Muziekrecensies
‘Shelter’ is the sixth album by Norwegian band ‘Laughing Stock’. This album tells of a journey to ‘Shelter’. In this light, peaceful world, people (along with Shelter’s Master) live in harmony with nature. The title track has a peaceful atmosphere, the mysterious words and music (with violin playing) forming a whole. ‘Roots Go Deep’ has … Read more, available in English and Dutch
‘The Horn of Plenty’ is the second album by Dutch symphonic prog rock band The Boxx Orchestra. The opening track, ‘Daybreak’, has a retro feel. Ria Mulder sings narratively and quite monotonously here. The repetitions in the percussion snatch too much attention away from the compelling guitar playing. The symphonic elements come out a bit … Read more, available in English and Dutch
Multi-instrumentalist Ian Jones was one of the founding members of the progressive/folk rock band Karnataka in the 1990s. There have been several band changes, including in vocals. What has remained is a beautiful, clear voice. Sertari is the current singer; she was voted the best vocalist of 2023 by the site ProgRock. Her voice could … Read more, available in English and Dutch
Arjen Lucassen wrote the Ayreon album ‘01011001’ in 2007. Since he never intended to perform it live, he could make it as complicated as he wanted. He did so, not only in terms of complex arrangement, but also by the amount of vocalists/musicians. Ayreon’s live shows are rare, but always a great spectacle. So was … Read more, available in English and Dutch
Dutch prog metal band Armed Cloud will launch ‘Nimbus’, their fourth album, on 25 May. Nimbus comes from cumulonimbus, aka thunderclouds. This is the band’s darkest and heaviest album to date. The sound at the start of ‘Safety Word’ is a bit duller than expected. The metal could have “thundered” a bit more. Still, the … Read more, available in English and Dutch
The basis of ‘The Long Lost Songs’ are tapes of bluesy demos from some 30 years ago, played in by Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon) and Robert Soeterboek (The Cotton Soeterboek Band). Robert’s voice has a pleasantly mild rough rasp. The quality of the backing vocals are good, but occasionally a bit sweet in sound. The predictable … Read more, available in English and Dutch
‘Self-Education’ is the second solo instrumental album by multi-instrumentalist Theo van Niel Jr. The extraordinary ‘Introduction’ makes me curious about ‘Anxiety Express’. In this up-tempo track, blackjazz plays saxophonist Jørgen Munkeby. This forms a beautiful combination/alternation between the rock/metal. The atmosphere in ‘Sierra’ is very different, more summery. Again, there are unexpected twists and details. … Read more, available in English and Dutch
‘One Of The Many’ is the new progressive rock album by singer and multi-instrumentalist Rick Miller. The album cover reveals that the digital world features in the lyrics. ‘Atrophy’ is about brain atrophy, the surreal atmosphere fits this well. The sweet (stacked) vocals are characteristic of Rick. Most tracks contain remarkable sampling, appropriate to the … Read more, available in English and Dutch
Singer/guitarist Jon Amor became known for ‘The Hoax’. He plays with DVL, Guy Forsyth’s band. In addition, with his Jon Amor Blues Group and solo, Jon released several albums. Recently, Jon Amor Trio’s ‘The Turnaround’ was released. This debut album features 11 blues-rock, roots rock songs, including a few covers. For example, ‘Tonight I’m Gonna … Read more, available in English and Dutch
In autumn 2023, Poor Genetic Material released the album ‘Elswhere’. This additional release was with a smaller line-up. The band remains in its full line-up. ‘Possibilities’ is their new album. This album has not only the band’s signature elements, but also new ideas. The title track has a very soft, instrumental intro. Slowly it gets … Read more, available in English and Dutch