Green Carnation - Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness (2001)

Green Carnation is a project with its roots in Norweigian black/doom metal, but on Light of Day, Day of Darkness it sounds much more like a prog-metal group than anything else. Any prog-metal album which has the gall to consist of only one song is probably going to get compared to Fates Warning's A Pleasant Shade of Gray, so let's get that out of the way first. These two groups are quite dissimilar in sound and approach, but the important point is this: while A Pleasant Shade of Gray made pretensions towards being one hour-long song, it failed, coming off more like twelve separate songs tied together by a loose thematic framework. On the other hand, Light of Day... actually succeeds pretty well in seeming like a unified composition; different sections flow together nicely and logically, and some themes are shared throughout.

The basic idea here is doom and gloom: this is a very somber album, lyrically and musically, similar in mood to, say, the softer side of Opeth. The music alternates, again much like Opeth, between soft passages characterized by lots of acoustic guitar and keys and heavier, more conventionally "metal" electric guitar-led parts. Almost all vocals are clean, with very little death-style growling to be found. There are a couple of interesting sections that differ substantially from the rest: for instance, halfway through there's a fairly lengthy section that consists almost entirely of wordless female vocals accompanied only by saxophone; and near the end there's a faux-ethnic passage complete with sitar and very Eastern melodies.

For the most part, though, think mid-tempo, melodic, gloomy prog-metal, and you've got the right idea. I'm suitably impressed with how well the composition hangs together; while the basic formula of alternating soft and loud sections is adhered to fairly closely, the melodies and orchestration are generally interesting enough to keep things from getting dull. And I have no nitpicks to make regarding the performances, even the English-language vocals, which are more than adequate. My only real complaint is superficial; I wish there were some track indexes. A 60-minute song is all well and good, but it's a pain in the ass when I want to hear, say, the section starting at minute 37. I'd say there are enough clear transitions between themes that the album could be fairly easily divided into 6-8 parts. Why not?

I find it curious that this album seems to be known pretty well in the black/doom/death metal scene, but not much at all in the prog-metal scene. To my ears, which admittedly are still fairly inexperienced when it comes to metal, Light of Day, Day of Darkness is prog-metal through and through; and categorizations aside, it's damn good prog-metal at that.

(C) Ground And Sky review

Tracklist:

1. Light of Day, Day of Darkness (60:06)

Line-up / Musicians

- Christine Albert / choir and chorus
- Eugen 'd Albert / choir and chorus
- Kobro / drums
- Kristoffer Knoff Aamot / choir and chorus
- Karoline Knoff Aamot / choir and chorus
- Endre Kirkesola / bass
- Kjetil Nordhus / vocals and tenor (vocal)

Releases information

The End (TE024)

Enjoy it listening via Spotify (wherever it's available).

JT Bruce - Anomalous Material (2006)

Estupendo álbum de JT Bruce con una mezcla de sonidos rock bastante atrayente y una calidad tímbrica poderosa, con una altísima calidad en lo compositivo, y que no tiene nada que envidiar a los maestros y veteranos grupos y artistas sembrados en el campo del rock metal-progresivo. Combina tanto el heavy-rock como el rock progresivo en esta lista de temas, añadiendo incluso algún toque de vanguardia local, todos ellos instrumentales.

Esta clara diversidad es la que define a un artista frente a otros que no son capaces de experimentar con nuevos sonidos quedándose encasillados, sin capacidad para arriesgarse en nuevos terrenos musicales, al margen de cualquier moda o tendencia comercial.

1. Admiralty - 3:17
2. Drempt - 3:43
3. Estranged Panic - 3:22
4. Existential Delirium - 3:29
5. Exordium - 2:30
6. Exotic Matter - 3:00
7. Instrumental Section - 1:53
8. Lucid - 2:27
9. Midnight Quandary - 3:25
10. Prolix - 2:11
11. Shoulder of Orion - 3:16
12. Temporal Distortion - 3:25
13. The Artist, The Sage, and The Jester - 15:00
14. The Pioneer Anomaly - 3:30
15. The Towers of Mirria - 2:30
16. Viridian - 2:45

Total running time: 59:43

Escúchalo y bájatelo si quieres en Jamendo, pudiendo incluso, si así lo deseas, hacer una donación directamente al artista.

Esta obra tiene atribuida una licencia Creative Commons 2.5 BY-NC-ND.

Clockwork - Surface Tension (1999)

Progressive Metal is a genre where there is so much excellent music left undiscovered. Often times, this somewhat undiscovered music maybe be from a band that sadly disbanded after one or two albums.

Such is the case of Clockwork. Clockwork released one album titled Surface Tension. There is so much to enjoy on this album, and as treated as Progressive Metal fans are with this album, they are deprived that this is the only work of the talented and creative band.

What can a listener expect from this release? Lush keyboards, cretive vocal melodies and rythmns, and soaring guitar melodies.

Chris Pignatelli demonstrates the lush keyboards right off the bat with the introduction to the openting track, "Secrets of Centuries".

All throughout the albums you can expect great guitar melodies from M. Thomas Gammarino, who's work is highly influenced by that of Steve Howe and John Petrucci. The production is a little brittle regarding that of his guitar, but this is easily overcome by the lushness of all the other instruments including very diverse basses of both the fretted and frettless variety.

The vocals are one of the main selling points of this album. "If These Walls Could Talk" is a short track which showcases just how creative this band get can with Douglas Joseph Matthew Gillin's vocal arrangements in just a short song.

"Design of Enlightment" is the condensed twelve minute epic of this album, and showcases the band at their very best and most creative. Clockwork is a very expressive band that manages to combine the best elements of Progressive Metal and Symphonic Progressive Rock. The production of the album may be a little brittle, but it's very difficult for something like that to effect how much a listener can enjoy an album.

Tracklist:

1. Secrets Of Centuries (7:09)
2. One Wing (5:44)
3. East Of Knowing (3:00)
4. If These Walls Could Talk (5:15)
5. The Guardin' Of Eden (7:54)
6. The Convolution Box (8:15)
7. Smile Under Sad Eyes (4:01)
8. Design Of Enlightenment (12:47)

LINKS:

Amazon //// Rhapsody //// Last FM

Clepsydra - Alone (2002)

Albums like "Alone" remind us of just how lucky we are to be progsters. This is a 'killer' album. With its pristine production, tight musicianship, its rich, full-bodied arrangements and musical passages that are simply to die for, it is symphonic to the core and as such, one of the finest examples of the genre. It's hard to compare Clepsydra's music with other bands': the best I can say is that it sounds like a mixture of Pendragon (without the goofy vocals) and IQ at their most melodic. From start to finish, the melodies build up, soar and explode delightfully. Yes, it is bombastic, but I wouln't want it any other way: this type of music has every right to be. The musicians are not only endowed with an extraordinary sense of the melodious, they have a terrific sense of timing and can turn your senses about with a single (musical) pen stroke.

Describing each track individually would not do justice to them; you have to hear them for yourself. Let me simply say that ten out of the 13 tracks feature some musical phrases that will make you reel with pleasure and leave you asking for more. The only low point: although the vocalist does an excellent job, I find his accent a little annoying at times. If you can ignore this minor nuisance, you'll find "Alone" fascinating and will never tire of hearing it over and over again. A must for anyone into melodic prog.

Songs:

1. Tuesday Night (I) (2:22)
2. Tuesday Night (II) (5:34)
3. Tuesday Night (III) (5:18)
4. Travel Of Dream (I) (2:42)
5. Travel Of Dream (II) (6:25)
6. Travel Of Dream (III) (1:45)
7. The Return (7:10)
8. The Father (7:30)
9. Alone (I) (7:30)
10. Alone (II) (5:19)
11. The Nest (6:58)
12. God Or Beggar (5:44)
13. End Of Tuesday (5:03)

Line-up / Musicians
- Aluisio Maggini / vocals
- Marco Cerulli / guitars, keyboards
- Nicola de Vita / bass
- Pietro Duca / drums
- Philip Hubert / keyboards

Releases information
CD CCD 4111/3 (with 'Fish' Cover)
also as
CD CCD 4111/2
CD CCD 4111/1
with 'Octopus' & 'Chicken'-Covers

Official website

LINKS:

Last FM //// Heavy-Music Archive

Iluvatar - Children (1995)

Tracklist:

1. Haze (6:43)
2. In Our Lives (6:35)
3. Given Away (6;39)
4. Late Of Conscience (8:56)
5. Cracker (5:59)
6. Eye Next To Glass (4:56)
7. Your Darkest Hour (5:04)
8. The Final Stroke (12:29)

Total Time: 57:21

Line-up / Musicians
- Gary Chambers / drums, percussion, back vocals
- Glenn McLaughlin / lead vocals, percussion
- Dean Morekas / bass, back vocals
- Dennis Mullin / guitars
- Jim Rezek / keyboards

Releases information
INSIDE OUT IOMCD003

LINKS:

Official Site

Amazon .::::. Price Minister .::::. MP3 Sale

Everon - Flesh (2002)

1. And Still It Bleeds (7:45)
2. Already Dead (3:20)
3. Pictures Of You (6:01)
4. Flesh (14:18)
5. Missing From The Chain (4:53)
6. The River (4:05)
7. Half As Bad (3:32)
8. Back In Sight (7:20)

Total Time: 51:34

Line-up / Musicians
- Oliver Philipps / keyboards, vocals, guitars, piano
- Christian Moos / drums, percussion
- Schymy / bass
- Ulli Hoever / guitars

WITH:
- Judith Stüber / vocals on 2, 6
- Donja Djember / cello on 1
- Gabi Ziebell / violin
- Paula Sandu / viola
- Zdenek Bezusek / cello
- Oliver Thiele / arranging on 8

Releases information
Mascot Records #M 7068 2

Listen it via SPOTIFY

LINKS:

Amazon .::::. CD Universe .::::. 3-MP3 .::::. iTunes .::::. Last FM .::::. Legal Sounds

Planet X - Live From Oz (2002)

I got a copy of this CD a few months ago from Derek Sherinian to check out before this final release. Derek responded to a review of his solo album Inertia I did with a nice e-mail, and then he asked me if I wanted a CDR copy of this recording, I gladly accepted of course.

I have listened to this four times now and have found it to be a highly entertaining disc regarding all aspects of the musical equation. I held off on writing about this until the official release came out to see if there were any differences in the sound. There are some differences, it got tweaked slightly in the studio during the final mix down, and it's noticeable to the discriminating ear. Simon Phillips, renowned percussionist, did the final mixing.

Derek's goal was to fine tune this band into a working machine, I think that he has succeeded in doing so. The tracks were recorded June 13, 2001 at The Corner Hotel in Richmond, Victoria, Australia. For three guys they certainly make a lot of noise. While Sherinian leads the group on keyboards, Tony Macalpine handles the guitar, and Virgil Donati mans the drum kit. Their sound is BIG, and you would never know that it was merely a trio. The absence of bass is simply not a factor, Derek more than makes up for that with his keyboard virtuosity. The three part Atlantis is their epic slice of prog-rock totaling more than 17 minutes. The subject matter is typical of the genre, and words are not necessary as the group does a fine job of making the story happen inside your head with the changing tides of the music. The crowd is very responsive and each member of the group gets their moment in the spotlight. Derek is very generous when it comes to sharing the stage, and he makes sure that the crowd appreciates all the solos by his band mates by urging the crowd to respond.

Sherinian is a powerful keyboard player with a real focus and sense of direction that he is going in musically. Keyboard players are notoriously free spirited and Derek is no exception. He was great in Dream Theater, but now he is really beginning to blossom following his own path. This is great live prog-rock. It's a must for any keyboard devotee's collection or prog-rock enthusiast.

(C) ProgArchives Reviews

Year release: 2002
Label: InsideOut #IOMA 2034-2
Genre: Metal / Instrumental Rock / Prog-Rock fusion

Tracklist:

1. Ignotus Per Ignotium - 7:16
2. Inside Black - 5:13
3. Dog Boots - 3:55
4. Atlantis: Apocalypse 1470 BC - 6:24
5. Atlantis: Sea of Antiquity - 4:20
6. Atlantis: Lost Island - 6:21
7. Derek Sherinian Solo - 2:41
8. Warfinger - 4:36
9. Virgil Donati Solo - 4:00
10. Warfinger Reprise - 1:52
11. Tony MacAlpine Solo - 4:14
12. Her Animal - 4:40
13. Europa - 4:20
14. Pods of Trance - 8:08
15. Clonus - 4:24



Buy it / Cómpralo:

- Inside-Out online shopping
- Planet X website
- Amazon
- CD Universe
- 7-Digital España
- 7-Digital UK

Planet X - Universe (2000)

Due to the success of his debut solo recording, Planet X, keyboardist Derek Sherinian kept drummer extraordinaire Virgil Donati, added guitar shredder Tony MacAlpine and named the band after the debut. It's rather ironic that he chose this technically demanding direction, as he was criticized by fans as being the least technically advanced member of Dream Theater during his tenure with the band.

Whether he was out to prove a point or simply did not get a enough of an opportunity to show off his chops, there are enough on display here to silence any cynics. The approach is heavy, but certainlymore… owes more to jazz-rock fusion than progressive metal or even Progressive Rock. Some of the selections tend to sound the same, but the inventive soloing of each player more than makes up it. Drummer Virgil Donati's double bass drum workout on "Dog Boots" is especially impressive contributing to his growing legend.

Tracklist:

1. Clonus (4:35)
2. Her Animal (4:50)
3. Dog Boots (3:36)
4. Bitch (5:20)
5. King Of The Universe (8:16)
6. Inside Black (5:12)
7. Europa (4:20)
8. Warfinger (5:38)
9. Chocalate (5:22)
10. Pods Of Trance (4:48)
11. 2116 (4:41)



Buy it / Cómpralo:

- Planet X Website
- Amazon
- CD Universe
- 7-Digital España
- 7-Digital UK
- 3-MP3
- MP3 City