Album Review – Fairy Tale’s “That Is The Question”

On By Bryan MoreyIn Ambient, art rock, Atmospheric rock, Progressive rockLeave a comment

a0043426731_10Fairy Tale, That Is The Question, 2021
Tracks: Wasting The Sound 1 (1:36), That Is The Question (3:48), Time Heals Nothing (4:37), Wasting The Sound 2 (1:42), Wake Up (4:13), Girl Of The Opera (3:24), Wise Men Keep Silent (5:00), Wasting The Sound 3 (1:14), Sophie (11:19), Dot (0:24)

While Slovakia’s Fairy Tale may be a new band to Progarchy, the group has a long history making music dating back to the mid 1990s. The longtime project of Peter Kravec has seen a couple iterations, but the current version was created in 2003 when Kravec met singer Barbora Koláriková. They have since made five albums, including this one, released at the end of October 2021. Kravec plays guitars and produced the record, and Koláriková plays bass guitar in addition to handling all the vocals. They are joined by drummer L’ubomír Pavelka, and Marek Škvarenin and Adam Lukáč play keyboards on various tracks. 

The album ranges in tone from ambient and electronic sounds to a harder progressive rock edge. The band describes themselves as art rock and prog with elements of ambient. At under forty minutes, it’s a short record, which means the disparate sounds of ambient music with heavier rock sometimes clash, although I don’t think the album is necessarily meant to be a concept album. 

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The heavier parts of this record, such as the title track, have a very upbeat tempo, which contrasts with the more ambient elements. With that said, even the title track has a deeper moment with heavy bass and an overlay of Fripp-Like guitar. This smoothly blends into “Time Heals Nothing,” which opens with quieter keyboards and clean electric guitar. 

The strongest part of the record comes in the second half of “Time Heals Nothing,” which features a seriousness and an intensity in the music and the lyrical delivery that is more pronounced than on other songs. The song gradually builds towards the end into a wonderful “wall of sound” effect, which blends the ambient with the rock in a seamless way. I also think this song also has the best lyrics of the album. It deals with themes of joy and suffering, forgiveness and grace. There is an element of nihilism in the second half of the song, which can be gleaned from the title. For example:

Souls are burning
And we are boring
Time heals nothing

Souls are burning
Knowledge is boring
Time heals nothing

The electric guitar opening to “Wise Men Keep Silent” has a soothing atmospheric quality that reflects the shorter instrumental tracks, although these more ambient qualities are not tied in throughout as well as they could be. “Wise Men Keep Silent” demonstrates what Fairy Tale does best: ambient and atmospheric music sprinkled with rock influences. The instrumental track includes Barbora using her voice as an instrument, which adds a calming sensation. As I’ve been listening to Devin Townsend’s late 2021 ambient record, Snuggles (which I really should review at some point) recently, I’ll add that I hear similar elements in this song, as well as in other parts of That Is The Question.

At just over eleven minutes in length, “Sophie” is the epic of the album. It has a more electronic influence to it, and it allows the varying musical influences to dance with each other more so than on many of the other songs. There are moments where it feels disjointed, particularly in the transitions, but overall it works well. 

If the artwork looks familiar, that’s because it’s by the great Hugh Syme, who is perhaps most well known for his work with Rush. The artwork throughout the CD digipack is characteristic of his work, and it is quite good. It adds an extra layer of professionalism to the overall packaging. 

While the individual musical elements on the album are all quite good, I think the album could use a bit more focus, or a longer running time with extended songs that tie the various musical elements together better. The shorter songs help serve that purpose, but I’m not entirely convinced that their style of upbeat rock works with more melancholic ambient tones, apart from the ending of “Time Heals Nothing,” which addresses this concern very well. My concerns may be a matter of taste, however, and you should be the judge of that for yourself. Overall I still say the music is very good and worth checking out.

https://fairytaleartrock.bandcamp.com/album/that-is-the-question
https://fairytale.peterkravec.com
https://www.instagram.com/fairytale_artrock/
https://twitter.com/FairyT_artrock

Glass Hammer’s Steve Babb Releases Fantasy Novel

On By Bryan MoreyIn Progressive rockLeave a comment

Glass Hammer seem to get better with age. Their most recent album, Skallagrim, is phenomenal. Now Steve Babb has released the first of four fantasy albums to go along with the fantasy story created in that album and in 2020 record Dreaming City.

From Babb’s website: “Stephen R. Babb’s novel, Skallagrim – In the Vale of Pagarna, is a deep dive into a world of epic fantasy. The book is a tale steeped in all of the classic elements of the Sword and Sorcery genre and will no-doubt delight fans of the work of Robert E. Howard, J.R.R. Tolkien, and C.S. Lewis (with maybe even a hint of H.P. Lovecraft for good measure).”

And those monsters saw not a young man with a sword but a scarred and screaming horror with the rising red doom of the sun at his back and a hellishly shrieking, flashing, living sword in his hands.

Read more over at Prog magazine: https://www.loudersound.com/news/glass-hammers-steve-babb-releases-debut-skallagrim-novel. Or read more about it at Steve Babb’s website: https://stephenrbabb.com/books/

Ego Path

On By Mahesh SreekandathIn Heavy metal, Progressive rockLeave a comment

The Silent Wedding has covered this song called “Diamonds and Rust”, for almost everyone that means Joan Baez, but for ageing metalheads it simply channels mighty Judas Priest. We all have our own aesthetic preferences, and The Silent Wedding successfully appeals to those very classic metal predilections. That essentially means, Ego Path is rife with melody, neo-classical shredding, NWOBHM riffs, and all the other essential signatures reminding us of that classic lineage.

It’s that time-honored sonic tradition running from UFO and Judas Priest, to 80s British heavy metal, eventually mutating into that melodic power metal path via the great Ronnie James Dio. Obviously, all these influences are not complete without those omnipresent progressive tendencies. Add those clean vocals with adequate range, meandering melodic ballads, and passages tailored for arena rock — The Silent Wedding becomes that exquisite expedition every classic metal fan and prospective classic metal fan seek!

Rick’s Quick Takes for March

On By kruekuttIn Progressive rock, Insideout Music, pop, jazz rock, art rock, jazz3 Comments

Lots of great music has crossed the metaphorical Progarchy transom this month! Purchasing links are embedded in each artist/title listing; album playlists or samples follow each review.

The Flower Kings, By Royal Decree: Fun fact: this is the third double album in a row from king of Kings Roine Stolt and his merry band. And like 2019’s Waiting for Miracles (which started the streak) it’s compulsively listenable from start to finish. Fresh out of lockdown, Stolt, singer Hasse Fröberg, keyboardist Zach Kamins, drummer Mirko deMaio and alternating bassists Jonas Reingold & Michael Stolt laid down 18 songs in the studio, negotiating the twists and turns of wildly varied material (some of which dates back to the early 1990s) with energy, precision and evident delight. Not a trace of metal here, and I hear much more psychedelia, fusion and Eurofunk in the mix than stereotypical “prog” — but to my ears, that’s what makes goodies like the unpredictable opener “The Great Pretender”, the ravishing ballads “A Million Stars” and “Silent Ways”, and the off-kilter eccentricity “Letter” so fresh and fun. There are plenty of serious lyrical moments too, as in “The Soldier” and “Revolution”; but, by and large, By Royal Decree is the sound of Stolt and company refreshed and revisiting their optimistic roots, soaring on the wings of one marvelous melody after another. It’s as much a joy to hear as it must have been to create.

Continue reading “Rick’s Quick Takes for March” →

Keith Emerson (2 Nov 1944 — 11 Mar 2016)

On By Time LordIn Progressive rockLeave a comment

Remembering the great Keith Emerson (2 November 1944 — 11 March 2016)…

“There’s no end to my life
No beginning to my death”

Why not celebrate with this splendid box set featuring liner notes by the sagacious Jerry Ewing:

Updates to Riverside’s Upcoming Tour

On By Bryan MoreyIn progressive metalLeave a comment

Recently we shared news about Riverside’s upcoming North America tour. Sadly due to various logistical issues, the band have had to cancel the shows from the first half of the tour, but at least they were able to salvage a good portion of it. Here’s the latest from Inside Out:

RIVERSIDE – Announce revised North American tour dates
 Continuing the celebration of their 20th band-anniversary, Polish rock masters RIVERSIDE will soon embark on a comprehensive tour across North America and Latin America.

Unfortunately, the band have been forced to cancel some shows and are now announcing a revised, shorter tour schedule for North America.
The band shared this message:

“Dear Friends,

We have some bad and some good news.

The bad news is, for bureaucratic and logistic reasons beyond our control we cannot go to the USA in the first half of April 😦

Unfortunately, because of that, we have to cancel the shows from the first part of our tour:
Nashville (TN), Dallas (TX), Austin (TX), Phoenix (AZ), Pomona (CA), San Francisco (CA), Portland (OR), Seattle (WA) , Salt Lake City (UT), Boulder (CO) and St. Paul (MN).
Tickets will be refunded where you purchased them.

We want to apologise to everyone who has incurred additional travel expenses in connection with those concerts 😦  We promise to make it up to you with shows in…early 2023!

The good news is that we managed to save all shows from Chicago (IL) onwards. And, we were able to save the Atlanta (GA) date by moving the show to April 16. What’s more, we were able to add a last-minute show on April 18 in Cleveland (OH) at the Beachland Ballroom (on sale in the next few days)!

Please check the amended tour dates on the updated poster.

We are truly sorry about the whole mix-up. We were very close to cancelling the whole tour, but by some miracle, we managed to save at least a part of it, and we are definitely going to be there. We hope to meet as many of you as possible.

/ Riverside”

The complete list of upcoming RIVERSIDE dates announced so far reads as follows:

RIVERSIDE – North American Tour 2022
With special guests Keith Semple of The Cyberiam (for USA dates) & Randy McStine (for Canada dates)

April 16 Atlanta, GA – Hell at the Masquerade
April 18 Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom
April 19 Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge
April 20 Detroit, MI – Magic Stick
April 22 Toronto, ON – The Opera House
April 23 Montreal, QC – Corona Theatre
April 24 Quebec City, QC – Imperial Bell
April 25 Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair
April 27 New York, NY – Gramercy Theatre
April 28 New Haven, CT – Toad’s Place
April 29 Philadelphia, PA – World Cafe Live
April 30 Baltimore, MD – Baltimore SoundStage

May 2-7 Port Canaveral, FL – Cruise to the Edge
https://cruisetotheedge.com
RIVERSIDE – Latin American Tour 2022
May 8 Mexico City, Mexico – Auditorio Blackberry
May 10 Guadalajara, Mexico – C3
May 13 Santiago, Chile – Teatro Teleton
May 15 São Paulo, Brasil – Carioca Club

Album Review: Barry Kuzay’s “The Movers of the World”

On By Bryan MoreyIn Heavy metal, Progressive rockLeave a comment

Barry Kuzay - The Movers of the WorldBarry Kuzay, The Movers of the World, 2021
Tracks: Overture 2021 (2:43), The Movers of the World (6:20), Alone in the Mountains (8:28), The Virtues of Greed (9:09), The Pirate (7:26), The Twentieth Century Motor Company (12:33), Who is John Galt? (2:45), Enigmatic Engine (4:21), Wyatt’s Torch (5:27), Superspreader [bonus track] (2:57)

Barry Kuzay may be an unknown name in the music world, but that doesn’t mean he’s without talent. A civil engineer from northern Wisconsin by day, Kuzay rocks out by night. His 2021 album, The Movers of the World, is a concept album based upon Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. The record has a classic heavy metal sound with elements of thrash and power metal.

Kuzay wrote the album, sings the vocals, and plays guitar, and his brother Ben plays bass. Drums are played by Matt Thompson of King Diamond, and there are a few other guest vocalists playing particular parts on the album. Kuzay has two styles of singing on the album. His quieter vocals are not as strong as his full on heavy metal vocals. When he sings his heart out, he sounds like Dee Snider. That grit works perfectly for this music and makes for an enjoyable listening experience.

Tim “Ripper” Owens (lead singer for Judas Priest in the late 90s and early 2000s) provides guest vocals on “Wyatt’s Torch,” and he has some epic metal shrieks that provide a classic thrash sound. This may be the best track on the album. Since this is the final track in the story, the album goes out on a high note.

Barry Kuzay – Wyatt’s Torch – YouTube

Musically the album rocks. There are symphonic elements that layer on top of the pounding drums and shredding guitars. This gives the album a bit of a European power metal flair. There are quieter tracks that help move the story along, but the album is at its best in its heavy metal moments. There are some clever musical moments, as well. The opening of “Enigmatic Engine” has a really cool guitar, bass, and drum riff that sounds like a steam engine. It’s a fun instrumental track that manages to move the story along, even without lyrics.

I haven’t read Ayn Rand, but I’m at least vaguely familiar with her views and her works, which have influenced other progressive rock albums, most notably Rush’s career-saving masterpiece 2112. There arguably hasn’t been a more fitting time than now to adapt Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged since 2112 and the economic malaise of the late 1970s. Things are far worse now. In fact they’re worse now than they were when Kuzay wrote and recorded this album in 2020 and early 2021. [I’ll spare you the long rant I wrote about how and why America is on the verge of total collapse.]

All this to say that many elements of Kuzay’s musical adaptation of Rand’s novel directly apply to contemporary society. Sometimes you forget that this is actually telling a story and not commenting on modern events, although I suspect this is intentional on Kuzay’s part. The lyrics are well-written, and thus the story he tells is compelling and rewards on repeated listens.

The bonus track might tick some people off, but I love it. Kuzay pulls no punches, and he says what’s on his mind. I agree with him completely, and it’s nice to finally hear someone in the music world go against the narrative. The song has a great drum intro too, reminiscent of classic thrash metal.

I also want to mention that the album artwork is great throughout the CD booklet. The art is science fiction and steampunk-themed, which fits the story. I’m guessing Kuzay spent quite a bit to have the artwork done, because it looks like something from a big-budget album. Definitely pick up the CD, if you’re so inclined.

Give The Movers of the World a spin. The production quality punches far above its weight as an independent release, and the album is enjoyable on repeated listens.

Buy the album at http://themoversoftheworld.com.

Barry Kuzay – The Movers of the World (full album) – YouTube

The Best Prog Bands You’ve Never Heard Of (Part Thirty-Three): However

On By Connor MullinIn Progressive rockLeave a comment

One might imagine that a band that adopted a common conjunctive adverb as its name would lack creativity; however, that is not the case. Among the many bands I have covered in this series so far, However is without question one of the more rhythmically complex. In fact, comparisons to Gentle Giant and Frank Zappa would not be uncalled for. Like Gentle Giant, However’s four members display an impressive dexterity on a variety of instruments: brothers Peter and Joe Princiotto play everything from synthesizer and autoharp (Peter) to drums and trash can lids (Joe). Bobby Read’s saxophones steal the show on most songs, but he’s also no slouch on the clarinet, xylophone, and glockenspiel (among other instruments). And Bill Kotapish, although not credited with an equally long laundry list of instruments, performs superbly on bass and lead guitar. Like Frank Zappa, these boys clearly had some fun with the lyrics which, although used sparingly (on four out of ten songs), would appeal to many a progger’s quirky side (check out “Beese” below).

Despite the tracks’ complex structure and melody, they tend to be on the shorter side: the first three pieces are under four minutes each, but are nevertheless delightful to the music lover’s ear. The fourth piece, “Louise Sitting in a Chair,” is downright lovely: Peter’s piano and Bobby’s saxophones will have you convinced that Louise ought to remain forever fixed in her position. The title track features eerie soundscapes a la Robert Fripp punctuated here and there by Bobby’s saxes, which need no rest on this album. But the highlight of the ten, as mentioned earlier, opens with spoken word: “The bumblebee makes two different musical tones as it flies.” And the band seem to take this to heart, treating our ears to quirky synth sounds that imitate the frenetic buzzing of bees before re-introducing the sax and allowing Bill to shine with some deft work on his electric guitar. A touch of Zappa appears about five minutes in with some bizarre spoken word vocals that any fan of prog will appreciate.

The vocals may not blow you away, but they are not However’s centerpiece. What this band offers is a fantastical journey through a land of melodic and rhythmic complexity. Sounds to hear along the way will include the standard drums, bass, guitar, and keys, but as a bonus you will also be treated to the sounds of the duck call, marimba, kalimba, and – as the album ends – the gentle lapping of waves. Bon voyage!

Stay tuned for number thirty-four!

Bjørn Riis Releases Music Video Off Upcoming Album

On By Bryan MoreyIn art rock, Atmospheric rockLeave a comment

Bjørn Riis is one of the most criminally underrated guitarists and artists out there. I have been consistently returning to his solo albums over the past few years, and they never disappoint. He’s a brilliant guitarist, and he manages to make so much out of the sparsest sounds. Where it would lack in other artists’ music, a simple drum beat creates the perfect mood and textures in Riis’ work. He is a master of a spacey atmospheric sound that is hauntingly beautiful.

Today he released a music video for his song, “The Siren,” told from the perspective of someone watching a dancer. The song is off his upcoming album, Everything to Everyone. The track features piano from Simen Valldal Johannessen of Oak, one of my favorite bands of the last several years. Riis has also provided guest guitars on a few Oak tracks.

The album is out April 7, and it can be ordered at various sites at the following link from Karisma Records: https://link.karismarecords.no/Bjorn-Riis_Everything-To-Everyone_Album

Bjørn Riis – The Siren – YouTube

It’s Bandcamp Friday!

On By Adam SearsIn Progressive rockLeave a comment

As you most likely know by now, there’s a new holiday celebrated by musicians and music listeners all over the world. It’s called Bandcamp Friday, where the online music platform drops their commission and gives all the profit to their artists. I put together some recommendations, new and old, including some stuff you may have missed. Click on the cover art to take you to each album page.

Dave Kerzer has a pre-order up right now for his third solo project. If you’re aware of Mr. Kerzer and his close-knit community of prog-artists, you’ll know this is a highly anticipated release. For the first time Kerzner has combined collaboration with his bandmates from four different bands/projects: In Continuum, Sound of Contact, Mantra Vega and Arc of Life! Featuring an all All Star cast of Prog musicians including Fernando Perdomo, Durga McBroom, Nick D’Virgilio, Marco Minnemann, Randy McStine, Matt Dorsey, Billy Sherwood, Jon Davison, Alex Cromarty, Stuart Fletcher, Ruti Celli, Joe Deninzon and more! He has 5 different editions of this CD including a 4-disc set which includes outtakes and new recordings of Sound of Contact songs with a special autographed art-print. When you pre-order the special editions you can also get your name in the liner notes as a thank you.

Schooltree’s Heterotopia CD is now out of print, but the digital album is well worth the purchase. One of the best albums from 2017 and possibly the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway of the new generation. If you missed this one, I don’t feel sorry for you anymore, because now you know this exists! Their official debut album Rise is also a fantastic album to add to your digital collection.

A lot of wonderful music was released in 2021, so you may have missed this one! Really cool grounded prog-rock that actually rocks. Great riffs and nice gritty hard rock guitars are here, while the band is fronted beautifully by Melissa Jane Dichiera (singer of L.A.’s Lady Zep). Check it out!

This collaboration between The Amorphous Androgynous and Peter Hammill is worth getting into, and I’m still getting into it. If I ever get around to writing my favorite albums from 2021, this will be included. Man, this takes you all over the place, and I love it. The cool cover definitely represents the music well, although you can’t really describe it- I would just experience it for yourself.

One from 2020 that I still can’t get enough of is Magenta’s Masters of Illusion. It has many breathtaking moments and the performances are top notch. And of course Christina Booth’s voice is like butter. It may be one of my favorite albums from Magenta, although I haven’t been through there entire immense discography.

Anything from Phideaux is worth listening to (and purchasing!) including his most recent Infernal. Some people swear by Doomsday Afternoon or The Great Leap, but my favorite of his is the dark and mysterious Snowtorch. Great journey of an album, has a classic feel with a modern edge. It looks like there are no CDs here (I have mine), but both the LP edition and digital are available. I’m not sure, but I think most of his discography is also here.

The Endless Collection, from Izz was just released last month. Well, 3 songs from it, anyway. While the songs are at a very un-proggy average of 3 minutes in length, supposedly they will be adding songs to it throughout eternity. So in that regard, it’s going to be longer than any album in existence! Any of the Izz albums are fantastic as well, and while they’re not all on Bandcamp, any of the ones that are, are worth checking out.

While we’re on the subject, one of the ladies of Izz, Laura Meade, released her solo album The Most Dangerous Woman last year, and is joined by most of the other Izz members as well. While it’s short by today’s standards, the album is wonderfully crafted and the performances are great. It’s available on CD, vinyl, and digital.

So, my friends- RUN, don’t walk, to Bandcamp right now and check some of this stuff out! I know the artists will appreciate it! Enjoy and have a wonderful Bandcamp Friday!