Arrivals at Progarchy HQ:
Fire Garden, FAR AND NEAR (2016). Tracks: Far and Near; There’s Something; A New Day; Life of a Drifter; A Thousand Lost Souls; War and Peace; Faint Shadows; Whitelight; and Diary of a Blood Moon.
One of the single best things about being a hyperfan of progressive rock music is always dealing with the most interesting of people. When it comes to prog—the musicians, the engineers, and the fans—we’re all basically a bunch of OCD perfectionists. And, I think we understand each other in ways non proggers simply cannot (as in, not constitutionally equipped to do so). In the nearly ten years I’ve been reviewing music online, I’ve met a number of absolutely fascinating people. None less so than Chicago’s young master of all that is melodic metal prog, Zee Baig.
The moment I first found Zee’s music—as first sold through his ep, aptly titled THE PRELUDE—I knew I had to reach out to him. I did, he was responsive, and we pretty quickly established a friendship through email. We talked about war, tradition, music, kids, art. You name it, and Zee and I talked about it. Even though we’re only a three-hours drive from one another, we’ve never actually met in person. Strange, but true. And, here’s hoping, someday soon this will be rectified.
FAR AND NEAR, Fire Garden’s second full-length album, has just appeared on the market, and it’s a stunner, as strong and as good as anything else that has come out this year. This is no small praise when one considers how many greats have come out: from Frost* to Glass Hammer to Big Big Train. FAR AND NEAR stands with those at the very top.
Continue reading “Confidence Within a Sphere of Creativity: FIRE GARDEN”
Riverside, EYE OF THE SOUNDSCAPE (Insideout Music, 2016). Tracks: Where the River Flows (new), Shine (new), Rapid Eye Movement, Night Sessions 1, Night Sessions 2, Sleepwalkers (new), Rainbow Trip, Heavenland, Return, Aether, Machines, Promise, Eye of the Landscape (new).
It’s truly hard to know what to label Riverside’s latest release, EYE OF THE SOUNDSCAPE. I can, however, state the following with absolute certainty: it is a truly glorious thing. A thing of intense beauty. A thing I very proudly own. Two disks, 103 minutes of music, and great packaging. What more could one want from any album, let alone from a band as exceptional as Riverside?
Yet, EYE OF THE SOUNDSCAPE is not really a proper album, or at least an album with all new tracks. Of the thirteen tracks on this album, only four are new. The other nine come from previous Riverside releases, generally from the special editions. What holds them together is the ambient and electronic quality of each song.
But, wait. . . isn’t that what Lunatic Soul is for? Duda’s more experimental side?
Here’s the best way to sum up the new Neal Morse Band album.
Every one of Neal Morse’s post-Spock’s Beard album seemed to get better and better: TESTIMONY; ONE; ?; LIFELINE; TESTIMONY 2; and MOMENTUM. With the exception of SOLA SCRIPTURA, Morse seemed incapable of making a mistake. Though I dislike SOLA SCRIPTURA not only for its themes and lyrics and for its music being over-the-top bombast, I was certainly willing to forgive these problems — especially given the honest spirit in which the album was written, produced, and performed.
What about THE SIMILITUDE OF A DREAM, then?
Continue reading “Neal Morse, Superstar: The Similitude of a Dream”
My favorite person in U.S. government–the only man who understands the Constitution and the American Founding. We already knew he loved Rush, but now we find out he also loves Pink Floyd. Thank you to Rob Olson for sending this to me. God bless, prog. God bless, Rand Paul!
And, utterly well deserved. I love Steve’s published poetry, The Lay of Lirazel.
http://sylvanbindery.blogspot.com/2016/11/a-book-for-glass-hammer-ancient-binding.html
Wow, really looking forward to this.
Progarchy 