Mark Monforti, Author at PROGROCK.COM

Mark’s Quick Review: Ultranova – Orion

by Mark Monforti | Nov 16, 2017 | News, Reviews

So I probably should be the last guy to review a jazzy instrumental album. I was pleasantly surprised how much I liked this album. I upon two listens I could already appreciate this album. I think if you like instrumental music more than I like instrumental music you will find this album to be one of your favorite releases of the year. The final track Orion, is a must listen for all prog lovers.

PREVIOUS BAND RATING:	(0.0 / 5)
ACCESSIBILITY:	(2.0 / 5)
HEAVINESS:	(1.5 / 5)
MELODIC:	(3.0 / 5)
DRAMA:	(3.0 / 5)
OVERALL RATING:	(4.0 / 5)

ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS: Request Here

Click Below to purchase at Amazon US or Amazon UK and we’ll get a little referral bonus on your whole order. Even if you don’t order this album

Key:
These ratings are just attributes and may not have correlation to the most important: OVERALL RATING

PREVIOUS BAND RATING
0: Never heard of them or debut album.
1: Someone recommended. I give them another shot.
2: Some good moments in the past but never put together an album I really liked.
3: Some 4 or 5 star songs but albums can be hit or miss for me.
4: I like 80% of their songs and probably went to see them live.
5: I would, and probably have gone on a plane to see them live.

ACCESSIBILITY EXAMPLES
1: Weather Report
2: Zappa
3: Genesis – Selling England by the Pound,
4: Marillion – F.E.A.R
5: Kino – Picture

HEAVINESS EXAMPLES
1: IQ – Seventh House
2: Discipline – Unfold Like a Staircase
3: Porcupine Tree – In Abstentia, Shadow Gallery – Tyranny
4: Vanden Plas – Chirst 0, Dream Theater – Scenes From a Memory
5: Opeth – Black Water Park

MELODIC EXAMPLES:
1: Opeth – Black Water Park
2: Vanden Plas – Chirst 0, Dream Theater – Scenes From a Memory
3: Porcupine Tree – In Abstentia, Shadow Gallery – Tyranny
4: Discipline – Unfold Like a Staircase
5: IQ – Seventh House

OVERALL RATING:
1: Will Never listen to again and deleted under no circumstances should you buy this
2: Not my thing maybe one redeeming song.
3: I like parts of this and I would check them out if they were near me.
4: I would get in the car and road trip to see this album live
5: I would get on a plane to see this performed live

See if our likes are similar See my Last.fm Page

https://www.last.fm/user/mon40/library/artists

Mark’s Quick Review: Evergrey – Monday Morning Apocalypse

by Mark Monforti | Nov 16, 2017 | News, Reviews

So the randomizer selected this album today and I was quite excited because it was an album I have not heard in a while. That’s where the excitement stopped however. I just remembered why I didn’t listen to this album, it’s not for a prog fan. The problem for me, that even as a heavy metal album there is a shocking lack of drama in this album and because its not meant to be a prog album there are no interesting passages for me. This is a straight pass for me. Listen to any other Evergrey album but this one.

PREVIOUS BAND RATING:	(3.5 / 5)
ACCESSIBILITY:	(1.5 / 5)
HEAVINESS:	(4.5 / 5)
MELODIC:	(1.0 / 5)
DRAMA:	(1.0 / 5)
OVERALL RATING:	(1.5 / 5)

ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS: Request Here

Click Below to purchase at Amazon US or Amazon UK and we’ll get a little referral bonus on your whole order. Even if you don’t order this album

Key:
These ratings are just attributes and may not have correlation to the most important: OVERALL RATING

PREVIOUS BAND RATING
0: Never heard of them or debut album.
1: Someone recommended. I give them another shot.
2: Some good moments in the past but never put together an album I really liked.
3: Some 4 or 5 star songs but albums can be hit or miss for me.
4: I like 80% of their songs and probably went to see them live.
5: I would, and probably have gone on a plane to see them live.

ACCESSIBILITY EXAMPLES
1: Weather Report
2: Zappa
3: Genesis – Selling England by the Pound,
4: Marillion – F.E.A.R
5: Kino – Picture

HEAVINESS EXAMPLES
1: IQ – Seventh House
2: Discipline – Unfold Like a Staircase
3: Porcupine Tree – In Abstentia, Shadow Gallery – Tyranny
4: Vanden Plas – Chirst 0, Dream Theater – Scenes From a Memory
5: Opeth – Black Water Park

MELODIC EXAMPLES:
1: Opeth – Black Water Park
2: Vanden Plas – Chirst 0, Dream Theater – Scenes From a Memory
3: Porcupine Tree – In Abstentia, Shadow Gallery – Tyranny
4: Discipline – Unfold Like a Staircase
5: IQ – Seventh House

OVERALL RATING:
1: Will Never listen to again and deleted under no circumstances should you buy this
2: Not my thing maybe one redeeming song.
3: I like parts of this and I would check them out if they were near me.
4: I would get in the car and road trip to see this album live
5: I would get on a plane to see this performed live

See if our likes are similar See my Last.fm Page

https://www.last.fm/user/mon40/library/artists

Mark’s Quick Review: Milky Way Gas Station – Somewhere / Anywhere

by Mark Monforti | Nov 14, 2017 | News, Reviews

This debut from Milky Way Gas Station has garnered much attention from our listeners at MusicInWidescreen.com They were nice enough to send us a copy and I am glad they did. Unlike many debut submissions this album is quite good. Some nice moments in Neutral, Whyand Moon Phases. Also Joakim Svalberg (Opeth) guests on this album on tracks Neutral and Telescope Sight the album is certainly worth a spin. Why not request a song on the station and see for yourself.

PREVIOUS BAND RATING:	(0.0 / 5)
ACCESSIBILITY:	(3.0 / 5)
HEAVINESS:	(2.0 / 5)
MELODIC:	(4.0 / 5)
DRAMA:	(3.0 / 5)
OVERALL RATING:	(3.0 / 5)

ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS: Request Here

Click Below to purchase at Amazon US or Amazon UK and we’ll get a little referral bonus on your whole order. Even if you don’t order this album

Key:
These ratings are just attributes and may not have correlation to the most important: OVERALL RATING

PREVIOUS BAND RATING
0: Never heard of them or debut album.
1: Someone recommended. I give them another shot.
2: Some good moments in the past but never put together an album I really liked.
3: Some 4 or 5 star songs but albums can be hit or miss for me.
4: I like 80% of their songs and probably went to see them live.
5: I would, and probably have gone on a plane to see them live.

ACCESSIBILITY EXAMPLES
1: Weather Report
2: Zappa
3: Genesis – Selling England by the Pound,
4: Marillion – F.E.A.R
5: Kino – Picture

HEAVINESS EXAMPLES
1: IQ – Seventh House
2: Discipline – Unfold Like a Staircase
3: Porcupine Tree – In Abstentia, Shadow Gallery – Tyranny
4: Vanden Plas – Chirst 0, Dream Theater – Scenes From a Memory
5: Opeth – Black Water Park

MELODIC EXAMPLES:
1: Opeth – Black Water Park
2: Vanden Plas – Chirst 0, Dream Theater – Scenes From a Memory
3: Porcupine Tree – In Abstentia, Shadow Gallery – Tyranny
4: Discipline – Unfold Like a Staircase
5: IQ – Seventh House

OVERALL RATING:
1: Will Never listen to again and deleted under no circumstances should you buy this
2: Not my thing maybe one redeeming song.
3: I like parts of this and I would check them out if they were near me.
4: I would get in the car and road trip to see this album live
5: I would get on a plane to see this performed live

See if our likes are similar See my Last.fm Page

https://www.last.fm/user/mon40/library/artists

Mark’s Quick Review: Genesis – The Lamb Lies down On Broadway

by Mark Monforti | Nov 13, 2017 | News, Reviews

Well my random music review playlist came up with this classic. This is the double album that many bands writing double albums aspire to be. This, the inspiration to Kevin Gilbert’s Shaming of the True and many others, is full of wonderful music. Brian Eno contributes to one of the many highlights The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging. The lyrics completely written by Peter this album are sometime less cohesive than I would like but the wonderful songwriting make it a classic. They toured the entire double album in America prior to the release to a perplexed genesis fan base. Fans left the tour bewildered but the love for this album grew and grew for all these years. Selling England by the Pound is my favorite but this double album is great. Some people think the album would have been better as a single album but I’ll take it all except for the final song It

PREVIOUS BAND RATING:	(5.0 / 5)
ACCESSIBILITY:	(3.0 / 5)
HEAVINESS:	(2.0 / 5)
MELODIC:	(3.0 / 5)
ARTWORK & PACKAGING:	(4.0 / 5)
DRAMA:	(4.0 / 5)
OVERALL RATING:	(4.5 / 5)

ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS: Request Here

Click Below to purchase at Amazon US or Amazon UK and we’ll get a little referral bonus on your whole order. Even if you don’t order this album

Key:
These ratings are just attributes and may not have correlation to the most important: OVERALL RATING

PREVIOUS BAND RATING
0: Never heard of them or debut album.
1: Someone recommended. I give them another shot.
2: Some good moments in the past but never put together an album I really liked.
3: Some 4 or 5 star songs but albums can be hit or miss for me.
4: I like 80% of their songs and probably went to see them live.
5: I would, and probably have gone on a plane to see them live.

ACCESSIBILITY EXAMPLES
1: Weather Report
2: Zappa
3: Genesis – Selling England by the Pound,
4: Marillion – F.E.A.R
5: Kino – Picture

HEAVINESS EXAMPLES
1: IQ – Seventh House
2: Discipline – Unfold Like a Staircase
3: Porcupine Tree – In Abstentia, Shadow Gallery – Tyranny
4: Vanden Plas – Chirst 0, Dream Theater – Scenes From a Memory
5: Opeth – Black Water Park

MELODIC EXAMPLES:
1: Opeth – Black Water Park
2: Vanden Plas – Chirst 0, Dream Theater – Scenes From a Memory
3: Porcupine Tree – In Abstentia, Shadow Gallery – Tyranny
4: Discipline – Unfold Like a Staircase
5: IQ – Seventh House

OVERALL RATING:
1: Will Never listen to again and deleted under no circumstances should you buy this
2: Not my thing maybe one redeeming song.
3: I like parts of this and I would check them out if they were near me.
4: I would get in the car and road trip to see this album live
5: I would get on a plane to see this performed live

See if our likes are similar See my Last.fm Page

https://www.last.fm/user/mon40/library/artists

Mark’s Quick Review: Von Hertzen Brother’s – War is Over

by Mark Monforti | Nov 12, 2017 | News, Reviews

This is one of my favorite bands as you can see from the ratings. I have actually offered them an all expense paid trip to Chicago for a private concert that they have so far ignored. This album is just chalk full of 4 star songs with some five star moments. So in short buy the album and enjoy it this embodies everything that makes progressive rock great. I almost gave this a 4.5 star rating but after a fourth listen I decided to go full five stars which I don’t do lightly.

PREVIOUS BAND RATING:	(5 / 5)
ACCESSIBILITY:	(4 / 5)
HEAVINESS:	(3 / 5)
MELODIC:	(3 / 5)
ARTWORK & PACKAGING:	(4 / 5)
DRAMA:	(4 / 5)
OVERALL RATING:	(5 / 5)

ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS: War Is Over – Request Here

ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS: Wanderlust – Request Here

ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS: Beyond The Storm – Request Here

Click Below to purchase at Amazon US or Amazon UK and we’ll get a little referral bonus on your whole order. Even if you don’t order this album

Key:
These ratings are just attributes and may not have correlation to the most important: OVERALL RATING

PREVIOUS BAND RATING
0: Never heard of them or debut album.
1: Someone recommended. I give them another shot.
2: Some good moments in the past but never put together an album I really liked.
3: Some 4 or 5 star songs but albums can be hit or miss for me.
4: I like 80% of their songs and probably went to see them live.
5: I would, and probably have gone on a plane to see them live.

ACCESSIBILITY EXAMPLES
1: Weather Report
2: Zappa
3: Genesis – Selling England by the Pound,
4: Marillion – F.E.A.R
5: Kino – Picture

HEAVINESS EXAMPLES
1: IQ – Seventh House
2: Discipline – Unfold Like a Staircase
3: Porcupine Tree – In Abstentia, Shadow Gallery – Tyranny
4: Vanden Plas – Chirst 0, Dream Theater – Scenes From a Memory
5: Opeth – Black Water Park

MELODIC EXAMPLES:
1: Opeth – Black Water Park
2: Vanden Plas – Chirst 0, Dream Theater – Scenes From a Memory
3: Porcupine Tree – In Abstentia, Shadow Gallery – Tyranny
4: Discipline – Unfold Like a Staircase
5: IQ – Seventh House

OVERALL RATING:
1: Will Never listen to again and deleted under no circumstances should you buy this
2: Not my thing maybe one redeeming song.
3: I like parts of this and I would check them out if they were near me.
4: I would get in the car and road trip to see this album live
5: I would get on a plane to see this performed live

See if our likes are similar See my Last.fm Page

https://www.last.fm/user/mon40/library/artists

Mark’s Quick Review: Ultranova – Orion

Mark’s Quick Review: Evergrey – Monday Morning Apocalypse

Mark’s Quick Review: Milky Way Gas Station – Somewhere / Anywhere

Mark’s Quick Review: Genesis – The Lamb Lies down On Broadway

Mark’s Quick Review: Von Hertzen Brother’s – War is Over

Upcoming Shows