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  

 

 

Cydonia - Stations (2022)

 

The debut album from this band from Germany.

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

The band has just released their second album and I will review that album early next month. But before that.. 

Stations is clocking in at three quarters of an hour.

The music here is neo-prog.

Two thirds of this album, three songs, are studio recordings. The remaining one third is two live tracks. There are no duplications of tracks here, so we get five different tracks altogether.

The music is classic neo-prog with a blend of more poppy neo-prog and symphonic prog.

The blend of guitars and keyboards are good. There is a lot of harmonies here and not so many solos.

The vocals are very good.

The two live tracks are a bit more hard rocking than the three studio tracks. This is still a middle of the road neo-prog album and a good one too.

This is a promising debut album, indeed.

3 points 

Coyote - Coyote (1972)

 

The one and only album from this band from USA.

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

This was a short-lived band who only released this album and then broke up.

The album clocks in at forty minutes. 

The music here is psych rock.

There is also some strong Americana influences throughout. The music has several places been described as progressive country music.

That is not a bad label as there is some honky-tonk throughout this album.

The organs, piano and the guitars are really good.

The vocals is really good too.

The music is not particularly progressive. It is pretty charming though. 

This is a decent enough album which should interest fans of old style psych rock.

2 points 

 

 

Temic - Ceiba (2026)

 

The second 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 a three years long break. Their debut album was a good album. 

 Ceiba clocks in at sixty-five minutes.

The music here is progressive metal.

The music is both operatic and pretty melodic. The music is also very complex and eclectic in some parts. Most of the music is epic.

There are also some very heavy pieces of music here. 

The guitars are very good. Ditto for the vocals.

The quality is good throughout and this band is a rising star on the progressive metal scene. Check out this album.

3 points 

Phaedrus - Triptych (2017)

 

The debut album from this band from Spain.

 The band was a seven pieces big band with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, cello, piano, keyboards, clarinet and flute.

This band was set up by two members of Kotebel and October Equus. The band has just released their second album and I will post a review early next month.

This album clocks in at one hour.

The music is eclectic prog.

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

There are also some strong ELP influences here.

The main themes here are based on classical music. There is not much traditional rock based music here.

The music is really eclectic throughout and not so much melodic. The music is still working and this is a good album. 

Those who are missing Kotebel should and must check out this album.

3 points 

 

 

Ageless - 4Ever 1310 (2024)

 

The fourth 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.

Their first three albums are good albums and I was looking forward to review this album too.

4Ever 1310 clocks in at fifty - two minutes.

The music here is neo-prog.

The music is melodic and pretty symphonic.

The music is guitars, keyboards and vocals based.

The music is also mid-tempo with some good harmonies and guitar solos.

The vocals are really good and the music has a good ambience.

This is another good album from this band. An album neo-prog fans should check out.

3 points 

 

Winter Of Our Years. The - Nautilus (2026)

 

The fifth album from this band from Puerto Rico.

The band was a trio with a lineup of bass, guitars, violin, cello, keyboards and drum programming.

This album is their second album of the year. The first album this year, Soundscapes II, was a pretty good album.

Nautilus clocks in at one and a half hour.

The music is symphonic prog.

The music is instrumental symphonic prog with some heavy prog influences.

The music is dynamic, melodic and pretty hard. 

The music is dominated by guitars. Guitars in the Steve Hackett mould. There are also some nice violins here.

The music is pretty good and the album length offers some really good value for money. Check it out.

2.5 points 

Sigur Rós - Valtari (2012)

 

The ninth album from this band from Iceland.

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

I have really enjoyed their albums after a shaky start with their debut album I am not a fan of. The rest of their albums more than prove that Sigur Ros is the undisputed kings of post-rock.

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

Valtari clocks in at fifty-five minutes.

The music here is post-rock.

The music is slow, cinematic and pretty pastoral throughout. The music is also dirge-like. 

There are a lot of keyboards here and some vocals. The sound is very organic throughout.

The quality is good throughout. This is not their best album. It is still an album which cement their position as the best post-rock band around.

3 points 

  

Belda. Juan - I Love You (2008)

 

The debut album from this artist from Spain.

Juan Belda did the percussion, keyboards, synths, samples and all electronics here.

Juan Belda has released six albums so far. The latest one earlier this year. All of them are up for review this fall.

This album clocks in at one hour.

The music is a blend of electronica and jazz.

Mostly electronica, it has to be said. There are some latter days Miles Davis in the music and that is the jazz contribution here.

The music is really playful and funky.

There are a lot of sampled and programmed woodwinds on the top of the electronica here.

The music is not particular interesting. This is a decent enough album though and an acceptable debut album.

2 points 

 

 

Gomrath - Gomrath (1971)

 

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

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

This album was originally released as a private pressing in Wimbledon, London before the reissue label Bright Carvings gave it a more official release in 2024. 

I will review around five Bright Carvings albums, their more prog/psych rock albums in the coming weeks. 

This album clocks in at forty minutes.

The music is heavy psych.

Bright Carvings has done an impressive good job in cleaning up the sound here. The sound is pretty good. So much that the music is pretty clear. This also makes this a pretty charming album too. 

This album includes a version of Spooky Tooth's Better By You Better By Me, later also covered by Judas Priest. 

The rest of the songs varies from hard rockers, mid-tempo psych rock and slower psych rock. 

The guitars and organs are good. Ditto for the vocals.

I am surprised that no record label released this album back in 1971. They lost out on an album which probably would have sold very well back in those days. The quality is surprisingly good. Very surprisingly good. 

There are some not so good songs here. But the rest is really good. Hence, this is a pretty good album and a bit of a charmer. An old charmer, no less.

2.5 points 

 

Giardini D'Autunno - Frammenti di Idee Perdute (2002)

 

The one and only album from this band from Italy.

The band was a trio with a lineup of drums, bass, guitars, e-bow, organ, mellotron, synths and vocals.

This band was the vision of Tiziano Rea. He is is helped by a drummer and some sporadic female vocals here. The rest of the album is performed by himself.

This album clocks in at fifty minutes.

The music is RPI.

There is a lot of King Crimson influences here too. There are also a lot of cinematic rock here too.

The album start with some slow cinematic rock, heavy influenced by early King Crimson. The final part is more traditional RPI in the Banco vein.

There are some very good female operatic vocals in the beginning while the final parts has some very good male vocals.

There are also some good synths, organ and mellotrons here.

The result is an untraditional RPI album. Indeed an unusual album. The quality is good throughout. This album is indeed a hidden gem in the RPI scene and deserve a lot more attention. 

3 points 

  

 

 

 

Aisles - Irrationally (2026)

 

The sixth album from this band from Chile.

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

The band returned again after a three years long album break. An album I liked quite a lot.

Irrationally clocks in at one hour.

The music here is heavy prog.

A great reference here is Muse. 

The music is commercial with a lot of 1970s-80s disco structures. The music is also very muscular at times.

The guitars are good. Ditto for the keyboards.

The vocals are very good.

The quality is somewhere between decent and good. This album is not their finest hour.

2.5 points 

Aranis - Made In Belgium II (2014)

 

The 8th album from this band from Belgium.

The band was a sextet with a lineup of double bass, guitar, violin, viola, accordion, piano, flute, alto flute, voice and vocals.

One guest added guitar on two tracks.

The band returned again after a one year long album break. This is part II of the Made In Belgium series of albums. A two-album series. The first album was good.

The album clocks in at one hour.

The music is chamber orchestra classical music.

The music is pretty dark on this album. Dark chamber orchestra music. There are even some bars of Led Zeppelin's evergreen classic Rock'N'Roll here. Other parts of this album are dissonant and melancholic.

There are also some atonal vocals here.

This is a bit of an uncomfortable listen, this album. The music still works and this is therefore a good album.

I got a bit of a soft spot for this band and I recommend their albums.

3 points 

 

 

 

Atom Made Earth - Songs For A Dreamer (2023)

 

The third album from this band from Italy.

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

The band returned again after their pretty good 2019 Severence album. An album that saw the band break out from the post-rock genre to a more broader soundscape.

Songs For A Dreamer clocks in at thirty-seven minutes.

The music here is post-rock.

There is a lot of cinematic rock influences in their music. A good reference is Sigur Ros.

This means the band has again changed genres as they have returned back to how they sounded on their debut album.

The music is really slow here. It has some dirge qualities here. 

The vocals are also really slow and sound like a funeral procession. This too is how the music sound.

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

Not everything here is good. But this is still their best album and good album. This is a band worth checking out.

3 points