Khatsaturjan - Monologue of Chronos (2026)

 

The fourth album from this band from Finland.

The band was a trio with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, cello, synths and vocals.

The band returned again after an eleven years long break. Their first three albums were good, so I had some expectations for this album.

Monologue of Chronos clocks in at fifty minutes.

The music here is symphonic prog.

The music is complex, melodic, pretty epic, pretty symphonic, theatrical and mid-tempo.

There are a lot of Yes influences in their music. The music is also baroque throughout this album.

The band does a good job and the arrangements is very good.

The vocals too is very good.

There are no real killer tracks here and that is my only gripe with this album. This is a good album, indeed.

3 points 

 

 

 

 

Relayer - Broken Branches (2021)

 

The sixth album from this band from USA.

The band was a quartet with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

The band returned again after a two years long album break.

Broken Branches clocks in at one hour.

The music here is a blend of neo-prog and AOR.

The music is melodic, slightly complex, pomp, a bit commercial, slick and mid-tempo.

There is a good balance between the guitars and the keyboards.

There are not any really interesting solos here, keyboards or guitars.

The vocals are decent enough without really adding any quality to this album.

The songs are really unremarkable and run-of-the-mill sort of songs.

This is a decent album and by far their least interesting album to this point.

2 points 

 

Rome Pro(G)ject. The - IV Beaten Paths Different Ways (2020)

 

The fourth album from this band from Italy.

The project was a ten-piece big band with a line-up of guitars, electric violin, piano, keyboards, saxophone and flute.

A number of guests added drums, bass, guitars and narrations.

The project returned again after a three years long break.

This album clocks in at one hour and five minutes.

The music here is a blend of symphonic prog and neo-classical music.

Most of the music is instrumental music in these two genres. There are also a couple of vocals dominated songs here.

The rest of the music is flowery and symphonic. There are some folk rock influences here too.

This album is in the RPI tradition through and through.

The quality is good throughout too. This is another album from this project well worth checking out.

3 points 

 

Rolf Zero - Nine (2026)

 

The ninth album from this band from Australia.

The band was a trio with a line-up of didgeridoo, percussion, drums, bass, guitars, recorder, keyboards and whistle.

A number of guests added violin and vocals.

This album is their first album this year after releasing multiple albums in the last years.

Nine clocks in at fifty minutes.

The music here is a blend of neo-classical music and symphonic prog.

Mostly neo-classical music, that is. 

There is also some folk rock in their music too.

Some of the music is pretty cheesy.  Their music has always been a bit elevator-music. 

This is still a decent enough album. But it still fails to impress me.

2 points  

 

Lazuli - Nos Ames Saoules (2016)

The seventh album from this band from France.

The band was a quintet with a line-up of drums, marimba, leode, guitars, mandolin, keyboards, French horn and vocals.

The band returned again after a two years long album break.

This album clocks in at three quarters of an hour.

The music is a blend of heavy prog and art-rock.

There are also the usual French symphonic prog influences here too. 

The music is bold, epic, theatrical, complex... and melodic too. 

The band has their own sound. Some of it is due to their use of leode, an instrument they have invented themselves.

The vocals is very good here.

The music is indeed good throughout. I am missing an outstanding track here.. The type of music/songs that elevates an album from good to a higher level. That said, this is still an album well worth checking out.

3 points 

 

Procol Harum - Exotic Birds And Fruit (1974)

 

The seventh album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a quintet with a line-up of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, piano, organ and vocals.

The band returned again, one year after releasing their great Grand Hotel album.

Exotic Birds And Fruit clocks in at just over forty minutes.

The music here is a blend of psych rock and symphonic prog.

The music is melodic, mostly mid-tempo, a bit baroque, vaudeville, quirky and songs based.

There are some good guitars here, including guitar solos.  

The vocals are very good.

The overall quality is indeed good and this is another good offering from this band who has got my renewed respect and admiration.

3 points  

 

Minnesoda - Minnesoda (1972)

 

The one and only album from this band from USA.

The band was a seven-piece big band with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, saxophone, trumpet, trombone and vocals.

A split album with this band and another incarnation of the same setup was later released as a compilation album. But this is the only real studio album from this band under this name. Just to clear that one up....

Minnesoda clocks in at thirty-seven minutes.

The music is a blend of jazz and brass-rock.

There is also a lot of soul in their music.

This album is most of all a snapshot of the US classic arena rock scene anno 1972. Lots of woodwinds/brass. Lots of soulful vocals. Lots of funk too.

The music is decent enough without really being impressive.

This is another album for those into the early 1970s arena/classic rock scene.

2 points  

Mr. Albert Show - Warm Motor (1971)

 

The second album from this band from The Netherlands.

The band was a quintet with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, organ, saxophone, flute and vocals.

The band returned again with their second and final album, one year after releasing their debut album. A short and hectic life, in other words.

Warm Motor clocks in at three quarters of an hour.

The music here a blend of soul, blues and hard rock. 

....Classic rock, in other words...

The music has some good guitar solos and organ harmonies.

The vocals are soulful and pretty good.

This is not a bad album indeed. This is indeed a decent album.

Fans of early 1970s classic rock should check out this album.

2 points  

Riffstone - Great Journeys (2026)

 

The fourth album from this band from Great Britain.

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

The band returned again after a couple of months-long break.

Great Journeys clocks in at seventy-five minutes.

The music here is symphonic prog.

A good reference here is the Dutch band Us. That too was a duo and very much in the same vein as Riffstone. And that is both a comparison and a compliment (check out this Dutch band).

The music here is melodic and not overly complex. This is symphonic prog, yes. But not in the same vein as Yes. 

The music is a bit pedestrian at times. 

There is some good stuff here and some less good stuff. The result is therefore a pretty good album and the least interesting album from this band.

2.5 points 

 

 

Uriah Heep - Chaos and Colour (2023)

 

The 25th album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a quintet with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

The band returned again after a five years long break.

Living The Dream clocks in at one hour.

The music here is hard rock.

The music here is slightly harder than on their previous couple of albums. The band is full of life here and is rocking out.

There is also a lot of classic rock in their music too.

The guitars are great and the organ sound comes to the front on this album. The vocals is as per usual also great.

This album is vintage Uriah Heep and bordering to being a very good album. I hope this album has at least one more album in them as this is their so far latest album.

3 points 

Nilssen. Ole G - Oceans and Wastelands (2024)

 

The ninth album from this artist from Norway.

Ole G. Nilssen did the guitars and vocals here.

He had help from a guest who added drums, melodica, programming and backing vocals.

Ole G. Nilssen returned again after a three years long album break.

Oceans And Wastelands clocks in at seventy minutes.

The music is vintage pomp pop/rock.

The music harks back to the early 1960s too. That's before The Beatles freshened up the pop music and made the kind of music on this album obsolete. 

This pre-The Beatles pop music has been Ole G. Nilssen's music since his second album. There are some pomp symphonic rock on this album too. But most of this is vintage pop music.

The vocals is good. The music is barely good. This is a decent album but just that. 

2 points  

Pythias - Daydream (2026)

 

The debut album from this one-man-band from USA.

The band is a man called Pythias on programming, guitars and vocals.

A handful of guests added bass, guitars, piano, male and female vocals.

This Bandcamp based project/band is new to me. I downloaded the album last month.

Daydream clocks in at just over half an hour.

The music here is acid folk. 

Pythias has profiled his/this band through ProgArchives over the last two months. Fair play to him as this is the way to go.

Besides of the acoustic guitars and vocals here, there is some mellotrons and synths here. There is also some sporadic female vocals here.

The music is pretty basic acid folk rock. Or acid acoustic folk rock, to be more precise.

There are a couple of good songs here. Most of the music here is decent enough. I am therefore not really sold on this album. It is at best a pretty good album. Those of you into acid folk may want to check out this album at Bandcamp.

2.5 points 

 

Relayer - V (2019)

The fifth album from this band from USA.

The band was a quartet with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, piano, organs, mellotron and vocals.

The band returned again after an eleven-year album break.

V clocks in at one hour.

The music here is a blend of US symphonic prog and neo-prog.

The music also got some strong mainstream rock influences.

The music is not particularly complex. It is more straight forward.

The music reminds me a lot about the 1980s-90s British neo-prog scene. 

The vocals are pretty good.

The melodies are pretty catchy. The sound are OK.

The quality of the songs falls a bit short and is substandard. This is a decent enough album and one of their weakest efforts. I am not impressed.

2 points 

 

Parsons Project. The Alan - Eve (1979)

 

The fourth album from this project from Great Britain.

Alan Parsons did the organs, synths, electronics and vocoder here.

Numerous guests added drums, percussion, bass, mandolin, guitars, harpsichord, piano, harps, organ, keyboards, synths, woodwinds and vocals.

This project returned again after a one year long album break.

Eve clocks in at forty minutes.

The music here is pomp pop/rock.

The music is in the musicals and rock opera vein too. 

The music is slow and mostly ballads. There is a lot of strings, keyboards and woodwinds here. 

There is also a lot of female vocals here.

The music is decent enough but barely decent. Some of the music is pretty dull too. 

The music is commercial. This album shifted a lot of copies and topped the charts. It is still a substandard album.

2 points   

Maya - Fading Tomorrow (2024)

 

The debut album from this band from Hungary.

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

This band is a new band to me although they have been around since 2017. They are signed to the Polish label Oskar. A label with bands like Quidam and Albion.

Fading Tomorrow clocks in at three-quarters of an hour.

The music is neo-prog.

Magenta is the most obvious reference here, though. The female vocals are like Christina Booth's vocals and therefore like Annie Haslam's vocals. But not quite as good, though. Sorry, Zsuzsa Garda.....

The music is therefore symphonic too, as in the band Renaissance.

The music is melodic and engaging. There is a lot of harmonies here. The music is still pretty complex too.

The vocals are great here and an added bonus to this album.

This is a very good album, bordering to a great album. Magenta and Renaissance fans should and must check out this album.

3.5 points 

  

  

Mr. Albert Show - Mr. Albert Show (1970)

 

The debut album from this band from The Netherlands.

The band was a quintet with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, organ, saxophone, flutes and vocals.

One guest added vocals to the album.

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

Mr. Albert Show is clocking in at forty minutes.

The music here is a blend of soul, blues and classic hard rock.

The music is soulful and hard. The sound and music are vintage indeed.

There are a lot of organ, woodwinds and vocals here.

The vocals is both male and female.

The quality of the music is decent enough and this is a pretty enjoyable album.

Fans of vintage 1970s rock should check out this album.

2 points 

 

Imperfect Pyramid - Imperfect Pyramid (2026)

 

The debut album from this multi-national project.

The band was a trio with a line-up of bass, guitars, synths, dulcimer and drum programming.

This is a band with three veterans in the electronic music genre. They have on their own released numerous albums. This is their first collaboration.

Imperfect Pyramid clocks in at fifty minutes.

The music here is electronic prog. 

Tangerine Dream is my only reference here as this genre is not one I know much about. 

Dulcimer is the instrument dominating the soundscape here. 

There are also some guitars and bass here. That makes the music a bit more interesting. There are also some strong Eastern Asian music here.

The music is pretty interesting. I am not an electronic prog fan so this is not my cup of tea. This is still a decent enough album.

2 points 

 

Uriah Heep - Living The Dream (2018)

 

The 24th album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a quintet with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

The band returned again after a four years long break.

Living The Dream clocks in at fifty-three minutes.

The music here is hard rock.

Uriah Heep has, by now and with this stable line-up carved out their own genre. That is 1970s hard rock with an updated sound and some strong classic rock and prog rock influences.

The music is both muscular and melodic. Most of the songs are catchy too. The music is hard too. In short, this is classic hard rock. Hard rock from one of the inventors of this genre.

The music is really good here and this album is an enjoyable experience. This is one of their better albums and one to check out.

3 points 

 

 

 

  

 

Nilssen. Ole G - Objects In The Mirror (2018)

 

The sixth album from this artist from Norway.

Ole G Nilssen did the guitars, guitar synths and vocals here.

He had help from a number of guests who added drums, percussion, bass, accordion, piano, electric piano, keyboards and backing vocals.

Ole G Nilssen returned two years after the instrumental, pretty good Chess Fantasies album. 

Objects In The Mirror clocks in at three-quarters of an hour.

The music here is old style pop-rock in the vein of Roy Orbison and The Travelling Wilburys.  

The Chess Fantasies gave me some hope for this album. Hope that he had abandoned his old style pop-rock. Hope now dashed when I am listening to this album.

The vocals are pretty good. The music is dire. This album can be seen as a cheese-fest... at best.

 At worst....

1.5 points 

 

 

Exploring Birdsong - Every House We Built (2026)

The debut album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a trio with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

This band released a single back in 2019 before they released this album earlier this year.

This album clocks in at fifty minutes.

The music here is a blend of heavy prog and neo-prog. There are also some baroque pop and dream pop here too.

The music is slick, commercial and big.

The instruments are multilayered. There are a lot of female vocals here. Both solo vocals and harmonies.

The music is really elegant. It is also pretty complex too.

The vocals and the musicianship are great.

The quality is good throughout this album. This is an album with great commercial potential and I hope the band reaches a bigger audience than just us progheads.

3 points 

 

 

Rainbow - Long Live Rock N Roll (1978)

 

The third album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a quintet with a line-up of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, piano, keyboards and vocals.

A string ensemble added woodwinds, strings and other symphonic instruments.

The band returned again after a two years long album break.

This album clocks in at forty minutes.

The music is hard rock. 

Ronny James Dio was still the vocalist in Rainbow. He and the band owner, Ritchie Blackmore were the remaining members in a fluctuating band setup.

Ritchie Blackmore were pretty interested in both classical music and Eastern Asia folk music. Both types of music have been implemented in their take on hard rock on this album.

The music is still hard rocking, indeed. But with some subtle hints. There are also some strong blues influences in their music.

The title track is very good. The rest of the songs are decent to good. This album is not as good as the previous album Rising. It is still a semi-classic album in the traditional hard rock scene.

2.5 points 

 

 

  

Rome Pro(G)ject. The - Exegi Monumentum Aere Perennius (2017)

 

The third album from this project from Italy.

The project was a sextet with a line-up of guitars, electric violin, piano, keyboards, saxophone and flute.

A number of guests added drums, bass, guitars and narrations.

The project returned again after a one year long break.

This album clocks in at one hour.

The music here is a blend of symphonic prog, RPI and cinematic rock. The music is indeed vintage 1970s RPI and symphonic prog.

The music is epic, symphonic, monumental and melodic. 

There are a lot of keyboards, guitars, flute and saxophones here. The balance between their solos is very good .  The harmonies are superb.

The sound is excellent too.

The result is a very good to great album and one to check out for all RPI and symphonic prog fans.

3.5 points 

  

AcidYesit - AcidYesit (2015)

 

The debut album from this band from Colombia.

The band was a quintet with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, tenor saxophone and alto saxophone.

The mostly unknown band has released two albums through Bandcamp. I will post a review of their second album in some days time.

This album clocks in at thirty-three minutes.

The music can best be described as eclectic prog.

The band has for some reasons not obvious on this album been labeled as a progressive metal and metal band. Well, that is not what we get here. Eclectic jazz with two saxophonists duelling each other. 

Add in both some metal chugging and soloing electric guitars and some jazzy half-acoustic guitars too and some weird rhythm patterns.

To call this music wild is a gross understatement.

The music is still well structured. There are methods in the madness here.

This is therefore a good album. A wild but good album. This is an album eclectic prog fans should and must check out.

3 points 

 

 

  

A Silent Sound - Compass (2017)

 

The debut album from this band from The Netherlands.

The band was a quintet with a line-up of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, piano, electric piano, moog, horns and vocals.

This band released two albums 2017 - 2018 before they called it a day. I just got their second album and will review it in some days' time.

This album clocks in at one hour and five minutes.

The music here is an eclectic mix of singer/songwriter, heavy prog and neo-prog.

The music is pretty muscular at times. This, although the album start in the singer/songwriter tradition. That is a recurring theme throughout this album. But it is not the whole album... thankfully.

There are some good melodic themes here. The ambience is very good.

The vocals are also very good.

The overall quality is indeed good too. This album is a positive surprise, indeed.

3 points  

 

Lalu - A Mythmaker's Demise (2026)

 

The fifth album from this band from France.

The band was a quartet with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

The band returned again, three years after their fourth album The Fish Who Wanted To Be King. A good album, indeed.

A Mythmaker's Demise clocks in at three quarters of an hour.

The music here is progressive metal.

There are a lot of heavy prog and some art-rock influences in their music too.

The music is epic, monumental, hard and very complex. 

The music is also melodic and pretty elegant at the same time. There are some subtle jazz influences in the music here too.

The vocals are superb and there are a lot good details here too.

The result is a good album and one to check out from one of the new big bands in the progressive metal scene.

3 points 

 

 

Different Light - Icons That Weep (2009)

 

The second album from this band from the Czech Republic.

The band was a quintet with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

A number of guests added bass, guitars and vocals.

It took the band thirteen years and a relocation from Malta to the Czech Republic to follow up their good debut album. 

Icons That Weep clocks in at three quarters of an hour.

The music here is a blend of neo-prog and more mainstream rock.

There are still some poppy 1980s-90s neo-prog here. But the band has moved a lot more towards sweet melodic mainstream rock.

The band does a good job here and the vocals are great.

The music here is too melodic and not enough complex, proggy to really warrant a good rating. The music is nice but does not have enough substance. Hence....

2.5 points  

 

Rymdstyrelsen - Lunar Mountains (2020)

 

The second album from this band from Sweden.

The band was a quartet with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, programming and vocals.

The band returned again some years after the release of their Space Is Cold debut album. A pretty good album, btw. 

Lunar Mountains clocks in at three quarters of an hour.

The music here is stoner rock.

Stoner rock with a lot of psych and space rock influences. It is a fair observation that this album is a blend of stoner, psych and space rock.

There is a lot of Black Sabbath in their music. 

Nevertheless, the music is not that hard. The music is more psych than hard.

The vocals and the guitars are good. The music is pretty good. This is a band well worth checking out.

2.5 points 

 

Albion - It Was In The Month Of May (2026)

 

The second album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a quintet with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, flute and vocals.

The band returned again, two years after the release of their good debut album Lakesongs Of Elbid.  

It Was In The Month Of May clocks in at fifty-three minutes.

The music here is folk-rock.

There is a lot of Irish/Celtic folk music in their take on folk rock. The music is very much rooted in the emerald island.   

There is still some prog metal in their sound. This has been carried over from their debut album. The music this time around is much more mellow, though.

The music is melodic, mellow and still complex and epic. The music is very much progressive.

The flute and the vocals remind me a lot about Jethro Tull. Their music as a whole reminds me a lot about Jethro Tull at their most mellow. 

The male and female vocals are both excellent. 

Their first two albums have positioned this band as one of the best folk rock bands in today's scene. They may take over Jethro Tull's market and fans too as Jethro Tull is coming to the end of their career. If this is the case, the future for folk rock is bright. It is Albion's future.

4 points 

  

 

 

Uriah Heep - Outsider (2014)

The 23rd album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a quintet with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

The band returned again after a three years long break.

Outsider clocks in at one hour.

The music here is hard rock.

There is also a lot of AOR and classic rock in their music too. 

It is fair to label Uriah Heep as a classic hard rock band on this album and in this stage of their career/development.

The guitars, keyboards and vocals are good. 

Some of the songs are good too. There are also some substandard tracks here too. 

This is a pretty good album and well worth checking out if classic hard rock is your thing.

2.5 points 

 

Sigur Rós - Von (1997)

 

The debut album from this band from Iceland.

The band was a trio with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, electronics and vocals.

It is about time to review the studio albums from this band, the undisputed kings of post-rock. That is what I will do in the coming weeks and couple of months.

Von clocks in at seventy - three minutes.

The music is electronica.

Well, some sorts of soundscapes are the right words here.  There is a lot of samples here, cobbled together.

The Italian act Goblin is a reference in that respect. 

There are also some attempts of creating some organic music here.

I cannot say this album is the one I expected here. OK, it is a debut album but there is hardly any post-rock here.

This is a rather poor effort and a borderline turkey.

1.5 points 

 

Loreweaver - Italic (2014)

 

The second album from this band from Italy.

The band was a quintet with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

The band returned again five years after their decent enough 2009 debut album. Italic is the last sign of life from this band so far and I fear that they have split up.

Italic clocks in at just over one hour.

The music is progressive metal.

The music is pretty hard throughout with some strong djent influences and chugging guitars.

There are still some orchestral arrangements here on the top of the guitars. There is a lot of synths here, in other words.

The female vocals are really harsh and pretty brutal throughout this album.

There are also a lot of melodic pieces here with some harmonies.

The quality is pretty good throughout. The music is a bit too run-of-the-mill to really stand out. Hence....

 2.5 points

 

Leo Nero - Monitor (1980)

 

The second and final album from this artist from Italy.

Gianni Leone (Leo Nero) did the percussion, piano, organ, keyboards, synths, effects and vocals here.

He got help from a handful of guests who added drums, bass and guitars. 

Gianni returned after a three years long break. His debut album was decent enough.

Monitor clocks in at forty minutes.

The music is some sort of new-wave rock.

There is indeed a lot of punk rock influence here. There are even some new romantic influences here.

The vocals are in Italian and pretty bad. The sound is OK.

The synths are pretty bad.

The music here is really bad and this is barely a half-decent album, bordering on being a turkey. I am not impressed at all.

1.5 points 

 

Tenerini. Jonhatan - Noisy Shadows (2026)

 

The debut album from this artist from Italy.

Jonhatan Tenerini did all the drums here. 

Three guests added bass, guitars, piano, synths and programming here.

I know nothing about this artist. The album has been released through Ma.Rah.Cash Records and that is good enough for me.

Noisy Shadows clocks in at forty minutes.

The music here is fusion.

There are a lot of cinematic rock, symphonic prog and heavy prog influences in the music here.

The music is muscular and hard throughout.

This music is what some of us would call modern fusion too. Post-millenium fusion.

There are really some good melodies here and some technically complex stuff. 

The result is therefore a good album and one to check out if you are into fusion.

3 points 

Different Light - All About Yourself (1996)

 

The debut album from this band from the Czech Republic.

The band was a quartet with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

This band has so far released five albums. Earlier this year, I reviewed their brand new album. I have also previously reviewed their third and fourth album. A review of their second album will be posted in a few days time.

All About Yourself clocks in at sixty-five minutes.

The music here is neo-prog.

Their take on neo-prog is the one from the 1980s - 1990s British neo-prog scene. That means melodic, poppy and slightly fluffy as in light.

There is even some reggae here on one track.

The guitar solos are very good here. The vocals are also very good.

There is a lot to like on this album for those who are into neo-prog. This is indeed a solid, good debut album. 

Neo-prog fans should indeed check out this album.

3 points 

 

 

 

 

  

Rymdstyrelsen - Space Is Cold (2019)

 

The debut album from this band from Sweden.

The band was a quartet with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, synths and vocals.

This band has so far released two albums. The latest one in 2020 and I will post my review of that album in some days time.

Space Is Cold clocks in at three quarters of an hour.

The music here is space rock.

Their take on space rock has some strong stoner rock influences. 

The music is pretty eclectic and esoteric too. It has a dirty stoner rock sound too. 

The music does indeed invoke the 1970s hard-rock sound and scene. The Black Sabbath era.

The guitars and the vocals is pretty good. The quality is good throughout. This is an album the 1970s hard rock fans should check out.

3 points 

 

Sacred Tree. The - Reconciliation (2026)

 

The debut album from this band from Italy.

The band was a sextet with a line-up of drums, bass, violin, cello, piano, trombone and sax.

This is a new band to me. They have released this band through Ma.Rah.Cash Records. That is all I know about them.

Reconciliation clocks in at fifty-three minutes.

The music here is jazz.

There are a lot of melancholic sentiments in their music. Their take on jazz sometimes ventures into progressive rock. Yes, I know that this means fusion. Nevertheless, the music here is far from standard fusion and it is too easy to label this as a fusion album.

The woodwinds are the main instruments here with some piano also helping out in the solos. 

The music here is good throughout. Jazz and fusion fans should check out this album.

3 points 

 

 

Lazuli - Tant Que L'Herbe Est Grasse (2014)

 

The sixth album from this band from France.

The band was a quintet with a line-up of drums, marimba, guitars, leode, mandolin, keyboards, French horn and vocals.

Fish delivered vocals on one track.

The band returned again after a three years long album break.

This album clocks in at three quarters of an hour.

The music is a blend of eclectic prog and symphonic prog. 

The music is still pretty melodic with some dissonances blended into the melodies. 

Their use of their own invented instrument leode gives their sound and music its own identity. The female French vocals are both powerful and great.

The quality of the music is very good throughout. Lazuli has established themselves as one of the best French prog rock bands with this and their previous albums. Check out this album.

3.5 points

  

Nilssen. Ole G - Chess Fantasies (2016)

 

The fifth album from this artist from Norway.

Ole G. Nilssen did the guitars, keyboards and vocals here.

He had help from a number of guests who added percussion, bass, guitars, organ, banjo, violin, piano, clavinet, harpsichord, woodwinds and vocals.

This album is the second album Ole G. Nilssen released that year.

Chess Fantasies clocks in at half an hour.

The music here is a blend of neo-classical music and new-age music. 

The music sounds a bit like church music too. 

The music is also slow throughout this half an hour. It is performed by orchestral instruments plus keyboard and guitars.

The vocals here are choral, wordless voices. 

 The result is a decent enough album and his best album since the debut album. It is an album worth checking out.

2 points 

Loreweaver - Imperviae Auditiones (2009)

 

The debut album from this band from Italy.

The band was a quintet with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

This band has so far released two albums between 2009 and 2014. I believe the band has split up. A review of their second album will be posted sometime in the next few days. 

Imperviae Auditiones clocks in at one hour. 

The music here is progressive metal.

Their take on progressive metal is the more melodic variant of this genre.

The music is slick, commercial and melodic.

The music is dominated by female vocals. Very good female vocals. The guitars and the keyboards are also good.

The music is somewhere between decent and good. The music is too formula based, too much run-of-the-mill to really win me over. Hence...

2.5 points 

Leo Nero - Vero (1977)

 

The debut album from this one-man-band.

Gianni Leone did all the instruments here. That means drums, bass, guitars, keyboards, synths and the vocals on this album.

This ex Il Balletto Di Bronzo keyboardist Gianni Leone released two albums between 1977 and 1980. I will post the review of the second album later this week.

Vero clocks in at three-quarters of an hour.

The music is a blend of RPI, symphonic prog and psych rock.

There are both some strong Balletto Di Bronzo and ELP influences here. 

The music is pretty weird throughout, with a lot of loose ideas thrown together. 

The sound is pretty good. The musicianship is OK.

There are some good and some not so good stuff here. The overall quality is pretty good and this is an album RPI fans should check out.

2.5 points 

 

 

Deception Store - Osmosis (2026)

 

The second album from this one-man-band from Italy.

Marco Pantozzi did most of the vocals here.

He had help from numerous guests who provided drums, percussion, bass, guitars, piano, keyboards, flute and additional vocals.

I reviewed his 2021 debut album Pindaric Flight back in January 2022 for # 3 of this blog and was not impressed by the soft indie rock there. Thankfully, Marco has returned with a new album.

Osmosis clocks in at three quarters of an hour.

The music here is good old RPI.

Classic RPI, that is.

The music is melodic, classy, stylish and elegant.

The music is slow to mid-tempo. There are some keyboards and synths generated elegant strings (cello, viola etc) here. 

The male and female vocals are great.

The music is perhaps a bit too soft for my taste. Nevertheless, this is a good album and it is recommended to the RPI fans and other fans of elegant progressive rock.

3 points  

 

 

Althea - The Art of Trees (2019)

 

The second album from this band from Italy.

The band was a quartet with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards, synths and vocals.

The band returned again, two years after their debut album.

Memories Have No Name clocks in at one hour.

The music here is a blend of progressive metal, heavy prog and neo-prog.

The most obvious reference here is Porcupine Tree.  

The music is a lot more melodic than that, though.

The music is also pretty slick and commercial. It is indeed melodic too.

There are a lot of good harmonies here too. The vocals are good.

This album is in quality a step up from the debut album and a good album in it's own right. Check out this album.

3 points 

 

Countdown - Break Rise Blowing (2007)

 

The fourth album from this band from France.

 

The band was a quartet with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

 

The band returned again one year later after their not-so-impressive third album.

 

Break Rise Blowing clocks in at three quarters of an hour.

 

The music here is progressive metal.

 

The music is technical and pretty heavy.

 

Their music is again both undermined and holed below the waterline by the poor production and sound. 

 

The music is pretty melodic with some good guitars on the more melodic pieces here.

 

The vocals are pretty poor.  

 

The songs are decent enough. But the end result is pretty poor, I am afraid.

 

1.5 points 

 

 

 

 

 

Built for the Future - 2084 Empire (2026)

 

The fourth album from this band from USA.

The band was a quartet with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards, programming and vocals.

The band returned after a three years long album break.

 2084 Empire clocks in at ninety minutes. 

The music is again heavy prog.

Their music has become notably heavier since the 2023 album, which was a neo-prog album. Lots of muscles have been added to their music. In particular, the drums and the guitars.

The music here is also pretty epic and monumental too.  

The music is also pretty melodic and slick.

The vocals are very good.

There are a couple of very good songs here and a couple of decent songs here. On balance, this is another good album from this band. Check it out.

3 points 

Procol Harum - Grand Hotel (1973)

 

The sixth album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a quintet with a line-up of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, mandolin, piano, organ and vocals.

Three guests added spoons, guitars, recorder and soprano vocals.

The band returned again after a two years long break.

Grand Hotel clocks in at forty-two minutes.

The music here is a blend of symphonic prog and vaudeville rock.

I was a bit hesitant to start reviewing their albums after taking a ten years long break between A Salty Dog and Home. I have so far been pleasantly surprised. Very positively surprised, in fact. 

The music here has a great ambience. The music is very quirky throughout. It strikes out in all directions. Gary Brooker more than proves that he was a genius on this album. 

The blend of guitars, piano, organ and vocals here is superb. 

I am, in short, flabbergasted...and that in a positive sense. For me, this is their best album so far and a great album in its own right.

4 points  

   

Relayer - Facade (2008)

 

The fourth album from this band from USA.

The band was a quartet with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

The band returned again after a nine-year album break.

Facade clocks in at sixty - five minutes.

The music here is a blend of US neo-prog, symphonic prog and classic rock.

The music is melodic, a bit epic and very much in the 1980s British neo-prog tradition at times. That means some poppy songs too.

There are also some more symphonic pieces here. Some symphonic prog pieces.

The vocals are a bit too screaming and tiresome. The vocals are the biggest weakness on this album. 

I am not convinced about this album. There are some good and some decent stuff here. I am not won over.

2.5 points 

 

 

Ashada - Circulation (2006)

 

The one and only album from this band from Japan.

The band was a female duo with a line-up of mandolin, piano, accordion, programming and vocals.

A number of guests added percussion, drums, bass, guitars, violins and programming.

This duo is one of the oddities in the progressive rock scene. An oddity that makes these scenes so interesting. It makes running this blog a lot more interesting.

Circulation clocks in at thirty-seven minutes.

The music is a blend of folk rock and dream pop.

The vocals are Japanese female vocals. These vocals are supported by some sparse instruments. Mostly piano. 

Minimalistic music, in other words.

The music is pretty cinematic too and it has a good ambience.

This is a pretty interesting album from the rather, for us Westerners, the unfamiliar Japanese tradition. Most of the music here is good and the vocals is really good. This album has grown a lot on me. Hence, this is a good album.

3 points 

 

Albion - Lakesongs of Elbid (2024)

 

The debut album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a quartet with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, mandolin, programming, flute and vocals.

Three guests added drums, flute and female vocals.

This is a new band to me. They have just released their second album and I will review it in some days time.

Lakesongs of Elbid clocks in at seventy minutes.

The music is folk rock.

The music is indeed folk rock.... but there is also a lot of chugging metal guitars here. Their take on folk rock is therefore muscular and pretty commercial. 

The music is also epic and progressive. There are indeed a lot of symphonic prog influences in their music.

The guitars are very good here. The vocals are also very good.

There is a lot to like here and there is no doubts this band is very talented and may go far. This is indeed a very good album.

3.5 points 

Ahoora - We Were Here Tehran 2011 (2026)

 

The fourth and final album from this band from Iran.

The band was a duo here with a line-up of bass, guitars, keyboards, synths and programming.

One guest added bass and keyboards.

This is a posthumous album from a band whose members had left the country and now live abroad. This album are released on their Bandcamp page as a name-your-price album.

This album clocks in at thirty-five minutes.

The music here is a blend of cinematic rock and electronica.

There are some new music here from 2010-11 and some odds and ends from other sessions too. 

There are some piano, guitars and sampled voices here in between the synths. The music is surprisingly organic and not as machines/synths dominated as I expected.

This is quite an interesting album and a decent album in its own right. If cinematic rock is your thing, this is an album worthy of your attention.

2 points   

Althea - Memories Have No Name (2017)

 

The debut album from this band from Italy.

The band was a quintet with a line-up of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards, synths, fx and vocals.

This band released two albums before they went quiet and probably split up as nothing has been heard of them this decade. I will post a review of their second album in some days time.

Memories Have No Name clocks in at fifty minutes.

The music here is a blend of progressive metal and heavy prog.

The two references here are Dream Theater and Porcupine Tree. 

The album starts out as a progressive metal album before it mellows out a lot and become much more a heavy prog album. 

The music is muscular, epic, symphonic and a bit post-rock too.

The musicians do a good job. The vocals are good too.  

Not everything here is good. There is some good stuff here and some decent stuff here. On balance, this is an acceptable debut album. Unfortunate for the band, this scene was and still is overcrowded and I suspect this album drowned in the flood of similar sounding albums that year.

2.5 points