Prelude - Voyage (1979)

Prelude was a Belgium band and this was their one and only album.

Prelude has been described as a proto-neo prog band and I can agree with that. Proto-neo prog is a good label. Their music is a mix of Pink Floyd anno Wish You Were Here, Yes anno Close To The Edge, Rush anno 2112, space and kraut rock. It was if Prelude were in a prog rock supermarket and filled up their shopping trolley with all these sounds and influences.

The sound is pretty good and the band does their best on keyboards, guitars, bass and drums. The vocals are good too.

The music is good throughout. The move to a much more space/kraut rock direction on side B of this album is an improvement and I really like side B. The rest of the album is OK. Which gives this album......

3 points

Portals - A Continuous Spectrum (2012)

An US band from Cleveland. This is their debut album too.

We are -again- heading deep into instrumental experiemental shoegazing metal. This has become a big scene now. Even in my local area where fans of this music now have a lot of gigs and new bands to choose between. Strange...... This is not my generation though.

A Continuous Spectrum though is stretching out a hand to my generation with some classical music kind of pianos inbetween all this shoegazing guitar riffs waves. That piano is interesting though and sets this band a part from name-any-other-bands-here. It is an interesting detail, but it really does not add any quality to this album, though.

The music is decent throughout without really impressing me. I have heard a lot of  instrumental experiemental shoegazing metal lately and this is not among the best ones. An added half a point for the piano and I hope they incorporate that a lot more in the future instead of just using it as an add on.

2.5 points

Pane - Orsa Maggiore (2011)

The third album from this Italian band. A band, make that a project, lead by the author and (opera) singer Claudio Orlandi.

I have not had the chance to listen to or even encountered the first two Pane albums. I therefore have no idea what they sounds like. Pane and the Orsa Maggiore is largely a vehicle for Claudio's voice. That voice is dominating this album. His voice is very good though. The music itself is folk rock with a lot of pop influences. It is being performed by flutes, piano, keyboards, guitar and drums. There is no bass here.

Claudio's vocals is everywhere and the music itself never gets the chance to breathe on it's own. There is too much Claudio in my view in Pane. Less is more, I would say. The vocals is also a bit too much in my face and I get the feeling of being screamed at. When that is said, this is a pretty good album though. It has a good ambience and the ballads are very good. That's when Claudio takes his foot/voice of the accelerator and let's his voice and the music breathe.

Orsa Maggiore is not everyone's cup of tea and I think Angelo Branduardi does this genre far better than Pane. It is a good album, though.  

3 points

Pyramid - Pyramid (1976)

"Musicians unknown" is all it says on the album sleeve of this pretty legendary krautrock album from Germany. It was produced and unleashed by Dieter Dierks (producer on numerous krautrock albums, but most known for being the producer for the multi million selling Scorpions). Either he is going to reveal the band members or he is taking this secret to his grave. I guess the latter. I may send him an email and ask this question, though.

This album consists of one track only, the thirty-three minutes long Dawn Defender. A space rock work out who never really becomes boring. Half an hour is a long time for one track. It's themes varies between electronics to hard psych and cosmic work outs. This is the krautrock genre distilled into thirty-three minutes, to a large degree.

The music is performed with plenty of distorted guitars, hammond organs, flutes, a bass whose in the forefront of the mix, drums and some tabla drums. The unknown musicians is doing a great job and it is my guess that they are from bands like Ash Ra Temple, Amon Duul II and perhaps Popol Vuh. The monicker Pyramid has been used to avoid problems with their respective record labels like Mekong Delta also did on their first albums.

The music is good throughout with the middle bit the best bit. This album has a deserved cult status. Unfortunate, the sound is not that good. This is still a good album and would please any krautrock fans.

3 points

Phideaux - Friction (1992)

The debut album from this now so prolific US prog band.

Friction is not prog, to say at least. Twenty songs in the English indie vein. I only remember The Smiths from that scene and there is some of that band in Friction. The vocals, for example. There was a lot of more light hearted bands in this scene too whose names escapes me. Friction remains me about these nameless bands. The same sound, the same vocals and the same type of music. This is an indie record.

The quality is very poor throughout and this album has a high cringe percentage. No wonder Phideaux has largely disowned it as it has nothing to do with today's Phideaux...... I hope. Friction is an album which deserve to be forgotten.

1 point

Popol Vuh - Affenstunde (1970)

The debut album from this German krautrock band. I recently got their first ten albums and something tells me I am in for a very bumpy ride.

Popol Vuh is basically Florian Fricke's band. An electronic music pioneer in Tangerine Dream. This album is also all about electronic pulses with some tablas and a mellotron at the end. That's after this album has mostly sent me to sleep. I can get the same experience from a vacuum cleaner, hitting some pop corn and strawberry jam. I am not a fan of diddly-daddly electronic soundscapes and this album just falls flat on it's face. Don't bother about this album.

1 point

Sebastian Hardie - Windchase (1975)

The final album of this Australian band's two legendary 1970s albums. I really liked their first album Four Moments and was looking forward to hear this album.

Sebastian Hardie played and probably still plays (on their new album) symphonic prog with emphasis on long compositions. Their sound is a local version of the English symph prog sound from the other side of the planet. Sebastian Hardie very much had their own sound, though. A sound also incorporating fusion and jazz too.

The music is performed with mellotron, keyboards, guitars, bass and drums. There are also some vocals here. This album starts with the long and lingering hymn like title track. A twenty minutes long track where the first three quarters Camel like music are good and the final five minutes are great in it's crescendo like final act. Altogether a great track. The four shorter compositions, which forms the other half of this album, is pretty good too. The title track though is the best composition here.

This album is a very good symph prog album from a band who was too short lived, but still make a pretty big impression on the scene. They were no doubts the best prog band to come out of down under in the 1970s. The legend status of this album is almost deserved too.

3.5 points

Eclat - Volume 3 (1997)

The third album from this French band I have heard so much good about. It was about time I checked them out myself.

The music is instrumental symphonic prog with some folk and jazz rock influences. It is my understanding that Volume 3 is a transitional album between their symph and jazz rock phases. I got their two new albums too so I will check that out in due time.

The music is pretty pedestrian symphonic prog with really breaking into some great melodies. The great guitars is the best thing about this album. There is something very satisfying in their music though and this make it a good album. I do not find much of the quirkyness I find in most French albums and this is something I find is sorely missing on Volume 3. Neither is this album particular exciting either.

It is a good album, though.

3 points

Lane. Lana - El Dorado Hotel (2012)

Lana Lane has returned after a 4 years long break. Lana Lane who ? Me to asked myself that question. After a research, I have found out she is Erik Norlander's wife and that she has released a lot of albums. Both in her own name and as a co-op with her husband and others.

Lana Lane is the vocalist and probably the songwriter too on this album. Her vocals is great. The music is melodic hard rock with a lot of AOR influences. There are some chugging guitars, keyboards, drums and bass on this album. There is no real hard metal blazing songs here. This album is in the 1980s hard rock spirit. A genre where the likes of the female fronted prog bands in England, Holland and Finland is now trespassing into. This is a crowded scene.

I normally despise this type of music. This album has grown on me a lot, though. A bit worrying, though. This album is not to be overlooked for those into female fronted melodic hardrock and prog. Yes, there are some rather cheesy cliches here. Her use of vocals box is something I hoped we had seen the last of in 1985. Nasty, nasty. Move to jail, Lana Lane. The rest of the album is rather good and I am awarding it a weak good award. Will I ever play this album again ? Probably not. But fans of this type of music should check out this album.

3 points

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