So I was sent this album back in December and I finally got around to listening to it. This Greek heavy prog band has a great sound. The problem for me is that its not always melodic enough for my taste.
When they are in mellow I really like their tracks when the are too heavy and have machine gun type base drum going that does nothing for me.
If you are a fan of Prog Power this album you must check out I think you will love it.
ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS: Once, Telos
PREVIOUS BAND RATING:
(0.0 / 5)
ACCESSIBILITY:
(1.5 / 5)
HEAVINESS:
(4.5 / 5)
MELODIC:
(1.5 / 5)
ARTWORK & PACKAGING:
(2.0 / 5)
DRAMA:
(3.0 / 5)
OVERALL RATING:
(3.0 / 5)
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
Full disclosure here. I am more a fan of fish than Marillion.
That being said I have liked most of his solo releases with the last 5 at least being above average or better.
This album is no different again some wonderful crossover prog. I was lucky enough to see some of this preformed live in New Jersey as well which inevitably makes me like this album a little more too.
Together with writer Steve Vantsis I think there are many strong songs on this album. I think I can comfortably say I like each and every song on this album.
Every song is between 4 and 7 minutes long and accessible. I struggle to find any 5 star song but there are some 5 star moments.
ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS: Zoe 25, 13th Star
PREVIOUS BAND RATING:
(4.0 / 5)
ACCESSIBILITY:
(4.0 / 5)
HEAVINESS:
(2.0 / 5)
MELODIC:
(4.0 / 5)
ARTWORK & PACKAGING:
(3.0 / 5)
DRAMA:
(4.0 / 5)
OVERALL RATING:
(4.0 / 5)
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
So here we are with another band I probably should have heard of before but this was my introduction to this band. This was the album was the album that got them RoSfest and Terra Incognita gigs.
So this album as you might suspect is quite good. From the first note of Delusions Of Grander is captivating. The second song Obsolescence which is in five movements and according to Denis of the band that song and Thank You. are two must play songs in their set which leaves time for very little else.
This album does two things i thought were impossible. Make a song I like that sounds suspiciously like Bruce Hornsby at times and fuse a country song with some Gaelic and make is sound like a romance language.
Not only is this a great album but the members are gregarious and friendly.
ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS: Obsolescence, Thank You
PREVIOUS BAND RATING:
(0.0 / 5)
ACCESSIBILITY:
(3.5 / 5)
HEAVINESS:
(1.5 / 5)
MELODIC:
(4.0 / 5)
ARTWORK & PACKAGING:
(2.5 / 5)
DRAMA:
(3.0 / 5)
OVERALL RATING:
(4.5 / 5)
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
The Tangent seem to just get better and better. Andy is one of the best prog poets of our era and I consider him a friend. His RosFest, Summers End and Terra Incognita shows were all wonderful to see.
I must say that the early Tangent was not really in my niche. It has some jazzier moments that are not really my thing, but either my tastes have been growing or the songs are more on the rock side and less on the jazzy side of prog.
This album is very political without taking a side. The music is epic is size four songs over 12 minutes long. Each with some very amazing portions. Not really a clunker on the album.
Sometimes the vocals are a bit more like talking and not really singing. I think that some people wish that they had a different singer but these songs are so obviously personal I can’t imagine anyone else singing them.
ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS: Doctor Livingstone, Slow Rust
PREVIOUS BAND RATING:
(4.0 / 5)
ACCESSIBILITY:
(2.0 / 5)
HEAVINESS:
(2.5 / 5)
MELODIC:
(3.0 / 5)
ARTWORK & PACKAGING:
(5.0 / 5)
DRAMA:
(4.0 / 5)
OVERALL RATING:
(4.5 / 5)
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
Argentinian progressive rock luminaries Bad Dreams and PledgeMusic have joined forces, and the band has launched their first ever crowdfunding campaign for the release of their third album entitled “Chrysalis” which will hit the shelves worldwide on November 17th, 2017.
“It’s been a very busy year at the Bad Dreams camp and we have decided to harness the momentum and use all our energies into making a killer new record” – says Gabriel Agudo, the band vocalist – “We have teamed up with Pledge Music to be able to bring our project from inception to completion with the help of those who really matter: you, OUR FANS. It is with only with your support that we will be able to see this through. Our new album Chrysalis will be out next November, and we are asking you to step in and join us to make that dream a reality”
Hailing from the land better known for tango melodies, Bad Dreams is a group of veteran musicians who had honed their chops as a Genesis tribute band for 10 years. After the release their first album “Apocalypse of the Mercy” in 2014, they have been forging a name for themselves in the international prog-rock scene. “Apocalypse of the Mercy” garnered worldwide recognition among classic and progressive rock fans, and the band opened for Steve Hackett and played alongside Marillion’s Steve Rothery and his band during their South American leg. In 2015 they became the first South American band to be invited to the prestigious Cruise to the Edge celebration, sharing the bill with household names in the prog-rock scene like Yes, Marillion, Mike Portnoy, Änglagård, PFM, Neal Morse Band, Lifesigns, Allan Holdsworth, and many others; and performing two very successful shows in front of an audience which was unaware of the band and welcomed then with warm, standing ovations.
2016 saw the coming of their sophomore record, entitled “Déjà vu”, marking a significant turning point for the band. “Déjà vu” was a record which pandered to no label, no media framework and no pre-conceived rules, taking a reminiscent of the prog most glorious melodies to a new dramatic level, coalescing all the passion, virtuosity and mellotron-ladden melodies trademark of the band in an upbeat, nostalgia-drenched musical ride. Invited one more time to the Cruise to the Edge Festival aboard the Brilliance of the Seas ship, this time around they stole the show in a couple of occasions in front of feverish and clamoring crowds, and their flawless performance paved the way for their third invitation to the event in February 2018.
A new chapter in the history of the band is now unfolding and Jorge Tenesini, the band founder and keyboardist speaks about it: “We wanted to take a new approach to the recording of our new album and decided it won’t be a better way to do so than bringing our fans with us along the ride. In our PledgeMusic store (www.pledgemusic.com/projects/bad-dreams) they can pre-order the new record, plus a variety of other exclusive items we wanted to include, making the album buying process even more interesting. But we didn’t stop there: we decided to also throw in our first ever live release in the form of a Limited Box-Set including a Blu Ray and a DVD of our concert during Cruise to the Edge last February which we named “Live From The Edge”. We are also preparing to document the recording process and offer all of you who decide to join us in this journey some special behind the scene access to the creative process as it progresses. Tell your family and friends and let’s do this together!”
For the recording of “Chrysalis” the Argentinian have enlisted some special guest: singers Lorelei and Durga McBroom, also known as “The McBroom Sisters”, who performed as live backing vocals for Pink Floyd since 1989, will lend their angelical voices to a track entitled “Goblin’s Seduction”, tune which will also include a fantastic saxophone solo courtesy of Jamison Smeltz. Jota Morelli, considered by many the greatest drummer to ever be born in the land of Pampas (with an impressive resume as the stickman for Al Jarreau, Gloria Gaynor, Alejandro Sanz, Frank Gambale, Scott Henderson and countless more) will sit under the drumkit in “Change” and the title track “Chrysalis”, which will also have a unique melody-soaked guitar solo, once again played by the band longtime friend Steve Rothery. Angel Mahler, a world-renowned composer, pianist and orchestra conductor will be featured in another track.
On the other hand, the “Live From The Edge” Blu Ray/DVD Box will include the band’s presentation at The Pool Stage during the last Cruise to the Edge in February 2017, including a guest appearance by Steve Rothery. Both discs will be house in a single box, with the Blu Ray sporting three audio tracks: Stereo Uncompressed PCM, Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio. A picture gallery of the show will be included in both DVD and Blu Ray discs.
Throughout and up to the album release, the band will keep the PledgeMusic and Bad Dreams fans updated with the album’s progress and news from their world through the PledgeMusic AccessPass. “We consider PledgeMusic to be the best in their field and after much thought feel that they as the new masters of the art, offer the band and the fans the most exciting possibilities” – concludes Gabriel Agudo – “We also want to thank all our fans for their amazing support over the years and we hope this excites them as much as it does for us!”
SONS OF APOLLO, the highly anticipated new project featuring former Dream Theater members Mike Portnoy and Derek Sherinian, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (ex-Guns N’ Roses), Billy Sheehan (The Winery Dogs, Mr. Big, David Lee Roth) and Jeff Scott Soto (ex-Journey, ex-Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force) have announced their debut album ‘Psychotic Symphony’ for release on October 20th, 2017 via InsideOutMusic / Sony. Now they are pleased to reveal their first track titled ‘Signs of the Time’.
Mike comments: “Signs Of The Time was the very first thing myself, Derek & Bumblefoot wrote when we got together to begin writing for Sons Of Apollo in March of this year.
It starts with this heavy, brutal Bumbleriff (initally coined “Korntera”), then goes into a cool verse with a 2-Pt vocal melody that I wrote sung by Jeff and myself…which eventually opens up to a HUGE vocal hook in the chorus that Jeff wrote (sung in 3-Pt harmony by Jeff, myself and Bumblefoot)
The middle section riffs are a few things that Derek brought in and show why he is the most BADASS keyboard player in the biz (playing the keys like a guitar player on fire!) and then we have the long extended breakdown and guitar solo which shows why Bumblefoot is one of today’s greatest GUITAR HEROES! This album is going to get him the recognition he truly deserves and this particular guitar solo is one of the tastiest, most insane solos I’ve EVER heard…
So all in all, this song has a little bit of everything that makes Sons Of Apollo so special…great heavy riffs, amazing solos with individual instrumental virtuosity and a big, catchy chorus with more hooks than a tackle box!!
I figured this would be a great “first taste” to introduce the world to this amazing new supergroup…and there’s a whole lot more of different musical styles and twist & turns still to come all throughout the album…”
The debut album, PSYCHOTIC SYMPHONY is now available to pre-order on 2CD Mediabook (featuring a second disc of instrumental mixes), Gatefold 2LP vinyl + CD, Standard Jewelcase CD & digital download.
The full track-listing is as follows: 1. God of The Sun 2. Coming Home 3. Signs of the Time 4. Labyrinth 5. Alive 6. Lost In Oblivion 7. Figaro’s Whore 8. Divine Addiction 9. Opus Maximus
Sea of Tranquility’s Top Ten Songs by different artists each week. Go to Sea of Tranquility on YouTube and search the artist playing for matching show.
Game of Prog is the continuation of Progrock For Beginners which I feel the name no longer reflects the music we play and the scope of the music has greatly broadened over time. We will still[...]
“The Psych Ward – the slightly left field little corner of Progrock.com, 100 minutes of psychedelic music from around the globe. Tune in, turn on, freak out.”
Game of Prog is the continuation of Progrock For Beginners which I feel the name no longer reflects the music we play and the scope of the music has greatly broadened over time. We will still[...]
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The full track-listing is as follows:
