(65:36, Banksville Records) Track list: 1. Sunny Days 3:24 2. You’ll Never Die On Me 3:38 3. Angel Of March 12:15 4. Swimmer In The Sand 5:12 5. I Don’t Mind 5:42 6. Brightest Moon 6:31 7. Bike 5:52 8. Italian Guns 3:37 9. Cole Porter And Frankz’s Birthday Party 8:51 10. Nowhere Street – Part II 10:30 Line-up: Paolo Baltaro – vocals, guitars Simone Morandotti – keyboards Daniele Mignone – bass Andrea Beccaro – drums Andrea Orru’ – guitar Prolusion. Paolo Baltaro is an Italian musician, composer and producer, the founder of the Banksville Records label. As a musician, he is primarily known as a member of the neo-prog band Arcansiel, which was active since the late 1980s to the middle of the 1990s, and Società Anonima Decostruzionismi Organici (S.A.D.O for short), an avant-jazz project, to which Paolo moved after Arcansiel. Among Banksville Records’ clients are Baltaro’s two abovementioned bands, as well as many other artists. In 2017, the musician founded a band named The Pillheads, whi...

(47:26; Oskar Productions) Track list: 1. March Under the Symbol 6:00 2. Mind the Gap 10:51 3. Little Green Men 4:40 4. Half Man, Half Machine 4:35 5. Ancient Times 5:11 6. Awaking the Muse 5:12 7. Deucalion (live) 10:57 Line-up: Jos Hartelveld - vocals, guitars Eddie Mulder - guitars, vocals Gert van Engelenburg - keyboards, vocals Derk Evert Waalkens - keyboards, vocals Peter Stel - bass Koen Roozen - drums Prolusion. Dutch band Leap Day first appeared back in 2008, and following an initial demo CD they have released new material at a steady pace over the years with 2021's "Treehouse" being their most recent studio production at the time of writing. "Timelapse" is their fifth album and dates back to 2018, and was released by Polish label Oskar Productions. Analysis. Leap Day has by and large been classified as a neo-progressive rock band ever since they started out, and they continue their excursions into this universe also on this 2018 album. They do go about...

(50:41; Musea Records) Track list: 1. Passing the Chamber of Insanity 6:14 2. View to a Forthcoming 1:25 3. Rumours in the Darkness 5:38 4. Messenger of God 8:39 5. Figurine of 10 Mysteries 3:36 6. Generation of Corruption 8:04 7. Flower of the Future 4:12 8. Concealed Universe 10:46 9. When the Stars Unite 2:07 Line-up: Toni Jokinen - vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, piano Mika Korkeamäki - drums with: Esa Fors - vocals Alex Argento - keyboards Prolusion. Finnish band Riveryman is the creative vehicle of composer and musician Toni Jokinen. He developed an affection for progressive rock back in the late 1990s, at least according to online sources, and that interest was put to creative use from 2006 and onward. The Riveryman project launched its first album back in 2009, and in 2018 the second and most recent studio creation by this project was released as "Views, Fears & Stories" through legendary French label Musea Records. Analysis. It becomes apparent fairly quickly t...

(54:50; Karisma Records) Track list: 1. We, the Drowned 5:23 2. Claire de Lune 7:15 3. False Memory Archive 4:47 4. Lost Causes 8:29 5. Intermezzo 1:42 6. The Lights 10:33 7. There Are the Stars We're Looking For 4:18 8. Transparent Eyes 4:58 9. Psalm 51 7:25 Line-up: Simen Valldal Johannessen - vocals, piano, keyboards Öystein Sootholtet - bass, guitars, banjo, keyboards, programming Sigbjörn Reiakvam - drums, percussion, keyboards, programming with: Stephan Hvinden - guitars Ole Michael Björndal - guitars Björn Riis - guitars Steinar Refsdal - saxophone Prolusion. Norwegian band Oak first appeared back in 2013, with their debut album "Lighthouse" as their initial studio production. Two more albums have appeared since then, with "The Quiet Rebellion of Compromise" being the most recent of these. Their second album "False Memory Archive" dates back to 2018, and was released through Norwegian label Karisma Records. Analysis. While Norway does have a fai...

(126:04; Clive Mitten) Here we yet again have Clive taking a look at music which inspired him and performing it in a classical instrumental manner. Again he has taken the music and adapted it in a manner which is both true to the original and sympathetic to it but lifts the songs into new directions. It would be difficult to fault the choice of bands, with Genesis, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, ELP, VDGG, Led Zeppelin, Rush and Yes all here, but true progheads will be pleased to also note the inclusion not only of Marillion but also IQ and his version of “Widow’s Peak” is simply wonderful. I have always said the progressive bands who have been producing albums since the heyday of the genre should be recognised in the same breath as the classics, and here Clive ends the release by having Marillion close (with “Garden Party” segueing nicely into “Grendel”).   It is difficult to pick a favourite, but a special mention must be made of “Thick As A Brick”. We may not get the full length, bu...

(122:17; Twelfth Night) Here we have the two albums recorded by Marc Catley and Geoff Mann finally brought together in one set as a definitive edition. Both albums were originally released by Plankton Records in 1988 (‘In Difference’) and 1991 (TOTEOFTPS), before being reissued in 1994, but they have long been unavailable and it is nice to have them here together. Marc Catley recorded his first album, ‘This Is The Birth of Classical Acoustic Rock’, in January 1986 and a review of this appeared in NCM magazine on the same page as a review of Geoff’s ‘I May Sing Grace’. Marc then contacted Geoff, who lived in nearby Salford, and they met up and became friends. Geoff produced Marc’s next EP, ‘The Peel Tower Hop’, which included shorter songs, and Marc often supported Geoff’s rock band The Bond. The result of their friendship was the release in 1988 of ‘In Difference’, a cassette consisting of five songs by Geoff which he considered to be too acoustic for his current band, and four songs b...

(169:43; Twelfth Night [2023 Edition] ) After The Bond ended in 1988, Geoff re-convened with bassist Paul Keeble and drummer Gary Mitchell who had also been in The Earthlings (Geoff’s first short-lived post-TN band), and new guitarist John Maycraft. Being more established musicians, the band presented a more accessible/mainstream rock sound, with less emphasis on the ‘wobbly music’ Geoff had hitherto produced. Keeble’s fretless bass has a very warm sound which ties in with the drums to underpin the overall sound, and while there are a few keyboards (also by Keeble) their overall usage is greatly reduced and the result is a jagged rock album which is far more in your face than Geoff’s earlier solo works. As with the other definitive edition we again get demo versions of every song from the original album, here presented in the same running order (which includes an extended version of “More Than This”), plus some live cuts plus all lyrics and photos in the booklet. I know this album even...

(141:06; Twelfth Night [2023 Edition] ) After Geoff Mann left Twelfth Night he continued his musical adventures, releasing three solo albums. After the recording had been completed for the last of these, ‘Psalm Enchanted Evening’, and a release date planned for February 1986 he decided to form a band, which would later be known as The Bond. Geoff kept with him guitarist Dave Mortimer who had played on the solo albums, Steve Ridley (who had been involved with the play ‘The Dawn’ where Geoff had the lead role) provided keyboards and occasional woodwind, while Andy Mason (who had played on ‘I May Sing Grace’) was the drummer. By the time of the recording of this album in 1987 Mason had departed, with Geoff now providing not only vocals and wobbly/non-wobbly guitar but also programmed and real-time drum machines. Twelfth Night have now released this album as a definitive edition, both digitally and as a limited-edition CD which contains all the lyrics plus photos, and they have more than d...

(47:22; Crocodile) One look at the cover and a double check of the title and one could well imagine that here was a country and western album, and you would be right, but you would also be very wrong indeed. After the wonderful debut ‘His Name Is Stan And He's A Bad motherf**ker’ in 2018, and the subsequent ‘Howling Mad Black Music Under Hot Stars’ the following year, the band took a little longer to return with their third release which has seen them move in quite a different direction. Within the band we still have Kevin Sims (guitars, vocals), Greg Seale (drums) and Ted Thomas (bass, vocals) but keyboard player Thomas Shaw has left to be replaced by Philip Spann. There are still plenty of progheads who feel that prog is a genre and style, whereas I have always felt that it is that indeed but is also so much more and I love it when musicians don’t bother thinking outside the box but instead refuse to acknowledge its assistance in the very first place. What we have here are a prog...

(156:59; Melodic Revolution Records) Some years back I was introduced to record honcho, prog promoter and all-round good guy Nick Katona, and we have become firm friends (in the modern internet meaning of the word), so much so that I asked him to write the introduction to The Progressive Underground Volume 5. He has told me that one thing he enjoys about my writing is my honesty, as he knows I will always say what I think about a release even if that means we are at odds with each other, so when I say something is simply essential then he knows I really mean it, and that is the case with his latest free compilation. For more than a decade Nick has been releasing compilations featuring his artists, now on more than one label, and this time we have 30 artists with a total running time of more than 2 ½ hours. This means there is plenty of room for long-time MRR artists to sit alongside new ones, or travel in a slightly different direction with those from Peacock Sunrise, all combining in ...

(51:17; Comedy of Errors) It was only when reviewing Comedy Of Errors most recent album, the excellent ‘Threnody of a Dead Queen’, that I realised I had missed out on the two prior to that one and given how the four I have heard since the reunion have all been superb I knew I had to rectify that immediately, if not sooner. ‘Time Machine’ was released in 2022, their fifth of recent years, containing five new songs (two of which are more than 12 minutes in length) plus a live recording of “Disobey” from their appearance at RosFest in 2016. I am convinced the only reason these guys are not more well-known or appreciated within the prog world is due to geography, as if they were from London as opposed to Glasgow they would surely be operating in a different stratosphere altogether. They continue to provide superb songs in a polished neo prog style which is quite unlike others, yet never lose sight of the need for guitars when the time is right, although they are quite happy to layer on the...

(34:05; Dur Et Doux) Who said RIO could not be fun? Here we have the fifth album from the wonderful Chromb!, again featuring Antoine Mermet (saxophone, synthesizer, delay, vocals), Camille Durieux (synthesizers, vocals), Léo Dumont (drums, vocals) and Lucas Hercberg (bass, vocal), and the major synth sound being used throughout sounds as if it has been lifted straight from Pacman! It is not a style of synth one often comes across, and to hear it being provided in a complex manner against a complex and uncompromising rhythm section is quite special. If a different tone had been used then it would not have had nearly the same impact as it is not just the notes but how they are coming across which makes it what it is. When that is combined with twee vocals as on “Roupoutoum contre Routoupoum “ one really starts to wonder what is going on. Dur et Doux are one of the most interesting and consistent labels around, releasing complex music which always needs to be listened to and can never be ...

(54:32; Melodic Revolution Records) Karen Langley (vocals, lyrics, arrangements),  Rob Williams (guitars, guitar synth, programming), and Jon Sharp (drums) are back with their latest album, which opens with a song more than 20 minutes in length, so a great start. The first time I came across this band, some years ago, I must admit to not being a fan, but as my tastes have grown somewhat wider over the years I am now much better able to appreciate their music, which undoubtedly will not be to everyone’s cup of tea. As it accurately says within the press release, “Babal reveal a dystopian, offbeat view of life; their cinematic, psych/art-rock approach calling up comparisons with Talking Heads , Zappa, Beefheart, Hendrix, Primus, Bent Knee and Patti Smith among many.” Talking Heads has always been a focal point for me with Babal, with music which has edges so sharp and angular that it is possible to get cut just by listening to them. Jon is never content to sit at the back but is dete...

(49:59; Azafran Media) There are times when one comes across an album which is breaking boundaries, attempting to do something quite different which is beautiful and disturbing all at the same time, and that is what we have here with Chilean band Asceta. Formed in 2020, they are already back with their second album, which is both a difficult and also easy album to listen to as here we have a band looking back initially to Gryphon and then to their influences of chamber music, and somehow mixing that with Art Zoyd and RIO. While the music is certainly described in a different way to much within the prog scene this is also due to the fact that in many ways these guys fit somewhat better within modern classical. They comprise Rodrigo Maccioni (electric guitar, concert wooden flute, synthesizer), Cristián Peralta (cello), Alfonso Vergara (clarinet, bass clarinet), Arianne Guerra (violin), Alejandro Vera (bassoon), Eduardo Rubio (electric bass, upright bass), and Leonardo Saavedra (drums, p...

(50:38; Aries Field) When one of my favourite things about this album is the inverted cover photography to tie in with the title, then one may safely assume this is not something I am massively impressed with. Although this project was initially brought together by three musicians, Fabio Stroppa, Francesco Barnab, and Davide Valentini, only Stroppa has continued with it, and now we have the third album, ‘Capsizing the Horizon’. Apart from two songs which feature guitar solos by Alessio Rispoli, this is solely the work of Stroppa, and it shows. He is a fine shred-driven guitarist, but this suffers from a lack of outside viewpoints, and while he is a decent singer much would be added by having a proper vocalist. Apparently, this is a concept album about the deluded desire to do something impossible like changing the past -- allegorically, capsize the horizon, narrated through different phases of a dream, from angry and regretful memories to pure nightmare, to eventually waking up to real...

(58:26; Atomic Fire Records) Originally formed all the way back in 1991,  Brazilian power metal act Angra have long been regarded as one of the finest within the genre, something they have managed to  maintain even though they have had a few different musicians and singers through their ranks during that period. However, they have been stable since 2015, with the line-up consisting of Fabio Lione (vocals), Rafael Bittencourt (guitars – the only remaining founder), Marcelo Barbosa (guitars), Felipe Andreoli (bass) and Bruno Valverde (drums). ‘Cycles of Pain’ is their tenth studio album, their first since 2018’s ‘Ømni’ where Marcelo Barbosa joined to replace Kiko Loureiro, who had departed for Megadeth. I have all their releases, as there is always something special and uplifting about their style of power metal which has high-pitched harmony guitars, powering melodies and great songs which often see them moving far more into the symphonic genre and away from power metal. The mu...

(111:00; Frontiers Music) Although originally formed as Soft White Underbelly back in 1967, they didn’t change their name to Blue Öyster Cult until 1971, which I why I guess they decided to celebrate their fiftieth anniversary in September 2022 instead of back in 2017. They did this by undertaking three consecutive nights Sony Hall in NYC, with each show featuring the band playing in its entirety one of their first three albums (‘Blue Öyster Cult’, ‘Tyranny And Mutation’, and ‘Secret Treaties’), followed by a set of deep cuts and classics from their other albums. Frontiers Music will be releasing all three shows as double discs and Blu-ray, and this is the set from the first night, which sees them start by playing all of the debut in the correct running order. The line-up for the nights was Eric Bloom (guitars, keyboards, vocals – strange how I always think of him as being the voice of the band but is actually only one of the singers, and didn’t actually join the band until 1969), foun...

(58:12; Airbridge) Airbridge are a band of which I have long been aware of, but I am not sure I have heard much music from them until this, their newly released third album. Formed in Norfolk in 1980, they were part of the movement attempting to keep prog going in a very hostile media environment, releasing their debut album ‘Paradise Moves’ in 1982. They broke up in the Eighties before coming back together a decade or so ago, and their 2021 album featured two of the musicians who played on the debut, Lorenzo Bedini (guitars, keyboards, vocals) and Sean Godfrey (bass, vocals) along with their original sound engineer, Dave Allaway on drums. Having taken nearly 40 years to produce a second album they have been rather less tardy this time around, although Sean has now left and been replaced by Jason Crompton (bass, piano, vocals) while they have also brought in Maddalena Pastorelli on vocals. Although produced by the band themselves it was mastered by Andy Glass, so I can only presume the...

(98:44; Schooltree) Track list:    1. Overture 6:02 2. Rocksinger 2:28 3. The Big Slide 3:50 4. Cat Centipede 7:48 5. The Abyss 5:37 6. Radio 2:42 7. Walk You Through 2:32 8. Edge of a Dream 4:48 9. The Leitmaiden 3:22 10. The Legend of Enantiodromia 3:36 11. Specter Lyfe 4:55 12. Dead Girl 4:56 13. Turning into the Strange 3:13 14. The Edge Annihilate 2:52 15. Power of the Ghost 3:24 16. You and I 3:33 17. Into Tomorrow 3:29 18. The River 4:26 19. Bottom of the River 1:53 20. Enantiodromia Awakens 6:29 21. Zombie Connection 4:49 22. Keep Your Head 1:25 23. Day of the Rogue 6:07 24. Utopia 4:28 Line-up: Lainey Schooltree - vocals, piano, synthesizers Brendan Burns - guitars Derek Van Wormer - bass Tom Collins - drums Peter Danilchuk - organ, synthesizers Peter Moore - guitars, vocals, keyboards, programming Prolusion. US band Schooltree have a history that goes back a decade and a bit, and they launched their career as a recording unit with the self-released digital album...