Track listing:
1. Som do Sol (3:50)
2. Voar (7:35)
3. Quem Eu Sou? (4:00)
4. Yes Blues (4:14)
5. Praça da Paz (4:04)
6. Tempo (10:03)
7. Fabito (4:24)
8. Maya (6:40)
9. Sinal da Liberdade (7:42)
10. Janavatar (1:33)
11. Prana (3:30)
12. Mahavishnu (4:14)

Total time 61:49

Releases informations

Credits
- Moacir Jr / vocals, guitars
- Fábio Fernandes / drums
- Cesar Rodrigues / bass
- Fram Simi / guitars
- Allex Bessa / keyboards

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Track listing:
1. Bright Lights (3:21)
2. Just To Hear You Sleep (2:40)
3. Deal With The Digger (4:05)
4. Mr. Zoot Suit (4:28)
5. Shine Like Gold (5:41)
6. Decay (20:35)

Total Time: 40:50

Releases informations
LP/CD Nasoni Records NASONI 100 (2010 Germany)

Credits
- Philip Meloí / guitar, percussion
- Robert Herz / drums, percussion
- Benno Herz / bass, vocals
- Nicolai Hildebrandt / keyboards, trumpet, percussion

OKTA LOGUE Music Online:
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Track listing:
1. As the Clouds Drifted By (5:37)
2. Dream Surrender (4:53)
3. Deja Vu (6:38)
4. Cross My Heart (6:30)
5. Sideshow (8:23)
6. Milagro (8:36)
7. Near to Me (4:13)
8. On Your Own (6:26)
9. Ceiling Unlimited (5:42)

Total time 56:58

Releases informations

Credits
- Amy King / vocals
- Nancy Scorcia / guitars, vocals
- Chris Brower / bass
- Brian Newsholme / piano, Hammond, Fender Rhodes, Mellotron plug-in
- Norm Dodge / guitars
- Jason Brower / percussion, keyboards
Guests:
- Carl Shillito / saxophone
- Aled Jones / lap steel
- Alisa Amor / flute

CEILING UNLIMITED Music Online:
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Track listing:

1. I'm Jim Morrison, I'm Dead (6:01)
2. Friend of the Night (5:30)
3. Hunted By A Freak (4:07)
4. Mogwai Fear Satan (11:43)
5. Cody (6:10)
6. You Don't Know Jesus (5:31)
7. I Know You Are But What Am I (4:04)
8. I Love You, I'm Going To Blow Up Your School (7:57)
9. 2 Rights Make 1 Wrong (9:05)
10. Like Herod (10:38)
11. Glasgow Megasnake (3:50)

Total Time 74:36

Releases informations

Credits

- Dominic Aitchison / bass guitar
- Stuart Braithwaite / guitar
- Martin Bulloch / drums
- Barry Burns / guitar and keyboard
- John Cummings / guitar

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Track listing:
1. Cold Landscapes
2. Downfall of the Epoch
3. Towards the Light
4. Twilight Aureole
5. The Day Will Come
6. Listening to the Silence

Releases informations

Credits

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Track listing:
1. Breaking the Mirror
2. Run
3. Warm Embrace
4. Autumn Leaves
5. Friends In Progression
6. Unconditional Love
7. Everyday
8. The Last Day on Earth
9. Iridium

Releases informations

Credits
- Giovanni de Luigi / vocals
- Dennis Randi / bass
- Marco Guerrini / guitars
Christian Tombetti / guitars
- Marco Scott Gilardi / keyboards, vocals
- Dario Ciccioni / drums, percussion

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Track listing:

1. The Hair Song
2. Old Fangs
3. Radiant Hearts
4. Rollercoaster
5. Let Spirits Ride
6. Buried by the Blues
7. The Way to Gone
8. Wilderness Heart
9. The Space of Your Mind
10. Sadie

Releases informations
Jagjaguwar

Credits
.

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Track listing:

Concealing Fate

i - Acceptance
ii - Deception
iii - The Impossible
iv - Perfection
v - Epiphany
vi - Origin

Total Time 27:00

Releases informations

Credits
- Dan Tompkins / Vocals
- Acle Kahney / Guitars
- James Monteith / Guitars
- Jay Postones / Drums
- Amos Williams / Bass & Vocals.

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Track listing:
1. Progressive Magdeburg (8:22)
2. Toccata Neogotica # 1 (11:25)
3. Neogothic Pedal Solo (5:03)
4. Herr Jann (6:33)
5. Deep Red (profondo Rosso) (4:22)
6. Profondo Gotico (4:07)
7. Toccata Neogotica # 7 (10:14)

Releases informations
CD: Drycastle Records DR-036 (2010)

Credits
- Paolo Lazzeri / pipe organ, composition
- Maurizio Bozzi / bass, sound engineer
- Roberto Bichi / drums (2-4-5-6)
- Claudio Cuseri / (1-7)

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Track listing:
1. Second to Sun
2. Fictitious Glide
3. Fraudulent Cloth
4. Live and Live Again
5. Faux King Christ
6. Tortoise the Titan
7. When the Beast
8. Third Person

Releases informations
Release Dates:
Europe - November 8, 2010
USA - November 9, 2010

The CD was recorded at LedBelly studios in Atlanta, Georgia with engineer Matt
Washburn and was mixed by Jason Suecof (Trivium, Chimaira, DevilDriver).

The cover artwork was created by Eliran Kantor (Testament, Sigh, Anacrusis and GWAR).

Credits
- Kelly Shaefer / Vocals, Guitars
- Jonathan Thompson / Guitars, Bass
- Chris Baker / Guitars
- Steve Flynn / Drums

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3/5 STARS - "What can you do that's fantastic? Alright, whip it out."

I won't pretend to have any idea what "Uncle Meat" is really about, or that I enjoy the album as much as the (by this point) quaint "Freak Out." If you thought things couldn't get any weirder than "WOiiftM," you'd be wrong. "Uncle Meat" is a transitional work, a soundtrack, and initially one of the most unapproachable albums you'll ever hear (though that will change later as you become accustomed to it.)

The album documents the shifting of the early Mothers humor-wop style into the coming jazzier Zappa, and the two are thrown off balance more by the avant soundtrack craziness present. It's all jumbled together with the usual little clips of Suzie Creamcheese and assorted Mother-centric commentary. The strange cough sound immediately following Suzie's introduction of herself is the funniest sound I've ever heard-if I could sample that and use it as my ringtone or doorbell, I would. Thankfully I'm not that tech savvy. Some of the best bits include one of the Mothers complaining to Frank about the lack of money he's making, Suzie's assessment of her groupie prowess, and Ian Underwood's dry explanation of how he foisted himself into the band. The humor-wop stuff is not as fresh as the early albums but the soundtrack material and the jazz-fusion (King Kong suite in particular) are fascinating and pretty amazing for the late 67-early 68 recording period. "Nine Types of Industrial Pollution" is a nice slice of lead guitar work. "Golden Arches" is a chamber music break from the craziness. "Uncle Meat Variations" is another highlight with maniacal munchkin-like voices and superb jamming-love the lead guitar toward the end. Ian Underwood's live sax solo in "Whips it Out" is blistering. "Project X" offers some ambitious and fantastic-sounding instrumental work from all manner of guitars, woodwinds, percussion, and general strangeness.

Some complain about the latter day CD issue which adds a 40 minute chunk of film rehearsal banter/dialogue to the album, but at this point, why complain? It can always be skipped if you're not in the mood. If you are, it's a humorous time capsule to have and seems to be well at home with the spirit of the album. Despite the album having numerous gems and a true underground feel, I don't think it's the masterpiece so many others do. It is a good album and well worthwhile for Zappa fans, as well as another piece of the fascinating Zappa puzzle. 3 ½ stars.

by Finnforest


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4/5 STARS - An addictive music of rhythm and melody

Many years ago I liked the 4th album of Peter Gabriel where you can hear several tribal-like music, and this album of Garmarna gives me excitement similar to that.

Generally trad music is a kind of boring for me as the music is too soft and all the songs can sound like the same. However, Garmarna's music is never such a trad one but it is full of unforgettable melody and tribal beats. So, it can easily be an addicitive. Actually I am listening to the CD whole day repeatedly.

I feel lucky now because I can explore in their music, which makes me excited like when I encountered Samla Mammas Manna or Anekdoten.

by Katsuhisa


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3/5 STARS - Talk is a kind of ´forgotten´ Yes album. It made no impact at all when it was released and even fans don´t usually mention much about this CD. Even if the line up was the the same as the highly commercial successful 90126 and Big Generator, the timing seemed to be wrong. After all it was the year of the grunge movement and I guess most long time fans were tired of so many personell and musical changes. After that frankesntein project called Union, people seemed to get fed up with Yes. And I can´t say I was not one of them. I only got this CD a few weeks ago. And I must say I was surprised by the good quality of this work.

Unlike a lot of latter day Yes albums, this one does not have a few good tracks in the beginning and then boring or repetitive stuff to fill it up. All the songs here are good and although the quality varies, none is really bad or even weak to my ears. Ok, this is not up to their classic stuff (except one, see more about it below) and the sound here is quite different. This is Trevor Rabin´s brain child: the guy wrote just about everything (Anderson and Squire do share some credits, but after reading the story behind this album on the book Close to The Edge, The Story Of Yes, I believe their contributions were minimal). Rabins also plays all the guitars, most of the keyboards, sings a little, does the production, programming and engineering. So it is no wonder that sometimes Talk sounds like a Rabin´s solo album backed by Yes. Considering the group´s last effords, that was not a bad idea.

I was not expecting much. Most of the sutff here is not surprisingly similar to their early 80´s output, but definitly Rabin seemed to be in tune with the times and the album is much more guitar oriented (the keyboards are always in the background). But they did produce one great song: the epic Endless Dream is one of Yes best tunes ever: a wonderful symphonic track in all its glorious 15 minutes. I agree with the reviewer who said that if it was recorded by the classic line up it would be feature in any best of compilation. This track alone is worth the price of the CD. But there is more, even if a bit AOR-like much of the time. Songs like State Of Play and Real Love are other highlights. And the remaining ones are all good, with some great vocal harmonies and very good playing. The down side of the CD is the drum sound: too mechanical for my liking. Production overall is quite good.

Conclusion: not one of Yes best albums, of course, but still much better than I thought. Different, but very good. A nice goodbye to the Trevor Rabin era. If you liked 90125 and Big Generator then you should not miss this one. Rating: 3.5 stars.

by Tarcisio Moura


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5/5 STARS - I always laugh when I read someone saying Wish You Were Here was better, more prog-oriented, etc. Wish You Were Here has 5 track, 2 of them having a 'pop' related sound, and one other being, in my opinion, just boring, except for the lyrics (Welcome to the machine). When you look at Animals, you hear a concept, some simple but great ideas of philisophy and a feeling of rage, coming straight from Roger Waters. The music is simply great, with alot of keyboard ambient sounds effects (thanks to Mr. Wright), great drumming, some of the very rare astonishing bass line on the Floyd's whole discography and of course, excellent guitar work, on solo parts as on rythm sections. Few people seem to notice how Nick Mason's drumming are an essential part of Pink Floyd sound, just as the three others bring their part of little details and inovations.

What to look at :

-Dogs : Guitar solos, drums, keyboard effects, lyrics. -Pigs (Three different ones) : Guitar solo, bass lines (especially during the guitar solo). The lyrics are the weakest of the three main songs (for me). -Sheep : Guitar details (mini-riffs incorporated on background or cutting trough the main riffs), bass solo, keyboard, drum fills, lyrics (the best of the album, for me).

Pigs on the wing (Part One & Two) is hard to define for me, these are not bad but seems not to be on the same level as the three others. Sadly, they had to cut the guitar solo when they released the album.

The three main songs are excellent prog songs, having a sound that's easy to appreciate and to quickly rely to. Animals would be a master peice of prog, in any way possible, and a really good album to start with if you're not familiar to the genre.

by Ogilla


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2/5 STARS - The prog rock community, and the music community as a whole, seems to fall on two sides in regards to Tarkus: Depending on who you talk to it is either a masterpiece or complete, worthless dreck. I submit that it falls in the middle-Tarkus is a perfectly adequate album that doesn't quite achieve what it aims for and stumbles in places, but is nontheless an overall pleasant listening experience. That said, "pleasant" is a cheap experience and you can get it from countless better albums than this one.

The biggest fault with the album lies in the title track. It's often put side by side with Yes' "Close to the Edge" or Genesis' "Supper's Ready" in terms of reputation for being a masterful prog epic, but the key difference is that the latter two songs could not achieve the majesty that they reach if they were any shorter. There is absolutely NO reason at all that Tarkus has to be twenty minutes long. You could easily cut it in half, maybe even whittle it down to a solid 8 minutes, and have all the prime material intact. As talented as Keith Emerson is, he is also very tiresome, and one can only take so many Moog flourishes before one becomes extremely bored. There are worthwhile moments to be had in the song, notably Greg Lake's guitar solo and the choral introduction, but the length soon eats away at any interest the listener may have.

The rest of the album fares better. "Jeremy Bender", while almost a filler track, is a nice, jaunty tune that serves as a nice wake-up call after the stultifying "Tarkus". We then move into what is without question the best song ELP has ever made, "Bitches Crystal". The song showcases a (sadly) rare side of the band, one which is absolutely ferocious. Carl Palmer pounds the drums for all he's worth, Keith Emerson mixes honky-tonk with foreboding synthlines and Greg Lake howls like he's close to losing his mind at points. It's a rare display of truly aggressive music on the band's part, and it's a direction I wish they would've gone with more frequently.

"The Only Way" and "Infinite Space" form a song that is, while lyrically pretty clunky, a fine cosmic meditation, and while "Are You Ready Eddy?" is terrible, "A Time and a Place" is a good rocking send off, should you (wisely) choose to stop the album before reaching the final song.

I see how this album got its reputation, but frankly, it's almost too vanilla to get worked up about one way or the other. With the exception of "Bitches Crystal", there's nothing ELP does on this album that they haven't done better elsewhere. A couple good songs can't make up for an album that's largely too busy examining itself in the mirror to see if its made anything compelling or worthwhile.

by 40footwolf


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Track listing:
1. Seven Rusty Nails (6:58)
2. Conversational Paradigms (7:32)
3. March of the Cookie Cutters (8:38)
4. You Got To Run It Out, Dawson! (9:08)
5. With Grim Determination, Terrell Dons the Bow Tie (6:40)
6. Mosquito Massacre (5:54)

Releases informations
Pretentious Dinosaur Records

Credits
- Mike Sary
- Steve Katsikas
- Shawn Persinger
- Paolo Botta
- Joee Conroy
- Warren Dale
- Chris Smith

FRENCH TV Music Online:
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2/5 STARS - 'Dead Or Dreaming' - Into Eternity (3/10)

Sometimes called the 'Dream Theater of Canada' by fans, Into Eternity are a clearly skilled metal group originating from the middle of the prairies. While not a typical place for a metal band to start up, they have since gained a fanbase that has flowed a bit into the mainstream of metal listeners. Despite certainly being a talented bunch however, Into Eternity seems to have a bit of a problem with making a good album from start to finish. While each song they write has some sort of interesting moment of technicality or dynamic to it, the music starts to lose it's effect when the same tricks are pulled out for every song, every time. Such is the case with the band's second album 'Dead Or Dreaming.' While being an exciting and energetic listen at first, it doesn't take long to realize that each song follows very similar patterns, melodies and riffs. Especially for a progressive act, that should send up red flags almost immediately.

Each track generally opens up with a heavy, downtuned riff before erupting into a chorus or some sort of songwriting archetype. While having song structure to progressive metal can often be a refreshing change from often overzealous epics and pretentiousness, things get pretty boring. After the fifth track 'Elysium Dream,' (the first half of the album has some pretty great moments) there is almost nothing new offered, except the same sort of song that's already been heard, with different sets of forgettable, cookie cutter 'despair' lyrics.

To the band's credit, they are very tight in terms of their performance, and had these songs been performed by a less capable ensemble, there would be nothing to look into 'Dead Or Dreaming' for. However, while it's evident that these metallers can play alot of other musicians into oblivion, the songwriting and overall feel of the album leaves far too much to be desired. While the first two listens or so can be very enjoyable, once the familiarity sinks in, there is very little to enjoy here.

by Conor Fynes


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4/5 STARS - A surprisingly good album from this young German fellows. The band's core originally started with another project name 'Zaphire Oktalogue' and produced one album in 2008. As for that matter you can treat 'Ballads Of A Burden' like a new debut. The six songs are elaborated compositions, worked out with heart and soul, believe me! They use folk and popular elements, orchestrated brass instruments ... however finally OKTA LOGUE of course are intensively psychedelic music inspired too.

Let's start with Bright Lights - the relaxed opener, so comfortable ... and tricky as well (including the sudden end), decorated with multiple psych guitars and nice hammond attendance. Coooool stuff, which I normally would only expect from looooongtime experienced musicians. And the vocals ... all in all - if I wouldn't know it better - I should assume that the band is hailing from the UK or even the States. No, the world is not out of joint, not yet! Additionally we have the mysterious country folk flavoured Deal With The Digger which also holds a first glimmer of orchestration I would say, when showing some trumpet input and drums reduced on timbal.

The weird Mr. Zoot Suit seems to get out of line completely with a slight avant approach, far-reaching from impressions suitable for a marksmen's festival to fantastic spacey guitars - oh my god! Starting Pink Floyd inspired Shine Like Gold is made in order to offer an opulent orchestral excursion in the end. The emotional psychedelic Decay is reserved for the LP flipside alone and comes as the album's ultimate highlight. Rich in variety and atmosphere, a blend of spheric Eloy moments, groovy parts, samples, they know how to make it!

With 'Ballads Of A Burden' they have graduated so to say, this is an entertaining album presented in an unique outfit ... yes, something for gourmets ... provided with a retro flavour and a wide musical spectrum, hard to categorize. Ballads yes, as the album title implies - but don't know why this should be a burden by the way ... okay, maybe because I was too lazy to analyse the lyrics. Very professional, and this also applies to their video pointing to the opener 'Bright Lights' where new member Nicolai Hildebrandt is involved, at least considering the making - I strongly recommend to check this one out - 4.5 stars.

by Rivertree


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5/5 STARS - 'The White' - Agalloch (9/10)

It is rare to come across an extended play, or other 'shorter' work of music by a band, that I consider one of their most beautiful and profound acheivements. Such is the case with Agalloch's 'White EP' however. A stunning half hour of neo-folk brilliance, the band manages to perfectly capture their trademark aesthetic and mood, despite skirting their heavier musical roots.

Despite being a very stripped down and simple piece of music, Agalloch make sure use of the saying 'less is more.' While the music might be dismissed by some as mere 'ambience' and nothing more, each track has the ability to grab the attention with it's sonic grandeur and deceptively simple beauty. 'The White' (like much of the band's music) is a tribute to nature; the music and soundscaping actively showcasing what it must be like to be surrounded by an endless forest. Acoustic guitars are the order of the day here, although a number of other instruments (ranging from accordion to piano to a ceremonial goat horn) are used to give the music the added warmth and variety it would otherwise suffer without.

Tying the EP together with a concept of sorts, is a series of script excerpts from the 1970's cult horror film 'The Wicker Man,' in which several quotes spoken by actor Christopher Lee are used. While spoken dialogue in music can usually be annoying, things work very well here; bestowing upon the music, an unsettling, existential theme.

A beautiful piece of music, this is a perfect contrast to some of the heavier music the band has done. Although it may have a different sound than the typical black/doom metal the band has built a fanbase upon, there is still the quintessential voice of Agalloch resounding through each meloncholic note.

by Conor Fynes


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3/5 STARS - Comparing with Gerard's albums from mid 80-s, this one is really competent neo-prog work. The band started as very unbalanced bombastic keyboards-led symphonic prog band, in fact - ELP clone, but with absolute accent on keyboards passages. After some albums and some line-up changes they discovered that even bombastic symphonic clones need rhythm section.

But their progression was quite impressive with time. Somewhere in 90-s they added fusion influenced rhythm section, different (and really better) vocals and more modern keyboards sound. From that moment their albums, even if not original, have quite pleasant and acceptable sound, and could attract keyboards-led bombastic symphonic prog fans.

The Ruins Of A Glass Fortress is one between their good works. On the edge of the new Millennium the band balanced their vintage symphonic prog (with slight fusion influence) well. Compositions are quite melodic, even if often faceless. You will hardly find there any innovative move, but at least this music is good clone release for fans of great symphonic prog bands from early 70-s.

My rating is 3+.

by snobb


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