DarWin - A Frozen War (2020)

 

The second album from this band from Great Britain.

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

Numerous guests added bass, guitars, keyboards and strings.

I reviewed their 2018 debut album Origin Of Species back in August 2021 and liked it a lot. They then slipped under my radar before I got their new album some days ago. I will review that album and their  previous album sometime this year. 

A Frozen War is clocking in at just over half an hour. The music, as on their debut album, is sci-fi neo-prog.... which is a slightly meaningless phrase.

Blend fast progressive metal with neo-prog. Add in lots of strings too. That is a description that makes more sense. 

The main instrument here is the electric guitars and we are getting a lot of guitar harmonies and guitar solos. There is also a lot of very good vocals here.

The music is pretty melodic with some mellow pieces throughout. 

This is an album that really throws a punch. It is also a good album and well worth checking out.

3 points  

  

 

Wolves In Aramid - Obsidian (2012)

 

The debut album from this band from USA.

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

This band released two albums under the Wolves In Aramid name before they shortened their name to just Aramid and then released some more albums. The latest one in 2024. 

I have got the Wolves In Aramid albums up for review this month. I may review the Aramid albums next year or at some point in the future.

The music on this forty minutes long album is gentle and softly spoken post-rock.

The music is sparsely instrumented and that makes it mellow and at times pretty pastoral too.

The majority of the music is still mid-tempo with a lot of half-acoustic guitars. The keyboards are also eminent here.

The music is indeed mellow throughout and the quality is decent. This is a name-your-price Bandcamp album and well worth checking out.

2 points 

 

 

Andresen. Frode - Dark City (2025)

 

The fifth album from this artist from Norway.

Frode Andresen did the keyboards here. He got help from three band members who added drums, percussion, bass and guitars. 

Two guests added trumpet and scat vocals. 

Frode Andresen is a much used jazz keyboardist. He has though released some singles and albums through his own Bandcamp page. 

The music on this forty minutes long album is indeed jazz..... or make that fusion as there is some progressive rock themes scattered around on this album. 

The music is so quirky at times that this album is a borderline Canterbury scene album. 

The music has a blend of hyper-intense guitar shredding, some mid-tempo keyboards and some more lyrical harmonies.

The themes here are all good too. 

The result is a good album and one the fusion fans should check out. 

3 points

 

Cea Serin - Where Memories Combine (2004)

 

The debut album from this band from USA.

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

A guest did tap dancing on one of the tracks.

This band has so far released three albums. The most recent one some weeks ago. All of them are up for review this fall.

This fifty minutes long album offers us a blend of progressive metal and djent. There are some extreme metal influences here.

The music is very heavy and pretty extreme throughout. There are some opeatic epic and bold pieces here too in their music.

The vocals vary between clean, operatic and extreme metal. 

The music is catchy and commercially appealing to a large audience. That is what this band indeed has got. This band is one of the most popular emerging talents. This album is indeed a good album too and one to check out.

3 points 

Chimpan A - Chimpan A (2006)

 

The debut album from this band from Great Britain.

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

Some guests added drums programming, programming, samples and vocals.

Rob Reed from Magenta is the motor behind this band and they have so far released three albums, four if you include a remix album. I have the three proper albums up for review this month and the two other reviews will soon be added.

This one hour long album takes the band into the electro-pop territory. A DJ is among the guests here and his skills are often used here.

The music is slick and elegant. It is also very commercial. It is also very sugary sweet with some teenybopper influences.  

The male and female vocals is good. The band does a good job on even some pretty annoying teenybopper like themes. Then, there are some good melodies here too.. This is an album with some contrasts.

The result is a pretty good album which both annoys me and pleases me. If electro-pop is your thing and if you are a Rob Reed follower, this is an album for you.

2.5 points