Elder - Through Zero (2026)

 

The eighth album from this band from USA.

The band was a quartet on this album with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, slide guitar, guitars, piano, synths and vocals.

The band returned again after a four years long album break. I have reviewed their albums the earlier editions of this blog and I have always liked their albums.

Through Zero is clocking in at fifty-five minutes.

The music is heavy prog with some psych rock influences.

The music is big, bold and epic. The soundscape is pretty massive too.

There are a lot of good guitars and synths here.

The vocals is very good.

There is no real bad songs here. The music is slightly workman like. This is still a good album and one to check out if heavy prog is your thing.

3 points 

 

Lazuli - En Avant Doute (2006)

 

The third album from this band from France.

The band was a sextet with a lineup of drums, percussion, marimba, metalphone, vibes, guitars, warr guitar, chapman stick, leode and vocals.

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

En Avant Doute is clocking in at forty-two minutes.

After their foray into French and North-African folk music on the previous album Amnesie, the band returned to a more mainstream heavy prog soundscape on this album.

There are also some strong classic French symphonic prog influences in their music.  

The music is dominated by their own invented instrument, the leode. An instrument whose tones ranges from electric guitars to mellotron and moog synths. That gives this album a very fat sound.

The French female vocals is very good and is adding a lot of colours to this album.

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

3 points 

 

Nilssen. Ole G - Memories Of A Lifetime (2001)

 

The second album from this artist from Norway.

Ole G. Nilssen did the guitars and vocals here.

A number of guests added drums, percussion, bass, guitars, slide guitars, keyboards, programming, vocoder, female vocals and backing vocals.

Ole G. Nilssen comes from Harstad in the north of Norway, four hundred kilometres north of the Arctic Circle. His debut album World Of Dreams was released back in 1977. You can read my review of that album here. Ole G. Nilssen was also member of Solaris who released one album. He is now a professor in music. 

He has also released eight albums since his comeback at the beginning of this century. I will review most of them in the coming weeks.

Memories Of A Lifetime is clocking in at one hour.

The music here is old style pop music. Roy Orbison is a good reference here.

The music is mostly slow to mid-tempo.

The music is melodic and straightforward uncomplicated. The music has some country'n'western influences. 

The vocals are mostly male crooning. There is one male and female vocals duet here.

The music is pretty poor. The music also questions the wisdom of reviewing his new albums. I sincerely hope his other albums is much better than this one.

1.5 points 

 

  

 

 

Xtra - Xtra (1994)

 

The one and only album from this band from Italy.

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

Two guests added guitars.

Nothing is known about this band besides their nationality. There is a nice band photo in their CD and in ProgArchives.

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

The music here is fusion.

The music is slick and elegant. Return To Forever is a good reference here. 

The bass is thundering and at the forefront of the soundscape. But each of the instruments gets their own spots in the soundscape, indeed in the sunshine.  

The music is pretty beautiful throughout with some elegant solos. The saxophone is adding a lot of colours to the music. The guitars are very good.

All of this makes this a good album and a bit of a hidden gem. A gem well worth digging out and enjoying. 

3 points 

 

Zookeeper's Palace - Red Sky Ruminations (2012)

 

The debut album from this band from USA.

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

The band released two albums before they gave up the ghost. I reviewed their second/final album Deliquesce (2016) back in June 2018 and awarded it a decent rating. The review is here. The music on that album is a blend of neo-prog and progressive metal.

Red Sky Ruminations is clocking in at fifty-five minutes.

The music here is a blend of indie rock, heavy prog and art-rock. There is also some soul and funk in their music too. 

The music is mid-tempo to fast. It is to a great deal party-music. The music is colourful and lively.

The music is performed with a blend of keyboards and guitars. Add the male and female vocals on the top of those again.

The sound is good. The male and female vocals are good.

The music is pretty good throughout. There are some decent and some good stuff here. 

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

2.5 points 

 
 

Angine de Poitrine - Vol.1 (2024)

 

The debut album from this band from Canada.

The band was a duo with a lineup of percussion, guitars, programming and vocals.

This band has so far released two albums and they are pretty popular. Both their albums are charting high on the alterntative rock lists. There is indeed a hype around this band. That is also based on the costumes the band is wearing. That is one of the reasons I am reviewing both albums this summer. A review of their new album will be posted in some days time.

Vol. 1 is clocking in at thirty-two minutes.

The music is math-rock. 

The music is minimalistic and bare-boned. The music is basically one guitar, percussion and some voices. That is all.

The album is based on rhythm figures, performed by the rhythm guitar and the percussion. 

The music is pretty catchy. The music is still pretty melodic. Is it traditional prog rock ? No. The music is more like a novelty, like the Swedish band Ghost. 

The result is decent enough. I don't really understand the hype here. This band is more a novelty act than anything else as their music is not really that interesting.

2 points 

 

 

 

Monnaie De Singe - The Last Chance (2018)

 

The second album from this band from France.

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

Their 2015 debut album Error 404 was a good modern heavy prog album. So I had some expectations to the follow up album, The Last Chance.

The Last Chance is clocking in at one hour.

The music is modern heavy prog. 

Porcupine Tree is a good reference. So is Touchstone. Actually, Touchstone is the most relevant comparison here. The reason is Anne Gaelle Rumin's very good vocals here. Monnaie De Singe is one of the too few female vocals prog bands.

The music is muscular and heavy, yet melodic. The music is also complex with a lot of guitar harmonies and some solos.

The music is in other words, guitar-driven with the vocals on the top. There are some sporadic male backing vocals here too.

The overall quality is good to very good. This is another good album from a band who deserves a lot more attention and praise.

3 points 

 

 

 

Kashgar - Artefact (2020)

 

The second album from this band from Canada.

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

Two guests added vocals and backing vocals.

The band returned five years after the release of their self-titled debut album. That was a good album, see my review earlier this week.

Artefact is clocking in at fifty-two minutes.

The music here is a blend of fusion, early 1970s symphonic prog, art-rock and heavy prog.

This album is a smorgasboard of various styles. All of the music is melodic, though. The music here is therefore very different from the music on their self-titled debut album.

The album is full of playful guitars and keyboards. The guitars are the stars here and is dominating the soundscape.

There are also some good vocals here.

The result is another good album from this band and one that should interest everyone into progressive rock.

3 points 

 

 

Macky Ar - One Last Time (2026)

 

The ninth album from this one-man-band from India.

Mahesh Arora did the guitars, synths, programming and vocals here.

After reviewing some of his albums, I thought I was not going to review another Macky Ar album this year. I think I wrote that in my review of the previous album. But I found this album and decided to break this promise. Something I do not regret. Stupid promises are there to be broken.

Mahesh Arora has found his own style, his own niche in the prog rock scene. You can like this style/niche or not. But he still deserve a lot of credit for his musicianship, composing and his albums. I give him my full respect him although I am not a fan of all his albums. 

One Last Time is clocking in at thirty-two minutes.

The music here is soft, gentle symphonic prog. 

There are some strong cinematic rock influences here too. 

The music is surprisingly complex, this being a one-man-band. Maresh Arora has grown a lot in confidence and skills from his debut album to this album. The four compositions here are well crafted, well constructed and well performed.

There are a lot of keyboards here on these slow to mid-tempo compositions. 

His light vocals are now something I have gotten used to. They are pretty good. 

The result is his best album so far. I hope the album title does not mean he is giving up the ghost. I hope we will hear a lot more from him in the future. If that is the case, I can almost promise that I will review his next albums too.

3 points 

Katatonia - City Burials (2020)

 

The 12th album from this band from Sweden.

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

The band returned again after a four years long album break. I am continuing my reviews of all their studio albums.

City Burials is clocking in at fifty minutes.

The music here is alternative rock.

The music is muscular and pretty hard. The band started out as a metal band and their previous albums has always had some elements of heavy metal and extreme metal. That is not the case on City Burials.   

The band has not gone soft, though. But the music is more hard than heavy. Muscular hard.

The music is also melancholic and a bit sombre. It is also melodic but still complex and slightly eclectic. The band has moved a lot closer to the likes of Gazpacho this time around. 

The vocals are very good. 

The overall quality is good throughout. This is indeed one of their best albums and worth checking out if art-rock and alternative rock is your thing.

3 points 

 

Hourglass - The Journey Into (2002)

 

The second album from this band from USA.

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

This band has so far released five albums. I got their last four albums and they are all up for review this summer in this blog.

The Journey Into is clocking in at seventy-five minutes.

The music here is progressive metal.

The band is clearly very influenced by Dream Theater. The music here sounds like this band on their last four albums. 

The take on progressive metal is slightly less heavy than Dream Theater's music. That is the main difference between the two bands when it comes to style and genre.

The vocals are very good and in the James LaBrie mould. Their two vocals are very similar (hint, hint Dream Theater if you want a James LaBrie replacement vocalist).

There are a lot of good licks and details here on this album. An album with a half an hour long suite, two ten minutes long suites and a handful of shorter tracks.

Although the music is by all measures a copycat, the quality is good throughout. This is an album Dream Theater fans should check out.

3 points 

 

 

Green Space - Behind (1990)

 

The one and only album from this band from France.

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

This band released two singles and this album through Musea before they disbanded. Nothing has been heard from the band members after this release.

Behind is clocking in at three quarters of an hour.

The music here is neo-prog.

There are some French symphonic prog influences their music too. Tai Pong is a band that springs to mind as a reference.

The music is melodic, a bit poppy and slightly complex. The music is very much rooted in the 1980s neo-prog sound. Retro neo-prog in other words.

The music are driven by guitars and keyboards. The sound is a bit thin. It is the sound of the 1980s neo-prog. It is what it is. 

The vocals are both in English and in French. They are pretty good.

The music is also pretty good without being convincing. Neo-prog fans should check out this album.

2.5 points 

 

 

  

Graphite - Chestnut Loke (1996)

 

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

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

One guest added drums on one track.

This band were pretty popular in the south-west area of England in the 1970s. This album consists of recordings/recording sessions between 1970 and 1974. They were compiled and released by the record label Audio Archives. 

Chestnut Loke is clocking in at seventy-five minutes.

The music here is a blend of acid folk, folk rock and psych rock. 

The music is melodic and songs based throughout. There are fifteen songs here and one re-recorded song. In total sixteen songs.

There are also a couple of instrumentals here and they are in the symphonic prog genre. They are mellotron and guitars based. 

The music is pastoral, folky and earthy.

The male and female vocals is very good. The sound is also very good.

I am positive surprised, indeed. This is a pretty good album and a hidden gem in the folk rock genre. If folk rock is your thing....

2.5 points  

 

 

 

  

Aquacadia - At The Forest Edge (2026)

 

The second album from this band from USA.

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

This is the follow up album to the 2019 debut album Into Atalantia. A decent enough album. You can find the review here.

At The Forest Edge is clocking in at half an hour.

The music is a blend of cinematic rock, rock and electronica. Electronica from the 1990s.

The music is pretty fast at times with some rocking guitars. 

Most of the album is cheesy electronica, played on some synths.

The guitar parts are decent enough. The rest of the music is pretty poor.

The result is a half-decent album but nothing more than that. Sorry, guys....

1.5 points  

 

Lunear - There Is Always Next Time (2026)

 

The fifth album from this band from France.

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

The band has had a very nice development during their career and it is always nice to dig into a Lunear album. The exception is that Gostraks cover album which I find difficult to find anything nice to say about.

There Is Always Next Time is clocking in at fifty-three minutes.

The music is melodic neo-prog.

The music is also bordering on soft, gentle AOR throughout the album.

The music is catchy, elegant and melodic. 

The music is still pretty complex. It also has all the hallmarks of progressive rock.

This is a good album. A bit workman like but still a good album. It is an album you should check out if melodic prog is your thing.

3 points  

Golem - Dreamweaver (2004)

 

The third album from this band from Germany.

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

This is the third and final album from this band. Their first two albums have been decent enough. 

This album is clocking in at one hour.

The music is technical death metal.... Although with a difference.

There are a lot of Pestilence influences here and some Mekong Delta influences. 

After the album starts with some technical death metal, the album then has some melodic guitar solos. There is even a weird, dark piece of krautrock here.

The vocals are rasping thrash metal and death metal vocals. They are decent enough. 

The music here is pretty good. This is one of the better technical death metal albums I have ever heard and a worthy purchase it technical death metal is your thing.

2.5 points 

 

 

 

Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell - The Trouble With The Shovell (2026)

 

The fifth album from this band from Great Britain.

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

I have so far reviewed two of their albums and has not been impressed. But I have heard that this album is an improvement on their first four albums.

The Trouble With The Shovell is clocking in at forty minutes.

The music here is a blend of old style hard rock and stoner rock. 

The music is bare-boned too and has a punk rock attitude. 

Primitive garage hard rock is also a good label here. The sound is dirty and the songs are not particular well developed.

The guitars are decent. Ditto for the vocals, drums and bass.  

Primitive hard rock like this can be pretty effective if the songs are good. There are not any good songs here. 

This is a decent enough album but just that. I am not impressed.

2 points  

  

Monnaie De Singe - Error 404 (2015)

 

The debut album from this band from France.

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

This band has so far released three albums. I am reviewing these three albums in the next couple of weeks.

This album is clocking in at fifty minutes.

The music here is heavy prog.

Riverside and in particular Porcupine Tree is a good reference here.

The music is hard and edgy. There are a lot of alternative rock and some grunge influences throughout the album. 

The music is mostly mid-tempo and melancholic. The music is also pretty complex. 

The music is mainly performed by guitars and keyboards. The rhythm section is tight and solid. 

The vocals are both male and female. They are good.  

The overall quality of the music is really good and this debut album has raised my hopes for their two other albums too. I really like this band.

3 points 

 

Kashgar - Kashgar (2015)

 

The debut album from this band from Canada.

The band was a duo with a lineup of percussion, bass, guitars, oud, keyboards and synths.

Two guests added drums. 

This is another new band to me. They have so far released three albums and they are all up for reviews this summer in this blog.

This album is clocking in at fifty-three minutes.

The music here is fusion.

The music is gentle, melodic and elegant. 

The music is indeed closer to jazz than fusion and rock here.  

The music is mostly mid-tempo. The music is also guitar-driven with a lot of guitar solos. There are also a lot of half-acoustic guitar harmonies here.

The sound is good. The band knows what they are doing.

The result is a good album and one for the jazz and fusion fans to check out.

3 points 

 

 

Grace - Blind (1981)

 

The one and only album from this band from Sweden.

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

This is an obscure album I found many years ago. An obscure album from an even more obscure band. I have suggested them for ProgArchives and will see if they want to include this band in their list of progressive bands.

Blind is clocking in at forty minutes.

The music here is a blend of neo-prog, symphonic prog and heavy prog. There are some clear Saga influences here.

The sound is pretty poor. The music is still audible.

The music is melodic and a bit hard at times. Most of the music is also mid-tempo. 

Guitar and keyboards are driving the music forward. They are pretty good. The Swedish vocals are also pretty good.

The music is a bit generic and run-of-the-mill.

The music is decent enough. This is an album for the collectors of Swedish prog. It is a hard to find album, though. I am not won over.

2 points 

 

  

Good God - Good God (1972)

 

The one and only album from this band from USA.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of marimba, drums, bass, guitars, clavinet, piano, electric piano, saxophones and vocals.

A number of guests added congas, saxophones, trumpet, trombone and French horn.

A good friend tipped me off about this album. That is why I got it some years ago. 

This album is clocking in at forty minutes.

The music is a blend of jazz, fusion, soul and blues. 

The music is a blend of fast and mid-tempo themes.   

The music is driven by the tight rhythm section with some woodwinds, guitars and clavinet on the top of the rhythms.

Some of the music is bluesy and soulful. Most of the music is jazz, though. The music is also pretty untraditional and unique.

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

The quality is somewhere between decent and good. This album has a cult status and it is therefore worth checking out. 

2.5 points 

 

 

King Of Sweden - Interregnum (2026)

 

The third album from this band from Finland.

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

Their first two albums were pretty good retro-hard rock albums. I reviewed both of them in # 3 of this blog and the reviews are here and here. Hence, I jumped on the chance to review their new album Interregnum.

Interregnum is clocking in at forty minutes.

The music is progressive hard rock... or heavy prog as it is now called.

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

The music has both fast and mid-tempo themes. The guitars and the keyboards are really cool/good. 

The band has a good vintage vibe and sound. 1970s vintage and vibe.

The vocals are pretty good.

There is a lot of good stuff here and the vintage vibes makes this a good album and their best album so far. 

3 points  

 

 

Lunear - From Above (2024)

 

The fourth album from this band from France.

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

The band returned again two years after the rather horrible Gostraks cover album and four years after their last studio album. Their first two albums are rather good. 

From Above is clocking in at fifty minutes.

The music is melodic neo-prog.

The main piece here is the twenty-six-minute-long In Their Eyes. There are also a couple of ten minutes long pieces here and a five-minute-long song. 

The music is at the most melodic end of the neo-prog spectrum. The music is still progressive rock. The music is also pretty complex and epic at times. 

There are some Mona Lisa and Atoll influences here throughout this album. 

The vocals are in English and has a bit of a French accent. Not much but still noticeable. The vocals are very good.

The music is good throughout and this is another album from this band the melodic prog fans should check out. 

3 points 

Golem - The 2nd Moon (1998)

 

The second album from this band from Germany.

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

I reviewed their debut album last week and that album is a decent album. I will review their third and final album in some days time.

The 2nd Moon is clocking in at three quarters of an hour.

The music here is death metal.

Technical death metal, that is. There are still some Carcass influences here. But the death metal is far more technical this time around and not so groovy as on the debut album.

There are some sporadic melodic pieces here inbetween the rather chaotic technical death metal bits. 

The sound is good. The guitars are good and the vocals are pretty good, rasping death metal growls.

I have heard a lot better death metal albums in my life. This album is not too bad. It is a decent enough album and one to check out if technical death metal floats your boat.

2 points 

Molstone - Master Of Illusion (2026)

 

The debut album from this band from The Netherlands.

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

This band is new to me. This album was released three months ago, back in February. None of the band members has been involved in any known prog rock bands according to their ProgArchives profile. There is nothing wrong with that.

Master Of Illusion is clocking in at sixty-five minutes.

The music is neo-prog with a lot of heavy prog and symphonic prog influences. The music is also very much in the Dutch neo-prog tradition. 

The music is very muscular. It is also mostly mid-tempo with some fast bits.

There is a lot of keyboards and guitars here. They are all good.

The vocals too are good.

There is a lot of inspired neo-prog here and the band knows what it is doing. The musicianship is very good in other words.

There is no killer tracks here. The overall quality is good and this is an album the neo-prog fans will really appreciate.

Check out this good album.

3 points 

Uriah Heep - Sonic Origami (1998)

 

The 19th album from this band from Great Britain.

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

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

I have not been particular impressed by their latest albums. But I am still cracking on with reviewing all their albums.

Sonic Origami is clocking in at seventy-five minutes.

The music here is a blend of hard rock and AOR.

The music is a blend of fast, mid-tempo and slow ballads. The music is varied and the thirteen songs, all of which are around the five minutes long mark, are well put together and give this album a good variation of songs.

The band does a good job and the vocals are very good.

There are no cringe-worthy songs here. There are even a couple of good songs here and some decent songs. 

This album offers good value for money and is one of the band's post '70s better albums. It is indeed a pretty good album and one to check out.

2.5 points  

Løvetann - Øye For Øye (2001)

 

The fifth album from this band from Norway.

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

This summer, I am on a mission to review their eight studio albums and their box. Their first four albums were pretty good to good albums. That makes this an enjoyable mission. 

Øye For Øye is clocking in at three quarters of an hour.

The music is again a blend of dark folk rock and art-rock. There are also some hints of symphonic prog here.  

The music is mid-tempo and dark.   

The guitars from Odd Fezza Ellingsen (Høst etc etc) are the dominant instrument here.   

The dark operatic male vocals also give this album a lot of character. 

The sound is good and there is a lot of arctic ambience here. Those who love Thule will also find this album enjoyable and interesting.

The quality here is pretty good. I am not won over by this album. It is still an interesting album and an original take on progressive rock, art-rock and folk rock.

2.5 points 

  

Aquacadia - Into Atalantia (2019)

 

The debut album from this band from USA.

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

The band released their new album earlier this year and I thought it was only fair to review their debut album before I review their new album early next week.

Into Atalantia is clocking in at half an hour.

The music is a blend of cinematic rock, 1990s pop-rock and AOR. There is also some electronica here. 

The music is both muscular and melodic. The music is based on guitars, synths and some sporadic vocals.

The sound quality is a bit poor in some places. The sporadic vocals are pretty good.

The music is run-of-the-mill and pretty generic. The duo is playing it safe on this album. Safe and a bit dull.

The result is a decent enough album. It is also a bit of a disappointing album. I hope their new album is far better than this album.

2 points  

 

Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell - Keep It Greasy (2016)

 

The third album from this band from Great Britain.

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

I reviewed their first two albums many years ago. I had this album too in my album collection and I recently got their new album sent to me as a promo copy. I will review their new album early next week.

Keep It Greasy is clocking in at three quarters of an hour.

The music is bare-boned stoner rock. Old style stoner rock in the vein of Pentagram.

There is a lot of the punk ethos in the music here. The music is really loose and the guitars are a bit everywhere.

The music is slow to mid-tempo. 

The vocals are decent enough.

I have heard a lot better stoner rock in my life. The quality of the music is barely decent. A couple of catchy songs are the saviour of this album.

2 points 

 

 

Quantum Fantay - The Butterfly EffeX (2026)

 

The tenth album from this band from Belgium.

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

Two guests added cello, duduk and flute.

I have reviewed some of their albums, but not all of them, in this blog. I like them a lot. That is why I should try to get all their albums and review them. That is something for next year and the years to come.

The Butterfly EffeX is clocking in at one hour.

The music is space rock. 

Ozrik Tentacles is a good reference here. Quantum Fantay's music on this album is a lot heavier and muscular than the normal fare from Ozrik Tentacles. That is the difference.

The music is instrumental space rock. The music is also pretty melodic. There are some good themes here.

The sound is also good and the addition of duduk, flute and cello is adding some extra spice to the guitars and synths dominated mid-tempo music.

The result is a good album. A bit workman like and I believe this is not their best album. Nevertheless...

3 points 

Johansson. Bjorn - A Journey Through Colors and Emotions (2020)

 

The third album from this artist from Sweden.

Bjorn Johansson played percussion, bass, guitars, bouzouki, sitar, mandola, mandolin, harp, zither, keyboards, synths, recorder, flutes and bassoon.

One guest added bass guitars, sitar, accordion and keyboards. 

I have reviewed his first two albums and have liked them a lot. Two good albums, indeed. I will also review the two Lindh & Johansson albums at the end of the year. 

A Journey Through Colors and Emotions clocks in at forty minutes.

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

There is a lot of of Trace, The Pink Mice and Mike Oldfield influences here. 

There are a lot of long guitar solos here in addition to the keyboards and synths. 

The music is dynamic and mid-tempo. Some of the music is a bit cheesy.

This is another album with some decent and good bits. I still hope we will hear some more from this artist as he is to a large extent filling the gap the recently retired Mike Oldfield has vacated. 

2.5 points  

 

 

Moloken - Unveilance of Dark Matter (2020)

 

The fourth album from this band from Sweden.

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

This is so far their latest album. I have no idea about their current status. I hope the band is still together as their first albums is three interesting albums.

Unveilance of Dark Matter is clocking in at three quarters of an hour.

The music is again eclectic, alternative extreme metal.  

The music is also dark, melancholic. The music is also epic and complex.

The music is also dissonant and esoteric. It is most of all brutal and heavy.

The vocals are screamo extreme metal vocals. Pretty esoteric but it also fits the music like a hand in a glove.

The quality is somewhere between decent and good. I am not really won over by this band. Eclectic metal fans should check out this band.

2.5 points 

 

 

Green Carnation - A Dark Poem, Part II Sanguis (2026)

 

The eighth album from this band from Norway.

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

One guest added flute on one track.

The band originated from the black metal band In The Woods and released their debut album in year 2000. I have reviewed both them and the In The Woods albums in this blog. See # 2 and # 3 of this blog.  

I reviewed part 1 of the albums in this series in October last year and liked it a lot. It is indeed a good album. 

A Dark Poem, Part II Sanguis is clocking in at thirty-five minutes.

The music is a blend of alternative rock and doom metal. 

Most of the music is epic and monumental. It is also melodic.

The music has a whiff of concept album over it. It is a concept album.. That explains it...

The clean vocals are very good. There are some extreme metal vocals here too.

This is another good album from this band and another good album in this series of albums. Check it out.

3 points 

 

 

Lazuli - Amnésie (2004)

 

The second album from this band from France.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, chapman stick, mandolin, piano, marimba, vibes, sampler, programming and vocals.

A number of guests added percussion, guitars, piano, woodwinds, bansuri and vocals.

The band returned again five years after their pretty good debut album.

Amnesie is clocking in at fifty-two minutes.

The music here is a mishmash of French folk rock, North-African folk music, French pop-rock and eclectic prog. Add in some chanson too and you get the picture. 

There is a wide variety of acoustic and electric instruments here. Mostly acoustic instruments. Most of them are also traditional North-African instruments. 

The music is in other words eclectic. The music is also very colourful and exotic in my Anglo-American ears/culture/mindset. 

The female French vocals are great.

The quality is somewhere between decent and good. The band has not really won me over as much as their new album has won me over.

2.5 points 

 

 

 

Lunear - Gostraks (2022)

 

The third album from this band from France.

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

The band returned again after a two years long album break. I really enjoyed their melodic prog on their first two albums. Unfortunately, I discovered too late that this album, their third album, is a cover versions album. The type of album I pretty much detest.

My bad... 

Gostraks is clocking in at fifty-five minutes.

The album opens with a song from Genesis tamla motown era. The rest of the songs are also from the 1980s, the lost decade when it comes to music, class, style and culture. A horrible decade.

The band does a good job and the vocals is good. The music is pretty bad and I just cannot stand cover versions albums. Hence....

1.5 points  

 

 

Flying Islands - Dualism (2019)

 

The debut album from this band from USA.

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

This is their only album so far if I am not mistaken. The band comes from Philadelphia in the north-east of USA. This is another album that has been hanging around for years until I put it on my to-review list a couple of months ago. 

Dualism is clocking in at thirty-five minutes.

The music here is indie rock.

There are also some americana in the music here. Add in some mainstream pop, punk rock and shoegaze too and you get the picture.

The music is guitar and vocals-based. It is also song-based with a lot of introspective lyrics.

The vocals are good. The music is neither interesting or complex. The songs are straightforward and uncomplicated.

The result is a decent enough album which should appeal to anyone into mainstream rock and indie rock.

2 points 

 

  

Fax Ignis - Eponymus (2016)

 

The one and only album from this band from France.

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

I got almost no information about this band. The picture of the band shows five middle-aged men. The band got a Discogs and a Facebook site. Both of them have not been updated for years. I have also emailed the band without getting any reply. 

This album is clocking in at one hour.

The music is neo-prog. There is also a lot of symphonic prog and some AOR in their music.

The sound is very good. The music is muscular and mid-tempo. There is a lot of harmonies here and some good guitars.

The male vocals are in English and they are good. The band are obviously inspired by the melodic prog scene. The music is also pretty intricate and complex. There are a lot of interesting themes and details in their music. This album is more a labour of love than anything else. It has hardly been marketed at all... which is a shame. 

The music is a bit run-of-the-mill melodic progressive rock. It is still a good album and one that should interest anyone into neo-prog.

3 points 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Manic Vice - Sólo en Nuestra Cabeza (2026)

 

The debut album from this band from Spain.

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

One guest added bass on one track.

This band is a new band on the scene. This and many other albums from Spain has been released through the Astronomy Recording Music's Bandcamp site. The album is also self-released and available on CD and LP from what I gather.

This album is clocking in at fifty-five minutes.

The music here is eclectic psych rock.

The music is pretty catchy with some very good guitars and organs here. The music is also pretty complex. It is also wild and lively. There is even a drum solo on this album. Drum solos on a studio album are rare these days. The music has its roots firmly in the 1970s psych rock and hard rock scene.

The blend of female and male vocals is very good and adds a lot of quality to this album.

The album cover artwork is indeed a pretty good indicator of the music here. 

The result is a very good album and an album I think will feature pretty high on most progheads, those who find this album that is, album-of-the-year list at the end of this year.

3.5 points  

 

 

 

 

Johansson. Bjorn - Ursus X Orion (2017)

 

The second album from this artist from Sweden.

Bjorn Johansson played percussion, bass, guitars, bouzouki, sitar, mandola, mandolin, harp, zither, keyboards, synths, recorder, flutes and bassoon.

Two guests added piano, synths, sampler, programming and flutes. A ten man big choir also added their voices to one of the two suites here.

I reviewed Bjorn's debut album some days ago and I liked it. A review of his final album will be added in some days time. I will also review the two Lindh & Johansson albums at the end of the year.

Ursux X Orion is clocking in at three quarters of an hour.

This album consists of two suites. The music here is slow to mid-tempo symphonic prog. 

Mike Oldfield, the Hergest Ridge era, is a great reference here.  

There is wide variety of instruments here. From long and lingering guitar solos to mandolin, sitar, flutes, synths and a choir. 

The music is not particular exciting. I am not a Mike Olfield admirer either and this album is therefore not hitting the right notes in my office.

This is a decent enough album and that just about it.

2 points 

Moloken - All Is Left To See (2015)

 

The third album from this band from Sweden.

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

The band returned after a four years long album break. Their 2011 album Rural was a pretty good album.

All Is Left To See is clocking in at half an hour.

The music is again alternative extreme metal. The music is eclectic throughout.

The music is dynamic and fast. It is also very hard.

The vocals are screaming extreme metal vocals.

The music is much more straight forward extreme metal this time around than on their first two albums. The music is indeed a bit more minimalistic.

The result is a decent enough album and their least interesting album. This album is a bit of a disappointment.

2 points 

 

  

MacKay. Duncan - A Beautiful Madness (2026)

 

The 10th album from this artist from Great Britain.

Duncan Mackay played all keyboards here while Mauritz Lotz did all the guitars. There is also a lot of samples here. 

I have reviewed a couple of this Alan Parson's Project musician's albums on a sporadic basis. My conclusion made on these two albums is that his music is not for me. But I got this album emailed to me. That means I am reviewing it.

This album is clocking in at fifty-five minutes.  

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

The keyboards and guitars are the instruments here. There are some samples too here.

The music is laid back and pretty ambient. Some of the music is bordering to being dynamic. But most of the music is ambient.

There are some long, slow guitar solos here and some pianos. There are also some classical music here.

The music is surprisingly good. Some of the music is not passing the mustard. Hence....

2.5 points 

 

 

 

Katatonia - The Fall Of Hearts (2016)

 

The 11th album from this band from Sweden.

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

Two guests added percussion and guitars.

The band returned again three years after their acoustic album Dethroned And Uncrowned. 

The Fall Of Hearts is clocking in at seventy minutes.

The music on this album is alternative rock with some metal influences. 

References are Anathema and Porcupine Tree.

The music is pretty muscular at times. But most of the music is pretty gentle.

There are some very good mellotrons here, created by the keyboards. The guitars are also good. Ditto for the vocals.

This seventy minutes long album has some surplus fat. Most of the album is good. I rate this as a good album. 

3 points  

 

Golem - Eternity The Weeping Horizons (1996)

 

The debut album from this band from Germany.

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

I were browsing through ProgArchives one evening at the end of last year and I found a band-name which sounds familiar to me from back in the days when I was running a record label. I did a trade with Invasion Records back then and got a handful of this album. I was also surprised to learn that this band had released two more albums. That is why I put their three albums on my to-review list for this summer. The two remaining albums will be reviewed later this week/early next week.

Eternity The Weeping Horizons is clocking in at three quarters of an hour.

The music is death metal. Technical death metal. 

This album sounds a lot like the Heartwork album from Carcass. 

The vocals are the typical death metal grunts. The guitars are harsh. Their take on death metal is both technical and melodic.

I cannot say I liked this album back in 1996. I like it a lot better in 2026, though. This is a decent enough album and one to check out if Carcass and technical melodic death metal is your thing.

2 points 

 

Fotosputnik - Incantations for a Tenrec (2024)

 

The fourth album from this band from USA.

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

Fotosputnik is a new name to me... or so I thought. Fifteen years ago, I found their free Cave Din VI and downloaded it. Then I forgot it before I put it up for review this month. I checked out the band and then decided that their latest album was a more worthy album than this EP. Hence, I am reviewing this album instead. 

Incantations for a Tenrec is clocking in at sixty-four minutes.

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

Neu! is a good reference here. Ditto for early Can. 

The music is simplistic and minimalistic. There are a lot of half-acoustic guitars here in addition to samples, bass and synths.

The music is mostly slow with some mid-tempo themes now and then.

This is a pretty charming album which will win a lot of friends among the krautrock fans. It is also a pretty good album, worth investigating. Check out this band and their Bandcamp albums and EPs.

2.5 points 

 

 

Fuchs Goos Band - Chameleon 2 (1981)

 

The one and only album from this band from Germany.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, piano, saxophone and flutes.

This album is the follow up album to the Chameleon album from 1979 which I reviewed some days ago. The review is here. A very good album indeed and one of the hidden gems in the prog and jazz scene.

Chameleon 2 is clocking in at three quarters of an hour.

The music is jazz.

There are a lot of fusion influences here too.

There are a lot of flutes, guitar and saxophone solos here. The pianos and the rhythm section also does a good job.

The music is both dynamic and melodic. The sound is very good.

This album is not on par with the very good Chameleon 1 album. This is still a good album and one to check out if fusion and jazz is your thing. Even progheads will like this album.

3 points 

 

 

 

Emerald Dawn. The - The Land The Sea The Air II (2026)

 

The seventh album from this band from England.

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

This album is part 2 of this series of albums. The first album was released last year and I reviewed it some days ago. It is a good album, indeed.

The Land The Sea The Air II is clocking in at three quarters of an hour.

The music here is dark symphonic prog.

Most of the album is instrumental symphonic prog. Dark and haunting music with guitars and synths.

There are some female, dark female vocals at the end. 

The music is indeed pretty cinematic throughout. Not at least because of the saxophones here. 

The music is both engaging and complex. It is also very good throughout.

This is one of their best albums and one to check out. This album will feature high on most best-of-2026 list at the end of the year and that with good reasons.

3.5 points 

 

 

Fates Warning - Long Day Good Night (2020)

 

The 13th album from this band from USA.

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

Based on interviews from the band members, this is very probably the final Fates Warning album. I have reviewed all their albums in this blog.

Long Day Good Night is clocking in at seventy-three minutes.

The band started out as a heavy and power metal band, then formed the progressive metal scene together with Dream Theater before they on their last two albums went a bit more in the direction of classic hard rock.

The music on this album is indeed classic hard rock.

There are also some AOR on this album. A far cry from their debut album, in other words. This band has been on a long, long journey.

The music is more melodic than hard. It is still pretty edgy. 

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

The quality of the music is good throughout. I have to admit I never really warmed to this band during my reviews. Respect but I am not a fan. Nevertheless...

3 points 

 

Fat Sparrow - Fat Sparrow II (2017)

 

The second album from this band from Australia.

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

This band from Perth, Australia has so far released two albums. I reviewed their debut album sometime earlier this week and I liked it a lot. I also love their band name. Yes, sparrows can be some fat feathered friends and that even here in Europe. 

This album is clocking in at twenty-five minutes. 

That probably makes it an EP. Anyway...

The music is again a blend of jazz and fusion.

The music is mid-tempo, dynamic and complex. The music is still melodic.

There are a lot of trumpets and saxophone solos here. There are also some good half-acoustic jazzy guitars solos and harmonies here. The rhythm section is holding it all together.

This is a short album. It still throws a punch. This is another good album from this band. I fear that this band has disbanded and that is a shame. I like this band a lot.

3 points 

Salva - Music From Salvatore (2026)

 

The eighth album from this band from Sweden.

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

I have reviewed most of their albums in the first three editions of this blog. Good albums, indeed..... Actually, I have just reviewed their seventh album, the 2022 opus Ghost Story and you can read my review here. I will try to get their six first albums for reviews next year. 

Music From Salvatore is clocking in at one hour.

The music here is a blend of Scandinavian symphonic prog and neo-prog. Add in some heavy prog too and you get the picture.

The music is very melodic throughout. It is also pretty complex at times. 

The emphasis is on the good melodies here. There is still enough complexities to make the music really interesting.

The vocals are very good. The music is engaging with some good guitar solos and keyboards.

This is a good album from a band I should really get more into.

3 points  

 

 

Moloken - Rural (2011)

 

The second album from this band from Sweden.

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

The band has so far released four albums. The last one in 2020. I am reviewing all four albums in the next couple of weeks. 

Rural is clocking in at fifty-four minutes.

The music is again experimental extreme metal.

The music is indeed pretty avant-garde. 

The music is pretty wild at times. The music is also complex, extreme and epic too. There is a method in this mad music. There is an idea here and some of the music is clever. 

The vocals are the typical extreme metal vocals. They are pretty good, though.

There are some good stuff here and some decent stuff here. This album is an improvement on their debut album and a pretty good album. Fans of eclectic extreme metal should check out this album.

2.5 points