(61:45; Weltenblau) Track list: : One Life 1. The Spirit Of Nature 6:49 2. The Spirit Of Man 1:40 3. Magic Eyes 4:49 4. Another Life 11:43 5. The Same Old Way 5:26 : Two Steps Ahead Of Time 6. F.M. 1916 1:27 7. Dolphin's Ride 5:25 8. A Pair Of Hands 6:15 : Challenge Of The Unknown 9. In The Dark 6:01 10. Greater Unknown 2:14 11. Now And Here 3:02 12. In Every Stranger's Eyes 6:54 Line-up: Eva-Maria Baumann - flute, vocals Hartwig Dieterich - bass Thomas Glönkler - guitars Ralf Grossmann - vocals, guitars Steffen Herrmann - keyboards Joachim Lauber - drums Prolusion. German band ICU was formed back in 1989, and until the band disbanded in 1997 they released three studio albums. Their arguably most renowned album was their second one, "Now and Here", which dates back to 1995. In the second half of 2025 this album was given an anniversary reissue through German label Weltenblau. Analysis. In the liner notes of the album, it is described that there was a disagreement with...

(44:30; Giant Face) Formed in 2023, UK band Giant Face describe themselves as a prog metal outfit, and a few months ago released their debut album. All four core members of the band are multi-instrumentalists, but on this release provided the following, Freddie Whaley (drums), Will Herrick (bass), Charlie Hilton (keyboards) and Ben Walker (guitar). However, this is not an instrumental album, and lead vocals were provided by Adam Pugh on a session basis but surely he will become a full member as his vocals are key to this. I am not surprised to find these guys have all been studying music at university as the band they remind me of is Mr. So & So who had a somewhat similar background. Sadly they are long gone although guitarist Dave Foster is still very active in the scene (Steve Rothery, Big Big Train, Legend and many more), and while that band was heavily based around the complex basslines, here we have an outfit who are precociously young and bringing together complex threads in ...

(40:34; Compassionizer) I spent a lot of the Eighties listening to hard rock/metal and heading back into the Seventies to listen to classic prog as I just didn’t get much of what was going on in the pop charts, and consequently while I was certainly aware of Depeche Mode, I never voluntarily listened to any of their music and own none of their releases. In the UK they have had 54 songs in the charts, 17 Top 10 albums, and have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and are still a working entity more than 40 years after they originally started, but I can’t name a single song of theirs so to be presented with a tribute EP containing six songs and lasting 41 minutes is somewhat difficult to review. Or is it? As I don’t recognise any of the songs all I can do is treat this as an EP of new material, as I cannot comment on whether the interpretation adds anything to the original, shines a new light or brings to the fore some unrecognised hidden beauty. Mostly instrumental, we have Ser...

(47:16; Karisma Records) Here we have the follow-up to 2023’s ‘Fire Fortellinger’, and again Frøislie has been joined by Nikolai Hængsle (bass guitars) while  Ketil Einarsen (flute, recorder) has also been involved. Frøislie provides vocals, drums and a wonderful array of keyboards,  Hammond C3 with Leslie 147, Mellotron M400, Minimoog Model D, Chamberlin M-1, Hohner Clavinet D6, Yamaha CP70B, William de Blaise spinet, Arp Pro Soloist, Arp Axxe, Solina String Ensemble, Tremoloa, Rhodes mkII, Wurlitzer 200, recorder. Anyone using a Hammond C3, Mellotrons, Moogs and Hohner are going to be producing sounds evocative of a certain period and yet again we are in a time machine, heading back to the Seventies. I find it fascinating that some bands get huge amounts of reviews and a real groundswell of opinion while others struggle, and there is no doubt that this album falls into the former. The title itself is derived from the ancient oak tree Den Gamle Mester, which can be found at K...

(46:46; Karisma Records) This is the second album from Wobbler (and White Willow) keyboard player Lars Fredrik Frøislie to be released this year, but I am reviewing it first as this is actually a new version of his 2023 debut, now with Italian vocals provided by Stefano "Lupo" Galifi (Museo Rosenbach). Apart from bassist Nikolai Hængsle, all music is provided by Lars, and it is basically a huge list of keyboards: Hammond C3, Mellotron M400, Minimoog D, Chamberlin M1, Hohner Clavinet D6, spinet, Yamaha electric piano, ARP Axxe & Pro Soloist synths, Solina String Ensemble, Rhodes MKII, Wurlitzer 200, tremoloa (zither), recorder, drums. I have not heard the original release, ‘Fire Fortellinger’, but I can certainly hear why Frederik wanted the mighty Galifi involved as this is solid RPI as opposed to symphonic, and the Italian vocals make that even more so.  It contains just four songs, with two six-minute pieces bookended by two sixteen-minute numbers, although I must say t...

(50:36; Cobalt Wave) Formed in Gdańsk, Poland, in 2022 the current line-up came together the following year and features Arkadiusz Biskup (drums), Kuba Łopatka (vocals, guitars), Mikołaj Piotrzkowski (keyboards), Daniel Wicenty (bass) and Marcin Zazoniuk (guitars). I have long been a huge admirer of the progressive rock which comes out of Poland – they have a rich heritage and a very deep well of talent, much of the time performing in a very Western style with English lyrics, and that is what we have here on an album which is highly themed on the fear and fascination with technology. I am particularly taken with opener “New Religion”, which in many ways reminds me of Ben Elton’s wonderful (and frightening) 2007 novel, “Blind Faith”, with their view that social media is now being worshipped like a cult and that we must always remember to “like, share and subscribe”. Musically this is a mix between crossover and neo, very much in a modern progressive style, often with piano at the base, ...