News Archives - Page 28 of 54

Mark’s Quick Review: Organized Chaos’ – Divulgence

by Mark Monforti | Jan 17, 2018 | News, Reviews

If you have never read the key for my ratings below please do so one time. I feel my ratings are tougher than my peers. Also Check my last.fm link to see how compatible our music tasts are.

This Belgrade-based progressive metal band has found some magic with this release. In part to Lalić’s vocals who vocals who I find to be as pleasing as Mariusz Duda’s vocals.

Cinnamon which is the strongest track on this album has some of the most interesting changes I have heard all year and a very epic ending.

Haken’s Richard Henshall does a wonderful job on Broken Divine. Opera singer Branislava Podrumac guests on The Mask which is wonderful as well.

This is for any fan of progressive melodic metal such as riverside, haken and porcupine tree.

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

ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS: Request Cinnamon Here
Request Broken Divine 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: Spriggan Mist’s – The Portal

by Mark Monforti | Jan 16, 2018 | News, Reviews

If you have never read the key for my ratings below please do so one time. I feel my ratings are tougher than my peers. Also Check my last.fm link to see how compatible our music tasts are.

This album is a nice folk album. But here I am at progrock.com and I have to rate it on my prog sensibilities. So if you are looking for a nice folk album with some prog leanings this album is for you.
I do see some of my prog friends liking this band on facebook so I think prog fans would like this album like I do.

If I had any criticisms it would be that they need to stay in Ann-mari’s range a bit better. She has a wonderful voice and decent range but it may not always pair will with what they have written.

PREVIOUS BAND RATING:	(0.0 / 5)
ACCESSIBILITY:	(3.5 / 5)
HEAVINESS:	(1.0 / 5)
MELODIC:	(4.0 / 5)
ARTWORK:	(4.0 / 5)
DRAMA:	(2.5 / 5)
OVERALL RATING:	(3.0 / 5)

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: Dead Centuries’ – Race Against Time

by Mark Monforti | Jan 15, 2018 | News, Reviews

If you have never read the key for my ratings below please do so one time. I feel my ratings are tougher than my peers. Also Check my last.fm link to see how compatible our music tasts are.

This Ottawa band has a few moments that I like but not that many. This is much better than my review will give them credit for. This is really for fans of a three piece metal instrumental band. This is for fans of Liquid Tension Experiment. Which by the way I was not a huge fan of.

So let me just say this quality album will suffer from my narrow mindedness about this particular sub genre of progrock.

Please give request it on the station below and see what you think. I have the “single” linked below.

PREVIOUS BAND RATING:	(0.0 / 5)
ACCESSIBILITY:	(1.5 / 5)
HEAVINESS:	(4.0 / 5)
MELODIC:	(1.5 / 5)
ARTWORK:	(3.0 / 5)
DRAMA:	(3.5 / 5)
OVERALL RATING:	(2.0 / 5)

ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS: Request Overdrive 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: The Cyberiam’s – Self Titled Album

by Mark Monforti | Jan 14, 2018 | News, Reviews

If you have never read the key for my ratings below please do so one time. I feel my ratings are tougher than my peers. Also Check my last.fm link to see how compatible our music tasts are.

Local Band (Chicago) Cyberiam makes good with their debut album. The two people I knew who knew this band are big Steven Wilson fans. One being in a PTree tribute band called Cloud Zero and the other has seen Steven Wilson perform in about a dozen states and multiple countries. So it makes sense that this band has a porcupine tree fans in it. Tool, Dream Theater, and Coheed and Cambria are also listed as influences.

Don’t Blink really sounds like a Coheed and Cambria song to me. And for you Doctor Who fans your hopes have come true. Yes, not only is the title a Doctor Who reference but the song is full of Doctor Who references in it.

This is an exciting young band that gives me hope for a new generation of progressive rock. I am thinking very optimistically about progrock’s future with bands like Bent Knee, Unreal City, Thank You Scientists, and The Dear Hunter bringing in the younger audience.

Do everyone a favor and request a song below.

PREVIOUS BAND RATING:	(0 / 5)
ACCESSIBILITY:	(2 / 5)
HEAVINESS:	(4 / 5)
MELODIC:	(3 / 5)
ARTWORK:	(4 / 5)
DRAMA:	(4 / 5)
OVERALL RATING:	(4 / 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: Red Spectrum’s – Self Titled Album

by Mark Monforti | Jan 13, 2018 | News, Reviews

If you have never read the key for my ratings below please do so one time. I feel my ratings are tougher than my peers. Also Check my last.fm link to see how compatible our music tasts are.

So typically I would be happy with an album of this quality. But for me this is following in footsteps of Mars Hollow. Friend and keyboard player Steve Mauk is behind this band. He and John Baker combined for on of the best writing duos I have ever heard. Thanks in part to Kerry pushing them to alter some less proggy parts of songs and Jerry subtly changing time signatures.

I played Mars Hollow so much on our show that they thanked me and Rayna on their second album. So this album is a bit of a let down which I was worried about. Some of the signature sounds and writing of Mars Hollow but it doesn’t have the same luster of the Mars Hollow albums.

Another frustrating thing is there is no where I found to buy the album.

No one want’s to take credit for the vocals on the album, and I can’t say I blame them they seem to distract from the music.

From a techie point of view, their email address is on the site which is a great way to get spam instead of true email. Also the email address is gmail, they couldn’t even be bothered to set up an email address with their own domain. Also the more page has had nothing on it since the inception of the site. When I see things like this I wonder about the seriousness of the project.

This album is on the station and is still decent so queue it up and see for yourself.

PREVIOUS BAND RATING:	(0.0 / 5)
ACCESSIBILITY:	(3.0 / 5)
HEAVINESS:	(2.0 / 5)
MELODIC:	(3.5 / 5)
ARTWORK:	(4.0 / 5)
DRAMA:	(3.0 / 5)
OVERALL RATING:	(3.0 / 5)

ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS: Request Red Spectrum 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: Long Earth’s – The Source

by Mark Monforti | Jan 12, 2018 | News, Reviews

If you have never read the key for my ratings below please do so one time. I feel my ratings are tougher than my peers. Also Check my last.fm link to see how compatible our music tasts are.

I have had the fortune to see this band live probably one of a few American’s to see them play live. Neil Mackie’s voice and guitar playing were wonderful and it shows on the album. Gordon Mackie on bass was equally as important and energetic. Mike Baxter’s roll in giving this album its melodic ambiance cannot be over estimated. Ken Weir’s roll as drummer is wonderful as he can play pastor passages in ghost as well as rock out on other tracks. Lead guitarist Renaldo McKim gives it that polyphonic sound that I love in prog.

The album way above average and I suggest keeping an eye on their live performances. You will like both equally.

Check them out. Just click on the suggested songs below and tune in to progrock.com.

PREVIOUS BAND RATING:	(0.0 / 5)
ACCESSIBILITY:	(3.0 / 5)
HEAVINESS:	(2.0 / 5)
MELODIC:	(4.0 / 5)
ARTWORK & PACKAGING:	(4.5 / 5)
DRAMA:	(4.0 / 5)
OVERALL RATING:	(4.0 / 5)

ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS: Request Long Earth 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: Organized Chaos’ – Divulgence

Mark’s Quick Review: Spriggan Mist’s – The Portal

Mark’s Quick Review: Dead Centuries’ – Race Against Time

Mark’s Quick Review: The Cyberiam’s – Self Titled Album

Mark’s Quick Review: Red Spectrum’s – Self Titled Album

Mark’s Quick Review: Long Earth’s – The Source

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