Hostsonaten - Hostsonaten (1997)

The debut album from this Fabio Zuffanti project. An album which was meant as the new Finisterre album. Long story.........

What was the name Finisterre's loss was the beginning of an impressive Hostsonaten discography. A discography I will review during the coming months. Let's kick it off with this review..

Hostsonaten is also a famous Ingmar Bergmann movie. It is also a Swedish word. It should not come as a surprise that this album has a pretty big Swedish flavour although the musicians in Hostsonaten is from Italy. The music also has an English and an Italian flavour too. Not much Italian, though.
The music here is a mix of Swedish melancholy, as in the Ingmar Bergmann movie with the same name, and classic English symphonic prog. References are Yes, Genesis and Camel. Those and the Swedish band Kaipa. The songs are performed with guitars, flutes, keyboards, bass, drums and vocals.

The music is symphonic throughout with the Hostsonaten track clocking in at forty minutes. This album is not the most technical challenging music, theme wise. What it lacks in technical prowess, it more than reclaim in moods and melodic prowess. Some of the melodies and themes are brilliant. Others again is not that great.
My overall impression though is that this is a great album and one I am glad I got some years ago. Those into symphonic prog should really check out this album. It has certainly made me interested in this band and the other Fabio Z projects.

4 points

Underground Communication Centre - Aporia (2012)

Hmm.... It has taken me a lot to be convinced this is not the new Ahleuchatistas album or that any of the Ahleuchatistas members is involved in this Mexican band. Actually, I would not be surprised to learn if there is a connection here.

Aporia is the debut album from Underground Communication Centre. The music is experiemental, hyper bass driven disharmonic avant-garde math rock. There is hardly any melodies here. The music is entirely rhythm driven.

The music on Aporia is pretty good throughout. I still think Aporia are not in the same league as the first four  Ahleuchatistas which is the genre setting albums. But they are not far off and Aporia is a refreshing album in a my record collection. I will give this band a second chance.

2.5 points

Rhapsody Of Fire - From Chaos To Eternity (2011)

I have never been a member of this dragons & swords brigade. Those who play computer games like this and listen to theatrical power metal. Rhapsody/Rhapsody Of Fire has therefore entirely bypassed me.

This is their ninth album and it is a totally over the top dragons and swords adventure. The sound is operatic, theatrical and arch-typical power metal. I do detect that this band has moved a lot towards Dimmu Borgir or Dimmu Borgir has moved a lot towards to them. There are some black metal vocals on this album.

I am not sure what to feel about this album. The power metal cliches comes thick and fast. This is simply not my world. There is no songs I really find any good on this album. This is a decent album and that is it. If this has not been a somewhat forgotten promo album I had conveniently forgotten to review until now, I would had bypassed it altogether as I have with their eight previous albums and their brand new album. As I said; this is not my world.

2 points

Volcano - Pinata (2012)

The third album from this US band.

I am not entirely sure what to think about this album as it is a serious challenge. Style wise, they are somewhere between The Smiths, indie rock, calypso, French rock and space rock. That and total madness.
The male vocals is really over the top. They reminds me about some of the sounds coming from the patients which men in white frocks has been chasing down the street outside our local mental asylum. OK, I am half joking there. These great vocals is very special, though. Thom Yorke, they reminds me about.

The music is performed with a lot of electric and half acoustic guitars, keyboards, bass and drums. There is a lot of post rock feel over the guitars.

After overcoming the shock, I find this album a pretty good album. It is certainly blowing away the cobwebs in my brain. There is no great tracks here though. It is a good album and one I am glad I learned to know. I don't think I would really become a member of their fanclub, though. Pinata is recommended to those who want something special.

3 points  

Camel - Rain Dances (1977)

The fifth album from this giant in progressive rock.

I have really never warmed to this band. Their music is too much noodle-along instrumentals for my liking and they have inspired far too many bands to issue albums in the same vein. At worst, these albums is as much fun as watching paint dry.

Rain Dances is though Camel in two minds. Maybe due to the arrival of Richard Sinclair from Caravan etc etc on this album. Some of the material here is jazz. Some other material is the usual symphonic prog fare from Camel as per usual on the previous albums. Other songs even makes a detour into pretty commercial rock territory with clear Saga influences (the keyboards).

The result is a mixed bag, to say at least. There are some really bad stuff and some really great stuff here too. Rain Dances most of all sounds confusing and incoherent. It is only just about saved by a couple of great melodies. This album is not an album I will remember with great joy, though. A weak good is awarded.

3 points

Slatter. Tom - Mother's Been Talking To Ghosts Again (2012)

A name your price download EP from this steampunker from England. I have no idea what a steampunker is. Is steampunker a son from a steamtrain driver or is it a punker whose electric instruments is powered by steam ? Answers on a postcard, please.

Mother's Been Talking To Ghosts Again is a four songs EP with (steam powered ?) electric folk music tunes. The title track even takes some bars from an Iron Maiden song before it trundles down a folk music street. Not a bad song and the best here. All four songs are pretty vocals dominated and got some help from electric and acoustic guitars, bass and drums. Pretty basic stuff and the songs and this music reminds me a lot about Ben Rusch. The godfather of this style is off course Bob Dylan.

The songs are all decent in their own right. I am not a fan of this type of music at all so my score reflects that. If you are into the songwriter lone man with a guitar style of music, go to the link below and really get stucked in.

2.5 points

Paternoster - Paternoster (1972)

A one off album obscure band from Austria. Very little is known about them. This album disappeared into obscurity too soon after it's release. Two re-releases has again brought it to our attention. This album has rightfully claimed a cult status.

The basis here is krautrock and Paternoster should be labelled as a krautrock band. Which they are. Paternoster is not the usual krautrock fare, though. Take a chunk of The Nice, add some pastoral Genesis from the Trespass era and add a lot of Agitation Free to the mix and you get Paternoster, the album. Most of the music has this church or even cathedral organ sound. English vocals and distorted guitars is added to the cathedral organ sound. Bass and drums is added as the final touch.

The result is pretty dark pastoral krautrock which is very gloomy at times. The sound is great, but the vocals is too much in the forefront. That and the lack of a killer track or two is my gripes with this album. A cult album and one I cannot compare with any other albums in my collection. This album is pretty unique and well worth checking out. It is a very good album.

3.5 points

Gatto Marte - Danae (1997)

When researching this band for something intelligent to write about them, I found next to no reviews of their eight studio and two live albums. Which I find both strange and not fair. Danae is their debut album and their music should have gotten them a lot of attention.

Gatto Marte plays a pretty folk rock influenced uplifting form of RIO (Rock In Opposition). A good English translation is chamber rock with cello, violins, piano and other classical instruments in addition to vocals. The most famous bands in this genre is Aranis and Univers Zero. Gatto Marte can be added to the RIO list of bands. The difference between Gatto Marte and Univers Zero though is that Danae, this album, is much more like a trip to the fair than a trip to hell, as you find on most Univers Zero albums. In other words; the music on Danae is rather uplifting and positive. There is even a vocal folk song on this album. There are also some pastoral, piano driven melodies here. Some of them are even somber melodies. The overriding mood though is a pastoral, positive mood.

The material here is very good throughout. Danae is missing one or two great melodies. This though is a debut album from a band who has gone onto releasing some albums after Danae. Including an album this year. An album I have ordered on the basis of Danae. I really like what I hear and would recommend this very good album.

3.5 points

Koenjihyakkei - Hundred Sights of Koenji (1994)

The debut album from these Japanese zeuhl mongers.

They make a great entre with the opening song Loss on this album. A song which very much sounds like Magma. The female operatic vocals and the hell of a racket the band makes in the background makes in the background announces Koenjihyakkei's intentions. This is hardcore zeuhl in the vein of Magma. A brilliant song, btw. It gave me a happy grin when I heard it the first time.

The rest of the album is much more varied and Koenjihyakkei takes a lot of influences from other sources than Magma too. Koenjihyakkei is also a much more adventerous than Magma too. They also includes some Middle-East music on this album. Something that feels a bit awkward and out of place on this album. Experimentations also sometimes means failure. This album is very much an experiement and one heck of a challenge. In particular for the listener who get treated to hyper-active music. Koenjihyakkei has often been described as Magma and zeuhl on caffeine. I do not disagree with that view after some spins of this album.

Strangely enough, the album has only been created by bass, drums, guitars and keyboards. That and a lot of voices like male and female opera vocals. That and some wild male and female chants. The sound is very big though and has this feeling of being created with a lot more instruments than "only" those instruments. It is fair to say that Koenjihyakkei has got the maximum out of their rather limited resources as Hundred Sights of Koenji is a heavy weight sumo wrestler. Where Magma used an army, Koenjihyakkei has gotten the same sound/result with merely a small band of brothers/sisters.

The music on Hundred Sights of Koenji is very colourful and fireworks like. Not everything here is great. But songs like Loss, Zoltan, Molavena and Gepek is brilliant though.

Koenjihyakkei has delivered a very challenging piece of music with this album. It is a very satisfying listening though and one I really like. I highly recommend this album to all zeuhl and avant-garde fans. Koenjihyakkei has just got a new fan in me.

4 points

Horror of Horrors - Sounds of Eerie (1994)

This album was given to me by one of the greats in the death metal scene because he thought this album was rubbish. So I was a worthy owner of this album, then. I picked it up again after finding it during some house cleaning in my office. It was hidden away together with some Japanese zeuhl albums.

Horror of Horrors was a third rate death metal back in those days and never really got commercial success in the death metal scene. They were mostly overlooked throughout their three albums long career (Sounds Of Eerie were their debut album, btw). I can understand why they were ignored when listening to this album. The music is standard death metal without really being that brutal or technical. The sound is good though. This album is just a heavy slab of death metal. Just that.

I kind of like this music though and this album is not that bad. I have heard far worse death metal albums than this. I would not use the words interesting or exciting on this album, though. In small dosages, this music is OK. I award it a weak decent album status.

2 points

Gentle Giant - The Power And The Glory (1974)

The sixth album from this brilliant British eclectic prog band. One of the most fascinating bands there is/has ever been.

The Power And The Glory is all about quirky, intricate melody lines. It is about music which takes some time to get used to. The Power And The Glory is not a commercial album. The music here is baroque prog which has takes a lot from classical music too. The Power And The Glory is probably the most intricate and less accessible album Gentle Giant ever did.

Some of their most loved songs are here. Proclamation, Playing the Game and Cogs in Cogs. They are all excellent songs. The rest of the songs are superb to excellent. I love this album as I have learned to love Gentle Giant. This band knew how to make it difficult for themselves with dense music like they did on this album. Their longviety is guaranteed, though.

The Power And The Glory falls into the masterpiece category and get top score.

5 points

Eloy - Power And The Passion (1975)

This is their fourth album and Eloy has found their style. A pretty unique style somewhere space, symph and krautrock. Eloy is an arch typical German rock band.

Power And The Passion is an album with a lot of everything. Melodic melody lines in the English symph prog tradition. A lot of space rock and some krautrock work outs too. There are also some pretty cheesy pop melody lines here too.

The Hammond organ sound is very rich and satisfying throughout this album. The heavy accented English vocals is very charming and suited for this rather naive music. Naive and innocent is what this music is. There is a heavy flower power smell over this album. A German version of flower power as strong as the one in San Fransisco and the US west coast. This is what I really like about this band.

There is a lot of really great songs on this album and it is the best Eloy album I have heard so far. The best thing about this album is it's ambience and the symphonic spaced out sound. This is a great album and a good start off point for those who want to get into this band.

4 points

Reticent. The - Le Temps Detruit Tout (2012)

Hmm......... I know next to nothing about this band. It is a debut album though.

The Reticent is a band who falls into this Opeth, Tool and Riverside genre. Pretty mellow music somewhere between art rock and metal. The Opeth guitars is included. So is some weird English vocals too.Tool's darkness is here too. The same goes for a pastoral baroque soundscape too. Very arty stuff and very much what I expect from college/university kids. Intelligent music, in other words.

It is a pity that the art of writing good melodies and songs had evaded this band. Their version of REM's Loosing My Religion is the highlight of the album and that is not a good sign. The band shows glimpses of promises throughout and they operates within a very difficult music genre. Don't write off this band yet. Le Temps Detruit Tout is only a decent album though.

2 points

Broken Hope - Repulsive Conception (1995)

I have to admit I got a soft spot for death metal like this. Pretty pedestrian death metal which does not break any speed records, technical barriers or is too gory brutal. The vocals is not particular extreme, either. Death metal like this is pretty cosy. It is not particular challenging on my brain, either.

Repulsive Conception is the third album from this band who really never made it. They were a second rate death metal band, despite of being signed on Metal Blade. This album though was their best selling album. I guess that was due to the marketing by Metal Blade. This album is a decent album with a good sound. It is nothing more than that.

2 points

Electric Light Orchestra - Face The Music (1975)

Their fifth album and the follow up to the great Eldorado album.

Electric Light Orchestra still sounds like the '70s Beatles with symphony orchestra. Face The Music is a departure from the more symphonic Eldorado album and a move into radio friendly territory. The big hit from this album, Evil Woman, is pretty much a move into Motown Tamla and disco territory too. A not so good song. The rest of the album is also pretty radio friendly with some country, rock and pop. Poker is the only song I would label a great song here and it saves this album from really getting hammered. The rest of the songs are decent to good in my view.

Face The Music is a step backwards from Eldorado in my view. A weak good award is handed out.

3 points

I And Thou - Speak (2012)

I And Thou is a new US band lead by Jason Hart, keyboardist with Renaissance. Annie Haslam has done the art work and members of Izz is also helping out Jason on various instruments. Steve Hogarth from Marillion is also lending a helping hand on one track. Jason is the vocalist and keyboards player throughout. He has also written the material on Speak.

The music is almost a give away. It is classic English sounding symphonic prog (Genesis) with a lot of influences from the US scene too. Izz off course is a strong influence. I also detects some Spock's Beard and Neal Morse influences too.

The music is pastoral and softly spoken. No bombastic cascades and no fireworks.  Jason Hart's vocals is also very soft. The lack of fireworks is one of the reasons why Speak works so well. It also has this great Genesis feel from Wind & Wuthering.

Speak is softly spoken, but it still throws a big punch. Jason's keyboards is really superb here. The best song is the Genesis like title track. A superb track. There is no real weak tracks here. The material here is both an immediate hit and a grower. I suspect this is an album I will enjoy in the upcoming years and decades. My only gripe is the lack of a killer track. That though is my only gripe with this album. To all Genesis and symphonic prog fans; Christmas has come early.

4.5 points

Cobalt Blue - Still A Natural Condition (2012)

A new band from Brazil and their debut album/EP. I am not sure if twenty-five minutes qualifies as EP or album. EP it probably is. Question answered.

Cobalt Blue has often been compared to Porcupine Tree and with good reasons. Still A Natural Condition offers up music in that tradition. Cobalt Blue still have their own identity though. They also sometimes stray into jazz, folk and progressive metal too.

The material is a bit anonymouse though. This is their debut offering and this music is not the easiest type of music to master. This scene is also overcrowded. Cobalt Blue is one of the bigger talents in this scene though and I would not be surprised if they becomes one of the biggest acts in this scene. The talent is there. They need to unleash it on their (hopefully) new album. This EP is a free download from the link below. Check out this good EP.

3 points

Syrek - Machine Elves (2012)

Syrek is a prog metal band from USA and I believe this is their debut album.

It is pretty obvious Dream Theater is a big influence on Syrek. Syrek though takes their music towards darker territories too. Tool is a good reference. The pretty numetal version of Pink Floyd's Have A Cigar is also pretty dark. The music is pretty complex too with Meshuggah influences. The music is dominated by guitars and some pretty good vocals.

I am by no means a fan of progressive metal and this album does not turn me into a fan either. This is a decent album where the Pink Floyd cover is only an oddity and nothing more. Fans of the abovementioned bands and progressive metal should check out this album and band. Listening samples on Youtube.

2 points

Emerson Lake & Palmer - Works Live (1993)

This is basically a "contracts obligations" album and a 2 CDs variation of their pretty dire Emerson Lake & Palmer In Concert album from 1979. I got both as I am a collector of this band and a fan. Well, maybe an ex fan. I am not sure.

Emerson Lake & Palmer has produced one of the best ever live albums in the form of Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends from 1974. Works Live though is from another era of this band. The Works I & II albums, that is. Those were more like three solo albums, crammed into two albums.

Works Live though has a lot of very good stuff. The sound is pretty bad though and the fun factor from Welcome Back My Friends To The Show That Never Ends has largely gone. This may have something to do with the inclusion of a full symphony orchestra on this album. A symphony orchestra which almost bankrupted this tour and was sent home halfway through it. This tour is legendary as one of the most insane ideas ever from a rock band.  Emerson Lake & Palmer's ideas was generally well over the top and not particular profitable.

Despite of this, the band still manage to come up with a lot of good stuff on this tour and this double CD live album. They have even included some more old stuff like Pictures At An Exhibition. Most stuff here is from Works and not their greatest stuff, though. I still rate this live album though. I rate it to a three pointer.

3 points

Zaum - Materialismus (2012)

Zaum is an Italian space rock band and I guess PsychUp Melodies has picked up this recording from someone's vault. This is their speciality. A very good thing.

Zaum's music is not as spaced out in the outer cosmos as the other PsychUp Melodies albums. The music on Materialismus is much more song orientated than outer space rock. This is still space rock though.

The sound is the standard muddy space rock sound. The Italian atonal vocals are pretty muddy too. The music is driven by tangents and guitars. Some woodwinds is helping them out too. The bass and drums sounds dirty too.

The major problem here is the lack of any good songs. Materialismus also feels like a compilation album where two or more records has been forged into one record. Which is fair as Zaum deserve to be unleashed on the scene/the scene deserves a Zaum album. This is a decent album in my ears. I am by no means a fan of this scene so I may be a bit biased. It is available through Amazon so head over there if obscure space rock sounds interesting.

2 points

Bondage Fruit - Bondage Fruit I (1994)

Review originally published somewhere else 14. December 2010. Moved over to this blog to get a complete review of their discography.

That's what we are talking about !

This is the debut album from the Japanese band Bondage Fruit. They are labeled zeuhl, but that is a label loosely applied to their music. This album is all over the music scenes. From fusion aka Mahavishnu Orchestra to Magma. In between, they also visit African music through the likes of Osibisa, avant-garde aka Present and Univers Zero, jazz aka Miles Davis and Simak Dialogue, the Canterbury Scene aka Hugh Hopper and hippie pop bands like The B52s. And I could go on and on by mentioning references. But this list should suffice for now.

In short, Bondage Fruit takes us on a heck of a journey on this album. The guitars are both clear, acoustic and distorted. There is plenty of violins here. There is also plenty of female vocals used as sound effects. There is also plenty of drums and bass here in addition to synths. The sound, chaotic at times, is still organic and never plastic or synthetic.

Quality wise, the album is great throughout. Most of all; this is a joyful album with a lot of small details which makes the listener really concentrate hard......... and then enjoy the music. A couple of ideas are underdeveloped and leaves a lot to be desired, but this album is still great and a must have for any zeuhl/RIO fans. Even fusion and jazz fans will find this album very interesting. But be prepared to be challenged.

An excellent album and a real winter warmer is my verdict though.

4 points

Cico - Notte (1974)

Cico is a one off album from Formula 3's drummer Tony Cicco. I picked it up from a local flea market because of the cover and the Italian text on the LP. I was pretty enthusiastic about finding what I thought was a hidden Italian prog rock gem.

I could not have been proven more wrong, though. The music is Italian pop rock with some space and hard rock included too. There are also some toe curling ballads on this album too. Hit singles, I presume. They sounds pretty horrid anno 2012. Forget "pretty horrid". They are horrid. Most horrid. The rest of the songs are not much better, either. The strings arrangements is horrid. The vocals are good. The rest of the instruments are pretty bad, too. A hidden Italian prog rock gem, this album is not. It is an Italian pop rock album which sounds outdated and pretty horrid. Don't be fooled by the excellent art work. Avoid this album.

1 point

Gong - Leave It Open (1981)

Gong is a name and hardly a band in 1981. Daevid Allen is still out and Pierre Moerlen is the owner of the Gong name.

Pierre Moerlen and Hansford Rowe (bass) is the rhythm section and is exploring the rhythm world under the Gong name. So much that Pierre Moerlen's xylophone is in the front of the mix and the guitars and saxophone is pressed into the back of the mix. Melodies does not mean much here where the rhythm kings is alpha and omega. Weird !

The result is pretty good though. The melodies is not the best and it feels like Pierre Moerlen is running a bit empty now. The guitar and saxophone solos are good though and ditto for the melodies. This album is a bit one dimentional and does not throw up any surprises. It is not an album I rate highly among the Gong albums and it is nowhere as good as Gazeuse. A weak three pointer is awarded.

3 points

Grobschnitt - Jumbo (1975)

The third album from this German band. One of the biggest German bands of all time. I though have serious problems with this band. Their first two albums and the Solar Lover stuff is very good. My problem is the rest of the albums which I find pretty weak and lacking in substance.

Jumbo is one of them. Hammond organs with some guitars, bass and drums. That and some strange vocals. I have no problems with German lyrics at all as such. The vocals here is pretty dull though. The music here is pretty standard rock'n'roll with German humour and krautrock liveliness. I am failing to really get into this music. The material here is dull.

A couple of decent melody lines and songs is saving this album from the scrapyard. This album and this type of music is failing to find an appreciate audience in my household.

2 points

Formula 3 - Formula 3 (1971)

The second album from this Italian band. A band which normally is being referred to as an Italian prog rock band.

The music on this album is a mix of somewhat hard Italian pop and space rock. The guitars and keyboards are mostly distorted. Ditto for the Italian vocals. The music also takes a lot from both folk and hard rock.

The music on this album is pretty decent and only that. The very good interplays between the keyboards and the guitars the only positive I takes away from this album. The songs is pretty boring throughout. It feels like this is an album from 1967 and not 1971 though. The Italian scene had moved on in 1971 and Formula 3 was left behind. This is a pretty decent album though.

2 points

Afforested - Wolf's Heads And Woodlanders (2009)

The debut offering from this new English folk rock band. A fifteen minutes long EP, that is.

The mainly instrumental music is performed with synth, acoustic guitars, bass, drums, flute and mandolin. The dominant instrument though is the synth. Dominant because the sound is really annoying synthetic. The forest here is made by plastic and not by organic materials. The other instruments feels organic enough, though.

The music is somewhat folky and new age. There is no real teeth and no bite in this music. There is no real bark either. Just this new age symphonic annoying plastic feeling synth who goes where many has gone before. This is borderline shopping mall music. There is thankfully a proper song on this album. The male vocals are a bit over the top theatrical though and does not add much to the proceedings.

On a positive note........ The flutes are really good. Some of the songs are good too. If the synths could had been scrapped and some authentic organic music had been inserted into the mix, I am pretty sure this band has a good future. This is a decent EP and nothing more than that.

2 points

Aphrodite's Child - End Of The World (1968)

The debut album from this Greek band, lead by Demis Roussos who was a really big solo artist when I grew up. He has alone sold 40 million albums and is still going strong, to my knowledge. Aphrodite's Child was a trio and the founder of Vangelis was also in this band. Quite a trio, Aphrodite's Child.......

End Of The World was released in 1968 and a child of it's time. The music is a mix of The Beatles, Greek folk music and Pink Floyd. End Of The World is actually quite a pioneering album for it's time. The use of Hammonds is great. Gary Brooker and other tangent players must surely have been listening to this album. Demis vocals is also great. The bass and drums is also great here. Aphrodite's Child was one heck of a band on this album. I am impressed.

The Greek folk music and flower power songs here is by far the best songs on this album. The beat songs is not that good. The overall quality is really good throughout. This album is a surprise to me as I was listening to it in preparation for their 666 album. Don't go directly to that album. Lend your ears to their two other albums too.  End Of The World is a surprisingly good album.

3 points

Aqua Nebula Oscillator - Third (2012)

The third studio album from this French space/psychedelic rock band. A band I was first thought was from one of the less desirable industrial towns in Germany due to their sound.

Aqua Nebula Oscillator has a reputation for playing a mix of garage and space rock. I would label their music as dirty, muddy psychedelic rock. There is a lot of punk and new wave in their music too. That in addition to garage and spaced out psychedelic rock. Not to mention krautrock. I regard Aqua Nebula Oscillator as a borderline space rock and krautrock band.

The music here is not that spaced out, really. It is much more dug into the dirt than up there in the space. The tracks here are a lot more song orientated with verse-chorus-verse than on most space rock albums I have heard so far. The guitars, bass and vocals is mostly distorted and fuzzy. The drums is the only clear instrument here.

The songs are good and I find myself really liking this album. I am not that happy about the song structures which is far too rigid verse-chorus-verse for my liking. A couple of great tracks would not go amiss too. But this band has an undeniable charm and I will get their other albums too. This is a good album.

3 points

Def Leppard - Hysteria (1987)

This album was released 3. August 1987 and is therefore 25 years and two days old.

I am one of those who did not particular enjoy Def Leppard's three first albums. Pyromania is OK. I had no wishes to get Hysterian back in August 1997. But I was swept away by the emotions and the miracle of the drummer who played/plays drums with one arm. So I got this album, played it and liked what I heard. It was a massive seller too. A well deserved best seller. More than twenty years has gone since I have played this album. I noticed the 25 years anniversary on Facebook and dusted of this album.

I am by no means a fan of big hair metal and AOR. Hysteria is unashamed that. It also has a sound I have not heard on any other album too. It has this almost organic techno sound. The songs are also very commercial too. I should really hate this album. But I don't hate it.

The songs are all great. The title track a superb song and the best song on Hysteria. The other songs are masterfully crafted too. There is a lot of excellent vocal and guitar harmonies on this album. The drums and bass is superb. Hysteria is by far the best of the big hair heavy metal albums and one of the last hurray of this genre before Nirvana's Nevermind album blew this scene out of the water and back to the underground again. Hysteria is anno 2012 a great album. It sounds better anno 2012 than back in 1987. It will not take me 20 years plus before I put it in my CD player again. Regard it as a regular in my living room. Happy anniversary !

4 points

Awad. Amadeus - Time Of The Equinox (2012)

Amadeus Awad is a guitarist from Lebanon and this is his first album. He has got some help from one of Yngwie Malmsteen's vocalists. That kind of gives the game away. Or gives Time Of The Equinox away.

Another guitar god who is throwing his axe around in a recording studio. Thankfully, this album has something more to offer than pure shredding. Some proper song structures and some pretty pastoral melodies. A lot of power metal too. Amadeus or his marketing people has described this as a meeting between his guitar and Middle East music. Maybe that was the idea before it hit the record studio. The result is much more like power metal from Scandinavia, though. Did I mention Yngwie Malmsteen ? I think I did.

Amadeus Awad is probably a guitar god. Time Of The Equinox is a pretty decent album with some pretty dull melodies. This is not entirely a terrible album. I cannot really say I enjoy it though. A decent album, nevertheless.

2 points

Qwaarn - My Achievements (2012)

Another band from Quebec, Canada. My Achievements is their third album. Their previous albums are The World Of Qwaarn from 2004 and Abberations from 2007.

As with all bands from Quebec, Qwaarn have their own twist on their genre. In this case, neo prog. Qwaarn's takes neo prog down a pretty dark alley. The vocals are a pretty dark and so is the sound. A sound based on tangents and some guitars. This in addition to bass and drums.

The music is pretty pedestrian. It never really takes off. There is no really great or even good music here. I have been listening to this album both at home, at my office and on the walks between these two locations. I have always wondered when this album was coming to life. I am still asking myself the same question. This is a decent album with good musicianship. The songs are pretty underwhelming though.

A decent album, but nothing more.

2 points

Kosmoratik - Gravitation (2012)

Kosmoratik is a new Oslo based Norwegian trio and Gravitation is their debut album. None of the members are spring chickens though.

The music too is pretty mature. References are the likes of Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Caravan, indie pop and cool jazz. The vocals is both male and female. There is a lot of half-acoustic jazz guitars and keyboards here. Ditto for male and female vocal harmonies. The bass and drums is also pretty jazzy. There is also a lot of Gilmour era Pink Floyd references here. I also get some faint Gazpacho vibes here.

The sound is excellent breezy cool. The songs are all very good. My main gripe is the lack of one great song or more. The band and this album is sailing very close to being great. But they are not quite there yet. This band has something going on and I really hope we will hear a lot more from them. Keep up your good work, guys.

3.5 points

King Crimson - Starless And Bible Black (1974)

Two days ago, I was asked which King Crimson albums I would recommend. My answer was all studio albums + as many live albums you could get hold of. That is what I have done. Purchased every KC albums I could get hold of. With good reasons, I have to add. I rate KC very highly (surprise !).

Starless And Bible Black is their sixth album and not the most prolific one of the seven albums Mk I setup (who ended with Red). It has all the KC quirkyness though with a mix of avant garde RIO like melodies, some quirky rhythm fests and some more accessible songs. Great songs like The Night Watch, the title track and the opening track, the slightly bewildering The Grand Deceiver. Not everything here is fantastic. This album is a captivating album though. "Captivating" is Robert Fripp and KC's trademark, btw.

I am fascinated by this band and Starless And Bible Black fuels my fascination. This is music for my brain... and sometimes my heart too. A great album.

4 points

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (1975)

This one does not really deserve a review on a small blog like The Sound Of Fighting Cats. But for the first time in my life, I am listening through the whole Pink Floyd disco. So here follows some words about Wish You Were Here.

The album starts with the first part of the Syd Barrett tribute Shine On You Crazy Diamond. A truly brilliant track and one of the best songs ever. A couple of very good songs follows before the brilliant title track arrives. The final part of Shine On You Crazy Diamond closes this album.

Wish You Were Here is one of the giants of the classic rock and prog rock history. It's position is justified. It is a superb album. I still think it could had been better. It is too pedestrian for my liking. But Wish You Were Here is still a superb album.

4.5 points

Blue Öyster Cult - Blue Öyster Cult (1972)

The debut album from this US band.

Blue Öyster Cult is a band I have difficulties finding any label for. Ditto for this album. Heavy art rock is perhaps the best label I can come up with. Some comparissons with Bad Company is also evident.

Blue Öyster Cult is setting out their stall on an over crowded market with this album. The music is based on guitars, some keyboards, bass and drums. The vocals are good. The production is not particular good. The music is not particular heavy. It is much more intelligent and intricate than hard.

An album with two very good songs in the form of Starway To The Stars and Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll. The rest of the material is pretty good too. Good, but a bit anonymouse. This though is a good album from a very interesting band.

3 points

Frampton. Peter - Frampton Comes Alive! (1976)

A long personal story....... When I was a kid, I wanted to buy this album. This and Smokie's Greatest Hits album. I went for the latter one though. A pretty dire album, though. Smokie was a dire band. So I did not get the Frampton Comes Alive alive album until three weeks ago when I picked it up in a car boot sale for some pennies. Was it worth the wait ?

Wikipedia is my friend and it tells me Peter Frampton is an English man and has previously played in Humble Pie. His biggest selling album was this, the Frampton Comes Alive! album. It has sold zillions copies and is one of the most selling live albums of all time. It has spawned some hits too and there is always a radio station around this planet playing songs from this album. Frampton Comes Alive! is a huge album in the world of classic rock. I have not seen any of his other albums though. He has released more than ten studio albums. The last one two years ago. He is most/only known for this live album. A very strange case, Peter Frampton's career. He is still gigging and I guess he is still financially living well on Frampton Comes Alive! somewhere in the sunny part of USA. A smart choice !

The music........ Commercial classic pop-rock in the 1970s vein. Not many power-chords can be found here. The hit singles is a bit too sugary sweet and sickness inducing. This album has not aged well.

...... Despite of aging a bit disgraceful, this album and the music here has some endearing qualities. It is a charming meeting with a very good guitarist and artist. His use of the talkbox is excellent. He is a very good guitarist and the long instrumental parts on this album is really great.

Yes, this is a bit of a cheesy album and it has not aged well. But it is also a good album which deserve a second chance. I actually recommend it, shocking as it sounds. Most car boot sales and flea markets have a copy so go check them out and pick up a copy from there or you can even buy a new copy from the usual places. Frampton Comes Alive! will stay with us for decades to come. In my view; for all the right reasons too.

3 points

Mostly Autumn - The Spirit Of Autumn Past (1999)

The second album from these folk/prog musicians. A band which arguably started this female fronted prog bands scene. Heather Findlay, the vocalist here, is a pioneer in the scene.

I am normally guilty in making some long detours around this scene in hunt for some more intellectually stimulating music. The music on The Spirit Of Autumn Past is warm, celtic music orientated female fronted rock. The song compositions is pretty symphonic and intricate. Heather Findlay's vocals is intertwined with Bryan Josh vocals. This reminds me about Touchstone a lot. Mostly Autumn was here first though and it is evident that Touchstone has been very inspired by them. Not only when it comes to the vocals too.
Heather's vocals is excellent and Josh vocals is great. The vocals one of the best reasons why we should love this band. The synths and the many other instruments creates music in the junction between celtic folk and rock. Symphonic prog rock, I hasten to add.

Mostly Autumn is a great band and even I as a staunch sceptic of this scene have to admit I really enjoy this album. My main gripe with it is the lack of any truly great tracks. The album is also a bit bubblegum pop in some of the rather commercial verse-chorus-verse songs. These songs is somewhat lacking in substance. I am though slowly, but surely turning into a Mostly Autumn admirer, although this album is not really that great. A 3/4 point split is my verdict.

3.5 points

Area - Arbeit Macht Frei (1973)

For some reasons, I have not dared touching my collection of Area albums. I think this is both lack of bravery and experience. I am though a fan of both Soft Machine and Picchio Dal Pozzo. Two bands who often are mentioned in the same sentence as this Italian band. Area was also the forefather of the more avant garde jazzy side of the Italian scene. After listening to this album a lot, I understand why. If you like any of these three bands, you will also like the two other bands. Area and this album has very much fulfilled my cravings for more Soft Machine.

This album starts with what I believe is a Jewish prayer as "Arbeit Macht Frei" is what is written over the Auschwitz concentration camp gate. Both a fitting and mood setting start of this album.

The music on Arbeit Macht Frei is a heady mix of Italian prog rock, jazz, Canterbury (Soft Machine) and avant-garde. Demetrio Stratos vocals is a bit strange and an acquired taste. The music is performed with woodwinds, bass, drums, guitars and tangents though. There is not a substandard tone on this album. My only gripe with this album is the lack of one truly brilliant song. Arbeit Macht Frei is still a great album and a must have album. The two best songs is Consapevolezza and the title track.

I am though glad I waited some years before I explored this album as this is not easy listening music. Those who wait for something good.....

4 points

Kong - Merchants Of Air (2012)

The seventh album from this Dutch band. I first time heard about them back in the early 1990s when they were signed on a Peaceville sub-label and had a couple of their tracks on their samplers. Weird music and I took a note of this band for further explorations. Merchants Of Air is my first Kong album though. First, but not the last.

The album sets off as a rocket down the industrial metal alley in the direction of Senmuth. I was not pleased first time I put this album on as I was fearing the worst. The music is guitar based with a lot of samples added on in addition to bass and drums. The guitars are pretty harsh.
Then, the true identity of this album, and probably Kong, emerges. It is still industrial instrumental music, but with a human face. There is a lot of guitar harmonies and almost soft landscape emerging on remaining majority of the album. A lot of very interesting details. This is still industrial metal though and this is not a music style I really like. Merchants Of Air is the best album I have heard in this genre since the second album from Red Harvest back in 1994.

Merchants Of Air; an industrial album with a human face. Bring on the flower power industrialists Kong. This is a very good album in my view, somewhere between 3 and 4 points.

3.5 points

Churn Milk Joan - Black & Ginger (2012)

The second album from this Richard Knutson (Plum Flower Embroidery. Neutral Sons, The Chacers) and Colin Robinson (Big Block 454) collaboration.

This album continues in the same path as their first album One. Richard's vocals on the top of Colin's numerous instruments and sound making devices. That list is very long. There are also some instrumental parts here on these rather very long tracks. The title track takes us over thirteen minutes.

What label do I put on this ? Krautrock is probably the best label. Can is a good reference. In other words; the more funky, psychedelic end of the krautrock spectre scene. The music is also minimalistic and as the duo has described it themselves; less is more. Which in the case of this album is spot on. Black & Ginger is a minimalistic album.

Best song on this album is the very melodic, haunting title track. Their best ever song, I believe. The quality is very good throughout and this album should give krautrock fans and others a lot of pleasure. It is also a streamed and a "name your price" album, although the payment system did not accept "my neighbour" as payment. Despite of this technical glitch, it is well worth checking out this album.

3.5 points

Ange - Guet Apens (1978)

The sixth album from these French symphonic progsters.

Ange's sound is a mix of French folk, theatre music and English symphonic prog. Guet Apens is no exception from this rule. Christian Decamps vocals is very theatrical and is in the forefront of the mix. They are supported by keyboards, guitars, flute, drums and bass. The result is an album with both folk and symph prog. French prog, in other words.

I am not overawed by the quality of the songs here. I cannot really get into this album as I have gotten into their previous albums. This album is a solid Ange album, but nothing more. A couple of great tracks is sadly missing. This is a very good album, though.

3.5 points

Storm Corrosion - Storm Corrosion (2012)

The much hyped cooperation between Steven Wilson and Michael Akerfeldt. The two darlings of today's prog rock scene.

I may sound overly sarcastic and unfair. I do not mean to be negative. Both  Steven Wilson and Michael Akerfeldt has done wonderful things for the music scene and they are rightfully so the biggest two profiles in today's prog rock scene. When they team up, the result is justified hype.

Steven Wilson comes in from a more eclectic direction and Michael Akerfeldt from a more death metal direction. By logic, the result should had been a mix of those two genres. Storm Corrosion is anything by a logical step from those two guys. That is a positive in my view. Let them wait in suspense and then give, the general public, a big surprise.

Storm Corrosion is a big surprise indeed. It is an ambient folk rock album with a lot of the Scandinavian melancholy and the English quirkiness. It is a truly remarkable album by any standards. A bolt of lightening I did not expect and one it has taken me a long time to devour.

The songs are performed with mellotron, guitars, drums and woodwinds. Steven's vocals has been hidden down in the mix and works more like an instrument than traditional vocals.

The quality of the songs are good throughout with a few flashes of greatness. I cannot though free myself from the impressions that this is an album full of left overs from Opeth, Steven;s solo careers and Porcupine Tree. Left overs stripped down and adapted into the Storm Corrosion setting. It leaves the impression that this is a pretty cheap album. I may be wrong. But that is the impression I have got and I cannot free myself from it.

This is by all means a good album and a fine debut album. I hope we will hear a lot more from this partnership. But I cannot overlook this album's shortcomings too. An appropriate rating has been applied. I still want more from this partnership.

3 points

Runemagick - The Supreme Force of Eternity (1998)

The debut album from this Swedish death/doom metal band. For some reasons I cannot remember/do not know, I got all their albums and this is # 1 of a full run through of all their albums.

Runemagick started out as a straight death metal band. This album has a neat mix of the Sunlight sound (Entombed, Dismember, Grave) and the Gothenburgh sound (At The Gates). The music is not particular brutal. Neither is it overly melodic either. Middle of the road Swedish death metal, I would say.

I have not been listening to Swedish death metal for a long while and this album rekindle a long dormant interest I have in this scene. The quality is decent throughout without really being good. It is obvious the band has a lot of quality, but that does not shine through on this album.

A decent album, but nothing more.

2 points

Barclay James Harvest - Once Again (1971)

The second album from this English band. I have never really been bothered enough about Barclay James Harvest to check them out. But a lot of my friends rates them highly and their debut album was also quite a revelation. So I got some of their albums.

Once Again is supposed to be one of their best albums. I was not that impressed with it during the first two listening sessions. But this album is a grower and needs a couple of weeks to really sinks in.

The album starts with one of the truly brilliant songs on this album. The mellotron opening of She Said, that is. Woolly Wolstenholme's mellotron is really dominating this album together with John Lees's guitars and vocals. The sound is lush and the typical 1970s sound. Once Again is much more leaning on The Beatles than the likes of ELP. This album is what The Beatles would had become had they gone more progressive after the Sgt Pepper's album. Once Again is about songs. Great songs.

She Said is a brilliant song. The other brilliant song is Mocking Bird, which I believe was a hit single. A song it is difficult to get out of my head again. The rest of the songs is somewhere between very good and superb.

Once Again is highly rated by most people. A just rating in my view. I am now seriously interested in this band. Thank you for Once Again.

5 points

Dik Dik. I - I Grandi Successi (2005)

A compilation album with old and new songs from this Italian pop/beat combo.

This band has been around since 1964 or there about. Mostly with the same members. They have even released some good albums too, I have heard.

This compilation album is a mix of beat and pop tunes. Most of them cover versions and reworked versions of English tunes where the original lyrics has been replaced with Italian lyrics. We get Joe Cocker, Procol Harum and other songs here with Italian lyrics.

The result proves that I should be a bit more restrictive in my purchases from the local flee markets. This is an album I should have left to the local Italian community to enjoy instead. Which I will do at the next flee market. This is as far as my personal preferences in music it is possible to get. This is a painful album.

1 point

Can - Monster Movie (1969)

The debut album from this highly influential German band. A band who inspired the dance, house, techno and whatever computer generated music the market is dominated by today. Can is perhaps best known as one of John Peel's favourite bands. A truly eclectic cult band. I am myself a fan of their third album Tago Mago so I thought it was a good idea to get the remaining four out of their five first/best albums too.

Monster Movie displays all the hallmarks of a krautrock album. Harsh guitars and a dynamic bass thumping through repetetive, techno like melodies. Although, Monster Movie is only half of that again. The rest is more melodic music aka the San Fransisco flower power music.

The result is a pretty melodic, well rounded krautrock album with good sound and some good melodies. The four minutes long second song Mary, Mary so Contrary is a good example on that. The other three songs are good too, but more in the traditional krautrock vein with repetetive melody lines and kind of improvisations on the top of them.

As a debut album, this is a good album which really has made me more interested in Can. So, John Peel has been proven right some years after his tragic passing. Can is most definate worthy our attention. I salute you, John Peel.

3 points

Saga - Generation 13 (1995)

Buying Saga post 1982 albums is like playing Russian roulette. You never know if you get a bullet or just a loud click.

Generation 13 is a concept album. One of many concept albums around. It is about a young guy called Sam and he growing up in USA (I presume). The lyrics makes sense. The music is everywhere and feels like it has been cobbled together. We get everything from house and europop to some ballads.

I am all for concept albums. The point of a concept album is the concept. Not only the lyrics, but also the music. I am failing to see the musical concept here. The large gaps between the ballads and the cyber metal melodies on this album is too wide to be called a concept. None of the melodies are anywhere being good either. This whole concept album, supposed concept album, falls flat on it's face. With the exception of Michael Sadler's vocals, nothing of Saga can be found on this album too. This album is not for me and I find it tragic bad. And this review has been written by a man who discovered prog rock through Saga.

1 point

Di Tollo. Maurizio - L Uomo Trasparente (2012)

The debut album from what I believe is the drummer in the Italian bands L’Ombra Della Sera, Distillerie Di Malto, La Maschera Di Cera, Moongarden and Höstsonaten. The Facebook page for this album/Maurizio di Tollo is in Italian and I don't understand much/anything of it. The music though is universal and speaks to me in a language I understand.

Let's not beat around the bush here. The music on this album is in the Italian symphonic prog tradition. A tradition strongly influenced by ELP/Genesis and then merged with the local folk and pop music. It is an own genre called Rock Progressivo Italiano (RPI). A lot of great music and albums has been the result. L Uomo Trasparente should be added to this list.

L Uomo Trasparente is most of all a continuation and a sound wise brush up of the 1970s  Rock Progressivo Italiano sound and tradition. We are living in 2012 now and so is this album too. The sound is excellent. The music has a lot of moog, mellotrons, piano and synths which is floating as a carpet over a rich Italian musical landscape. Add the guitars too and some excellent vocals. I do not know the name of the vocalists here. But they are all great and really deserve credits for this album. I believe though that the vocalist is Alessandro Corvaglia and an unnnamed female vocalist. Correct me if I am wrong (which Maurizio has just done. He is the vocalist. Excellent job, Maurizio !!!!) .
The drums by Maurizio di Tollo is also great and ditto for the bass.

The music is both majestic and pastoral at the same time. Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso, Le Orme and Premiata Forneria Marconi is good references.

All songs here are really great with the majestic La Poesia Della Carne being the best song.  L Uomo Trasparente is a classic Rock Progressivo Italiano album, bound to really please all fans of this genre.

4.5 points

Ninth Moon Black - Kalyug (2010)

The second offering from this band from the Pacific Northwest area of USA.

I was not impressed by their first offering (see my review from June). A bit too chaotic instrumental metal and clever for the sake of being clever for my liking. Kalyug is a bit of a step in the right direction though. Less chaos and more post-rock like structures. The music is much more relaxed this time around and shoegazing. More melancholy than all out rage.

Clocking in at thirty minutes and a free album, this album is dominated by guitars, drums and bass. That ansd some voice sound samples of the likes of Stephen Hawkins. This type of music is by no means my cup of tea. But I like this album a lot. I like their attitude and the ambience on this album. I think it deserves a lot of expo too. Link below to a free download.

3 points

EliphasZ - Le royaume des poussières (2012)

The Quebec scene has delivered some stunning albums and bands during the last forty years. Harmonium was probably the best band from this French speaking province and city in Canada.

I am glad to report the finding of another Quebec band with a great potential. A band pretty close to Harmonium in many ways. Their style and sound is a blend of Harmonium, some jazz, folk in the Cano vein and the English band Touchstone.

Le royaume des poussières is their debut album and the male and female vocals are in French. Great vocals. The music is rather understated too and so is the songs. The instrumentation is vocals, acoustic and half acoustic guitars, flutes, keyboards, drums, bass, mandolin and some tasty sound effects.

The album starts with the very good twenty minutes long Les lieux de mémoire. The other songs are clocking in at the average five minutes mark though. Not everything here is great, but I have really enjoyed this album. It is a "name your price" album too and well worth the investment. This band has a future and I hope to hear a lot more from this band in the future.

3.5 points