(69:00; OOB Records) Veteran musician Henk Bol instigated this project in 2006 and has released an album every six years since then, with the third and most recent coming out in 2024. On the earlier albums he has been named as the only band member alongside lots of guests, but on this one we see singer Ky Fyfer being promoted to full status after appearing on both the others and he also contributes multiple instruments. There are again far too many guests to list here, but I note that Ton Scherpenzeel (Kayak, Camel) provides a Moog solo on one track and Nick Oosterhuis (who passed away in 2021) provides piano introduction on another. Although there are plenty of additional musicians we only get “real” drums on two of the 11 songs which is a real shame as there is no doubt that having a sweating human adding their own parts always improves the outcome. This is categorised as crossover on PA, and that is where I would also have placed it as this is a very melodic progressive release, and...

(37:43; OOB Records) In recent years I have reviewed quite a few of Peter’s releases, both solo and in Venus Loon, and his latest album finds him telling in music the story of the infamous Matthew Hopkins, self-proclaimed Witchfinder General, who actively sought and accused women of witchcraft in East Anglia between 1644 and 1647. What I had not realised until I did some research is that it is widely thought that although there are not many records of that period, he was certainly no older than 28 when he died and could have been a few years younger. It is certainly a dark and menacing topic to attempt to cover in an instrumental album, but while Peter concentrates on electric guitar during this 7-song, 38-minute-long release, he also brings in mandolin, bodhran and other instruments as he combines more traditional forms of music with progressive rock to create the feeling of depth and substance. There is quite a bit of information on the Bandcamp page about Hopkins, and given how his ...

(53:03; Orion) Orion is the project of British multi-instrumentalist Ben Jones, and this is his second album, following on from 2023’s ‘The End of Suffering’. It sounds like Ben is primarily a guitarist, but the drums are also quite good, and high in the mix while the keyboards are generally there for support and colour. He also has a pleasant voice, and the result is an album which in many ways is more crossover progressive rock than Neo. It is melodic and interesting while never really capturing the imagination and getting out of second gear. There are many struggles for the multi-instrumentalist, but one of the key ones is not having others close enough to the music to be able to bounce ideas off which can take the album to the next level. If I had been sent this back in the Nineties I would have expected this to have been sent to me as a demo tape as opposed to a CD, but there is undoubted promise here, as Ben has some nice melodic ideas, although it has always been my firm belief ...

(57:07; Nick Fletcher) This is the first time I have come across guitarist Nick Fletcher, who has only recently returned to the electric version due to his collaborations with John Hackett but is well known for his works in the classical and Celtic fields. It was only on reading his biography that I realised he worked with Dave Bainbridge in bands prior to the forming of Iona, and he has worked with Dave on and off over the years. Now I know why the classical piece “Joy Turning Into Sorrow” is such a delight, as this is where he is actually most at home as opposed to coming to it from the other direction, like Steve Hackett (who incidentally has said, “Nick Fletcher is the best jazz rock guitarist in the country. His fluency is outstanding, I consider him a real star”). Having been professionally trained in the Seventies, Nick has had plenty of time to absorb influences and to my ears the two which really stand out are Allan Holdsworth and Andy Latimer, although there are elements of S...

(67:00; InsideOut Music) At the end of 2023 Morse was wondering what he should do in 2024, and his wife suggested he ought to do something with the local musicians he had been working with at their Christmas concerts and local events. So Neal (keyboards, guitars, bass, percussion, lead & backing vocals) contacted Chris Riley (keyboards, guitars, bass, lead vocals), Andre Madatian (guitars, orchestration) and Philip Martin (drums) and they started playing together and jamming ideas. During the course of the year, as the composing continued, it was obvious there was a need for singer with a higher range, so Neal contacted Gabe Klein and asked if he had any ideas which is how he got in touch with Johnny Bisaha (lead vocals) and there was the core of the band. Of course, working with new and younger musicians means Neal was presented with different ideas, along with plenty of freshness and enthusiasm, but somehow that has not come through into the music itself. I love Neal, and all his...

(131:00; Madmen and Dreamers) Take a trip over to their website and you will find the following statement, “Artists are society’s immune system: Our mission is to write, record, and perform rock musicals about current issues in order to raise awareness and build a community that will get involved to make the world a better place”. The people behind this are Mark A. Durstewitz (producer/composer /lyricist/keyboards), Christine Hull (composer/lyricist/vocal captain/actor), and Mario Renes (composer) and this is the second project from the collective, following on from ‘The Children of Children’. To my ears the most obvious comparison is with Clive Nolan and his Caamora Theatre Company, with ‘Alchemy’ still being the flagbearer for the ultimate in combination of progressive rock, musical theatre and storytelling. Whereas Clive tends to set his stories in the past, here Mark wants to raise in our consciousness the dangers and worries of global warming and the way that big business is tryin...

(72:00; Jam Records) One of the real delights of Jeremy is that when a CD arrives (yes, he still sends out physical CDs to review, and 30 years ago he was sending me cassettes!), one can look at the artwork and try to guess what the music is going to be like but until it is on the player one rarely knows. Lyrically I felt this was going to be religious, something which was confirmed when checking the words in the booklet, but it was when I turned it over to look at the track listing that I felt I knew what was coming as we only have seven songs, but a total running time of more than 70 minutes. Yes, Jeremy Morris has taken a time out from his psychedelic power pop albums or his guitar-driven or piano-driven instrumentals, and here we find him again taking a foray into progressive rock. He is again accompanied on this journey by his long-time friend and drummer Dave Dietrich, but Jeremy provides everything else. This album has an early Seventies feel, and there is no doubt that many peo...

(58:56; Jack Dupon) I must confess to never being really sure how to write the name of this band as I often see it written as two words, and the latest album has the words on two lines, but inside the press release it says JackDupon so maybe it is that? What I do know is that there has been a major change within the ranks of this French quartet, in that they are a quartet no more. If one goes back to 2006’s ‘L'Africain Disparu’ one would find the names of Gregory Pozzoli (guitar), Arnaud M'Doihoma (bass), Philippe Prebet (guitar) and Thomas Larsen (drums). Over the years they have all added vocals, but now on their eighth album we find Prebet listed as adding vocals to the first track, but nothing else. In their press release they say it is their first release as a trio, so it indeed looks as if Prebet has permanently left the band, just contributing to the first song. I have no idea why, as it is certainly not down to the quality of material contained within as this is a blast...

(86:00; Crime Records) This is the third album by Oslo-based progressive rock quintet Infringement, but it is the first time I have come across them although based on this I see I need to find out more. The idea of forming this project stems back to November 2015 when guitarist Stig André Clason (guitar, backing vocals), drummer Kristoffer Utby and singer Hans Andreas Brandal met for the first time. Clason was, and still is, a member of The Windmill, and those who have come across that band’s latest album, ‘Mindscapes’ will know that Utby is now drummer in that outfit as well. The line-up is completed by Bård Thorstensen (keyboards, backing vocals)and Emil Olsen (bass, baritone horn, backing vocals). Having seen some photos of the band in performance it is obvious that the music and words are just part of what they deliver as they are also a very visual band with the use of masks and costumes and are quite unusual in that all three albums to date have been concepts and all are set in t...

(54:26; Bitume) Track list: 1. Pyramid 18:18 2. Laborintus 15:36 3. Egg 20:32 Line-up: Manuel Fabbri - bass, vocals Enrico Piraccini - drums, vocals Matteo Sama - guitars Prolusion. Italian band Onioroshi can trace their history back to 2014, when all three members of the band were a part of another band called Kimono Lights. When that band folded, Onioroshi formed soon after and subsequently released their debut album "Beyond These Mountains" back in 2018. Now at the start of 2025 they have returned with their second studio production. This sophomore effort is called "Shrine", and has been released by the French label Bitume. Analysis. It is a more down to Earth variety of progressive rock we get in this case, at least as far as the band itself goes. This album strikes me as an honest one, possibly with improvised features, and an album where I'd suspect that the number of studio adjustments have been kept at a minimum level. This is also very much a high-flyin...

(84:17; Melodic Revolution Records) This is somewhat unusual for a live album in that while it is being released in February 2025, it was only recorded on December 14th, 2024, at the “Antonio Di Iorio” Theater in Atessa. This means there has been no attempt to “clean up” the recording by fixing any bum notes which is to be admired, but there is no doubt there are a few times over the 97 minutes when I think it might have been an idea to clean up a few of the vocals which just miss the mark. What we have here is the same line-up which recorded the 2023 release, ‘MMXX’, and it is probably no surprise that they play the whole of that album given it is the only one this line-up have been involved with, and they bookend the concert with the opening and closing tracks so we start with a song which is more than 23 minutes in length and end with one which is nearly nine, with the other 12 all being somewhat shorter. Ifsounds have a long history, releasing their debut more than 20 years ago and...

(70:00; Unicorn Digital) Huis are back with their fourth album, following on from 2019’s ‘Abandoned’. Sylvain Descôteaux (vocals, keyboards), Michel St-Père (guitars), and Michel Joncas (bass, Taurus bass pedals) have been there for all the releases, while keyboard player Johnny Maz joined for the last one, but long-time drummer William Régnier has now departed, and he has been replaced by Martin Plante. Huis are one of the most consistent progressive rock bands around, and I have really enjoyed all their albums to date and this one is no different in that respect. They may have only released four albums in just over a decade, but that is not too shabby in the current environment, especially since Michel is highly time poor, given he runs the label and is involved in multiple other bands including the mighty Mystery. Huis have a way of combining melodies, arrangements and vocals so that everything is a highlight, all at the same time. The punch of bass pedals combined with real bass ca...

(48:03; Construction Records) Somehow, I missed the debut album from Haven of Echoes, which was released in 2022, but when Andreas Hack contacted me asking if I would be interested in hearing the new one, I was immediately intrigued. I of course know Andreas from Frequency Drift (you need to seek out ‘Letters to Maro’ if you have not come across it) and then noticed that both Nerissa Schwarz and Wolfgang Osterman from that band are also in this one, with the line-up completed by Paul Sadler (Spires/solo). Paul provides vocals and guitar, Nerissa electric harp and keyboards, Wolfgang drums, while all other instruments are by Andreas.  This album is a soundscape, a curtain of musicality being stood up for Paul to pitch his wonderful vocals against, with the band switching between simplicity and complexity, gentleness and force, always dramatic and always pulsing like a living being. It is a style of music which in many ways can be embracing, covering us with sound, but it is never st...

(43:02; Regal Crabomophone) Track list: 1. The Eternal Dance 7:52 2. Become Sun 5:46 3. House of Ra 4:55 4. Forever Knowing 4:08 5. In Love with the Sun 5:58 6. Season of Fasting/Call for the Equinox 6:20 7. Even Winter 8:03 Line-up: Nicholas Whittaker James Howarth with: Luke Foster Dave Wileman Will Howes Prolusion. UK band Fifth Daughter is a new constellation, revolving around the creative talents of Nicolas Whittaker and James Howarth. After enlisting the skills of fellow musicians Luke Foster, Dave Wileman and Will Howes, the band were ready with their debut album "Stellar Season" at the start of 2025, an album that was released through UK label Fruits de Mer Records and their Regal Crabomophone imprint. Analysis. While Fruits de Mer Records specialize in psychedelic music rather than progressive rock per se, there will always be a considerable overlap between those types of music. Hence it is not all that unexpected to see that a majority of the people involved with th...

(56:27; Frontiers Music) OK, now this is getting ridiculous. When I reviewed 2020's 'Tragic Separation' a year after it was released, I said I could not believe it had taken ten albums for me to come across them, as here was a band approaching the genre from AOR and with a heavy appreciation of Stratovarius. I put the review on ProgArchives and was amazed to see it was the only review of the album there. Fast forward to 2023’s ‘Separation’ and when I placed that review on the site, I noticed there were still no reviews for the former album, and none for this one either. Now here we are with what is probably their best album I have come across and yet again no review for this one yet, and still none for the others, what is going on? Imagine if you will an Italian prog metal band who are not taking any influences from their own country but instead are taking the metallic approach of Stratovarius and then blending it with classic Spock’s Beard and Kansas to produce something w...

(49:44; ArtBeat Music) Compassionizer are back with their fourth full-length album, with the same core line-up as the last one, namely Serghei Liubcenco (guitars, bass, rubab, drums, doira and other percussion), Leonid Perevalov (bass clarinet), Ivan Rozmainsky (spinet, synths, kalimba) and AndRey Stefinoff (clarinet) along with some guests. The only way to describe this is by saying it is progressive, truly progressive, as there is an awful lot going on. In fact, so much I am not even sure how to start. It’s instrumental, classical (with a concentration on chamber music), contains Russian folk and ethnic influences, avant garde and so much more. It is also incredibly enthralling as one never knows where the journey is going to lead, just that it is going to be fascinating. I have followed Ivan Rozmainsky and his musical outpourings for many years and his relationship with Serghei and Leonid has created something very special indeed. It is music which must be played on headphones and o...

(37:48; Castle Records) 1979 saw the release of the second album, originally titled ‘Clef de Ciel’ (‘Key of Heaven’). Yet again this reissue has been retitled, the running order changed, and a track dropped, which all seems very strange indeed to me, making me wonder if there was some sort of licencing issue. While the Llabador brothers were of course at the helm, bassist Barreda had departed while drummer Catlado is credited now with percussion. The rest of the band at this point were Michel Montoyat (bass), Joel Allouche (drums) and Olivier Chabrol (saxophone, piano). The guys were obviously looking to switch musical tack at this point as the keyboards are becoming more dominant, while percussion is also very important as they try to bring in more of a South American and Latin feel. However, the lack of musical direction hurts them as there is no way I can imagine the band from 1973 playing “Si T’es Reggae / Digging Reggae?”. It is almost as if they have heard “Dreadlock Holiday” and...

(28:12; Castle Records) By the time of the debut album in 1977 there had been some changes in that they were now wholly instrumental and had dropped to a quartet of Jean-Pierre (guitars), Jean-Claude (keyboards, guitars) Jean-Pierre Barreda (bass) and Jacky Cataldo (drums). When it was released, it was self-named, but for some reason it has now been given the title ‘Put On Your Glasses And Listen To How Good It Smells Vol.1’ and a new cover, and I have no idea why. Also, not only has the sequence been amended but we now have just six songs instead of the original seven, with what was the longest track on the album, “Il Pleut Sur La Ville”, being inexplicably missed off so the total length of this is just 28 minutes. This album feels far more polished and controlled than the live one, which is probably to be expected, but the lack of woodwind definitely strikes into its enjoyment as I miss the additional melodic interplay. Cataldo is a fine jazz drummer, while Barreda is a superb bassis...

(49:28; Castle Records) Coincidence were a jazz rock fusion band formed by the Llabador brothers, Jean-Pierre (guitars, vocals) and Jean-Claude (guitars, keyboards, vocals) in France in the Seventies. They released two studio albums, but Jean-Claude was sadly killed in a car accident which led Jean-Pierre to then work as a solo artist, his debut solo album being called ‘Coincidences’ to show where he came from. Now, more than 40 years since that release, Castle Records are looking back at the legacy of the band with a previously unavailable live recording plus a reissue of the two studio albums. I have no idea why there are six people on the cover of this release, as according to the label the rest of the band at this time were Dominique Frasson-Cochet (flute, saxophone, vocals), André Simantirakis (bass, vocals) and René Mirguet (drums, percussion). The highlight of this set is opener “Glimpses” which is more than 30 minutes in length, containing lots of influences by Focus, Soft Mach...

(39:33; Unit Records) Track list: 1. Plato’s Clave 4:24 2. Ancestral Drift 6:20 3. Sao Paulo 4:37 4. Helio 4:09 5. Wren Song 6:26 6. Radar 4:14 7. Winged Travelers 4:43 8. Mr. Busyman Goes On Holiday 4:40 Line-up: Charley Rose - saxophones Fabio Gouvea - guitars Jeremie Krüttli - bass Lorenzo Vitolo - fender rhodes Marton Juhasz - drums Prolusion. Hungarian artist and composer Marton Juhasz has a career that goes back 15 years and a bit, and have participated on a number of different recordings over the years in addition to releasing solo albums along the way. His latest solo album is called "Metropolis", and was released through the label Unit Records in February 2025. Analysis. While it is safe to state that jazz is the main style explored on this instrumental production, this is also a creation that ventures into the jazzrock realm on regular occasions. While perhaps not a purebred example of the latter, depending on subjective point of view, it is most certainly a product...