Sad news today from AC/DC – legendary rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young has died at age 64 after battling dementia over the last several years. A true icon in rock music, Malcolm played some of the meanest riffs you will ever hear. RIP.
Category: Progressive rock
Album Review: The Earth and I – The Candleman
New Yorkers The Earth and I are a new name on the progressive metal scene, and The Candleman is their debut album. This seven-track release really injects a breath of fresh air into the genre, mostly due to clean vocals of charismatic singer Kendyle Wolven. Mixing female vocals with prog metal / djent is not a new thing, but The Earth and I rise above other contemporary acts.
After a one-minute instrumental and atmospheric intro “The Lake Under the Desert,” The Candleman continues with “CGMTC (Life in the Sunset Zone)” which leaves a gashing mark on your ears. Very refreshing, the energy is genuinely vivid. Lots of double bass, djent riffing, excellent vocals; the group could not have chosen a perfect track to begin this ravenous journey. “Little Frames” brings very carnivourous riffage, unforgiving vocals, backed by a Periphery ambience. Overall, a bolstering chapter in the album. A personal favorite, “And Now for a Slight Departure,” is a wonderful melodic tune carried with Wolven’s voice. A thunderous foundation lures the listener deeper into an unholy light. Keeping things true and prog, this is about as direct as the album gets.
The Candleman promises to bring forth a dark and discarnate attitude. With extremely well executed instrumentals that push the adrenaline factor into the senses, the album will capture and ensnare the listener and bring them down to ecstatic sinister bliss. While that is said and done, more solos could have been implemented, but this is just personal preference. Once you set foot into The Candleman it will be virtually impossible to leave/escape. Consider yourself warned.
The Candleman is out now; get it from Bandcamp.
Avenged Sevenfold Cover “Wish You Were Here”
This is a pretty remarkable cover of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.” I presume Avenged Sevenfold chose to do this as a tribute to their late drummer, Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan. It seems the band move ever closer to progressive rock – Prog magazine even did a spread on them earlier this year.
Unforgettable Vinyl Gatefold Moments @rushtheband
Moments you will never forget… listening to Rush, A Farewell to Kings, for the first time.
What’s The Buzz About General Fuzz?
As I’ve gotten older, I find myself enjoying instrumental/ambient/space music more and more. These chaotic and ever-accelerating times lend themselves to a musical genre that encourages reflection and relaxation.
In earlier posts, I brought to our faithful readers’ attention the wonderful music of Kevin Keller and CFCF. In this one, I want to showcase another outstanding artist working in the “Downtempo” realm of music: General Fuzz. The musical brainchild of composer James Kirsch, General Fuzz has released 7 albums, and you can download them all for free (yes, FREE. He explains the motives behind his generosity here) at his website. I started at the beginning with 2002’s eponymous General Fuzz album, and I’m slowly working my way through to his latest, 2014’s Oughta See. The problem is, every album is such a beautiful gem of contemplative melodies that I can’t leave one for the next. However, if your curiosity is piqued and don’t know where to start, let me suggest checking out Kirsch’s 2008 masterpiece, Soulful Filling. Here’s my favorite track from that collection:
Kirsch’s music is carefully constructed to seduce the listener with perfectly arranged musical miniatures that avoid being saccharine. In other words, I was immediately attracted to his music, I have listened to it repeatedly, and I have yet to tire of it. I keep finding new and delightful details in each hearing. Here’s how he explains it in his own words:
Unless your music is simple and poppy, or incredibly accessible, most people won’t be able to make sense of it on first listen, and consequently not return for a second listen. I can not approach my own music with fresh ears – I’m intimate with every second of it. It’s great to have someone who’s not a huge music fan listen to my music before I release it to gauge how most people will receive it. It has previously helped shape the ordering of tracks on an album. Accessible music will always be more popular than complex music.
I’ve learned that it often takes many listens for people to start really enjoying my music. My favorite story is of a co-worker who’s cd player broke with my cd in it, so they had to listen to it all day on repeat. The next day he told me never to stop writing music.
James Kirsch is attempting something courageous in these days of a collapsing music industry: he is producing extraordinary music and giving it away – trusting that those who “get it” and enjoy it will respond with donations. I hope his experiment is successful – we need more composers of his caliber thriving in today’s music scene.
Gandals Fist – Universal Wanderings revisited
Well, not content with upping the ante last year with their triple disc magnum opus The Clockwork Fable (which to be honest is one of the finest albums ever made) and triumphantly headlining their own Fistival, the boys are giving us a bonus remastered Fisting with their remaster and re-tooling of their 2013 album A Day in the Life of a Universal Wanderer.
However, the Fist being the Fist never do things by half, so this see’s the album remastered, parts re-recorded, new linking narratives from Paddington’s Santa, Mark Benton (who also played a memorable part in The Clockwork Fable – oh, and Doctor Who) and the new track The Stowaway and the Fable, which according to the band, brings this release in line with the sonic template of 2014’s A Forest of Fey, and 2016’s a Clockwork Fable.
Now, for some artists chucking out a quick sneaky remaster of an album, scant years after it’s initial release could be seen as lazy, however having seen the care and attention the ‘Fist boys put into their work, this is more a case of taking that classic old car that’s been off the road for a year or two, putting in the hard yards and getting it race ready again.
The main difference between the original release (which I’ve not heard) and this new vision, is that since this was released drummer Stefan Hepe and bassist Chris Ewen were recruited to join the nucleus of the band Dean Marsh (guitars/keys/vocals) and Luke Severn (vocals/keys) and made their recorded debuts on the phenomenal A Forest of Fey (which was my first fisting).
It seems appropriate then to have the drum parts for Universal Wanderer re-recorded, with Stefan adding a his teutonic precision, giving it that mighty full Fist band sound that makes their latest releases so epic.
With Mark Benton providing linking narration, this pulls it right into the Fist family, and the mix of harder edged rock, full on epic space ballads, powerful epics, and tight coherent narrative this has all the hallmarks of a Fist classic.
Listening to the music here, and the plotting and way the songs lead the narrative, this could almost have been a dry run for The Clockwork Fable (and I have no doubt that somewhere in the fertile imagination of those Fist boys, this ties in somewhere with that and Forest of Fey).
They do like their harder edged sounds and epic tracks like the Nine Billion Names of God, and the new epic that has snuck it’s way here, or indeed like a pigeon found it’s way home ‘The Stowaway and the Endless Night, features some of their heavier sounds, impressive guitar riffing and a fab hard edge.
This subtle blend of light and dark works with tracks like Orphans of the Sky, and long term Fist associate Melissa Hollick provides superb vocals on here and forms part of that mighty Fist sound.
The concept here is around The Universal Wanderer a 26th Century mythical figure who has wandered the Universe since the dawn of time, I wonder if he’s ever bumped into someone similar who happens to fly round in a blue Police Box, I bet they have plenty of things to chat about at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe.
And having wandered the Universe the Fist have certainly got plenty of diverse musical sounds that they weave together to create a coherent whole, the wonderful Battle for Tannhauser Gate with William Stewarts violin duelling with the guitars, is a fab slice of folk rock prog, with another superb duet and pulls more strands of the story together.
In fact the album is as much as rich musical tapestry with the diverse genres and sounds, pulled together like a well made jumper, bringing the strands together to create a coherent whole, and one that is worth losing yourself in for an afternoon.
The closing The Wanderer Goes is the stitch that pulls those threads together, reprising the opening Nine Billion names of God, with a fantastically epic closing section, worthy of the name, bringing the album back full circle.
If you’ve never heard of Gandalfs Fist then it’s time you got fisted, and if you are familiar with them, and think you already have this album, according to the guys this is as different from the original as could be, reworked, retooled, remastered and reissued to give it a bigger place in the Universe.
Whatever you think of the bands name (and it has been described in certain quarters as a maarmite name, and I like it) Gandalfs Fist certainly are some of the most ambitious musicians when it comes for big concept albums and mighty sounds, and what is gratifying is that they have the musical chops and storytelling nous to pull it off with style and aplomb.
I look forward to where their fertile imagination plans on taking us next musically, whilst they ponder that in their secret Fist bunker where plots are plotted and albums are hatched, let us enjoy this story of a Universal wanderer and see where he takes us.
A day in the Life of a Universal Wanderer (Special Edition) is available now from
Kinetic Element, Live Fall 2017
Enjoy! Pure American prog.
Hometown homage: “I hate Winnipeg” @theweakerthans
Recent musings on commercial imperatives and hometown architecture:
“I hate Winnipeg,” sings the ironic refrain of the song One Great City! by Winnipeg indie band The Weakerthans.
In the last verse of the song, an “arcing wrecking ball” delivers the brutal sentiment on behalf of “our Golden Business Boy,” who “up above us all, leaning into sky,” tells a pious lie (“I love this town”) as he watches “the North End die.”
The lyrics refer to the statue gazing northward on the dome of the Manitoba Legislative Building. Popularly known as the Golden Boy, the “Eternal Youth” (his official name) surveys the architecture of Winnipeg.
In the poetic lyrics of The Weakerthans’ John K. Samson, the statue symbolizes the commercial imperatives of secular culture. Money and power rule the city, extracting profit from the weak.
The genius of the song consists in its many ironic contrasts between words and deeds. For example, money and power demolish the past, proclaiming love for “one great city” (on Winnipeg’s highway welcome signs) at the same time as they wreck it for further profit.
On the other hand, a humble artist writes a tune repeating, “I hate Winnipeg.” Yet with its wistful music and poignant storytelling, the song communicates his real love of home.
…
I feel how the example of sacred architecture, in the midst of a crude and rapacious secular culture, can instead cultivate for humans a real and lasting sense of home.
Without such beautiful architecture, utilitarian commercial interests will define the landscape of one’s hometown. The ugly skyline created by such cruel economic motivations contrasts ironically with real humans, whose nature will always seek to love the place where they live, just as The Weakerthans observe in their song:
And in the dollar store
The clerk is closing up
And counting loonies, trying not to say
I hate Winnipeg.
Bruford: Seems Like a Lifetime Ago, 1977-1980 — A Review
by Rick Krueger
I think it’s fair to say that this 8-disc set is going to be my reissue of the year. It’s pure delight from first to last, covering three brilliant studio albums, two distinct live sets (one previously unreleased) and a fascinating batch of rough-draft outtakes — all spearheaded by paradigmatic progressive rock drummer Bill Bruford.
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Progarchy 