(29:10; Bitume) Track list: 1. Le Crepuscule 3:49 2. L'Initiation 4:00 3. Le Voyage Nocturne 5:43 4. La Contemplation 5:38 5. Le Reve 5:07 6. L'Aurore 4:53 Line-up: Julien J. Neuville - vocals, all instruments Prolusion. French project Salaman Isku is the creative vehicle of composer and musician Julien J. Neuville. Following an initial self-titled EP the album "Le Voyage Nocturne" was self released as a digital album back in 2017. A few more years down the line Neuville hooked up with French label Bitume, who reissued the album on CD now in the summer of 2023. Analysis. The music on this production is described as psychedelic metal, which is a description that certainly made me take interest. In this case my impression is that this description at best is only partially correct though, as one exception aside I find this album to be much more straightforward in nature than what the psychedelic moniker indicates. It is more of an atmospheric laden creation we get here, ...

(39:18; Michael Meis 4tet) Track list: 1. Blue Hour 1:21 2. Puff Puff Puff 2:37 3. Bye Bye Balloon 3:10 4. Silberfell 4:43 5. Heyday 4:16 6. Embrace 1:15 7. Track the Crack 6:11 8. The Madness 6:28 9. Joker 5:01 10. Euphoria 4:16 Line-up: Cedric Hanriot - piano, Rhodes, synthesizer Alisa Klein - trombone, effects Michel Meis - drums, effects Stephan Goldbach - double bass, synthesizer Prolusion. Luxembourg based composer and musician Michel Meis is a young and active musician involved in a good handful of different ventures, ranging from hardcore band Everwaiting Serenade and art music project Venerem as well as three different ventures that have a stronger focus on various aspects of jazz. Among the latter we find his own band Michel Meis 4tet, who recently self-released the album "Lollipop Moment". Analysis. This is a band that comes with the self-description  of being contemporary jazz, and while jazz is a type of music I still remain a bit of a stranger to when it comes t...

(77:11; Oho Music) Track list: 1. In Dotage 3:55 2. Season of Extremes 3:54 3. 28721 3:38 4. Dot on Your Door 4:55 5. Die Before You Die 4:00 6. Hidden Agenda 4:43 7. Out on a Limb 3:58 8. Mired in Malaise? 3:00 9. Cosmos of the Soul 3:51 10. The Hours 5:32 11. Frog Legs 2:41 12. Metaphors 3:28 13. The Witness Watchers 3:41 14. Authentic Fake 3:05 15. Your Luck is Awake 4:43 16. The Crown 3:51 17. The Doomed Princess 4:01 18. St. Judas 4:12 19. Where Words Do Not Reach 3:28 20. Well, I'll Be 2:35 Line-up: Jay Graboski - vocals, guitars, bass, percussion, glockenspiel with: Dale German - guitars Ray Jozwiak - accordion, keyboards, bass, Moog Dave Kelly - guitars, programming, keyboards, percussion Julie Keough - backing vocals Harry Maben - drums Patrick McAvinue - fiddle Gene Meros - saxophones Bill Phelan - backing vocals, guitars, mandolin, recorder Bill Pratt - keyboards, backing vocals, horn arrangements David Reeve - drums, percussion, keyboards Gyro J. Scope - sequencing Prol...

(62:12; Fastball Music) Track list: 1. Dreamland 8:11 2. Haunted 5:22 3. Limited 6:43 4. The Art of Betrayal 6:42 5. Trapped Soul 7:01 6. Brave the Storm 7:56 7. Enemy 8:07 8. Meaning of Life 6:42 9. The End 5:28 Line-up: Seraina Schoepfer - vocals Tom Hiebaum - keyboards David Vollenweider - guitars Stephan Kaufmann - bass Maetthu Daeywyler - drums with: Elia Schmid - vocals Prolusion. Swiss band Green Labyrinth have been a part of the music scene in their home country for more than a decade, with the initial part of the band's history going all the way back to 2008. They self-released their debut album "The Shadows of My Past" back in 2014, but went quiet as a recording entity following this. This summer they are back with the second studio album "Sequences", which was released through German label Fastball Music. Analysis. In terms of the style explored on this production, progressive metal appears to be the specialty of this band. And while their foundation ...

(46:52; Karisma Records) Track list: 1. Rytter Av Dommedag 16:56 2. Et Sted Under Himmelhvelvet 6:53 3. Jaertegn 6:27 4. Naturens Katedral 16:36 Line-up: Lars Fredrik Fröislie - vocals, keybaords, drums, percussion, recorder Nikolai Haengsle - bass Prolusion. Norwegian composer and musician Lars Fredrik Fröislie has been a feature in the Norwegian progressive rock scene for a number of years, most prominently as a member of lauded band Wobbler, but he has also been involved in the bands White Willow and Tusmörke. "Fire Fortellinger" is his first ever solo album, and was released through Norwegian label Karisma Records in the summer of 2023. Analysis. As one might expect from a musician with Fröislie's background, symphonic progressive rock is the style explored on this production. In this case a purebred excursion into these landscapes, much to the delight of fans who tend to adore this variety of progressive rock presumably. An additional tidbit of interest is that this ...