Marbin - Dirty Horse (2022)

 

The 11th album from this band from USA.

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

One guest added percussion.

The band returned as a quartet one year after the pretty good trio based Fernweh album. You can read my reviews of their albums in both # 1 this blog and this edition of the blog.

Dirty Horse is clocking in at seventy-four minutes. 

The music is again jazz. Pure jazz.

The saxophone is the most dominant instrument here with several solos. Lots of solos, in fact.

There are also a lot of rhythm and solo guitars here.

The music is hardcore, dense jazz and not particularly melodic.  

The quality is pretty good throughout. There are also some decent stuff here. Hence....

2.5 points 

Unicorn Umbrellas - Every Picture Tells a Story (2026)

 

The debut album from this multi-national project.

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

Three guests added guitars and backing vocals.

This album is clocking in at three quarters of an hour.

This project, where the members has never been in the same room at the same time, was set up by the Swiss keyboardist and composer Beat Zimmerman. He recruited members from Gola, Tangerine Dream, Styx and Saga. The individual members recorded their bits and we got a full album out of it.

This is how a modern supergroup is working.

The vocalist is Michael Sadler from Saga. The music is somewhere between neo-prog and pomp rock.

..And yes, the vocals will gain this album a lot of Saga and Styx comparisons. Not only the vocals, but also the music.

The music is mid-tempo and melodic. The music is also pretty complex and pomp rock like. The music is also pretty catchy.

The vocals are great. The vocals are indeed the highlights of this album... which tells you how good Saga was/is.

The result is a good album. It is an album all pomp rock, Styx and Saga fans should check out.

3 points 

 

 

 

Uriah Heep - Different World (1991)

 

The 17th album from this band from Great Britain.

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

A number of guests added drums, accordion, harmonica, keyboards, electronic and a children's choir.

The band returned again after a two years long break. A break spent on trying to find a new record label as the band was by now rather unfashionable in the record industry. 

This album is clocking in at three quarters of an hour. 

Their 1989 album Raging Silence was a big improvement on their previous albums and I had some big hopes for their following albums.

The music here is a return to the heavy metal music the band was doing before Raging Silence. The US heavy metal scene and sound, that is.

That means poppy heavy metal with lots of choruses. There is even a children choir. That song is cheap and nasty. There are thankfully some better music here. This album is still a disappointment. It is a half decent album.

1.5 points  

 

 

Løvetann - Ansikt Til Ansikt (2000)

 

The third album from this band from Norway.

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

As I wrote in my review of their first album, this band was formed by Odd "Fezza" Ellingsen, the guitarist in St. Helena, Akasha and Høst. Odd Ellingsen was indeed the main force in the best Høst album Hardt Mot Hardt, a masterpiece in the great Norwegian progressive rock scene.

As with their other albums, Ansikt Til Ansikt was released as a CD-R album in a limited run of 100 x. Their eight albums were compiled and re-released in the widely available Opus Magnum box last year. I am reviewing their albums and this box this summer.

Ansikt Til Ansikt is clocking in at thirty minutes.

The music is again pretty special. The music is a blend of dark art-rock and dark symphonic prog. Thule is again a good reference. There are some more dark psych rock this time around. 

Arctic Prog is what I would label their (and Thule's) music as I did in my reviews of their first two albums. That does not really give any meaning.. 

The vocals are again dark operatic male vocals.

This album is not as good as their first two albums. This is still a pretty good album.. but still a bit of a disappointment. More reviews of their albums will be added next month.

2.5 points 

  

 

Dante Roberto - The Circle (2017)

 

The debut album from this artist from Italy.

Dante Roberto played piano, keyboards and synths here. 

He had help from two guests who added drums, bass and guitars.

This is the only thing I know about this artist and album. This is also the only album Dante Roberto has released. I believe he is a music professor in Italy. My language skills do not include Italian so this is only a guess based on some Italian text on his Facebook site.

This album is clocking in at three quarters of an hour.

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

The music is wholly instrumental with a lot of piano and synths. It is also dynamic and at times, fast. 

The music is also melodic.

The music is a bit too run-of-the-mill and does not really offer anything new or unique. This is a pretty good album and one for, mostly, the fusion fans.

2.5 points 

 

 

Da Capo - Da Capo (1972)

 

The one and only album from this band from Germany.

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

 This album is clocking in at three quarters of an hour.

This album was a collector's item and very hard to find until someone re-released it on CD twenty years ago. This is how it came to my attention. 

The music is krautrock.

In this case, the album starts with some acoustic songs complete with vocals. All vocals are in English. Amon Duul springs to mind on the first half of this album.

The music becomes a lot harder on the second half with some long space rock guitars solos and bluesy hard rock songs.

The final half of the album is pretty good while the first half is pretty decent.

The result is therefore a decent enough album. Krautrock fans should check out this obscure album from this short-lived band.

 2 points

 

 

Wish - The Endless Winter (2026)

 

The second album from this band from Italy.

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

I reviewed their 2019 debut album Stay Here My Friends back in November the same year and that was a pretty good album. See my review here.

The Endless Winter is clocking in at fifty minutes.

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

The music is mid-tempo and sometimes pretty melancholic. The music is in the Polish neo-prog tradition and sound, although the band is from Italy.

The music is also melodic. The English vocals are notably accented. They are still decent enough.

The quality is somewhere between decent and good. I am yet to be won over by this band.

2.5 points 

 

 

Halter and Skeie - More Than I Believe (2025)

 

The second album from this band from USA.

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

I reviewed their 2022 debut album Words some days ago and that was a pretty good album. I was hoping for much of the same on this album.

More Than I Believe is clocking in at forty minutes. 

The music is a blend of neo-prog, art rock and psych rock.

There are some Marillion and Pink Floyd influences here. 

The music is therefore melodic and mid-tempo. There are still some subtle Depeche Mode influences here.

The keyboards and the guitars are good. Ditto for the vocals.

The quality is an upgrade on their debut. Not by much but still an upgrade. This is an album art-rock fans should check out.

3 points 

 

 

240bpm & Flavour - In No Man's Land (2024)

 

The fourth or so album from this artist from Italy.

Vincenzo Lardo did the guitars, keyboards, programming, samples and vocals here.

Vincenzo Lardo has released numerous albums through the 240 Bpm Bandcamp site. I reviewed one of the last ones earlier this week and that album was a turkey. Hence I had no expectations to In No Man's Land.

This album is clocking in at fifty-four minutes.

The music here is a blend of art-rock and psych rock.

The music is pretty laid back with some good keyboards. The music is mellow and melodic.

There are some Pink Floyd influences throughout this album.

The music is pretty good throughout. There is some good songs here and some substandard songs. This album is a massive improvement on the album I reviewed some days ago. It is an album well worth checking out.

2.5 points 

 

Green Desert Tree - Fighting Dragons (2026)

 

The second album from this band from Germany.

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

I reviewed their 2019 debut album Progressive Work back in April 2019 and that was a pretty good album. You can read my review here.

Fighting Dragons is clocking in at three quarters of an hour.

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

Take a blend of Argos, Believe and Genesis. You will end up somewhere near this album.

The music is both dynamic and melodic. It is also mid-tempo. There are some subtle folk rock influences in their music.

The vocals are good and the band makes the most of their instrumentations.

The music is a bit workman like. Nevertheless, this is a good album and one to check out if neo-prog is your thing.   

3 points 

Klone - Le Grand Voyage (2019)

 

The seventh album from this band from France.

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

The band returned again two years after their acoustic album Unplugged and four years after their more serious band album Here Comes The Sun. Both albums reviewed in this blog.

This album is clocking in at fifty minutes.

The band started out as an alternative extreme metal band. Their music was extreme and eclectic. The last albums has seen them move closer to the alternative rock scene.

That journey is mostly complete on this album. The music is still a bit hard at times. Most of the music here is mid-tempo alternative rock. Katatonia and Anathema is a good reference.

Klone's music is still a bit more esoteric and edgy than the two above mentioned bands' music.   

The music is melancholic, airy and melodic too. The vocals are very good throughout this album.

This is their best album up to this point and an album for alternative rock fans. This is indeed a good album.

3 points 

Lunear - Many Miles Away (2018)

 

The debut album from this band from France.

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

This band has so far released five albums and they are all up for review this summer. That includes their new album too.

Many Miles Away is clocking in at fifty-two minutes.

I have heard a lot of good things about this band in ProgArchives and other places. So I jumped on the chance to review their albums. 

The music here is melodic neo-prog with a lot of pop/rock influences.

The music is mid-tempo with a lot of piano and keyboards. There are also some guitars here.

The vocals are very good. The vocals are in good English too although the vocalist is French. 

The music is a bit too much pop/rock. That said, most parts of this album are good. I understand why this band has such a good reputation.

3 points 

 

  

Id. The - Ido Book 2 (2019)

 

The sixth album from this multi-national band.

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

I have to admit that my reviews of their albums is a bit of a mess. I should have reviewed their Ido Book 1 album before I reviewed this album. But I do not have a copy of this album at this moment. I will get this and their other four albums too and put them up for review sometime later this year/next year.

I reviewed their 2015 debut album Idiocrazy back in September 2015 and liked it a lot. Classic neo-prog. You can read my review here. 

Ido Book 2 is clocking in at fifty-three minutes.

The music is again classic British neo-prog. Pendragon, IQ and Jadis are three good references here. 

The sound is contemporary and an upgraded version of the 1980-'90s British neo-prog sound.

The music is pretty symphonic at times too. The guitars are very good. Ditto for the vocals.

The music is good throughout. I really need to check out the rest of their albums and review them. There is a long list of unreviewed albums, though...

Neo-prog fans should have this album in their album collection.

3 points  

 

 

 

   

Id - Where Are We Going (1977)

 

The one and only album from this band from USA.

The band was a sextet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, slide guitars, mellotron and vocals.

This album is clocking in at three quarters of an hour. 

This album was released on a tiny record label that pressed this album in a small number and gave the album no promotion. The album still got a cult-status during the last four decades. RidingEasy Records, a record label specialising in re-releasing old out-of-print psych and prog rock classics then re-released this album on CD and on Bandcamp two years ago.

The album is hard psych rock with a lot of hard rock and some flower power influences. The music sounds like it was written in the late 1960s. 

The guitars solos are both long and wild. They sounds improvised too. 

The vocals and the mellotrons are pretty good.

The sound is good. The music is decent enough but not particular interesting. Psych and space rock fans may find this album interesting. I am not won over. 

2 points 

 

 

 

Code 18 - Two Places (2026)

 

The second album from this band from Canada.

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

Two guests added drums and bass.

I reviewed their 2020 debut album Human Error back in January 2022 and was not impressed. My review is here. 

Two Places is clocking in at seventy minutes.

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

The music is mostly long symphonic cinematic rock themes.

Most of the music is instrumental. The music is mostly driven by keyboards.

The music is both elegant and dynamic. The music is also good throughout.

This is an album fans of keyboards driven cinematic rock should check out.

3 points 

 

 

Halter And Skeie - Words (2022)

 

The debut album from this band from USA.

The band was a duo on this album with a lineup of bass, keyboards, computers, vocoder and vocals. 

This duo has so far released two albums and three EPs. A review of their second album will be posted at the end of this week.

Words are clocking in at fifty minutes.

The music here is a blend of art-rock and electronic pop.

References are A-Ha, Marillion, Van Der Graaf Generator and Depeche Mode.

The music is mid-tempo. There is a lot of electronic pop here including the use of vocoders. The music feels very sterile and cold at most of this album.

There are also some pretty elegant, melodic pieces of art-rock here inbetween the cold electronic pop.

The vocals are pretty good.

The quality of the music is somewhere between decent and good. Those into art-rock may want to check out this album.

2.5 points 

 

 

 

240bpm - Again (2025)

 

The fifth (?) album from this artist from Italy.

Vincenzo Lardo did the guitars, synths, programming and vocals on this album.

 Vincenzo Lardo has released numerous albums through his Bandcamp site. Some of them as solo artist and some albums in cooperation with other musicians. I have two of his albums and I will post a review of the other album at the end of this week.

Again is clocking in at twenty minutes.

The music is Vincenzo's take on some new-romantics songs from the 1980s. Songs he likes. Songs I rather want to forget. The same goes for the 1980s. It was a lost decade in the music and the fashion world. The music was mostly horrible.

Vincenzo's versions is a bit more electronica influenced than the original versions. That makes the result even worse than the orginals.

This is a name-your-price Bandcamp album. Which means zero risk for the buyers. This album is though a turkey and one I want to forget as much as I want to forget the music from the 1980s.

1 point  

 

Argos - Doctor Wilde`s Twilight Adventure (2026)

 

The eighth album from this band from Germany.

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

Three guests added drums, violin and woodwinds.

This album is clocking in at three quarters of an hour.

This album is inspired by a project the Northern Irish band Fruupp worked on before they split up. Fruupp's drummer is indeed a guest on this album. The other two surviving Fruupp members were also involved in this project in another capacity. The album is dedicated to the memory of the recently passed on two other Fruupp members.

This album is also a concept album about a mad doctor in Dublin, Ireland. 

There are indeed some Fruupp influences here. But Argos has their own take on neo-prog. 

The music is indeed neo-prog with some art-rock and Canterbury scene influences.

Van Der Graaf Generator also pops up here loud and clear as a reference. The same also goes for the vocals which are very Peter Hammill at times.

The music is melancholic and a bit dark. The music is mid-tempo. Thevocals are very good.

The music is also very good and I am very glad that Argos has honoured Fruupp by taking over the project the band abandoned fifty years ago. Check out this album from one of the best neo-prog bands in the world.

3.5 points 

 

 

Katatonia - Dead End Kings (2012)

 

The ninth album from this band from Sweden.

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

Three guests added percussion, keyboards and female vocals.

The band returned again after a three years long break.

Dead End Kings is clocking in at one hour.

During their first eight albums, the band has migrated from the death & doom metal genre to the alternative rock genre. A journey they share with the likes of Anathema and a few other bands.

The music is hard alternative rock.

This album was also their most melodic album. To that date, that is. The music is also melancholic.

The vocals are good and there are some good programmed strings here too.  

The quality of the music is not that impressive. It is a bit too run-of-the-mill. That said, this is still a pretty good album.

2.5 points 

 

Fates Warning - FWX (2004)

 

The tenth album from this band from USA.

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

The band returned again after a four years long break.

FWX is clocking in at fifty-two minutes.

The band started out as heavy metal band. Then they released a power metal album before they moved to and indeed, together with Dream Theater, formed the progressive metal genre. 

The band has again evolved on FWX. The music is now a blend of hard rock and progressive metal.  

The music is guitars based. The sound is both earthy and organic. The music is also very dynamic and hard. Hard but not particularly heavy.

Some of the music is also commercial and pretty elegant. The sound is contemporary.

The vocals are very good.

The overall quality is pretty good.. but the vocals and a couple of very good pieces of music is elevating this album to a good rating. This is one of their better albums. 

3 points 

 

 

Cinématique - Life In An Infinite Loop (2011)

 

The debut album from this band from Austria.

This was a one-man-band on this album with Alex Mallory doing the guitars, synths and vocals here.

Two guests added drums and bass on some tracks.

Their two albums are name-your-price Bandcamp albums. I will review Limbo, their second album, sometime later this summer. 

Life in an Indefinite Loop is clocking in at one hour.

The music is post-rock. Mogwai and Sigur Ros is two very good references here.

The music is.... ehh.... cinematic and laid back. Very relaxing music with some programmed strings and woodwinds on the top of some piano. The music is also very elegant and melancholic.

There are also some vocals here and they are very good.

This album is a timely reminder how good the post-rock genre can be. I am going to review the Sigur Ros albums later this year. This album serves as an appetiser.  

This is indeed a very good album and one to check out.

3.5 points 

 

 

Cangaceiro - El Gusano del Pipeño (2003)

 

The debut album from this band from Brazil.

The band was a sextet with a lineup of drums, saxophones, bass, guitars, congas, bongos, quenacho, quena, charango, pan flutes, flutes, thin whistles and vocals.

The band released two albums before they gave up the ghost. I reviewed their second album back in May 2020 where I described it as their one and only album. I am evidently wrong.. The review is here. 

El Gusano Del Pipeno is clocking in at forty minutes.

The music can best be described as a blend of South American folk rock and progressive rock. Or to be more precise... heavy prog.

There is some really heavy guitars here in the Lynyrd Skynyrd vein. This in addition to the lush folk music and folk rock.

Most of the music here is really melodic, colourful and lush. This album is very much an album from the South America with all this continent's sound and ambience. It makes me want to visit this part of the world. 

The vocals are good. The flutes and the guitars are good too.

Not everything here is good. That said, this is a pretty good album who deserve a lot more attention. I am minded to give this a good rating...

3 points 

 

 

Posh Toboggan - Crunch Potential (2026)

 

The debut album from this band from Canada.

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

This album was released through Bandcamp back in April this year and I discovered them through ProgArchives. The album is a name-your-price Bandcamp album.

This album is clocking in at thirty-seven minutes.

Describing the music here is a bit of a head-scratcher. Take garage rock, eclectic prog, add in some avant-garde rock, krautrock, freeform jazz and post-punk. That is pretty close, but close enough, description of the music here.

This album is a riot, in other words.

Too much of a riot in my opinion. Their attitude is to be applauded. The result is some pretty hard and wild music with some good vocals. The music has a dirty garage rock sound. 

There are some good pieces here and some rather not so interesting pieces here.

The result is therefore a pretty good album which should appeal to those who likes eclectic esoteric rock.

2.5 points 

   

Lindh Project. Per - Nagelfar (2025)

 

The seventh album from this artist from Sweden.

 Per Lindh played drums, percussion, grand piano, keyboards, church organ and harpsichord.

A number of guests added drums, percussion, tubular bells, bass, guitars, ebow and vocals.

In my reviews of all his albums, I have bypassed his two classical music albums and have jumped straight to this album, his latest album so far.  

Nagelfar is clocking in at three quarters of an hour.

Per Lindh has moved his music towards ELP and Keith Emerson on the last couple of albums. Keith Emerson's passing... gosh, it is really ten years ago ?.... has left a big empty space in the progressive rock scene. A space Per Lindh has now moved into and is occupying a small corner of this empty space. That is to be applauded. 

The music is both ELP like and cover versions of some ELP standards. That includes ELPs version of the traditional hymn Jerusalem. 

There is a lot to like on this album. The whole album to be more precise. Yes, it is an ELP-copycat album. There are also some very good ELP like original music here.

The result is a very good album. An album ELP fans should lap up and get.

3.5 points 

 

 

Bruin. Christiaan - The Black Codex Episodes 40-52 (2015)

 

The final album of four albums in this series of albums from this artist from The Netherlands.

Christiaan Bruin did the percussion, drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals here.

A handful of guests added guitar, violin, cello, trumpet and flute.

One month ago, I reviewed the first two albums in this series. Then I took a small break from this series and reviewed the third album in this series some days ago. 

The first three albums are all good albums.

This album is clocking in at one hour and fifty minutes.

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

The music is very dark on this album and that sets it apart from the first three albums in this series of albums. There are some female operatic vocals here too which is adding to the dark ambience on this album.

This album is more like an opera or a Wagnerian piece of classical music than a rock album. 

The music is also monumental and epic.

The quality is good throughout. The whole The Black Codex Episodes series is available as a box and is recommended for those of you into symphonic prog and neo-classical music.

3 points 

 

Nova Cascade - Box Man (2025)

 

The fifth album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a quartet with a lineup of bass, guitars, violin, keyboards, electronic percussion and vocals.

This is sadly the final Nova Cascade. The band owner David Hilborne passed away just after this album was recorded. I reviewed their third and fourth album some years ago and really liked them a lot. Two very good albums, indeed.

This album is clocking in at one hour. 

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

The music is very classy and elegant. It is melodic and has some great vocals too.

The main piece of music here is the half an hour long suite The Choice. This is a very good track/piece of music.

The rest of the album is also very good. David Hilborne left us with five Nova Cascade albums and they should be checked out. 

3.5 points 

 

Marbin - Fernweh (2021)

 

The tenth album from this band from USA.

The band was a trio with a lineup of bass, acoustic guitar and saxophone.

The band returned again after the good Russian Dolls album from the year before. 

Fernweh is clocking in at three quarters of an hour. 

The music is trio based jazz. Django Reinhardt is a good reference here. I would be surprised if this album is not some kind of tribute to Django Reinhardt, an excellent jazz guitarist who has influenced so many guitarists.

The bass is the only rhythm instrument here as there are no drums on this album. The saxophone and the guitars are sharing the melody duties.

There are a lot of guitar and saxophone themes here. 

I cannot really say this is my type of jazz. There are some good stuff here and some decent stuff. This album is not one of their better albums.

2.5 points 

  

 

Jazz Q - Temné Slunce (2014)

 

The ninth album from this band from Hungary.

The band was a thirty members plus plus big project on this album with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, violin, keyboards, synths, harmonica, vocals, choir and pieces of a symphonic orchestra.

I have reviewed their first eight albums and I have really liked these albums. Hence some good ratings.

Temne Slunce is clocking in at fifty-five minutes. 

There is a songs based bonus CD here too which is very different in style from the main album. I am therefore not taking this bonus CD into consideration in this review.

The music here is a blend of electronica pieces and some slow jazz pieces.

The music is pedestrian throughout. The jazz pieces are pretty good. The electronica bits are poor, very poor at times. 

This is by far their weakest album so far. The jazz pieces elevate this album to a decent status. Check out their other albums instead of this album.

2 points 

 

  

Cabinets of Curiosity - The Chaos Game (2019)

 

The one and only album from this band from USA.

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

This band released an EP in 2016 and this album three years later. Both are still available through Bandcamp.

The Chaos Game is clocking in at exactly one hour.

The music can best be described as Eclectic Prog.

Take some art-rock, fusion and eclectic prog and you get the picture.... sort of. 

Nat Hornyak's (female) vocals are in the front of the mix. Her vocals are great and one of the better vocals I have heard for a long time. They are both powerful and gentle. Her vocals cover a wide range of styles. 

There are also some cool flutes and piano here. The songs are very intricate and not particular melodic. 

This is therefore true eclectic, esoteric music. 

The music is pretty good too. It is a tad too esoteric and a bit lacking in quality. That said, this is an album you should check out from their Bandcamp site.

2.5 points 

 

  

 

Conventum - Le Bureau Central Des Utopies (1979)

 

The second and final album from this band from Canada.

The band was a quartet with a lineup of percussion, bass, guitars, violin, dulcimer and vocals.

One guest added a flute on this album. 

I reviewed their first album A L'affut D'un Complot (1977) for ProgArchives back in November 2011. The review can be found here. It is a good album. It has taken me almost fifteen years to follow up this review with this review of their second album. That is far too long.

Le Bureau Central Des Utopies is clocking in at three quarters of an hour.

In my review of their first album, I compared the band to the Dutch band/masters Flairck. I was also reviewing their album around the same time and the comparison was made. It is a comparison which is pretty correct on both their albums... but still not entirely correct. 

Aranis too is a good reference here as the music is acoustic chamber-orchestra folk rock and neo-classical music. 

There are some sparse electric guitars, dulcimer and French vocals here. Most of the music is violin dominated mid-tempo music.

The music is both very esoteric and very eclectic. It is the type of music I am not entirely familiar with and the type of music I encounter once every second year. The quality is decent enough though.

If esoteric folk rock is your thing....

2 points 

 

 

 

Different Light - Binary Suns Part 2 (2026)

 

The fifth album from this band from the Czech Republic.

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

One guest added female vocals on this album.

I have reviewed their previous two albums and you can find the reviews here and here. I have also now got their first two albums and they will be reviewed later this year.  

The album is clocking in at sixty-five minutes.

The music here is neo-prog.

Their take on neo-prog is in the British neo-prog tradition from the 1980s and 1990s. There is also some pretty strong Dutch neo-prog scene influences here.

The music is therefore more straight forward melodic than intricate bold symphonic.

The vocals are very good.

The music is good throughout. This is another good album from this band. It is an album neo-prog and melodic prog fans will love.

3 points 

 

Lindh Project. Per - Time Mirror (2011)

 

The fourth album from this band from Sweden.

The band was a trio with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, piano, organ, celesta, clavinet, harpsicord, mellotron, church organ, synths and vocals.

A handful of guests added drums, violin, trumpet and vocals.

The band returned after a ten-year break. I have reviewed their first five albums and they can be found somewhere else in this blog.

Time Mirror is clocking in at just over forty minutes.

The music is again symphonic prog with a lot of neo-classical music influences. The album also has some baroque classical music here.

The band is very influenced by ELP and some of Keith Emerson's solo albums here. They have copied his and ELP's sound and added it to their music.

The music here is original music and all songs was composed by Par Lindh.

There are some really good celesta, clavinet, harpsicord and church organs here. Ditto for the vocals.

This album wins big on the ELP comparison and that makes this a good album. One album ELP fans should lap up and enjoy. 

3 points 

 

 

 

Bruin. Christiaan - The Black Codex Episodes 27-39 (2015)

 

The third of four albums in this series of albums from this artist from The Netherlands.

Christiaan Bruin did the percussion, drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals here.

A handful of guests added guitar, violin, cello and clarinet.

Four weeks ago, I reviewed the first two albums in this series. Then I took a small break from them. I will review the fourth and final album in this series sometime in the next days. 

The first two albums are two good symphonic prog albums. 

The Black Codex Episodes 27-39 is clocking in at one hundred minutes. That is almost one hour and three-quarters worth of music.   

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

The vocals are really good and the clarinets are adding a lot of colours here. 

There are no great pieces of music here. Neither is there any sub-standard pieces of music here. This is another quality album in this series of albums and this underrated artist. 

3 points 

 

Argos - Halfway Between Heaven and Mirth (2024)

 

The seventh album from this band from Germany.

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

Three guests added keyboards, violin, electric violin and saxophones.

I have always rated Argos as one of the best neo-prog and indeed one of the best progressive rock acts in today's world. So I was happy to get a copy of their latest album.... just to disover that their 2024 album, the one I am reviewing now, fell down the cracks in my office and has not been reviewed... until now.

Halfway Between Heaven And Mirth is clocking in at fifty minutes.

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

The music is mid-tempo, lush and pretty groovy.

The vocals are good and the saxophones are adding a lot of colours to the music.  

The result is another good album from this band. This is not one of their better albums. It is still an album well worth checking out.

3 points 

 

Uriah Heep - Raging Silence (1989)

 

The 16th album from this band from Great Britain.

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

Three guests added drums, percussion and spoken words.

The band returned again after a four years long break.

This album is clocking in at three quarters of an hour.

The band continued on down the heavy metal road.... or rather, they took a sharp turn to the left and were leaving this scene behind.

The band returned to their hard rock roots on this album. There are indeed some hints of blues here too.

This is other words a hard rock album and there is a lot of 1970s hard rock here.

The vocals are good and the guitars are good too. There are still a couple of cheesy football terrace-like choruses here. 

The result is a massive improvement on previous albums and a pretty good album in its own right. Check it out.

2.5 points

 

Løvetann - En Dag Som Løve (1999)

 

The second album from this band from Norway.  

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

As I wrote in my review of their first album, this band was formed by Odd "Fezza" Ellingsen, the guitarist in St. Helena, Akasha and Høst. Odd Ellingsen was indeed the main force in the best Høst album Hardt Mot Hardt, a masterpiece in the great Norwegian progressive rock scene.

En Dag Som Løve was released as a CD-R album in a limited run of 100 x. Their eight albums were compiled and re-released in the widely available Opus Magnum box last year. I am reviewing their albums and this box this summer.

En Dag Som Løve is clocking in at thirty minutes.

The music is a blend of dark art-rock and dark symphonic prog. Both Thule and Høst are good references.

As I did in the review of their debut album, I am tempted to label their music as Arctic Prog. This as they have the same depressive, dark sound and take on progressive rock and art-rock as their brethren 1000 km further north, Thule. Both Løvetann and Thule released their music well north of the Arctic Circle.

The music is made further dark by some dark operatic male vocals, darkened guitar harmonies and guitar solos. The bass are also brooding.

The four songs are all good and this is another good album from this band. 

This is an album fans of Thule and dark prog should check out.

3 points 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jazz Sabbath - Jazz Sabbath (2020)

 

The debut album from this band from Great Britain.

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

This band has so far released three studio albums. 

The tongue-in-cheek story of the band, featuring on their Bandcamp site is that the piano player wrote all the Black Sabbath tracks before he had an accident, went into a coma and woke up again to find out that Black Sabbath had stolen the tracks and made them into big hits. Off course this story is a joke as the three band Jazz Sabbath members were born years after the release of the songs featuring on this album. It is a good, funny story just as the band intended.

I became aware of this album just after the sad passing of Ozzy Osbourne, one of the greatests personalities we have ever seen on the British islands in my lifetime. A truly great man and I mourned his passing. So I got this album.

This album is clocking in at three quarters of an hour.

The music is piano based with the bass and drums playing a supporting role.

The songs here are nowhere near the original versions. This is due to the piano being the main instrument here. It is pretty difficult to guess the name of each songs. 

This album is a novelty album as much as the band is a novelty band. The music is decent enough but this album will only interest the Black Sabbath fans... People like myself, that is. 

2 points 

 

 

Jamaha!! - Extended Noise (1986)

 

The debut album from this band from Norway.

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

This band started out as AHA who released an album I have reviewed in an earlier edition of this blog. My review can be found here. The emergence of the pop group A-Ha meant the band had to change name and their new name was Jamaha!!. The band then released this album before they split up and returned to their successful solo careers.

Extended Noise is clocking in at three quarters of an hour.

The music is jazz. 

The jazz here is a blend of avant-garde jazz and more accessible, melodic jazz. There is even some zeuhl in their music.

There are a lot of saxophones here and some keyboards. The other instruments have a more supporting role.

This may be a bit too hardcore jazz for the progheads like myself. There is some pretty good music here. The zeuhl like bits here are the best pieces here on this pretty good album.

2.5 points  

Agami - Exquisite Guild (2024)

 

The debut album from this band from Costa Rica.

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

Three guests added keyboards, moog, sax and vocals.

This band was suggested to ProgArchives last month for the Canterbury prog genre and I found this so interesting that I got this album from Bandcamp and put it on my to-review list. The band has now been re-suggested for the Eclectic Prog genre.

This album is clocking in at forty minutes.

Eclectic prog is probably the best description of the music. Take some symphonic prog and Canterbury scene prog too and you get the picture.

The music is still surprisingly melodic. The music is also dynamic and it has some 1970s moog too.

The vocals are very good. Ditto for the other instruments. The arrangements here are very clever.

There are one piece of eclectic symphonic prog here which comes complete with some baroque operatic female vocals. The rest of the album is more melodic.

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

3 points 

 

 

  

D Sound - Balkan (2004)

The second album from this band from Hungary.

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

This is the final album from this band. I reviewed their 2002 debut album Kisember last week and really liked that album. Hence the Good rating. It is a crying shame that this band has only released two albums. 

Balkan is clocking in at one hour.

The music is again a blend of airy space rock and electronica. 

Mike Oldfield is a good reference here. Jean Michel Jarre is also a good reference. There are still some subtle hints of Eloy here.

The music is still a bit minimalistic. There are some long and lingering guitar solos here. This in addition to the keyboards.

There are some sparse, but still some useful female and male vocals here. Most of the vocals are without any words.

The quality is very good throughout. This is one of the better albums from this country and an album you should get if airy space rock is your thing. 

3.5 points 

 

 

 

 

 

Color - Új Színek (1982)

 

The second album from this band from Hungary.

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

I reviewed their 1978 self-titled debut album last week and awarded it a Good rating. That album is a good symphonic prog and psych rock album.

Uj Szinek is clocking in at forty-one minutes.

The music on this album is pomp rock.

The Canadian band Saga springs to mind. The band sounds like a Saga copycat on large parts of this album. Some parts of this album are also commercial, slick mainstream rock. 

The album also includes a ballad. The obligatory ballad on an album like this. 

There are a lot of guitars and keyboards here. The male vocals are in their mother tongue, magyar.

The music is decent enough. This is not a progressive rock album and the quality is not on par with their debut album. It is a typical 1980s album, the lost decade.

2 points 

 

 

 

 

Magenta - Tarot (2026)

 

The 11th album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a trio with a lineup of bass, guitars, piano, keyboards, programming and vocals.

A number of guests added drums, oboe, flute and backing vocals.

Magenta has been one of the biggest names in the post-millenium UK prog rock scene. I have had the joy of reviewing their first ten albums in both ProgArchives and in all the editions of this blog.   

I was therefore looking forward to review this album.

Tarot is clocking in at fifty-three minutes.

The music is soft neo-prog. References are the first Magenta albums and Renaissance. 

The music is melodic, a bit symphonic and pretty soft. The music is also dynamic and a bit epic. Christiana Booth's vocals are on the top of some strings, woodwinds, keyboards and guitars.

Some of the music brings back memories from the 1970s pop scene.   

The songs are all good here. The band has released better albums than this album. This is still a good album and one all neo-prog fans should check out.

3 points 

Klone - Unplugged (2017)

 

The sixth album from this band from France.

The band was a quartet with a lineup of acoustic guitars, accordion, keyboards and vocals.

I have reviewed their first five albums in this blog and you can find these reviews somewhere else in this blog.

Unplugged is clocking in at fifty minutes.

MTV has a lot to answer for. One of the least desirable things MTV has given us is a ton of unplugged albums.

Klone and this album is not affiliated with MTV at all. The album still follows the MTV Unplugged format, minus the audience participation. There is no audience here.

The music is acoustic versions of song originally done with a full electric band setup. 

The vocals here very good. The music is just half decent... at best. I am no fan of unplugged music delivered like this and find these fifty minutes a stern test. If acoustic, unplugged music floats your boat...

1.5 points 

Lindh Project. Per - Veni Vidi Vici (2001)

 

The third album from this band from Sweden.

The band was a trio with a lineup of drums, bass, violin, piano, organ, harpsichord, church organ, mellotron, synths and vocals.

A number of guests added bass, guitars, flute, horn and bassoon.

The band returned again after a four years long break.

I have reviewed their first two albums and I have given them some favourable reviews. You will find these somewhere else in this blog. 

This album is clocking in at one hour.

The music is a blend of symphonic prog and neo-classical music. Add in a lot of goth metal too this time.

There is a lot of female vocals, piano, organs and church organs on this album. The music is monumental and epic.

The music is also pretty melodic too.

The quality is good throughout this album. This is therefore an album well worth checking out.

3 points 

 

 

 

Blow Up Hollywood - Take Flight (2010)

 

The fourth album from this band from USA.

The band was a duo with a lineup of synths and programming.

I have reviewed the first three Blow Up Hollywood albums ten - fifteen years ago in ProgArchives and in an earlier edition of this blog. Pretty good albums. This album has been forgotten among the many other unreviewed albums I have. The band has also released two more albums 2011 - 2014. Albums I am considering for reviews sometime in the next years.

Take Flight is clocking in at fifty-two minutes.

The music is a drone ambient soundscape.

There is not much variations here as the music is a soundcollage performed by synths.

The music is also very slow.

I gladly admit this is not my cup of tea. The quality is half decent and this is by far their worst album.

1.5 points 

  

Black Widow - Sleeping With Demons (2011)

 

The sixth album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a duo with a lineup of bass, guitars, keyboards, harmonica, saxophone, flute and vocals.

Two guests added vocals on a couple of tracks. One of the guests was the ex Black Sabbath vocalist Tony Martin.

This is the final Black Widow album due to the passing of members of this band just after this album was released. 

This is an album I have put off reviewing for the last fifteen years as I am not comfortable with overt religious music, satanic or Christian. In this case, the opening track is satanic. The band also had a satanic image and I also knew the late leader of this band, Clive James, from Facebook. He passed on ten years ago. R.I.P, Clive.

I have reviewed their first five albums in the first two editions of this blog. That is ten years ago. They are decent to good albums.

This album is clocking in at fifty-five minutes.

The music is hard rock with some prog rock elements. The music is very much retro 1970s hard rock. There are also some newer hard rock influences here. This in addition to some more mainstream rock and psych rock. The music is therefore pretty commercial.

The drums are replaced by a drum machine. The sound is big with lots of guitars, keyboards, woodwinds and vocals.

The music is decent enough. I am not really won over by this band at all. This band is a cult band. Ditto for their six albums. If retro hard rock is your thing....

2 points 

  

 

 

  

Kraan - All In (2026)

 

The 16th album from this band from Germany.

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

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

All In is clocking in at fifty minutes.

The music here is fusion.

There is a lot of cinematic rock, funk and some jazz elements in their take on fusion.

 The music is indeed pretty funky and melodic.

The music is driven by some half-acoustic guitars, bass and keyboards. The few vocals are all good.

There is no real bite in their music and the music is too fluffy and light.

That said, this is a pretty good album and one to check out.

2.5 points 

 

 

D Sound - Kisember (2002)

 

The debut album from this band from Hungary.

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

One guest delivered vocals on one track.

This is another band from Hungary who only released two albums before they split up. Both albums are being reviewed in this blog. The review of their second album will be posted early next week.

Kisember is clocking in at one hour.

The music on this album is a blend of psych rock and space rock. Good references are Pink Floyd, Sensation Fix and Hawkwind.

The music is both melodic and a bit trippy. The music is also pretty muscular with some good guitars and keyboards.

Most of the music is instrumental. There are some good vocals here too.

The overall quality is good and this is another quality album from this country in the Eastern Europe.

3 points 

Color - Color (1978)

 

The debut album from this band from Hungary.

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

Two guests added guitar and saxophone on a couple of tracks.

This band released two albums before they called it a day. Both of them are up for reviews in this blog.

Color is clocking in at fifty-five minutes.

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

The sound is the typical warm early 1970s prog rock sound. The vocals are in their local language Magyar. 

The music and the vocals are lush, colourful and pretty symphonic. 

Both the music and the vocals are good. This makes this a good album. Those into the early 1970s prog should check out this album.

3 points    

GreenLady - GreenLady (2025)

 

The debut album from this band from USA.

The band was a trio with a lineup of acoustic guitars, electric guitars and vocals.

This album is clocking in at just over half an hour.

The music here is folk rock.

Take the early folk rock movement. The early Steeleye Span albums. Then you get this album.

The music is bare-boned. It is based on acoustic guitars and female vocals. There are also some gentle electric guitars here too.

The music is songs based. The songs are pretty short. They are very gentle though. 

The vocals are very good. The music is not particular interesting or exciting.

Folk rock fans should check out this album. I am not won over.

2.5 points