Gaodhal's Vision (77)

Irish Violinist. His album Gaodhal's Vision features an all-star lineup, the sound is jazzy and ethereal, with occasional outbursts of fusion, and may remind of Jade Warrior's Kites period at times.

The Surrealist (94)

This guitarist from Quebec offers an instrumental music based on guitar work. The arrangements on The Surrealist also involves carefully programmed parts of bass, drums and percussions. A guest on tenor saxophone also contributes a few furious improvisations. The result is an experimental music with shades of rock and free-jazz. Ther rhythmic base often includes bass, drums and vibraphone to which are added crisp sounding acoustic guitar and heavy electric guitar. A fairly intense music that flirts with dissonance. -- Paul Charbonneau

Ancient Dreams (85), Hit (??), Between Two Worlds (87), Rivers Gonna Rise (??), Eldorado (89), Indigo (??), Mix-Up (90), The Private Music of Patrick O'Hearn (91), White Sands (92)

Studio musician, member of Missing Persons and Group 87. Hit is just a bunch of pop trash covers, but Indigo shows off his versatility more. The guy can play just about everything. But his stuff is considered new-age. At least, that's where you'd find it at the record stores.

[See Group 87]

Product of Pisces and Capricorn (70), Amalgamation (71)

Prog.

Discography

Woden's Eve Live (02, Live) Conquest of the Pacific (07, limited release in 2006)

Reviews

Oaksenham Original entry, 2/14/06: Oaksenham is an Armenian symphonic prog band whose sole release, Woden's Eve Live captures a concert perfomance in June of 2002. They are a six-piece band playing traditional guitar, bass, drums and keyboards augmented by a flautist and violinist. Their style reminds me quite a bit of early Camel, due to the way flute is used, but also in the overall feel. There's some of the gentle, "verdent countryside" feel of Jethro Tull's more pastoral offerings, and also a bit of classical counterpoint stylings á la Gentle Giant (in fact there's a nicely-done GG tribute cut, "Talybont / Three Friends" on this album). In addition to this, there's some fusiony guitar, bass and drum sections and folkish violin work. They have a really nice easy to listen to sound, but don't ever fall into sounding new-agey or "easy listening". But overall, if I had to compare them to only one other band, it would be early Focus (but without any yodeling), though the flute playing is more like Andy Latimer's than Thijs Van Leer's. The recording quality on this CD is excellent for a live album, and the music is all well orchestrated and expertly performed instrumental arrangements. There's a nice, wide variety of musical styles on this recording, yet it always sounds like the same band, not like they don't know who they want to be. This would have been an excellent concert to be in attendence at, and I'm sure the Armenian prog community was highly enthused by this performance. It's not like Armenia is a hotbed of prog action or anything, though this band is associated with the other Armenian prog band I'm aware of, Artsruni, via their mutual manager, Arman Padaryan. I can only hope their success spawns further prog action in Armenia. One of the main reasons I bring up Padaryan's name is that I don't know how to tell you to get a copy of Woden's Eve Live other than by e-mailing him at padaryan@arminco.com. It's unlikely you'll find this album at any of the usual distribution sources, and Oaksenham do not have any web presence I've been able to find. But for fans of mellow melodic prog, this album is a must, so if you're among them, try to contact Padaryan. I hope you have better luck with getting the CD from Armenia to where you live than I did, though ... my package went through some really strange adventures I can only guess at on its way to me. But that's another story ... -- Fred Trafton Added 7/3/07: Firstly, Oaksenham now has a web site, see link below. It's been stale for a while, but should be updated by the time you read this. Distribution channels for Woden's Eve Live seem to be difficult to get for the band, so it may be available for download from the site. Check on it for yourself! But of even more interest, Oaksenham now has a studio album of their work available. It's titled Conquest of the Pacific after the "side long" epic that makes up the second half of the CD. As good as Woden's Eve Live was, it only hinted at what this band might be able to do in a studio setting. Conquest of the Pacific contains studio versions of several of the Woden's Eve Live pieces, plus much more newly composed for the album. It would be a back-handed compliment to call Oaksenham "the best prog band in Armenia" since they have so little competition there. No, let's just call them one of the best prog bands anywhere in the world. They deserve an audience not only among prog rockers but also people who enjoy classical music, because this is really a chamber orchestra with the usual rock instruments (guitar, bass guitar, drums and keyboards) added to the classical instruments (violin, cello, flute, harp, oboe, english horn, bassoon, french horn, and clarinet). The rock instrument part of the ensemble gets about equal time with the acoustic instruments during sections where they play separately, but my favorite parts (and they are many) is when everyone's all playing together or playing one short phrase and then handing the melody off to the other part of the band, only to have it thrown right back like a fast tennis match. This is the sort of game I thought only Gentle Giant could pull off, but Oaksenham does it just as well ... with a bigger band! It's pretty clear what sorts of prog Oaksenham has been listening to. The interplay between flute, acoustic guitar and organ frequently reminds of Jethro Tull (in fact, they claim to paraphrase Tull's "Velvet Green" in "Jester's Pipe", though you'd need a musicology degree to be able to detect it), and their counterpoint and love of fugues brings Gentle Giant to mind (they also cover two GG tunes on this album, "Talybont" and "On Reflection", substituting instruments for the vocals). But far from being rip-offs, these come across as homages, and there's plenty of originality to be had in the band's own compositions and the sound they've put together with six regular band members and six more guest musicians, all making huge contributions to the overall sound. This is more like a rock orchestra than a "combo". I've heard plenty of other attempts at this sort of recording, and they typically come off sounding either muddy or overproduced, but in Conquest of the Pacific, each instrument can be heard in crystal clarity because the compositions don't allow the players to walk all over each other. It's pretty clear that band leader Vahagn "Jeff" Papayan is classically trained or he wouldn't be able to arrange the music this perfectly, though the rock instrumentation and rhythms keep it from sounding sterile and boring as much classical music does. No aimless noodling here, this music is Composed with a capitol "C". And finally, it should be mentioned that the recording quality is also second to none. There's just not a bad thing to say about this album unless you don't feel a rock composition is complete without vocals ... Conquest of the Pacific is all instrumental. But the music is so compelling, my guess is that you won't really miss vocals at all. This album goes beyond "highly recommended" and well into "essential". Conquest of the Pacific is a true prog gem shining in a sea of "merely OK" albums. I actually received my promo (CDR) copy about a year ago from the band, but it hasn't been available to the public until now (in the West at least). But it will be released in mid-July 2007 by Musea (see link below). -- Fred Trafton Added 11/4/07: I managed to delay the GEPR upload long enough to actually get my promo of this album from Musea, which ships with a nice die-cut insert that exposes the inner ship photo through the window. The web site does seem to be updated at this point, and much of the Woden's Eve Live CD is available for download, though not the whole thing. Check it out. Speaking of downloads, Conquest of the Pacific is available for (paid) downloading at Mindawn. Click OGG or FLAC links in discography above. -- Fred Trafton

[Based upon Woden's Eve Live] Highly accomplished and sweet sounding group playing instrumental Celt-rock with a modern polish to it. If Prog supergroups such as Asia had lived up to their promise -- or the ideal many envisioned -- they might have sounded a little like Oaksenham with a symphonic but not overly grand mix of keys, guitar, flute, bass and drums. More sophisticated than Camel and a little jazzier than Gentle Giant, sometimes these guys sound to me like what would happen if Tony Banks, Robert Fripp, Carl Palmer and Ian Anderson suddenly popped out an album together. Though not in the same league as those artists, one can never tell about supergroups and I wouldn't be surprised if Oaksenham were able to make a more consistent album than that theoretic mix of personalities. -- David Marshall

Links

Click here for Oaksenham's web site Click here to order Conquest of the Pacific from Musea Records

Discography

Oblivion Sun (07)

Reviews

Oblivion Sun - Bill Plummer (keyboards), Frank Wyatt (keyboards, sax), Stan Whitaker (guitar, vocals) and Dave DeMarco (bass). Not pictured: Chris Mack (drums) Original Entry, 3/17/07 Oblivion Sun is a new progressive rock band put together by Frank Wyatt and Stanley Whitaker of Happy The Man. Difficulty in aligning personal schedules and lack of members' proximity for HTM was making it difficult for them to do any more recording after the release of 2004's The Muse Awakens, so Wyatt and Whitaker started their own project, recording an album called Pedal Giant Animals, released at the beginning of 2007. They wanted a vehicle for live performance of these songs, and also to continue writing new material. Thus Oblivion Sun was formed. Oblivion Sun is a five-piece, Stan Whitaker on guitar and vocals, Frank Wyatt on keyboards and sax, Chris Mack (Iluvatar, Puppet Show, Jeremy Cubert Project) on drums, Dave DeMarco on bass and Bill Plummer on keyboards who also offers his engineering and production skills. The Oblivion Days web site describes the music as "downright funky at times" and containing "serious rock grooves" and improv, but reassures us that "this is still prog, and fans of HTM's lush arrangements will not be disappointed!" You can get a preview by listening to some work in progress on their MySpace site (see link below). -- Fred Trafton Addendum 1/10/07 The not-so-long awaited Oblivion Sun CD came out towards the end of 2007 ... I can't believe they finished it so quickly after the release of Pedal Giant Animals ... but I finally got to hear it for the first time only today. My impression of this album is similar to what I already said in my Pedal Giant Animals review: WOW! You couldn't ask for a more perfect prog album. The compositions are exceptional, the recording quality is right up there with the best studio albums you've ever heard (think Toto, Steely Dan or even Alan Parsons Project), the musicianship is excellent from all participants (I especially notice Chris Mack's drums and Dave DeMarco's bass on this album ... no dumbing them down to make Wyatt and Whitaker sound better ... as if there's any need for that). The promotional blurb I got with the CD said something about some songs that would allow them to play on the same stage as King's X. Hey, I like King's X just fine, but the only way these guys should ever be on the same bill together is if King's X is the supporting band. The two songs they compare to King's X are "No Surprises" and "Re:Bootsy", and the only thing I can see about them that compares to King's X is the fact that they are more heavy guitar-oriented. But I'd say more heavy Phil Millerish than Ty Tabor. They also compare the album to some of the old standard prog bands like Gentle Giant or King Crimson (true enough, though I would compare them more closely to National Health) and then throws Battles into the comparison list, which I also find strange. I guess they want to give some parallels that a younger audience might be familiar with rather than simply comparing themselves to those old dinosaur proggers. But for those of us that are old dinosaur proggers, comparisons with the best of the old '70's bands will do nicely, though I must say these guys sound much more mature and polished, yet still utterly exciting. If I gave out "stars" ratings, this one would have five of five without any question. One of the essential releases of 2007 unless you're the type who has to have prog-metal stylings or avant dissonances in every release. There's not much of that here, nor is it even slightly missed by this listener. Totally brilliant, totally modern, yet with all the attitude of the bygone giants. Oh, also ignore the AMG's categorization as "Neo-Prog". Only in the broadest sense of "new progressive". Topnotch. -- Fred Trafton

Links

[See Happy The Man | Iluvatar | Jeremy Cubert Project | Puppet Show | Whitaker, Stan and Frank Wyatt] Click here for Oblivion Sun's web site Click here for Oblivion Sun on MySpace Click here for bassist Dave DeMarco's web site

Première Vision de L'étrange (77)

Prog.

Obscure. Ken Golden of The Laser's Edge says that A Triggering Myth reminds him of Ocean. To many, A Triggering Myth sound very Happy The Man influenced, so Ocean may also be in that vein. -- Mike Taylor

Discography

October (79) After The Fall (80)

Reviews

Symphonic prog rarities.

Discography

Bons Amigos (02)

Reviews

Octohpera 2002 - (not in photo order) Pablo R. Marques (guitars), Pablo Elizardo (keyboards), Robson Bertolossi Jr. (vocal) Márcio Baltar (drums) and Julian Quilodrán (bass) You know, there's just no accounting for taste. I've read some of my fellow reviewers opinions on Bons Amigos and found them to be everything from confusing to downright hostile. The assertion that they are a Gentle Giant clone band seems absurd to me ... yes, there are certainly GG-like vocal harmonies and a similar attraction to medieval and classical motifs, but come on, now we can't have classical influences without being a Gentle Giant clone? I don't think so! What I do think is that Bons Amigos is a wonderful album from a very fresh and talented Brazilian band. Every song is a joy to listen to, and I really like the way they vary the sound to keep things interesting. From Tull like folk mannerisms to classical guitars to much more "proggy" rock, these guys have a lot of interesting musical ideas. Most of the songs have lyrics sung in Portugese, but there is one in English ("The Continuous Rebirth of Life in the Infinity of the Horizon". Wow. Really.) The songs are all on the shortish side for a prog album, but this is not a problem as far as I'm concerned ... the songs each seem the right length for what they are. Several band members get "solo" songs where theirs is the dominant instrument, and this also adds to the variety and charm of this album. So all I can say is ... ignore what those other reviewers have said. Order Bons Amigos from Musea if you like mellow, melodic prog with a lot of melodic (NOT atonal/modern) classical influence in it. I've included these guys alleged web site link below, but it seems to have dropped off the internet. I do hope this isn't a bad sign. Their liner notes say that they have a lot more music ready to be recorded, and I'd be sad if it wasn't released. I really like these guys. -- Fred Trafton

Links

Click here for their website ... if they have got it working again. Click here to order Bons Amigos from Musea Records

Boat of Thoughts (76), An Ocean of Rocks (77), Queen of Rocks (78), Rubber Angel (79)

I have Boat of Thoughts, which is a fine example of early melodic symphonic progressive from Germany. Guitars dominate the mix, but there is plenty of synth and Mellotron work for the keyboard fan. The band sets up a good groove that was typical of many bands active during the early UK progressive scene but develop it in a somewhat symphonic style that was to later pervade much of the progressive scene during the mid-70's. The female vocalist will remind you a Janis Joplin without the "grit" in her voice. She's not a very powerful singer, but she's pleasant enough. It all comes to a head in a fantastic way with Mellotron bursting through the guitar groove, followed by washes of synth. -- Mike Taylor

Thaerie Wiighen (81)

One of the rarest Scandinavian albums, possibly the most collectible album of the 1980s. The basic sound is bright symphonic prog with a Scandinavian feel. The vocals are rather nice, all in Norwegian, of course, with a pleasant lilt which is appropriate to the impressionist nature of the music. The musical base is a strong foundation of keyboards, mainly polyphonic synths, expressing the classically-inspired themes in a Rick Wakeman-esque manner. There seems to be a sonic similarity to some of the Italian bands. Drawbacks? There's one track with a funky beat that quickly wears out its welcome and goes on longer than it needs to. Also, the main theme could have been expressed more subtly, it recurs so much, it's like they're hammering it into you. Still, on the whole, a rarity worth searching out. -- Mike Ohman

Octopus (69)

There were several bands with this name, maybe even one for each leg of the real creature! I've got a 1969 release from this particular American version. It's nothing spectacular. The liner notes indicate the band went into a New York studio while tripped out on acid. The music isn't wigged out, as you might expect. As a matter of fact, there are two really nice blues jams. The other songs are attempts at politically aware psychedelia and aren't anything to write home about. It's your basic guitars, bass, drums quartet with occasional saxophone. I'd recommend against this particular album. -- Mike Taylor

Discography

Odin (72)

Reviews

Odin was a trans-national band made up of bassist Ray Brown and drummer Stuart Fordham from England, guitarist Rob Terstall from the Netherlands and German keyboardist Jeff Beer. The genesis of Odin was the band Honest Truth that, with the services of Brown, Fordham and Terstall, played the German rock circuit in the 1960’s. When the group folded, the rhythm section returned to England, but the Dutch guitarist stayed behind. In 1971 Terstall joined up with then 19 year old German organist Jeff Beer in Bavaria, the two persuaded the Englishmen to return to Germany and, with that, Odin was born. The band obtained a deal with Vertigo Records due to the strength of their furious live performances, and released one self-titled LP in 1972. After three years of struggle the group disbanded. The group's sole album is a minor classic of the genre, featuring an unusually talented line up of player attempting to find their niche in the progressive rock world. The disc boasts acoustic balladry, angular, keyboard based mini-epics and lushly melodic instrumentals. The disc allows the four band members to display a generous portion of impressive instrumental prowess and no lover of keyboard wizardry will be able to resist Jeff Beer's mastery of the Hammond organ. Anyone familiar with and fond of Argent, Gypsy, Warhorse or Fields would surely enjoy Odin. -- Thomas Karr

Odissea (71)

Not a very interesting band.

Odmenn (70)

Blues-based psych, lots of acid guitar, some organ.

Discography

Moondrive (97) Impression (00) Moondrive plus (03, re-release of Moondrive w/ bonus tracks)

Reviews

Odyssice Odyssice's music is characterized by swelling string ensembles and long, driving guitar solos, with major infuences being Camel and Rush.

Links

Click here for Odyssice' web site

Discography

Offenbach Soap Opera (72) Saint-Chrone de Neant(73, Live) Bulldozer(73, Soundtrack) Tabarbac (74) Never Too Tender (76) Offenbach (77) Traversion (79) En Fusion (80) Rock Bottom (80) Coup de foudre!! (81) Tonnedebrick (83) A Fond de Train (83, Live) Rockorama (85) Le Dernier Show (85) 1-3-5 (91, box set) 2-4-6 (92, box set) ... plus lots of compilations ...

Reviews

French-Canadian. Organ-based prog with light religious touches.

The band was founded in the sixties playing covers of pop anglo acts translating them to french, they called themselves Les Gants Blancs, then L' Opera Pop D'Offenbach then Offenbach Pop Opera then Offenbach Soap Opera in 1970. That year, poet-songwriter-lyricist-singer Pierre Harel joined them and gave them the necessary boost the band needed, convincing them that they should sing in Quebec's street french. Under Harel's guidance the band recorded a string of innovative albums including Saint-Chrone de Neant, a live album recorded in a church, with choir, church organist and a priest giving a mass in latin! The band themselves sang the lyrics in latin making for a unique experiance. The style of music on that album could be described as a cross between Pink Floyd and Deep Purple, very original and innovative. The rest of the albums up to 77's eponymous LP are more in the early 70's organ driven prog/hard rock similar to Uriah Heep, Atomic Rooster and some german bands like Birth Control, Jane etc. ... maybe a tad blusier. After many personal change-ups the band re-settled in '79 for a more boogie oriented sound. They did record a fine album with a big band in '79 (En Fusion). Even though Harel was long gone (he left in '74), they were very popular in French Canada, filling 17,000 seaters under the [aegis] of co-founder Gerry Boulet who died in 1990. Nowadays the band frequently re-unites for small scale gigs and festivals, events etc., but not permanently. I would suggest trying to find the two boxed sets released in the early 90's as they contain most of recorded output of the band, even some unreleased songs. -- Alain Mallette

Discography

Offering I-II (86) Offering III-IV (90) A Fiieh 93)

Reviews

Another outlet for Stella and Christian Vander.

Links

[See Magma | Vander, Christian]

Discography

02 (97?) Voices (99)

Reviews

Recorded in a small studio in Argyle, Texas (yeah, even us Texans ask: "Where?"), I suppose one might classify Ohm's Voices as an "avant-garde" or "RIO" album featuring the late Doug Ferguson (of Yeti) playing synthesized soundscapes and electronic noises behind odd, repetitive woodwind sections, sometimes reminiscent of Philip Glass and sometimes free-jazzy woodwind noodlings with low-key drums and percussions burbling into the foreground on occasion. The pieces are all long, evolving, dreamy (sometimes nightmarish) and heavily improvised-sounding without much in the way of melody. Distorted electronics, Mellotron and woodwind (saxes, clarinets) all figure in prominently. Pretty good stuff. Not as dark as Yeti, but every bit as strange and experimental. -- Fred Trafton

Links

[See Yeti]

Discography

Tubular Bells (73) Hergest Ridge (74) The Orchestral Tubular Bells (75) Ommadawn (75) Incantations (78) Exposed (79) Platinum (79) Airborn (80) QE2 (80) Five Miles Out (82) Crises (83) Discovery (84) The Killing Fields (84) Islands (87) Earthmoving (89) Amarok (90) Heaven's Open (91) Tubular Bells II (92) Songs of Distant Earth (95) Voyager (96) Tubular Bells III (98) Guitars (99) Millennium Bell (99)

Reviews

Mike Oldfield In the early (and in my opinion best) period, he tended towards making long 50 minutes instrumental giga-works. (Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge, Ommadawn, Incantations (lasting almost two hours), QE2 (shorter, more approachable tunes, like a cover of an ABBA song)). Unfortunately he began making pop-albums in the middle late '80s and is still doing a lot of poppish stuff. The only good thing from a prog rock-point of view is, that these albums always contain a long, instrumental prog rock composition on one side of the album, and a lot o poppish vocal things on the other. (Five Miles Out, Crisis, Discovery, Islands, Heaven's Open). Fortunately there is one exception to the pop, namely Amarok from 1990, which featured one tune, "Amarok," lasting one full hour and three seconds and featuring such diverse instruments as toy dogs, toothbrushes, feet, the contents of an airplane modeller's toolkit, etc. Highly recommended, which leads us to: Recommended albums: Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge, Ommadawn, Five Miles Out, Platinum, The Killing Fields, Amarok. Albums to avoid: Earth Moving, Heaven's Open.

Tubular Bells is an absolute must, no two ways about it. Instrumental music with a wide variety of instruments. Some of his later stuff contains more marketable stuff. Islands, for example has a side long instrumental called "The Wind Chimes," but the other side is pop music with guest vocalists like Max Bacon (of GTR), Kevin Ayers, and Bonnie Tyler.

Tubular Bells transcends many genres of music: Progressive, new-age, jazz, symphonic, and was used as the theme to the movie The Exorcist.

I've always thought Tubular Bells was overrated but Tubular Bells 2 is incredible. It's amazing how many musical avenues he explores, listening to TB2 is an adventure. His originality and instrumental variety is great.

A musical genius, but his large output of pop songs is frustrating. Some of his pop songs are excellent but some are dreadful. It's the instrumentals where he really shines. Recommended: Tubular Bells II, Amarok, Incantations.

Discovery was, relatively speaking, one of Mike Oldfield's more obscure releases, and was recorded in 1984, as we all know, in the Swiss Alps, at 2000 metres, within sight of Lake Geneva on sunny days. This contained two "hit singles," the tracks "To France" and "Tricks Of The Light." The music is in the same vein as on Five Miles Out and Crises, with playful lyrics and catchy melodies. The last track, "The Lake," is a long, instrumental track, with echoes of the guitar sounds and mood changes that appeared on Tubular Bells and in many instrumental tracks thereafter. Mike Oldfield's soundtrack to The Killing Fields is orchestral at times, with much help from longtime acquaintance David Bedford. The compositions are also relatively dark and sombre, presumably to reflect the mood of the movie. The tracks are, as is typical of a soundtrack, very short and expressive, and, when taken together, offer up a pretty varied listening experience. Tubular Bells II is , for the most part, an updated version of his classic work, yet with enough variation to satisfy the listener.

Great at times, not-so-great other times. The more epic works are almost invariably the best. Tubular Bells is a must-have, no doubt. Hergest Ridge is also great. Tubular Bells 2 is also quite good, and is not just a re-make of the original. Not a bad starter, actually. Oldfield is a multi-instrumentalist whose best stuff contains no vocals (although his later albums are littered with vocal tracks). Powerful music that doesn't just sit there. Avoid Earth Moving, according to every Oldfield fan I have heard from.

Oldfield is one of those guys that's hard to pigeon-hole into any style. The multi-instrumentalist has his own rather unique style and it's changed from album to album over the years. His classics include Tubular Bells and Hergest Ridge which are conceptual works with one or two songs spanning the entire album. On these, the songs develop slowly with a few instruments stating the theme. As the song continues, additional layers of instruments join the mix and work out variations on the theme. In this regard, he is similar to band like Tangerine Dream, except Oldfield uses many different instruments instead of just synths like T-Dream. Albums he recorded later in his career, such as Earth Moving display a religious bent in well-crafted "prog-pop" songs. If I'm going to listen to pop, I'd rather listen to Mike Oldfield that anything on the radio. The songs are very engaging, though somewhat disappointing for diehard fans of his long works. Islands has one side-long cut and several shorter songs ala Earth Moving. Oldfield is a talented and unique musician and it's usually easy to select several enjoyable albums from his discography. -- Mike Taylor

Amarok is incredible. Tubular Bells is classic. Ommadawn is another great one. Tubular Bells 2 was pretty good too, but I thought it sounded like a cross between the first one and Amarok without much new ground being covered.

The Songs Of Distant Earth is a beautiful piece, based on a novel, so it flows like a soundtrack, all tracks connected and with recurring themes. Excellent mix of guitar, synth, piano, chorus, and percussion, much like Incantations but with much more energy. No lyrics, but a lot of background vocals, all very melodic. Nothing at all like Amarok. It sounds similar to Tubular Bells 2, but has a much more smooth flow to it. His best work. -- Kris Heber

Links

[See Bedford, David] Click here for Mike Oldfield's official web site

Standing Stone (74)

Twisted eccentric prog.

Discography

California Demise (93, EP) The Giant Day (96, EP) Music From the Unrealized Film Script Dusk at Cubist Castle (96) Explanation II (99, EP) Black Foliage: Animation Music Vol. 1 (99) The Olivia Tremor Control vs. The Black Swan Network (99, EP) The Peel Sessions (99, Live) The Singles and Beyond (00, Compilation of early EP's & unreleased material)

Reviews

Olivia Tremor Control is one the foremost proponents of neo-psychedelica. In the late 80s, XTC formed an offshoot called The Dukes of Stratosphear that did psychedelic pastiche. This was fun and unexpected; but largely a lark. Olivia Tremor Control is the real thing. Their music has certainly been influenced -- notably by the Beatles in their psych mode ("Lucy in the Sky," "I Am the Walrus," "Strawberry Fields") and Ummagumma-era Pink Floyd; but it really doesn't sound much like either one. There are technical similarities: backward tapeloops, distorted voices and instruments, jumpy time-signatures. But the real similarity is in mood. Psychedelic music differs from prog rock (if the two can be distinguished at all) by its roots and its attitude: psychedelic mainly derives from pop, and is bouncy and juicy and upbeat. (I think prog derives more from blues, R & B and classical, and so is all over the map in mood.) OTC is certainly bouncy and upbeat: their vocal harmonies soar like those of the Beatles and Beach Boys, and their songs for the most part are short, and, even when somber, don't stay somber for long but quickly jump into something else. The main thing you note about Olivia Tremor Control is the inventiveness and risk-taking and aural architecture. They use everything from distorted guitar to toy piano (sometimes distorted) to kazoo to slide-whistle (which sometimes sounds like slide-elephant) to synthesizers that sound like a balloon with its neck squeezed to xylophone to saxophone to tubular bells to road noises to typewriters to ... you name it. But all of this is very tastefully put together. They are not experimental for experiment's sake, but for the songs' sake. And their songs, and the whole sequence of songs, are paced and interconnected beautifully. Think of all the recurrent themes of "Close to the Edge," and you will have an idea of the meticulous construction. OTC is from Athens, GA. Their first CD came out in 1996 and is called Dusk at Cubist Castle. The second came out in 1999 and is called Black Foliage. They also have a CD of singles, but I haven't heard it. The two full-lengths are LONG (over 74 minutes for DCC and over 69 minutes for BF) but don't seem long because of how well interconnected all the music is. It is not exactly symphonic but more like a river that flows naturally from one thing to the next. They are mostly very melodic but also very atmospheric and the lyrics -- this is psychedelica, remember -- are somewhere between the drugged and the deep ("Where we are, in the blink of an eye you get several meanings"). If you have any interest in psychedelia at all, try them out. -- Paul Schumacher

Links

Click here for an Olivia Tremor Control web site

Discography

Overnight Letters (95) Orpheus, The Initiate (97) Symphony Nr 1 * (99) Terres sans Frontières * (99) Pléiades (01) Attacama (01, w/ Hernan Saavedra) Méditations * (01) Cristal Rêveur (02) Arsamian Symphony * (02) Figurative Translations * (02) Lemuria (03) Orange Love (05) * These titles available only via Olyam's web site, not distributed by record companies

Reviews

Olyam Olyam (aka Olivier Brigand) is a synthesist and guitar player whose music is usually described as "New Age". He contributed a cut for a Tangerine Dream tribute album, so this might give you an idea of his style. Actually, his style is more like the later, melodic TD than their earlier, more experimental stuff. I can also compare Olyam to his countryman Jean Michel Jarre. For the album Attacama, Olyam teams up with Chilean flautist/pan pipe player Hernan Saavedra. If you've ever heard the Patrick Moraz album Coexistence from 1984 with pan pipe player Syrinx, this album has its similarities. Attacama also features wood flutes that inevitably sound like Simon & Garfunkel's "El Condor Pasa". Attacama is a desert in South America, and the music is illustrative of the sombre, stark beauty of such landscapes. Attacama isn't a bad album or anything, very relaxing and well produced. Nice, simple latin-flavored instrumental melodies with Olyam's massively overdubbed flamenco-style guitars weaving a rich background chordal tapestry which, along with dreamy synthesized string ensembles, provides a backdrop for Saavedra's flute and pan pipe soloing. But I would use the words "New Age", "World Music" or "Easy Listening" to describe this album long before I would use the word "Progressive". Easy, relaxing, meditative. Not bad. Not prog. If you like this kind of thing, a highly recommendable release. If you'd rather be caught dead than listen to a "New Age" album, you'd best stay away. Olyam and Hernan are not brothers from Chile, as claimed in Vitaly Menshikov's review on the ProgressoR site. Cristal Rêveur is another Musea release I've heard from Olyam. It's similar in texture to Attacama, but without the pan pipes and wood flutes. This one is heavier on Olyam's classical guitar picking, which is of course very relaxing and mellow and is highlighted by the usual shimmering/breathy digital synth tones found on most new age albums these days. Like the previous album, it's a nice listen, but not very prog. Orange Love is a bit more interesting. Still plenty of new-agey, light-jazzy mellowness, but also adding some psychedelic elements like swoopy synths, sitars, a chanting female voice and gated drum sounds. Some of the pitch bends in the acoustic guitar work on the first track "Parvati 2004 (Move the Feeling Mix)" actually sounds a bit like Pink Floyd and the bass guitar in the second cut "Distant Culture (Space Experience Mix)" is reminiscent of Angel's Egg-era Gong, though in each case the overall effect of the song isn't very similar to those bands. The overall sound is somewhat reminiscent of Zinkl (hope that helps ... hehe). The cuts are all longish (6 to 7 minutes each) with a long (nearly 16 minutes) "bonus track" called "Quantic Spiritual Renovation (Prism Mix)" (... what's up with the "mix" subtitles? I have no idea ...) that's the best thing on the album. This song has some space rock elements like a heavily sustained electric guitar lead and percolating synths. However, the synthesized rhythm section sounds like more modern techno, though lighter and without the heavy bass thumping and kick drum. The whole album is very light and airy, I might have preferred the bass further up in the mixes and more bass-EQ on other instruments. Still, this is by far my favorite album of those I've heard, more varied and interesting and less "new agey". -- Fred Trafton

Links

Click here for Olyam's web site Click here to order Olyam titles from Musea records

Zelva (68), Handful (70), 4 (7?), Olympic (7?), Marathon (7?), Holidays On Earth (79), The Street (82), Rock and Roll (82), V Lucerne (83), Laboratory (8?), Hidden In Your Mind (??)

The most popular Czech rock band. Started in 1963 as a Beatles cover band. Their first LP, Zelva, is supposed to be a psych classic with a ten-minute track, "Psychedelic Pill". Rock and Roll is a bunch of covers of old '50s rock tunes. V Lucerne is their 20th anniversary live album, and includes an info-packed poster-sized insert. Holidays On Earth is the English-language version of a Czech-titled 1978 album and is the first installation of their sci-fi trilogy, volumes two and three being The Street and Laboratory. These are supposed to be the ones of only real interest to prog fans.

Discography

The Run of The Spring (94) Letters (94) Ritual Places in Bulgaria (97) The Long Way (98)

Reviews

Nikolai Ivanov, founder of OM Art Formation (guitar, piano, voice, electronics) OM Art Formation are a 3 piece outfit who blend progressive music with traditional Hindu-Indian music. These 3 guys are very talented as they tackle about 3-5 instruments apiece. The album has a psychedelic feel to it with the sitars in the foreground of many pieces. But they also play some mean guitars (in the King Crimson-like "Discipline - Sheltering Sky" vein) and use saxophones. There are vocal chants rather than vocals and periodic voices here and there. If you're looking for a good blend of progressive music with Hindu-Indian touches [you'll like The Long Way]. Some very creepy melodies and structures. If Indian music is not to your liking, you best avoid this album. -- Betta

Links

Click here for Nikolai Ivanov's web site

Discography

Hungarian Releases: Trombitás Frédi és a Rettenetes Emberek (68) Tízezer Lépés (69) Éjszakai Országút (70) Élõ Omega (72) Omega 5 (73) Omega 6: Nem Tudom A Neved (75) Omega 7: Idõrabló (77) Omega 8: Csillagok Útján (78) Gammapolis (79) Elo Kistadion '79 (80) Omega X: Az Arc (81) Omega XI (82) Jublium Concert (83) Omega 12 - A Föld Árnyékos Oldalán (86) Omega XIII - Babylon (87) Arranyalbum 1969-1971 (??, Compilation) 1968-1973 (??, 5LP box set) Trans and Dance (95) Omega XV - Egy Életre Szól (98) 200 Éwel Az Utolsó Háború Után (98, Recorded in 1972) Szvit (99, Remix of Omega 5) English Releases: Omega Red Star From Hungary (68) Omega (73) 200 Years After The Last War (74) Omega III (74) The Hall Of Floaters In The Sky (75) Time Robber (76) On Tour (77) Skyrover (78) Gammapolis (79) Best of Omega (80, 2 LP, Compilation) Best of Omega Vol. 2 (81, Compilation) Live at the Kistadion (80) Working (81) Highlights (94, 2 CD, Re-releases of Time Robber and Skyrover) Their Greatest Hits From The Sixties in English (94, Compilation) Transcendent (96)

Reviews

Hungarian band. This time a more typically "progressive" band, although on the later side of the scale. Not too bad, but not worth killing for. Several albums were released in Hungarian as well as English. Make sure you get the Hungarian version: their English is not fantastic. And besides, Hungarian is a wonderful language for singing.

In the Barclay James Harvest vein and active from 1967 until 1991. Go for Time Robber. After their first six albums, they ventured into space-rock.

Hungary's most popular band, starting with a psychedelic style on Red Star, then developing into a more progressive style derived from Pink Floyd, Eloy and the like. Nem Tudom A Neved is a pretty raw album. The title track is pretty good, other songs have the germ of an idea but come off as undeveloped. For a country's most popular band, they really could use some better production values. Hall Of Floaters is a good deal better, benefitting by being recorded in the west (England, in fact) and including some orchestrations. Most of the songs here were originally on Nem Tudom A Neved, the extended versions here are far more interesting. Unlike the other album, all vocals here are in English. -- Mike Ohman

Links

[See Benko, Laszlo | Locomotiv GT | Presser, Gabor] Click here for Omega's web site

Discography

Tras el Puente (00) El Vals de los Duendes (02)

Reviews

Omni in the studio - Michael Starry (guitar), Ismael Colon (drums), Jose Luis Algaba (bass), Pepe Almadana (Engineer), Alberto Marquez (keyboards), Rafa Tardío (manager) and Salvador Velez (guitar) Original entry, 3/13/02: Their style mixes Camel-esque melodic structures with the typical Spanish flavour of Andalusian bands, such as Imán and Cai. Basically, their music is quite symphonic, incorporating many ethnic and Arabic-like ambients. All their material is exclusively instrumental. The band was founded in the late 80's, by three core members: Mike Starry (lead guitar), Salvador Velez (rhythm guitar) and Jose Luis Algaba (bass). A few drummers came and went to fill the duties behind the kit. Keyboard duties were shared between Mike Starry and a few guests - among them, Sebastian Fernandez, ex-Cai. Also, Pepe Torres, sax/flute player, guested now and then. Their first CD (the only one up to date) is actually a selection of demos recorded in 1993 and 1994. They were recued and compiled under the title Tras el Puente in 2000. The band had split up in 1994, but motivated by the release of their old material, they rejoined and nowadays are enjoying some success. Their performance in BajaProg 2001 was very well received by both the crowd and the critics [they were invited back for BajaProg 2002, as a matter of fact! - Ed.]. Meanwhile, Tras el Puente has received positive reviews in many prog e-zines. Because Tras el Puente is basically a selection of demos, the sound is a little sub-par, despite the fact that those demos were remastered. Nevertheless, you can appreciate their melodic sensibilty and crafty musicianship along each and every track. They are currently recording their second CD, or more accurately, their first proper CD. Their line-up is currently very steady. Along with the three core members, other members of Omni are: keyboardsman Alberto Marquez (ex-Onza); Pepe Torres on sax/flute, now a permanent member; new drummer Ismael Colon entered the band in September 2001. -- Cesar Mendoza

Omni 2005 line-up - Ismael Colon (drums), Alberto Marquez (keyboards), Juan Ríos (spanish and rhythm guitars), Michael Starry (guitar) and Jesús "Chuchi" Cabral. Pepe Torres (woodwinds) not pictured. Update, 11/16/05: Eventually, the second album, El Vals de los Duendes, saw the light of day in mid-2002, and it didn't take long before it was labeled as one of the best prog recordings to come out of Spain. Recapturing the musical essence of Andalusian prog forefathers Cai, Imán and Guadalquivir, instilled through the model of Camel and Wind and Wuthering-era Genesis and seasoned by noticeable flavors of Latin-jazz and fusion, the interplaying between the guitar, sax/flute and synth leads managed to be solid and delicate, firmly sustained by the well-oiled rhythm section of bass, drums and rhythm guitar. "El Vals de los Duendes" was critically acclaimed by prog fans all over the world, as it truly deserved to be. The opener "Casapuerta" exhibits progressive majesty all over itself, from the ethereal intro to the brief Flamenco-tinged center motif and, finally, the dreamy closing section. The title track comprises the biggest amount of diversity throughout its various motifs, all of them linked to each other in perfect fluidity. "Ronda de las Dunas" is the most clearly inclined to the introduction of Arabic colours and nuances, particularly in its captivatingly catchy interlude -- these three tracks are simply terrific and compelling. "Rompeolas" and "Charco la Rana" show a catchier attitude, with its nice tunes arranged on merry tempos. "Como la Noche y el Día" goes to more Cosmopolitan realms, exhibiting the Camel influence almost in the raw, while the gentle closer "Mexicali" portrays a candid, dreamy touch of twilight. It was obvious that Omni had taken advantage of the diversity of musical ideas that all members provided during the writing and arranging process. But it didn't take too long before this same diversity gave way to musical differences, which eventually generated an internal turmoil in Omni's line-up. Bassist Jose Luis Algaba and rhythm guitarist Salvador Velez intended to re-direct the band into the Flamenco-meets-Latin jazz trend, while founding lead guitarist Mike Starry was determined to keep the prog core intact. The crisis grew so unbearable that keyboardist Alberto Márquez (also prog-centered) quit in October 2003 and, a few days later, Starry officially dissolved the band. Fortunately, this hiatus was soon followed by a reformation before the year ended, with Starry and Márquez returning to the fold: they summoned back drummer Ismael Colón and wind player Pepe Torres, and later on, the refurbished quartet welcomed new members Jesús Cabral "Chuchi" (bass) and Juan Ríos (Spanish & rhythm guitars). Having retaken the sextet format with this new steady line-up, Omni has been working on demos of new material during 2005, while writing and rehearsing the intended repertoire for their next album, planned for a 2006 release. -- Cesar Mendoza

Links

[See Cai | Onza] Click here for Omni's web site

Songs Of Resignation (89)

This is more of an industrial thrash band than anything one might consider progressive. Songs Of Resignation does feature guest appearances by bassist Bernard Paganotti of Magma, but he's very much the fish out of water here.

Reino Rocoso (91)

Spanish folk-tinged fusion band on the Musea-Parallele label. A three-piece, their sound is fairly unique, doesn't compare to much else out there: sorta light and fresh, with plenty of sophisticated musical muscle, extremely tight playing, and a well-balanced sense of direction. Tends to be acoustically oriented, and should appeal to fans of Pat Metheny, Al Di Meola, and like that.

Open Air (78)

Three piece of keys, guitars and vocals, with guest musicians handling the drums and bass. Their sound is very melodic, but relatively simple and straightforward - and seems to be influenced by Machiavel and Genesis, maybe others as well, but generally substandard by comparison. Vocals are in English, but not that awe inspiring (certainly not the caliber of Machiavel's vocalist). Overall, I'd say it falls somewhere between OK and mediocre. A few tracks are good.

Spiritual Lovers (9?)

Current psych; spaced out guitar and keyboards.

Discography

Orchid (95) Morningrise (96) My Arms, Your Hearse (98) Still Life (99) Blackwater Park (01)

Reviews

Opeth (Still Life line-up) - Mikael Åkerfeldt, Peter Lindgren, Martin Mendez and Martin Lopez Opeth are an original musical entity. Their style can be labeled as progressive extreme metal, but their music has absolutely nothing in common with the Dream Theater clones, as well as the extreme fusion bands (Atheist, Cynic). Rooted both in the more advanced death metal traditions (i.e. later Death) and the melodicism of bands like Camel, early Genesis or their Swedish contemporaries Änglagård, Opeth combine it all into a dynamic mix, adding their own mystic cover and originality. Sound-wise they are guitar-based (no keyboards). Unlike traditional death metal, where there's a clear division between low-end riffing and solos, Opeth dwell in rich polyphonic textures and haunting harmonic progressions; electric and acoustic guitar patterns are intertwined and have an equal importance to the compositions. The vocalist posesses a deep and melancholic clean voice, but also a versatility in extreme vocal styles - growls, rasps - but not barking; the harsh sounds from his throat are usually long and extended, and fade out slowly. Composition-wise they have their own approach, the closest known siblings would be Genesis' "Supper's Ready" or, again, the songs of Änglagård. The movements (the word "songs" is inappropriate here) consist of sequences of complex repetitive riffs/patterns, which (after being introduced) mostly disappear never to return again, or to return as a variation, or a mutant version. In the hands of a less talented band, this approach would surely lead to failure, but after a few missteps, Opeth have mastered this form perfectly - the seemingly unrelated themes flow naturally from one to the next, and later reappear as reminiscences. Most of the riffs are multi-part webs of guitar melodies and harmonies ranging from haunting melodicism to dark dissonances (there's a discernible VoiVod influence in the later albums); the acoustic parts are melancholic but always busy and intense. With such complexity within a single riff, repetition never seems pointless or unnatural. While there are a few guitar solos scattered throughout their albums, the band always focuses more on composition, balance, flow and dynamics. Here's a description of their albums. Orchid: All trademark elements of the Opeth style (described above) are present on the very first album. The music here is based on twin guitar post-Iron Maiden melodies, but where Iron Maiden thrived on recycling the same melodies and extending pointless guitar-passages to no end, Opeth just take the basis of that melodic aesthetic and exploit it to the fullest extent on a radically new level. The music fluently and logically travels from section to section, and as a whole this album has a certain trance-like and hypnotic quality, built by powerful reverbed guitar themes and monotonous drumming. The notable songs are "Under the Weeping Moon" with its simple and surprising acoustic/psychedelic breaks, the dynamic and intense piano piece "Silhouette" and the most hypnotic track - "Forest of October". The highlight comes with the closing track, "The Apostle in Triumph" - a masterfully crafted composition, with contrasting themes - acoustic guitar passages together with fast improvised bass give way to an open, epic and powerful theme, which reappears in a different form towards the end and develops to an ambivalent climax - this piece of music is their first which posesses a "storytelling" quality, which would be reborn with new force on later albums. All in all, a good album - no signs of immaturity. Morningrise: A logical development of the Orchid style in all directions, with all the benefits and drawbacks such development can bring. The melodies are becoming more exquisite, the progressive influences are more obvious than before, but the compositions are suddenly lacking in flow and logic of structure. The first three tracks have no identity, since they are constructed from totally unrelated parts, and while individually each melody is beautiful, mostly they are wasted. The other two tracks are slightly more focused. "Black Rose Immortal" is a 20-minute journey through alternating folk and metal snapshots, and succeeds at building a mood, while "To Bid You Farewell" is a subdued, mostly acoustic number with no harsh vocals and a melancholic aura. Overall, this album is OK for a casual listen, but in the end it's too meandering, and most of the dynamic of the first album is lost. I have to note, though, that many Opeth fans have this album as their favourite. My Arms Your Hearse: With an updated rhythm section, Opeth come out with a renewed sound and a considerable leap forward in quality. Gone are the twin guitar-melodies and the frequent start-stops of Morningrise. Instead we receive an overwhelming polyphonic assault; raging chordal guitar attacks and fast, brutal drumming mingle with Camelesque lead melodies so naturally that one may think they were supposed to sound together from the beginning of time; simpler sections give way to more complex and extended themes; underneath the seemingly common minor-mode acoustics and leads we can discern subtle dissonances which are barely noticeable unless you pay attention. While structurally it's still the same as Morningrise - no riff ever repeats - the flow is much more natural, and even the really disjointed parts work together in an absurd way. The album is a concept, and the division into songs/tracks is more symbolic - but a few pieces are definitely praiseworthy: "Demon of the Fall" is a disturbing collage of eerie sonic paintings - even the acoustic passages are relentless and brutal; "Credence" is a brilliant, ghost-like acoustic "ballad" where again, a seemingly simple chord-change is tastefully peppered with "wrong" notes and details; "Epilogue" is a moody guitar-instrumental in the vein of Camel's "Ice", set against an autumnal backing of a Hammond organ. A special praise goes to the vocalist, Mikael Åkerfeldt, for great improvement in expression and ability. One of the band's darker and moodier records, very good and recommended. Still Life: An even more dramatic improvement and probably the band's highest achievement so far, this album is their most complex and intricate work. The compositional technique has developed far beyond the linear riff-sequencing of the two previous records; the songs have a clear, cohesive identity and are tied together by motifs and themes whose echoes reappear as variations in different parts of the song, thus enhancing the "storytelling" aspect of the music. Music-wise, here you can find jazzy chord-progressions and leads, atonal chaotic death-metal, classical guitar detours, lush polyphonic layering of acoustic and distorted guitars, and a whole variety of vocal styles. Again, this is a concept album. Every song is brilliant here. "The Moor" begins with a surreal, uneasy acoustic-plus-lead mantra which leads into a journey through open spaces of fast riffing; later all guitar-layers dissolve one by one for a quiet, introspective detour and then back into intense movement; a very picturesque song. "Godhead's Lament" starts with an intense burst reminiscent of the darkest and most ironic symphonies of Shostakovich; the theme slowly hides behind new images, only to return after a folkish song-within-a-song, as a mocking variation. "Benighted" offers a meditative respite : a classical acoustic guitar theme develops beautifully and contains a bluesy guitar solo. "Moonlapse Vertigo" is another well-crafted composition, held together by a shifting rhythmic pattern; a relaxed song, even in the distorted parts, with a very prominent Camel influence. "The Face of Melinda" is the emotional core of the album - a moody jazz-rock song with rhyming verses transforms into a moving, powerful hymn. "Serenity Painted Death", after a neutral introduction, erupts into chaos and despair; themes with seemingly incompatible moods frantically escape from each other - vision of death, anguish, desolation, indifference, rage, pain, oblivion, awakening and again the vision of death. In this song the "inconsistency" returns with a soul-shattering result. The closing track, "White Cluster" continues the chaos, the peak comes with an ascending scale-recitation, repeated on and on with growing intensity, conjuring a feeling of inevitability. Close to genius and absolutely recommended. Blackwater Park: Produced by Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree (he was apparently hugely impressed by Still Life), who also added some piano and guitar parts, sung a few lines and brought amazing textural depth to the band's sound. At this stage Opeth are equally comfortable with structured and disjointed composition, and push every aspect of their music to the extreme. The distorted parts are dense, brutal and more prominently disharmonic (like VoiVod, but not "robotic", more like overwhelming walls of dissonance), the acoustic parts are minimalistic and desolate. While the previous records were warm and emotional, here we get the total opposite: cold apathy, scorn, disillusionment and plain hatred. In some places, like the Porcupine Tree-meets-Jeff Buckley acoustic "Harvest", the warmth returns, even if it's the warmth of relief before dying. "The Drapery Falls" continues in the same tempo, but after a while plunges into blackness and briefly displays its chaotic core, then attempts to escape it - this is one of the band's most perfect compositions. "Dirge for November" paints a long, almost endless nighttime funeral procession in the fog. This album is their most surreal and visual - much effort is taken to invoke images in the listener's head - and the biggest success is the gripping, doomed title track. In the beginning a couple of themes are introduced, and after a drugged psychedelic-blues detour these themes are gradually deconstructed piece by piece, until finally the music goes astray and turns into murderous guitar noise. Brilliant! One of the band's biggest achievements, but also a transitional album. Personally I'd advise the newcomer to begin with Still Life and Blackwater Park, and then chronologically backwards. -- Andrew Orel

Opeth are a Swedish band that, while inarguably a metal act, are based as much in progressive rock bands like Camel as in their more obvious death metal roots. The standard Opeth song is a long and meticulously-detailed composition, bouncing between heavy parts with harsh (i.e. growled) vocals, beautiful acoustic sections often featuring outstanding clean vocal passages, and impressive instrumental sections. Most albums have at least one almost-entirely-acoustic song, typically rather bleak and introspective in nature. Although Opeth largely sticks to this same songwriting formula from album to album, it does not get stale. In fact, the band seems to improve from release to release. Another interesting aspect to Opeth is that both varieties of vocals are provided by guitarist/songwriter, Mikael Åkerfeldt, a fact that often comes as a surprise to the unitiated, given their disparity. Filling out the rest of the band are Peter Lindgren (guitars) and "new-comers" Martin Lopez (drums) and Martin Mendez (bass), who replaced the rhythm section of Anders Nordin and Johan DeFarfalla after the Morningrise album. Their 1999 and 2001 releases, Still Life and Blackwater Park respectively, would make good starting points for prog fans looking to try on a little Opeth for size in that, aside from some very memorable tunes, they contain more "clean" vocals than previous albums. In addition, Porcupine Tree's Steve Wilson makes a guest appearance (backing vocals, guitars, and piano) on Blackwater Park. -- W. B. Henderson

Blackwater Park is possibly one of the most unique metal albums to come out in quite some time. Mixing equal parts death metal and atmospheric progressive rock, Opeth has created one of the bigger surprises of 2001. Having Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson as producer can't hurt either. The leadoff song "The Leper Affinity" sets the tone in an abrupt way, with heavy and complex guitar lines amidst ominous death metal vocals. At the halfway point of this wonderful epic track, the band quiets down for an acoustic interlude that features some wonderful clean and melodic vocals, which then segues into some more bombastic metal fury. The tension that is created is simply amazing. A song like "Bleak" has such a complex and intricate arrangement that bands like Nevermore and Cynic come to mind. The band does a great job of switching back and forth between the death metal and clean vocals (I believe Steven Wilson handles some of the clean vocals), and although I am normally not a fan of the "razor throated growl", this band has so much going on musically that the vocals are by no means at the forefront. There is even a nice acoustic number called "Harvest" which contains some great melodic vocals, and is a nice break amidst some of the heavier songs. "The Drapery Falls" is another classic of heavy progressive rock, and at just under eleven minutes manages to take on many forms before the final closing chords. Fantastic use of different vocal styles on this one as well. Fans of more extreme metal will love "Dirge for November" and "The Funeral Portrait" two speedier numbers with unrelenting yet melodic power chords and screaming vocals. Some of the guitar work on "The Funeral Portrait" will remind of early Slayer. The epic title track is saved for last, and is a mighty statement of dark and crushing progressive death metal. In fact, with this album, I think Opeth might have started up a whole new genre. -- Peter Pardo

Links

[See Porcupine Tree] Click here for Opeth's official web site Click here for an excellent Opeth fan site

Contre Courant (76), Serieux Ou Pas (89)

Excellent '70s Canadian symphonic fusion band that released one album and one posthumously. Excellent and classic music.

Introspezionne (74), Lord Cromwell Plays Suite For Seven Vices (75), Strata (87)

For the more avant-garde of the Gibraltar readers, Opus Avantra are more avant-garde than most. They combine operatic, neo-classical, and progressive / classical rock styles. Opus Avantra created a very interesting music that succeeded in their first of three Introspezzione but was less effective in Lord Cromwell Plays The Suite for Seven Vices. OA also made an album recently on the Artis label entitled Strata.

The sound of the band is a avant-garde (AVAN) and traditional (TRA) mix of music. These are two good LPs. Nowadays, Tony Esposito (percussion) is a famous soloist.

Italian avant-garde band featuring vocalist Donella Del Monaco. Their style blends elements of progressive, classical, opera, jazz and just plain general weirdness, using keyboards, bass, drums, violins, cellos, clarinet, flutes and other instruments. Because their style draws on such diverse influences, it's difficult to make any quick and convenient comparisons, but suffice to say that this type of music is definitely not for everyone. It may be too, say, aesthetically challenging for many. Still they are one of the all time best Italian bands. If you're up to it, start with Introspezzione.

[See Del Monaco, Donella | Katharsis | Nuova Idea]

Discography

Opus I (83, re-released on CD w/ 3 bonus tracks in 2003) Opus II (06)

Reviews

Opus Est (1983, around the time Opus I was recorded) - Anders Olofsson, Kent Olofsson, Leif Olofsson and Håkan Nilsson Opus Est was formed in Sweden around 1977 by guitarist Kent Olofsson, drummer Anders Oloffson (no relation) and bassist Torbjörn Svensson though in those days they played improvised jazz-rock along the lines of Mahavishnu Orchestra and called themselves Krishna. During their first couple of years, the band moved more into a prog rock direction, heavily influenced by Genesis, Yes and ELP. In 1978, they recruited a friend, Håkan Nilsson, as vocalist, then in 1979, they added Kent's younger brother Leif Oloffson to the band (he was 14 years old at the time!), and Opus Est was complete. The name Opus Est was suggested by a drunken Dutchman who two of the band members met while on holiday in Spain. They had no idea what it meant, but they liked it, and it became the band's new name. In 1982, Torbjörn left the band, and bass duties were moved to keyboards and bass pedals, though sometimes Kent switched to keys while Leif played bass. It wasn't until 1983, after winning recording time in a mobile recording studio for being the winners of a band competition, that the band committed 8 of their compositions to tape. Together with three cuts recorded a few months earlier, the band put out an LP with a pressing of only 500 copies. Two of these tracks were left off the album due to the LP length limits. However, in 2003, Musea Records re-released this album on CD, including the two missing tracks recorded at that time as bonus tracks along with a live track. The music has a definite '80's vibe owing to the heavy use of string ensemble in the keyboards (not the ARP String Ensemble, but a Roland keyboard with a very similar sound), but the vocals sound like a mixture of Marillion-era Fish, Phil Collins and sometimes Greg Lake (lyrics are all in English, mostly written by poet W. H. Auden), while the bass lines are as punchy and intricate as Chris Squire's and the drumming is a match for most '70's prog drummers in power and complexity. Though Kent's guitar work isn't particularly reminiscent of anyone else's style, it is very good and appropriate for the music. In short, these guys are as good (or better!) as any prog band you might wish for, and it's a huge pleasure that Musea has rescued this band from obscurity and re-released this masterpiece on CD. Highly recommended to any fans of symphonic prog, as long as you can forgive the use of the string ensemble instead of Mellotron. I forgave them about five minutes into Opus I, especially since some of the fast sections couldn't possibly be played on a Mellotron. The live cut, "No Change of Place" has some sound quality issues, not the least of which is recurrent feedback squeals, but what the heck, it is a bonus track after all, and it is a pretty cool song. Opus Est (Reformation, 2003) - Standing: Torbjörn Svensson, Håkan Nilsson, Anders Olofsson. Sitting: Leif Olofsson, Kent Olofsson. The story might have ended there, but it didn't. The CD re-release of Opus I inspired Kent Olofsson to finish recording "Four Metamorphoses of a Face", parts 2 and 4 of which were recorded in 1979. Parts 1 (11:05) and 3 (12:07) were recorded in 2004, with Kent recording scratch tracks on MIDI instruments and sending them to Anders for him to record the drum tacks in his own studio. Torbjörn (now surnamed Syrén rather than Svensson, but it's the same person -- I don't know why the change) rejoined to record the bass lines, recorded in Jämjö. Then, in 2004, Kent went to Stockholm to record the vocals with Håkan. The four sections of this piece blend seamlessly, though recorded 25 years apart. The most noticable difference is the addition of Hammond B3 to the new tracks, an instrument they had always wanted to use, but couldn't afford back in the late '70's, so now we hear the music as they had wished it could be at the time. There is also some acoustic piano in the new sections which was not in evidence on the older material. Together with four other songs recorded in 1983-84, there was enough material for a second CD of previously unreleased material (aside from the handful of dubs made for friends of the band). The new album is entitled -- obviously enough -- Opus II, and is again released by Musea. Opus II is as good or better than Opus I, with a very similar sound to what I've already described, though I now hear some definite Steve Howe-isms in Kent's guitar work for the newly recorded material. The four songs from the '80's are comparatively dull-sounding (from the perspective of recording quality, not musical quality) but they're still very good. The 43+ minutes of "Four Metamorphoses ..." would have filled an LP in the '70's, so I could easily consider the four '80's songs to be "bonus material" anyway. I can recommend this album just as highly as their first. As for the future, according to the CD liner notes in Opus II, the band really enjoyed getting back together for these new recordings, and it's possible that there will be an Opus III in a few years ... they still have a lot of material they wrote in the '70's and '80's which exist only as rehearsal tapes, live recordings or not at all. They're also considering new ideas ... I, for one, will be on the lookout. -- Fred Trafton

Links

Click here to order Opus I or Opus II from Musea Records Click here for a detailed history of Opus Est on the DPRP web site written by Jerry van Kooten Click here for Kent Olofsson's web site. A page for Opus Est is supposed to be here but was incomplete as of this writing

Orange Peel (70)

Organ-based heavy prog, w/Peter Bischof (Emergency) and Curt Cress (Passport).

[See Emergency | Passport]

Discography

The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld (91) Aubrey Mixes: The Ultraworls Excursions (92, Compilation/Remixes) U.F.Orb (92) Live 93 (93, Live, 2CD) Orbvs Terrarvm (95, pseudo-latin album cover spelling of Orbus Terrarum) Auntie Aubrey's Excursions Beyond The Call Of Duty, Pt. 1 (96, Compilation/Remixes, 2CD) Orblivion (97) U.F. Off (98, Compilation/Remixes, in 1CD and 2CD versions) Cydonia (01) Back to Mine (03, Remixes, mostly of other bands' material) Bicycles and Tricycles (04) Auntie Aubrey's Excursions Beyond The Call Of Duty, Pt. 2 (05, Compilation/Remixes, 2CD) Okie Dokie It's the Orb on Kompakt (05) Orb Sessions Vol. 1 (05)

Reviews

The Orb - Archie Patterson and Thomas Fehlman - Photo by Constantin Falk Hey, I'm an old-school music guy. Musicians play instruments. Studio guys work the machines that record them. Sometimes studio guys make their own albums, in which case they either use their own names or have a band name. A "remix" is when you take the original multitrack recordings of a band and alter the relative volumes of the instruments, or maybe add some special effects like echo, reverb or flanging. Nowadays, sampling technology allows a "remix artist" to sample snippets of a piece, pitch shift them, reverse them, speed them up and slow them down, fold, spindle and mutilate every sound, then reassemble the result in ways that are so radically unlike the source material that the original performer would find these "remixes" unrecognizable. The Orb is a band. Nope, they're "remix artists". Or studio guys. Or maybe they're just a couple of DJ's. They've blurred the line to the point that I don't know what they are. But they're famous. And interesting. And if this isn't "progressive", then the term has lost all meaning. So I'll just forget about my confusion over what they are and review the album I've heard. I've always been curious about The Orb ever since I heard about their work with Steve Hillage. So when I ran across a copy of Orbus Terrarum (spelled on the album cover as ORBVS TERRARVM) for $1.98 at Half-Price Books, I decided it was time to satisfy my curiosity. Other reviewers have said that this album was a departure from their previous work, and less danceable. Which suits me fine. Those in the know from the rave scene seem to categorize this as "chill-out" music, evidently the stuff that gets played at 2:00 am when everyone is exhausted from dancing for hours. I would call it ambient music, related to the likes of Brian Eno or even Tangerine Dream, with only occasional outbursts of rhythmical techno. I've always been a fan of this sort of electronic sound manipulation, and Orbus Terrarum doesn't seem like that much of a departure from those forebears, though the sounds are quite a lot more "digital" sounding than the earlier examples. This is actually quite a good album, though I can't speak for how it relates to their other works. I wouldn't have felt disappointed at paying full price for this CD, so I feel like I got a real bargain. -- Fred Trafton

Links

[See Hillage, Steve] Click here for The Orb's web site

Ordinaires (85), One (86)

American big-band ensemble that mixes chamber-music with rock in an interesting way, using classical instrumentation (strings and horns) as well as rock. I've only heard one track, their take on the Led Zeppelin evergreen "Kashmir". It's surprisingly good. I only hope their originals stand up to it. -- Mike Ohman

Discography

Øresund Space Collective (06) Picks from Space Vols. 1-10 (06, Burned-on-demand CDR's available individually or as a set of all 10) It's All About Delay (06, 2CD) CD1 CD2 - CD1 CD2 Black Tomato (07)

Reviews

The Øresund Bridge is is the longest combined road and rail bridge in Europe, connecting the Danish capital of Copenhagen and the Swedish city of Malmö. It is across this bridge that the Danish and Swedish (and a couple of American) musicians of the Øresund Space Collective travel to practice and play together. The Øresund Space Collective is a Space Rock band playing totally improvised instrumental music. There is no "band" in the sense of having the same members. The musicians in the Collective come and go, and a live concert may feature a small or large number of players depending on who shows up. The band offers fans the opportunity to jack into their sound board to create recordings for their own enjoyment. They used to have a large number of MP3's available for download on their web site, but now seem to be offering these on low-cost "burned on demand" CDR's available from their site. I've heard their first three official releases from the Transubstans label; their eponymous debut, It's All About Delay (a 2CD release) and Black Tomato. The debut album Øresund Space Collective is your typical space rock, sounding a bit like Gong circa You's "A Sprinkling of Clouds" or Hidria Spacefolk (who happen to be friends of the band). But it's got a much rougher, more improvisational, less perfect sound like Secret Saucer, Alien Planetscapes or Quarkspace. It's Space Rock ... it's supposed to sound like this. It will appeal to those who like the afore-mentioned bands and bore the pants off of anyone who doesn't. I'm in the former category, so I liked Øresund Space Collective. The rest of you have been warned. It's All About Delay is more of the same. A lot more, being a 2CD set. Actually, the recording quality seems a bit cleaner on this album, and the tunes sound a bit more rehearsed and tighter. I do like some structure even in totally improvised music, so I like this album even more than Øresund Space Collective. There's also a lot more guitar on this album, taking it a bit more into Hawkwind territory. But qualitatively it's pretty similar, so it won't win over anyone who isn't already a fan of the style. CD2 features a cut called "Jupiter Flyby" which is dedicated to Doug Walker of Alien Planetscapes, now playing with the big space rock band in the sky. Black Tomato is the latest offering from ØSC. Basically it's again more of the same, like It's All About Delay in that it's probably closer to Hawkwind than the more electronic-styled space rock bands due to the heavy use of guitar, though there's still lots of synth swoops and tweets a la Tim Blake for those who like such stuff. Some of the delayed guitars here are also reminiscent of Steve Hillage only to then transform to Iron Butterfly. In other words, a huge range of styles. Black Tomato is really three long songs (or, more accurately, three long improvs) with artificial breaks for the sake of CD numbering. This album also has some processed spoken vocals ... not English, I think it's Swedish, but it might be Danish. Either way, I don't understand it, so I'm just hearing these as an additional instrument, and in that light they're pretty cool. There's also some noticably interesting drumming happening in some sections. I'd have to say that in spite of being similar to previous releases, Black Tomato is the most pro sounding album and I think it's my favorite so far. And it's still all about delay (reverb, slapback, echo and even longer delays). -- Fred Trafton

Links

Click here for Øresund Space Collective's web site Click here to order Øresund Space Collective CD's from Transubstans

Tone Float (70)

Predecessor to Kraftwerk.

[See Kraftwerk]

Oriental Wind (77), Zikir (79), Chila Chila (79), Bazaar (80), Live in Bremen (82), Live in der Balver Hoehle (83), Life Road (83), Sankirna (85)

German world-jazz group comparable with bands like Paul Winter Consort, Oregon, Embryo, and others. Many albums from around '79 to present. On one album Sankirna, they join forces with traditional East Indian musicians and vocalists for a stunning tour-de-force.

La Nature Vit (79)

Includes flutes, various synths, folk influences, poetic lyrics; symphonic with a slight hard edge.

Discography

Ad Gloriam (69) L'Aurora Delle Orme (70, Compilation) Collage (71) Uomo Di Pezza (72) Felona E Sorona (73) In Concerto (74, Live) Contrappunti (74) Smogmagica (75) Beyond Leng (75, Compilation) Verita' Nascoste (76) Storia O Leggenda (77) Canzone d' Amore (77, Compilation) Le Orme Vol. 1 (77, '70's Compilation) Le Orme Vol. 2 (77, '70's Compilation) Le Orme Antologia Vol. 1 (78, '60's Compilation) Le Orme Antologia Vol. 2 (78, '60's Compilation) Florian (79) Piccola Rapsodia Dell'Ape (80) Venerdi' (82) Le Orme (83, Compilation) Live Orme (86, Live, 2LP) Le Orme (90, Compilation) Orme (90) Antologia 1970-1980 (93, Compilation) Biancaneve (95, CD re-release of Venerdi') Le Orme (96, '60's Compilation) Il Fiume (96) Amico di ieri (97) Le Prime Orme (97, '60's Compilation) Anthology (98, '60's Compilation) Le Piu' Belle Canzoni (98, '70's Compilation) Gioco di Bimba (99, '70's Compilation) Gioco di Bimba e Altri Successi (00, '70's Compilation) Elementi (01)

Reviews

Le Orme circa 2002 - Michele Bon (keyboards), Aldo Tagliapietra (voice, bass, bass-pedal, guitar, sitar), Michi Dei Rossi (drums, percussion), Andrea Bassato (keyboards, violin, voice) For Emerson, Lake, and Palmer fans, who like the three man classical-rock format style will undoubtedly love Le Orme, who's Nice, ELP, Trace, and Ekseption similarities are evident. Although similar, in my opinion Le Orme were the best of the genre who mixed the pompous classical rock of the Nice with the elegance and sophistication of the Italians. Although their first two albums are rare '60s beat-music, Le Orme's best albums starting with Collage and the ones that followed, all featuring incredible statements for the three-man band format and are highly recommended to any lover of progressive music. Also great are their fourth through sixth including the classics Uomo Di Pezza, Felona E Sorona (who's English version had lyrics by Peter Hammill), and their opus Contappunti. Others are supposedly slightly inferior yet are all worthy of exploration.

One of the better known Italian bands, Contrappunti and Felona E Sorona are regarded by many as the band's finest hour. When comparisons are made, ELP is usually mentioned. I think they are kind of a cross between ELP (Hammond tones) and PFM (melodic content). Contrappunti is a very good album and gets better with each listening. Most of you would like this.

They started out with beat music and from the album Collage the sound become more prog. (like Quatermass and ELP). The album Felona E Sorona has an English version with the lyrics translated by Peter Hammill. After a bad album (Contrappunti), they recorded Smogmagica in California. The best album is (IMHO) Verita' Nascoste, which has a rocky sound.

Early albums (Collage to Leng) were based on the keyboard trio sound of bands like ELP, and while not being a copy band - Le Orme's sound was more folk influenced, and generally imaginative - the influence is unmistakable. Beyond Leng is a compilation of the best of their early stuff with English lyrics replacing the Italian. From Smogmagica, they began exploring a more varied sound with a four-piece lineup (guitar added), absorbing more folk, jazz, and classical influences and moving away from the power-trio sound. These feature much more varied styling, and some of the band's best work. From the early period, the place to start is Felona E Sorona, and from the later period go with Storia O Leggenda.

Ah, the cozy sound of keyboard, bass and drum. The many comparsions to ELP are valid, but these guys also have an identity of their own. Melodic Hammond and Moog symphonies that deserve a place among the progressive giants. Recommended: Contrappunti.

Italian progressive trio were one of the first to be able to shake off comparisons to ELP, mostly by being a good deal "classier." The ethereal organ reminds me much more of the "special-effects organ" on early Ange albums. Collage is supposed to be the first of the truly progressive albums. Uomo di Pezza and Contrappunti are supposed to be good, but the only album I've heard of the early period is the outstanding Felona e Sorona, which is one of the best Italian albums from this period. By alternating between intense synth-heavy classical-influenced works with melodic acoustic guitar-led tunes, they bring out the best tendencies of Italian prog. "Sospesi nell'incredibile," "Attesa inerte" and "Ritorno al nulla" are three standouts. After Contrappunti, the band added a fourth member on guitar and became far more conventional. Smogmagica was recorded in Los Angeles and is supposed to be terribly commercial. Verita Nascoste is probably the best from this period, the more rock-orientated guitar-based songs ("In Ottobre," "Vedi Amsterdam") tend to win out over the feathery keyboard-based songs ("Regina al Troubadour"). Not an outstanding album by any means, but very nice. Storia o Leggenda is the worst I've heard by them, very commercial and poppish, resembling Formula 3 circa La Grande Casa, though the closing instrumental is pretty good (but far too short). Avoid this one. Florian and Piccola Rapsodie dell'Ape are supposed to be much improved, all acoustic with lots of chamber-music influence. I haven't heard these. -- Mike Ohman

I wanted to find other great progressive bands from other countries other than England and when I read a write-up in a prog rock book about Italy's "big three" I became curious. These three were PFM, Banco and Le Orme. The writer of this book had high regards for the haunting melodic passages in Le Orme's music especially. My journey into their music proved well worth the visit. Now that I am familiar with many other prog bands from Europe from the '70's, I can honestly say that Le Orme were the most consistent in melody output. Simply put, Le Orme were the best prog band to come out of Europe south of England!! The lead singer, Aldo Tagliapietra, was one of the few Italian singers with a clean voice and he was the group's main song writer from day one. Their biggest pop hit was "Irene" which came out the year before they became a prog band. Then they released my favourite album of their's called Collage which yielded two of their most powerful tunes - both keyboard driven called "Collage" and "Sguardo Verso il Cielo". The next two were also classics - Uomo di Pezza and their most highly rated Felona e Sorona with their signature song "Sospesi nell'incredibile". Their sound reminds me of the kind of music you may have heard in the '70's while at a roller rink only with a progressive twist and Italian lyrics. -- Clayton Self

Links

Click here for Le Orme's web site

Discography

Accessible as Gravity (83, Cassette) Wake Up You Must Remember (84) Luminous Bipeds (86)

Reviews

One of the earliest efforts associated with drummer-extraordinaire Pipin Barnett [Boom, Curlew, Nimal], they melted RIO super-idioms with elements of wave. Their release [Luminous Bipeds] on Swiss Rec-Rec is nowadays almost completely forgotten. A few members have ressurected orthotonical sound under the name Rattlemouth. -- Nenad Kobal

Links

[See Curlew | Nimal | Rattlemouth]

Salsa Catalana (7?), D'Oca A Oca I Tira Que Et Toca (7?), Mirasol Colores, La Boqueria (7?)

Latin Mass (70), 43 Minuten (72)

Arrow Head (72)

When the band split, Bob Callero went to play with Duello Madre and Il Volo. Marco Zocheddu went to play with Duello Madre. Interesting hard rock band and a little bit jazzy.

[See Duello Madre | Volo, Il]

L'Uomo (71), Milano Calibro 9 (Preludio, Tema, Variazioni, Canzona) (72), Palepoli (73), Landscape Of Life (74), Suddance (78)

Fusion in the sense of a fusion of many different styles of music in which this fantastic band move from genre to genre with ease. Their first three are masterpieces in their own right. The superb L'Uomo in which heavy rock and spacey jazz are only a few of the styles included. The soundtrack Milano Calibro 9 and their best, Palepoli, which is so bizarre and complex beginners may be too dazzled by the array of styles presented. Progressive (as opposed to popular) opinion warns me to stay away from Suddance although I haven't heard this either.

The first rock-sounding album is very good: the lyrics are in Italian and English. This LP was the soundtrack to the film "Grazie, Signor P.." The second LP was the soundtrack to the film "Milano Calibro 9." The last album was very bad. When the band finished, Lino Vairetti and Massimo Guarino went to play in Citta Frontale.

Time to let all my biases hang out. For my money one of the best progressive bands ever. Many might shy away because of the Italian vocals, but to do so would miss some incredible music. Palepoli is perhaps their best though I have not as of yet heard the most recent release of their material, Landscape of Life. If Osanna were to be categorized (and if any band defies that they are it) they could be called symphonic. Palepoli is an incredibly diverse album, full of ever changing moods. Honestly, I cannot find a true comparison or state influences, I find this band to be so creative and unique. An earlier release of theirs Milano Cabrano 9 is also quite good. However it is not quite as strong as Palepoli and is perhaps a little darker album. Definitely check this band out...you will not regret it.

Based on Landscape of Life, I don't see what all the fuss is about these guys, this album sounds like very average '70s Italian. I've been told that their album Milano Calibro is supposedly better.

I have their first three albums. The one thing that they have in common is music constantly shifts among different styles, ranging from acoustic guitar and tambourine to driving guitar and fluttering flute to jazzy passages and screaming sax. I think they cover all possible territory in between. Some comparisons could be drawn to early Jethro Tull (but heavier) and even Focus in one or two places. For the most part, they sound totally unique because they rarely settle into one style. This seems to be a problem for some people so you may want to try before you buy, if you can. Palepoli is a monster and the recommended starter. Stylistically, it is similar to Semiramis and Balletto di Bronzo in that there are many unpredictable changes in the music. At one time it well be laid back prog, then manic and frantic, then blues-rock, then off someplace else. The changes don't come as often, perhaps, than the other two bands mentioned, but they are probably more varied and cover a wider range of styles. Vocals are in Italian, but the instrumental sections dominate. Milano Calibo 9, the sound track to the movie of the same name, is also quite a good starting place though Palepoli is a tad better. -- Mike Taylor

Landscape Of Life is the fourth release of "hard" progressive rock with classical influences from the Italian band that is probably best compared to Jethro Tull and Focus.

I've only heard one album: Milano Calibro 9 (a.k.a. Preludio, Tema, Variazioni e Canzona). It's a very short but first-rate Italian prog album, mixing Pink Floydian music with jazz fusion, hard rock, symphonic, Jethro Tull, whatever. Lots of synth and Mellotron, and great guitar work by Danilo Rustici. Elio D'Anna is a very forceful flute player, some of the variations feature some really fiery flute work (interjected with Can-like shouts), his sax playing is very good as well. Orchestrations by Luis Bacalov give this album a very full sound. I definitely hope to hear more by this band. -- Mike Ohman

[See Cervello | Citta Frontale | Jethro Tull | Luna | Nova | Uno]

Adonia (78)

Heldon-inspired, Richard Pinhas plays on this album.

[See Fluence | Heldon | Pinhas, Richard]