Owl Cries - art rock / post-rock / progressive metal band from Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The band is notable for specific approach to the sound and very diverse song arrangement.Media/Samples
Combining the sounds of progressive, symphonic, and melodic hard rock and metal into a unique and personal musical story, Evaded strives to recreate the magical sound of the underground progressive metal scene of the 90s, a time when epic songs drenched in synth pads and echos were a rebellious act of defiance against a mainstream culture obsessed with celebrating the mediocrity of grunge and alternative rock "pop stars".
Amazing debut album by this new Canadian band that has crafted one hell of a serious work of prog metal. Great melodies, tons of space for dramatic moments and some excellent, intelligent compositions that rival many bands that have been at it for much longer. Mostly clean vocals but even the occasional death vocals are just the right touch. (progmetalzone.com)
With their new concept album "Big Unveiling In The Town Of Dead", My Name Is Janet remains true to the style of the chosen course ... If anything can put it that way! The range of genre-mixes is incredibly diverse and nothing for a defined drawer. Progressive Rock with a stiff breeze of Metal, unique and clear bonds out of the Jazz world, functioning funky Fusion elements, all exceptionally arranged, passionately performed and incredibly intense.
Estonian keyboard virtuoso Sergey Boykov, well known as mastermind of Progressive Metal powerhouses Vital Science, is otherwise not a blank slate in the music scene. He already had several opportunities to showcase his extraordinary outstanding musical and technical skills with bands and projects such as Theodore Ziras, Jonas Tamas, Thiago Trinsi, Hedras Ramos, Gianfranco Continenza, Mystic Force and many more. Now it is time that his own baby "Falling Skies" should see the light of the world. With the participation of great artists and genre sizes like Marco Minnemann, Alberto Rigoni, Gianluca Ferro, Garry King, Fabrizo Leo, Joop Wolters, Jonas Tamas and lots of more, an album was recorded and created which seeks his peers. An impressive mix between Progressive Rock and Metal, with jazzy-influenced elements, sometimes hard, sometimes soft sensitive, sometimes playful and slightly and then again almost bombastic and tough as nails.
Barely anybody knows that by the time Pavlov's Dog's iconic debut album “Pampered Menial“ was released in 1975, the band had already recorded a full album nearly two years earlier. The untitled album, therefor just called the “Pekin Tapes“, was recorded in just three days in October 1973 at Golden Voice Stodio in Pekin/IL and was originally designated to become the band's debut album. But destiny had a different plan.
When ABC Records listened to the “Pekin Tapes“, they signed the band, but instead of releasing the “Pekin Tapes“, they sent the band back to the studio.
Listening to the “Pekin Tapes“, one gets an impression of the early Pavlov's Dog's origin, with no external producers to answer to and no label or management limiting the freedom of their musical creativity.
In retrospect, the contrast to “Pampered Menial” is endlessly facinating: The “Pekin Tapes” include the original versions of five tracks later included on “Pampered Menial” in much different, re-recorded versions. The other five songs were not respected for “Pampered Menial” (incl. two tracks sung by D. Surkamp, two sung by D. Hamilton and one by S. Scorfina). The 8-minute masterpiece “Preludin & Fellacio in E minor“ was shortened to just a 1.5 minute intro “Preludin” on “Pampered Menial”.
“j US t”—pronounced “Just Us”—is the new album from legendary Hamburg band Faust.
The Hamburg krautrock institution Faust invite the whole world to use their new album as a base on which to build their own music. The tracks presented by founder members Jean-Hervé Peron and Zappi Diermaier are clearly, intrinsically typical of Faust in their own right, yet offer enough space for completely different works to develop. Which is exactly what they hope will happen.
Whilst Diermaier largely remains true to his habitual handiwork – drums and percussion – Peron, as we might expect, incorporates all manner of unusual sonic sources alongside his bass, various string instruments and piano, even using a sewing machine as a metronome. Tracks like “nur nous” and “ich bin ein pavian” show that Faust have lost none of their predilection for avant-garde Dadaism and improvisation. Peron and Diermaier actually surprise us with folkloristic excursions (“cavaquiñho”, “gammes”). In short, there is something for everyone to work with here. Peron and Diermaier await the results with bated breath.
The Good Demons are a “fresh” contemporary jazz trio. Their music combines elements from jazz, progressive, fusion, pop, rock. They are inspired and influenced by a large and diverse musical combo that combines Steve Vai, Miles Davis, Faith No More, Tribal Tech, David Bowie and Coltrane.
Tiger Moth Tales is essentially the brain child of Nottinghamshire based musician and writer Pete Jones. Previously known for writing and performing adult contemporary music, at the beginning of 2013 Pete began work on a progressive music project. In an effort to rejuvenate the creative process he went back to the music he had listened to in his childhood with bands such as Genesis, Queen, etc. Also he was taking influences from the modern progressive bands Frost, Big Big Train, Haken, and progressive stalwarts such as Steve Hackett and Roine Stolt. The project took the form of a concept album about childhood (and coming to terms with the loss of childhood), and was the first progressive music Pete had written since he was a teenager. Cocoon is stacked full of classic prog passages and melodies with superb Genesis style vocals.Media/Samples
With the release of Tesla Manaf’s latest offering, the young and gifted Indonesian guitarist delivers on his main goal as a musician — “to convert spoken words into notes”.Media/Samples
Tesla’s guitar work pairs the string texture and physicality of Andres Segovia and Django Reinhardt, with the phrasing and pacing of Ralph Towner and Pat Metheny, through to the present compositional ebbs and flows of Mary Halvorson and Gilad Hekselman. Mind you, these are merely scrap-book points of reference — the end result is extremely original, fresh and inspiring. There is at work here a youthful and enthusiastic sense of risk-taking which is most revealing and rewarding listen after listen.
His unique approach to modern composition assures that you won’t necessarily find the traditional song elements of verse, chorus, solo, bridge or refrain and, if you do, they very likely will not occupy the accepted position or possess the interrelationship you have come to expect. This “turning on its head” approach to composition, along with each player’s technique and choice of instrument tone color, gives great impact to the experience of listening deeply to each track.
This music is all about movement – you find yourself taking the journey with Tesla Manaf, Hadis ‘Hulhul’ Hendarisman, Rudy Zulkarnaen and Desal Sembada. Your route is paved with gorgeous arpeggiated guitar lines intertwined with sinuous dancing clarinet and fueled by subtle yet insistent basslines with the most delicate use of drumkit. Midstream reflection of this musical experience is granted through the equally composed use of silence and pause. The effortless performance of these idiosyncratic songs belies their complexity.
The second half of this cd includes Tesla’s earlier album “It’s All Yours” featuring the Balinese ensemble Mahagotra Ganesha. Tesla’s guitar work on this recording possesses the playful melodicism of King Sunny Ade and is perfectly complemented by the resonant metallic voices of the Mahagotra Ganesha ensemble’s Gamelan, Gangsa, Ceng Ceng, Kantil, Gong and Kemplug.
The third album by Swedish Anima Morte sees the band evolving their moody instrumental songs one step further into the cinematic realm. Rooted in 70's rock music with symphonic and experimental elements. Following deeper and more complex compositions the tense and melancholic atmosphere contrasts strong and thrilling musical motifs. Using real vintage and rare instruments like the Mellotron, Electric Pianos, Organs and different stringed instruments they create a thick wall of sound that is very much alive.
Fantacone and LaRue will each release their own version of the material through different outlets, with a different cover image and title for each – Fantacone’s release will be titled “Paesaggi di Suono” and LaRue’s release will be titled “Sonic Landscape”. There is a special guest appearance on 2 tracks by singer/guitarist John Baker (Mars Hollow, The Little Girls).Read the full review by Rick Jamm at jamsphere.com
What is so strong about this album is that each piece is archetypal. Each is the definitive version of itself. From the virtuosic “Taste of Expectation” to the introspective “Pretty Harp Parker” to the theatrical “Moon in a Chinese Sky” and the epic, fairy-tale-like “Aspiration”, all the music is strange, new and familiar at the same time. You may think you’d heard it before and elsewhere, but until this recording came along, you hadn’t.
From the booming moog-like bass that kicks off “The Intro” through the final string and synth squiggle of the “Hurtful Words” outro “Sonic Landscape” is the powerful mixture of classical and progressive rock themes, but being composed and performed by two ivory wizards, expect very little rocking guitar and plenty of rocking keyboards.
“We Were Here" was created by Malcolm Smith, San Francisco-area composer/guitarist and founding member of prog rock band Metaphor. This new music offers fans of progressive rock everything that makes this genre so beloved: a wide array of instrumentation, quirky time signatures, tempo changes, complicated, multi-section arrangements, and exemplary musicianship.Media/Samples
The largely-instrumental “We Were Here” is Smith’s first “solo” project. In addition to playing electric and acoustic guitars, Smith composed all of the music. The CD features drummer Mattias Olsson, who gives the songs a remarkable energy and dynamic (and, a close examination by the most discerning listeners will reveal a brief, rare example of Mr. Olsson’s vocal styling). Also featured is Marc Spooner, keyboardist with Metaphor and a solo artist, who also made important contributions to the compositions, as well as through the many shades of his colorful palette of keyboard sounds. Rounding out the ensemble is the distinct bass work of Loren Gustafson. Vocalist John Mabry of Metaphor and Mind Furniture sings on the one track which contains vocals, and guitarists Rich Longacre and Craig Launer make guest appearances on two tracks.
“This project is a collection of unadulterated, shameless, and, to be truthful, a bit indulgent progressive rock,” says Smith. “I think that people will love the attention-grabbing, curious, and sometimes peculiar nature of the compositions. This music that we make today will be our artistic signature to the future – similar to what prehistoric cave paintings say to me, 25,000 years later – we were here.”
"Phantom Ships" includes a great mix of progressive and classic rock tunes full of dreamy soundscapes and strong melodies that are sure to capture your attention. There are two epic tracks on the disc that will take you on a little journey, "Life" and the title track "Phantom Ships". Three haunting tracks that are sure to stay in your mind are "Open Air", "Burned" and "Beautiful River" and rounding out the mix are two extremely powerful ballads. "Snow Angel" and a band favorite "Now That You're Gone". The disc ends with a touch of the renaissance with a classical guitar piece entitled "Rinascimento".
Arcade Messiah combines elements of metal, stoner, doom, prog, math rock, and ambient post rock into a sonic maelstrom of seven instrumental songs.Media/Samples
John Bassett: "after writing and producing numerous KingBathmat albums and more recently the acoustic solo album "Unearth, I decided I wanted to create my first instrumental album, and I wanted it to be set, audibly and visually in a dark, bleak apocalyptic aura of despair and anger. I wanted to focus on enormous riffs & sorrowful yet powerful musical refrains and place them within a terrain of unusual time signatures interspersed by moments of psychedelic calm."
Featuring 11 breathtaking new tracks, the duo have once more set off into a brave new acoustic landscape, and set about exploring the sights and sounds there. The resulting music is dynamic and powerful, yet incredibly intimate and 'close'…Also read the review by Pete Whalley at getreadytorock.me.uk
Not only have they moved further from the realms of their Obscura-influenced debut, they’ve managed to expand their sound. It would have been easy and standard for a metal band like this one to keep the same blazing tempo and stylistic formula the second time around. Yet this time Baring Teeth offer more cesspools and sinkholes to drop into, sucking up more of the music like a slow-draining black hole, while also offering full-scale onslaught the likes of which will make your face melt just a bit too much to recover from in one sitting.Read the full review by Austin Weber at nocleansinging.com