Progressive RockMetalJazzAlternative
Here’s a selection of April and May’s new releases. More information at www.totumrevolutumpress.com. Music coverage in Catalan.
Another heavy-metal reference band puts out a new record. After Saxon and Judas Priest, it’s Accept’s turn on the throne. It’s certainly a record that lives up to expectations in terms of style and production. Maybe not quite as much in terms of compositional brilliance, but it’s far more than solid, and besides, who wants to take risks when listening to this band?
You’ll find a full review at Totum Revolutum Press.
This Pakistani artist, based in the United States, brings us a new album where she once again shows off her sensitivity and compositional delicacy. With a moving blend of gentle styles rooted in Sufi music and jazz, it’s impossible not to end up loving it, thanks to how powerfully her tracks convey impressionistic concepts within the musical world. Essential for lovers of relaxed music, or simply for discovering such a consistent artist. And if you want even more, she has a visit to our shores planned for October.
Bear McCreary “The Singularity”
A highly recommendable conceptual record of symphonic operatic power metal, or simply: a metal musical. Fans of Arjen Lucassen or Avantasia will love it, while also getting to see a more American take on the style — a touch more aggressive, with some nu-metal-flavoured twists. There’s also the odd soundtrack tic slipping through, not surprising given he’s the composer behind the scores for “Outlander”, “The Walking Dead” or “Battlestar Galactica”, among others. Finally, take a look at the credits for all the collaborators: Serj Tankian, Corey Taylor, Jens Kidman, Joe Satriani, Buck Dharma, Scott Ian, Guthrie Govan, Mike Keneally, and quite a few more monsters.
Benjamin Croft “We Are Here to Help”
A notable record from this British keyboardist. Progressive rock with heavy jazz-rock fusion, mixing vocal and instrumental tracks. And look at the line-up of guests: Jeff Scott Soto, Greg Howe, Mike Stern, Frank Gambale, Billy Sheehan, Stu Hamm, Simon Phillips or Marco Minnemann. What could possibly go wrong?
Bill Laurance & The Untold Orchestra
A record sitting halfway between jazz and new age, but performed with a full orchestra. So expect calm, relaxed music, and if that’s your thing, you can’t miss this one. That said, if you’re very well versed in classical music, listen to it without expectations and without trying to draw comparisons, since against that backdrop it’ll come across as fairly unappealing due to the extreme homogeneity of the tracks.
It might surprise you that Eloy Casagrande (Sepultura, Slipknot) is capable of composing progressive jazz-rock together with his fellow traveller João Flávio Hanysz. The two of them have put together a more than notable debut full-length, after already showing off their skills on the EP “Edge of Chaos” (2021). It explores concepts and sonorities similar to Animals as Leaders, but with a sound more accessible to ears unfamiliar with these styles.
Colin Bass & Daniel Biro “More”
Two veteran musicians with different registers and a prolific collaboration. Biro, more at home in ambient jazz, and Bass, known to everyone for his career with Camel, something that’s undeniably felt on this, their third album together. It moves through gentle, relaxed territory, and also features a special appearance from Andy Latimer on four of its tracks.
Derby Motoreta’s Burrito Kachimba “Bolsa Amarilla y Piedra Potente”
You’ll find a full review at Totum Revolutum Press.
Einstürzende Neubauten “Rampen (Alien Pop Music)”
The legendary Berlin industrial and experimental rock band is now a long way from what we might think of as subversive, back at the start of the eighties with the Die Geniale Dilletanten movement. Even so, they keep making sensitive, extravagant, unclassifiable music. They still introduce the sound of everyday objects, in keeping with the tradition of found-object musique concrète. Listen to it with an open mind, and if you like it, they’ll also be visiting our shores in October.
Emily Barker “Fragile as Humans”
After a stretch without a proper studio album, Australian singer-songwriter Emily Barker presents us with “Fragile As Humans”, a collection of tracks between folk, country and jazz, with melodies a touch brighter than what we’re used to from her. With her captivating voice, Barker gifts us a good handful of lullabies whose warmth won’t let you fall asleep.
Fierce Deity “A Terrible Fate”
Jonathan Barwick’s project, blending this kind of progressive metal with lyrics inspired by the world of the video game The Legend of Zelda, reaches its seventh instalment with a forceful, powerful record drawing on the same wells as Devin Townsend or Avantasia. At the same time, it has darker passages with almost doom-like airs that give it real depth, making for a genuinely interesting listen. A shame this budget project is based in Tasmania, which will make it hard for us to catch them live.
New album from Greek band Firewind. As always, they stick to the classic tenets of heavy metal with some power-metal touches. So we get accessible songs, very well crafted and produced; but if you’re not a fan of the genre, you might do just as well to wait and catch them at a festival, where they put on a great live show.
Polish multi-instrumentalist Wojciech Pielużek presents his fifth full-length record. You’ll immediately spot the influence of Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson, Abigail’s Ghost, or his fellow countrymen Pinkroom. It’s worth bearing in mind that this is a modest, more than solid production, but you can tell the limited budget had to be squeezed hard to see it through.
Grapefruit Astronauts “Swan Puddle”
From the Czech Republic comes this trio’s debut record, crafting instrumental progressive rock built on references that are very obvious on first listen, to Polyphia and Animals as Leaders. So if those influences appeal to you, you’ll enjoy this album.
Haishen “Awaken the Endless Deep”
Magnificent, promising and brilliant debut from this American trio, sitting halfway between heavy prog and a certain sludge-metal edge. Two reference points that can help draw attention to this band are Opeth and Mastodon. You’ll find a full review at Totum Revolutum Press.
Hawkind “Stories From Time and Space”
Given how the band have always composed, since forming back in 1969, working from jams or ideas that develop very organically, it’s always a bit of a lottery what you’ll get on any given record. The result here is fairly weak, sitting halfway between psychedelic rock and space rock.
If you liked Grapefruit Astronauts, then check out the fifth record from this so-called tech-metal band, though there isn’t much metal here and plenty of jazz-rock instead. They’re known for having guitarist Plini in their ranks. Anyone who enjoys twisty songs, technically complex, and in truth closer to musical studies, will enjoy this offering.
From Hamburg comes the sixth instalment from Frank Us and his studio friends, including Todd Sucherman, Marco Minnemann, John Mitchell, Steve Morse or Steven Rothery, among others. A good record of friendly neo-prog with jazz harmonies that echoes turn-of-the-century progressive-rock albums.
Lucassen & Soeterboek’s Plan Nine “The Long Lost Songs”
The title is a bit misleading, since the songs are short. A handful of classic hard-rock tracks, with a fairly vulgar, kitschy production. If only they’d stayed lost.
Magick Brother & Mystic Sister “Tarot Part I”
You’ll find a full review at Totum Revolutum Press.
Magnus Öström & Dan Berglund “e.s.t. 30”
This jazz album is signed by the Swedish drummer and double bassist, who’ve known how to surround themselves with other excellent performers. Calm compositions drawing on the great names of classic cool jazz, with echoes of Red Garland, Chet Baker or Stan Getz.
Mandoki Soulmates “A Memory Of Our Future”
It seems this month is all about personal projects bringing in heavyweight names for the recording. Like the one led by German drummer, percussionist, singer and producer Leslie Mandoki, who’s brought together Ian Anderson, Mike Stern, Al Di Meola, John Helliwell, Richard Bona, Simon Phillips, among others. The result is a standard rock record with long tracks and good production.
Mark Knopfler “One Deep River”
Twelve calm, melodic tracks, well-handled and carrying the Scottish songwriter’s usual lyricism. Well made and of good quality, but with a certain detachment. Only for die-hard fans of the man, since those who aren’t will find it irrelevant and tedious. You could also queue it up after the Bill Laurance record if you liked that one — who knows, maybe you’ll like this one too. Just pray they never get the idea to collaborate on an album together. Either way, both artists would be ideal for soundtracking any town festival.
If you’re expecting a record overflowing with keyboard excess, you’d be very wrong, since what we get instead is compositions in the purest Renaissance style, with a strong British folk component.
Rather than anything resembling songs, you get the impression you’re witnessing some kind of technical study in how to play the closest possible approximation of a MIDI file while fairly simple melodies play out, developing disconnectedly from whatever the band is actually performing. Add to that a very modern, yé-yé production and you get something different that pleasantly surprises at first and disappoints tremendously by the second track. Even so, give it a listen — they’re Chinese, and the press is making a big fuss over them, mostly because nobody quite knows how to label them.
Prehistoric Animals “Finding Love in Strange Places”
Somewhere between heavy prog and neo-prog, we get a consistent album from this Swedish duo. Sonorities in the style of Porcupine Tree, IQ, Muse, Leprous, all blend together in this conceptual record, which is very well crafted and makes for a genuinely interesting listen.
Quantum “Down the Mountainside”
This Danish band’s debut record arrives packed with reference points that’ll delight any progressive-rock listener. We find excellent compositions with the influence of Leprous, Porcupine Tree, King Crimson, Frank Zappa, etc. Don’t miss the chance to listen and support this up-and-coming band.
Six By Six “Beyond Shadowland”
Here comes the second instalment from this curious union of Robert Berry (3), Ian Crichton (Saga) and Nigel Glockler (Saxon). Three veterans with wildly different backgrounds who, curiously, work brilliantly together as a trio; even though their offering doesn’t bring anything innovative, so a shorter runtime would have served it better. We could place them somewhere on the border between bands like Styx and Saga themselves.
This Florida melodic-death-metal band has chosen to release a self-titled album. A curious, though not unheard-of, choice for a sixth record. It could be taken for a fairly standard entry in the genre if it weren’t for Jamie Stewart’s raspy voice, since stylistically it sits close to thrash metal. Either way, you can approach it without fear, since it’s rather friendlier than it might seem at first.
The Tangent “To Follow Polaris”
Another project from a British keyboardist, this time Andy Tillison. It reaches its fourteenth instalment. Dated neo-prog very much in the vein of The Flower Kings. To get a feel for it, the best thing is to head to their website and read the title of the fourth track, and you’ll get the idea.
The trio made up of Nick Beggs, Craig Blundell and Adam Holzman, three musicians who make up Steven Wilson’s live band, present us with a second album that has the flavour of a series of improvisations or somewhat superficially developed tracks, but saved by these performers’ sheer class.
Vanden Plas “The Empyrean Equation of the Long Lost Things”
From Kaiserslautern comes new material from this German progressive-metal band. Offering sonorities and compositions rooted in the concepts that drove this genre in the late nineties, we get six tracks leaning into epic scope and syrupy vocal lines, making it an excellent entry point into prog for fans of power metal.
You’ll find a full review at Totum Revolutum Press.
Writers: David Sàez and Josep Ma Llovera