We get a solid chunk of good old Blue Oyster Cult here, some of their take on heavy metal, some AOR and some very lively Americana.

We get an album which takes us to a lot of places. Most of them previously visited by this band.

The band's core is still here and ditto for the sound. This is indeed very much a Blue Oyster Cult album.

It is also a surprisingly good album. An album old fans of the band will really like. It is by far their best album since Imaginos, 32 years ago.

Blue Oyster Cult's comeback get both thumbs up from me and this album should be checked out.

3 points

Pymlico - On This Day (2020)

 

The sixth album from this Norwegian band.

The band is a sixtet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards and saxophones on this album.

Pymlico has always been an instrumental symphonic prog band. They are very much at the Camel spectrum of the symphonic prog scene.

The music is very laidback with a lot of saxophones. Something the opening track Heliotrope gives us a forewarning about.

The music is very much leaning towards slick fusion and movie soundtrack music here.

The music is too slick and there is not much that makes the listener jumps out of the chair.

This album is dangerous close to being used in supermarkets and elevators.

Nevertheless, the quality is decent to good though. But I hope the next album will have more bite and more substance than this album. I am not won over.

2.5 points

 

Mar De Robles - Indígena (2007)

 

The second and final album from this band from Chile.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, djembe, congas, bass, guitars, chapman stick, flute, saxophone and vocals.

I was not overwhelming happy about their second album and did not have a great deal of expectations to this album either.

The music on this one hour long album is a mix of fusion, metal and some folk rock.

There is also some ambient avant-garde music here too.

The music is really intense with a lot of saxophones and guitars. It is also noisy and sometimes dissonant.

The idea is good but there is not much good music on this album. It is another album that puzzles me as I wanted it to be a lot better. 

This album falls somewhere between decent and good. But check it out.

2.5 points

 

 

Yob - Catharsis (2003)

The second album from this US band.

The band is a trio with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars and vocals.

Yob is a post punk, sludge band. They have released 7 -8 albums and I am reviewing some of them. A review of their debut album can be found somewhere else in this blog.

Caharsis has a very dark sound. A very gloom, doomy sound.

The music is still a bit of a space rock and a bit sludge core.

It is very slow, the music and based on chunky guitar riffs.

This album is fifty minutes long and the closing title-track takes half of this album. The two other songs are a bit shorter tracks.

The music is decent enough but not really convincing. It is a bit of a step backwards from the debut album, this album.

It is still well worth checking out this album if dirty spacy sludge is you thing.

2 points

KingBathmat - Overcoming The Monster (2013)

The seventh album from this British band.

The band is John Bassett on guitars and vocals.

He is helped out by a drummer, keyboardist and a bassist. 

I have only heard and reviewed one of his albums before and you can read the review somewhere else in this blog. 

KingBathmat has a good reputation and the albums has been very much welcomed in the scene. 

The music is as per usual a mix of psych rock and neo-prog. Just as expected.

There is though a very sneaking Iron Maiden influence on most of the songs. They got much of the same structures and much of same sound, although made a bit less heavy metal.

That is not a bad thing and it adds a lot of good things to this album. It makes it a lot more interesting.

The music is indeed pretty hard with some heavy guitars and vocals.

The quality is good throughout and this is a band worth looking out for. 

3 points

TCP - The Way (2009)

The debut album from this US band. 

The band is a trio and the lineup is drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

The band had some help of some guest musicians who provided bass, drums, guitars, mellotron and vocals.

This band has been kicking around for some years and I have been aware of them since this, their debut album. But I have not had the time to check out their three albums....... before now. Reviews of their two other albums to follow suit this winter.

The first I come to think of is the Genesis tribute band The Watch. This due to the sound and vocals. Off course, that leads to pointing out that Genesis and Peter Gabriel is indeed some big references here. Although with a modern sound.

You can also add Machiavel, Kayak and a bit of Dream Theater to the proceedings too. Gentle Giant too. 

This album is seventy-five minutes long and it is a bit of a mouthful. 

The music is both melodic and eclectic at the same time. The vocals is very good and the trio really knows their trade.

This is indeed a good album which should appeal to everyone. 

3 points

Dukes of the Orient - Freakshow (2020)

The second album from this US band.

The band is a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

This is their second album. You can find my review of their self-titled 2018 debut album somewhere else in this blog.

The band is John Payne (Asia etc etc) and Erik Norlander (solo artist) with two hired musicians.

The music is AOR and nothing less than AOR. 

Asia and the solo output from Erik Norlander comes to mind here. But in a much more modern sound. They sound like 2019. The sound is crystal clear and crisp.

There is a lot of long keyboards runs here and good vocals. The title track is the more catchy song here.

The rest of the songs and pieces of music is not that good.

I am rather underwhelmed by this album. A decent enough album and sure purchase for all AOR fans. I am not an AOR fan.

This is a decent album.

2 points

 

May Blitz - May Blitz (1970)

 

The debut album from this British band.

The band was a trio with a lineup of bass, drums, guitars and vocals.

The band released two albums before they disappeared again. Both of them will be reviewed here in the next week or so.

The band was one of the many bands who mixed hard rock with blues and progressive rock. 

Most of the stuff here is blues and hard rock, though.

The vocals are pretty wild. So is some of the music.

There is some methods in the madness and the guitars are really good.

This band is basically a power trio and the music is in that vein.

The music is decent enough and this forty minutes plus long album delivers a punch. 

It is not as good as the great albums from 1970s though. Those into hard rock and blues should check out this album, indeed.

2 points

Julian's Treatment - A Time Before This (1970)

The one and only album by this UK band.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, organ, flutes and vocals.

The band was lead by Julian Jay Savarin who in 1971 released another album who mistakenly is attributed to this band. That album is not from this band.

This album was released as a double LP and later on single CD. The latter one is probably a bootleg. 

This album is a concept album too. 

The music is a mix of psych, early symphonic prog and folk rock.

The vocals are female. The music is rather pastoral with some outbreaks of wild guitars to spice up the music. Which it does.

The music ebbs and flows as you would expect from a concept album. The sound is good and the music is well crafted.

Some of the music is good and some of the music not so good.

This is still an interesting album and one to check out.

2.5 points

Spock's Beard - Noise Floor (2018)

The 13th album from this US band.

The band was a quartet on this album with a lineup of guitars, bass, keyboards, minimoog, mellotron, piano, synths, organ, programming and vocals.

Guest musicians provides drums, percussion, English horn, cello, violin and viola.

The so far final album from this band.

Nick D'Virgilio is back as a guest musician on drums and percussion. That is the news on this album.

The band's move from pure US symphonic prog to AOR continues on this album.

This fifty minutes long album, a short album being this band, is rather punchy and does not leave much time to deadwood and symphonic prog workouts. 

I would say that sixty percent of this album is more in the vein of AOR and the remainder is still leaning towards US symphonic prog.

This is their least interesting album so far, I am afraid.

The music is still good and the band does most things right. But it is not as interesting as the rest of their albums. Maybe Neal Morses albums is more in the old Spock's Beard style. The style I really like.

This album leaves me slightly cold. But it cannot be faulted in the quality stake.

3 points

 

 

Wild Geese - The Quays Of Galway Town (1976)

The debut album from this Irish band.

The band was a quartet with a lineup of guitars, bouzouki, mandolin, banjo, spoons, fiddle, mandola, tin whistle, flute, bodhran, tambourine and vocals.

I got three of their albums four studio albums some time ago and decided that the idea of reviewing them was so esoteric that I had to do it.

A challenge in other words.

The music is vocals based celtic folk music from Ireland. Galway Town is on the west coast of Ireland and I have been there. A very old town and fitting an album title or ten. 

It was also a place where people departed for a new life in America. One of those who departed for a new life in America is the forefather of the new president in USA, Joe Biden. 

The Irish accent is thick in the vocals and this is Irish folk music through and through. 

The instruments are pretty cool too.

This is a decent album and a must-have for those into celtic folk music. It is a fun album but nothing more than that.

2 points

Univers Zero - Phosphorescent Dreams (2014)

The tenth and so far latest album from this band from Belgium.

The band is a quintet with a lineup of bass, drums, percussion, bass clarinet, clarinet, saxophones, piano, keyboards and guitars.

The band was helped by three guest musicians who provided trumpet, trombone, drums and percussion.

This band released their first album in the 1970s and were and still is a part of the first wave of RIO/avant garde bands. 

Univers Zero is in short legends in the avant garde and progressive rock scene.

Their music is not rock. Nor progressive rock. It is chamber orchestra music. That still with some electric guitars, bass and keyboards.

I have never found their music as compelling as the music from their sister band Present. The reason may be that I am not a fan of classical music. I prefer rock and jazz.

This album is one hour long and the music is a mix of light and dark music classic avant-garde chamber orchestra music.

I prefer the more darker pieces of music. The more lighter moments is still good and this is another good album from this band from Belgium. I hope we will hear more from them. But I doubt it.

Check out their ten studio albums.

3 points

Stray - Suicide (1971)

The second album from this British band.

The band was a trio with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, mellotron, harpsichord, electric piano, organ and vocals.

Their debut album was decent album and I was looking forward to reviewing this album too.

Stray was a band who were managed very badly and that mean they did not get the breakthrough and success they deserved. The band was actually managed by two mobsters with no clue about band management. Both of their managers are now dead and their albums has been re-released.

Hopefully, the band will get a bit of recognition this time around.

The music is hard rock with some progressive rock elements. There is also some good blues and psych elements here. Their 1960s beat roots is also very much present here.

Where Led Zeppelin borrowed and/or wrote some great tracks, Stray just kept on rocking without coming up with the same type of outstanding, groundbreaking music.

The songs are straight forward hard rock and that even goes for the more proggy pastoral pieces of music on this album.

This is a decent enough album and fans of hard rock will really like this album. The band has a lot of talent but did not release it on this album.

2 points

Juan X Kings - Dancing In Freefall (2018)

The debut album from this Spanish artist.

I am not sure about the name of this artist. But I use this as a band name until I am corrected...

The lineup is this guy doing the guitars, organ, keyboards, bass, drums and all vocals.

This album was released through Bandcamp and the link is here.

The cover art-work tells me nothing so I did not have much confidence in this album at all.... before the speakers in my office sprung into life.

The music on this fifty minutes long album is what we label hard progressive rock. Not so much heavy, but more hard and lively.

The organ and vocals gives us 1970s vibes. A bit Rush is also very much here. The guitars are a mix of prog and hard rock. There is even some pieces of djent here.

This is a hard prog album with a the 2010's sound.

The music is good throughout this album and it is indeed very strange that so few people has picked up this album as it can be classified as a hidden gem. Some more promotion from the artist and this album will get more followers from around the globe.

3 points

 

 

Judas Priest - Nostradamus (2008)

The 16th album from these British heavy metal icons.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars and vocals. 

Don Airey added keyboards and there was also a choir and a symphony orchestra involved here.

This is the final Judas Priest with the classic setup of K.K Downing, Glenn Tipton, Scott Travis, Ian Hill and Rob Halford. Both guitarists has now retired from the band.

Why reviewing only one Judas Priest album in this blog ? First of all, this album is a prog metal/rock album and a classic concept album. 

It has indeed a great deal of symphonic prog influences. 

Judas Priest is a no-nonsense heavy metal band. Indeed, they are one of the founders of the genre and were first with the twin guitar sound, leathers and most of what is today the heavy metal sound and life.

So how did Judas Priest manage this switch to symphonic progressive metal and a concept album ? 

I am very surprised how good this album is. It has surpassed my very low expectations by many, many country miles. 

Rob Halford sings like a god. The opening proper song Prophecy is one of their best ever songs. Yes, I liked this band a lot in my youth and is starting to appreciated them a lot more in my old age. Prophecy is a great track. 

Ditto for the title track too. 

Not everything here is good. Some of the stuff reminds me a lot about Iron Maiden, their rivals in the scene. 

Most of this album is good to very good and this double CD comes as a surprise. And it deserve to be reviewed here as it is a proper progressive rock/metal album.

It is also a very good album indeed.

3.5 points

Mar De Robles - Mar De Robles (2003)

 

The debut album from this band from Chile.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, flute, saxophones, keyboards, guitars and vocals.

The band has been described as a jazz/fusion band in some archives and that is why I got their two albums. I like fusion and jazz....... a lot.

I was a bit taken aback when the music on this album jumped out of the speakers.  

Take a big chunk of folk rock from Chile and add lots of hard rock. Then you get somewhere near Jethro Tull... and Mar De Robles.

There is a lot of wild flutes, guitars and Spanish vocals here. The music is very hard at times.

The music is also wild and lively.

The quality is somewhere between decent and good throughout this album. Some more good pieces of music would have benefited this album a great deal. Besides of that, this is an album worth considering.

2.5 points

 

KingBathmat - Fantastic Freak Show Carnival (2005)

 

The third album from this English one man band.

The band owner, John Bassett does the guitars, bass, drums, keyboards and vocals on this album.

KingBathmat started out as a one man band before he got more help on the latest albums. John Bassett has per 2017 released eight albums under this name and I got three of them. I will review them this fall.

The music on this album is not easy to describe....

Take some neo-prog and mix it with psych rock. Add some hard prog too and some rock. That is when you get this album.

The vocals is good and the instruments is well played. The vocal harmonies are also good.

The music is rather commercial and is rather catchy.

This is one of the better one-man projects albums I have heard for a long time. It also sounds like a full band effort too.

These forty-six minutes are rather good and one to check out. I am positive surprised.

3 points

White Willow - Sacrament (2000)

The third album from this Norwegian band.

The band was a sextet on this album with a lineup of glockenspiel, drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards, melodica, flute, recorder and vocals.

Two guest musicians contributed with voices and oboe.

White Willow is back again with their take on Scandinavian symphonic prog.

It is not particular conventional symphonic prog they are bringing to the market on this album.

Take some folk rock, add some electronica and some symphonic prog. Add some mysterious sounding female vocals too from Sylvia Erichsen and you got this album.

The music is pastoral and understated. Less is more is the main theme here. The sound is by no means over crowded. It is not even particular crowded either. One to three instruments at one time.

There are some good guitars and flutes here. The vocals is very good and the sound too is very good.

An outstanding track or even a great track is what this album is missing. But this album is really good and well worth checking out. 

3 points

 

 

 

 

King Crimson - A Scarcity Of Miracles (2011)

The 16th album from these British legends.

The band is reduced to a trio on this album with a lineup of guitars, guzheng, saxophones, flute, keyboards and vocals.

Tony Levin and Gavin Harrisson helps out on bass, drums, percussion and vocals.

This album is the last and perhaps final ever King Crimson studio album as the band finds it funnier and more profitable doing gigs as a sextet than releasing new music. 

That is a choice I respect.

On this album, Mel Collins, Robert Fripp and Jakko Jakszyk forms King Crimson with the help of the two above mentioned guest musicians.

There is a lot of Mel Collins saxophones on this album. And a lot of vocals too.

This album is songs based and it is not a so much eclectic prog album as we are used to from this band.

This is still a King Crimson album, through and through. The music is still eclectic.... but with a melodic twist.

The music is really good on this album and this is a side of King Crimson I also find valuable and interesting.

If this is the final ever King Crimson studio album, they have nothing to be ashamed of. They are going out with their reputation intact.

3 points

Jester's Joke - Just a Reason to Be Out There (1990)

The one and only album from this Italian band.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, flute, keyboards, programming and vocals.

A guest musicians provided extra vocals.

This band is new to me and most others. It is a Rock Progressive Italiano (RPI) band though and I am a big fan of that genre. 

I would not really label them as a RPI band. Their music is really neo-prog.

That is old style neo-prog with a great deal of references from the British scene. Pallas is a good reference.

There is also a lot of guitar noodling here and some rather good English vocals. The music is pretty heavy and a bit on the theatrical side of the spectrum.

The sound is not particular good on this album and that is rather spoiling this decent album. 

Hence, the sound only makes this a half-decent album. What a shame.

1.5 points

Marillion - Brave (1994)

The seventh album from this British band.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

The band had help from the cello and violinists in Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and a uillean pipes player.

The band gives us seventy minutes of music on Brave. Quite a mouthful of music.

Steve Hogarth era Marillion had started to find their style. No more bombastic symphonic prog. 

The replacement was a much more pastoral form for neo-prog and symphonic prog.

Marillion made their own genre and Brave is a good example of this pastoral prog genre.

The vocals is top notch and Steve Hogarth has got a new fan in me.

The band does their best on some very solid and good material. Songs and suites which does not really sparkle and shines.

The music is really good. But a great song or two is missing. I still like this album and will visit it over and over again in the future.

3 points

 

 

SBB - Za Linią Horyzontu (2016)

The 17th album from this band from Poland.

The band was now a trio with a lineup of bass, drums, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

This band is surely Poland's biggest ever contribution to progressive rock. Yes, the new progressive rock scene in Poland is very impressive and has given us some great bands and albums. SBB's output is still a couple of inches better than those bands.

And they are still alive.

The band brings us fifty minutes with a mix of symphonic neo-prog, symphonic prog and some fusion on this album. That has broadly speaking been their formula from the beginning and the band is still sticking to this formula.

Not many compromises in other words.

The album opens up with a normal neo-prog song before it goes in all types of directions.

The music is always good to very good throughout and I like their clean sound and good vocals.

This is another very good album from this band from Poland. A band who deserve a lot more attention from those of us from the west of the ex iron curtain.

Check out this band.

3.5 points

 

Spock's Beard - The Oblivion Particle (2015)

The 11th album from this US band.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of percussion, drums, bass, bass synth, guitars, mandolin, electric sitar, banjole, synth, organ, piano, mellotron and vocals.

A guest musician provided violin on one track.

I was not overly impressed by their previous album and did not have many hopes for this album.

Ted Leonard is still on the vocals and also adds guitars. Two albums in and I am not decided if his vocals suits this band. I guess it suits their new style.

We still get US symphonic prog on this album. But not as much as on their previous albums.

The band has gone a bit neo-prog and rock on this album. Ted Leonard's background in other words. 

The music is still symphonic and pretty muscular too. There is a lot of nice details here and the music is very complex at time.

This album is not as openly, unashamed symphonic as their first albums and it deserve a bit more time before the listener "get it". It is still a good album and perhaps a bit better than that when I in years time picks it up again for some more listening sessions.

Check out this album.

3 points

 

 

 

Yes - Heaven & Earth (2014)

The 19th album from this British band.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, programming, keyboards, bass, guitars and vocals.

Jon Davison was the vocalist on this album and I guess he is still the vocalist in Yes when they play live. In these Covid 19 times, that is not often.

The 2011 album Fly From Here was not too bad. It had some positivities.

Heaven & Earth sees the band move into the pop/rock territory.

Some of the songs are pretty long. But they are still sugary sweet pop/rock. Some of the music is bordering to bubblegum pop and that is really, really bad.

There is no progressive rock here at all and very few things that reminds us about the once so great band Yes. The band has become too lazy and too bloated to even attempt progressive rock these days.

A couple of half decent ideas and songs is saving this album from the turkey yard. 

But this album is very sad indeed.

1.5 points

 

Landforge - Creation Cycle (2011)

The debut album from this one man band from England.

The band was now Stephan Carter on guitars, bass, synths and drum programming.

The 2012 second album Servitude To Earth was a mix of shoe gaze, sludge and post rock.

There is not so much sludge the first time around.

Creation Cycle gives us much more post rock, post metal and shoe gaze than sludge.

Some of the music is pretty epic too and I understand what Stephan want. 

Nevertheless, the music lacks a bit in quality throughout these forty-five minutes.

This and their second album is still worth checking out as they are name your price Bandcamp albums.

2.5 points

 

 

 

 

Univers Zero - Clivages (2010)

The ninth album from this band from Belgium.

The band was a sextet on this album with a lineup of violin, bassoon, english horn, oboe, melodica, sampler, percussion, drums, bass, bass clarinet, alto sax, glockenspiel and keyboards.

The band had help from some guest musicians who provided drums, percussion, guitar, cello and accordion.

This band was now in full flow and very much legends in the RIO/avant-garde scene. Probably the leading band in that scene and true legends.

The band has never been a rock band. They have always been an avant-garde chamber classical music orchestra. And they are still popular in the progressive rock community. That says everything about the open minds of progressive rock fans. Something to really applaud.

The music on this album is the regular dosage of melodic and dark avant-garde chamber classical music. 

The music is mostly done by acoustic instruments. A dissonant electric guitar sometimes adds darkness and gloom to the music. Music which is is pretty gloomy already. The oboe also adds darkness.

The music is dense but still pretty melodic.

The music is also good but still fails to add the little xtra I expect from a great album. 

This is another good album from the masters of avant-garde music.

3 points

Pineapple Thief. The - 10 Stories Down (2005)

The fifth album from this British band.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, cowbells, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

Some guest musicians added acoustic guitars, violins, piano and backing vocals to this album.

This album is from what I gather an improved version of the 2004 album 12 Stories Down. An album which was not popular among the critics.

The band has by now found their own style and sound.

That means a niche somewhere between Marillion, Airbag and Radiohead. 

There is some violins on this album too and that brings a bit more folk and celtic rock influences into their sound. Which is a cool, good thing on this album.

The sound is pretty warm and some dissonant metal riffs roughens up this album a bit. But most of it has a a warm, nice feeling.

This is mostly due to Bruce Soord's vocals which is very good.

The songs are all good and this is a nice album indeed. A killer track or two would had made it a lot better. But I am not the one to complain.

3 points

 

 

Yob - Elaborations of Carbon (2002)

The debut album from this US band.

The band was a trio on this album with a lineup of bass, drums, guitars and vocals.

I got a handful of their albums and will review them this fall and winter. 

... Starting with this one.

We are back in the post-punk era. An era we still in the middle off.

The music is a mix of stoner and space rock here. More space rock, in my opinion.

The music is dirty but has some good vocals. There are also some death metal vocals here and a piece of music that takes us into death doom metal. 

The sound is dirty and underdeveloped. In this case, that is not a positive thing. 

This album is really long, seventy minutes long and I suspect there is some demo stuff thrown into this album. The sound levels are a bit uneven.

The music is decent enough. But it is still not that good and I hope the band will improve on the coming albums. Just to make my deep dive into the discography a lot more enjoyable, that is.

2 points

 

 

Pixie Ninja - Colours Out of Space (2020)

The second album from this Norwegian band.

The band is a quartet with a lineup of glockenspiel, drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards, grand piano and mellotron.

They have got help from some guest musicians who has provided french horn, cello, organ, guitar and vocals.

I have not had the chance to listen to their 2017 debut album Ultrasound so I do not know their history. 

The music on their new album is a mix of psych rock, funk, post-rock and space rock.

The music is instrumental where the human voice is utilized as instruments.

The music is pulsating and pretty epic. Some of it is also suitable for the dance-floor. 

The music is pretty engaging with a lot of small, intricate details.

The music is also good throughout.

This is another Norwegian band well worth checking out.

3 points

Images - Images (1977)

The debut album from this France.

The band was a sextet with a lineup of percussion, drums, bass, mandolin, guitars, harmonica, flute, keyboards and vocals.

The band has released two albums. The second one together with Avant.Quart back in 1979.

The vocals here are entirely in French and it is male vocals.

This, their debut album is thirty-five minutes long and is a bit of a strange album.

Take a lot of French folk rock, add some Harmonium like symphonic prog and some krautrock. Then you get this album.

The music is understated throughout this album. It is based on vocals and one or two instruments.

The sound is not particular good with a notable difference between each songs.

There are some decent music here. Most of it is not up to that standard and this album is just one for diehard collectors. 

1.5 points

King Crimson - The Power To Believe (2003)

The 15th album from this British band.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, programming, warr bass, warr guitars, guitars and vocals. 

After several left-field very eclectic experimental albums, the band reigned themselves in and changed course.

.... Slightly....

You still have the trademark Fripp guitars here and the restless eclectic energy.

But there is some very melodic stuff on the title track, which is split into five parts and scattered around the album.

This album is much more melodic than expected from this band. It is more melodic and accessible than they have been for a very long time.

The music is still very eclectic and indeed..... very King Crimson.

The quality is good throughout this album. It is still a pretty odd album in their discography because of the title track. 

Check out this album.

3 points

Inistekar - Trigonobralistes Tome Second (2017)

The second album from this Canadian band.

The band is a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, violin, guitars, mandolin, keyboards and vocals.

A guest musician contributed with organ on one track.

I am a pretty big fan of the Quebec scene and is very happy when I find another band from this scene. A band like this one.

I have sadly not been able to get their 2001 debut album. Neither have I been able to get the EP they released last year. But that means there is life in the band and that makes me happy.

The music on this album is eclectic, indeed. 

The vocals are in French and the music is a mix of Quebec scene fusion, epic pastoral symphonic prog, King Crimson, Ange and some hard prog.

The good vocals are both male and female. There is a lot of vocals and vocal harmonies here.

The album clocks in at over one hour and it is an hour x many times well spent.

The music is both intricate and harmonic. It has a lot of good details and this band and album deserves a lot more attention than it currently is getting. 

This is indeed a good album.

3 points

 

Laughing Stock - The Island (2018)

The debut album from this Norwegian trio.

The band was a trio with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, flute, keyboards and vocals.

I reviewed their second album, the 2019 album Sunrise, last year. But somehow, this album was forgotten until now.

So a well overdue review is hereby in order.

The music is some sort of progressive rock, yes.

Take Pink Floyd and strip away most of their sound. Add some more acoustic folk rock and you may end up pretty near The Island.

There is a lot of acoustic, pastoral music here. There is not many instruments in their music and the music is both laidback and pastoral.

The vocals are good and adds a lot to this music.

Some harsh metal riffs sometimes blends with the pastoral music and there is some long guitar solos too.

The result is a rather good album and an album well worth checking out.

3 points

Laura - Laura (1980)

The debut album from this French band.

The band was a seven piece big band with a lineup of xylophone, percussion, drums, bass, flute, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

This band released two albums before they gave up the ghost. I will review the second album in some days time.

This band is among the more obscure French symphonic prog bands. Bands who never broke through but still, forty and fifty years later, still have a lot to offer those who really like symphonic prog and French symphonic prog.

There is a lot of French folk rock here too and some weird atonal French vocals. The keyboards sound is very old style and from the very early 1970s.

The vocals are really good and in the French tradition of both singing and almost talking. 

There is a lot of flutes and guitars here too.

The sound is very old style symphonic prog and pre-Yes. It is bordering to proto-symphonic prog.

The quality of this album is somewhere between decent and good. There are a couple of good songs here but the keyboards sound is the best thing about this album. 

It is an album well worth checking out.

2.5 points

Spock's Beard - Brief Nocturnes And Dreamless Sleep (2013)

The 11th album from this US band.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of timpani, drums, percussion, bass, organ, piano, clavinet, mellotron, vocoder, synths, guitars, mandolin and vocals.

The band was supported by some guest musicians, including Neal Morse, who provided vocoder, viola, violin and guitars.

Nick D'Virgilio had left the band and the vocalist duties before the release of this album. Ted Leonard from Enchant had taken over the microphone and they had got a new drummer too.

That means a slightly new, refreshed sound.

Ted does a good job on the vocals but he has different voice to Nick so that means a slightly new sound. 

This is still a Spock's Beard album though. We get the usual US symphonic prog here.

This album is nowhere near being their best album and the songs are not up to their usual standard. 

There is still some very good details here and there and the songs are good. But they are nothing more than that. 

I sense a band trying to find themselves again on this album. 

.... Nevertheless, it is still a good album and one to check out.

3 points

Stray - Stray (1970)

The debut album from this British band.

The band was a quartet with a lineup of bass, drums, guitars and vocals.

The band has released around ten albums during their long history and I got eight of them up for review in the coming months.

.... Starting with this album.

The band was a hard rock band who released a prog rock album in the middle of their career. Hence my interest in them. They were also for a short period managed by one of the infamous Kray brothers.... Bad managements was the reason Stray never really broke through to stardom and fame.

The band is still regarded as a pretty big band with the guys in Iron Maiden as some of their few fans.

Their debut album sees them rock of with a mix of blues and hard rock. 

The music on this album is really hard and pretty catchy too. The guitars and the vocals are pretty good here. 

There is no good songs here and some of the songs are barely decent. But this album rocks and this is a decent album. 

This album has not scared me of reviewing the rest of their albums.

2 points

    

Landforge - Servitude To Earth (2012)

 

The second album from this band from Bristol, England.

The band is a trio with a lineup of bass, drums and guitars. 

There is a lot of atmospheric sludge, post-rock albums around now. Well, perhaps not a lot. But I have got some of them.

This album, their debut album and an EP can be obtained as a name your price albums from this Bandcamp site.

I am not a big fan of post-punk rock in all it's variations. Sludge and post-rock is one of the more likeable expressions in my view.

And that is what we get here. Sludge, space and post-rock. All of it instrumental.

There is indeed a lot of shoegaze on this album too. The music is introvert and pretty gloomy. It has a good ambience.

The music has a good balance between shades and lights too. There is a lot of good breaks here and a lot of ambience.

The result is a forty-five minutes long album. A good album indeed and an album well worth checking out.

3 points

 

 

 

Boat Burning - Ignition (2012)

The debut album from this US band.

The band is a sextet with a lineup of drums, percussion, tabla, cello, violin, guitars and tapes.

This is the first of two albums from this band. I am not too bothered about the second album so I will not review it. The link to their two albums is here.

The music on this half an hour long album is krautrock.

Amon Duul is a good reference here.

Their music is not as primitive as Amon Duul's albums. 

The violin and cello is adding a lot of textures to the music and so is the guitar solos.

The sound is pretty bad to good. The reason is that this is a collection of jams and the sound quality varied a lot from jam to jam.

The result is a half decent album. It is not an album I find much enjoyable but fans of primitive krautrock and Amon Duul may find this an album well worth pursuing.

1.5 points

 

 

Both Hands Free - Both Hands Free (1976)

The one and only album from this band from England.

The band was a quartet with a lineup of saxophone, keyboards, bass and drums.

This band was from Manchester and did the clubs there before a Steeleye Span member discovered them and recorded this album with them. A now very obscure album.

One of the members here joined Camel in the early 1980s tour band and that is all we know. 

The music is fusion in the vein of Weather Report.

The music is based on a mix of organ and saxophone.

The music is also a mix of ballad, pastoral pieces of music and more spaced out, faster melodies. 

The music is also pretty tender and soaring too with some really nice touches. This makes this album quite an experience.

The album was released on an underground label with a limited distribution, if any at all. It is still a mystery how the fans of Weather Report has lost out on this album. 

It is very much a good album and one to chase up on Youtube or anywhere else you can give it a listen or your attention.

This is indeed a hidden gem and diehard fusion fans will love this album. 

3 points

Kryptograf - Kryptograf (2020)

 

 

 

 The debut album from this Norwegian band.

The band is a quartet with a lineup of bass, drums, guitars and vocals.

Old heavy metal in the vein of Black Sabbath is a pretty big genre these days.

We can now add these Norwegians to this genre.

Their music is a mix of old doom metal in the vein of Black Sabbath, heavy rock, space rock and progressive rock.

The soundscape is mostly primitive. But some of the songs are really lush and flower-power like.

This band has really bought into the 1969 - 1971 era and is doing a good job of it.

The vocals are really good too and suits the music really well. Ditto for the thundering, dirty bass and guitars.

The album is just under forty minutes long and it delivers a good punch. It is also a good album and well worth checking out.

3 points

Yes - Fly From Here (2011)

The 18th album from the British band.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, keyboards, guitars and vocals.

Some guest musicians provided percussion, bass, piano, acoustic guitar and vocals.

Benoit David from the Canadian band Tiles did the lead vocals here and it seems like this is the only Yes album he will ever do the vocals on. Jon Davidson took over on the next album.

His vocals is very good though. But he probably did a better job as a vocalist in Tiles. 

The band tries to recapture their 1970s spirit again with the twenty minutes long title track. A meandering piece of music which takes the band into neo-prog territory. The main theme is still good and there is a lot of interesting details on that piece of music.

The music on this piece of music and the rest of the album is not as epic as I expected from a Yes album. It has a more commercial sounding sound and there is a distinct lack of the usual keyboards cascades of sound.

This just feels a bit weird. 

This is a barely good album from Yes. It is still an album I quite like and would rate as a good album.

3 points