Emanon: Wayne Shorter’s Triple Dare

On By kruekuttIn jazz3 Comments

Jazz shouldn’t have any mandates. Jazz is not supposed to be something that’s required to sound like jazz. For me, the word ‘jazz’ means, ‘I dare you.’

Wayne Shorter, the last saxophonist standing from jazz’s golden age, its great lateral thinker both as player and composer, tossed off that quote in 2013 when he turned 80.  For his 85th birthday, Shorter has tripled down: his latest project Emanon breaches multiple boundaries, stretching out not just beyond jazz, but beyond music itself.

Emanon (“no name” spelled backwards, referencing both a Dizzy Gillespie tune and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man) is a marvelously ambitious sprawl, Shorter’s stab at a work of total art.  Containing a 2013 suite of his music re-imagined for jazz quartet and chamber orchestra, a double album of his quartet’s 2016 live date in London, and a graphic novel in collaboration with screenwriter Monica Sly and comic/children’s book artist Randy DuBurke, it’s meant to be heard and seen as a whole.  Also touched — it’s not available digitally, only in CD (Standard) or CD/LP (Deluxe) box sets.  Or as Shorter puts it, “The packaging is intentionally designed to reveal its dormant possibilities as it travels between alternative realities of the multiverse.”  Sounds kinda progressive to me …

Continue reading “Emanon: Wayne Shorter’s Triple Dare” →

The days of …

On By Mahesh SreekandathIn Heavy metal, progressive rock, Rock and Roll4 Comments

Remembering the days of big metal bands or rock bands seems like a recurring theme:

“Where’s the iconic bands that initially came out with the sounds that you love? I’ve never seen a band that impressed me that looks like they’re going to be the next Judas Priest or Iron Maiden.” “ — Says Exodus Vocalist Steve “Zetro” Souza

“there seems to be no Led Zeppelin for the current generation of music fans” — Forbes

But, we need note that there was no Iron Maiden until there was one. In other words, emergence of The Beatles or a Black Sabbath or an Iron Maiden is sort of non-cyclical. We may assume otherwise, but history itself is non-cyclic. What’s generally cyclic is human behavior. Especially our propensity to repeat mistakes, or ask instinctive questions. Even outside of rock and roll, same questions might arise. For example, who is the Antoine Lavoisier or Adam Smith or Charles Darwin of the last century! But the answer is the same.

We definitely don’t have giant arena filling heavy metal bands anymore, but the question is do we even want to go back to that time? Dialing back a vibrant musical evolution of 40 years seems inane. Back then we just had heavy metal, now it has mutated into hundreds of sub-genres. Instead of arena filling giants, we have an ecosystem and an extended research worthy genealogy. So, do we go back to stadium filling old school purists or just sit back and appreciate a hybrid fragmented mosaic — of Tribulation, Meshuggah and The Dillinger Escape Plan! We definitely cannot have both.

Analogous to Charles Darwin or Karl Marx — Black Sabbath and The Rolling Stones were also originators of powerful ideas. Those ideas were transformative and spawned whole new schools of thought. They were giants because they were at the beginnings — of something captivating and novel. In other words, we simply cannot expect arena filling giants from an aging refined genre, for that we simply might have to look elsewhere.

— Image Attribution
By S. Bollmann [CC BY-SA 3.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons

Joy in the Wasteland: Riverside’s Seventh

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock2 Comments

A Review of Riverside, Wasteland (Insideout, 2018).

wasteland by riverside
Wasteland, released two days ago.

At first, I was surprised that the two best (and best known, at least in American prog circles) Polish bands named their most recent albums, Wasteland. Well, ok, there’s a slight difference. Newspaperflyhunting named its album with a plural. Still, it must be more than a coincidence. Presumably, each took the name either from the Arthurian legends or from T.S. Eliot (who took his from the Arthurian legends).  Regardless, the title fits for most of our world of 2018.

Continue reading “Joy in the Wasteland: Riverside’s Seventh” →

FROM GENESIS TO PUBLICATION: Jon Kirkman’s new Prog book,”And The Lamb, Lies Down, On Broadway” Limited Edition

On By Paul WatsonIn progressive rockLeave a comment
bk cover 1
The hard back cover of Jon Kirkman’s new book.

In some ways, Genesis working on their new album at Led Zeppelin’s old stamping ground, Hedley Grange in rural Hampshire  was probably fitting they would collaborate together on their very final studio album featuring Peter Gabriel. Both Phil and Steve reflected in hindsight how it was a strange and weird time in their lives. Phil’s parting recollection of this album and the final tour concert, 22 May 1975, in his autobiography, “Not Dead Yet,” sums it up best with this quote: “It’s our last gig with Peter. It’s the last time we’ll see him crawling through a big cock.”  Prog definitely has it’s defining moments for sure.

Continue reading “FROM GENESIS TO PUBLICATION: Jon Kirkman’s new Prog book,”And The Lamb, Lies Down, On Broadway” Limited Edition” →

Leah – “The Quest”

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Leah – “The Quest”

Leah – “The Quest”


— Read on theprogmind.com/2018/09/25/leah-the-quest/

Shineback – “Dial”

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Shineback – “Dial”

Shineback – “Dial”


— Read on theprogmind.com/2018/09/27/shineback-dial/

In Concert: MC50 Presents Kick Out the Jams

On By kruekuttIn hard rock, punk rock, Rock and Roll2 Comments

MC50 at 20 Monroe Live, Grand Rapids, Michigan, September 22, 2018.

Brothers and sisters, I wanna see a sea of hands out there … I want everybody to kick up some noise, I wanna hear some revolution … Brothers and sisters, the time has come for each and every one of you to decide whether you are going to be the problem or you are going to be the solution!  You must choose, brothers, you must choose.  It takes five seconds, five seconds of decision, five seconds to realize your purpose here on the planet.  It takes five seconds to realize that its time to move, it’s time to get down with it.  Brothers, it’s time to testify.  And I want to know – are you ready to testify?  Are you ready!!  I give you a testimonial.  THE MC5!!

As Brother J.C. Crawford’s ghostly, prerecorded invocation echoed in our ears, Wayne Kramer welcomed his audience (including me, my older brother, and my friends from high school and college) with a giant grin, a wicked riff from his Stars and Stripes Stratocaster, and the unmistakable, hyped-up grind of “Ramblin Rose.”  Surfing a bone-shaking wave of sound, Kramer joyously belted out a raucous vocal, reeling off exhilarating solo licks on the Strat between verses.  Almost 50 years after Detroit’s original punks recorded their live debut album Kick Out the Jams, the evening already promised to live up to the MC5’s formidable legend.

“Kick Out the Jams” itself quickly followed, with Zen Guerrilla’s Marcus Durant taking over on vocals, channeling MC5 singer Rob Tyner’s throaty, soulful delivery, stoking us up to dance and shout along.  On this and “Come Together”, Kramer locked in with Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil for a meaty twin guitar punch a la Fred “Sonic” Smith; meanwhile, Faith No More bassist Billy Gould and Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty laid down deep irresistible grooves, vibrating human bodies and rattling the concrete floor.  This was hard rock honed to a keen point —  recklessly idealistic, the barbaric yawp of youth refined by decades of hard knocks, dearly bought wisdom, revived dedication to craft and killer instinct.  Plus the obvious determination to give the crowd a good time.

 

 

Continue reading “In Concert: MC50 Presents Kick Out the Jams” →

Album Review: Devcord – Dysthymia

On By NickIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Devcord - Dysthymia

Dysthymia, the debut studio album from Spillern, Austria’s one-man band Devcord, is a roller coaster of aural delight, distress, and progressive imagery that is bound to be a career defining moment.

The nuanced atmospheres and melodic sensibilities that composer Peter Royburger brings to each of the nine songs on Dysthymia are nothing short of brilliant. As the lines blur between romantic-classical period music, progressive metal, and almost ‘70s style prog rock it becomes apparent that Dysthymia is one of the most progressively challenging albums to be released in 2018, so far.

Songs like the opening “The Mortician,” which has a dark, eerie intro and powerful guitar riffs that evolve into orchestral stabs of Royburger’s vocals, demonstrate the ease at which Devcord slips in and out of catchy hooks and technically sound orchestral song writing.

The discourse between the dueling guitars — acoustic and electric — places the listener into perfect attunement with the melodies and growl vocals. Dysthymia sounds like chaos tamed and controlled. This works to the project’s advantage on album highlights — the title track and especially “Reaper’s Helpers,” where Royburger is structurally coherent enough to be catchy yet throw enough curve balls to keep you invested for the full 10+ minutes. “Fade” and “Jerk Pitch Rape” that close the record are impressive on all fronts, but the instrumentation on these two pieces is splendid.

It is not only technically challenging and perfectly executed as a piece of musical literature, but it is also an album that demands the listener’s attention and ability to think on a multitude of spectrums they may not be used to. Overall, Dysthymia is an album that takes the listener on a cerebral journey through many mysterious and technically awe-inspiring landscapes that not so many groups are able to achieve.

Dysthymia is available from Bandcamp here. 

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2235363591/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

The Return of NAO

On By Dr NickIn progressive rockLeave a comment

After four years, North Atlantic Oscillation are back with new album Grind Show, due to hit the stores on 16 November. Pre-orders are being taken now.

the album represents a dramatic shift into more accessible territory: pop, electronica, rock and even folk elements combine to form a vibrant, multicoloured record that is still imbued with NAO’s trademark sonic restlessness.

Review: Dystopia – Building Bridges

On By NickIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Dystopia

Hungarian quartet Dystopia are here to assault your senses with their unique mixture of heavy, modern and groove metal. With some obvious influences from Pantera, Lamb of God, and Gojira, Dystopia was formed in 2004. With two full-length albums under their belt, Dystopia is back once again and excited to launch their third full-length album, Building Bridges which was released on July 12, 2018.

It’s the snarling groove that first gains the attention on Dystopia’s beast. “Free-Fall” has some meaty riffs and a deceptive level of groove running through it. It’s an opener that makes a hell of a statement.

Dystopia - Building Bridges

Breathing fire and brimstone, Dystopia smash their way through track after track slipping effortlessly through ferocious modern metal, alternative and classic flourishes of traditional heavy metal. An album that surprises as much as it delights. 

For most of the album’s run it does a great job of keeping your attention. Anytime the mind does begin to wander, Dystopa stamp hard on feet to get all attention back on them. Those who are willing to allow their musical perceptions be challenged will be heavily rewarded, and will most certainly regard Building Bridges as a truly special album.

Hear it on Bandcamp. Connect with Dystopia on Facebook.