Stream the Control Denied 3CD reissue of The Fragile Art of Existence

Listen to Control Denied's 3-cd reissue of The Fragile Art of Existence through the Reverbnation widget below.
Thanks to Number of the Blog, for the heads up.

Review: Koenjihyakkei - Angherr Shisspa (2005, Magaibutsu, Skin Graft)

JapaneZe(uhl)

Chris (Syzygy) at Prog Archives, said it in the opening of his review – the Japanese Magma; I agree. Koenjihyakkei is a Japanese Zeuhl band has the characteristics of the genre – the operatic-style and theatrical vocals, the drum insanity, and the apparent chaotic like song structure (which is only an appearance that diminishes after several listens).

A song to start the weekend...: Hammers Of Misfortune - The Locust Years

In the next 2 weeks, I'll be pretty busy (my committee meeting is coming up, in 2 parts, no less, as well some other work-related stuff), so I'll not be updating the blog as much as I would, though I'm sure no one would notice (despite the nice numbers of visitors that come here; higher than I expected). I'll try to post whenever I have time. I do have promo's waiting to be reviewed:
Serpentina Satelite - Mecanica Celeste
Djam Karet - The Heavy Soul Sessions
Yugen - Iridule
Framepictures - Remember It
And a few others which I forget at the moment.

So here's a song to start the weekend with. The opening and title song from Hammers Of Misfotune's splendid album, The Locust Years:

A song to ponder along to...: Matthew Parmenter - Now

There are songs I listen to, which aside from being enchanted by their melody, make me listen to the lyrics and think; songs in which there is harmony and synergism between lyrics and melody.

Here's an example for one such song by Matthew Parmenter from his album Astray, which I reviewed here.

Tim Smith Tribute Album Track List

Over at Progressive Ears, I saw a post from Kavus Torabi about the track list of the Tim Smith Tribute Album, which you can pre-order here.
Track list after the jump

Songs to get you going in the morning...: Nemo - Les Temps Modernes + 1914

Nemo is a French prog rock band active since 1999. They have released 6 studio albums thus far, all recommended and with each one getting tighter, better and more ambitious in their scope. 

Here's the opening song from their third album, Prélude À La Ruine, from 2004.




Here's the second song from that album, an instrumental piece



Listen to more here and also listen to their Jukebox here: http://nemo.web.free.fr/NemoJukebox.html

Review: Black Math Horseman - Wyllt (2009, Tee Pee Records)

Black Math Horseman are an LA based post/psych/stoner rock/metal band. They have released their first full-length, Wyllt, in 2009 through the great psych/stoner rock focused label Tee Pee. After the jump you can read my review of this album.

Songs to start the night with...: The Devil's Blood

The Devil's Blood, a hard/psych rock band from the Netherlands have released their debut, The Time of No Time Evermore, in 2009. Their music seems to connect two planes; that of the sublime and otherworldly, through the vocals and that of raw power, through their heavy sound. 
Read a good review of the album here.

Enjoy three songs by the band below. Two songs from their album and one from their EP, Come, Reap.

The Time of No Time Evermore


The Heavens Cry Out for the Devil's Blood


House of 10,000 Voices

Stream the new Agalloch album, Marrow of the Spirit, at NPR

Go here to hear Agalloch's new album, Marrow of the Spirit, streaming.

Review: Gösta Berlings Saga - Detta har hänt (2009, Transubstans)

Gösta Berlings Saga are a Swedish instrumental prog rock band creating captivating textures and atmospheres without neglecting the catchy and melodic side. They have released two albums, and the third one is in the making.

My "review/impressions" of their 2009 album is after the Jump.

A song for mid-day Monday: A Helmet of Gnats - Misfit Toys

A Helmet Of Gnats, the Connecticut based fusion/prog band has released this year a stunning album in High Street with a 30 minute suite bearing the title name.
You can read more about them here.
You can find their albums at CD Baby among other dealers (Wayside, Amazon, Ambient Records etc).
The following tune, Misfit Toys, is taken from their second album.

Recommendation: Magentic (Israel, prog-rock)

Originating in 2003 as a cover and tribute rock band, Magentic have gradually began drifting into the prog realm, with covers of progressive rock acts and eventually began composing their own original material.
In August 2010 they present their debut album, In The Dream, featured below in their Bandcamp.

Magentic are:

Dorin Mandelbaum vocals, flute

Boaz Peleg vocals, guitar

Uri Katvan guitar, vocals

Erez Aminpour bass, vocals

Tal Shaked drums

A song to end the weekend with...: Moonsorrow - Sankarihauta

Moonsorrow, one of my favourite bands (which my wife likes as well), have have released epic "viking" metal songs. I love all their releases, with my top favourite being Voimasta Ja Kuniasta (Of Strength and Honour), where they stunning songs, with Sankarihauta (Warrior's Grave; the video below) and Sankaritarina (Warrior's Tale) (note - I did not copy-paste any of the Finnish names thus far; I'm learning Finnish thanks to this band). 

Honestly, just disregard the video and listen to the song itself...




Here's the bio I wrote for them at Prog Archives:

Moonsorrow was founded in 1995 in Helsinki Finland by the Sorvali cousins, Henri (guitar and keyboards; he is also a member of Finntroll) and Ville (vocals and bass). They proceeded to record four demos until 1998; two of them disappeared and the two others are "Metsä" from 1997 and "Tämä ikuinen talvi" from 1998. The music on these was more of black metal compared with what was to be made by the band on their albums. This latter demo made it possible for them to gain a recording contract with Plasmatica Records. At this point Marko Tarvonen joined the band to take hold of the drumming and percussions position. This lineup recorded in 2000 their first full length Suden uni (A Wolf's Dream). Their demo Tämä ikuinen talvi was also re-released alongside the album in 2001. This first album got a re-issue in 2003 with a bonus track, alternate cover art and a DVD. In 2000 two musicians were invited as session members and were then invited to join the band: Mitja Harvilahti (guitars) and Markus Eurén (keyboards). This lineup proceeded to perform live and also to record and release in 2001 the album Voimasta ja kunniasta (Of Strength and Honour) through a new label, Spikefarm Records.

It was the followup to that album, Kivenkantaja (Stonebearer) released in 2003, that got them the wide attention in Finland and beyond; it reached the 16th place on Finnish album charts. A short break followed this period with their first abroad show in 2004 and then in 2005 the release of Verisäkeet (Blood Verses). This album reached the 18th position in the Finnish charts. In 2006 the band did a European tour alongside Primordial from Ireland. In 2007 came Viides luku - Hävitetty (Chapter five - Ravaged) which shows another progression in their style, having on it only two songs, each one half an hour long. This was followed by touring in Finland and around the world.

Moonsorrow's origins are in Black Metal but have progressed from it, preserving its roots but expanding on it, giving it an epic feel in the majestic and grandiose sound of it, and the length of the songs and also a folk characteristic Finnish paganism. It was termed Viking Metal (along bands like Thyrfing, Einherjer, Ensiferum, Turisas, Falkenbach and others) which are black metal in basis, but add much melodiness to their sound, an epic feel and anthemic choruses and a specific lyrical content. They have progressed with each release, to form anthemic songs, usually long. With each release there were additional progressive elements added to their music, those being in the complexities of the songs, the structures of compositions, the instrumentation, sound and approach.

With Kivenkantaja came the breakthrough to bigger crowds (this album contains epic songs that will appeal to prog metal fans) and with Verisäkeet came another shift that showed that the band is getting more complex in their approach to writing their songs. This approach was fully applied in Viides luku - Hävitetty which as was mentioned, is made up of two half hour songs, each based on several melodic ideas developed very well.

Moonsorrow have started with black metal (in their demos and a bit in Suden Uni), progressed to epic viking metal (starting with Suden Uni and then in the following releases until Kivenkantaja) to their progerssive sound (Verisakeet, Havitetty).

Moonsorrow has shown and keeps on proving that progressive metal lies not only with the commonly known bands of prog-metal, but that progressive metal can come from less expected bands from genres not usually associated with it. They have shown throughout their releases the aspiration to create something complex and appealing at the same time, and have shown progression with each release.

Moonsorrow is a highly recommended bands for fans of extreme metal as well as music listeners who want to have a taste of a different form of progressive metal.

2010 albums I recommend to check out!

If you've looking for music released this year, if you want something different than what you've heard so far, or just if you'd like some more suggestions for the albums you've gotten this year, here are some of my top faovurite albums released this year:

Musician in the Spotlight: Lorenzo Monni (Italy, prog-rock)

A composer and multi-instrumentalist with a a classical music background, Lorenzo Monni creates eclectic progressive rock pieces with high emphasis on gorgeous melodies and intricate arrangements and structure.

Read more after the Jump

Rodrigo Y Gabriela Live in Dublin

From here:
"The duo's latest album is called 11:11, and on it they pay tribute to 11 musicians who have inspired them. On 11/11/10, they played a concert at a small pub in Dublin. NPR Music's Alt.Latino webcast the concert live on our blog. Watch a replay of the entire set for a limited time."



RODRIGO Y GABRIELA - Live Stream

Review: Alexandr Vatagin - Shards (2008, Valeot)

The first time I heard of Alexandr Vatagin was through his work in the Austrian band Tupolev, whose album, Memories Of Björn Bolssen, I reviewed favourably.

Cloudkicker re-releases ]]][[[ as A New Heavenly Body

Cloudkicker has remixed and remastered ]]][[[ and re-released it as A New Heavenly Body.

Here's the post from his blog:

Prepare to be even more confused by ]]][[[.

So I recently upgraded my recording setup by purchasing a new set of monitors. I thought it would be fun to go back and remix some things to get a feel for the new sound…fast forward three days and I had remixed and remastered ]]][[[.

Just to be extra confusing, I’ve also given it track titles, a new cover, and a new name.

Behold:

A New Heavenly Body
1. What It Is Impossible Not to Know and What It Is No Longer Permissible To Believe in the United States 06:06
2. A Hymn to the Projectile 04:14
3. One Enemy Among Twenty-Five Million Friends 05:33

All are titles of chapters in Jules Verne’s “From the Earth to the Moon”. Incidentally, the cover image is the Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle disintegrating in the upper atmosphere on September 29, 2008.
Download “A New Heavenly Body” Here.

Here's a video interview with Ben Sharp (Cloudkicker) taken from Metal Injection:

A song to protest with...: Skyclad - The Parliament Of Fools

A great song by folk-metal band Skyclad from their excellent 2004 album, A Semblance Of Normality.

Recommendation: Afforested (UK, folk, prog-rock)

I'm going to be lazy and quote Afforested's Myspace bio:
" Afforested are a progressive folk rock band from the English county of Kent. Inspired by ancient woodlands and stories of heroes past, their songs weave tales of medieval outlaws, forest creatures and life in the greenwood. After many years of playing and composing in different genres, in the summer of 2007 brothers Alex and Jonathan Betts decided to form Afforested. Now in 2009 they bring you their debut release in the form of the free to download E.P entitled 'Wolf's Heads And Woodlanders'. The E.P was self produced and recorded at Hyrstgeard studios. Afforested are currently about to embark on the first writing sessions for a full length album which they plan to record in 2010."

You can stream or download for free their EP; see below.