A project containing Allan Holdsworth (UK, Bruford and more) on guitar, Ryo Okumoto (Spock's Beard) on piano and moog and the late Shaun Guerin on lead vocals certainly raises most proggers expectations. All the tracks are written by Ken Jaquess (Atlantis), who also takes care of bass, keyboards and 10-string acoustic guitar. Also involved is violinist Yvette Devereaux and drummer Doug Sanborn.

We get five tracks of timeless symphonic and progressive rock of semi complex, melodic song writing starting out with the 23 ½ minutes long opener "Infinite voyage". This piece of work of course is including several parts, kept within a mainly melodic feel with swirling Holdsworth solos as one of the trademarks. Shaun Guerin's rather soft Gabriel-style vocals fits in very well among the light and atmospheric keyboard layers backed up really nice by the bass/drum section and occasional appearances of violin broadens the sound palette within the range for classic symphonic rock and giving it a touch of UK. Mr Okumoto contributes with some fine moog solos. Very nice indeed!

We also get four, equally fine but shorter, tracks ranging about 6 - 7 minutes each, making it an overall highly enjoyable album of melodic symphonic rock rooted in the 70's giants with mainly Genesis influences at the fore, but also echoes of UK but nevertheless with a fresh approach.

So, does it live up to my high expectations? Well, as I know have enjoyed it several days in a row I guess the answer to that must be "Yes it does".
(review by Hansi Cross)

The masters of Swedish symphonic rock are back. Original keyboard player Hans Lundin has together with Roine Stolt (Kaipa, Flower Kings, Transatlantic), Patrik Lundström (Ritual), Jonas Reingold (Flower Kings) and Morgan Ågren (Mats & Morgan, Zappa) created a real prog/symph masterpiece. My expectations of this album were extremely high and now when it's here I can assure you that I'm more than pleased with the result. The compositions, the arrangements and the musical contributions are just stunning. Hans was already a musical hero of mine, but with this work he has taken Swedish music to a new level of perfection. The musical style is classic Kaipa with some Flower Kings influences and with lyrics in English (for the first time). The vocals by Patrik and Aleena blow my mind. Patrik has one of the best voices of today and Aleena shows that there should be more women in prog/symph music. Her voice adds a new dimension to the Kaipa sound. In conclusion I would say that the best album of 2002 is already here and it will be considered a sin if you do not include it in your CD collection. It doesn't get better than this.
(review by Olov Andersson)

Hmmm, strange…Arabian music? This was the first thing that came into my mind but after a few seconds into the first song (Eternal Light Avenue) my somewhat strange feelings is gone. The song turns into a fine symphonic tune. However, it took a while for me to really like the album. Now when I have played it several times I realise that the more I play it, the more I like it, and I guess it will grow on you too. This really is a nice blend of new and old prog/symf with lots of organ, nice guitar work and splendid harmony vocals. The lead vocalist of the group has a very nice and calm voice so if you're looking for an aggressive singer, this may not be your cup of tea though. There are a couple of rather straight songs combined with several interesting prog songs with lots of nice time figures. Otherwise I must say it's quite hard to really describe this album but I think that's a good thing since I really think that this album has a life on it's own even if you can hear influences from many parts of the prog rock scene. I must also mention the splendid playing and the good sound quality for a band that I guess not really earns the money that I think they should do. Otherwise, just buy the album for the nice cover!(review by Göran Johnsson)

A concept album based upon a short novel "The Future Eve" by Villiers De L'Isle Adam. Everything is composed and arranged by multi-instrumentalist Richard Wileman. Maybe this should be used as a soundtrack if this novel is ever adapted to the silver screen. The overall feel of the album is very laid back, orchestral and picture oriented. It would work perfectly as background music for a movie. It's filled with emotions and suspense. A truly beautiful piece of work.
(review by Olov Andersson)

This is a project led by The Flower King's bassplayer Jonas Reingold and also includes Roine Stolt (guitars & vocals), Tomas Bodin (keyboards) and Zoltan Csörz (drums) from the same band. And not only that! Former Flower King's drummer Jamie Salazar also plays on some of the tracks. So…does it sound like Flower Kings? In fact it does not sound that much Flower Kings as one might expect even if one can at times recognize shorter parts reminiscent of it. Reingold's compositions are quite different than the one's usually penned by Mr Stolt and there's also some other non-flower-kings-musicians on this fine album. Johan Glössner (guitars), Robert Engstrand (keyboards), Chris Palm (guitars), Richard Andersson (a keyboard solo) and, not at least, Göran Edman (vocals) adds their personal touch to it and making the final result into one of the strongest progrock albums of 2002. This one comes highly recommended either you like Flower Kings or not.

Ps. I tried to not mention The Flower Kings too many times. Ooops! There it was again.
(review by Hansi Cross)

To me it was a very nice surprise to hear this fine instrumental symphonic rock act from Japan. Lead by violin and guitar player Akihisa Tsuboy this band creates some very memorable moments. Sounding as most progressive bands mixed together, without actually sounding as any other, to me, known bands. Adding to this a pinch of fusion-like ideas makes it feel both fresh and recognisable and the performance is definitely top notch all the way through the album. The vast use of electric violin reminds me of Jean-Luc Ponty or Mahavishnu Orchestra sometimes but yet not, as the performance got much more of a symphonic feel than the before mentioned. I have no hesitations what so ever about recommending this to lover's of progressive, symphonic rock. And if you, as I do, also like progressive fusion such as Return To Forever, Ponty and Spaced Out then this definitely is a must. And why was I surprised? Well…To me the booklet looks a little bit cheap and it contains very little info and no pictures of the musicians so it was a surprise to find this high-class music on it.
KBB is:
AKIHISA TSUBOY - Violins, Guitars
GREGORY SUZUKI - Keyboards, Theremin
DANI - Bass
SHIRO SUGANO - Drums
(review by Hansi Cross)

Now here's something different. This must be Americas true power trio since Rush belongs in Canada. However, King's X doesn't sound anything like Rush, yet they have a lot in common. They don't use any keyboards, instead guitarist Ty Tabor does all sorts of riffs with lots of melodies in them instead of only playing regular chords. Bassist and main singer Doug Pinnick likes to use distortion on his bass (often 8-string basses) and drummer Jerry Gaskill is steady as a rock. They all sing and they have very different styles in pronouncing and sound in their voices. The three part harmony parts these guys deliver are often a lot different than "usual" background vocals. For being just three members they do sound a lot and have a very unique sound. Influences comes from everywhere but traces from Beatles, Yes, Jimi Hendrix and Deep Purple maybe are the strongest. King's X is a rather heavy band but I wouldn't like to call it heavy metal or hard rock. "Gretchen goes to Nebraska" is my favourite album by these lads from Texas with highlights as "Mission" and the small hit "Over my head" that have a guitar solo that Jimi Hendrix would have been proud of. Also check out Ty Tabors project bands Platypus & The Jelly Jam that sounds like a more progressive King's X. Nearly all King's X albums are musts!
(review by Göran Johnsson)

Here we have an album that likely can appeal also to parts of the prog audience who usually are not into the progmetal genre. All songs are written by the talented French keyboardist Vivien Lalu, which probably is one of the reason why this album is not filled with the usual metal clichés. Dutch guitar player Joop Walters contributes with the same kind of fine and melodic performance that can be heard in his own band Arabesque. The vocals of Martin LeMar are powerful and not too high pitch. Bass player Russel Berquist and drummer Ryan Van Poederooyen are very tight and fits the compositions in a most suitable fashion. But what I enjoy the most about this album is the compositions which, as already mentioned, is avoiding the most common clichés of the genre and that the songs are skilfully composed and are interesting, majestic and melodic and performed with a nice portion of warmth as well as high technical skills. (review by Hansi Cross)

A new American band in the modern progressive vein. It sounds like Living Colour meets Echolyn with a sideorder of E-motive. They really stretch the musical boundaries to new and unexplored areas. Excellently skilled musicians, which of course is needed in these complex and somewhat odd arrangements. The harmony vocals are brilliantly performed. This album will most certainly grow on you with each listening. If you are into any of the bands mentioned above and have an open mind towards new musical experiences, this is a CD for you. Enjoy!
(review by Olov Andersson)

The three first studio albums was with Damian Wilson on vocals, after that Landmarq took the rather drastic but at the same time obvious decision to put Tracy Hitchings behind the microphone. Otherwise the line-up is intact. On this live album she does the older tracks Pinewood Avenue, Solitary Witness, Tailspin and Borders with accuracy. From their latest and so far only studio album with Tracy they're doing the title track Science Of Coincidence together with The Overlook, Between Sleeping And Dreaming and Summer Madness. Landmarq is playing very well and they are tighter and have more edge, bite and pressure than I ever could imagine. A very admirable performance.
(review by Stefan Polzer)

Landmarq´s previous album "Thunderstruck" was as this one also a live album, while that one was recorded on tour during 1998 and 1999 this one was recorded during 2001 and 2001. There are of course totally different tracks on "Aftershock" and the highlights are the tracks taken from the only studio album singer Tracy Hitchings have done with Landmarq so far "Heritage", "The Vision Pit" and "Lighthouse". But it is with interest I listen to "After I Died Somewhere", "Ta' Jiang" / "Narovlya" (instrumental medley) and "Embrace" which origins from the three albums original singer Damian Wilson did with the band. Tracy does these tunes very well even though I prefer the original recordings, she is however one of my favourite female singers and I think it's about time for a new Landmarq studio album (it's been four years since "Science of Coincidence").
(review by Stefan Polzer)

This album by Le Orme is a concept about the four elements and it's quite a masterpiece. Melodic, symphonic passages drenched in keyboards and proggy instrumental parts. The music is a perfect mix of 70's style prog and 90's neoprog. References stylewise span from ELP and Genesis to IQ and Pallas. An extra plus is that the cover is made by Paul Whitehead, he was the guy who made the classic Genesis-covers for Trespass, Nursery cryme and Foxtrot. All in all this CD has 14 pieces describing the four elements. 7 are instrumental and 7 are with vocals. The progscene is alive, also in Italy, and this is one of the best albums of 2001 and clearly Le Orme's best work ever.
(review by Olov Andersson)

Here's the debut CD from a band that shows lots of promise. The man behind Legacy is Mitch Hensdale, who plays keyboards, acoustic guitars, drums, percussion and performing some vocals. He has also composed and arranged all songs, wrote all the lyrics with lead vocalist Frank Hartis, and engineered and produced the album. Frank Hartis has a very pleasant and suiting voice for this kind of music with a dramatic feel and lots of character. Sometimes he resembles Fish and sometimes Damian Wilson. The album is very well written and the style is 80's neo-prog, but much more symphonic, almost classical. A very promising debut and I am very anxious to hear a follow-up because these guys have a lot to offer the world of symphonic and progressive music.
(review by Olov Andersson)

WOW! Who would have thought that this pre-IQ material could be so strong? I am sure it sounds much better since this is recorded in 2001, but all the songs are written in the late seventies. The album is instrumental except one track with vocals by Martin Orford. A few passages will be recognised by the IQ fans, since they've been reused in other IQ songs and the music is very similar to IQ as well. Classic symph/prog at it's best. I've found myself being more and more impressed with what these guys have achieved over the years and this CD is no exception. A standing ovation for Mr Holmes and Mr Orford is in order. This CD is a must for fans of IQ, maybe a must for the rest of you as well.
(review by Olov Andersson)

Another good Italian prog/symph-outfit. The flow from that country seems endless. Too bad that most of them sing in Italian. This album covers everything from soft, moody symphonic pieces, via jazzy experimental parts, to complex heavy progressive music. There are parts of Yes, PFM, Flower Kings and excerpts of early Genesis. Again skilled musicians (??where do they all come from??), excellently performed. (review by Olov Andersson)

An excellent collection of songs from this arty "post-punk-indie" act Featuring, among others, the interesting guitar player John McGeoch, bass player Barry Adamson and the distinct vocals of Howard Devoto. Technically he never was a great vocalist, but he certainly delivers. A quote from the inner sleeve says: "the sound of his voice plays with Insinuation, seduction, nervousness, mockery and anger". Most of my favourite tracks including "The light pours out of me", "Permafrost" and "Because you're frightened" in nicely remastered versions sounding much better than the one's from earlier releases. Early indierock for proggers.
(review by Hansi Cross)

The follow-up to the successful "Revolutions" is here. This, one of Rob Reed's several projects, is, just like its predecessor, a concept album. This time dealing with the seven deadly sins. Musically it takes off in the same Yes versus Renaissance mixed with some Genesis influences style, but with a bigger, warmer production which suites the music very well. As always when Mr Reed is involved we get well-composed emotional songs with some fine melodic instrumental passages. Lead vocalist Christina was already sounding very fine on the debut but has now added a stronger and more emotional part to the grace and beauty, which her style is based upon. A true from-heart-to-heart communication which is powerful without force. The debut was a fine one and this is truly excellent. Need I say more?
(review by Hansi Cross)

A new concept album about Jules Verne by this Italian trio. Classic, melodic prog with lots of 12-string guitars, mellotrons, Hammond organs, Moog synthesisers, Rickenbacker bass and innovative drumming. The vocals are handled by a variety of guest-singers. The music is firmly planted in the soil of the 70's and any lover of that progressive music era will feel right at home. This is one of the best albums from Italy in years and they lack nothing (even their English is OK). A true gem.
(review by Olov Andersson)

Can a band who mixes 80's influences from bands such as The Fixx or Tears For Fears more experimental works blended with contemporary sounds heard as bands such as Radiohead or Mew be of any interest to the progressive rock audience? I certainly hope so. This, the debut, album from MAN ON FIRE is one of the most exciting new albums I've heard in quite a while. Even though it is possible to, here and there, spot the influences I must say that, to me, this has a very fresh and new sound.
A sound that appeals strongly to me. So, how can I describe this truly unique band? Well…the usual way is to use namedropping to give the reader a picture but this would not be appropriate in this case so…this is how I choose to do. They have a very fine lead vocalist in Jeff Hodges, who at times phrases a bit like Cy Curning (The Fixx), but his voice is quite different. More "rough around the edges" I would say. The melodies are very straight to the heart but the arrangements including a fretless bass wandering around and taking unexpected turns (not too far from how Mick Karn of Japan & Dalis Car plays) blended with some not too common guitar playing and some interesting violin parts from one of the guest musicians, David Ragsdale (Kansas) creates a fresh sound which sure feels good to me. Their music has a warm atmosphere as well as a rougher side. To me this band is progressive in the true sense of the word rather than meaning "based on what the 70's prog bands did". They have managed to develop rock music in a new direction in a highly enjoyable way. Even if I also enjoy many bands who relay on the old heroes way of creating music I find myself in a state of excitement when I (not too often I'm afraid) hear music that feels new!
(review by Hansi Cross)

("The Undefined Design" is Man On Fire's 2nd album - webmasters note)

Download mp3-sample (1.0mb)

As a natural follow up to their fantastic progressive pop album "The undefined design" this duo delivers another highly listenable album, this time a concept album with a little heavier edge than before. When I heard that one of my favourite guitarists Adrian Belew (King Crimson, David Bowie and others) was to be the most significant guests on the album I was really happy. There's no fault in the guitar playing on their previous two releases but I know that Adrian is capable of getting the right thing into the right songs. Now when I have played the record several times I notice that Adrian for sure does a great job but he never takes over the show, so it really sounds like Man On Fire with guests instead of something totally different. David Ragsdale (Kansas) also guests this album as he did on their previous one. This is another highly recommended album from a highly recommended band and if you want more information about their sound I suggest that you read Hansi's review of their second album "The undefined design". This album is just a little bit better and a little bit harder. Great band!
(review by Göran Johnsson)

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