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 

Countdown - Chains Of A Martyr (2006)

 

The third album from this band from France.

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

The band released four albums 2000 - 2007. I have yet to sample their first two albums. A review of their fourth and final album will be published next week. There is not much known about this band and I have next to nothing to go on here.

Chains Of A Martyr clocks in at fifty-two minutes.

The music is progressive metal.

The sound is pretty poor here as this is supposed to be a demo-album. But I have heard a lot better sound on other demo albums. My guess is that the studio they used was pretty poor.

The music is technical progressive metal with some power metal influences. 

The guitars and vocals are pretty decent. The music too is decent.

The result is a pretty decent album. I cannot recommend this album at all, I am afraid.

1.5 points  

 

 

 

My New Band Believe - My New Band Believe (2026)

 

The debut album from this one-man-band from Great Britain.

Cameron Picton, ex Black Midi, performed percussion, acoustic guitar, mandolin, piano, recorder, reed, harmonica, saxophone and vocals here.

Numerous guests added drums, percussion, bass, guitars, strings, tangents, woodwinds and backing vocals here.

This album clocks in at thirty-seven minutes.

The music is singer/songwriter folk rock.

There is more to the music than that....  The music is pretty melodic with lots of strings and orchestration.

The music is still well within the singer/songwriter tradition with lots of vocals.

The music is pretty elegant.

There are some positive things here. I am not entirely won over (but I love the band name....very quirky) by the music here. Hence...

2.5 points 

 

 

Parsons Project. The Alan - Pyramid (1978)

 

The third 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, narration and vocals.

This project continued on with some great success.

Pyramid clocks in at forty minutes.

The music here is pomp rock.

There is indeed some pomp pop here too. 1970s pomp pop. Pomp is the whole DNA profile of this project.

The music is song-based, and the various vocalists here deliver some good male and female vocals. The songs are not anything special.

This is a decent enough album and just that.

2 points 

 

 

 

Rainbow - Rising (1976)

 

The second album from this band from Great Britain.

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

Munic Philharmonic Orchestra added strings and woodwinds to one of the tracks too.

Ronnie James Dio and Ritchie Blackmore continued their cooperation on this album. Cozy Powell, Tony Carey and Jimmy Bain were the three other members here. Pure rock royalty in other words on this album, the follow up to their good debut album.

Rising clocks in at thirty-five minutes.

The music is classic hard-rock.

There are some blues influences here too. Most of their songs are epic too. 

The vocals and the guitars are very good here. The arrangements are good too.

The best song here is Stargazer. A song which is pointing to the future of the band, the Difficult To Cure album among them. The guitar solo here is superb and one of Mr. Blackmore's finest moments.

There are a couple of sub-standard songs here too. This album is still a pretty good album and one to check out if hard rock is your thing.

2.5 points 

Kitajima. Osamu ‎- Benzaiten (1976)

 

The second album from this artist from Japan.

Osamu Kitajima performed the percussion, drums, guitars, koto, biwa, synths and voices.

A number of guests added drums, bass, guitar, biwa, keyboards and synths.

Osamu Kitajima has released around twenty albums between 1972 and 2010. He is pretty big in his homeland but pretty unknown in the progressive rock community in the rest of the world.

Benzaiten clocks in at forty minutes.

The music is a blend of space rock and krautrock.

The music reminds me a lot of Amon Düül's first three albums. That means primitive, tribalistic rhythms.

There are some flutes and vocals on the top of the drums and percussion.

The music is not particular bad. I am not a fan of this kind of space rock/krautrock. This is still a decent enough album.

2 points 

 

Keor - Hive Mind (2016)

 

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

Victor Miranda-Martin did the bass, guitars, synths, programming and vocals here.

Keor has so far released three albums. I have reviewed the last two albums in # 2 and # 3 of this blog. The debut album, this album, somehow slipped through the cracks in my office/mind. But this has now been rectified...

Hive Mind clocks in at seventy minutes.

The music here is art-rock.

...Sort of.

The music is pretty eclectic with some mellotron sounding synths and some jarring guitars. The music is not particular well performed.

The vocals are only half-decent.

The music is wandering all over the place. There are a couple of good themes here and there are some pretty awful pieces too.

The law of average makes this a decent enough album. I cannot say I am impressed by this album.

2 points 

 

 

Aurora Clara - Seven Hills (2026)

 

The fifth album from this band from Spain.

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

I was a pretty big fan of their first four albums and was off course delighted when I found their new album too.

Seven Hills clocks in at forty minutes.

The music here is fusion.

Their take on fusion is pretty melodic with a lot of flutes, guitars and organ solos.

The musicians here are highly skilled and their harmonies and solos are really smoking and impressive.

The music is still pretty esoteric too and it has a good vibe.

This album is a great follow up to their first four albums and a very good album in it's own right. This band is one of the best fusion bands in Europe right now.

3.5 points 

 

Built For The Future - 2084 Heretic (2023)

 

The third album from this band from USA.

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

I have previously reviewed their first two albums. They are all pretty good to good albums. I will review their new album sometime this weekend/next week.

2084 Heretic clocks in at sixty-five minutes.

The music is neo-prog.

There are a lot of heavy prog influences here too. 

The music is catchy, melodic, poppy and still... slightly epic and a bit eclectic. It is most of all US big-is-better neo-prog.

There are some good keyboards and guitar harmonies here. The vocals are very good. That includes the many vocal harmonies and multi-layered vocals.

The music is engaging and elegant.

The result is a good album and one to check out if melodic progressive rock which still bites is your cup of tea.

3 points 

Ahoora - All In Blood With You (2008)

 

The second album from this band from Iran.

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

This is the follow up to their barely decent enough 2006 self-titled debut album.

All In Blood With You clocks in at forty minutes.

The music is technical thrash metal.

As rock music was banned and still is banned in Iran, the band had some considerable difficulties in recording this album. Going to a proper studio = getting the full wrath of the regime. Not an option, then..

So this album is recorded somewhere else.

The sound here is still a vast improvement on the pretty bad sound on the debut album. That says a lot...

The musicians do a good job here and the vocals are decent enough. 

There is not much to enjoy on this album. Thankfully, the band, if my memory serves me right, became a post rock band after they released this thrash metal album. Their third album, reviewed by myself in ProgArchives fifteen years ago, is a good album. All In Blood With You is not.

2 points  

 

 

Saris - Project Off World (2026)

 

The sixth album from this band from Germany.

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

The band returned again after a six years long album break. I have reviewed their previous five albums and I have liked them a lot. 

The album clocks in at seventy-three minutes. 

The music here is neo-prog.  

To be much more precise.... German neo-prog.

The music is melodic, muscular, epic and sometimes symphonic.

The sporadic saxophones is adding a lot of spice and colours to the music. The guitars and keyboards is very good.

The vocals are also very good.

The result is another very good album from this band and one to check out.

3.5 points 

 

Uriah Heep - Into The Wild (2011)

 

The 22nd 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 two years long break.

Into The Wild clocks in at one hour.

The music here is good old hard rock with some AOR and progressive rock influences.

There is a lot of AOR here, in fact. 

The music is pretty catchy throughout this one hour worth of music.

Both the guitars and keyboards are very good on this album. They are the main takeaway from this album.

The vocals are also very good. 

This is a classic rock sounding hard rock/AOR album and a good album too. Although a bit too slick, this is one of their better albums.

3 points 

 

Rome Pro(G)ject. The - A Musical Walk Through the History... (2012)

 

The debut album from this project from Italy.

 

This project is the brainchild of Vincenzo Ricca. He did the keyboards here.

 

He had help from numerous guests who provided drums, bass, guitars, violins, grand piano, keyboards, flutes and woodwinds.

 

Vincenzo Ricca has so far released six albums in this series and I got four of them up for reviews this summer. To my surprise, I had not reviewed this album already. A shameful mistake now rectified... 

 

A Musical Walk Through the History... is clocking in at fifty-five minutes.

 

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

 

The music is complex, epic, majestic, cinematic and symphonic. It is not based on rock music either.

 

The quality of the music is good throughout and I am really looking forward to reviewing the remaining albums too.

 

Check out this good album.

 

3 points 

 

 

Karat - Albatros (1979)

 

The second album from this band from Germany.

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

This band was from the East-Germany, the Sovietunion occupied/dominated part of Germany. Behind the Iron Curtain, in other words. A part of Germany/Europe with their very own scene. Karat were the biggest rock group in this scene. They were the soundtrack to many Germans and that may explain why they still are so popular in these parts of Germany (and in the rest of Germany too), even after the fall of the Iron Curtain. The band has released around twenty studio albums, the latest one last year. 

The band did indeed release a couple of progressive rock'ish albums during the 1970s. Albatros is the most known of these albums and the only Karat album I intend to review. 

Albatros is clocking in at three quarters of an hour. 

The music is mainstream rock with some hard rock, krautrock and progressive rock influences. 

The music is not particular complex or proggy. There are a 1970s vibe here. The music is really commercial and slick. It is also pretty elegant.

The vocals are in German and they are pretty good.

The music is decent enough. It does not bring anything interesting to the table, though. Hence...

2 points 

The music is  

  

Kaczynski. Charles - Lumière De La Nuit (1978)

 

The one and only album from this artist from Canada.

Charles Kaczynsky did the percussion, bass, guitars, violin, cello, keyboards, woodwinds and vocals here.

Charles Kaczynsky was a member of Conventum who released two albums in the 1970s. He then went into studio on his own, recorded and then released this album.

Lumière De La Nuit is clocking in at forty minutes.

The music here is a blend of folk rock and neo-classical music. 

The music is complex, eclectic but still pretty melodic.  

The music here is mostly performed by strings. There are some percussion, keyboards and woodwinds here too which is underpinning the music.

There are also some rather weird, but still charming wordless vocals and choirs here. All of them performed by Charles.

This is one of the weirder progressive rock albums out there. It is strangely enough also a pretty good album too.

This is an album which needs to be heard to be believed. Check it out.

2.5 points 

 

Dear Hunter. The - Sunya (2026)

 

The 12th album from this band from USA.

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

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

Sunya is clocking in at three quarters of an hour.

The music is a blend of US indie-rock and art-rock.

There is a lot of vaudeville rock and funk here too. The music is very colourful with lots of weird rhythms and themes.

The music is also both melodic and complex. It is also slightly eclectic.

The music is also slick, elegant and commercial. This is an album with a great commercial appeal and potential.

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

The result is another good album from this band. The Dear Hunter has their own style and they are one of the leading US prog rock bands.

3 points 

Built For The Future - Brave New World (2020)

 

The second album from this band from USA.

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

The band returned again after at ten years long album break. I reviewed their pretty good 2015 debut album Chasing Light back in October 2017, and you can read my review here. The band has later released three albums and I am reviewing them this summer. That also includes their new album.

Brave New World clocks in at seventy-five minutes.

The music is a blend of heavy prog and neo-prog.

The music is muscular, epic and monumental. It is also big, hard and muscular.

There are some good guitar harmonies and themes here. The songs are well constructed. The synths and keyboards are also good.

The music is also complex and slighly eclectic.

The vocals are really good throughout.

This is a good album and one to check out if US muscular hard prog is your thing.

3 points 

 

  

Ahoora - Ahoora (2006)

 

The debut album from this band from Iran.

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

This is the debut album from this band who later released three more albums. The last one earlier this year. This year's album was released fifteen years after they broke up. A review will follow next week. 

Ahoora is clocking in at fifty-five minutes.

The music here is progressive thrash metal. 

Rock music, let alone metal, was and still is forbidden in Iran. Ahoora existed in spite of the religious regime in Iran. A regime that both jailed and murdered those who did not follow their adherence to a strict religious life. The local rock artists and bands did not get access to any good recording studios. Due to the threat of jail or a worse fate than that... Ahoora did not even try to get studio time when recording this album.  

The sound quality on this home-recorded album is therefore pretty poor. 

The instruments and vocals are pretty good on this album. Watchtower is a pretty good reference. Ahoora's music is slightly more progressive, though. VoiVod is another good reference.

There are some good stuff here though and some pretty dire stuff here.

This is a decent enough album but not one that I am really enjoying as the sound quality is too poor for my liking.

2 points 

  

Onségen Ensemble - A Tale (2026)

 

The fifth album from this band from Finland.

The band had expanded to a nine-pieces band on this album with a line-up of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, harmonica, flute, trumpet, programming and vocals.

The band returned again after a four years long album break. I like their first four good albums too so I was looking forward to this album.

A Tale is clocking in at three quarters of an hour. 

The music is art-rock.

There are a lot of folk rock influences in their music too. Finnish folk rock, that is. Call it prog folk too. Add in some cinematic rock too and you get the picture.

The music is elegant, melodic and warm. It is also complex and slightly epic. It is also eclectic too. A lot of things this album is...

The mix of electric and acoustic instruments is very good. The trumpet is adding spice to their music.

The sparse vocals are very good. 

There are some very good cinematic symphonic prog pieces here too which is adding a lot of quality to an otherwise good album. There is a lot to enjoy here.

This is indeed a very good album, bordering on a great album. This is one of the better albums from this year. I am certain that this album will end up high on a lot of progheads album of the year list.

3.5 points 

Quasar - Last Transmission (2017)

 

The debut album from this band from Italy.

The band was a duo with a line-up of drums, percussion, keyboards and synth.

Two guests added bass and guitars.

This album is the only sign of life so far from this band. I don't think the band will ever return with a new offering.

Last Transmission is clocking in at one hour.

The music is heavy prog.

The music is also instrumental. It is heavy throughout with a lot of dynamic structures.

There are a lot of guitars here in addition to the synths and keyboards.

The music is also pretty eclectic and complex.

This album does not bring anything new to this instrumental heavy prog scene. A pretty much overcrowded scene.

This is a decent enough album but nothing more than that.

2 points 

 

 

Quetzal - Quetzal (2024)

 

The debut album from this band from France.

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

This is another new band from the French progressive rock scene. This time with some men who have lived some years and are no longer teenagers. The band has taken their name from a very colourful bird from America. At least this band has highlighted the beauty of this bird.... Running a review blog has some benefits, indeed.

Quetzal is clocking in at forty minutes.

The music is symphonic prog.

There are some hints of fusion here too. But Camel is still the best reference here.

The music is really dynamic and symphonic. The music is also retro with a great 1970s vibe.

There are a lot of good guitar harmonies and solos here. 

The vocals are wordless and used as an instrument. 

This is indeed a promising debut album and a good album in it's own right. This is an album well worth checking out.

3 points 

 

 

Ombra Della Sera. L' - Segreti Nel Nero (2026)

 

The second album from this band from Italy.

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

The band returned again after a fourteen years long break. Their debut album was a good album so their return is very much welcomed.

The album is clocking in at seventy minutes.

The music here is RPI.

Fabio Zuffanti is a member of this band and that is very much evident in the music of this band. It is fair to say that he has had a hand in influencing the music here. And that is a good thing. 

The music is pretty dark throughout. Most of the music is instrumental. The music is dark, brooding and slightly gothic.

The music is also melodic with some neo-classical music influences. There are some good keyboards generated moog and mellotron pieces here. 

The vocals is also good here.

The result is a good album and one to check out if RPI and symphonic prog floats your boat.

3 points  

 

Løvetann - Opus Magnum (2025)

 

All albums collected in one box from this band from Norway.

The line-ups on the various albums here are stated in each of my reviews of the included albums.

This box consists of 5 CDs, over 390 minutes of music.

Earlier this spring and summer, I have reviewed the eight albums included in this box. I see no reasons to repeat my reviews here.

There is also a good live album included in this box and some left over songs. 

The music is a blend of progressive folk and art-rock. The overall quality of this box, who also includes an informative English language booklet, is good.

Løvetann is one of the truly original bands in the prog scene and this box is well worth the money.

You can order the box from here. 

3 points    

Dear Hunter. The - Migrant Returned (2023)

 

The 11th album from this band from USA.

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

A number of guests added violin, viola, cello, woodwinds and vocals.

This album is a follow-up to their 2013 album Migrant. The band released some other albums after Migrant, but still wanted to return to this theme ten years later.

Migrant Returned is clocking in at seventy minutes.

The music is a blend of art-rock and indie rock.

The music is slow, mid-tempo and fast. There are some vaudeville rock vibes here too.  

The music is sometimes upbeat. It is also melancholic at times.

There is a lot of soul in their music, to say at least. The vocals are really good here.

This album is long and not everything is good here. There are some sub-standard tracks here and some good tracks.

This album is not their finest effort. It is still a pretty good album, well worth checking out.

2.5 points 

Broken Springs - Hidden Door (2026)

 

The debut album from this band from Hungary.

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

Three guests added violin, cello and saxophone.

This is another new band to me as I recently got this album. The album has been released through Bandcamp.

Hidden Door is clocking in at seventy minutes.

The music is a blend of neo-prog and art-rock. There are also some indie-rock influences here.

The music is mid-tempo, mellow, slightly melancholic and song-based. The music is not particularly complex.

The music is guitar-based. There are some keyboards based piano and strings here too.

The female vocals here are very good and the focal point of their songs. 

The overall quality is pretty good. The quality of the vocals elevates this album to a good rating. I hope we will hear a lot more from this band in the future.

3 points 

Lazuli - 4603 Battlements (2011)

 

The fifth album from this band from France.

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

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

4603 Battlements is clocking in at fifty minutes.

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

The music is colourful, pretty epic and melodic. It is also muscular and pretty hard too. It is most of all eclectic.

The guitars are very good here.

The French vocals are very good. 

This is another good album from this band, which I rate highly.

3 points 

 

 

 

Nilssen. Ole G - Immortal Fire (2016)

 

The fourth album from this artist from Norway.

Ole G. Nilssen did the guitars and vocals here.

He got help from a dozen of guests who provided drums, bass, guitars, cello, cajon, keyboards, recorder, trumpet, saxophone, choir and vocals.

I really like his debut album from 1976. The following two albums were half-decent. Hence, I did not have any hopes for Immortal Fire.

Immortal Fire clocks in at one hour.

The music is mostly pop-rock.  

Retro pop-rock, it has to be said.

There is a lot of Americana in the sound and music here. The Travelling Wilburys and Roy Orbison are good references here.

Ole G. Nilssen's vocals is very good. The songs are slightly better here than on the two previous albums. This is therefore a decent enough album. I am still not won over...

2 points  

 

Juniors. The - The Juniors Story (1971)

 

The one and only album from this band from Italy.

The band was a sextet with a line-up of percussion, drums, bass, guitars, piano, organ, clavinet, moog, woodwinds and vocals.

This album is the full story, all songs, released by this band throughout their history. This extended version of this album was released by Mellow Records in 2007. The true release date year of this album is therefore 2007. 

This album is clocking in at eighty-three minutes.  

The music is a blend of 1960s beat, Italian pop and some psych and RPI. 

The music can be labelled proto-RPI. 

The album starts with a very Whiter Shade Of Pale'ish (Procol Harum) theme. It is no less a rip-off of that theme. 

The rest of the album is more Italian beat and pop orientated. 

The (male) vocals are in Italian.

The music is simple and songs based. There is a lot of cheesy woodwinds here. The clavinets are also a bit cheesy.

The music is very much outdated and this album is a bit of a museum piece. This is a half-decent album without much merit.

1.5 points 

 

  

 

Juke - Chimeras' Tale (2014)

 

The one and only album from this band from France.

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

This is another obscure band who released one album through Bandcamp and then disappeared. 

Chimeras' Tale is clocking in at seventy-two minutes.

The music here is a blend of psych rock and space rock.

Both Eloy and Pink Floyd are good references here. Fans of both bands will find a lot to like on this album.

The music is melodic, spacey, epic and slightly symphonic.

The first half of the album is dominated by the Eloy references before the Pink Floyd references takes over on the final half of this album.

The music still stands on it's own two feet and is original enough. Nothing has been copied. 

The music has a good retro 1970s ambience and sound. The vocals are good. There is a lot to like here. 

The music is good. This is an album that screams out for more attention and a proper release. Hopefully, that will happen one day.

3 points