Progressive Rock

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    Beardfish – Mammoth (2011)

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    Keeping the flame alive of bands like YES and King Crimson, today we have Beardfish and their excellent release “Mammoth”. Being the sixth album under their belt, “Mammoth” moves forward with their super catchy and authentic old-school influenced sound. As you know from the band’s previous release, their sound is very listener friendly and excellently crafted.

    Opening with “The Platform”, the band nicely shows their experience in crafting very engaging sounds that have both technical proficiency and catchy melodies. This song keeps getting better and better as it progresses. “And the Stone Said” in our opinion is the best track in this album. Clocking around 15 minutes, this epic song features very catchy melodies and great keyboard and guitar solos.

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    Cynthesis – DeEvolution (2011)

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    Progressive wizards the Tipton brothers (Zero Hour) come together once more with vocalist Erik Rosvold (ex-Zero Hour) in this very ambitious project of Progressive Rock/Metal brilliance. Cynthesis debut album “DeEvolution” sets new standards for this gathering of musicians in a very trippy and atmospheric context.

    With the quality of musicians in this project there is little doubt that the music will be extremely good, and this is immediately confirmed in the opening track “The Man without Skin”. In this song we are treated to Jasun’s wizard-like guitar skills and atmospheric elements that create a very futuristic and interesting atmosphere.

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    Lebowski – Cinematic (2010)

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    As one of the most ambitious self-released albums we have received in years, we have Lebowski’s musical opus “Cinematic”. In this release, the band culminates a 5 year writing process in the shape of a sound track to a non-existent movie as they put it. Being the band’s first full-length release, we are sure they will turn some heads along the way with such a professional and rich production.

    The variety of textures created by the moods and instruments is outstanding, all the elements come together magically in such a way that you can visualize the atmospheres created by the band in each of the 10 songs presented in this release.

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    Eloy – The Legacy Box (2010)

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    After an 11-year hiatus after the release of “Ocean 2: The Answer” Germany’s progressive rock monsters Eloy returned with “Visionary” in 2009. Taking advantage of the new found momentum this legendary band has gained, Frank Bornemann (the only remaining original member of the band) and company have put out the double-DVD “The Legacy Box”.

    In this new DVD we get a great documentary that takes the band release by release and talks about the things behind the scenes for the band’s iconic releases through the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. We get interviews with past members and their thoughts behind the direction of the albums, the music, and the state of the band through each release. During this 90+ minute “Mighty Echoes – The story of Eloy” documentary, we get great insight into the band’s career and if you didn’t knew anything about them you will almost become an expert on the band.

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    Coma – Excess (2010)

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    Hailing from Poland, today we have Coma, a band that has ‘dominated’ the scene in their home country and now it’s trying to make their way through the very crowded and highly competitive world-wide market. The band plays a perfect blend of rock with progressive elements and some hints of Metal. “Excess” is a re-recorded version (in English) of their best album, and you can clearly hear that with the quality of the songs presented in this release.

    In an emotional rollercoaster, “Excess” takes the listener through many different moods and a wide variety of different elements fused together to create a near perfect release that will surely put the band in the world wide map. Being formed in 1998, the band has had enough time to craft their sound and be comfortable with it, the musicianship of this release shows that Coma is here to stay and that people should take note of them.

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    Star One – Victims of the Modern Age (2010)

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    As one of the most anticipated releases of 2010, today we have Star One’s second full-length album “Victims of the Modern Age”. After seven years of waiting, Arjen Lucassen brings us a brilliant Progressive Metal/Rock space journey with “Victims of the Modern Age”.

    As you can always expect with any project where Arjen Lucassen is involved, the listener is treated to a wide variety of haunting songs featuring some of the best vocal arrangements and brilliant instrumentation on any album released in 2010. While the similarity to the last few Ayreon albums is very high, Arjen manages to craft songs that  capture the listeners attention and transports them to a different world.

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    Fen – Trails out of Gloom (2010)

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    Sometimes in our review queue some albums get lost in the mix and we don’t get to them until ‘late’. Unluckily for us we didn’t heard this majestic release from Fen (from Canada not the UK one) and now we can’t stop listening to it in order to pay attention to newer releases that need to be heard.

    Before the confusion set’s in, this Canadian outfit plays Progressive Rock/Metal and it should not be mixed up with UK’s Fen (that play’s Atmospheric Black Metal/Post-rock). The first impressions we had of this CD where outstanding since the band has managed to craft 9 Progressive Rock/Metal anthems unlike many bands are able to do these days. After further listening, we can’t stop agreeing that this is surely the Progressive Rock/Metal album of the year for us as of August.

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    Votum – Metafiction (2010)

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    As soon as we saw that Votum’s second full-length album was promoted for fans of Opeth, Anathema and Porcupine Tree, we immediately took out the CD from its packaging and started listening to this promising release. To our surprise, Votum actually delivers on the promise of being compared to the previously mentioned legendary bands.

    Hailing from Poland, Votum has been around since 2002 and (from what we have heard) has been evolving from Heavy Metal into the mystical genre of Progressive Metal/Rock in the last years. We immediately identify with Votum’s music since it’s well crafted and atmospheric enough to draw our attention away from whatever else we are doing while reviewing music (playing MW2 mostly).

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    Anathema – We’re Here Because We’re Here (2010)

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    We have been waiting for seven long years to get a new release from one of our favorite bands: Anathema. “We’re Here Because We’re Here” is the band’s latest album that will surely gain them a ton of mainstream fans, but will loose of the fans that have been expecting something completely different (and more inspired) from them.

    The band’s atmospheric rock has suffered a very drastic transformation since “A Natural Disaster” shifting into a more commercial-friendly sound. Even Vincet’s vocals sound different than in the previously mentioned release. With only three tracks that appealed to us, we must say that this album is a big disappointment (at least for us).

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    Haken – Aquarius (2010)

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    Having formed back in 2007, Haken sounds like a band that’s been around for decades. Attempting to dethrone Dream Theater, Haken is here to blow us away with their impressive first release. The band comes close with a very good progressive Metal/Rock Jazzy album with “Aquarius”, but the only problem is that they sound too much like DT and IQ.

    “Aquarius” is a monumental 72 minute long release that is very impressive and every Prog fan should check this one out. In a few years Haken has done what it has taken 10-15 years to other bands. The band has polished their sound greatly and they can compose monumental 16 minute songs that will keep you engaged the whole time, with not a single dull moment.

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