Fish - A Feast Of Consequences (2013)

 

The 12th album from this artist from Great Britain.

Fish did all the male vocals here.

He was helped out by some guests who added drums, percussion, bass, guitars, violin, viola, cello, keyboards, trombone, tuba, trumpet, flugelhorn and female vocals.

Fish returned again with this sixty-seven minutes long album.

Fish should be given credit, a lot of credit, for releasing twelve (that cover album exluded) albums who varies a lot from each other. That is again the case for his previous album 13th Star and this one. 

There is a six years long break between these two albums and a lot of various issues in his life. His lyrics and music has always reflected his personal life.

A Feast Of Consequences is a blend of Scottish folk rock, art-rock and a bit US brass rock. 

Both music and lyrics feels very personal. It plays a lot with the listener's heart strings. That is both an observation and a compliment. 

The result is perhaps his most personal album and a good album too. It is one of his best solo albums and one to check out.

3 points 

Drage. André - Journeyman (2025)

 

The debut album from this artist from Norway.

Andre Drage did the drums and percussion on this album. 

He got help from a quartet of musicians who added bass, guitars, violin, organ, synths and effects.

Andre Drage has been active in the jazz and rock scene for many years before he started his own record label Drage Records and released no less than two albums this year... so far. Maybe several more albums are under way. I will review his second album Wolves later this summer.

Although he label this album as a fusion album, it does comes across as a jazz album. A bit ethno jazz but still a jazz album.

There is a lot of violins in the vein of Jean Luc Ponty here. There is also some good organ, synths and off course drums here. The guitars sometimes sounds like saxophones too.

The music is more of the dense solos orientated type of jazz than melodic jazz. Hence, the music comes across as more eclectic than melodic. The melodies are here, but they are not so obvious and not so easy listening.

I am a bit of a newcomer to the jazz scene.... Well, I have been that for the last fifteen years and probably should know this genre a bit better by now... but I really like what I hear here. The music is tight and it has a lot of very interesting details.

This is indeed a good album and one that has opened my eyes for this drummer. I cannot wait for more music from Andre Drage.

3 points

 

 

 

 

 

Souls Ignite - Fight the Digital God (2025)

 

The second album from this band from Argentina.

This band is a duo of two well known musicians, Rodrigo San Martin and Juan Manuel Torres. Both did bass, guitars and keyboards.

They got help from numerous guests who provided drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keyboards, synths, piano, organ, programmed strings, male and female vocals.

I did not expect a second album from this band when I in my review (January 2023, # 3 of this blog) of their 2014 debut album Chaos declared that this was a one-off album. I was evidently wrong. The band, make that the project, has again risen.

We get a one hour long rock opera here where the music is a mix of pomp rock and progressive metal. 

The music is suitable theatrical and slightly gothic. The music is a bit too light and sunny to really label it as all out gothic.

The male vocals is decent while the female vocals is very good. 

There are some good music here and some rather forgetable bland but still decent music. This album should appeal to everyone into rock opera and pomp rock. Check out this album.

2.5 points

 

 

 

Kraan - Berliner Ring (2001)

 

The tenth album from this band from Germany.

The band was a nine piece members big band with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards, trumpet and vocals.

This is their tenth studio album.... or so I thought. Well, it is not really a proper studio album. It is a stop-gap album with left over tracks and some live tracks. 

The left over tracks are from studio sessions going fifteen years or so back. Including the live tracks, we get seventy-three minutes worth of music here.

As this is a left overs album, the music is everything from jazz via space rock to pop influenced krautrock. The music is also pretty close to Canterbury scene and very much confirms my view that Kraan is Germany's answer to Gong. Not as insane and playful but still very much in the vein of Gong. The only differences is probably cultural differences between these two nations.

There is not much quality here as the best stuff from the record sessions ended up on the proper studio albums. The live tracks is not particular interesting. 

The result is therefore a decent album and just that. It is not a Kraan album worth checking out as this band is so much better than they showcases on this album.

2 points 

 

McKendree Spring - 3 (1972)

 

The third album from this band from USA.

The band was a trio with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, violin, viola, dulcimer, electronics and vocals.

The band returned again with two albums after a two years long album break. Three (3) is the first of the 1972 albums. The second album from that year will be reviewed in this blog next month.

This three quarters of an hour long album starts out with their version of the Neil Young classic Down By The River. This is a song countless other artists has covered...and failed to do. The version on this album is a country rock version of that song and it is a decent enough attempt on this great song.

Country rock... I had almost forgotten this genre. This is the genre we now find this band on this album. The music is too heavy for the folk rock genre although there is still some good folk rock here. The final half of this album is country rock, through and through.

The music is vocals dominated through most of this album. There is a long guitar solo and an instrumental at the end of the album. The vocals are good. The music is decent enough.

This is still an album well worth checking out if folk rock, americana and country rock is your thing.

2 points 

 

 

Mindfar - Prophet Of The Astral Gods (2021)

 

The second and final album from this band from Italy.

This was a one-man-band where Walter Bosello did the vocals.

He was helped from some guests who provided drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals.

This is the follow up album to the 2017 debut album The Dark Tower. A pretty poor album which did not impress me at all as you can read in the review posted earlier this month.

Four years has gone and Walter Bosello is back with some guests this time instead of doing everything himself. A very wise choice, indeed. 

This album clocks in at almost seventy minutes. We still get a power metal rock opera with some good progressive rock and heavy metal influences.

The vocals is pretty good this time. There are several male and female guest vocalists here, telling the story in this rock opera.

The musicians also does a good job on some pretty decent music.

The quality of the music is decent enough and an improvement, a substantial improvement, on the debut album. This is an album power metal fans should check out.

2 points

Knifeworld - The Unravelling (2014)

 

The second album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was an eight piece big band with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, piano, keyboards, woodwinds, programming and vocals.

A handful of guests added viola, violin and vocals.

This band released three albums before the mainman Kavus Torabi joined Guapo and Gong. Knifeworld was therefore put on ice. If that is a permanent closure of this band or just a long break, I do not know. 

I got their first two albums and posted my review of their 2009 debut album Buried Alone earlier this month in this blog. It is/was a fairly good album.

The Unravelling is the three quarters of an hour long follow up album and it is a blend of a lot of genres. Kavus has always mixed and mashed genres together and this album is an example of such an approach.

The base camp here is art-rock. The album then ventures out on climbs up the steep slopes on genres like Canterbury scene and eclectic prog.

The vocals are both female and male. There is a lot of duets here too. There is also a lot of woodwinds too here.

The music is mid-paced to pastoral slow. There is no dissonant pieces here and not hard pieces of music.

The music is fairly good but nothing more than that. I am yet to be won over by this band.

2.5 points

 

 

Vimma - Ei Noi Muut (2025)

 

The third album from this band from Finland.

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

This band is an interesting band in the folk rock genre. 

I reviewed their second album Tornadon Silmassa (2023) back in December the same year for # 3 of this blog and awarded it a good rating. 

I have yet to review their 2019 debut album Meri Ja Avaruus and that review will be posted later this year.

The thirty-three minutes long Ei Noi Muut sees the band ditch their acid-folk roots and reach out to the more pop audience.

There are still a lot of folk rock here, sunny playful folk rock with female Finnish vocals, that is. The music is playful with some thumping disco rhythms too.

The music is fairly good where something works and something falls a bit flat on it's face. I really like this band. But this album is a bit of a disappointment.

2.5 points 

Julian's Treatment - Beyond The Outer Mirr (2025)

 

The third album from this band from Great Britain.

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

The comeback album from this band after a fifty-four years long break.

....Or is it ? I suspect this album was recorded a year or two after the relase of their second album Waiters On The Dance back in 1971. The persons are more or less identical and the vocals are more or less the same. I refuse to believe that Jo Meek's vocals sounds the same this year as they sounded in 1971.

Anyway, this forty minutes long album is a very welcome addition to my record collection. 

The music is psych rock with some symphonic prog and folk rock influences. This again as on their second album. The sound has not changed that much.

Jo Meek is... was a fantastic female vocalist in the Annie Haslam school of vocals. That makes the last two albums from this band pretty remarkable.

The music is gentle and a bit pastoral. The keyboards is also good, delivered by the band owner Julian Savarin.

The music and indeed this album is softly spoken throughout these forty minutes. It really grows on the listener. 

As I wrote earlier this month when I reviewed their second album, this band is underrated. Their three albums deserve a lot more attention. That also includes this good album.

3 points

 

Hollingshead - Trail (2024)

 

The second album from this band from Sweden.

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

Their 2020 debut album Stay Dead was a good album and you can read my review from earlier this month. Heavy prog was the order of the day back then.

This fifty minutes long album continues down the same path.

Theatrical heavy prog with some goth influences and no guitars. The very good vocals and the organ/synths fills the space where we normally would find a guitar.

The music has also some pretty strong Scandinavian symphonic prog influences. It is also mid-tempo with a good organ sound.

The sound is also good and this is another good album from this band I hope we will hear a lot more from in the future.

3 points

 

 

 

 

Frøislie. Lars Fredrik - Gamle Mester (2025)

 

The second album from this artist from Norway.

Lars Fredrik did the mellotron, piano, organ, minimoog, vocals and drum programming here.

Two guests added bass, recorder and flute.

Lars Fredrik Frøislie is a leading member of both Tusmørke and Wobbler. Two big bands in the Norwegian prog rock scene. 

His 2023 debut album Fire Fortellinger is a great album and 2023's album of the year. So no pressure then..

Gamle Mester is a concept album about a tree up at Noresund, Norway of the same name. I have passed the tree tens of times but never stopped up and admired it. But thankfully, Lars Fredrik has.

The album is fifty minutes long and we get more of the same as we got on Fire Fortellinger. That is Scandinavian symphonic prog with a lot of folk rock blended into the music.

The vocals is great and the music is both melodic, majestic, epic and complex. There is no guitars here but the mellotron and minimoog does the job together with the piano and the vocals.

The result is a great album and a contender for the album of the year title. 

4 points

 

Fish - 13th Star (2007)

 

The ninth album from this artist from Great Britain.

Fish did the vocals here.

Numerous guests added percussion, drums, bass, ebow, guitars, piano, organ, accordion, dulcimer, pclavinet, programmed strings, samples, loops and backing female vocals.

Fish returned three year after the lather lacklustre Field Of Crows. That was an album which did not played to his strenghts. Hence, it was a disappointment.

13th Star is one hour long and it sees Fish returning to this roots from the demo days Marillion and further back. No, it is not any old songs here. 

The music here is dark, very dark at places. Fish was not in a good place when recording this album as several personal relationships were ending... ending with loud crashes and acrimony. He was not in a good place.

The music is also a blend of art-rock and neo-prog. This album is as far as he has ever returned to his days in Marillion. This is not by any means his attempt of returning to the days of the first two Marillion albums as there is still an ocean in musical expressions between those two albums and 13th Star.

Fish's vocals is brilliant and the guitarists delivers some good solos. The overall quality is good and this album is among his better albums and a good improvement on his last album.

3.5 points

 

Penguin Cafe Orchestra. The - The Penguin Cafe Orchestra (1981)

 

The second album from this band from Great Britain.

The band, make that orchestra, was a ten piece big orchestra with a lineup of drums, bongos, cymbals, bass, guitars, ukulele, harmonium, cello, viola, violins, piano, electric piano, pennywhistle, oboe and harmonium.

This is the follow up to their 1976 debut album. A pretty good album, it was.

The band released their albums on a Virgin Records sub-label run by Brian Eno. He was always a guiding light in the minimalism rock genre. That did not really influence their debut album that much...

.. But on the follow up album, minimalistic chamber rock is what we get on this fifty minutes long album.

Rock is also a bit of a wrong label too. The music is more neo-classical chamber music. 

The music is based on repetitions and small, subtle changes over a theme. Each pieces of music is like this.

In most cases, this works. The music is a bit bare boned and barren. This is still a pretty good album. Do not expect any rock here or anything normal progressiv rock. This album is an avant-garde album for those who dare to venture outside the well trodden paths.

2.5 points

 

Mindfar - The Dark Tower (2017)

 

The debut album from this band from Italy.

This was a one-man-band where Walter Bosello did all the instruments, bass, guitars, keyboards, vocals and probably programmed drums.

A female vocalist added female vocals here.

Walter Bosello has released two albums under this name through Bandcamp and I got both of them up for review this month.

This almost one hour long album is a concept album, a rock opera indeed. It is based on some Stephen King novels.

The music is a blend of hard rock, heavy metal and goth rock.

The vocals are all in English, heavy accented English that is. Both male and female vocals are pretty poor. 

The music is guitars and vocals based with some occasional keyboards on the top of these again. The rhythm section is very poor. The guitars are decent enough.

There are some decent pieces of music here. OK, I am a bit kind here. The ambitions and the concept behind this album is far higher than the abilities to create a good album. It is only a half decent album and a borderline turkey. It is an album best bypassed and ignored.

1.5 points

 

   

Knifeworld - Buried Alone (2009)

 

The debut album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, xylophone, bass, guitars, violin, harmonica, harmonium, recorder, keyboards, saxophone, clarinet, flute and vocals.

A handful of guests added bass, piano, keyboards, trumpet and vocals.

This band released three albums before the mainman Kavus Torabi joined Guapo and Gong. Knifeworld was therefore put on ice. If that is a permanent closure of this band or just a long break, I do not know. I got their first two albums and they are both up for review this month. 

The music on this fifthy minutes long album is a mix of post-punk and Canterbury scene prog.

The vocals is a mix of female, male and duets. They are all good.

The music is a bit dissonant at times and has a mix of these two genres. The woodwinds gives it a good Canterbury scene sound.

The music is both linear at times and bit more quirky where it takes some unexpected turns. When it enters some Gentle Giant'ish roundabouts, this album becomes a good album. The problem is that this is not often enough. 

This is therefore a pretty good debut album and one to check out if quirky music is what you are looking for. 

2.5 points

 

 

Riis. Bjørn - Fimbulvinter (2025)

 

The fifth album from this artist from Norway.

Bjorn Riis did the bass, guitars, keyboards and vocals himself here.

Three guests added the drums on this album.

Both through his band Airbag and as a solo artist, Bjorn Riis has become one of the most prolific artists and names in both the Norwegian and Scandinavian scene in the last years. Even in the European scene.

Fimbulvinter, which is old norse for a harsh winter and in effect... bad times, is the title on this three quarters of an hour long album. 

The music here is melancholic art-rock. Take some Radiohead, some Steven Wilson, some Pink Floyd and some Marillion. Add a lot of melancholy and you get the drift.

There are also some post-rock sensibilities throughout and that adds a lot to this album. 

The songs are a mix of slow and mid-tempo. The sound is superb and the music is driven by guitars, piano, old keyboards sounds and Bjorn's excellent vocals.  

There are indeed some very good guitar solos here too and Bjorn proves that he is a great guitarist here.

The songs are all good and this is another very good album from this artist.  

3.5 points

 

 

Julian's Treatment - Waiters On The Dance (1971)

 

The second album from this band from Great Britain.

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

This band has so far released three albums... the newest one just a couple of months ago. I got that album up for review later this month.

I reviewed their debut album back in November 2020 for # 2 of this blog. It is a fairly good album.

The band is lead and inspired by the keyboards player Julian Savarin from the Domonican Republic which is the neigbouring island of Cuba. Hence some confusions about the name of this entity as it is called both Julian's Treatment and Julian Jay Severin. 

The music on this thirty-five minutes long album is a mix of psych rock, hard blues, beat and symphonic prog. The sound is the 1970s early symphonic prog sound.

There is a lot of heavy keyboards and guitars here. The star of the album is Jo Meek (the sister of Anna Meek in Catapilla) whose vocals is pretty similar and almost on par with Annie Haslam's vocals. They are also pretty similar too. 

The music here is pretty playful and it also has some pastoral pieces too where the vocals comes to the front of the mix.

The result is a good album from a band who deserve a lot more attention and respect. This is indeed an album both psych rock and symphonic prog fans must check out.

3 points

 

Hollingshead - Stay Dead (2020)

 

The debut album from this band from Sweden.

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

This band has so far released two albums and both of them are up for reviews this month in this blog. 

.. Starting with this album, their debut album. A fifty-five minutes long album.

The music is heavy progressive rock.. heavy prog in other words. 

The main difference between this band and other heavy prog bands is that this band does not have a guitarist. The bass is therefore slightly lighter and the vocalist is also taking over some of the spaces normally reserved for the guitars. There is also a lot of keyboards here.

The music is dark throughout the whole album. The music is also catchy and it has a lot of good musical themes and hooks. The vocals is very good at times and one of the highlights of this album.

This is indeed a good album and a very promising album. This is a new band well worth checking out.

3 points

 

 

 

Raccomandata Ricevuta Ritorno - In Fuga (2025)

 

The fourth album from this band from Italy.

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

Gosh.... It is ages since I did listen to and then reviewed an album from this band. It is one of the more obscure bands in the RPI scene. They have released four albums, though. That is at least two more albums than anyone could expect and hope for from this band.

I don't have their 2019 album In Rock but I did review their first two albums for ProgArchives back in 2009 and 2010. Two good albums.

The band has now returned again from a long hibernation and the result is this thirty-six minutes long album.

The music is still RPI. Hard rocking RPI with some very strong blues and hard rock elements. 

The band has also retained their RPI roots. The vocals are all in Italian and they are good. 

Most of the music is rather quirky and eclectic with some avant-garde rock undertones. There are also some melodic stuff here although those are pretty hard rocking.

Most of the music works here while some of it falls a bit flat on it's face. On balance though... this is a good album and an album RPI fans should and must check out.

3 points

 

 

Magnum - The Eleventh Hour (1983)

 

The fourth 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 their third album Chase The Dragon. That album was a decent enough album.

The band continues down the same path again with their take on pomp rock with a lot of heavy metal influences. Some AOR influences has also been added this time around just to appeal to a bigger audience.

The difference between Chase The Dragon and this forty minutes long album is not more substantial than that.

The songs are melodic and comes complete with a 1980s sound. The guitars, keyboards and vocals are good.

The music is not particular heavy. The music is indeed pleasant. There is not really any good songs here though. That is my main gripe with this album.

This is a decent enough album and an album those into the 1980s music scene should check out.

2 points

 

 

 

 

Leprous - The Congregation (2015)

 

The fifth album from this band from Norway.

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

The band returned again after their very good 2013 album Coal. That album was their best to that date.

The Congregation clocks in at seventy-one minutes (including a bonus track) and sees the band branching out into their own world. They are almost like their own scene.

The music is somewhere between extreme metal, progressive metal and rock opera. 

Einar Solberg's vocals is brilliant and they floats on the top of some incredible heavy and complex pieces of music. It is like math rock at times, just so much heavier. 

The music is still pretty melodic with some good to very good themes and riffs. 

This album is not easy listening my any means. The music comes as an unrelenting attack on the listener. 

The quality is still pretty high and at the level of being a good collection of music... a good album in other words. This band is one of the most interesting bands in the progressive metal scene now and this album should be checked out.

3 points

Nuova Era - Return To The Castle (2016)

 

The fifth album from this band from Italy.

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

When I reviewed their new album earlier this year in # 3 of this blog, I discovered to my big surprise that I had forgotten to review this album. So I got this album and put it on the long list of albums to review this summer.

The music on this seventy-five minutes long album is RPI. 

Most of the music is instrumental. There is a lot of Camel and ELP in their music. Ditto for the likes of PFM too. The church organs and flutes takes this in both a goth and a folk rock direction. Both those two genres has left it's mark on this album.

The vocals parts is more in the vein of Banco like RPI, although the vocals are in English and not particular good.

The production is far too thin and the result is a pretty bad guitar sound. The production and the English vocals is the main letdown here. The music is good to very good. 

This is an album well worth checking out as with the rest of this band's albums.

3 points

 

 

No Name - Indefinito (1996)

 

The one and only album from this band from Italy.

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

This band comes from Genoa in the north of Italy. They released this album on their own label and that was the only sign of life from this band. It probably was only a studio-project.

This is a forty minutes long album and the music can best be labeled/described as heavy prog. Heavy prog with Italian vocals and some RPI influences.

The vocals is pretty poor, I am afraid.

The music is not too bad, though. There is some pretty good details and pieces of music here. The sound is also good.

The music is pretty hard throughout and it has some pop influences too.

The reason for this album's obscurity is pretty obvious... It is nowhere as good as the majority of RPI and/or RPI associated albums from that era... or from any era. It is still a decent album and worth checking out.

2 points

 

Samtar - The Bog of Cosmic Delusions (2025)

 

The tenth or so album from this band from USA.

This is a one-man-band and the man behind it, who has not given us his name, does the computers, programming and vocals here.

Samtar is from Wisconsin, one of the least populated states in USA. It is also a state with some great open landscapes and nature.

The music on this fifty minutes long album is a lot more lush than the state it comes from. Take some Radiohead and Porcupine Tree, add in some psych rock, post rock and a small whiff of americana too. That is pretty much what we get here.

There is a lot of vocals here and they are good. Ditto for the vocal harmonies. The music is songs based and not so freeform as most progressive rock albums. 

There is also a lot of heavy guitars here. Heavy but not particular heavy metal dominated. The guitars are more leaning towards psych rock.

The music is pretty good throughout with only a few substandard songs. This is a pretty enjoyable album and I am pretty sure Samtar's discography is worth a further exploration. Check these albums out on Bandcamp. 

2.5 points

 

 

Codice C - Boom (2025)

 

The second album from this band from Italy.

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

The band got help from numerous guests who added bass, guitars, viola, violin and vocals.

I reviewed their self-titled 2020 debut album earlier this month and was not too impressed. Their blend of prog, hard rock and heavy metal did not have good enough songs to impress me.

The band returned five years later with this album called Boom. A three quarters of an hour long album. 

The music here is a blend of heavy metal, neo-prog, folk rock and AOR. 

All of this comes with some good English vocals and some good musicianship. The sound is good throughout. There are even some synths generated bagpipes. This on a keltic folk rock song which is very different from the other songs. 

This is indeed an album of different sounding songs. This album, this band is kicking in all directions. Not all the kicking hits home as there are some substandard songs here. The heavy metal parts is pretty bad too.

This is not a bad album. It is somewhere between decent and good. It is an album well worth checking out.

2.5 points

 

 

Duemila12 - Made In Italy (2014)

 

The second and final album from this band from Italy.

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

This duo, Ginanluca Fineo and Roberto Bulgarini, has been friends and musical collaborators for decades before they formed this band and released their debut album Musical Elements back in 2012. A classic RPI sounding album and I reviewed it earlier this month in this blog. 

Two years has gone between these two albums.

We still get some pretty classic RPI on this fifty minutes long album. That complete with Italian vocals. Good vocals too from Gianluca Fineo.

The band, and indeed the music, has retreated a bit towards pop music. The music is pretty soft and simplified at places. There is also some soft heavy metal pieces of music here. 

This album is at the commerical pop/rock end of the RPI spectrum and the music not particular complex or symphonic.

There is blend of decent and good songs here. This album is a disappointment on the debut album. It is still an interesting album and worth checking out.

2.5 points

Whispers of Granite - Liquid Stone (2025)

 

The debut album from this band from Germany & Norway.

The band is a duo with a lineup of keyboards and vocals.

Some guests added drums, percussion, bass, guitars, strings, synths and programming.

This band is Andreas Hack from the German band Frequency Drift on keyboards and Trude Eitang from the Norwegian band When Mary on vocals. They released this fifty minutes long album on Appolon Records. A digital copy can be ordered from Frequency Drift's Bandcamp page.

The music here is a blend of dream pop, folk rock, melancholic rock and cinematic rock. References are Mostly Autumn and the many female fronted keltic prog bands.  

The music is dominated by Trude's excellent vocals. There is a lot of good musicianship supporting these vocals. The vocal harmonies are also good.

The songs are all lush and full of colours. The music is also elegant too. The music is a bit too sweet at times. That is my only gripe with this album.

This is indeed a good album and one to check out. I am not sure if this is a one-of album or the duo will release more albums together. I hope we will hear more from this band. 

3 points

 

 

Papir - Stundum (2011)

 

The second album from this band from Denmark.

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

Their self-titled 2010 debut album was quite a good album. It had a nice blend of krautrock and space rock. It was indeed a promising album and it left me wanting to hear more from this band.

The wish was duly granted with this eighty minutes long album.

The music is now straight space rock with drums, bass and electric guitars. 

There are some distorted guitars here as the band follows in the path carved out by so many other bands before them.

The sound here is suitable distorted as it is been created by the guitars. The sound is still a lot cleaner and straight faced than most other outer space rock albums. The sound is also good throughout this album.

The music has a blend of beautiful and ugly. This is space rock with a reasonable friendly face.

There are some post-rock influenced music at the end of this album which is very nice too.

The result is a good album and one everyone into space rock should check out.

3 points

 

 

 

Pallas - Beat The Drum (1998)

 

The third album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a quintet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, bodhran, balalaika, oud, piano, organ, keyboards and vocals.

This is the follow up album to the rather disappointing, poor 1996 album The Wedge. You can read my review of that album from earlier this month.

The band returned again two years later with this album, a seventy minutes long album.

The sound is far more muscular and so is the music. The music here is a blend of neo-prog and heavy prog.

The music is also pretty catchy throughout. Catchy but also complex and epic at the same time.

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

The title track is very good while the ten other songs are good. The overall quality is indeed good and this is a very welcome return to form for this band.

3 points

 

Refestramus - Intourist (2024)

 

The second album from this band from USA.

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

Some guests added accordion, flute, saxes and vocals.

I was not too impressed by their 2021 debut album Decoupage. It is still an acceptable debut album.

Intourist is the follow up album and it clocks in at just over fifty minutes.

The music is a mix of US neo-prog, psych rock and americana.

The music is very melodic. It is still pretty complex and quirky. Very quirky and playful at times.

The vocal duties is shared between several males and females. There are also some good vocal harmonies on this album.

The sound is a bit vintage 1970s and it has a good US music scene vibe.

The result is a good album which is only slightly suffering from the lack of a killer track which would have given this album and indeed band their own identity. Nevertheless, check out this album.

3 points

 

Presence - Them (2024)

 

The seventh album from this band from Italy.

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

The band returned after an eight years long break. 

Their last album Masters And Following was a decent enough heavy metal themed album with several cover versions inbetween their own material. I was not impressed and wrote so in my review posted earlier this month.

The band has changed course again on the seventy minutes long Them. 

The music here is cinematic, theatrical rock with some goth, neo-classical music and symphonic prog influences.

The music is pretty heavy at times and has some heavy metal guitars now and then. Most of the music is not that heavy though. The music is pretty symphonic and is again being carried by Sophya Baccini's excellent vocals. 

The quality is somewhere between decent and good. Somehow, the art of composing great or even good music is evading this band. Sorry...

2.5 points

 

 

Random Option - One (2025)

 

The debut album from this band from Great Britain.

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

Two guests added extra vocals on a couple of tracks.

This is a new name to most of us. The band consist of members from Ellesmere, The Swan Chorus, Tim Bowness Band and a Genesis tribute/cover band. The members are well grown ups and experienced. They decided to form Random Option and to release this album. A good choice, in my view.

This one hour long album, fronted by this superb, elegant album art-work takes us on a journey somewhere between symphonic prog and neo-prog. Add in some art-rock too and you get the drift.

The vocals is very good and the rest of the band does a good job on this mid-tempo, melodic and elegant album. There is no great tracks here but this album still deliver the goods. This mostly due to some really good complex pieces too which proves that the band knows their trade and how to deliver the goods.

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

3 points

 

 

 

Codice C - Codice C (2020)

 

The debut album from this band from Italy.

The band was a duo with a lineup of drums and keyboards.

The duo got help from numerous guests who added bass, guitars, violin, cello, clarinet, trumpet and vocals.

This band has so far released two albums and I got both of them up for review this week. The second one will be posted later this week.

The music on this almost fifty minutes long album is not RPI... It is more in the vein of heavy prog. 

The music is very muscular and pretty hard and heavy at times. The vocals are in English. Both male and female vocals are prominent here.

Some of the music is in the vein of rock opera and musicals too.

The music is pretty complex with a good sound. 

Some of the music is good while the rest is not up to an acceptable standard. This is an acceptable debut album but I hope their second album is better than this album.

2.5 points

 

Duemila12 - Musical Elements (2012)

 

The debut album from this band from Italy.

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

This duo, Ginanluca Fineo and Roberto Bulgarini, has been friends and musical collaborators for decades before they formed this band and released two albums. A review of their second and final album will follow later this week.

Musical Elements is their fifty minutes long debut album and the music is classic RPI.

The music is mid-tempo and has got a modern sound despite of the music being classic RPI. The music is guitars and vocals dominated with some sparklings of synths, (programmed) bass and drums.

Most of the vocals are in Italian and they are very good. Gianluca is the vocalist here while Roberto does the guitars. They share the programming and synths duties.

The music is songs based. They are also pretty catchy and melodic. There are also a lot of interesting details here.

That makes this a good album and one to check out if melodic prog and/or RPI is your thing.

3 points

 

 

 

Oak - The Third Sleep (2025)

 

The fourth album from this band from Norway.

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

This is the follow up album to their good 2022 album The Quiet Rebellion Of Compromise, an album reviewed back in December the same year in # 3 of this blog.

The Third Sleep is a three quarters of an hour long album. It follows in the same vein as their first three albums. That means Anathema meets Airbag and Marillion.

Art-rock in other words.

The music is mid-tempo with some very good vocals. It is also pretty complex. There are some death metal vocals on the final song of this album, the very good Sensory Overload.

The music is also elegant throughout.

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

3.5 points

 

Kraan - Soul Of Stone (1991)

 

The ninth album from this band from Germany.

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

This is the follow up to the 1989 album Dancing In The Shade, a far from impressive album. Kraan was in a deep slump during these years and that was evident on that album.

Soul Of Stone is a forty-five minutes long album. The band still continues down the road of 1980s - 1990s funk and psych based krautrock. There is also a lot of Gong influences here. Kraan is the krautrock's answer to Gong and their take on the Canterbury scene.

The trumpet sound has replaced a lot of the keyboards sound on this album. This gives this album some Chicago feel, Chicago in their brass era. 

The music is pretty quirky and melodic. It has some strange brass, make that trumpet, dominated music where the band is trying to sound like Miles Davis. 

The vocals is good and this album is a bit jazzy and funky. The quality is decent enough. This is not their finest hour and this album is one of their least interesting albums.

2 points   

 

McKendree Spring - Second Thoughts (1970)

 

The second album from this band from USA.

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

One guest added synths and mellotron.

This is their follow up album to the their self-titled debut album from 1969.

The band was a folk rock band and that is exactly what we get on this just over half an hour long album too.

The album is acoustic guitars and vocals dominated. There is also a lot of vocal harmonies here. There are also some violins, piano and mellotron here.

Some of the music is acid-folk too. But most of the music is folk rock with some country'n'western influences.

The music is both melodic and pastoral. The music is not complex, but it still has a lot to offer.

This is therefore a decent enough album and one to check out if folk rock floats your boat.

2 points

 

 

 

 

 

Refestramus - Decoupage (2021)

 

The debut album from this band from USA.

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

The band had help from numerous guests on this album who provided bass, guitars, viola, piano, organ, synths, saxophones and vocals.

This band is a new band with members from Colourtura and other bands. They got together to create exciting new music, free from any genre restrictions. 

The band has so far released two albums and both are up for reviews this month. The second review will be posted in some days time.

This forty-five minutes long debut album has a mix of americana, indie rock, US symphonic prog and jazz. 

The music is very melodic and the vocals is both female and male vocals. They are good. The music is also mid-tempo and has a nice americana sound. This is most definate an album made in USA.

The music is also pretty light and fluffy. There is no heavy muscular music here. It feels like a nice summer breeze.

The quality of the music is somewhere between decent and good. It is an acceptable debut album and I am looking forward to get the chance to listen to their second album too.

2.5 points

 

 

Presence - Masters and Following (2016)

 

The sixth album from this band from Italy.

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

Two guests added drums and bass.

This band, lead by Sophya Baccini, album debuted back in 1992. I have reviewed a couple of their albums in this blog. I have yet to be impressed. 

The band has been labeled as dark goth heavy metal. From what I remember from my previous encounters with this band, that is a correct label on this band.

This seventy-six minutes long album, which also comes with a bonus CD too in some editions, has a mix of original material and cover versions. Judas Priess classic Freewheel Burning is covered here and not particular well.

The music is decent enough. There is some rare good pieces of music here but Sophya is carrying this album.... and band. I have yet to become impressed by this band.

2 points

 

 

Neoprimitivi - Orgia Mistero (2025)

 

The debut album from this band from Italy.

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

The band released an EP last year and this forty minutes album includes both this EP and three additional pieces of music.

Italian prog rock is normally being labeled as RPI. That genre is not suitable for the music on this album, though.

Take some krautrock, psych, ambience and space rock. Mix them together and you get something like this album.

Mostly psych rock, it has to be said. 

The music is both youthful and full of contrasts. It is also very eclectic and esoteric. Some parts is a bit melodic too as in post-punk.

The vocals are both male and female Italian vocals.

The music is good throughout and this band is a good addition to the Italian scene, RPI or not RPI. Check out this album.

3 points

 

 

Third Quadrant - Universal Circles (2024)

 

The third album from this band from Great Britain.

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

The band, 3/4 of the original quartet, returned again after a thirty-six years long break. 

I have reviewed both their first albums and I have yet to become impressed by this band. My review of their second album was published earlier this month in this blog and there is a link to my review of their debut album in that link too.

I had no expectations to this one hour long album then.. No expecations. 

The music here is mainly symphonic prog. The six pieces of music is pretty long with some good Yes and ELP references throughout this album.

There are also some more melodic music here.  

There is some really good keyboards here and that is the main instrument here. The vocals is also good while the guitars and (the good) vocals are more a supporting instrument. There is not many solos here of any kind.

The music is good throughout and this is very much one of the better comeback albums I have ever reviewed in this blog. This is indeed an album symphonic and neo prog fans should check out.

3 points

 

 

Sanderson. Dominic - Blazing Revelations (2025)

 

The second album from this artist from Great Britain.

Dominic Sanderson did the guitars, mellotron and vocals here.

He got help from a handful of guests who added drums, percussion, bass, violin, clavinet, piano, organ, keyboards, saxophones and flute.

His 2023 debut album Impermance was a good eclectic prog album. See my review from earlier this month. I was therefore looking forward to review the follow up album, this album.

Dominic continue more or less down the same path on this forty-five minutes long album. Eclectic prog is the genre here.

There is one notable difference though..... This album is very influenced by Van Der Graaf Generator and Peter Hammil, the solo artist. This inbetween the obvious King Crimson and Anekdoten influences

Dominic's vocals is pretty much in the same vein as Peter Hammil's vocals. The same style, the same delivery. 

There is still a lot of mellotron here and those reminds me a lot about Anekdoten. There is also a lot of  saxophones here.

The music is very complex with some sporadic melodic pieces. Although eclectic, the music is also very playful at times and borderline Canterbury scene at those playful pieces of music.

There are four pieces of music here. All of them are good to very good. My main impression is that this is a very good album and one that deserve a lot more attention. Check out this album.

3.5 points

 

 

In The Woods... - Otra (2025)

 

The seventh album from this band from Norway.

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

The band returned again three years after their very good Diversum album. An album I reviewed in # 3, February 2024. 

You never know what you get from this band. This album, named after the river that runs 250 km from the mountains in the south and ends up this band's hometown Kristiandsand, is an almost fifty minutes long album.

The music here is a blend of viking/black metal, a bit death metal, indie rock and psych rock.

Borknagar and Enslaved meets Anathema is the references here. 

The music is pretty melodic and epic. Most of the vocals is clean vocals. But there are a substantial amount of both black metal and death metal vocals here. 

Some of the music here is also viking metal. This is indeed a viking metal light album. This with some indie and psych rock.  

The result is a pretty intriguing album with a lot of interesting details and contrasts. The quality is also good throughout this album. 

Check out this album.

3 points

Fish - Field Of Crows (2004)

 

The eight album from this artist from Great Britain.

Fish did the vocals here.

Numerous guests added percussion, drums, bass, ebow, guitars, clavinet, keyboards, woodwinds and backing vocals.

Fish returned after a three years long break. This after two good albums. Albums where he returned to his roots.

This sixty-six minutes long Field Of Crows takes us back to his first two albums and his flirtation with the US soul and Motown sound.

The sound and music is somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean as it has a lot of US influences. There is a lot of brass, make that woodwinds here.

There is still some UK folk and psych rock here. There is not much progressive rock or even art-rock here.

There are a handful of good songs here while the rest of the album is sub-standard and barely decent.

It is a bit of a disappointing album and two steps in the wrong direction. Hence....

2.5 points

 

Penguin Cafe Orchestra. The - Music From The Penguin Cafe (1976)

 

The debut album from this band from Great Britain.

The band was a sextet with a lineup of percussion, bass, guitars, ukulele, cello, violin, viola, electric piano, spinet, electronics and vocals.

Welcome to one of the weirdest acts the progressive rock world has ever spawned.... 

This band released five albums on a label firstly ran by Brian Eno. The mainman in this band was Simon Jeffes. I have their five albums up for reviews this summer. 

The music on this three quarters of an hour long album is a blend of jazz, gypsy folk music, avant-garde/rock in opposition, chamber music and neo-classical music.

The music here reminds me a lot about what Aranis from Belgium did on their albums.  

The music is mid-tempo and is being driven by strings and guitars. The vocals here is some few voices and not traditional vocals.

The music is pretty nice. It is still eclectic, a bit avant-garde and quirky. This is an album somewhere between decent and good. It is also an album far removed from the beaten track too. An album best described as an experience.

2.5 points

 

 

 

 

 

 

Atlantis Philharmonic - Grand Master (2008)

 

The second album from this band from USA.

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

This forty minutes long album was originally recorded in 1975, one year after the release of their self-titled debut album. An album I reviewed for and in ProgArchives in August 2009. I gave it a Good rating.

Their debut album had a nice blend of symphonic prog, folk rock and some heavy prog. 

Grand Master starts out as a blend of beat, pop-rock, symphonic prog and psych rock. There is not much symphonic prog here, though. I was indeed expecting a lot more ELP influenced music. There is none of that on this album.

The music is songs based and dominated by the rather good vocals. There is not much instrumental music here.

This album is a disappointment for anyone who liked their debut album. I am disappointed, indeed. The music is still charming and sunny. 

The music is therefore rather decent and it is well worth checking out.

2 points

 

 

 

 

Atlantic Bridge - Atlantic Bridge (1970)

 

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

The band was a quartet with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, piano, electric piano, saxophones and flute.

This band released this album and an EP before they gave up and disbanded. The EP was added onto a CD version of this album (1999) as bonus tracks. This is not the version of this album I am reviewing, though.

I take it that the cover art is taken from the Tacoma Bridge and it's collapse. That bridge was in the Pacific Ocean and not in the Atlantic Ocean...... Ouch !

This three quarters of an hour long album is a fusion album. It is more leaning towards jazz than rock. There is a lot of saxophone solos and some good work on the electric piano.

The music is slow and not as technically complex as most other jazz and fusion albums from that time. The musicianship is well below for example the likes of Mahavishnu Orchestra and Soft Machine.

The band still thought it was a good idea to cover two Beatles evergreens, Something and Dear Prudence. There is also a cover of Macarthur Park here, a song made pretty famous by both Waylon Jennings and Donna Summers. Those three songs are pretty unremarkable and uninteresting on this album.

The jazz parts here are decent enough and the sound is good. This is barely a decent album who proves that not all jazz and fusion from Great Britain was great or even good. There is a distinct lack of quality on this album. Nevertheless, this is a decent album and perhaps worth checking out if jazz and fusion is your thing.   

2 points

 

Living Stilts - A Child (2025)

 

The second album from this band from Italy.

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

I did not expect to hear anything more from this band after reviewing their 2014 debut album Shipwreck in # 1 of this blog back in November the same year, 2014. That album was a rock opera sounding album. Maybe it was a rock opera too.

So the band returned again, eleven years later, with the fifty minutes long album.

The music has changed, though. We get some darkened psych rock here. Add in some heavy prog too and you get my drift. The vocals are still in English as on their debut album.

There are some melodic parts here too. But the dominant factor on this album is the dark vocals and they are not good. The guitars too is a bit questionable. 

The songs are rather forgetable and is sorely lacking in quality. This album is in quality and style far removed from their debut album. It is almost like we are talking about two different bands here... and we problably are, taking the eleven years old gap into consideration.

The result is only a half-decent album which falls short of any acceptable standards. Check out their debut album instead.

1.5 points

 

 

Third Quadrant - Layered (1988)

 

The second album from this band from Great Britain.

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

The band returned again six years after their Seeing Yourself As You Really Are debut album. A pretty decent album and one I reviewed in # 2 of this blog.

Layered is a forty-three minutes long album.

The band was one of the first neo-prog bands around. They never really got a breakthrough due to various reasons. 

The music is neo-prog with some commercial pop influences. It is not particular complex or epic. It is songs based.

The vocals is ok enough. The bass is sometimes in the front of the mix. The synths has this 1980s horrible sound. A plastic like sound.

The songs are decent enough and that makes this a decent album. The band surfaced again after a long break last year with an album and I will review that later this month.

2 points

 

 

Sanderson. Dominic - Impermanence (2023)

 

The debut album from this artist from Great Britain.

Dominic Sanderson did the guitars, mellotron and vocals here.

He got help from some guests who added congas, percussion, drums, bass, violin, viola, cello, piano, organ, keyboards, mellotron, saxophone, flute and vocals.

Dominic Sanderson is another nice addition to the progressive rock scene. He has so far released two albums and both of them, starting with this one, is up for reviews this summer.

This album is fifty minutes long and most of it is instrumental eclectic prog with some symphonic prog and psych-rock influences.

 King Crimson's Red album is a very good reference for his album. This album is far from being a copycat but the longest track here, a twenty minutes long track, has a lot of the ambience and soundscapes from that album. The same soundscapes is also scattered around the rest of this album.

There is also some pretty big Pink Floyd influences here and some Yes influences.

The music is very complex at times and not so melodic. Eclectic music in other words. 

There are some good mellotron here and the sound and ambience has a 1970s symphonic prog ambience.

The music is also good throughout this album. This is an album well worth checking out, indeed.

3 points