Din Within - Awaken The Man (2007)

 

The one and only album from this band from USA.

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

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

This band came, released this album, got some deserved attention and then split up. Based on this album, their disbandment is a loss to the scene.

This album is clocking in at one hour.

The music is broadly speaking melodic US symphonic prog. 

Good references are Neal Morse and, to a lesser extent, Spock's Beard. Add in some AOR too and you get the picture. There are also some Supertramp influences in their music.

The music is mid-tempo and melodic. There is a lot of pianos, organs and guitars here. 

The vocals are really good and the vocal harmonies are very good.

The music is very good and there is no doubt this album is a hidden gem that really deserves a lot more attention. Check out this album.

3.5 points 

 

 

Perevod - Souper (2026)

 

The third album from this one-man-band from Ukraine.

Oleksii Perevodchyk played the drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and also added programming to this album.

His first two albums were pretty good and I therefore jumped on the chance to review his new album. Oleksii Perevodchyk is very talented and I am supporting all music and most things from this war-torn country. 

Souper is clocking in at thirty-four minutes.  

The music is again a blend of heavy prog, fusion and symphonic prog. 

The music is instrumental.

There are a lot of keyboards and guitars here. There are some good guitars solos and some good piano harmonies.  

The music is dynamic and pretty fast. The music is also pretty melodic too.

The quality is good throughout. This album is not as good as the debut album but it is still a good album.

3 points 

Realisea - Fairly Carefree (2022)

 

The second album from this band from The Netherlands.

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

A number of guests added bass, violin, harp, keyboards, minotaur and clarinet.

I reviewed their 2020 debut album Mantelpeace back in August the same year and that was a pretty good album. My review is here.

Fairly Carefree is clocking in at one hour.

The music is neo-prog.

In this case, neo-prog with female vocals. 

The music is lush and colourful. It is also pretty commercial with lots of hooks and choruses. The music is still pretty complex with some symphonic prog influences. There are also a lot of folk rock influences in their music.

The music is really good throughout this album. There is no outstanding great tracks here. That said, this is a good album.

3 points