(47:52; Boudicca Records) Track list: 1. Vorspiel / Grieg's Diner 2:49 2. The Animal Said I 6:22 3. Tension 6:43 4. Hecate 6:26 5. What Under What 5:51 6. Violet Is Tits 3:57 7. Krystal at the Red Light 5:01 8. Confess 5:28 9. Mary Jane 5:15 Line-up: Erin Bennett - vocals, guitars, trumpet Anna Fraser - drums, tabla, percussion Bad Dog - bass Suna Dasi - synthesizers, vocals Nikki Francis - organ, synthesizers, piano, Mellotron, flute, saxophone, clarinet Kitty Biscuits - percussion, spoken words, backing vocals Prolusion. UK based band EBB, formerly know as Erin Bennett Band, is a colourful band with a colourful history, exploring their craft in an art collective in Scotland. Following an initial EP back in 2019 the band launched their full length debut album "Mad & Killing Time" this fall through the label Boudicca Records. Analysis. EBB's take on progressive rock is an inclusive one, with the band not really seeing any particular boundaries that need to be foll...

(48:26; Storyville Records) Track list: 1. Run 6:48 2. Wild Nephew 4:57 3. Cry 5:50 4. Dream #3 4:07 5. Four Four Four 5:05 6. Help 7:10 7. Outside Thule 4:09 8. Quiet 4:16 9. Not So Quiet 3:49 10. My Funny Valentine 2:15 Line-up: Per Aage Brandt – piano   Karsten Vogel – alto saxophone, tenor saxophone Flavio Perrella – bass Klaus Menzer – drums Prolusion. Cry! is cooperative effort between the ex-member of the early Danish jazz prog rock bands Burnin’ Red Ivanhoe and Secret Oyster, saxophonist Karsten Vogel, and pianist, poet and philosopher Per Aage Brandt. They released it to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their first joint record made in 1966. The album consists of 10 compositions. Accompanying musicians are Flavio Perrella on the bass and Klaus Menzer on the drums. Analysis. It was back in 1966 that two avant-garde jazz musicians, young but already well-known within the jazz community of their country, Denmark, decided to unite to make a record. The style of their music ha...

(48:52; Neil Campbell) Track list: 1. Overture 10:37 2. Faldum One 3:01 3. Faldum Two 4:00 4. Faldum Three 3:57 5. Faldum Four 3:23 6. Faldum Five 4:05 7. Faldum Six 3:14 8. The Mountain 16:35 Line-up: Neil Campbell  - guitars, bass, keyboards, electronics Amy Chalmers - violin Nicole Collarbone - cello Jon Lawton - programming, electronics Prolusion. UK composer and musician Neil Campbell has been creating solo albums for a number of years, often releasing them himself but occasionally also getting a label involved. With various side projects and collaborations he has something like two dozen albums out at this point, a solid back catalogue created over the better part of 20 years. "Faldum" is the name of his most recent solo album, which was self released in the late fall of 2022. Analysis. Campbell's association with progressive rock is one that perhaps is a bit sideways oriented, as the rock aspect of the music perhaps isn't the most striking trait on many of his ...

(51:16; Sahuaro Records) Track list: 1. Combative Life 7:10 2. Chronicles of the Lost Broadcast of Mr. White 8:13 3. The Alchemist 7:17 4. Gitano Eléctrico 5:12 5. Elahi 7:22 6. Tearing Us Appart 7:51 7. Bestias del Norte Salvaje 8:11 Line-up: Bonzo Fimbres - all instruments Prolusion. Mexican artist Bonzo Fimbres is a bit of an unknown quantity for me, as his internet sites don't really reveal all that much about him. What I do know is that he currently has two albums to his name. "Combative Life" is his debut album, and was released through the label Sahuaro Records in 2019. Analysis. Like his album from this year, Fimbres' debut album is one that safely can be sorted under progressive metal. While impulses from other parts of the metal spectrum do find their way into the landscapes explored here, on the metal side of things it is the progressive metal passages that dominates the proceedings. The main style variations in the strict metal parts here are inclusions of...

(34:55; Newspaperflyhunting) Track list: 1. No Hard Feelings 6:01 2. One Minute 4:06 3. Everything's Fine 7:35 4. Hallways 5:10 5. Another Island 12:03 Line-up: Michal Pawlowski - vocals, guitars, percussion Gosia Sutuła-Grabowska - vocals, bass, keyboards Krzysztof Sarna - drums Beata Grzegorczyk-Andrejczukc - keyboards Prolusion. Polish band Newspaperflyhunting has been around for a dozen years or thereabouts at this point, releasing new material at a steady pace. "Time Regained" is their fifth full length studio album, and was self released in the fall of 2022. Analysis. Newspaperflyhunting started out as a bit more of a post-rock oriented venture from what I can recall, but they are among the bands that have chosen to develop out from this foundation rather than trying to perfect the approach they started out with. Hence there's a sense of development from one album to the nest, and the steps they take appear to be gradual, following a natural rather than a forced...

(41:30; Sahuaro Records) Track list: 1. Levitating Man 7:54 2. The Suicidal Theater Company 7:11 3. Particula De Dios 11:12 4. Starmaker 8:06 5. Critical Mass 7:07 Line-up: Bonzo Fimbres - all instruments Prolusion. Mexican artist Bonzo Fimbres is a bit of an unknown quantity to me, and not a lot is described about him on his official internet pages either. He has two albums to his name though. "The Suicidal Theater Company" is the name of the most recent of these, which was released through a label called Sahuaro Records in the early fall of 2022. Analysis. Progressive metal is the style explored on this production, and it is a rather expressive take on the form at that, as well as containing music that really uses contrasting elements for what they are worth throughout. In addition, this is also an instrumental production. About one half of this album explores different categories of metal. Traditional heavy metal, with a few nods towards classic hard rock, but also thrash ...

(43:35; The Weever Sands) Track list: 1. Monday 6:58 2. Tuesday 5:33 3. Wednesday 4:48 4. Thursday 6:29 5. Friday 5:56 6. Saturday 6:04 7. Sunday 7:47 Line-up; The Weever Sands - all instruments with: Daniel Geal - voice Geo Schaller - flute, saxophone Armin Rave - guitars Dyanne Potter Voegtlin - keyboards Jan Christiana - keyboards Leslie Penning - recorder Prolusion. German project The Weever Sands has been around for close to a decade at this point, a venture I believe is primarily a one-man band at heart but with additional musicians helping out here and there. The artist doesn't clearly state if that is the case though, but the music gives that impression at least. Three albums have been released by this venture so far, and in the fall of 2022 the most recent of these was made available as "Secrets of the Pecking Order". Analysis. Birds used as allegorical beings to tell a story is what we get on this album, a concept album revolving around allegory and compositions...

(47:21; Adrian Weiss) Track list: 1. Dangerous Discipline 4:05 2. Hand Me My Brass 3:52 3. Night Flight to the Sun 4:26 4. Straight by the Crook 5:06 5. Withdrawn Into the Dimness 4:56 6. Face Melting Phenomenon 5:36 7. Anger Management 5:07 8. Sunny Beach Party 4:21 9. The Grand Illusion 4:52 10. More Is More 5:00 Line-up: Sabir Salkic - drums Marcel Willnat - bass Adrian Weiss - guitars with: Dee Dammers - guitars Alexandra Zerner - guitars Benjamin Schippritt - guitars Nick Johnston - guitars Justin Hombach - guitars Fabian Ratsak - guitars Patrick Sperling - guitars Martin Miller - guitars Thorsten Praest - guitars Yasi Hofer - guitars Prolusion. Germany based guitarist Adrian Weiss has been releasing solo albums at a fairly steady pace for the last decade or thereabouts, with four albums to his name at the time of writing. "Dangerous Discipline" is the name of his most recent production, which was self released in the fall of 2022. Analysis. Weiss' solo productions h...

(46:12; Louison) Track list: 1. Triangular Prologue 6:43 2. The Big Galactic Rondo 10:18 3. Human Epilogue 2:09 4. Conservation of Energy Pt. 1 3:38 5. The Big Freeze 3:35 6. Electron-Positron Annihilation 3:05 7. Stargazing 5:12 8. Conservation of Energy Pt. 2 5:17 9. Galaxian Explosion 2:16 10. The Big Rip (feat. Erithacus Rubecula) 3:59 Line-up: Loison - all instruments with: Casimir Liberski - synthesizers Shoko Igarashi - tenori-on Prolusion. French composer and musician Louis de Mieulle has been exploring his take on progressive rock and related fields of music for a bit over a decade by now, either as a solo artist or as a part of different creative constellations. Now in 2022 he felt the need for a slight change of scenery, and thus released a solo album under the artist moniker Louison, presumably indicating that the music made under this moniker is a bit different from his regular solo albums. The first production to be released under this new moniker is called "Magnetic...

(54:22, Anesthetize Productions) Singer Laura Piazzai was performing in one of Clive Nolan’s productions and she suggested to Eric Bouillette that he ought to compose something for her. He thought this was a great idea, and in turn contacted Clive for assistance with the lyrics, but this soon changed into a more collaborative work with both providing the music together. The concept is based somewhat on the lives of Cosimo and Contessina De’ Medici, although this only represents a small part of their place in history. The result is something which in many ways feels like a logical progression from Clive’s ‘Alchemy’ and includes some of the same players, but there are also times where it is far removed and quite different showing the impact of Eric. Laura and Clive of course worked together on the album ‘From The Outside In’ where Laura sang on new versions of some of his material, while Eric is best known for his work in Nine Skies and The Room. Here he provided guitars, keyboards, mand...

(45:42; Solar Music) Although Steinhardt was always highly regarded for his role in Kansas, I actually feel he was hugely pivotal to their overall success and if it was not for him and songwriter Kerry Livgren, they would never have achieved the success they had. Not only was he an incredible violinist, but his vocals pitched against Steve Walsh were what made Steve really stand out. Listen to any of the albums from the Seventies, especially the live one, and hear just how important he is to everything which is going on. I always found it strange that he did not record more material with other bands or solo when he was not in Kansas, and it is strange to think that he had been recording his first ever solo album when he sadly passed away from pancreatitis. This was always intended to be a lavish production, so while his playing and vocals are often front and centre, we also have  Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, Steve Morse of Deep Purple/Dixie Dregs, Billy Cobham of Mahavishnu Orchest...

(33:51; Temple of Switches) Formed in 2012, this American progressive rock band say their music does not fit within any particular category, and that this is quite deliberate, although they bring in jazz and classical sounds so perhaps it is not surprising they have been included on ProgArchives as crossover, although in fairness this is more about the fact they are blending multiple genres as opposed to following the crossover style per se. Based on their 2015 debut, I am somewhat surprised they were not grabbed by Neo, while there is also a case for Heavy to have taken them, but perhaps this is indeed the correct genre as there is just so much going on. Back then, they were a quartet, with Mike Monda (guitar), Joe Monda (bass), Kevin McConnell (keyboards, vocals) and Jay Heffner (drums) and what strikes one immediately is just how much every musician is putting into the mix. It really does not matter who one concentrates on, there is a great deal happening, yet it never sounds over t...

(29:18; Temple of Switches) Just two years after the debut and the band were back with their second album, but there had already been major changes in that this is now a solo project by Mike Monda (guitar, guitar synth, bass, fretless bass, drum programming, keyboards, vocals), who was assisted by singer Clara Hembree on two tracks, each of which also features a different drummer. This is a far more varied album than the debut, and there has been a considerable change in approach so in some ways it is somewhat surprising that Mike decided to keep working under the same name, as anyone buying the debut and then picking up this one would be in for quite a shock as this is far more in the art rock style than the much heavier first one. One of the most interesting songs on this set is “Carousel” where Clara provides lead vocals and drums are by Gaetano Nicolosi as there is considerable depth on this and the use of a strong female singer who throws her voice in different directions is a rea...

(41:17; Temple of Switches) I get the impression, rightly or wrongly, that this 2020 album initially started in one direction and then changes happened in personnel which resulted in it becoming a mix of two quite different sets of styles and sounds. Mike had also now changed his name, so anyone just looking at the line-ups would have been ever more confused. Mike is now Tenk Van Dool (guitar, keyboards, bass (2,3,7,9), drums (3,7,9), vocals & lyrics (1,6,9)) and Temple of Switches have become a band again with the addition of Dale Wiser (bass (1,4,5,6,8), vocals (4)) and drummer David White (1,4,5,6,8) – notice how these last two are on the same five songs? Singer Clara Hembree, who was involved with the last album, sings on one song, drummer Gaetano Nicolosi returns to play on one, previous singer Kevin McConnell provides keyboards and vocals on two songs, but none of those are the ones featuring Dale and David, while singer Jim Chavez is on two of the ones that do. It feels like...

(52:45; Temple of Switches) 2022 saw the band return with their fourth album, and yet again it saw some changing of the guard with just two mainstays this time in Tenk Van Dool (bass, guitar, keyboards, vocals) and David White (drums) again being joined by guests which a returning Dale Wiser providing bass on one song, Akuda (who I think was previously known as Kevin McConnell) back providing vocals on one song, with Jim Chavez returning to do the same with Amanda Lehmann also providing vocals on one. This is the first time since the debut that there has been another musician apart from Tenk play on every song, while everyone apart from Amanda had been involved in at least one other album, with Akuda and Jim now being on three. With David and Tenk working together on every aspect of the album, this has much less of a split personality than the previous one, yet although there has been a tempering of some of the more avant garde moments which could be found particularly on their second,...

(55:23; Avalon Records) It is hard to believe, but there was time in my life when I had not heard of the band Galahad, but at the tender age of 28 that all changed when I was lent their debut CD and I purchased both that and their previous cassette. I’m 60 next year, so have known this band for more than half my lifetime, yet every new release is treated with the knowledge that these guys have no idea on how to rest on their laurels and keep pushing forward. Singer Stu Nicholson is the only original left, although drummer Spencer Luckman has been there nearly as long, and with long-time keyboard player Dean Baker they have been pushing boundaries together for more than 20 years. There have been a few changes in bassist and guitarists over that time (including of course the untimely death of Neil Pepper, who is never far from the band in many ways, and this album includes “Another Life Not Lived” which he co-wrote with Stu), but with Lee Abrahams on guitar and Mark Spencer on bass (plus...

(61:52; Melanie Mau & Martin Schnella) The arrival of an album featuring either Melanie or Martin is always a cause for celebration, when it features both even more so, and although this is their fifth album together, in many ways it is actually their second as like 2017’s ‘Oblivion Tales’ it contains only originals as opposed to their delightful albums of rearranged covers. Melanie (lead and backing vocals), Martin (acoustic, electric and baritone guitars, vocals), Mathias Ruck (vocals), Lars Lehmann (bass, fretless bass) and Simon Schröder (percussion, bodhrán, drums, vocals) have also been joined by a few guests, most notably multi-instrumentalist Jens Kommnick (uilleann pipes, low whistle, tin whistle, cello, acoustic guitar). Most of the material is based around the acoustic guitar, yet is always highly complex and complicated, with the rest of the instruments joining in a way which often has much in common with folk as it does with prog, but the vocals are far more rock based...

(49:44; Newspaperflyhunting) Track list: 1. We Used to Wander 2:44 2. Wasteland 6:56 3. A Question 3:53 4. Down the Steps 3:36 5. Sleep 4:31 6. Equal to None 5:42 7. Hours Pass 5:34 8. Solaris 16:48 Line-up: Michal Pawlowski - vocals, guitars Jacek Bezubik - guitars, vocals Gosia Sutuła-Grabowska - bass, vocals Krzysztof Sarna - drums Beata Grzegorczyk-Andrejczuk - keyboards with: Piotr Polak - guitars   Prolusion. Polish band Newspaperflyhunting started out back in 2010 or thereabouts, and have been quite the productive unit ever since they started out with more than a dozen EPs and albums to their name in addition to some compilation albums and a good handful of singles. The album "Wastelands" dates back to 2017, and was self released by the band. Analysis. Newspaperflyhunting is one of those bands that will skip back and forth between the borders of progressive rock, experimental rock and mainstream rock, and almost comes across as a band that purposefully exist on the bor...

(29:18; Temple of Switches) Track list: 1. The Circling Sky 3:48 2. Meadows  3:52 3. Carousel 7:52 4. Song for Deetjens 4:59 5. Frown 2:04 6. Tiny Rings 3:10 7. Jaded Maidens 3:33 Line-up: Tenk Van Dool - vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, programming with: Clara Hembree - vocals Craig Camp - drums Gaetano Nicolosi - drums Prolusion. US band Temple of Switches self-released their second album "Helium Parade" in 2017, a concise production clocking in at 29 minutes and a bit. While this is the second album to be released under this moniker, the band had changed markedly since their first album from two years prior, with Temple of Switches going from being a proper band to now being the creative vehicle of composer and musician Tenk Van Dool. As such this album also heralds a new era and a new phase in the existence of this project. Analysis. It would appear that the changes in the band from 2015 to 2017 came with many consequences. I haven't read up on how central Van Dool w...