(52:51; mobiUS) Here we have the debut album by mobiUS (their capitalization), a band who are inspired by Pink Floyd, Yes and Porcupine Tree. Keyboard player Tim Newcombe started thinking about creating this band as long ago as 2012, but never managed to really get it off the ground. Then in 2020 he met bassist Alistair McCaig at a music venue in the South of England, and during their conversation they realized that by combining their talents (Alistair also knows his way around a studio) they may well have the basis of a band. Tim had played sessions with drummer Andy Clifton and knew by reputation guitarist/vocalist Andy Hughes and the band was born. The advent of lockdown meant there was no opportunity to work together in person, so Tim wrote and distributed the material to the rest of the guys who all recorded remotely and then it was mastered by Alistair and here is the result. Given that this is a new band who had not undertaken much work together prior to lockdown, perhaps it is ...

(71:28; Apollon Records Prog) Track list: 1. Fimbulvinter 8:13 2. Jutulhogget 7:17 3. Dovre Faller 19:10 4. Kjempene Vaakner 26:17 5. Mega Annum 10:31 Line-up: Odd Roar Bakken - guitars, keyboards Anton J. R. Larsen - drums, percussion Nils Larsen - bass Prolusion. Norwegian band Kornmo was formed back in 2015, featuring seasoned musicians with a history in bands such as Adventure and Morild. They released their first album "Svartisen" back in 2017, and in 2019 their second production "Vandring" appeared. "Fimbulvinter" is the third album by Kornmo, and was released in the fall of 2021 through Norwegian label Apollon Records Prog. Analysis. It doesn't take all that long to be able to establish a suitable context for the music explored on this album. Symphonic progressive rock is the style explored here, and it is a distinctly retro-oriented variety of the style at that. It is also an instrumental production, which probably is worth taking note of. As t...

(90:14; InsideOut Music) In September 2019 the four-piece of Neal Morse (vocals, piano, Hammond organ, Minimoog, Mellotron, acoustic guitar, charango), Roine Stolt (vocals, electric & acoustic 6- & 12-string guitars, ukulele, keyboards, percussion), Pete Trewavas (vocals, bass) and Mike Portnoy (vocals, drums & percussion) met up to discuss what would be their fifth album. After a couple of weeks of working on material and mapping out songs each musician returned to their own studio to work on the recording. It was during this period that the album kept growing, and discussions were had as to whether this should be a double or single CD. Pete and Neal favoured the shorter version while Roine and Mike preferred the longer, so in the end they decided to do both. But it is important to understand that one is not a shorter/longer version of the other in that there are alternate recordings, new recordings, and even different singers on the single album. While they are different ...

(64:12; InsideOut Music) In September 2019 the four-piece of Neal Morse (vocals, piano, Hammond organ, Minimoog, Mellotron, acoustic guitar, charango), Roine Stolt (vocals, electric & acoustic 6- & 12-string guitars, ukulele, keyboards, percussion), Pete Trewavas (vocals, bass) and Mike Portnoy (vocals, drums & percussion) met up to discuss what would be their fifth album. After a couple of weeks of working on material and mapping out songs each musician returned to their own studio to work on the recording. It was during this period that the album kept growing, and discussions were had as to whether this should be a double or single CD. Pete and Neal favoured the shorter version while Roine and Mike preferred the longer, so in the end they decided to do both. But it is important to understand that one is not a shorter/longer version of the other in that there are alternate recordings, new recordings, and even different singers on the single album. ‘The Breath of Life’ come...

(61:05; Frontiers Music) I have been a fan of Vanden Plas right from the beginning, but it must be said that I thought their last album was fairly workmanlike and contained little to make it essential. Given that it was the first part of a two-part concept, and here we have the second, there was little which had me looking forward to playing it. But just by putting this on for the very first time, I found myself falling in love with Vanden Plas all over again. There are very few bands who can say they have kept the same line-up since their formation in 1986, but Vanden Plas can, which is quite some achievement, although they do also utilize guests when the time is right. Andy Kuntz (vocals), Stephan Lill (guitar), Günter Werno (keyboards), Andreas Lill (drums) and Torsten Reichert (bass) have been joined by Alea from the leading German medieval rock band Saltatio Mortis for a duet on the bonus track “Krieg kennt keine Sieger”, Snow White Blood singer Ulli Perhonen is here for “Black Wa...

(63:35; Ward XVI) One of the real joys of being involved in the scene for so long is that often my name gets passed onto bands and it is suggested they get in touch with me. This is how Doktor Von Stottenstein from Ward XVI came across my details, and he sent me both this their debut album from 2017 and their most recent to see what I thought of them, and tbh I was simply blown away from the very first time I put it on. Ward XVI are a theatrical hard rock band with strong progressive tendencies who utilize actors and props on stage to create a 4d experience. I must confess to having failed in trying to uncover who is involved in this release as I believe there have been considerable line-up changes since then, but I can confirm that Doktor Von Stottenstein (guitars, vocals) was joined on this by the delectable Psychoberrie (vocals). Mind you, given that this is the first album in a concept trilogy which tells the story of a female psychopath locked away in Whittingham Asylum, a high se...

(49:56; Metal Rocka Recordings) The second album in the series starts in exactly the same way as the first, with the female psychopath being interviewed by the doctor, and this leads us into a memory of her mother talking to her as a child saying that one day, she is going to be something special. This song collapses and morphs into yet another fairground theme, something which is not unusual for Ward XVI. One of the real delights with their music is that while one can guarantee that Psychoberrie’s vocals will always be great, that the song structures and arrangements will take the listener on a journey, one never knows what is going to happen within each song, let alone from one song to the next. I guess that in some ways this must make it somewhat hard for them to find support gigs or the right festivals, as while many will simply class them as theatrical hard rock, they are both that and yet more than that. Their music is rock, yet not always heavy, it could well be termed progressi...