Banten - Banten (1972)

 

The one and only album from this band from The Netherlands.

The band was a quartet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, cello, piano, electric piano, mouth organ, whistle, kazoo and vocals.

Three guests added double bass, cello and piano.

This band came, released this album and then disbanded. All the members had had good careers in other bands.

Banten is clocking in at thirty-five minutes.

The music here is mostly avant-garde jazz. 

There are also some vocals here. The vocals, female vocals, are in some strange old jazz songs in the 1920s-30s tradition. 

The music is really dense, hardcore jazz. A bit too hardcore for my ears as I am coming from the rock and prog rock musical tradition. This is still a decent album and one to check out if jazz and/or esoteric music is your thing.

2 points 

Brass Camel - Brass Camel (2026)

 

The third album from this band from Canada.

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

Two guests added guitars and vocals.

I have been pretty impressed by their first two albums. You can find my reviews of them somewhere else in this blog.

Brass Camel is clocking in at three quarters of an hour.

The album starts out as Rush on their Fly By Night album and that is misleading the listener to believe we are getting a Rush copycat album. 

The music is rather a blend of funk, mainstream rock and heavy prog. There is still some Rush influences too. 

The music is catchy, groovy and pretty hard. There are a lot of good hooks and melodies here. The vocals is good too.

This album has some pretty big commercial potential and should appeal to anyone into modern rock.

3 points 

 

Christofersen. Inge - Refleksjoner (1970)

 

The debut album from this artist from Norway.

Inge Christofersen did the bass, guitars, piano, keyboards and vocals here.

Two guests added drums and woodwinds.

This album is clocking in at thirty-five minutes. 

This artist actually comes from my area of Norway, 20 km or so from where I was born. He released two albums before he passed on in 2008. I am not going to review his second album.

The music here is 1970s pop/rock. There are some beat influences here as some of the songs are from 1966. One of them was a minor hit. Another song got Inge banned from Norwegian radio as it included mild criticism of Mao Tse Tung, the genocidal dictator in China. The loony-left stalinists influenced NRK, the only radio station in Norway at that time, did not tolerate this criticism and banned this LP. 

The music is light and fluffy. In today's standards, the music sounds a bit teenybopper and irrelevant. 

There is no progressive rock here although Inge Christofersen's influences are the same as for example Genesis and Yes. 

The music is pretty decent with some interesting hooks and melody lines. This is one of the forgotten albums from the Norwegian pop/rock scene. The album was re-released on CD last year through the NAKCD series.

1.5 points  

 

Cactus Cathedral - Suspending All Belief (2023)

 

The second album from this band from USA.

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

This is their so far latest album and it is a name-your-price Bandcamp album.

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

The music is mainly stoner rock. 

There are also some 1970s hard rock here and strangely enough.... some country'n'western influences here. Not only that... One of the tracks here is entering into a country'n'western landscape. Strange.

The music is pretty hard, but not particularly heavy. The rhythm section and the guitars are loose and not as tight as on the debut album.

The vocals are pretty decent.

This album not in the same class as the debut album. It is still a pretty decent album.

1.5 points 

Zen Carnival - Fusion (2026)

 

The fifth album from this band from USA.

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

Zen Carnival is a band I have problems putting in one genre. Their four first albums have been jumping from genre to genre. The albums have been good though so I have no complaints.

Fusion is clocking in at forty minutes.

This album is totally different from their other albums. The music is electronica blended with some fusion and cinematic rock.

The music is also instrumental throughout.

There is a lot of piano here and synths. The guitars and the guitar synths are more in the background.

There is nothing really interesting and newsworthy here.

The music is decent enough. This is by far their weakest album and not an album I would recommend. Check out their first four albums instead.

2 points 

 

Marbin - Russian Dolls (2020)

 

The eighth album from this band from USA.

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

 This is the follow up album to the 2019 album Strong Thing. 

Russian Dolls is clocking in at thirty-five minutes.

When I was a kid, I was given a russian doll by a relative for my birthday. It is actually quite a funny, impressive toy... well, piece of kit. Something Marbin too has noted as this is an instrumental concept album about russian dolls and how to open it up, revealing a new doll which reveals a new doll... and so it goes on. Marbin describes it as a picture of life as we are shedding the layers as we go on in life. I must say I agree with Marbin here. They have a very good point.

The music here is jazz. Trio-format jazz and pretty much bare-boned jazz.

The main instrument is the saxophone. It has been claimed that this is mainly the saxophonist Danny Markovitch solo album. He also came up with the concept which the band developed into this album.

The other two band members does a good job on their instruments although more in a supporting and rhythm capacity.

The music is pretty melodic. It is also pretty uncomplicated and groovy.

The quality is good throughout this album and this is another good album from Marbin. 

3 points 

 

 

 

 

Jazz Q - Znovu (2013)

 

The eighth album from this band from the Czech Republic.

The band was a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, piano, organ, emulator and mini-moog.

One guest added percussion.

The band returned again after a twenty-nine years long pause.

The Iron Curtain and communism was gone. Czechoslovakia, the band's homeland was also gone, split into two states. The Czech Republic had become a normal European country. A lot of fundamental changes in other words. Enough to make anyone dizzy.

Znovu is clocking in at seventy minutes.

Most of the old lineup has returned again for this album.

The music is more jazz than fusion on this album. The music is scaled back from their previous, more lush and bigger sounding albums.

The result is some minimalistic jazz with some few solos and some pretty good melodies and ideas.

This album is not their finest hour. It is one of their weakest albums. It is still a pretty good album.

2.5 points 

 

 

 

Mur - Mur (2024)

 

The debut album from this band from Iceland.

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

This band is new to me. I discovered them through ProgArchives as per usual.

This album is clocking in at fifty-five minutes.

The music is post-metal. 

The music is big, bold and monumental. Tool is a good reference here. There is also some post-rock influences here.

The music is also very heavy with some doom and death metal stuff. Most of the music is leaning towards death and doom metal. 

The vocals are growling and brutal.

The music is in other words esoteric and not for the faint-hearted. The quality is good and this is a more than acceptable debut album.

3 points 

M. L. Bongers Project - Pacific Prison (1978)

 

The one and only album from this band from Germany.

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

One guest added flute on this album.

This is one of the one-album only bands who released an album which has been hyped up as a classic album. The main member was the vocalist Marcel L. Bongers and that is all I know about this band and album.

The album is clocking in at thirty-five minutes.

The music on this album is a blend of symphonic prog and psych rock. There are also some krautrock and folk rock here.

But most of all, the music is symphonic prog. Eloy springs to mind as a strong influence.

The organ and flutes are very good here. The vocals are good. There are also some good guitars here.

The music is really flowing around. The music is also symphonic.

The music is also very good and this album is a gem from the German prog rock scene. An album symphonic prog and Eloy fans should check out.

3.5 points 

 

 

 

Refestramus - Morri's Rock Boutique (2026)

 

The third album from this band from USA.

The band was a trio with a lineup of drums, clarinet, saxes and vocals.

A number of guests added percussion, bass, guitars, violin, viola, keyboards and vocals.

The follow up album to the 2024 album Intourist. A good album which had a mix of US neo-prog, psych rock and americana. You will find a review of this and their debut album somewhere else in this blog. 

Morri's Rock Boutique is clocking in at fifty minutes.

The music is a blend of mainstream rock, psych rock and heavy prog.

The music is slightly eclectic with some weird sounding keyboards, woodwinds and vocals. 

The music is generally speaking vaudeville rock and upbeat.

There is some decent and some good stuff here. This album is a step backwards from the Intourist album. This is still an interesting album and their three albums so far should be checked out.

2.5 points 

 

 

 

Ciruelo Cilindrico - Gemini (2007)

 

The debut album from this band from Spain.

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

This band released two EPs and two albums between 2005 and 2008. I reviewed their second album Ciruelosis back in April 2010 in ProgArchives. I gave it a Decent award. You can find the review here. I have actaually also reviewed their final EP too in ProgArchives.  

Gemini is clocking in at seventy minutes and the album is a name-your-price Bandcamp album.

The music here is rooted in the punk rock movement. Add in a lot of alternative rock and some hard rock too. Add in some hints of heavy prog too as there is some early days Rush influences here.

The guitars are dominant here together with the vocals.

The pretty decent vocals are in their native tongue, Spanish.

The music is pretty decent throughout. I am not won over but the heavy prog and hard rock elements here are enjoyable. That elevates this album up half a point.

2 points 

Cactus Cathedral - The Forgotten Frontier (2020)

 

The debut album from this band from USA.

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

This band is new to me. They have released numerous songs and EPs plus two albums as a name-your-price Bandcamp offers. I have got their second album up for review next week.

This album is clocking in at thirty-five minutes.

The music here is stoner rock. No less and no more.

The music is more song-oriented than free flowing. The songs are more retro-1970s than free flowing pieces of music. 

The guitars are more rhythm based than guitar solos based. The bass and drums are like a wall. The music is not as heavy as I expected either. 

The vocals are pretty decent.

The music is indeed decent. This is a name-your-price Bandcamp album stoner rock and retro-hard rock fans should download and check out.

2 points 

 

  

 

Proportions - Stories Untold (2026)

 

The seventh album from this multi-national band.

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

The band is more of a project than a band as the band is an online band and probably has never met each other in one room. 

I have reviewed their first six albums in this blog last year and earlier this year. I liked them a lot.

Stories Untold is clocking in at fifty minutes.

The music is a blend of neo-prog and symphonic prog with some Canterbury prog and pop influences.

The music is both quirky and melodic. The songs are a mix of melancholic and upbeat. 

The music is also elegant & classy.   

Large parts of this album remind me of The Tangent's more poppy moments.  

The vocals is great and one of the best things about this album. The piano and keyboards does a very good job too.

In short, this is a very good album and perhaps their best album so far. This album has cemented my status as an admirer of this band.

3.5 points 

 

 

 

 

 

Uriah Heep - Equator (1985)

 

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.

Two guests added Synclavier and Fairlight programming.

This is the follow-up album to the pretty poor Head First opus from 1983.

Equator is clocking in at three-quarters of an hour.

The previous albums had a blend of their 1970s hard rock and the new sound of heavy metal. Uriah Heep were one of the victims of this new heavy metal scene. A scene that stole their thunder. 

So Uriah Heep adapted and went commercial heavy metal on this album.

There are some decent to good guitar riffs from Mike Box here. Most of the album has the full 1980s heavy metal package and sound.

That is not a good thing.

Parts of the music here is dire and at best half-decent. That is exactly what this album is... half-decent. 

Hence...

1.5 points 

 

 

 

Løvetann - I Løvens Hule (1999)

 

The debut album from this band from Norway.

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

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.

Løvetann released eight CD-R albums in limited runs of 100 x each. They were compiled and re-released in the Opus Magnum box last year. I will review all their albums this summer.

I reviewed their 2002 compilation album En Duft Av Roser in # 3 of this blog back in April 2024 and you can read this review here.  

I Løvens Hule is clocking in close to thirty minutes.

The music is a blend of prog folk and heavy prog. Both Thule and Høst are good references. There is also some Jethro Tull references here. 

I am tempted to label the music here (and indeed Thule's music) as Arctic Prog. The music and sound are pretty unique. That's not least because of the pretty operatic male vocals. The music is also bombastic and slightly symphonic.   

The songs are pretty long with a lot of progressions throughout the songs. The vocals is good but the star here is the very good guitar solos and riffs.

That makes this a good album indeed and one to check out. This album is indeed a hidden gem and one to check out.

3 points 

 

 

Avventurieri Del Rock - Un Viaggio Senza Fine (2025)

 

The debut album from this band from Italy.

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

This band from Milan is a new band on the scene.

This album is clocking in at forty minutes.

I learned about the band in ProgArchives as usual. They are not included there. I would be surprised if they ever get included there as the music is not progressive rock although the band claims this is progressive rock.

The music is a blend of muscular Italian rock, hard rock and folk rock. Add in some Italian pop too and you get the picture.

The music though is essentially folk rock with Italian lyrics and vocals.

The music is also pretty commercial too.

The music is surprisingly good. Both folk rock fans and RPI fans should check out this good album.

3 points 

 

Pangaea - Artica: Liquid Placidity (1995)

 

The debut release from this band from USA.

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

This band was named Artica before they changed their name to Pangaea and later released four albums. The last one in 2024. 

I reviewed their second album, the 1998 album Welcome To The Theatre back in July 2014 in # 1 of this blog and were not impressed at all. You can read my review here.

This EP clocks in at thirty minutes.

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

The sound is pretty poor. The band does a decent enough job. The vocals is pretty poor.

There are a couple of decent songs here. Those still don't save this album from inclusion on my list of turkeys. Avoid.

1 point 

  

Baco Dì Silenzio - La Caratura Delle Penisole (2026)

 

The second album from this band from Italy.

The band is a one-man-band with Salvatore Scuderi on electronics and vocals.

Numerous guests added drums, bass, guitars, violin, keyboards, piano and flute to this album.

I reviewed the debut album Aquile E Ciele on the last day of February and gave it a Good rating. I was therefore very pleased when this album showed up in my box.

La Caratura Delle Penisole is clocking in at seventy minutes. 

The music is again classic RPI.

In this case, that means mid-tempo to slow RPI with folk music and Italian pop influences. 

The vocals are very good. The musicians does a good job. There is a lot of guitars, piano and keyboards here. 

The music is pretty elegant and melodic. The songs are good. That makes this a good album and an album RPI fans should check out.

3 points 

 

Zen Carnival - Star Creatures (2022)

 

The fourth album from this band from USA.

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

One guest added female operatic vocals.

This album is clocking in at forty minutes.

I have reviewed their first three albums in both # 1 and this edition of the blog. They are pretty good albums. I will review their new album next week. 

The music here is a blend of heavy prog, US symphonic prog and electronica.

That sounds like an eclectic blend and indeed it is. 

The music has a laidback, sleepy feel. This is mostly due to the electronica here. 

The music is still melodic and pretty hard at times. The female operatic vocals are a good support for the male vocals.

The quality is good throughout and this is an album that should interest those into a blend of melody and electronica.

3 points 

Lolli. Claudio - Claudio Lolli (1988)

 

The eighth album from this artist from Italy.

Claudio Lolli did the vocals here. 

He had help from a handful of guests who added drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards and saxophone.

I have three of his albums and I have so far reviewed two of them. This is my third and final review of his albums.

This album is clocking in at forty minutes.

Claudio Lolli was never an artist in the RPI scene. He was influential though and very popular in the 1970s Italian popular music scene. Indeed, in Italian culture where he left a big legacy behind him when he passed on in 2018. 

The music here is Italian pop music with some pretty big folk music influences. The music here is much more pop music than folk rock.

The music is also colourful with Claudio Lolli's vocals on top in the sound/mix.

The music is pretty enjoyable. It is also decent too. If Italian pop music is your thing....

2 points 

 

General Purpose - One Last Word (2026)

 The debut album from this band from USA.

The band was a seven piece big band with a lineup of percussion, drums, bass, guitars, violin, clarinet, saxophone and vocals.

Two guests added backing vocals.

This is a new band from the North Carolina area of USA who was formed on the ashes of some cover bands that played and gigged rock and jazz standards. The musicians joined their forces in this band and started to write some original material. The result has so far been two EPs and this album.

This album is clocking in at thirty-five minutes.

The music is a blend of psych rock, jazz, folk rock, Canterbury prog and art-rock.

The music is quirky and slightly eclectic. Some of the music is theatrical and vaudeville rock. 

The music is very varied with a lot of influences. The musicians do a good job and the vocals are also good.

There are a lot of good music here and the sound is good too. 

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

3 points 

   

 

 

Klone - Here Comes The Sun (2015)

 

The fifth album from this band from France.

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

This is the follow up to their 2012 album The Dreamer's Hideaway. That album was their best album up to that point and a break with their almost avant-garde alternative metal on their first albums. My hope was that they would continue their progress.

Here Comes The Sun is clocking in at three quarters of an hour. 

The band has continued on their road over to a more alternative rock and post-rock landscape. A good reference here is Anathema. Klone sounds a lot like them on this album.

There is no metal left in their sound. The music is still muscular. There is a lot of post-rock in their sound and music too. There are some ebb and flow in their music.

The music is also melancholic and moody. 

The vocals are clean vocals. They are also good and are fitting for the music genres Klone is now pursuing. 

There are no outstanding pieces of music here. That said, the music is really good and this makes this album both enjoyable and good. This album is up to this point their best album.

3 points  

 

Lindh Project. Per - Mundus Incompertus (1997)

 

The second album from this band from Sweden.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, piano, organ, harpsichord, church organ, mellotron, synths and vocals.

A handful of guests added violin, oboe, trombone, recorder and backing vocals.

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

This album is the follow up album to the Gothic Impressions album from 1994. A good album I reviewed last month. 

We get much of the same on Mundus Incompertus. A blend of symphonic prog and neo-classic music. 

Gothic neo-classic music is the sub-genre explored here. Just as on the debut album, that is.

There are some female operatic vocals here and a lot of church organs. There are also some pretty hard rocking guitars here. Some parts are pretty heavy too.

There are again some ELP, Trace and Triumvirat influences here. The music is more fifty/fifty of symphonic prog and neo-classic music than most other bands in this genre.

The result is barely a good album... but still a good album. Symphonic prog fans should check out this album.

3 points 

 

Aora - Gestalt (2018)

 

The one and only album from this band from Argentina.

It is hard to find any information about this band. From what I have gathered, the band was a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, synths and vocals.

This album is clocking in at fifty-three minutes.

The music is a blend of hard rock, grunge and psych rock.

There are a lot of guitars here and the sound is indeed guitar-based. 

The vocals are pretty raw and rocking. They are also decent enough. The vocals are in Spanish.

The music is muscular and a bit melodic. There are no really good songs here. 

The quality is only half-decent and this album is an forgetable Bandcamp album.

I am not impressed.

1.5 points 

 

Amaze Knight - The Key (2013)

 

The one and only album from this band from Italy.

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

This band only released this album before they broke up. A free download album which I downloaded many years ago. 

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

Dream Theater has made a huge impression on these five musicians from Italy. The music here is very much in the vein of the Awake era Dream Theater.

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

There are also a couple of neo-classical pieces here too. That sets the music apart from being just Dream Theater copycats. And to be fair, the band and this album have their own identity.  

The music is both heavy and melodic. There is some good stuff here and some not so good stuff.

The result is a pretty good album and one to check out. Dream Theater fans must check out this album.

2.5 points 

 

Sunday Goose. The - Where My Heart Lies (2025)

 

The debut album from this band from The Netherlands.

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

This band was formed in 2009 and has been working on the songs on this album since then. The album was finally self-released in August last year and through Freja on CD earlier this year.

This album is clocking in at seventy minutes.

The music here is a blend of neo-prog and heavy prog. There are a lot of symphonic prog influences here too. 

The female vocals here are on the top of some keyboards, guitars and some mellotron and strings samples. The vocals is great and Ly Spijkstra is here announcing herself as one of the better female vocalists in the scene. 

The music is mid-tempo and pretty muscular. There is a lot of vocal harmonies here. 

The music is very good throughout this album. A couple of standout tracks would have made this a great album. Nevertheless, this is one of the better albums of the year and surely one of the best debut albums of the year.

Check out this album.

3.5 points 

 

  

Zen Carnival - Bardo (2006)

 

The second album from this band from USA.

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

This band recently released their fifth album. I got this album. I then discovered that I also had two other unreviewed albums of the band. So I decided to review these two albums this week and then their new album this weekend or next week.

I reviewed their 1999 debut album Inheritance back in December 2013 for # 1 of this blog. You can read my review here. I also reviewed their third album Lucid Dreamer (2015) in the same edition of this blog and you can read my review here.

Bardo is clocking in at sixty-six minutes.

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

The music is dynamic, but not hard. There are some piano and a lot of guitars and vocals here.

The songs are pretty long. The vocals are good.

The quality is somewhere between decent and good. It is still an album fans of US symphonic prog should check out.

2.5 points 

 

 

Lolli. Claudio - Disoccupate Le Strade Dai Sogni (1977)

 

The fifth album from this artist from Italy.

Claudio Lolli did the vocals here.

He got help from a number of guests who added drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards, flute and woodwinds.

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

I was not impressed by his second album Un Umo In Crisi which I reviewed last month. Too pedestrian singer/songwriter vocals and acoustic guitars based music.  

There is some more other instruments on this album. There is some piano and some woodwinds in addition to the acoustic guitars and vocals.

Claudio Lolli's vocals are very good. They are carrying this album. The music is indeed pleasant and a bit pastoral.

This is indeed a decent album and one to check out if Italian pop and folk rock are your thing.

2 points  

House. Simon - Yassasim (1994)

 

The debut album from this artist from Great Britain.

Simon House did the violin, keyboards and programming on this album.

Simon House were active in Japan, Hawkwind and other bands before he sadly passed on last year. I reviewed his two other albums earlier this year. Albums I gave Good ratings.

Yassasim is clocking in at one hour and a couple of minutes.

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

There is a lot of violins over some keyboards and mostly electronics on this album. 

The music is slow to mid-tempo. A good reference here is Steve Hillage's electronica albums.

The music is not particular dynamic. It is a bit too pedestrian and uneventful.

The violins here are really good and those are the best parts of this album. 

This is a decent enough album, but still his weakest effort. Check out his other two albums instead of this album.

2 points 

 

 

  

Katatonia - The Great Cold Distance (2006)

 

The seventh album from this band from Sweden.

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

A number of guests added percussion, drums, sound effects, programming and backing vocals.

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

This album is clocking in at just over fifty minutes.

The band started out as a death doom metal band before they slowly were transformed into an alternative metal band.

The music here is indeed alternative metal with mostly clean vocals. There are some djent and some death metal and distorted vocals here too, but they are few and far between. 

The music is mid-tempo hard rocking with some cascading guitars. 

Most of the music is really good and this album is up to this point their best album. I am not won over yet, but this is still a good album.

3 points 

 

Fates Warning - A Pleasant Shade Of Gray (1997)

 

The eighth album from this band from USA.

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

A number of guests added keyboards and backing vocals.

The band returned again after a three years long break. 

This album is clocking in at fifty-five minutes.

The band continued on as a prog metal band after the change from a heavy and power metal band a couple of albums ago.

The music on A Pleasant Shade Of Gray are far more progressive rock than on previous albums. The band has not become a progressive rock band, though. There are still some metal here. 

Nevertheless, there is a lot of symphonic prog here in between some progressive metal stuff.

The guitars and vocals are, as usual good. 

Not all the music here is good. There is still a lot to be happy about here and the result is a pretty good album, well worth checking out.

2.5 points   

 

Locomotive - We Are Everything You See (1970)

 

The one and only album from this band from Great Britain.

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

This band was a short-lived band. The band members later moved on and joined bands like Traffic, The Spooky Tooth and The Norman Haines Band (see review from earlier this year). But they released this album before they split up. A semi-classic album, no less.

We Are Everything You See is clocking in at forty minutes.

The music is psych rock with some old style symphonic prog, rhythm'n'blues and brass rock influences. 

There are some good organs here in this mid-tempo music. There are also some woodwinds here.

The vocals are really good. The title track is a good song too.

There is some really good stuff here. I am not a fan of their far too many forays into brass rock and that is the downer on this album. This is still an album fans of early psych rock should check out.

2.5 points 

Lazarus Trio. The - Open Letters (2017)

 

The one and only album from this band from USA.

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

This band was a side-project of both Salem Hill and Glass Hammer. It was a short lived side-project although their website is still online.

This album is clocking in at close to seventy minutes.

The music is a blend of heavy prog and US symphonic prog. Both Salem Hill and Glass Hammer is good references. The best reference is Neal Morse and his prog rock albums. 

The music is a lot more melodic and less heavy on this album than on most of the Salem Hill and Glass Hammer albums. 

The mood is sunny and positive. Ditto for the vocals and most of the lyrics. The music is indeed melodic and symphonic.

The quality is a blend of decent and good. This is an album Glass Hammer, Neal Morse and Salem Hills should and must check out.

2.5 points 

 

 

Lazuli - Être Et Ne Plus Être (2026)

 

The 11th album from this band from France.

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

This is strangely enough the only second album I have got of this band. Strangely enough because I really liked their ninth album Le Fantastique Envol De Dieter Bohm (2020). You can read my review here.

Etre Et Ne Plus Etre is clocking in at one hour.

Good references are Ange, Gens De La Lune, Minimum Vital, Harmonium and Mona Lisa. Genesis is also a pretty good reference.

There are some good French chanson and pop influences here too. 

The music is indeed a blend of French symphonic prog, chanson and pop.

The vocals are great and the musicians does a good job on this very good album. An album that reminds me that I need to get more of their albums.

3.5 points 

Bruin. Christiaan - The Black Codex Episodes 14-26 (2015)

 

The second 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.

He had help from some guests who added violin, cello, flugelhorn, trumpet and flute.

I reviewed the first album in this series at the end of last month and I gave it a Good rating.

The Black Codex Episodes 14-26 is clocking in at one hundred minutes. That is one hour and forty minutes.

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

Some of the music is baroque neo-classical music. Other parts are pure symphonic prog.

Some of the music is pastoral. There are some clear Johan Sebastian Bach influences here. 

There are also some good vocals here too.

This album is long and a bit of an overkill. The music is good and offers good value for money. Check out this album. Reviews of the two final albums in this series will be posted at the end of the month.

3 points 

 

Barrett. Syd - Barrett (1970)

 

The second and final album from this artist from Great Britain.

Syd Barrett did the guitar and vocals here.

He got help from a handful of guests who added drums, percussion, guitars, piano, organ, harmonium and tuba.  

This is the follow-up album to the far more well-known The Madcap Laughs album. An album I reviewed last month in this blog.

The fate of Syd Barrett is one of the biggest tragedies in the history of modern music. A fate that robbed him and us of some great music.

Barrett is clocking in at forty minutes. 

The music is psych rock. The music is a lot more electric than on The Madcap Laughs. The music is also more like proper compositions and the production is a lot tighter. David Gilmour have to take a lot of credit for this well produced album. 

Syd Barrett's vocals are a lot better this time around. He was never a good vocalist but the vocals here are still pretty good.

The music here is surprisingly pretty good. I had some low expectations to this album based on The Madcap Laughs and these expectations have been exceeded.  

This is a charming, pretty good album. Check it out.

2.5 points 

 

lamanai - Hunt For The Golden Dragon (2026)

 

The debut album from this band from USA.

This band was a one-man-band with Thomas McLean on drums, bass, guitars and synths.

A handful of guests added male and female vocals.

This is another one of these one-man-bands. Beggars cannot be choosers, as the prog rock genre is not overflowing with new bands... However, I have my reservations.

This album is clocking in at thirty-five minutes.

The music is nominally symphonic prog. There are a lot of neo-classical music here too. 

Mike Oldfield and Yes are both good references. Take a blend of those two entities, then add in some old Pink Floyd and you will get the music on this album. 

There are some good vocals here in addition to the mainly cascades of synths and keyboards. The synths has a good mellotron sound.

There are some cheesy neo-classical music here too and I believe the composer have composed some of the music with a tongue-in-cheek attitude. A sense of humour in other words.  

The result is a more than acceptable debut album. This is also a pretty good album. Despite of my reservations against one-man-bands, I hope we will hear more from this band.

2.5 points  

 

  

Marbin - Strong Thing (2019)

 

The seventh album from this band from Israel & USA.

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

The band returned again one year after the Israeli Jazz album. A good album I reviewed last month.

Strong Thing is clocking in at one hour. 

Let me first add that I love the art-work. Moose is also a common animal in Norway, the country I grew up in. Big animals and pretty dangerous if they attack you. Something best avoided. 

The music here is not as dangerous as a moose, though. 

The music is guitars based fusion. The saxophones are also high in the mix.

The saxophones are melodic. The guitars are a blend of dissonant and melodic.

The music is a blend of fast, mid-tempo and slow. A great deal of variations, in other words.

The music is not particular eclectic despite of the at times dissonant guitars. The saxophone solos is both warm and melodic.

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

3 points 

Jazz Q - Hvězdoň (1984)

 

The seventh album from this band from the Czech Republic.

The band was a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, piano, electric piano, synths and vocoder.

Two guests added percussion and trumpet.

The band returned again after a five years long break.

Hvezdon is clocking in at forty minutes.

The band was and still is one of the best bands from the eastern part of Europe. Back then, the band were isolated from the rest of the world due to this Berlin Wall. A tragedy that divided Europe into two parts. This band was one of its victims.

The music is mid-tempo to slow jazz. The music is more ballads type here. Ballads but still pretty intense with some good electric piano, guitars and trumpets.

The music is really understated here. It is also at times beautiful.

This is not one of their best albums. Nevertheless, this is still a good album from this great band.

3 points 

 

 

Hughscore - Highspotparadox (1997)

 

The second album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a sextet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, accordion, piano, keyboards, samples, woodwinds and vocals.

One guest added keyboards on one track.

This is the follow-up album to the 1995 album Caveman Hughscore album. A decet album reviewed some days ago. 

This is also the late Hugh Hopper's band. A bassist & a legend who does not need any introduction.  

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

Caveman Hughscore were all over the place and disconnected, music-wise. A bit of a clean-up would have benefited the music on that album.

That cleanup has been completed on Highspotparadox. The music is quirky, jazzy Canterbury scene fusion. 

There are some accordion and female vocals floating on the top of the drums, bass and woodwinds. 

The music is still pretty melodic. It is also whimsical and quirky.

The music is pretty good too. This album is not as good as their third and final album Delta Flora from 1999. It is still an album well worth checking out if you are into the Canterbury scene.

2.5 points 

House. Simon. Rod Goodway - House Of Dreams (2002)

 

The third solo-album from this late artist from Great Britain.

Simon House did the drums, bass, guitars, violins and keyboards here.

Rod Goodway did all the vocals here.

Simon House sadly passed away last year after a long career in bands like Japan and Hawkwind. He released three solo-albums. I reviewed his second album some days ago and is planning to review his debut album next week.

House Of Dreams is clocking in at three quarters of an hour.

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

There are also some pretty strong neo-prog influences here and the songs have some notable neo-prog structures. The frequent use of some pretty dissonant violins takes the music into the psych rock genre.

The sound is pretty good. Ditto for the vocals. 

There are some good stuff and some not so good stuff here. The result is a pretty good album.

2.5 points 

 

Exit Stage Left - Gentle Otherworld (2026)

 

The second album from this band from Sweden.

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

I reviewed their 2023 debut album Appleberry Trees some days ago and liked it a lot. Hence the Good award.

Gentle Otherwordly is clocking in at eighty-three minutes.

The music here is neo-prog.

There are some heavy prog and Scandinavian symphonic prog influences here. Both Rush and Kaipa are good references.

The sound is good. The sound has a warm 1970s symphonic prog sound based on guitars and organs.

The vocals are also good.

There are no outstanding tracks here. Nevertheless, the music is really good and this band should be checked out by all neo-prog and melodic prog fans.

3 points 

  

 

 

Bruin. Christiaan - The Black Codex Episodes 1-13 (2015)

 

The first 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.

He had help from some guests who added violin, cello, flugelhorn, trumpet and flute.

Christiaan Bruin has released albums under the name of Chris, The Black Codex, Invention and his own name. I have reviewed the Invention and the Chris albums in both the previous editions of this blog and in ProgArchives.

I will review the four The Black Codex albums within the next two - four weeks.

This album clocks in at ninety-five minutes. 

The music here is a blend of neo-classical music and symphonic prog. There are also a lot of folk rock influences here.

The music is both epic, melodic and symphonic. There are also some very good vocals here too.

Ninety minutes is long and not everything is up to a high standard. This is still a good album and one to check out if modern epic symphonic prog is your cup of tea.

3 points 

 

Barrett. Syd - The Madcap Laughs (1970)

 

The debut album from this artist from Great Britain.

Syd Barrett did the guitars and vocals here.

He had help from a number of guests who added drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and horns.

Syd Barrett's life is without any doubt one of the most tragic stories in the history of popular music. Once a leading member of Pink Floyd, drug use and mental illness destroyed what could have been a great career in music and robbed the world of some great music.

The recording of this album is also well known. The session included members of Pink Floyd and The Soft Machine. The latter band were not aware that they were recording this album. 

Syd Barrett recorded two albums before he became seriously mentally ill and then lived a life in obscurity before passing on in July 2006. I will review his second and final album next month.

The Madcap Laughs is clocking in at close to forty minutes.

Most of the music is Syd Barrett on vocals and acoustic guitars. The music is folk rock with some psych rock influences.

There is one pretty good song here in the form of the only single from this album.. Octopus. The rest of the songs are suffering from some dubious vocals and guitars.

If anyone other than Syd Barrett had released this album, it would have been at best, forgotten. At worst, never released. Taking into account his vital role in the breakthrough of Pink Floyd and his later tragic life, it is difficult to judge this album in an objective manner.  

There is some decent stuff here and this is a decent enough album. And I am probably (too) kind to award it a decent album award. 

2 points 

 

 

  

Astrolabio - Una Volta Qui Era Tutta Campagna Pubblicitaria (2026)

 

 

The fourth album from this band from Italy.

 

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

 

One guest added keyboards.

 

This album is the follow up to the 2017 album I Paralumi Della Ragioni album I reviewed some days ago. An album I liked a lot and awarded a Good rating.

 

Una Volta Qui Era Tutta Campagna Pubblicitaria is clocking in at fifty-five minutes.

 

The band continued with their exploration of classic RPI on this album.

 

The music is muscular and pretty hard at times. It also has some strong folk-rock influences.

 

The vocals are good and the flute adds some spice to the music. The sound is very good.

 

This is another good album from this band. I hope this band will continue and release some more albums.

 

3 points 

 

 

 

Uriah Heep - Head First (1983)

 

The 15th album from this band from Great Britain.

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

This album is clocking in at forty minutes.

The band returned again for another stab at the emerging heavy metal scene. A stage where Iron Maiden were the new force, but where also 1970s greats like Kiss and Aerosmith were big bands too. 

Uriah Heep was not in the same league, though.

The music here is catchy and hard. There are some good guitars from Mick Box here, the only original member left at this stage.

This album is mired in all the 1980s heavy metal cliches. There are some 1970s hard rock here too but there is not enough of it to make this a decent enough album.

Hence....

1.5 points 

 

 

 

Lolli. Claudio - Un Uomo In Crisi (1973)

 

The second album from this artist from Italy.

Claudio Lolli did the guitars and vocals here.

A number of guests added percussion, bass, guitars, violin, viola, accordion, piano, harmonica and flute.

Claudio Lolli (1950-2018) was a big artist in Italy back in the 1970s and until his passing four decades later. His music was mostly pop and folk rock.

I have three of his albums and they are up for review in the next two weeks. 

This album is clocking in at fifty minutes.

The music is pop-folk rock.

Claudio Lolli's vocals dominate the music. There are some acoustic guitars here too. The other instruments are sparingly used.

The vocals, which is in Italian, is pretty good and the music is pretty decent. This is therefore a decent enough album which fans of Italian folk rock may want to check out.

2 points 

 

 

Hughscore - Caveman Hughscore (1995)

 

The debut album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a quartet with a lineup of drums, bass, accordion, piano, organ and vocals.

Two guests added digeridoo and French horn.

Hughscore was lead by Hugh Hopper and it released three albums. I am reviewing their first two albums this week. Back in July 2015, I reviewed their final album Delta Flora (1999) in # 1 of this blog and you can read the review here.

Caveman Hughscore is clocking in at one hour.

The music is a blend of psych rock, jazz and avant-garde rock.

The music is rather weird and quirky. The accordion is adding a lot of extra weirdness. Ditto for the female vocals which are bordering on dissonant at times.

There are also a lot of male spoken vocals here on top of some jazzy pieces of music. Groovy music, indeed.

This is a weird album. The music is not particular good but it is still a decent album. This album is widely regarded as their weakest effort.

2 points 

 

 

House. Simon - Spiral Galaxy Revisited (2000)

 

The second album from this artist from Great Britain.

Simon House did the violin, keyboards and drums programming here.

Simon House sadly passed away last year after being a longtime member of Hawkwind (+ session musician on numerous albums) and releasing three solo albums. I will publish my review of his third album sometime next week. I will also publish a review of his debut album later this year if I can find it.

Spiral Galaxy Revisited is clocking in at fifty-three minutes.

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

Into that blend, add in some eclectic rock too as the music is eclectic. There are also some space rock in the blend too.

There are a lot of violins and keyboards here.

The music is dynamic, mid-tempo to fast. The music sometimes reminds me about Jean Luc-Ponty's best fusion albums from the 1970s.

The result is a good album and one to check out if fusion and symphonic prog is your thing.

3 points 

 

 

 

Trion - Terra Tiempo (2026)

 

The fourth album from this band from The Netherlands.

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

This is the follow up album to the 2013 album Funfair Fantasy. A pretty good album, it was. 

The band album debuted back in 2003 and their release schedule has been sporadic, to put it that way. I am pretty sure I have reviewed all their albums.

Terre Tiempo is clocking in at one hour.

The music is largely instrumental symphonic prog with some cinematic rock influences. There are some vocals on two of the twelve tracks.

The music is mostly mellow and melodic. The music is also pretty epic and monumental. Camel is a good reference here as Trion has always been in that mould.

There are a lot of guitars here and some flutes and keyboards generated church organs. 

The overall quality is good throughout. This album was really unexpected as we all thought the band was disbanded. This album and quality of the music here comes as a very positive surprise. Hence, I am grateful.

3 points