Giant Sky - Giant Sky (2021)

 

The debut album from this band/project from Norway.

The project was a ten pieces big project with a lineup of drums, percussion, bass, guitars, viola, keyboards, church organs, flute and vocals.

This band is a side project of the band Soup. I have reviewed their albums.

Giant Sky has so far released four albums. I am reviewing them this month, starting with this album.

Giant Sky clocks in at fifty minutes.

The music here is a blend of dream-pop and post-rock.

There is also a lot of art-rock and electronica in their music. 

The music is softly spoken throughout. It is still pretty complex too. 

The music is melodic and engaging warm. 

The vocals and the vocal harmonies are great. 

The music is very good throughout. It is therefore an album well worth checking out.

3.5 points 

Arabs In Aspics - Sorgens Kapittel (2026)

 

The eighth album from this band from Norway.

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

This band is one of the biggest names in the Norwegian psych rock scene and their first seven albums has been good to very good. I was therefore happy when I received this album.

Sorgens Kapittel clocks in at three quarters of an hour.

The music is heavy psych rock.

There is a great deal of tongue-in-cheek in their music and not at least in their Norwegian lyrics. Lyrics which is bypassing those who are not speaking this language (as I am doing). 

There is a great 1970s hard rock and psych rock vibe in their music.

The guitars and in particular the organs are great here. The sound is good too.

The vocals are in Norwegian. They are good, though.

This is not their best album. It is still a good album and one to check out if retro psych rock is your thing.

3 points 

 

Phaedrus - Pleiades Suite (2026)

 

The second album from this band from Spain.

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

This band was set up by two members of Kotebel and October Equus. The debut album was a 

This album clocks in at one hour.

The music is eclectic prog.

The music is also instrumental and not a million miles away from Kotebel. 

The music is dynamic, eclectic and with a lot of classical music influences too.

King Crimson is also a big influence on the music here.

The overall quality is good and this is a good album for all King Crimson, Kotebel and eclectic prog fans.

3 points 

 

Ageless - Echoes Of Five Years (2026)

 

The fifth album from this band from USA.

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

The band returned again after a one year long album break.

I have so far enjoyed their albums and was therefore looking forward to this album.

This album clocks in at sixty-six minutes.

The music here is neo-prog.

The music here is melodic, muscular and complex. All three things at the same time..

 The music is also elegant throughout.

The guitars and the vocals is very good. 

The band knows what they are doing. Their take on neo-prog is not bringing anything new to the genre. 

The music here is good and this is a good band who would really please the neo-prog fans.

3 points 

 

 

Nexus - 1042 (2026)

 

The ninth album from this band from Argentina.

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

One guest added male vocals on one track.

The band returned again after a three years long break. I have reviewed their albums and have really liked them. This is one of the best bands from this region of the world.

1042 clocks in at three quarters of an hour.

The music here is symphonic prog.

The music also got a lot of neo-prog influences too. The sound is modern and with strong Latin-American influences.

The music is melodic, epic and pretty complex. It is also mid-tempo.

The vocals is mostly female vocals and they are good. There is also some great organs and mellotron in their music. Ditto for the guitars. There is male vocals on one track too. Good vocals. All vocals are Spanish.

The result is a good album which will please their fans and everyone else into Latin-American symphonic prog. A good album from a great scene.

3 points  

 

Black Bonzo - Lady of the Light (2004)

 

The debut album from this band from Sweden.

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

The band released three albums between 2004 and 2009. All three are up for review this month. Something I have been looking forward to for a long time as they have come highly recommended to me. 

Lady Of The Light clocks in at one hour.

The music is heavy prog.

The sound and music are retro 1970s heavy prog.  

The music is really rocking at times. It is also pretty hard too.

There are also some more softer, pastoral pieces of music here.

The organs here are brilliant. The guitars are really good too. The vocals is great.

The quality of the songs are very good and this is an album I would put on the hidden gems list. Check it out.

3.5 points  

 

 

Argent - Ring of Hands (1971)

 

The second album from this band from Great Britain.

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

The band returned again two years after their pretty decent debut album.

Ring Of Hands clocks in at three quarters of an hour.

The music is a blend of psych rock and progressive rock.

The band started to branch out and experiment on this album. They deviated from the standard rock and pop formula.

It is pretty clear that the likes of ELP and Yes had influenced the band. Not in a major way, but the influences can still be heard here.

The music is still mostly standard rock. It is also pretty catchy with some good guitars, keyboards and vocals.

This is a decent album and one to check out. More reviews of Argent albums will follow this month.

2 points