Castle Mountain Moon - A Layman's Guide To Unobtainium (2026)

 

The second album from this band from Germany.

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

One guest added drums.

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

A Layman's Guide To Unobtainium clocks in at sixty-four minutes.

The music is symphonic prog.

The music here is pretty melodic and has a lot of neo-prog influences. It is therefore only fair to label this album as a blend of symphonic prog and neo-prog.

The German band Argos is indeed a good reference here.

The music is also a blend of instrumental pieces and songs. The vocals are really good and the band does a good job.

The result is a good album and one to check out.

3 points 

Art In America - Rise (2025)

 

The third album from this band from USA.

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

Two guests added organ, mellotron, moog and synths.

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

I have not been impressed by their first two albums as I have stated in my reviews. But I had some hope for Rise and their brand new album which I will review next week.

Rise clocks in at forty-two minutes.

The music here is neo-prog.

The music here is at the melodic, poppy end of the neo-prog spectrum. There are still some symphonic prog influences here.

The band has indeed taken some steps towards symphonic prog. The music is much more rounded and muscular too on this album, compared to their first two albums. The sound is much more muscular.

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

This is by far their best album up to that point. It is barely a good album, but still a good album. Neo-prog fans should check out this album.

3 points 

 

 

 

Latimer. Andrew - One Word (2026)

 

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

Andrew Latimer played bass, guitars, programming and some vocals here.

Two guests added synths and drums.

This is his second solo-album this year. Both two released as digital albums on Bandcamp. 

This album clocks in at thirty-two minutes.

The music is symphonic prog.

Camel is a good reference here.  

Most of the music is instrumental. There are some pieces of music with vocals too. The music is dynamic though and mid-tempo with some faster, rocking out pieces of music.

The music is electric guitars based with some sporadic synths and vocals.

The music is a bit pedestrian throughout. The music is not always good. This is an album for the dedicated Camel fans and the fans of his gentle guitarist style. I doubt he will win many new fans with this album.

2.5 points  

 

Thollot. Jacques - Resurgence (1977)

 

The third album from this artist from France.

Jacques Thollot was playing drums on this album.

He had help from five guests, make that band members, who provided percussion, bass, piano, clavinet, flute, saxophones and vocals.

Jacques returned again after a two years long album break.

Resurgence is clocking in at forty minutes.

The music here is RIO/avant garde rock.

The music is rather jazz than rock. It is not particularly left-field or outrageous avant-garde either. The music is dynamic and pretty melodic too. There are some very good clavintet and Fender piano here.

There are some good female vocals over some jazzy flutes and saxophones here. From what I can hear, these great soprano vocals are wordless too.

The result is a pretty good album and his best album to that date. It is an album jazz and fusion fans should check out.

2.5 points 

  

 

 

Procol Harum - Liquorice John Death (1998)

 

The 11th album from this band from Great Britain.

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

One guest added saxophones on two tracks.

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

This album clocks in at forty minutes.

The music here is rock'n'roll.

Or to be more precise..... rockabilly.

This album is a cover-versions album of old 1950s rockabilly songs. There is no original Procol Harum songs here.

The band does a good job but the songs are not particularly interesting. The music is therefore pretty poor.

I am tempted to give it a turkey rating.... and for good reasons. OK, this is a turkey and a very poor album I will never ever listen to again.

1 point 

Trinity Xperiment - Honeymoon On Mars (2008)

 

The debut album from this band from Germany.

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

Three guests added drums and French horn on some tracks.

This band has so far released two albums. I will review their second album in some days time.

This album clocks in at sixty-eight minutes.

The music here is fusion.

The music has a nice blend of hard rocking stuff and jazz. There are also some traditional fusion here.

Weather Report is a good reference. There is big, big difference here, though. The guitars and the guitar solos.

The guitar solos is adding a lot of quality to this album. The music is also very good throughout. 

There are a couple of sub-standard tracks here. But the overall quality is very good and this album and band is one of the bigger positive surprises this year from this blog.

3.5 points 

  

Tribe Of Cro - Virtual Vinyl (2007)

 

The fourth album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was, as far as I gather, a quintet with a lineup of bass, guitars, synths, samples and drum machine.

I have got their last two albums and is reviewing them today and in some days time. The band has released five studio albums, all of them now available through Bandcamp, between 1996 and 2008.

This album clocks in at three quarters of an hour.

The music here is space rock.

The best reference is Ozric Tentacles. Hawkwind is another good reference.

Tribe Of Cro's take on space rock is harder and more outer space than the two above mentioned bands. A bit rawer and feral.

The music is still melodic. 

This album is another hidden, overlooked gems in the scene. Space rock fans should check out this good album which I believe is a name-your-price album.  

3 points 

 

Ozric Tentacles - Harmonic Mind (2026)

 

The 23rd album from this band from Great Britain.

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

A number of guests added drums, percussion, bass and flute.

The band from the sunny south coast returned again after a three years long album break.

Harmonic Mind clocks in at three quarters of an hour.

The music here is space rock.

The music is a blend of ambient melodies and some more muscular melodies. The music is not hard, though.

There are some very good synths and keyboards here. There are also some good guitars here.

This album will not give the Ozric fans any surprises. It is an album in their mould and sound. The music is good though and I am one of them who really like this band. This after reviewing all their albums some years ago.

Check out this good album.

3 points 

Castle Mountain Moon - Six Tales Of Perception (2024)

 

The debut album from this band from Germany.

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

One guest added drums.

This band has so far released two albums. The last one was released earlier this year and is up for review in a few days' time.

Six Tales Of Perception clocks in at three quarters of an hour.

The music here is symphonic prog.

The music here is leaning more towards ELP and Yes than the usual symphonic prog reference Genesis. There are some Genesis references here too. But not as many as in most other new bands in this genre.

The music is a blend of instrumental pieces and songs.

The vocals is very good. The keyboards is pretty similar to the Keith Emerson sound.

The quality is good throughout and this is an album symphonic prog fans should check out. A review of their new album will be published in some days time.

3 points 

  

 

 

Art In America - Art In America (1983)

 

The debut album from this band from USA.

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

One guest added keyboards.

The band released their fourth and new album earlier this year. I reviewed their second album Cloudborn back in October 2018 and you can read the review here. I will review their third and their new album later this month too.

Art In America clocks in at thirty-six minutes.

The music here is neo-prog.

Their take on neo-prog is in the original British take on neo-prog. The music is poppy and fluffy. 

The sound is a bit thin. The music is mid-tempo and has this plastic fantastic 1980s sound. 

There are a couple of pretty good songs here. There are also some cringe-worthy songs here too. 

The overall quality is decent enough. I hope their two most recent albums are better than this album.

2 points 

 

 

 

Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate - Parallel Lives (2026)

 

The ninth album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a duo with a lineup of bass, guitars, synths, drum programming and vocals.

One guest added piccolo, flutes and female vocals.

The band returned again after a one-year-long album break. Their 2025 album is a good album and I had my expectations for Parallel Lives. 

Parallel Lives clocks in at one hour.

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

There are also some electronica here too.   

Tim Bowness's solo albums are again a good reference.

The vocals is good and there is some good instrumentation here. They are a bit sparse but the music works.

The music is good throughout. This is therefore another good album from this band, one of the most prolific prog bands in UK right now.

3 points

 

 

Sigur Ros - Takk (2005)

 

The seventh album from this band from Iceland.

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

A number of guests added strings, timpani, woodwinds and vocals.

The band returned again for a proper band album. 

Takk clocks in at sixty-six minutes.

The music here is post-rock.

The music is flowing and pretty ambient. The music is more pieces of music than songs.

The music is still dynamic, majestic and epic.

The vocals are mostly used as an extra instrument.

The result is a very good album indeed and one of the albums that has given the band the status it has. 

3.5 points 

 

 

Ananda Mida - Anodnatius (2016)

 

The debut album from this band from Italy.

The band/project was a seven pieces big band on this album with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, organ, synths and vocals.

This band has so far released three studio albums through Bandcamp. They are up for review here in the coming days.   

Anodnatius clocks in at forty minutes.

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

There are far more psych rock here than stoner rock, although the band think this is a stoner rock album.

The music is really dynamic and mid-tempo. It is far too fast to be labelled stoner rock. It is also far to light and shiny happy to be called stoner rock too.

West-Coast psych rock is what the music really is.

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

There are no really good songs here. The quality is a bit sub-standard. Nevertheless, this is a decent album and one to check out if psych rock is your thing.

2 points 

Haizea - Haizea (1977)

 

The debut album from this band from Spain.

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

I reviewed their second & final album Hontz Gaua (1979) some years ago and that was a decent album. It took me some time to get hold of their debut album. But finally it is here and ready to be reviewed.

Haizea clocks in at forty minutes.

The music here is folk rock.

The music is pretty slow and the folk rock is in the more traditional folk music mould.

The music is also vocal-based with some sparse instrumentation.

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

The music is not progressive or rock. The quality is still decent. It is an album worth checking out if folk rock is your thing.

2 points 

 

 

 

Fedele. Jarod - A Collection Of Color (2018)

 

The debut album from this artist from USA.

Jarod Fedele performed the bass, guitars, piano, synths and drum machine here.

He had help from two guests who added acoustic guitars and alto saxophones on a handful of tracks.

This is so far the only album from Jarod Fedele, to my knowledge. 

A Collection Of Color clocks in at two hours.

The music is symphonic prog.

... Or, to be more precise, a blend of symphonic prog and fusion. Add in some heavy prog here too and you get the picture.

The music is dynamic, epic and quite majestic. The ELP and Return To Forever influences shines throughout the whole of this album.

There are some decent and some good stuff here. This is quite an enjoyable album and one to check out from his Bandcamp page.

3 points 

  

ES - Wham Bang (1979)

 

The one and only album from this band from Germany.

The band was a trio with a lineup of drums, xylophone, bass, clavinet, electric piano, synths and vocals.

This was a short-lived band that released this album on a small record label and then broke up.

Wham Bang clocks in at thirty-seven minutes.

The music here is funk.

There is also a lot of jazz here. The music is indeed a blend of jazz and funk. Add in some rockabilly too and you get the picture.

There is a lot of vocals here and they are pretty good.

The music is fairly decent. The music is too funky for my taste. Nevertheless, those into a mix of funk and jazz should check out this album.

1.5 points 

 

 

Fuzz Kitchen - Fuzz Kitchen (2026)

 

The debut album from this band from Great Britain.

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

A handful of guests added saxophones, backing vocals and vocals.

The band members come from bands like Hatfield And The North and some other bands from the Canterbury scene. Maybe Fuzz Kitchen should be called a supergroup. The band name is an apt band name too.

This album clocks in at sixty-four minutes.

The music here is Canterbury scene. 

The best reference here is Hatfield And The North. Caravan, National Health and Egg are also good references. 

The music melodic and very playful. It is a throwback to the 1970s too, to the best days of the Canterbury scene.

The music is a blend of vocal-dominated songs and jazz. All of the music in the best of the Canterbury tradition. This album is indeed all about this scene and a tribute to this scene. A declaration of love for this scene I also love.

The vocals is great and in the Richard Sinclair mode. The band does an excellent job on some great songs and instrumental piece of music.

This is a very charming album and a great album in it's own right. It is also one of the best albums of the year. I am won over and am smiling like a Cheshire cat who has just got milk.

4 points 

  

Rainbow - Stranger In Us All (1995)

 

The eighth album from this band from Great Britain.

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

Two guests added harmonica and vocals.

Ritchie Blackmore reappeared unexpectedly with this album after he, again, had left Deep Purple. This before he and his wife Candice Night formed Blackmore's Night, which is now his main and only band.

Stranger In Us All clocks in at fifty-five minutes.

The music here is hard rock. 1970s hard rock that is.

Ritchie Blackmore left Deep Purple to form Rainbow in the 1970s and we got the debut album Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow album in 1975. He left Deep Purple again twenty years later and we get an album that is more or less the twin of the debut album. That says a lot.

The rather unknown Doogie White is the vocalist here and his vocals are very good. They are not on par or anywhere near as good as Ronnie James Dio or even as great as Joe Lynn Turner's vocals. The other musicians here are also unknown. 

The guitars are very good here. 

There are some blues and classical music influences on this album. 

The music is not as bad as I feared. There are some good songs here. There are no killer tracks here. The take on Hall Of The Mountain King is not particular good. 

This is a pretty good album. Is it a Rainbow album ? No, it is not. That aside....

2.5 points 

 

Yynot - Light And Shade (2022)

 

The third album from this band from USA.

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

The band returned again after a three years long break.

Light And Shade clocks in at three quarters of an hour.

The music here is heavy prog.  

The band started out as a Rush tribute act. Their debut album had the 2112 sound and were in that direction. The band then moved a lot away from Rush on their second album. 

There are still a lot of Rush in their music, though. Enough to interest a Rush fan like myself. 

The music is both melodic and pretty heavy. This album is still their least heavy, least hard album.

Most of the vocals are female vocals. There are also some male lead vocals here. 

The music is both interesting and good.

This is their final album so far. I hope the band will return again for one or more albums. This is a good, charming band.

3 points 

Macky Ar - Sever Inertia (2026)

 

The tenth album from this artist from India.

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

Some albums ago, some reviews ago, I thought I was never going to review any more of his albums. I was wrong and I will never promise something like this again. It is not that I don't like his music. It is just that there is so many other new albums to review. But I will probably continue to review his albums.

Sever Inertia clocks in at just over half an hour.

The music is neo-prog.

The music is melancholic and pretty sombre.

It is also pretty slow too. There are also some mid-tempo pieces here.

The vocals are more like instruments than proper vocals.

The music is floating around without being ambient.

This is not his best album. It is still a pretty good album and one to check out.

2.5 points 

 

Amorphis - Privilege of Evil (1993)

 

The debut EP from this band from Finland.

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

I am going to review all this band's albums in the coming months. But before I start the review of their albums, I want to review this EP first as it is a pretty important EP in the history of Scandinavian metal. It was released one year after their debut album. It is still a bit of a landmark release.

This EP was supposed to be one half of a split album with Incantation. That US band did not deliver their half (later released on it's own by the band) so the result is this EP.

Privilege Of Evil clocks in at twenty-three minutes.

The music is extreme metal.

The music is mostly death metal. There are some melodic prog metal here too.

The sound is dirty and muddy. Just as it should be. The vocals are growling and extreme. The music is pretty epic at times too.  

Metalheads will really enjoy this EP more than I do. I have a bit of a sweet spot for this band. This is a decent enough EP, bordering to pretty good.

2 points 

 

 

Parsons Project. The Alan - Vulture Culture (1984)

 

The eighth album from this project from Great Britain.

The core of the project was a duo with a lineup of piano, organ, keyboards, synths, drum programming and vocals.

A number of guests, including a symphony orchestra, added drums, percussion, bass, guitars, synths, strings, woodwinds and vocals.

The project returned again one year after the previous album.

Vulture Culture clocks in at forty minutes.

The music is pomp-pop.

The project was releasing some commercial pop albums at this time. Big commercial successes. 

I believe this album spawned two hit singles. Songs that sound outdated today, but they were big in the 1980s. 

The music is still pretty elegant. The music is still too poppy and far too slick and pomp. Some good vocals and a couple of decent songs are the only saving grace on this album.

1.5 points 

 

 

Sioum - Yet Further (2016)

 

The second and final album from this band from USA.

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

The band returned for the final time, six years after their debut album. A pretty decent album I reviewed some days ago.

Yet Further clocks in at seventy-two minutes.

The music here is post-metal.

There are a lot of post-rock too in their music. 

Some of the music is pretty ambient too and cinematic.

The music is pretty dynamic and flowing.

There is not a lot to enjoy on this album. The music is too generic, too samey, not interesting at all. 

This is a half-decent name-your-price Bandcamp album and that is it, really. I am not impressed at all.

1.5 points 

 

Scope - Scope II (1975)

 

The second and final album from this band from The Netherlands.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, grand piano, organ, keyboards, synths and flute.

The band returned again the year after they released the decent enough self titled debut album. An album reviewed some days ago in this blog.

Scope II clocks in at three quarters of an hour.

The music here is fusion.

The music is dynamic and pretty fast. The music is still pretty melodic. 

There is a lot of good solos here from the various instruments. The bass is rampant galloping away and is adding a lot of colours to the music. 

The music is a bit run-off-the-mill fusion. Nevertheless, it is enjoyable and interesting for the fusion fans. That includes myself.

This is a pretty good album and one to check out if fusion is your thing. This album is also a pretty big improvement on their debut album. It is shame that this is their final album.

2.5 points  

 

Latimer. Andrew - From The Vault (2026)

 

The third album from this artist from Great Britain.

Andrew Latimer did the bass, guitars, synths, drum programming and vocals here.

Two guests added some instruments and vocals on a couple of tracks.

Andrew Latimer released his debut solo album last year, which he named War Stories (see review somewhere else in this blog) and has followed up that album with two new albums this year. This year's second album will be reviewed later this month.

 Andrew Latimer is off course most known as the frontman in Camel, one of the greatest ever progressive rock bands. 

From The Vault clocks in at thirty-four minutes.

The music here is symphonic prog.

This album is also a concept album. The theme is his health challenges and his recovery from them. 

There are a lot of Camel references here. His debut album were a continuation of Camel and this album too is in that vein. The music though is more songs-orientated and more poppy. 

The music here is not particular proggy or interesting. The far too few instrumental pieces are very good. The songs are too easy-listening and not interesting at all, besides of the lyrics.

This is a pretty good album but still one of the least interesting albums he has ever been released in Camel and as a solo artist.

Sorry...

2.5 points 

 

 

  

Rainbow - Bent Out Of Shape (1983)

 

The seventh album from this band from Great Britain.

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

The band returned again one year after the good Straight Between The Eyes album. An album I regard as their best album. 

Bent Out Of Shape is regarded as the final Rainbow album although Ritchie Blackmore returned in 1995 with an album attributed to Rainbow. I will review that album in some days time. 

 Bent Out Of Shape clocks in at forty minutes.

The music is hard rock.... sort of.

Ritchie Blackmore started Rainbow as a protest against his then band Deep Purple going in a more pop-rock direction. Ritchie wanted to rock out... and that hard. Hence Rainbow.

It is a bit ironic that Bent Out Of Shape has taken the band in a pop-rock direction. The circuit has been closed with this album and Ritchie has returned to square one. 

Joe Lynn Turner and Ritche Blackmore does their best on some really mediocre pop songs. Pop songs dressed up as hard rock. But they are still pop songs.

This album is barely a decent album. It is not an album I enjoy. It is still a decent enough album.

2 points 

 

 

Yynot - Resonance (2019)

 

The second album from this band from USA.

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

The band returned again, one year after the release of their good self-titled debut album. See my review from last month.

Resonance clocks in at three quarters of an hour.

The music here is heavy prog.

The band was a Rush tribute band whose music on the debut album were pretty close to Rush anno 2112. The band has broken with this formula on Resonance in an effort to find their own voice, own niche.

The music is still guitar-based, and the vocals are female vocals.

Rush is still a good reference... although the more modern version of Rush. Rush anno Test For Echo. 

The music is both hard and catchy. The vocals is very good.

This is another enjoyable, good album from this band. A review of their third and so far latest album will be published in some days time.

3 points 

 

 

  

Bubu - El Ultimo Cortejo (2026)

 

The third album from this band from Argentina.

The band was a sextet with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, synths, saxophones and flutes.

The band returned again after an album break of eight years. 

El Ultimo Cortejo clocks in at fifty-five minutes.

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

Add in some fusion too and you get the picture.

The music is fully instrumental with some good saxophones and other instruments.

The music is also both dynamic and melodic. There are a lot of good themes here on this album.

The music is also pretty elegant with some good folk rock influences.

The overall quality is good and this is an enjoyable album which will cement this band's good name and reputation.

3 points 

 

Ageless - Song By Song (2021)

 

The debut album from this band from USA.

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

This band has to date released five albums and I am reviewing them this autumn.

Song By Song clocks in at one hour.

The music here is neo-prog.

Their take on neo-prog is symphonic with some intricate compositions. Genesis is a big inspiration here. There are also some Yes inspirations lurking around in the music here.

There are no guitars in their music.... No guitarists, that is. There are still guitars here, very probably programmed.

The music is still very organic, though. There are not many synths on this album. 

The music is melodic and pretty elegant. The vocals are very good.

There are no great songs here. That said, this is a good, bordering to a very good album. Check it out if neo-prog is your thing.

3 points 

  

 

 

3rd Ear Experience - Peacock Black (2012)

 

The debut album from this band from USA.

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

Two guests added didgeridoo and saxophones.

This band was the King's X member Doug Pinnick's side project. Robbi Robb from Tribe After Tribe and some other musicians were the rest of this band. I got a handful of their in total eight albums up for review this autumn.

Peacock Black clocks in at one hour and sixteen minutes.

The music here is space rock.

Their take on space rock is wild and outer space. The music is also improvised and does not have many structures. 

Some of the music here is also ambient and electronica.

The space rock stuff is rather good. The ambient and the electronica is best forgotten. The result is an uneven album and a decent album in it's own right.

2 points 

 

Sioum - I Am Mortal But Was Fiend (2010)

 

The debut album from this band from USA.

The band was a trio with a lineup of drums, ebow, guitars, piano and synths.

This is another new band to me. They released two name-your-price Bandcamp albums before they broke up. I am reviewing both of them this month.

I Am Mortal But Was Fiend clocks in at one hour.

The music is post-metal.

There is also a lot of post-rock on this instrumental album. I would say 50/50 of post metal and post rock. Math rock is also a genre this album touches with.

The music is pretty hard. It is most of all dynamic and pretty complex. The music is also melodic. 

This album does not really add anything new to this genre. It is still a decent album and very much a worthy download from their Bandcamp site.

2 points 

 

 

 

 

   

Scope - Scope I (1974)

 

The debut album from this band from The Netherlands.

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

One guest added saxophone.

This band released two albums between 1974 and 1975. Both of them will be reviewed in the coming days on this blog.

Scope I clocks in at fifty minutes.

The music is fusion/jazz rock.

There are some Soft Machine influences in their music. The band is also influenced by the other great fusion bands from the early 1970s too.

The music is a bit laid back at times with a lot of harmonies instead of being an all out solos based album. That makes this album a bit different from other fusion albums from that time.

The music is decent enough. This album is pretty obscure and that for a good reason. Fusion fans should check out this album.

2 points 

  

Green Carnation - A Dark Poem Part III (2026)

 

The ninth album from this band from Norway.

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

A number of guests added flute and a full symphony orchestra.

This is the third and final album in this trilogy. I have reviewed the first two albums in this trilogy and they are good albums.

A Dark Poem Part III clocks in at forty minutes.

The music is a blend of progressive metal and art-rock.

There are also a lot of symphonic prog in the music here.

The rock parts are at times very good. At the end of this album, there is a not so interesting piece of classical music.

Green Carnation ends this trilogy on a high with this good album. This is a trilogy of albums you should check out.

3 points 

 

VP - Water World (2012)

 

The sixth and final album from this artist from Kazakhstan.

 Vyacheslav Potapov (VP) played bass and guitars her in addition to drums, keyboards and woodwinds programming.

This album is the final of the three VP albums I have reviewed this autumn. They have been hanging around in my albums collection for many years. 

The previous album The Lunar Stone was a decent album and that gave me some hopes for this album.

Water World clocks in at fifty minutes.

The music is a blend of jazz and ambient art-rock.

There is some electronica here too.

The music is surprisingly organic with some good musicianship.

The jazz is the dominant music genre here.

The quality of the music is decent enough and this is an album well worth checking out.

2 points 

 

Velvet Underground. The - Squeeze (1973)

 

The fifth and final album from this band from USA.

The band was really only one member strong with Doug Yule on bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

Three guests, including Ian Paice (Deep Purple etc), added drums, percussion, saxophone and female vocals.

Lou Reed had embarked on a successful solo career and all other original members had departed this ship too. The end was near...

Squeeze clocks in at thirty-four minutes.

The music is a blend of psych rock and Americana.

The vocals are good. The music is mid-tempo with a some wild guitars and drums.

The music is not too bad. The songs are decent enough. The music here has nothing in common with the band on their first three albums. Albums where they were pioneers and interesting. Nevertheless, this is a decent enough album.

2 points 

 

Gift. The - Seven Seasons (2026)

 

The fifth album from this band from Great Britain.

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

I have reviewed three of their first albums and have liked them a lot. So I was looking forward to this album.

Seven Seasons clocks in at fifty minutes.

The music here is symphonic prog.

The music is both lush and melodic. It is not the most symphonic prog album I have ever heard as the band has moved a lot more towards neo-prog.

The music is still symphonic enough with some good Genesis references.

The music is also muscular and complex.

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

The result is a good album and one to check out for those into complex, yet melodic progressive rock.

3 points 

 

 

Thollot. Jacques - Watch Devil Go (1975)

 

The second album from this artist from France.

Jacques Thollot played drums, piano and synths.

He had help from two guests who added bass, synths, saxophones, flute and vocals.

I am reviewing his five albums this fall. I was not impressed at all by his debut album. An album so introvert avant-garde it made a painful experience.

Watch Devil Go clocks in at thirty-six minutes.

The music is avant-garde rock/prog.

The music is surprisingly melodic this time around. There are even a couple of proper songs here, complete with female vocals. Good vocals.

There are also some wild saxophones and drums here.

Most of the music on this album is quirky. The quality is decent and the music has given me a positive surprise. I thought I was in for a turkey here. But no... This is an album well worth checking out. 

2 points 

Procol Harum - The Prodical Stranger (1991)

 

The tenth album from this band from Great Britain.

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

A number of guests added drums, guitars, mandolin and backing vocals.

The band returned again after a fourteen years long break. They wisely bypassed the 1980s... 

The Prodigal Stranger clocks in at fifty-two minutes.

The music is mainstream rock.

There is also some soul in their music. The soul comes a lot from the female backing singers.

The music is mid-tempo with some good guitars and the usual great vocals from Gary Brooker. 

The quality is not too bad. There are a couple of good songs here. Most of the music is mediocre. I am not won over....

2 points 

 

Empty Days - Empty Days (2013)

 

The one and only album from this band from Italy.

The band was a seven-pieces big band with a lineup of percussion, theremin, bass, guitars, piano, vibes, keyboards, mellotron and vocals.

Two guests added cello and vocals.

This band released this album through the highly respected AltRock Records and Bandcamp. That is all I know about this band and album.

The album clocks in at one hour.

The music is broadly speaking RIO/Avant-garde.

There is a lot more to the music than this genre. Clear influences are dream pop, cinematic rock and post-rock. A mix of these four genres and the picture becomes a lot clearer.

The music is indeed pretty ambient with a lot of slow and stripped down melodies.

There are some female vocals here and they creates a dream pop like sound. 

There are some good stuff here and some less good stuff. 

The result is a pretty good album and one to check out if avant-garde prog is your thing.

2.5 points 

 

 

 

 

 

Elysium Theory - Modern Alchemy (2010)

 

The debut album from this band from USA.

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

The band released two albums in their short life and I reviewed their second album Event Horizon back in July 2013 in # 1 of this blog. You can read the review here. I was not impressed by that album. I got their debut album a decade ago and should have reviewed back then. But other albums got my attention instead. Hence the album being reviewed far too late.... today.

Modern Alchemy clocks in at sixty-seven minutes.

The music here is progressive metal.

Their take on progressive metal is pretty melodic and not as hard and harsh as most of the newer progressive metal bands.

The music here is therefore pretty close to the heavy prog genre.

The vocals are good. Ditto for the guitars.

There are some good and some decent music here. The result is therefore a pretty good album, well worth checking out.

2.5 points  

 

Fire in Her Eyes - Look into the Sky (2026)

 

The debut album from this duo from Great Britain.

The band was a duo with a lineup of percussion, bass, guitars, piano, organ, keyboards, synths, flute and vocals.

A number of guests added percussion, drums, bass, guitars and backing vocals.

I believe this duo is sisters, Daniella and Natasha Livingstone.

Look Into The Sky clocks in at seventy-two minutes.

The music here is folk rock.

The music also has some pretty strong jazz and dream pop influences.

The driving force here is the sister's great vocals. The music is elegant, melodic and warm.

The music here is good and there is no doubt this band will go far if they decide to go all in and make it big. This is one of the better, most important debut albums of the year.

3 points 

 

VP - The Lunar Stone (2007)

 

The fourth album from this artist from Kazakhstan.

Vyacheslav Potapov (VP) played bass and guitars her in addition to drums, keyboards and woodwinds programming.

I was not impressed by the only other album I have reviewed, the 2003 debut album Sound Dependence. I still have to review his final album and that review will be posted sometime in the coming days.

The Lunar Stone clocks in at three quarters of an hour.

The music is a blend of jazz and fusion.

Mostly jazz, it has to be said. The music is slow to mid-tempo. The music is instrumental. There is a lot of of bass here as this is his main instrument. 

There is a lot of very good xylophones here, programmed or not. 

There are a couple of good pieces here and a couple of sub-standard pieces. I am still positive surprised. This Bandcamp is a decent album and one to check out. 

2 points 

Velvet Underground. The - Loaded (1970)

 

The fourth album from this band from USA.

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

Three guests added drums on some tracks. 

The band soldiered on under the leadership of Lou Reed. This album is regarded as the last true album from this band. The following album Squeeze, is more regarded as a solo album by one of its members. I will review that album in some days time.

Loaded clocks in at forty minutes.

The music here is more straight rock'n'roll than avant-garde rock. The band was told to write some radio-friendly tracks by their record label and the result is this album. None of the tracks became hits, btw.

The music here is indeed a lot more commercially accessible than on any other of their albums. 

The music is still pretty minimalistic and based on vocals and guitars.

The music is decent enough and an improvement on their previous album. The music is therefore pretty OK'ish. The best thing about this album is the stylish art-work.

2 points

 

 

Advent Horizon - Falling Together (2026)

 

The fourth album from this band from USA.

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

A number of guests added percussion, guitars, pianos, synths and vocals.

This band is new to me. Prog metal is not among my favourite genres and I am not really on the top of which bands are big in this genre. Bands like Advent Horizon. I have now been offered their first three albums and I will review them next year if everything goes to plan. In the meantime, I am reviewing this, their latest album.

Falling Together clocks in at sixty-seven minutes.

The music here is progressive metal.

The music is a wide variety of some very heavy prog metal and some more heavy prog and even neo-prog pieces of music.

The sound is very good and the guitars are great. The vocals are also great.

This album is therefore a good album and I need to check out their first three albums too. This is one of the better prog metal albums I have encountered during the last couple of years.

3 points  

 

 

 

Sigur Ros - Hlemmur (2003)

 

The sixth album from this band from Iceland.

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

The band returned again after a one year long album break. This time with another movie soundtrack.

Hlemmur clocks in at forty minutes.

The music is ambient post-rock.

Cinematic rock is another very good label here as this is a movie soundtrack.

These forty minutes consists of small pieces of music which clearly work best within a movie setting. One of the pieces reminds me of the well known Abide By Me psalm.  

The music is both sad and melancholic.

This is clearly not a fully blooded Sigur Ros studio album. It is still a decent enough album and worth checking out if minimalistic cinematic rock is your thing.

2 points  

Rainbow - Straight Between The Eyes (1982)

 

The sixth album from this band from Great Britain.

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

Two guests added orchestration.

The band returned again, one year after the Difficult To Cure album, their most prolific album. Joe Lynn Turner was still with the band as the vocalist.

Straight Between The Eyes clocks in at forty-two minutes.

The music is hard rock.

The band had noted the emergency of the new wave of heavy metal and that is notable on this album. There is indeed a lot of the new wave of heavy metal in the music on this album.

This is therefore their most heavy album. It is also their most commercial album. 

I got this album on cassette forty years ago and I really liked it back then. I got it again on CD ten years ago and I still like it a lot. Ritchie Blackmore is on top form. Ditto for the rest of the band, include Joe Lynn Turner.

This album is a great blend of 1970s hard rock and 1980s heavy metal. It is a good album in it's own right and one to check out. Yes, I have a soft spot for this album.... Nevertheless....

3 points  

 

Roaring Empyrean - Monuments (2019)

 

The debut album from this band from Iran.

This is a one-man-band with Doomed Shinobi playing all instruments.

I guess Doomed Shinobi is not a real name. Taken into account that Iran is an Islamic republic, using a pseudonym is a very smart move. A life-saving move. 

Monuments clocks in at one hour.

The music here is funeral doom. 

The blurb here is that the music is a blend of new age and funeral doom. Well..... OK, the music is pretty melodic and not as harsh as the most extreme funeral doom. The music is still funeral doom and there is no new age music here.

The sound is good throughout.

The music is also pretty beautiful at the end with some good harmonies.

I have heard a lot better funeral doom albums than this one. It is still a decent album. It is also a name-your-price Bandcamp album and therefore one to check out if funeral doom is your thing.

2 points  

 

 

Rhesus O - Rhesus O (1971)

 

The one and only album from this band from France.

The band was a seven-pieces big band with a lineup of drums, percussion, xylophone, bass, guitars, organ, electric piano, harpsichord, woodwinds and voices.

This band includes two members who later joined Magma. That is this band's claim to fame and the reason why they got my attention.

This album clocks in at thirty-six minutes.

The music here is jazz.

The music is rather traditional jazz. There are some hints of both Canterbury scene and zeuhl here.

The sound is dodgy and sub-standard throughout. 

There are the usual saxophone and organ solos here. There are also some uncredited voices, choirs here.

The pieces of music is jumbled together in a chaotic fashion. That it self spoils a lot of the music here. I am not impressed by this half-decent album.

1.5 points  

   

Eiyen - Sea Of Love (2026)

 

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

Harald Plontke did all instruments and vocals on this album.

One guest is adding female vocals on this album. 

Harald Plontke were involved in some local bands before he went his own ways with Eiyen. The band name means eternity in Japanese and the music very much reflects that band name.

Sea Of Love clocks in at seventy minutes.

The music here is art-rock.

There is a lot of various influences and genres on this album. From symphonic prog to psych rock, cinematic rock, Americana and dream pop.

The music is mid-tempo to slow. It is also songs based. The music is really varied and melodic.

The music is well crafted and the music is really good. Harald Plontke has worked on the music for many years so only time will tell if he want to put himself through this process again and write/record more albums. I hope he does.

3 points 

 

 

   

Tea For Two - Twisted (2006)

 

The third album from this band from Germany.

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

A number of guests added drums, percussion, bass, cello and backing vocals.

This is the final album from this band. A pretty unknown band who did not get the success they may have deserved.

Twisted clocks in at three quarters of an hour.

The music is neo-prog.

There are also some folk rock and art-rock influences in their music. The opening track is indeed a Spanish folk rock pastiche. Thankfully, this track is not representative of the rest of the album.

The music on the rest of the album is mid-tempo with some art-rock influences. The German band Argos is again a good reference.

The music is dominated by guitar harmonies and solos.  

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

This is indeed a good album from this rather underrated band. Their three albums deserve a lot more attention.

3 points