(68:03; SOE Records) Track list: 1. Overture 3:11 2. Round and Round 8:25 3. Air Dance, Part 1 0:36 4. Universe 7:50 5. Air Dance, Part 2 0:58 6. Darling 10:02 7. Air Dance, Part 3 1:22 8. No End 12:14 9. R-and-G Time 4:07 10. Wings of the Fast Lane 19:18 Line-up: Vitaly Popeloff - vocals, guitars Evgeniy Popelov - vocals, keyboards Al Khalmurzaev - vocals, bass Vladimir Badirov - drums, percussion Prolusion. Uzbekistan band Fromuz have been around for the better part of two decades at this point, but they have been fairly silent for around a decade or so now. But after a nine year long hiatus as a recording band they have a new album out. The album is called "The Asymmetric Rules", and is released on a label called SOE Records. Analysis. Fromuz is a band that I recall as more of an eclectic oriented unit that draws in impulses from many different aspects of progressive rock, and even after almost a decade of silence this is a quality the band still has a desire to explore. W...

(55:15; Melodic Revolution Records) As may be guessed from the title, this is the third album from Christian progressive melodic rock band Time Horizon. They have been through quite a few line-up changes since their inception, but whereas the last album was featured around the core of Ralph Otteson (keyboards, piano, Hammond organ, backing vocals), Allen White (electric and fretless bass) and Dave Miller (electric guitar, acoustic guitars) plus assorted well-known session musicians such as Jake Livgren, Tony Kaye, Billy Sherwood etc, we now have a six-piece band with the trio being joined by David Bradley Mau (lead vocals, keyboards), Bruce Gaetke (drums, backing vocals, lead vocals), and Michael Gregory (electric guitar, acoustic guitars), although it should be noted that Gaetke was an original member of the band, although he performed on only a few tracks on the last album. What strikes one immediately from the off is just how polished this is, and I was blown away as I did not expec...

(73:44; Moonjune Records) Swiss guitarist Stephan Thelen has a strong reputation for releasing uncompromising and interesting music, and the latest Fractal Guitar album demonstrates that clearly. Recorded in lockdown, each of the pieces started with Stephan constructing a delay in a weird time signature, building around that, and then sending it off to another guitarist to see what they made of it and what they could add to it. These guitarists, Markus Reuter, David Torn, Jon Durant, Barry Cleveland and Bill Walker would then record their response, and then it would be sent to the next. This resulted in a series of lengthy pieces which often features all the guitarists working in their own style using different types of guitar and effects, to which were later added keyboards, drums, percussion and bass. Although the album was constructed in a somewhat insular manner, with everyone separate, that does not sonically sound to be the case as it comes across as all musicians working togethe...

(65:51; Gentle Art of Music) I first came across German band Sylvan with their fourth album, ‘X-rayed’, which came out in 2004. I have a reviewed a few since then, but not for more than a decade so when I was offered this one, I was pleasantly surprised. Over the course of their career, they have released a few concept albums, and they have used that oeuvre again, this time providing us with the autobiography of an artificial intelligence from its own perspective over the course of ten tracks. The quartet of Marco Gluhmann (vocals), Volker Söhl (keyboards, grand piano), Sebastian Harnack (bass) and Matthias Harder (drums) do not have a guitarist as a member of the band, but Jonathan 'Jonny' Beck has taken on that role as guest for the second album, while a quick glance at the list of the others shows both Kalle Wallner and Yogi Lang from RPWL getting involved with the music as well as producing. I have seen quite a few reviews for this album, all saying how wonderful it is, but...

(197:01: Fruits de Mer Records) For those who think I have written about this release before you are mistaken, but I understand why you may think that as this is the third in a series from Fruits de Mer which have similar artwork and titles (the others being ‘Head In The Clouds' and 'Head Music 2’). The series is designed to show continuing influence of bands such as Can, Neu!, Harmonia and Kraftwerk, and the 'motorik beat' that was pivotal to some of the most enduring recordings to come out of Germany in the early seventies. We see some old F de M favourites here such as Lost Stoned Pandas and Moon Goose, while others are new to the label. Released as triple vinyl plus a bonus CD for nearly 200 minutes of music this was sold out on pre-order before even getting to the release date, so is going to be hard to track down, but fans of this style of music are certainly going to have to dig for it as this is just what I have come to expect from this label, namely music of th...

(19:55; Dur et Doux) Ni have long been known as one of the most experimental outfits around, but here we find guitarist Anthony Béard sat with an acoustic while Benoit Lecomte recorded the performance. This is so far removed from their normal style that I was actually quite shocked when I realised who had played this lovely four-song instrumental release. At just 20 minutes long it shows a very different side of Béard, one which is far more about beauty and restraint than the over-the-top metallic experimentation I have come to expect with his day job. Apparently at the same time he was writing the music for this he was also working on a separate project of writing a collection of surrealist poetry and each project influenced the other. The album title translates to ‘Tales of Nowhere’, and it is easy to fall inside the melodies being created. There is something special about a single acoustic guitar, here with just a slight sense of reverb, the only studio trickery at hand, and the gen...

(76:00; Bad Elephant Music) For some people music is something they listen to in the background, never really paying attention to what is going on, but for others it is the very reason for their existence, and they use it to help them make their way in the world. Some artists combine their music and everyday life in such a way that one simply cannot exist without the other, and that is very much the case here. On one level this is the second album from Billie Bottle & The Multiple, following on from their debut ‘Unrecorded Beam’, but on another this is social commentary and experimentation. The band are Billie Bottle (voice, piano, keyboards, guitar, percussion), Martine Waltier (voice, violin, guitar, percussion), Roz Harding (alto sax, recorder, percussion), all mainstays of Mike Westbrook’s Uncommon Orchestra, Vivien Goodwin-Darke (voice, flute, recorder, percussion) from Magic Bus, and Lee Fletcher (bass, synths, keyboards, soundscapes, voice, guitar, percussion, production). T...

(54:01; Talking Elephant Records [2021 Edition] ) Formed in Coventry in 1968, Dando Shaft were one of the main instigators of the progressive folk scene with the way they combined psychedelic acoustic music with folk. They were originally a five-man line-up of guitar/vocalists Kevin Dempsey and Dave Cooper, multi-instrumentalist Martin Jenkins, bassist Roger Bullen, and tabla/percussionist Ted Kay, while singer Polly Bolton joined for the second and third albums. The      mband broke-up in 1973, reforming to record ‘Kingdom’ in 1977 before going dormant once again. In 1984 Whippersnapper came into being, featuring past and future Fairport Convention violinists/vocalists David Swarbrick and Chris Leslie alongside Dempsey and Jenkins, and they included some Dando Shaft material in their live sets. In 1989 Dando Shaft were asked to reform to play a concert in Italy, and the original quintet plus Leslie played the one-off gig, which was recorded and later released as ‘Sh...

(48:33; Progressive Promotion Records) Georg Alfter (guitar, bass), Norbert Podien (keyboards, drum programming) and Malcolm Shuttleworth (lead and backing vocals) are back with their third album as Eyesberg, with drummer Jimmy Keegan (Spock’s Beard, Pattern Seeking Animals) now a full member, and the addition of backing singer Emma Edingloh. Their first album was mostly retro prog, the second neo-prog, and this sees them move more firmly in that direction, although often with less guitar than one would normally expect from that subgenre. The drums are kept quite high in the mix (which works well, but it is also worth noting that Keegan produced this album which may also be a reason), and often it seems almost as if it is just drums and dated keyboards combining with the vocals of Shuttleworth to drive it forward. Shuttleworth is a superb singer, with vocals which quite often have as edge to them so having them subtly smoothed by the addition of Edingloh is a nice touch. Like many, I h...

(168:21; In and Out of Focus Records) Every band has been impacted by the pandemic in one way or another, and Focus were unable to get out on tour to celebrate their 50th anniversary, so instead this triple CD/Blu-Ray/book set was made available last year. The first two CDs and Blu-Ray are a live recording from a concert in Rio from 2017 while it also includes a studio album. This comprises the current ine-up of  Thijs van Leer (keyboard, flute and vocals), Pierre van der Linden (drums), Menno Gootjes (guitar) and Udo Pannekeet (bass) re-recording all the “Focus” tracks, “Focus 1” – “Focus 12”, which took place during lockdown. I have not seen the Blu-Ray, I only have the audio, but am guessing it will be of excellent camera quality, so why is the audio so poor? If I had been given this with no background information I would have presumed it was an audience recording, albeit one of good quality, as opposed to something official. The mix is just off, and if this is a deliberate atte...

(53:16; Inside Out Music) Back in 1986 keyboard player Jem Godfrey formed Freefall, who were soon opening for the likes of IQ, Geoff Mann, Ark and Galahad. However, at some point he decided it might be an idea to make a living out of music instead of playing prog, becoming a composer and producer of pop hits, working with the likes of Atomic Kitten, Blue, Ronan Keating, Lulu and Samantha Mumba. But prog kept calling to him and in 2004 he formed Frost* with Andy Edwards and John Jowitt of IQ along with guitarist John Mitchell (Arena, Kino etc.) Their debut album, ‘Milliontown’, was an immediate hit within the prog scene, and although there have been some changes and absences over the years, they are finally back with their fourth release. The line-up now is consolidated around the trio of Godfrey, Mitchell and bassist Nathan King, and instead of using a single drummer they have instead utliised the services of Kaz Rodriguez (Chaka Khan, Josh Groban), Darby Todd (The Darkness, Martin Bar...

(53:49; Soniq Theater) Track list: 1. Cinemagic Revisited 6:50 2. Screen Goddess 4:15 3. Epic Movie 8:49 4. Blockbuster 4:53 5. Greetings from Hollywood 4:06 6. Motion Picture 5:02 7. Stuntman 3:13 8. Thriller 3:14 9. Science Fiction 5:24 10. Armageddon 3:45 11. Love Story 4:18 Line-up: Alfred Mueller - all instruments Prolusion. German veteran artist Soniq Theater is out with his latest album "Cinemagic", which is the 22nd album to be released under the Soniq Theater moniker. Like all other of his albums it is self released, and available as a free download from the artists website. Analysis. Soniq Theater started out exploring symphonic progressive rock through the use of a keyboards only approach, and over time has developed into a creative venture that combines elements from progressive rock with details from ambient music and electronic music. For quite a few years the albums released by Soniq Theater have been situated in this specific field, and this is still the case ...

(62:31; Trail Records) Track list: 1. Crystal Gazing 3:19 2. L Train 5:15 3. Red Red Fox 5:33 4. Can't Find the Time (Foolish) 5:00 5. Chaos at the Port 7:02 6. Bright Biggest Eye 4:32 7. The Dolmen 2:52 8. Jodo 1:35 9. Bridge Sleepers 3:52 10. Raga Metal Machine 7:23 11. A Lonely Deer 5:46 12. Dream Yourself to Sleep 10:22 Line-up: Roderick Wolgamott - vocals Ben Ireland - keyboards, guitars, bass, percussion, drones, synthesizers, Mellotron, drums Jack Endino - guitars, e-bow, drums, programming Kevin Whitworth - guitars, bass, organ, synthesizers, percussion Curt Eckman - bass, synthesizers Debra Reese - vocals, synthesizers, flute, percussion Prolusion. US band Sky Cries Mary have been a going entity for close to 40 years by now, and as such have earned themselves a description as a veteran band at this point. Due to two ,long breaks as a recording unit the band's discography isn't as massive as other bands that have a history of a similar length though, and perhaps due...

(45:22; Apollon Records) Track list: 1. Asphodel 5:55 2. Cosmic Suicide 3:30 3. Lucifer's Hand 4:54 4. Creeping Willow 5:18 5. Across the Creek 1:44 6. The Eldorado Spell 4:49 7. The Spiral 6:54 8. When the Witches 5:51 9. Wormwood 1:36 10. The Well 4:51 Line-up: Odd Erlend Mikkelsen - guitars, vocals Vegard Bachmann Strand - guitars, vocals, keyboards Eirik Torgersen Arntsen - drums, vocals, percussion Eivind Andreas Standal Moen - bass, guitars with: Örjan Hammer Vollvik - trumpet Kristian Eivind Espeland - vocals Iver Sandöy - keyboards, percussion Prolusion. Norwegian band Kryptograf is, to my knowledge at least, a fairly new band in Norway's music scene. It would appear that they were formed a year or so before the Corona pandemic happened, and have presumably spent the many months with restrictions to properly develop as a band unit in addition to recording new material. "The Eldorado Spell" is their second album, and is set to be released at the end of February...

(49:42; Gentle Art of Music) Track list: 1. One 5:14 2. Two 7:54 3. Three 5:56 4. Four 6:01 5. Five 3:53 6. Six 9:30 7. Seven. Out 11:14 Line-up: Kalle Wallner - guitars, bass, keyboards, programming with: Marco Minnemann - drums Arno Menses - vocals Tanyc - vocals Yogi Lang - keyboards, programming Prolusion. German composer and musician Kalle WALLNER is perhaps best known for his long time tenure in veteran progressive rock band RPWL, and for the past 15 years he has also had his own band Blind Ego. This year Wallner goes one step further and is about to release what will be his first actual solo album - as in an album released under his own name. The album is called "Voices" and will be released towards the end of February through the label Gentle Art of Music. Analysis. I gather from the press release that followed this album that the Corona pandemic at least to some extent is to blame for the creation of this album. When someone is creative, is a musician, has a studio a...

(39:49; Apollon Records) Track list: 1. Sacrae Symphoniae No. 1 39:49 Line-up: Ketil Vestrum Einarsen - synthesizers Gaute Storsve - guitars Maria Grigoryeva - violins Jan-Terje Augestad - saxophone Jörgen Mathisen - saxophone Ingebrikt Haaker Flaten - bass Vetle Larsen - drums Filippo Tramontana - French horn Manuel Domeneche - oboe Prolusion. In the rather vital and productive progressive rock scene that have developed in Norway in the last decade or so, Weserbergland have been one of the outliers for their focus on more demanding and challenging takes on progressive rock. "Sacrae Symphoniae No. 1" is their third studio album, and is due for release towards the end of February 20222 through Norwegian label Apollon Records. Analysis. As the name of the album implies, we are treated to a symphony here. Of sorts. Those with a theoretical knowledge of music may well point to a number of details here that can be traced back to or directly belonging to classical music too I presu...

(39:55; AMS Records) Track list: 1. Introinduzione 5:53 2. Slowgun 4:32 3. Samir 10:20 4. Mente 11:21 5. Ali di Gabbiano 7:49 Line-up: Michele Sambrici - guitars, keyboards, vocals Andrea Corti - bass Giacomo Piazza - percussion, keyboards, sounds Marco DeGiacomi - drums, vocals Andrea Calzoni - flute, vocals Sven Jörgensen - vocals, guitars, keyboards Prolusion. Italian band Il Paradiso degli Orchi have a history that goes back to 2009, and from 2010 and through to 2020 the band have released three studio albums. "Samir" is the most recent of those albums, and was issued through Italian label AMS Records in 2020. Analysis. Of the two albums I was sent by this band for the purpose of reviews, this second one is by far the most expressive and the one most difficult to categorize. The old website Progarchives have for many years used a category called Eclectic Prog, and to my mind this album is one that should be a fairly decent choice for such a category. Not due to a great de...

(63:04; Deaton Lemay Project) Track list: 1. The Great Awakening 5:32 2. A Different Place in Time 7:24 3. Dragonfly 3:35 4. The Nightmare 4:28 5. Exordium 6:24 - Elements of Life Suite 6. Overture 4:43 7. Fire 6:10 8. Water 6:11 9. Air 4:19 10. Earth 6:53 11. Music 7:25 Line-up: Roby Deaton - keyboards, guitars, vocals Craig LeMay - drums, percussion with: Hadi Kiani - vocals Ehsan Imani - guitars Josh Mark Raj - guitars John Haddad - bass Charles Berthoud - bass Liza Evans - violin Prolusion. US band DEATON LEMAY PROJECT started out officially back in 2018, following a 25 year long period of gestation. They released their debut album "Day After Yesterday" in 2019, and following what I suspect has been a rather busy planning and recording period during the years of the pandemic the creative twosome of Deaton and Lemay are back with their second album "The Fifth Element" at the start of 2022. Analysis. While the fifth element apparently used to be defined as aether ...

(41:37; Gramsci) My personal introduction to Gramsci was 2020’s wonderful ‘Inheritance’ album, and in many ways that was a rebirth as it was the first album Paul McLaney had released under that name for 15 years. He credits the revitalisation with his teaming up with Greg Haver, an award-winning Welsh record producer most renowned for his work with The Manic Street Preachers. Paul provides the songs, vocals, guitar, and synth with Greg on the drums, and they are joined by Marika Hodgson on bass and Jol Mulholland on guitar. I must confess at this point that Marika is one of my favourite bassists in New Zealand – I first saw her performing with Troy Kingi at Tuning Fork some years back and asked TeMatera Smith who it was, as she just blew me away and I spent nearly as much time studying her technique as I did watching Troy! Of course, Jol is no slouch either, having performed with the likes of Neil Finn and Liam Finn, James Milne, and Anika Moa, so this line-up has an incredibly strong ...

(66:00; Pencarrow) One of the (dis)advantages of writing about music for so many years is that it is not unusual for other writers to contact me about bands/albums they feel I should be aware of. So it was, that not long after the release of Wellington band Pencarrow’s second album Growth In The Absence of Light a mate of mine in Norway contacted me to ask me if I had heard it? I hadn’t, but it was soon on my review list, and I loved it. The guys then managed to undertake a tour to support it and I was fortunate enough to catch them at Dead Witch, with that show making it into my Top Ten best gigs of the year. Needless to say, I was incredibly pleased when it turned out they recorded some of the shows and were releasing a live album. As can be derived from the title, the album is mostly taken from San Fran but there was a shorter set that night so there are also three songs from The Crown in Dunedin. Musically the only way to think of these guys are as a progressive rock band, and then...