by Mark Monforti | Jul 30, 2017 | News, Reviews
So here is a band that I already liked with some of my favorite artists guest staring on it.
The album has one of my favorite vocalists on the last track in Mark Trueack, a wonderful keyboard player on another song in Sean Timms, Daniel Lopresto does vocals and guitars on yet another song.
These three who I consider great musicians, and have all played my house were out done by guest artist Marek Arnold, who’s sax is wonderful on this album. It really does remind me of his work on UPF and Damanek.
Daniel Lopresto also does really well on lead vocals. I may have the opportunity to see them live later in the year and it will be interesting to see how they cover these tracks if they do indeed play them live.
The album is wonderful but I never had any spine chilling moments that I reserve for my 5 star reviews. Pick this album up and enjoy it. I am sure you will.
ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS: My Time of Your Life, Never Last, Black Air, The Impossible.
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
by Mark Monforti | Jul 29, 2017 | News, Reviews
So this is still the only Ars Nova album I have heard. I do remember shawn the station manager at the thedividinline.com saying wow they’re singing. So if you have heard of this band before this is not an instrumental album.
The album is very steady nothing to great nothing I feel like I need to skip. The subject matter is one I typically like and could be used for the theme of an Ayreon project and is pretty close to the subject matter of a certain Star Trek movie.
The first song called introduction has a lot of plot by exposition which some might find off putting but I like the music around it enough to enjoy even that track
The album has a nice epic to end it called Trust to the Future.
ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS: None
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
by Mark Monforti | Jul 28, 2017 | News, Reviews
So I heard and earlier album by them called man made machine and I thought it was wonderful right at first listen. It started, well not a love affair, but a like affair with the band. I was able to see their first live performance at RoSfest in support of that album. I think their lack of stage presents was noticeable and might have distracted people from their great album.
I think this album like their two before it are well worth a listen.
I am a fan of Karl Westholm as I think Carptree and Jupiter Society are both above average progrock bands.
I happen to think that Nicklas Flinck vocals are memorizing and they pair very well with the music.
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
by Mark Monforti | Jul 27, 2017 | News, Reviews
So if you have seen my previous reviews or looked at my last.fm account , you would realize that I rarely listen to instrumental music.
This band and album of which I have never heard of before was quite a treat.
The band put out a very enjoyable album. As you will in the ratings below it is very accessible. It may get better with more listens but if you don’t find yourself liking at least parts of it on first listen I don’t think you need to try it again.
But I am guessing you will like it on first listen this album is full of crunchy guitars, nice changes with many different instruments leading different parts of each song.
ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS: Ka Mai, Gordius,
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
by Mark Monforti | Jul 26, 2017 | News, Reviews
So back when this came out I had never heard of the band. I heard it on the Wednesday night show about Interstellar Overdrive back in 2007. My wife and I both where amazed at the album. It became a staple of our show which was called Sounds of Muzak back then.
Valerie Gracious does a great job for the female lead vocals, Matthew Parmenter of Discipline. plays violin on this album the orchestra for Microdeath Softstar is amazing.
This really is progressive rock at its pinnacle. Thanks to amazing song writing skills of Phideaux Xavier.
We liked this album so much we got on a plane to see them at 3RP. Later on we saw them many more times including the joint in LA, RosFest, Terra Incognita, Summers End, and twice right here at our Chicago house.
So when you look at our Key for Album reviews you can see we really do mean what we say about 5 star albums.
ALBUM HIGHTLIGHTS: Micro Softdeathstar,Crumble, Formaldehyde, Microdeath Softstar
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
by progrock.com | Jul 26, 2017 | News, Prog Report
Dream Theater has announced the third and final leg of their “Images, Words & Beyond 25th Anniversary Tour,” which sees the pioneering group celebrating the 25th anniversary of their milestone RIAA gold-certified album, Images & Words. The North American headline dates kick off September October 25th at Oakland’s Fox Theatre. The trek takes the band throughout the US, including dates at NYC’s Beacon Theatre and L.A.’s Wiltern, as well as a stop at the Sony Centre in Toronto.
Like previous legs, the show will be presented as an “Evening with Dream Theater,” with no opening act. The tour will feature an unparalleled live set of Images & Words in its entirety, along with fan favorites from their deep, widely-acclaimed catalog.
Said founding guitarist John Petrucci of the upcoming trek, “We are so psyched to bring our Images, Words & Beyond tour to North America this Fall! It’s hard to believe that it’s already been 25 years since Images was released! We’ve been having a blast playing those songs each night, and sharing memories and stories from our time in the studio back in 1992. We know that this is such an important album to so many of our fans, both old and new, so we plan on making this a really special night by playing I&W in its entirety as well as breaking out some rare material, and a few of our latest tunes, in order to make this landmark evening compete. We hope to see all of you there! Don’t miss it”
Presale tickets for select headline shows will be available beginning Wednesday July 26th, 10 AM (local time), followed by a public onsale July 28th, with the remainder of the presales launching one week later, August 2nd, with a public onsales of August 4th.
For more information (and all up to the minute presale and ticketing information,) please visit www.dreamtheater.net/tour/.
Dream Theater recently concluded the European leg of the “Images, Words & Beyond 25th Anniversary Tour”, playing to sold-out crowds across Europe. The upcoming North American run caps off a year-long celebration of their ground-breaking album, Images & Words. After a short break in early 2018, the band will return to the studio to begin work on a follow up to their most recent opus, The Astonishing.
Dream Theater upcoming tour dates are as follows:
10/25 Oakland, CA Fox Theater
10/26 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern
10/28 Phoenix, AZ Celebrity Theatre
10/29 ABQ, NM Kiva Auditorium
10/31 Denver, CO Paramount Theater
11/2 Wichita, KS Orpheum Theatre
11/3 Chicago, IL Chicago Theater
11/4 Peoria, IL Peoria Civic Center
11/6 Cincinnati, OH Taft Theater
11/8 Pittsburgh, PA Palace Theatre
11/9 Detroit, MI The Fillmore
11/10 Buffalo, NY Rapids Theatre
11/12 Toronto, ONT Sony Centre
11/14 Albany, NY The Palace Theater
11/15 Boston, MA Orpheum Theatre
11/16 New York, NY Beacon Theater
11/18 Asbury, Park, NJ Paramount Theater
11/19 Philadelphia, PA Merriam Theatre
11/27 Baltimore, MD The Lyric
11/28 Raleigh, NC Memorial Auditorium
11/29 Nashville, TN War Memorial Aud.
12/1 Austin, TX Bass Hall
12/2 Dallas, TX The Pavilion
12/3 Houston, TX Cullen PAC
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