Prog, prog-rock

‘Amenti’s Coin – Secret Place Pt. II’ is the fourth album by the German prog band ‘Cyril’. It is a follow-up to ‘The secret place pt. I’ from the 2016 album ‘Paralyzed’. Omar, the main character, has a relationship with Sherin, a beautiful maidservant of a Pharaoh. He passes away; according to ancient law, Sherin … Read more, available in English and Dutch

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

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