Rory Ridley-Duff - 2026 - Balustrania

(42:06; Rory Ridley-Duff)






















This is Rory’s fourth solo album, released at the beginning of this year, which he describes as a mix of progressive/symphonic rock music with splashes of cool jazz. I noticed that the album available on Bandcamp has seven tracks, while my version has eight, and then I realised the last song on my set is actually the promo for this release, which is also available on Bandcamp. At eight minutes long it contains 30 second snippets of each piece, with Rory explaining what each song represents, and I don’t think I have come across anything quite like this before, and there is no doubt it aided with my understanding of the album as a whole and really works. It is certainly a great way of discovering Rory’s music (and is “name your price” so what do you have to lose?).

There are no guests on this release and Rory proudly states that AI was not used at any point and that he plays everything himself, which is great to know. AI is supposed to take the drudgery out of work, not create art, yet I can see it having much more of an impact in the coming years which is not a future I am looking forward to. Luckily there are still those, like Rory, who have refused to succumb and instead are taking their musical thoughts and capturing them so the rest of us can hear what is taking place inside their heads. This feels like a much more refined and controlled release than the previous one with far greater direction. I have never been a fan of programmed drums, but on tracks like “On The Ocean” they work very well indeed as the results have been thought about and composed as part of the whole instead of just put in to provide a beat.

Including the latest Protos release I have heard three of Rory’s albums in the last few weeks and there is no doubt this is the most complete and interesting as he moves more into Wakeman and Vangelis. Well worth investigating for those who enjoy this style of music. 

Kev Rowland, August 2026

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61585964313285#

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tonnen von Hall - 2025 - Ein Abdruck vom Messer im Herzen

Image
(61:45; Iapetus [Unsung Records] ) Track list: 1. Erdmantel 4:05 2. Vorhalle 0:40 3. Antlitz 4:12 4. Stahlhalle 1:01 5. Kraken 5:02 6. Mitralsaal 0:55 7. Kanister 5:56 8. Sockelwald 0:49 9. Kaiserlicht 5:46 10. Schacht 0:43 11. Zivilisationsfolie 4:27 12. Nebelgarten 0:58 13. Donnermesser 6:41 14. Blutrille 1:01 15. Rauschmitte 5:22 16. Klingensaal 0:50 17. Endgegner 3:39 18. Ätzung 0:41 19. Thronfolge 3:09 20. Ein Abdruck vom Messer im Herzen 4:55 21. Herzkammer 0:53 Line-up: Markus Reuter - guitars, loops, sounds Alexander Paul Dowerk - guitars Asaf Sirkis - drums, percussion, vocals Prolusion. Germany based band Tonnen Von Hall was established back in 2022 or thereabouts, and the threesome consisting of Marks Reuter, Alexander Paul Dowerk and Asaf Sirkis has been developing the style and sound of this new formation ever since. The results of that process first came to light on an EP released towards the end of 2024. A few months later the band have now released their debut album ...
Read more

Thirteen of Everything - 2023 - Time and Other Delusions

Image
(68:22; Basement Avatar Records) Track list: 1. Timeline 8:57 2. Alternate Life 12:02 3. Where the Time Goes 5:32 4. The Penultimate Flight of Armando the Pigeon 7:11 5. The King of Istanbul 10:35 6. Warmth and Darkness 7:32 7. Count All the Days 16.33 Line-up: Brett Cosby - guitars Mick Peters - Chapman stick, bass, pedals, vocals Ted Thomas - drums, percussion, vocals Bob Villwock - keyboards with: Thad Miller - keyboards Prolusion. US band Thirteen of Everything has been a going concern for a bit over 20 years, releasing their initial demo back in 2002 with official albums following in 2005 and 2019 respectively. Following what has been a brief pause between albums for this band they are now preparing to launch their third studio album "Time and Other Delusions", which will be released on US label Basement Avatar Records. Analysis. In terms of the different variations one can find in the progressive rock universe, Thirteen of Everything resides safely inside the symphonic ...
Read more

Deaton Lemay Project - 2022 - The Fifth Element

Image
(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 ...
Read more