Author: Bryan Morey

Public historian and museum professional working with historical artifacts. Music reviewer at Progarchy and Dutch Progressive Rock Page.
Lucid Planet

Metal Mondays: Lucid Planet’s “II”

On By Bryan MoreyIn progressive rock1 Comment

Lucid Planet, II, November 2020
Tracks: Anamnesis (12:25), Entrancement (5:33), Organic Hard Drive (9:39), Offer (4:15), On The Way (9:38), Digital Ritual (4:57), Face The Sun (11:49), Zenith (9:56)

Perhaps I’m going out on a limb in calling Lucid Planet’s new album “metal,” but I’ve always had a pretty broad understanding of what metal can include. For instance I’ve long considered much of Rush’s output to be metal. But be not deceived. Lucid Planet’s sophomore album, II, released five years after their debut, is not Dream Theater progressive metal. Rather they remind me of Tool in many ways, especially in the rhythm sections on “Anamnesis,” “Organic Hard Drive,” and “Zenith.” 

Maybe “heavy prog” is a better term. The Melbourne, Australia-based band uses the terms “progressive,” “tribal,” and “psychedelic” on their website, and those are all good descriptors for what they do. They travel in and out of various styles and influences seamlessly. No one track limits itself to any particular style. The primal elements are particularly strong on “Entrancement,” which creates a psychedelic atmosphere through droning vocals and simple acoustic instrumentation. The song is a bit unexpected after the first track, but it works well in expanding the horizon of what the band does. Right away we know that this group plans to cover a lot of ground. The female vocals in parts of that track add a pleasant touch to what would otherwise be a rather dark song. The primal elements mesh well with their album artwork as well. 

Continue reading “Metal Mondays: Lucid Planet’s “II”” →

Cosmograf to Release New Album in March

On By Bryan MoreyIn progressive rock1 Comment

Cosmograf’s Robin Armstrong has announced he is releasing a new album on March 26. He also shared this brief album trailer:

The album will be released on Gravity Dream, a record label he launched last year. See more info at Cosmograf’s website: https://www.cosmograf.com.

Check out some of our reviews for some of Cosmograf’s previous albums:

Cosmograf – When Age Has Done Its Duty – 2011 (2018 remix) – Review by Alison Reijman

Cosmograf – The Man Left in Space – 2013 – Review by Brad Birzer

Cosmograf – The Man Left in Space – 2013 – Review by Tad Wert

Cosmograf – Capacitor – 2014 – Review by Brad Birzer

Cosmograf – The Unreasonable Silence – 2016 – Review by Brad Birzer

Cosmograf – The Hay Man Dreams – 2017 – Review by Brad Birzer

Big Big Train Albums Currently on Sale at Burning Shed

On By Bryan MoreyIn progressive rockLeave a comment

For the month of January much of Big Big Train’s discography is half off at Burning Shed: https://burningshed.com/store/bigbigtrain?page=1

Definitely worth checking out if you’re missing any of these: A Stone’s Throw From The Line, Grand Tour, Grimspound, Swan Hunter, The Difference Machine, The Underfall Yard and Wassail.

Bryan’s Best of 2020

On By Bryan MoreyIn progressive rock4 Comments

Looking back at 2020, it’s hard to believe that we lost Neil Peart at the beginning of the year. That loss hit me pretty hard, since Rush’s music has been central to my life from an early age. I talk more about that in my tribute to Peart: https://progarchy.com/2020/01/12/neil-peart-a-misfits-hero/. I start off my year-end review list with a reminder of the loss of Neil because it seems like a fitting way to remember 2020. Peart’s loss represents what so many people have lost this year, whether it be family members and friends due to the virus or jobs lost due to draconian forced business closures that haven’t actually accomplished anything in slowing the viral spread. Not to mention the emotional distress that physical separation is causing many people.

Another thing we lost this year was live music from our favorite bands. Big Big Train had their first North American tour planned for late spring this year. Canceled. Devin Townsend was in the middle of a glorious North American tour with Haken when everything blew up. Canceled. Obviously this list could be expanded to every band that tours. Losing live music makes it even more difficult for bands in a niche genre to spread their music to more people.

But enough lamenting. We still got a lot of great music this year. The following list is in no particular order apart from my number one album at the end. I include both new albums and live records.

Haken – Virus
I was a little surprised that I was the only person over at the Dutch Progressive Rock Page to include this one in my top ten list for their annual list. Maybe people were really sensitive about the name of the album, but it was clear that the album was written and completed before the novel coronavirus was a known entity. The music is fantastic. It’s probably their heaviest album to date, but it still has some of their calmer moments. It’s Haken through-and-through, and it makes a wonderful companion to 2018’s Vector. We also get to hear some more about our old nemesis, the cockroach king. It’s pretty cool how they worked in some of those themes. Fantastic album that should’ve received more attention than it did. Check out my review: https://progarchy.com/2020/07/23/haken-goes-viral-virus-album-review-haken_official/

Continue reading “Bryan’s Best of 2020” →

Have a Very Merry Prog Christmas

On By Bryan MoreyIn progressive rockLeave a comment

I’d like to strike the next person who says “Christmas this year will look a bit different.” Well it doesn’t have to sound different. If you find yourself alone this Christmas Eve/Christmas (like me), there’s plenty of Christmas-related prog to keep you entertained.

Devin Townsend’s Christmas livestream
A couple hours ago Devin Townsend released a Christmas-themed live stream. If you’ve ever wanted to see the mad genius imitate a crooner, you’re in luck. Mostly he plays his own music spanning his career, and his whole demeanor is incredibly calming. It’s an acoustic set and a one-man show, so if you’re not as big a fan of the extreme side of his career, then this is the show for you. Ok it’s Devin so there are a few screams, which are almost comical considering he’s playing an acoustic guitar. The acoustic version of Strapping Young Lad’s “Love” is pure gold in that regard. The man has a golden voice no matter how he’s using it.

Dream Theater’s “The Holiday Spirit Carries On”
The mighty Dream Theater released a Christmas medley track a couple weeks ago to raise money for their live crew. It’s $2.99, and all the proceeds go to their crew. If you’ve ever wanted to hear James LaBrie sing “Fa-la-la-la-la la la-la la, then you had better buy the track soon because it’s only available during the month of December: https://dreamtheaterofficial.bandcamp.com. Here’s a brief sample:

Neal Morse’s “Last Minute Christmas Album”
Neal Morse decided to write a Christmas album over the last couple weeks, and it is available for download over at his label, Radiant Records. It’s his singer-songwriter side of things rather than his prog side, but it’s still Neal Morse. https://www.nealmorse.com/2020/12/19/download-now-neal-morse-last-minute-christmas-album/

Big Big Train’s “Merry Christmas” and “Snowfalls”
Big Big Train released the single “Merry Christmas” along with the even-better B-side “Snowfalls” back in 2017. They’ve become two of my favorite tracks of the season, and I would love to hear a whole album of original Christmas music from them, along with their take on some classic Christmas carols.

Jethro Tull’s Christmas Album
“The Jethro Tull Christmas Album” has been a favorite of mine for several years now. I listen to it every Christmas season.

LEAH’s “Ancient Winter”
It’s been a while since we’ve heaped praises upon the head of Canadian Leah McHenry. Last year she released “Ancient Winter,” a wonderful album celebrating the winter season. This album leans more into her Celtic influences than her metal influences, which fits the season. Definitely worth a listen or two.

There’s other Christmas prog out there, but I don’t want to overwhelm you. May you have a blessed holiday in spite of everything going on in the world. Christmas is a time when we remember that God humbled Himself to be born as one of us so that He could live like us before sacrificing His very life so that we might live forever if we follow Him. His burden is light when compared to the weight of our sin, and if 2020 has taught us anything, it is that we’d all be better off bearing that burden than the weight of the world. There’s always hope in the world, no matter what’s going on. This music is just a little glimpse of the goodness available to us even in the darkest moments.

Merry Christmas.

Dimitri Toonen’s “Leave My Mind Sometimes” – Album Review

On By Bryan MoreyIn progressive rock1 Comment

Dimitri Toonen, Leave My Mind Sometimes, November 20, 2020
Tracks: 1. Shameless (6:41), 2. Not Home Today (4:01), 3. Ganges Story Part I: Tragedy (9:49), 4. The Destruction of You (2:27),  5. Leave My Mind Sometimes (5:43), 6. Us (4:16), 7. Ganges Story Part II: The Other Place (2:23), 8. The Day I Stopped (9:56), 9. Desolation Suite I: Early Days (2:12), 10. Desolation Suite II: Choices (7:45), 11. Desolation Suite III: A Dark Chapter (9:27)

Dutch artist Dimitri Toonen’s new album Leave My Mind Sometimes was a pleasant surprise as we start to wrap up the year in music here at Progarchy. It ended up being one of the best releases of 2020. Toonen’s main instrument is guitar, but this isn’t a “guitar album.” Rather the music supports the stories the songs tell. The album is structured in a way similar to Steven Wilson’s The Raven that Refused to Sing. The music also happens to be in that vein of progressive rock. 

Apart from the drums, Toonen plays all the instruments on the record, and he wrote all the lyrics. Acoustic and electric guitar are prominent, but synths, bass, and drums play an important role as well. Toonen is an excellent guitarist with a fantastic electric tone. His acoustic work is also exceptional, adding a warmness and richness to the overall sound. Toonen’s vocal delivery provides an emotional touch to his lyrics, and the frequent vocal harmonies add depth.  

The biggest musical influence I notice is Porcupine Tree/Steven Wilson, although his music isn’t quite as dark as Wilson’s can be. There are also similarities to the work of someone like Bjørn Riis and Bruce Soord (The Pineapple Thief). Despite those similarities, Toonen clearly makes his music his own. He isn’t copying anyone. Rather he’s expressing his stories in a way that bears the influence of the music he finds moving.

Toonen’s lyrical content can be pretty heavy, but I don’t find that Leave My Mind Sometimes leaves me emotionally drained after listening to it. I love Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson’s solo work, but a close listen to those albums requires a lot from the listener. Nevertheless Toonen brings passion to the album both through the lyrics and the music. In particular, that punch into the soaring “home” in the lyrics “why didn’t you come home?” brings a powerful emotional impact to “Not Home Today.” The feelings of loss, loneliness, and rejection build over the course of that track to a beautiful crescendo.

A longer track like “Ganges Story Part I: Tragedy” has the chance to grow and mature with various musical movements. The music effortlessly moves in and out of heavy and calm moments in a way mastered by Porcupine Tree. Toonen has similarly mastered that effect, and it makes Leave My Mind Sometimes an interesting album on repeated listens. The final track, “Desolation Suite III: A Dark Chapter,” is a prime example of it. There’s a wonderful build-up to a really heavy moment that brings the album to completion before a brief calm ending. Over the entire album I find that Toonen inserts instrumental sections, often with a soulful electric or acoustic guitar solo, right when the listener needs a moment to reflect. 

The album has a cohesive flow, making the shorter tracks blend into the whole. “Ganges Story Part II: The Other Place” acts as a sort of brief reprise to “Ganges Story Part I: Tragedy,” thus helping to knit the album together. The similar musical themes helps move the listener along on a journey through these stories. 

Overall Leave My Mind Sometimes is a mature and full-sounding album. The fact Toonen did everything but the drums himself on the record is a testament to his talent. There’s a wonderful balance to the music and the vocals that can often be lost in purely solo endeavors. Toonen avoided that pitfall and created a beautiful album filled with excellent music and compelling stories. I highly recommend you give this record a listen. I found it to be the best release of the final months of the year, and I’ll definitely keep it on frequent rotation. 

The album is available now on streaming sites and Bandcamp, and you can pre-order a CD or vinyl directly from Toonen: https://www.dimitritoonen.com/shop/

https://www.dimitritoonen.com
https://www.facebook.com/dimitritoonenmusic


Stefan Elefteriu’s “Quantum Gates” – Electronic Music Has Never Sounded So “Prog”

On By Bryan MoreyIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Editor’s note: Today we are happy to bring you a guest review of Stefan Elefteriu’s album, Quantum Gates, by Chloe Mogg, a UK-based singer/songwriter and music journalist. Typically electronic-style music might be considered on the fringes of what we cover here at Progarchy, but Stefan’s music is anything by typical.

Stefan has a fascinating story. He began studying violin at a young age in Communist Romania, but he ended up in a rock band called Blitz in the late 1970s. With communism forbidding privately owned businesses, Stefan built his own synthesizers, speakers, and other equipment so he could make theatrical soundtracks. With the fall of communism his career expanded into the film and advertising realms. Those influences are clear on Quantum Gates, but the album also features ethereal vocals at points. There are some heavier rock moments, while the rest of the album definitely has traits common with the more psychedelic side of prog. This isn’t techno dance music, which is what I usually think of when I think “electronic music.” This is serious music worthy of serious attention. It’s also very good. Since I clearly have much to learn about this kind of music, I’m happy to turn the rest of the review over to someone more knowledgeable:

Review by Chloe Mogg:

A journey through space, time and numerous musical genres, Stefan Elefteriu is an artist not afraid to think outside of the box. Progressive and electronic based, “Quantum Gates” is the latest release from the genius behind the music. An experience not for the faint hearted, “Quantum Gates” soars through realms of sci-fi based music straight from the soul. With quite the story behind his music, Stefan’s journey began by building his own synthesisers in Communist Romania to scoring a science fiction film. A multi-instrumentalist that creates music without boundaries, the truly immersive experience is suited for fans of classical, rock and electronic elements fused together. 

On the album, Stefan mentioned, “Twelve portals open to twelve different worlds awaiting discovery through imagination, fantasy and feelings… Go beyond the Quantum Gates and, with each re-listening, you will perceive new territories of musical expression. Let the evolution and permanent dialogue of the melodic lines – based on symphonic counterpoint – take you through a new multidimensional sound universe.”

Touching familiar ground that Vangelis, Pink Floyd, Enigma and Kraftwerk have been upon, Stefan’s album introduces parallel worlds of hope during the world’s current climate. Like something you’d hear on the Interstellar score, the vibrant journey is accessible yet armed with complexity. An escapism for fans across the globe, the talent that Stefan has is clear in the near release.

https://www.stefansound.com

Metal Mondays: Vultress’ “Hypnopompia”

On By Bryan MoreyIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Vultress, Hypnopompia, 2020
Tracks: 1. Hypnopompia (0:35), 2. Cmdr Hall and wherewithal (4:56), 3. Tether (5:57), 4. Fall Into Then (4:13), 5. L’appel Du Vide (5:07), 6. New Sun (9:51)

It isn’t everyday that I get to feature a band from America’s great Midwest – much less a prog metal band from the Midwest. They hail from Valparaiso, Indiana, a mid-sized town on the far southeastern edge of what could be considered the greater Chicagoland area. The band is comprised of Jordan Gaboian (guitar), Paul Uhrina (drums) and Anthony Capuano (vocals/keys). Hypnopompia is their second album, following 2014’s Distance.

At just over a half-hour long, perhaps Hypnopompia would have been better billed as an EP rather than an album, especially since the album is rather inconsistent. “Tether” and “L’appel Du Vide” are from completely different genres, and “Tether” alone has multiple genres intermingling – some of which work and some which don’t. I also noticed a strong Dream Theater influence on their first album that I don’t notice in their new album.

Someone commented on Bandcamp that Capuano’s voice is reminiscent of both Claudio Sanchez (Coheed and Cambria) and Serj Tankian (System of a Down). This is a pretty fair assessment. Sanchez’s influence is most prevalent on “L’appel du Vide,” while the latter influence can be heard on “Tether.” There is a moment on their first album where it’s clear that he is channeling James Labrie circa 1994 – specifically the distortion Labrie used on “6:00.” Capuano doesn’t do that at all on this album, preferring instead more of a death metal growl in the brief moments when he does decide to use distortion. Most of his singing is clean, and it is pretty good, although it might take a few listens to adjust to it. However I think the music would be best served if he added the warmth from “L’appel du Vide” to their metal moments, like Claudio Sanchez does, and he should go with the mid-90s Labrie-style distortion rather than the growling, since it matches the music better.

I really wanted “Tether” to be my favorite track because it had a unique playfulness and heaviness that fits well with today’s prog-metal scene. It opens with heavy acoustic strumming before pounding into a deep metal riff. All good so far. Capuano mixes up the vocal styling a bit, which works when it’s the Tankian-style high-pitched notes, but it doesn’t work as well with the growls. The middle of the song does a hard shift into a traditional jazz section with saxophone, which the band performs extremely well. This brief section was one of my favorite parts on the album, in fact. However after that they go back into a really heavy drop-tuned section that includes saxophone playing in a less-orderly way than it was during the jazz section. To my ear this doesn’t work as well.

The fifth track, “L’appel du Vide,” is a bit of a surprise. It’s a ballad, which feels out of place on the album. However, Capuano’s voice shines. It has a warmth that could help on the metal tracks. Perhaps if the song morphed into a heavier chorus it wouldn’t feel so out of place, but it’s really a pop ballad without the rock that Dream Theater usually infuse into their ballads. The chorus could shine with electric guitar and drums, kind of like Dream Theater’s “Wither” or Coheed and Cambria’s “Here To Mars.” The song even builds up to that kind of moment, so it is a bit of a letdown when the calm acoustic guitar remains. About 2:45 in we get an electric guitar playing clean highs in the background, but the drums and bass are still playing as if it is a quiet ballad. Yes what I’m proposing is formulaic, but it is a formula that works for prog-metal ballads (see the aforementioned DT and C&C tracks). With a build up to a heavier wall of sound the song would fit a lot better in the album.

“Fall Into Then” is the most consistent song on the album musically and vocally. The style stays the same, and it keeps a heavy tone throughout.  It has a really strong driving guitar groove, with some Hammond-style organ highlights thrown in for good measure. Turn this one up – you won’t be disappointed. There is some really good bass drum pedaling along with a thundering bassline.

“New Sun” follows along a similar track, but it includes some weird electronic vocal distortions in the middle that don’t really work. The heavy synth section in the middle works well, even though it slows the pace, but the electronic vocals are really jarring. Apart from that it is an excellent longer-form prog metal song with some nice guitar moments. The keyboard work on this one is a nice touch as well.

Overall I’d have to say I enjoyed the track “A Chord From Heaven” off their first album a lot more than anything off Hypnopompia. Looking at both albums it is abundantly clear that all the pieces are here for something truly special. I think this album detoured a bit from the trajectory the band created with their first album. They could take elements from Hypnopompia and apply it to new music made more in the vein of their first album, and they’d be in great shape. With that said I still recommend you give this a listen.

https://www.facebook.com/vultress
https://vultress.bandcamp.com/

Check out their first album, as well:

Fantastic New Music from Independent Artist Dimitri Toonen

On By Bryan MoreyIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Just some first impressions of Dimitri Toonen’s new solo album, Leave My Mind Sometimes. This is some seriously good music. The instruments, vocals, and lyrics feed the emotion in the music to wonderful effect. There is relative simplicity at the individual instrument level, but joined together it is quite beautiful. The music has its quiet and heavy moments. The electric guitar is smooth and calculated without being formulaic, and the acoustic guitar sets the calm moments nicely. I look forward to digging into this some more. In the meantime, check out the music video for “Not Home Today,” and check out the rest of the album for yourself. Full review hopefully forthcoming in the near future.

https://www.dimitritoonen.com

https://www.dimitritoonen.com/leave-my-mind-sometimes/

https://dimitritoonen.bandcamp.com/releases

Steve Hackett Releases a Magnificent Single From Upcoming Acoustic Album

On By Bryan MoreyIn progressive rock1 Comment

A few days ago Steve Hackett released a music video for his track “Andalusian Heart” off his upcoming acoustic album, Under A Mediterranean Sky. The track is absolutely stunning. For just under six minutes I was able to slow down and be transported to another world. It’s so hard to slow down these days and be present with something. There’s always something that needs to be done, something to worry about, or one more email or twitter feed to scroll through.

The symphonic overtones set the scene, but Hackett’s calm Spanish-influenced guitar is obviously the main attraction. The visuals for the video are quite stunning as well. Well done, Mr. Hackett. Well done. I can hardly wait to hear the rest of the album.