Muziekrecensies
Electric Mud is a German prog art project that makes instrumental albums.The band consists of Hagen Bretschneider and the multi-instrumentalist Nico Walser.Their fifth album, ‘The Inner World Outside’ also features a number of guest musicians. These include composer/keyboardist Timo “Timoog” Aspelmeier (also a drummer) and David Marlow, who provided the orchestral programming and played some … Read more, available in English and Dutch
Time’s Forgotten is a prog rock/metal band from Costa Rica founded in 2004 by keyboardist Juan Pablo Calvo. Their previous singer, Francisco Longhi, was replaced by Priscilla Ruiz. Therefore, ‘Shelter’, their new album, will sound much different from the previous ones. The songs on ‘Shelter’ do not form a story, yet this is a concept … Read more, available in English and Dutch
Ghost Toast is an experimental metal band from Hungary. In 2020, they released ‘Shape Without Form’. By then, the songs of ‘Shade Without Color’, the album that will be released on March 3, had also been written. Both albums are based on the poem The Hollow Men, by S. Eliot. In short, it is about … Read more, available in English and Dutch
Lifesigns is a symphonic/prog band from England. Their eponymous debut album from 2013 received rave reviews. Their third album ‘Altitude’ was released a year ago.Because of the hits the music world took by Corona, I’m bringing the album to your attention briefly. So it is not a late or “official” review. The album opens with … Read more, available in English and Dutch
Arjen Lucassen is mainly known for his prog metal band Ayreon. But Star One is also loved by its fans. Arjen is a film freak, which inspires him musically. Every track on his new album ‘Revel in time’ is based on a film. CD 1:‘The Terminator’ was the inspiration for ‘Fate of Man’. After a … Read more, available in English and Dutch
According to their own words, Kisaragi Station combines classical piano with thrash metal riffs. And they mix catchy rhythms with elements from ambient rock. ‘First Flame’ is the debut album of this German prog metal band. The protagonist of the story (tracks 1 to 4 ) wants to build on the successes of his clone … Read more, available in English and Dutch
Temple of Switches is a studio prog band from California, founded by multi-instrumentalist Tenk van Dool. ‘Four’ is the band’s fourth album, on which you can hear a mixture of rock, jazz and classical influences. ‘Welcome’ has the catchy start of a rock song, followed by electronic sounds and later organ music, among others. The … Read more, available in English and Dutch
In the mid 90s, singer/multi-instrumentalist Arne Schäfer formed Apogee. Man and society are recurring subjects for this German prog band. The lyrics are profound and not meant to be sing along. ‘Out of Control’ has an extensive instrumental intro with various twists. Arne plays several key instruments. You can also hear nice details of acoustic … Read more, available in English and Dutch
In 2019, André Saint and Aaron Gidney founded the prog/melodic hard rock band Grace and Fire. Bassist Tim Ashton (founder of Galahad) and drummer Graham Brown (Paradox Twin, Cairo) complete the lineup. Their debut album ‘Elysium’ was released in November, but only recently crossed my path. It is actually too late for a review, but … Read more, available in English and Dutch
The English melodic rock band Magnum exists almost 50 years! Of course, there have been several changes in the line-up, but guitarist Tony Clarkin and singer Bob Catley have been there from the beginning. Their artwork has always looked beautiful. After a number of quite colourful album covers, the artwork of new album, ‘The Monster … Read more, available in English and Dutch