Technical death metal perfection. That’s pretty much all that need be said about Kardashev‘s brilliant new release Peripety. From the moment that you lay eyes on the minimalistic album art until the final notes of album closer “Lux” leave you jaw agape, this album takes you on a journey through ethereal beauty and Earth-shaking brutality. The musicianship is astounding and inventive. Even in the moments of calm in the eye of this storm, Kardashev never let you forget that this record is HEAVY in nearly every conceivable sense of the word. Stream below the full album while you’re reading through the review.
Kardashev is a Tempe-based band and Peripety is their first full-length offering. Their 2013 EP Excipio, released on Subliminal Groove Records, was nothing short of a masterful display of technical death metal musicianship. Peripety ups the ante to dizzying heights. Peripety edges other death metal releases from 2015 due to it’s sheer inventiveness. Furthermore, I believe that it has actually accomplished the task of ranking right up there with the best overall metal album of the year.
This is where I usually list the highlights of the record. In this case, the entire record is the highlight. DO NOT miss this album if you are a fan of technical death metal and insanely great musicianship.
This past summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to spend a month living in the gorgeous Midlands of England – the town of Warwick, to be exact. I say living, rather than visiting, because I truly felt like I was living there. I spent my time researching Warwick church history at the Warwickshire County Records Office, during the week. The weekends, however, found me frolicking in the beautiful English countryside, villages, and cities in the area. I visited one of the local churches (one that I also happened to be researching) on Sunday mornings, and one of the families there invited me over for dinner several times during my stay. It is good to see that the English are still very much a hospitable people, and talking with locals helped me obtain a greater understanding of English culture and politics, as well as what it means to be “English.”
The English Countryside – Kenilworth Castle
When I went to England, I knew that one of the things I really wanted to do was listen to Big Big Train’s English Electric Full Power whilst traveling through the country. I know this may sound strange, particularly to those of you that are British, but, as an American who has spent quite a bit of time studying English history, culture, and music, it just seemed like the right, or fitting, thing to do. Part of it, I think, is that I wanted to associate this wonderful music with my actual experiences in England. I succeeded in that desire, for every time I listen to that album, like I am right now, my mind is flooded with memories of my time in England.
I believe I was on the bus between Warwick and Coventry when I plugged my headphones in and began listening to English Electric. Gazing out the foggy window at little flocks of sheep, hedgerows, and gently rolling hills, I let the music that was born, crafted, and recorded in that magical land wash over me. I did the same on my train trips to Birmingham and London, both of which gave me the opportunity to see even more of the English countryside. On one occasion, I walked 3 miles along the side of the road to visit a mansion/art gallery called Compton Verney. Walking through the countryside gave me a wonderful chance to soak in the Wordsworthian pastoral.
From my hike along the road
An aside on England, I was particularly struck with how rural the country can be one minute and how urban it can be the next. I grew up in a suburb of Chicago where we had to drive an hour to be out in the “country.” In the roughly 12 mile bus ride from Warwick to Coventry, the landscape went from urban to rural to relatively big city in the distance of a few miles. I find that remarkable. But enough of that, back to BBT.
English Electric so perfectly captures the beauty of England, from the hills and rivers, to the coal mines and factories, to the bustling cities. The songs give you just the right amount of instrumental space between verses to ponder the beauty of both what has been said and what can be imagined. You can picture the young boy covered in coal dust deep within the earth just as much as you can imagine the miles of hedgerow marked country roads backdropped by fields of little yellow flowers, all without leaving your office. The music truly brings these images to life.
Big Big Train also connect with a different part of English culture, which, for most readers, might be the crucial reason this music is so good. Without copying or plagiarizing, they revive the sounds and motifs of classic English progressive rock. The essence of Genesis undergirds this music just enough to make it “feel” English. (I’ll add that I also listened to Genesis’ Selling England by the Pound during one of my train rides.) As an American, listening to the English progressive rock from the 70s (Genesis, Yes, and Jethro Tull, in particular) has impressed upon me an idea of what England is and what it should sound like. Big Big Train faithfully carry on that tradition. In fact, culturally, I think they improve on that musical tradition and masterfully add to it, just as T. S. Eliot added to and improved upon the poetic tradition of Shakespeare, Milton, Wordsworth, and Keats.
As I once again sit here and let English Electric wash over me, I am reminded of the beauty of England, of her people, her music, her rivers, her fields, her castles, her cities, and her sheep. As I listen to this music, I am drawn into a world uncorrupted by current events, yet still tainted by sin and darkness. Big Big Train softly remind us of the dangers of industrialism and Blake’s “dark satanic mills,” yet above all else, they call us to walk along the hedgerows, to wander around the ruined abbeys, to think about the meaning of life. They call us to get off of our computers, to put our phones down, to leave our hiding places and go out and appreciate life, nature, and who we are as humans. Life is only so short.
My obsessive hunger for more music has brought me again to Mexico, this time to a band called Anima Tempo, whose new album, which will be discussed here, I received in the latest Prog Sphere Promotions package.
Anima Tempo, was born in 2009, after long-time friends Dante Granados (guitars, synths), Gian Granados (vocals, guitars), and Pedro Vera (bass) decided to form a band where they will pour out all their creativity. After two demo records, in January 2016 Anima Tempo released their full-length debut titled “Caged In Memories.” Consisting of seven songs, the album represents the group’s take on the progressive metal genre, completed with elements from death metal, symphonic music and djent.
Musically, “Caged In Memories” is rooted in 90’s prog metal, with heavy riffing, intense drumming and vocals that range from cleans to growls and all the way back. Besides the aforementioned prog metal structure, the band does not fear to explore further, embracing term ‘eclectic.’ As it’s notable that the majority of progressive metal bands were or are influenced by Dream Theater, Anima Tempo’s closest description, by my ears, would be blending aforementioned prog metal veterans with Opeth, Between The Buried And Me, Kamelot and Hans Zimmer-inspired soundtracks. The raw energy splutters from every single tone and seeminlgy, the band does not care too much to tame it, but rather let it grease the speakers.
Anima Tempo succeeded to avoid a prejudical approach the majority of bands of the similar genre orientation have implied in their music. You might find this album “hard” for your ears, but to break that image, I may conclude that during the album’s running time you don’t feel any kind of pressure from that side. This album floats easily on its way. The Mexican and international scenes are certainly stronger by having another band under its wings.
Buy “Caged In Memories” by Anima Tempo on Bandcamp.
It’s with great delight I read in the latest issue of Prog Magazine that the wonderful social get together that was the The Big Big Gigs at Kings Place in London August 14-16 has been chosen No 1 Event Of The Year in the Readers’ Poll 2016! The grateful comment from the band is so significant of what this wonderful band is all about. Love! 🙂 As you also can see the band’s drummer Nick D’Virgilio was number 2 in the Drummer category just behind the monumental Marco Minnemann. (Thanks to Greg’s daughter Ellie for the picture which I nicked from her Facebook timeline.)
People of the Realm, as far as this message will be carried, those who seek true purpose! This is Arhys, Son of Marhys, an heir to the displaced and forbidden Legion Of Sorrowful Song, and elected Commander of the ever-burgeoning fierce loyalist warriors of the Ravenskill Rebel Militia. Yes, I declare our impending rebellion to be, in point of fact, one of true loyalty. We are no loyalists to the stagnant, disgraceful Empire, no. We swear our allegiance to the principles upon which this Empire once stood and to the valiant, resilient, and endlessly exploited people the corrupt Empire purports to serve.
I did not come upon this quarrelsome viewpoint lightly. Like you, I believed a life of service to the Empire, forfeiting my own desires and destiny to toil for leaders whose cups runneth over with the spoils of our stolen successes, to be my destiny. I understand that my words, to say nothing of my deeds (both of the past and those to come), must ring of treason to many of you as you discern this message for yourselves. But I bring glad tidings. I come to you with a message of hope! For I have not only heard the melodious thunder, the Astonishing power of newfound legend, but I know Gabriel, the Chosen One, in the most thorough of ways, for he is my kin, my blood brother, a fellow heir to the Legion of Sorrowful Song, an Uncle to my own heir, Xander, son of Arhys. Gabriel is no mere rumor nor false prophet nor seeker of ungodly power of his own. Gabriel is but a humble servant, a man whose passion exceeds the expectations of the age, who yearns for greater freedom through creativity for not only the people of our fairest Ravenskill but for all of humankind stretching across all of the known Realm.
Prepare thy heart for the truth I must reveal to you and please, I plead with you, my fellow citizens, to unburden yourselves of the yoke of service to an Empire that no longer serves you. What I am about to recount to you may shake your conviction, but I assure you, it will result in the emergence of stronger character and a will to fight! For I hath seen and many others bore witness to the Royal Family – yes, the Emperor and his kinfolk – enthralled by the wondrous supernatural power of Gabriel their very selves! Forgive any appearance of impropriety, but as the spirit of my beloved widow no doubt would attest from worlds beyond, I saw the most exquisite Empress Arabelle and fair Princess Faythe visibly moved by the song of Gabriel, who summoned sounds that would still the most highly-programmed NOMAC imaginable with but an utterance. Take heed, my brethren, and hear this truth: ‘tho but for a moment, Lord Nafaryus himself was moved! To this many a witness will attest! Under cover of shadow and protective cloak of townsfolk, I hurried my brother off to the courageous care of our Rebel Militia.
Had the Emperor and his family not learned the rumors to be comprised of verifiable truths, why must he be so nakedly fearful of the oncoming change this Empire must endure? Know this: Gabriel, the Chosen One, will not be silenced. He will continue to explore, strengthen, and share his gifts, even as word of the hope he brings to the Realm continues to spread like the wildfires churning endlessly upon Prayer Rock Ridge. The Ravenskill Rebel Militia and the bordering Rebel Forces who share in our hunger to free ourselves from the yoke of oppression stand at the ready to defend true liberty. Let any who would do harm to my brother know they face the might of Commander Arhys, of the growing legion of fighters who’ve taken hold the flag of justice and expression, all of us united in the protection of the Chosen One and the liberation of all.
Stand in Gabriel’s light. Draw strength from his promise. The prophet of Ravenskill will not stand down. As ever, I implore you, with love and graciousness, to Seek the Songs.
Of all the bands I love and review, the hardest to review—without question—is Nosound. At least for me.
This post is a perfect example to illustrate my failings. I’ve had a copy of Nosound’s 2015 live album, TEIDE 2390, for nearly a year, and I’ve still not written a review. And, if you know me, you know I’m obsessed with writing, and I’m especially obsessed with writing about what I love.
I was recently told as a criticism: in my writing, I “fling superlatives.” My response to this is: “why, yes, I absolutely and most certainly love to fling superlatives.” It’s true. Just imagine what I’m like when I’m lecturing to forty 19-year olds.
With Nosound, however, it’s really, really (sometimes outrageously!) hard to fling superlatives. Why? Because everything glorious about Nosound is understated, tasteful, and minimalist. As a 48-year old Kansan, I just don’t do minimalist well. At least when it comes to writing. Yet, I know and appreciate minimalism—especially when it comes to the computers and gadgets designed by Steve Jobs (rest in peace) or the music so lovingly crafted by Mark Hollis or Arvo Part.
Enter Giancarlo Erra. His Nosound is profoundly delicate. Not effete. By not means, effete. Never. But, certainly delicate.
As I’ve written before, Erra is a genius, plain and simple. This is as clear in his photography as it is in his music and his lyrics. Again, far from effete, he approaches art and the world of art and creativity with an extreme sensitivity. His creativity in his photography is as much about what is not there as it as about what is there.
The same is even more true of his music. Nosound is as much about silence as it about notes.
Throw in Erra’s somewhat mystical lyrics and dream-like vocals and you find yourself—as a listener—fully immersed in his world, drifting along some radically natural psychedelic dream state.
His lyrics deal with frustration, loss, desire, hope, depression, joy, and everything that matters in this world and, perhaps, in the next.
A little over seventy-five minutes in length and recorded in September, 2014, on a Spanish island, TEIDE 2390 demonstrates that Erra’s genius is not merely in the studio. As he’s demonstrated before—his live version of Pink Floyd’s “Echoes” is possibly better than the original version from the early 1970s (heresy, I know!)—he knows exactly how to create a full minimalist sound, even on stage and away from the hyper-controlled environment of a professional studio. This is no small achievement, as the music demands the full attention of an audience that probably would not mind head banging. No one head bangs to Nosound. Instead, one swirls, and rides, and flies, and soars, and dips, and drifts.
I think it’s probably fair to state that many proggers like their music heavy and fast. Erra reminds us so importantly that we need to breathe as well.
Galahad is a band that knows where it’s been, where it is, and where it’s going. I love this. But, then, I love Galahad. And, so should you.
Progged to 11.
For the latest release, When Worlds Collide, Galahad has re-recorded a number of its older tracks and meshed them with the more recent ones in a wonderful and engaging two-volume set. In existence now for thirty-one years and with most of its original members still members (amazing; can you imagine saying the same thing about, say, Yes?), Galahad is neither shy nor cocky, just happily content. They never wanted to be rock stars, puppets of some record label, or the playthings of some marketing firm.
They just want to be Galahad. And they do it with such grace. That grace finds its way into their lyrics, their music, and their very presentation. If you forced me to make a comparison of the band, I would suggest imagining Peter Gabriel and Tony Levin playing with Ultravox and then progging it up to 11.
Here are the tracks and the dates (original and re-recorded):
CD1
Lady Messiah (1985/2015)
The Chase (1988/2015)
City of Freedom (1986/2015)
Chamber of Horrors (1990/2015)
Dreaming From the Inside (1985/2015)
Room 801 (1990/2015)
Ocean Blue (1996/2015)
Don’t Lose Control (1990/2015)
Exorcising Demons (1992/2015)
Karma For One (1997/2015)
CD2
Empires Never Last (2006/2014)
Sleepers (1992/2012)
Richelieu’s Prayer (1990/2012)
Painted Lady (1985/2014)
Bug Eye (1997/2014)
Singularity (2012)
Guardian Angel (2012)
Seize the Day (Single mix) (2012)
This Life Could Be My Last (2006/2014)
As is obvious from the above track list and the accompanying dates of original recording and the re-recording, the band has been re-creating its sound for years now. All to the good. Even the older tracks—regarded as “neo-prog” by the press at their release feel much more dynamic and more “Galahadian.” Just as a test, I played several of these tracks—all from different releases—in succession to get a feel for just how different When Worlds Collide. The audio quality is simply amazing. It always has been, but with all of its confidence and just pride in being in existence for over three decades, Nicholson and Co. give us everything they have with When Worlds Collide.
No, I won’t be coy. I think the world of Stu, and this is one of my most-prized possessions.
Sadly, I didn’t encounter the music of Galahad until Lady Alison introduced the band to me in 2012. Since then, I’ve been hooked. I own the CDs, I own the authorized band biography, and I consider the lead singer, Stu, a friend and ally.
Whether you’ve loved the band for thirty-one years or if you’re reading about them for the very first time right here, right now, do yourself a huge favor: purchase When Worlds Collide. It’s a delight for the ear, the mind, and the soul.
Remember YesYears? It was one of the first really nice box sets to come out, back in the day when the only nice box set was that Bruce Springsteen one that had come out in the late 1980s?
YesYears–a Nice Fiction that Every Member of Yes Loved One Another, Beginning to Present
YesYears came out on August 6, 1991. Union had come out at the very end of April that same year. Unless you were really connected to the internet (not that easy in 1991), Yes fans just had to guess as to what was going on that summer with the band. Was Yes really an eight-person band? And, how long would that last? YesYears seemed to present the eight as living in harmony with one another. After all, while the four discs did not include anything from Anderson Bruford Wakeman and Howe, it did list them as a part of the really nice fold-out sleeve, tracing every aspect of Yes history from “The Warriors” to Yes incarnation #9.
Whether real or not, the packaging of YesYears certainly makes a coherent narrative of the band and everyone of its members from Alpha to. . . well, certainly not Omega! Yes was alive! Or, so it seemed.
At the time that YesYears came out, I was very poor (a second-year graduate student) and still listening to cassette tapes. Despite the expense of the YesYears box set, I purchased the four-cassette package. And, yes, it made a deep cut in my savings account. Those were years when I would skimp on lunch (usually not even eating one) to spend the money on music or books.
And as far as I remember, I never regretted having bought that box set. Sadly, though, the cassettes that came with it were not of the best quality, and I wore my copies out rather quickly.
Jump forward two decades. Today, in the mail, all the way from an Ebay seller in New Jersey, arrived a mint condition 4-cd box set of YesYears.
Wow, it is a thing of beauty.
I know that many of the songs that had not been readily available in 1991–such as Abilene, Vevey, Run with the Fox–are now very easily available. Still, the 1991 box set is really, really gorgeous. I actually paid less for this mint condition version (including postage) than I did for the cassette version 25 years ago.
Just as in 1991, I have no regrets. The sun is out, my kids are laughing somewhere in the house, and I’m listening to disk three of YesYears.
Still amazingly beautiful. . . even a full quarter century later.
The second album of an Italian prog metal band calling themselves Fake Heroes, ‘Clouds’ is nothing, if not incredibly diverse. Taking the sounds of classic progressive metal and a great many other styles, and compiling them in an 11-song trek of music, this is quite an ambitious project, especially coming after an average debut. However, despite proving that the band is evidently very adventurous, the end result is an album that is very good in the way it turns out, making for an inconsistently enjoyable piece of work.
Led onward by the vocals of singer Manuel Gatta (whose voice is oddly reminiscent of TesseracT’s Daniel Tompkins), the music cycles through everything from classic progressive metal, to djent, ambient, to even a number that could have been on ‘In Utero’. Overall, while I understand that the band is testing the grounds quite a bit with this one, it does feel incredibly tight, and the songs as a result have very big flow to them.
The songwriting is excellent here, very consistent, ranging from excellent (especially towards the second half of the album) to memorable. On top of the album feeling a bit too long for its own good, the album’s structure is in a state of great condition, and Fake Heroes deliver a very good impression with “Clouds.”
And as far as I remember, I never regretted having bought that box set. Sadly, though, the cassettes that came with it were not of the best quality, and I wore my copies out rather quickly.
Progarchy 