Dimension Act, Manifestation Of Progress, 2012
Quite sure this is an album that the more traditional progressive metal followers will lap up easily. After all, 4 songs, with the closing track being a 31 minute epic is sure to raise the adrenaline level with the in-crowd. Luckily for me they divided that track into 6 
And to be honest, the first songs did not help me much. Pretty much modern progressive metal by the numbers. Aggressive riffing, a lot of notes from all the musicians, breaks ´n stuff, you know, the works. And lengthy stuff as well, the first 3 songs clock in at over 23 minutes together. So it was kinda strange that ultimately the epic proved to be the track of most interest. Not only because they show a bit more of an identity, but also because this song, Perspectives Chapter 1: Drawing The Lives Of Mortal Existence (with a title like that it wóuld be strange to write a 4 minute song) is to me the most adventurous track. More dynamic, some quieter parts, some female vocals, a lot better to digest and fall in love with.
There is no doubt in my mind that this band (I think they are from Norway) know their stuff and deliver in the chosen field. For me, I like them best when they go a little crazy and draw a bit outside the lines. More colourful that way! Nevertheless, another quality release from ProgRock Records and not only for genre accumulators.
XII Alfonso, Charles Darwin, 2012
In case you were wondering about new updates, this CD is the reason. Actually, we are speaking of 3 CD´s here.
XII Alfsonso were an unknown force to me, yet this turns out to be their seventh release already. And still this French quartet sought after a topic to sink their teeth real deep into. Coming in a lavish digibook, with a 76 pages book the bar is raised high. In total 52 songs of which 30 are instrumental and a list of guest far beyond anything you have seen before. Some names: Iain Bairnson, Tim Renwick, Maggy Reilly, John Helliwell, Francis Dunnery, Mickey Simmonds and David Paton are among them. So with people involved that have ties to bands like Pink Floyd, Supertramp, Mike Oldfield, Alan Parssons Project and Genesis, you get a little grasp of what is to be expected.
It is of course impossible to talk you through this lengthy work. It could never do this justice. I have a deep admiration for the band to even set out to do this. 3 years of recording 3 hours of music. All over the world. It must have been a logistic nightmare. And to keep your eye on your goal during all that time of writing and recording must have been daunting to say the least. Add to that the booklet. All lyrics, credits, and photo´s of everybody. And also a detailed insight in the story used. To top things off, all the instruments that were used, from bass, to acoustic guitars, to strange phenomenons like a dolphinophone, dan bao, or shekere, to a collection of recorders, mandolin and flutes. It is all there. If this stuns you, we have not yet talked music…
But that I will keep fairly short this time. Like I said, words could never do this justice. Believe me when I say this is a mind-blowing adventure that anyone into sophisticated pop, symphonic rock, world, and or folk should delve into. This is something you have to undergo yourself. Never matter what anyone says, just track it down and start exploring. It will not leave you untouched!
Alias Eye, In-Between, 2012
Alias Eye have been around for quite a while, and despite owning several of their output, I am not sure how many titles they have released so far. Oh well, straight to this recent CD then, titled In-Between.
Again mainly a progressive rock album, and again they incorporated several other styles. In some cases, like a little metal in Indentured Pride and jazz in title track In-Between, that works just fine. In other cases, like the rap in All The Rage, I am afraid I am still not totally getting it. But the band shows balls by trying anyway and that is a good thing.
Songs closest to the progressive rock tag, like album opener Arabesque, Time Machine or Stars Shall Fall, show the band convince with good songs and great melodies. Both vocally as instrumental. The voice of singer Philip Griffiths is warm and without having an enormous reach he still manages to capture the listener. I do feel towards the end of the album the songs appear to be less spellbinding, but still this album is a joy to listen to. If you liked them before, go out and buy it. If they are still unknown territory to you, it is about time to go and check them out. It is deserved.
New Music!
A little light on some new bands and releases today:
The Friday Night Music Club wants to let you know you can download their beautiful and peaceful debut single of Why? for free at their website.
The Russian band Grenouer have released their new EP Computer Crimes through Copro Records (UK). It is aggressive yet melodic metal, but the guys also know how to write softer songs. Feel free to contact them at grenouer@gmail.com.
2 years of YMB!
Hi there readers,
it just dawned on me that YourMusicBlog is active now for over 2 years! Happy anniversary to YMB, Hurray!
And since moving to this URL, things have gone better on many levels. Just the financial side of things could be better. (it helps if you click on the advertisements on the left) But getting more and more music is wonderful. Getting more and more visits is awesome. And some people even like a post or comment. Thanks for that!
One change I am making: the Classic posts will become more rarer. Not because I don´t have inspiration or material to choose from, but just because there are so many albums waiting to be played.
So onwards and upwards then.
Cheers, Peter
Trillium, Alloy, 2011
Out of the famed Gate Studios in Germany comes another (international) project, yet with several usual suspects. Anyone familiar with bands that are using the studio and it´s main occupants (producer Sacha Paeth, who also writes and plays guitars, etc, and the fabulous orchestrations of Miro) will also be familiar with singer Amanda Somerville. On initiative of Amanda, together with Sander Gommans, they have created this album. Another guest is the mighty Jorn Lande.
And with names like that on board you expect this album to be metal, with twists and turns, to sound heavy but clear and to be “good” to say the least. After listening to this several times I can confirm Trillium delivers on all fronts. I have heard Amanda before (her singing is matched by her looks) and it is a real joy how she managed to let all her vocal possibilities come to the fore. From almost screaming to whisper soft, the music matches her. So within the actually short songs (3-5 minutes) a lot is happening.
Still there is never a feeling of a lack of vision. All is done with purpose and held together with ease. These musicians are all far to experienced to let things slip out of their hands. So the simple advice is that if you know (some of) the names mentioned, this is a save buy. A wonderful album that keeps getting better on repeated play.
Clark Colborn, Again, 2012
As you may know I like to present lesser known artists and independents to the public. Because small or independent really says nothing about quality! And to prove my point, I am glad to present another independent: Clark Colborn. Again is the title of the second album by Clark, the first however, was released under the Clark Plays Guitar banner.
Colborn is a guitar player with a style that is a mix of the melodic sensibilities of Joe Satriani, and the quirkiness that makes Steve Vai stand out. On this album he handles guitars, bass and piano. He also sings on a couple of tracks. His voice reminded me of Buck Dharma (Blue Oyster Cult) and Ty Tabor (King’s X). And you know what, Tabor mastered this album. For the drums he chartered Joel Baer.
First track The Unexpected starts life as a freak show with ever changing time signatures and guitar riffs, before turning into a King´s X kind of melodic rock song. Unexpected indeed. An Imperfect Waltz is a demonstration of chops and technique, with a pulsating groove that is sure to catch your attention. Lie To Me is another track with vocals. Too bad he kept them pretty low in the mix. Maybe he is somewhat insecure about them, but I prefer his to mine any hour of the day The track rocks hard by the way, cool! The Harmonic Thing is a surprise, clean guitar with a lot of feel. Beautiful and makes me curious as to how this would sound on an acoustic… Mr. In-A-Hurry part 2 is a track I can easily envision on a Satriani album.
So you will get this is versatile, well played and all in all quite good and entertaining! Recommended for all lovers of guitar or the names mentioned.
Chickenfoot, III, 2011
The second Chickenfoot album is aptly titled III, typical Hagar humour I presume. Anyone familiar with the first outing from these 4 rock giants, will have a pretty good clue as to what to expect. If you haven´t bought this one yet, I see no reason not to. It is fun, energy level is high, and even the odd message present. So not all songs are about tequila and girls
Those amongst my readers not yet familiar with the band, Chickenfoot is the collaboration of Joe Satriani (guitar), Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chillies on drums and the former half of Van Halen (Michael Anthony on bass plus backing vocals and Sammy Hagar on lead vocals) complete the band.
And while sometimes there is suspicion about the reason for such a coming together, in this case I feel it is all about the music. Everything, from the 3d artwork, to the lyrics, the album´s unexpected title, to the overall performance, just breezes that feeling of pure enjoyment. Satriani sounds very inspired and delivers killer riffs. And we all know he can play some mean solos. Anthony and Hagar continue what they did in VH, and Smith just hits the skins with power and groove.
So the band bring another set of great rocking tracks that sound instantly familiar and overall very convincing. Just take a listen to songs like Up Next, or Big Foot. If you like those, buy the thing. I specifically want to mention the track Three And A Half Letters. It´s lyric is built out of letters Sammy got from people seeking his help. Gave me the chills, brilliant.
Violet Sun, Loneliness In Supremacy, 2011
Violet Sun are a new name, but main songwriter and instrumentalist Dario Grillo (guitars, vocals, synths, bass, etc.) is far from the new kid on the block. Together with (his brother?) Allesandro on drums and the talented Alexandra Amata on vocals and piano, the trio surprise with a heavy power rock album that is firmly influenced by the Progressive and Gothic scene. And again brought to us by the MelodicRockRecords label. From all the recent reviewed releases by that label, by far the most complex and heavy outfit, proving that MRR is going to delve in deep in the rock scene to bring us quality music.
And while the albums’ title might suggest that they stand alone in this, I do think Violet Sun are a welcome addition to the roster of bands operating in this field. I have said before that it is hard to write original sounding songs and that it is best to deliver quality and develop over time. Here again, an unique angle is not present.
That is not saying this is a copycat. I do think the band came up with 12 songs that are worth listening to. Melodic, complex at times, well produced with a lot of power. And the vocal interplay between Alexandra and Dario works well. The occasional classical sounding choirs add a lot of drama to the sound. Something I tend to like by the way. So if the mentioned genres tickle your interest, again something worth picking up! And you are supporting a young label as well….
Classic: Jethro Tull, The Broadsword And The Beast, 1983
Many frequent visitors might be surprised by my Classic choice of today. Guess a lot would expect Aqualung, or maybe Thick As A Brick. Certainly now TAAB2 has just been released. But no, as often is the case, I am very much attached to the first Tull album I ever heard, the wonderful The Broadsword And The Beast.
Released in a time when keyboard wizard Peter-John Vettesse (or should I say Vitesse) was still part of the band. With of course, besides Ian Anderson, Martin Barre on guitar (an underrated player if ever there was one), David Pegg on bass and Gerry Conway on drums. In this decade Jethro Tull had a much more modern sound (more rocking guitars and the synths of Vettesse), yet the typical trademarks (flute, acoustic passages, Anderson’s witty lyrics and fantastic playing all around) were still present.
I think album opener Beastie has stood the test of time remarkably well. It still sounds viable and menacing. A great track that was also fun to play live. Clasp is another mixture of old and new, with the folky interlude exchanging ideas with the synths. Fallen On Hard Times is more the Tull of old, with keyboards playing a more supporting role. Flying Colours opens with a very tasty piano that goes on to support Anderson’s melody. And then the synths again take over and it becomes a more rocking affair. Just listen to Barre filling in the empty spaces. He is so good at that! With Slow Marching Band the “Beastie” side of the record comes to a slow folky end. Very fitting for Tull of course.
Side B, or “Broadsword” as it is called has another 5 tracks. We find the same combination of the band on it more rocking / progressive side (Broadsword) with more regular sounds (Pussy Willow (funny!). Watching Me Watching You is another example of what you can achieve with keyboards. And the band again manage to put a threat to music (Stares!). Great how they do that. Also the 6/8 beat is cause for confusion I imagine. Before we say goodbye with the playful Cheerio, we get another more progressive outing with Seal Driver.
Still a fantastic album to listen to. It also proves how Anderson`s voice has thinned over time. Yet every time I saw them live they impress. Great band, for over 40 years…
