De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

On By Mahesh SreekandathIn Heavy metal3 Comments

For an album which emerged out of utter chaos, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is flawlessly breathtaking. Just imagine, some of the real world events surrounding its release included suicide, murder conviction, conspiracy and deception. An ancient Greek philosopher once said — “The whole is more than the sum of its parts” – never been this evident. Musically and culturally, seems like Mayhem just defined the pinnacle of Norwegian black metal, which includes all its marvels and malice.

The album derives on that Darkthrone like dissent, the same aesthetic and cultural statement. But then proceeds to elevate black metal to a stunning jazz like refinement. It’s sophisticated and raw, complex and grounded, malevolent and dazzling. A rare infernal blend. Beneath the layers of intricate drums, riffs and abominable vocals is a sheer morbid coherence. Halfway into the record Csihar wails – “The past is alive” – followed by a staggering Hellhammer drum passage. Just about then you will realize, the album is unforgiving, and it’s just not going to relent on that technical intensity.

***************** Image Attribution ***********************
By Cecil [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons

Ancient Empire’s Epic Metal Trilogy

On By Time LordIn progressive rockLeave a comment

One of my greatest listening pleasures this year has been the discovery of the upper-echelon studio metal band Ancient Empire, consisting of Joe Liszt (vocals, bass, guitars), Steve Pelletier (drums), and Rich Pelletier (lyrics).

If you check out their Facebook page, right away you will see they have instant credibility — because they endorse the new Judas Priest album for all the right reasons!

You will have a hard time finding them online, because they do not do releases through streaming services or other corporate sources. Instead, you can buy CDs direct from the band (try eBay) or download their killer albums from Bandcamp (which is what I did, and you can buy the whole trilogy for a discount: highly recommended).

These guys are the real deal. They are anti-corporate enslavement and they do what they do for the pure love of metal. Their sound is classic traditional heavy metal, 1980s New Wave of British Heavy Metal, power metal, and speed metal shred thrash awesomeness.

The heavy drumming excellence on their first album When Empires Fall (2013) hooked me right away on the amazing first track, “Shadow of the Cross.” I couldn’t believe it when the second track was even better than the first. Listen to “Wings of Steel,” you will see what I mean, it is unbelievable how it rocks. Every track on that album is fantastic (even if you will, like me, have favorites among them like “The Final Day” and “Ghost Soldiers”), but the climax with the last two tracks — “Ancient Empire” and “When Empires Fall” — will have you delighting in both the band name and album name, because if you had two songs that good, you would certainly name some things after them!

Other World (2016) has some brilliant sci-fi lyrics (e.g., finding another planet to survive on), and you can pick your favorite off of the every-track-is-awesome menu. I am particularly fond of “Resistance.”

The Tower (2017) leads off with the epic title track about the Tower of Babylon. Not since Ted Chiang wrote his mind-bending short story on this subject has there been a comparable artistic achievement about the myth. Here, we get the definitive metal treatment.

Again, every track on The Tower slays. You cannot go wrong. Seriously guys, just get all the music today; if you have liked my metal reviews in the past, I give this my highest endorsement.

Because the band has a low corporate profile, news is scarce. So here is their history straight from Joe’s mouth (on their Facebook page, Dec 3, 2017):

Hellhound and the Keep It True Festival are to blame!

People have said that there is not a lot of information about Ancient Empire online. That is true, maybe we should have named the band Mysterious Empire. It’s a simple story, one that I will briefly tell. I joined the band Hellhound in the fall (I believe) of 2010, ready to play the Keep It True festival in the spring of 2011. Hellhound was on the Stormspell label at the time. I was not aware of the band or label, i only responded to a craigslist add because they were my age, playing my style and their cd cover was cool as shit! After playing the festival I realized just how popular metal was in Europe. It wasn’t that popular in the states anymore at the time but I now see a slight resurgence.
We returned to the states from germany and I had decided along with Shadowkiller as my live band I wanted to do a straight classic metal style project inspired by our trip. A quick email to Steve and Rich and thats really all it took to get the ball rolling. AE is a studio project. We never intended to play live and it is only myself on vox, guitars and bass, Steve on drums and Rich writing lyrics. We do not get together in a traditional band manner and all of this is structured, written, recorded, mixed and mastered through the virtual realm.

The question then is “How will you play live?” In the immortal words of the Beatles, with a little help from my friends! When headbangers Open Air called us to arms it wasn’t hard to figure out what could be done. I spoke with Jordan from Stormspell and told him “hey, i can get Gary and Dan from Shadowkiller and Rob from Hellhound.” His exact words were “that sounds like a pretty damn good Ancient Empire to me!”

Really, Hellhound, Shadowkiller and Ancient Empire are part of my big metal family.

So here we are, flying the metal flag in Germany once again, heading to Headbangers Open Air in July of 2018. Hard to believe…i wish Steve and Rich were there to rock out like the old days but logistically and because of the places we are at in our lives it just isn’t possible. I feel completely fortunate that people have made this project as popular as it has become. I look forward to bringing this music to life in a live music atmosphere! \m/ \m/

Joe Liszt, Somewhere in Northern California 2017

Happily, here is the latest news (May 1):

The Empire rolls on! Update on the Ancients:
We are currently working on our fourth release. Only meant to be an EP, it has turned into a full-fledged album. The title: Eternal Soldier!
It is amazing how quickly these songs come out. All the music and lyrics have been written.
With the Metal Gods on our side we hope to see the release by the end of July for the Headbangers open air festival in Germany.
Prost from Joe, Steve and Rich!

I predict it will be an Album of the Year. On what basis, you ask? Dude… listen to the trilogy… and you will understand!

TesseracT “Sonder” Binaural 3D Mix

On By Time LordIn progressive rock4 Comments

I have heard the future of audio. It is here, and it is called binaural sound.

The occasion was my purchase of the deluxe 2CD edition of TesseracT’s new album Sonder, which comes with a second disc containing the binaural 3D mix for headphone or earbud listening.

Bassist Amos Williams explains:

“The concept is to push past the restrictions of a stereo headphone mix and create an accurate ‘3D’ space in which positioning outside of the normal Left Right axis can occur. This is something that every artist that uses in ear monitors on stage wishes to recreate; the real and accurate positioning of instruments. We immediately felt that this technology could be applicable to us in the studio. TESSERACT loves to bring what it does in the studio to the stage, but this time it’s experimenting with bringing a live element to the studio.”

I’ve been listening to the album since my fellow Progarchy editor Carl turned me on to it. I absolutely love it, and every track is brilliant (“Smile” especially was an instant favorite that made me smile), but now listening to the new mix I feel like I am hearing the songs in a new way, with much more space and clarity in the mix. (And on “Orbital,” the vocals are above you… how cool is that…)

Here’s a good Web page with an introduction to the tech:

“Everything changes when you put on your headphones: your natural ability for spatial hearing becomes seriously weakened. You can still have a feeling of sounds coming from the left and those coming from the right, and of sounds that are closer or more distant. But you lose the ability to distinguish between front and back, up and down. And you get the impression that all sounds are kind of strung on a string between your ears. Audio geeks call this in-head localization. The reason for the loss of spatial hearing when using headphones is that they neutralize the acoustic influence that the shape of your body, your head, and your outer ears have on the sound you’re hearing.

Another flattening effect is that headphones ignore the room acoustics. Depending to the physical characteristics of the room, any sound including those played back over loudspeakers creates a reverb. And you always hear the direct sound waves mixed together with the reverb of the listening room. Since the sound from your headphones only passes the ear canal, the acoustic „footstep” of the listening room doesn’t affect your hearing.

Finally, the music is spatially “locked” to your head and not to the external world: left always stays left in your perception, regardless of the direction in which you turn your head. In contrast, with loudspeaker playback, the spatial sound image is locked to the external environment, where the loudspeakers are located.

Luckily, smart people have found a way to make binaural 3D hearing possible even with headphones. The short story is: they figured out how to simulate the acoustic influence of your body.”

Read further at the link above about the mathematical solution to the problem: convolution.

I predict binaural 3D mixing is the future of prog audio:

“In less than five years, 3D spatial audio is expected to revolutionize our standard for multimedia listening. Similar to how high-definition television has enhanced the everyday viewing experience, binaural 3D sound is expected to reshape our listening experience and redefine the production of music, movies, radio, and television programming – and yes, VR, AR and mixed reality content as well.”

Time for Steven Wilson to get to work on a bunch of new mixes…

Mark Hollis, Part II: Aching for Grace

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock4 Comments
tt soe
Ironic or sincere?  1988’s Spirit of Eden.

Yesterday, I had the grand fortune of spending a serious amount of time listening to and writing about Talk Talk.  There are few subjects in the world that give me so much pleasure as does TT. For years, one of my closest friends (and a friend since the fall of 1986), Kevin McCormick (a fellow progarchist and progarchy editor) and I have talked about writing a full-length book on Talk Talk.  We even have a rather strong and detailed outline.  The publishing venues, sadly, are not as easy to find as one might imagine. While Talk Talk has a loyal following, it is a small one.  A few years ago, we submitted a proposal—which, from my biased perspective was really good—to 33 1/3 Books (Bloomsbury).  Sadly, they not only felt no enthuasiam for our project, they deemed it unworthy, even of comment.  Just a simple “no thanks.”  But, Kevin and I are nothing if nothing if not persistent and enthusiastic.  Indeed, some might even say “obnoxious!”

So, if there’s anyone in the reading audience who would like to publish a roughly 60,000 word manuscript on the significance and influence of Talk Talk, please let us know!  We could have a completed book to you within a year or less.

Continue reading “Mark Hollis, Part II: Aching for Grace” →

Ry Cooder, The Prodigal Son: Rick’s Quick Takes

On By kruekuttIn americana, vernacular music1 Comment

Even allowing for occasional brushes with fame — playing with Captain Beefheart and the Rolling Stones in the 1960s, making the very first digitally recorded pop album (1979’s Bop Till You Drop), producing the worldwide smash Buena Vista Social Club — Ry Cooder has steadfastly remained below the radar over five decades.  Occasionally though, he resurfaces with his trademark blend of Americana: plenty of space in the irresistible groove; tasty instrumental interplay; rich harmony vocals carrying an idiosyncratic, pungent lyrical message.

Cooder’s first album in six years, The Prodigal Son, is a welcome return to basics.  With the exotic decorations and oddball concepts of recent albums stripped away,  Cooder plays almost all the instruments (guitar, banjo, mandolin, bass and keyboard); his son Joachim co-produces and mans the drums.  The genre focus is narrowed too, zooming in on vernacular gospel by the likes of Blind Willie Johnson, Alfred Reed, Carter Stanley and William Dawson.  As Cooder told MOJO magazine,

“Gospel is the best music to sing.  When you sing it and play it, I always felt you go to some other place physically and emotionally … Maybe age has got something to do with that.  You live through certain experiences, you keep looking for something, and maybe you’ll find it.  I think I have.”

Continue reading “Ry Cooder, The Prodigal Son: Rick’s Quick Takes” →

Insideout: 25th Year

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Spock’s Beard & Roine Stolt’s The Flower King’s celebrate InsideOutMusic’s 25thanniversary on tour
InsideOutMusic, the leading light in today’s progressive rock scene, celebrate their 25th anniversary of being a label in 2018, in what will be one of their biggest and busiest yet. To coincide with this, two of their longest serving artists, Spock’s Beard & Roine Stolt’s The Flower King’s, will head out on a European co-headline tour in Winter 2018.

Spock’s Beard comment: “Spock’s Beard is excited to announce an upcoming Winter tour!  It will be a co-bill with Roine Stolt’s THE FLOWER KING’s revisited band, so each show promises to be a great evening of music.  We’ve been getting a lot of questions about who will be playing drums on this tour, so at this time let me introduce our new touring drummer, Mr. Mike Thorne, from SAGA!  We are really excited to have him on board and are looking forward to seeing you on tour.”

Roine Stolt adds: “Asked to put together a band  to go on the road, celebrate our label Inside Out’s 25 year anniversary – I was thinking of the ‘treasure’ that is the music I wrote for The Flower Kings during that same period. I felt compelled to bring out this music for yet another round – and in the process bring in some old friends and some new.
The music is universal – some songs timeless – and by November I hope to have an exciting set-list – to not only celebrate my 1st album and the origin of all things  “The Flower King” – but to cover the rest of TFK’s history – and eventually a new tune & a few new faces. Tune up the engine – Time to prog!”

You can find the full list of dates below:
30th November – Cosmopolite, Oslo, Norway
1st December – Kulturhuset Studion, Stockholm, Sweden
2nd December – KB, Malmo, Sweden
4th December – Zeche, Bochum, Germany
5th December – Z7, Pratteln, Switzerland
6th December – La Machine, Paris, France
7th December – De Boerderij, Zoetermeer, Netherlands
8th December – Hedon, Zwolle, Netherlands
9th December – Islington Assembly Hall, London, UK
10th December – Academy Club, Manchester, UK

Formed back in 1993 in Kleve, Germany, the label made their name with acts such as Enchant, Spock’s Beard, Symphony X & The Flower Kings, many of whom they still work with now – a rarity in this day and age. Since that time, the label has played a key & continued role in the survival and resurgence of progressive rock in recent years, and has always prided itself on shining a light on leftfield music. Now the band count some of the biggest & most exciting bands amongst their roster, including Dream Theater, Steve Hackett, Devin Townsend, Sons of Apollo, Kansas, Haken, Riverside, Leprous & more. On the label’s 20th anniversary back in 2013, one of the labels founders, and current label-head Thomas Waber was given the Guiding Light award at the Progressive Music Awards, praising his aforementioned role in the continued celebration of progressive rock.

Many of InsideOut’s longest running relationships will see new albums released in the labels 25th year, including Spock’s Beard’s 13th album ‘Noise Floor’, a new collaborative project called The Sea Within that features Roine Stolt, Daniel Gildenlow & Jonas Reingold (all veterans of the label), a landmark live album from Devin Townsend filmed at a special performance at a Roman Theatre in Bulgaria, a new studio album from Riverside & much more.

This year will also see InsideOut release a whole host of lavish catalogue releases throughout 2018, including the second part of The Flower Kings ‘A Kingdom of Colours’ CD boxsets, a series of Devin Townsend high-end vinyl boxes, a CD collection covering the whole of Enchant’s illustrious career, & much more yet to be announced.

The Progressive Music Awards 2018 recently announced their nominations, with InsideOutMusic seeing 10 nominations in total, including Spock’s Beard for best international artist, as well as nods for Perfect Beings, Toundra, PFM, Sons of Apollo, Kino, Leprous & Caligula’s Horse. Find more details here: https://www.loudersound.com/features/vote-now-in-the-2018-progressive-music-awards

Watch out for more news throughout 2018!

The Pineapple Thief’s Dissolution — Coming Soon!

On By kruekuttIn progressive rockLeave a comment

From Kscope:

Dissolution is the follow-up album to 2016’s Your Wilderness, and is the band’s second album to feature King Crimson and Porcupine Tree drummer Gavin Harrison. Due for release on 31st August.

The new material establishes The Pineapple Thief’s intent to elevate themselves to new heights, with a desire to develop their songwriting and technical capabilities, and with artwork created by iconic design agency Stylorouge, whose previous work includes Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Blur and British film Trainspotting. The album concept tells of the often dark consequences of living in a society in which everything is played out on a public stage, a theme paralleled in the cover art, which was created by ‘glitching’ the original photographs.

Songwriter Bruce Soord explains “broadly speaking the title reflects the disintegration of relationships and the undoing of our social fabric. In a time when we are supposed to be bound closer together than ever, I have never felt so apart from the world.  We are living through a revolution and right now I am not sure it’s a good one. Lyrically this is the most vivid I have been.”

Burning Shed now has Dissolution available to pre-order in multiple formats (CD, BluRay, deluxe CD/DVD/BluRay set, regular and crystal clear vinyl), along with supporting swag (tshirt, hoodie, tote bag).  The Pineapple Thief have also announced European tour dates for September-October 2018 and March 2019.  When I talked with Bruce Soord at last year’s Progtoberfest, he was hoping the band could also play the US this time around — fingers crossed.  Based on the evidence from the Thief’s Where We Stood live video, the upcoming tour could be one to remember!

In the meantime, here’s the first song released from Dissolution, “Far Below” — an eerie, desperate breakneck stomp in 5/8.  Soord, Harrison and the rest of The Pineapple Thief definitely feel like a winning combination here.  Dig it!

— Rick Krueger

 

 

Rush’s Clockwork Angels (It Can Get None More Prog!)

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock4 Comments
rush-clockwork-angels
Rush’s 19th Studio Album.  Six years old today.  Art by Hugh Syme.

Today is the sixth anniversary of the release of the final Rush studio album, CLOCKWORK ANGELS.  It can get “nun more” prog.  

[This piece is dedicated to my great and brave friend, Steve Horwitz, fellow Rush-ian]

Rush’s nineteenth studio album, Clockwork Angels, came out on June 12, 2012.  It was the first album to be distributed by heavy-metal label, Roadrunner, and the second to be produced by Nick Raskulinecz.  As mentioned at this beginning of this book, the story of Clockwork Angelsis such an artistic success—as a story, a concert, a novel, a sequel to the novel, a graphic novel, an audio book, and a series of comic books—that it really overshadows not only the actual album but much of Rush’s other art.  It is, of course, the culmination of forty years of care, of love, and of purpose.  However much the Clockwork universe has dwarfed the album itself, it is very much worth considering the original source material.

Clockwork Angelscame out a full six years after Snakes and Arrows, a break between albums even greater than that between Test for Echoand Vapor Trails.  Still, few worried as hints came out frequently about the forthcoming Rush album during that time, and Rush even released versions of the two opening songs as singles, performing them on the Time Machine Tourof 2011.  As few would disagree, the wait for the final product was well worth it.  While Moving Pictures—because of its time and place in history—might always remain the iconic Rush album, Clockwork Angelsis arguably the best, cohesive piece of art the band has ever made. It reveals a maturity in lyrics and music understandably absent in the first few Rush albums, but it also possesses every explosion of energy those albums expressed.

Continue reading “Rush’s Clockwork Angels (It Can Get None More Prog!)” →

A Prog Faith: Mark Hollis, Part I

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock5 Comments
its getting late james marsh
Artwork by James Marsh.  The moth, either disintegrating or becoming whole.

For all intents and purposes, Mark Hollis disappeared twenty years ago.

 

No, not entirely.

Since releasing his last full album, MARK HOLLIS, in 1998, he has appeared, from time to time, on the work of other artists–most particularluy on the work of Phill Brown, Dave Allinson, Unkle, and Anja Garbarek.  All of these collaborations, however, took place before 2002.

Ten years later, in 2012, Hollis again emerged, writing a stunning piece of music for the Kelsey Grammar TV series, Boss.  That piece, “ARBSection 1,” lasts a full 54 seconds.  No one in the music world has seen or heard from him since.

Not too surprisingly, Mark Hollis’s absence has only heightened the interest in him.

For those of us who love Talk Talk, there’s something unlrentingly fascinating about the trajectory of the band.  As is well known in musical circles, Talk Talk had its origins in punk but quickly became an MTV showcase of glam rock and pop, producing one clever synthpop song (and video) after another–Talk Talk, Hate, Today, It’s My Life, Such a Shame, and Dum Dum Girl–between 1982 and 1984.  They became a standard of the first half of the 1980s–easily lumped in with Echo and the Bunnymen, The Cure, Thomas Dolby, New Order, and Duran Duran—as part of the second British invasion of American pop culture.

Yet, even from their beginning, the band was different from all of their pop companions, even if many in the music scene of the time dismissed (or missed) those differences.

Continue reading “A Prog Faith: Mark Hollis, Part I” →

Kino, Radio Voltaire

On By kruekuttIn progressive rockLeave a comment

I discovered John Mitchell’s attractive take on modern prog when I heard It Bites’ “Wallflower” on a Prog Magazine cover CD, then bought and was floored by 2012’s Map of the Past.  John Beck, Bob Dalton and Lee Pomeroy are essential to the success of that fine album, of course — but Mitchell’s yearning vocals, sharp guitar work and classy songwriting sealed the deal for me.  Whether contributing to Frost* or masterminding his own Lonely Robot, Mitchell consistently brings irresistible melodic hooks, exciting riffage, heart-on-sleeve lyrics, passionate singing and meticulous craftsmanship to the table.  Like John Wetton in Asia and Trevor Rabin in Yes, you can rely on him for a canny, immersive mix of strong musical substance and broad appeal.

Radio Voltaire revives Kino, Mitchell’s 2005 collaboration with Marillion bassist Pete Trewavas; Beck provides tasty keyboard work, while Craig Blundell (Steven Wilson, Lonely Robot) whacks the drums with energy and aplomb.  True, the blissed-out album opener/title track is a low-key start, but Mitchell’s “The Dead Club” fires things up without further adieu, laughing at the lengths people go to for fame (to a 7/4 beat,yet):

Mitchell comes up with some of his best songs in a while, breaking your heart with the haunting ballads “Idlewild” and “Temple Tudor,” then shocking it back to life with four-alarm rockers like “I Won’t Break So Easily Anymore” and the tense “Grey Shapes on Concrete Fields.”

Trewavas chips in as well, providing welcome contrast and optimistic uplift with “Out of Time” and “I Don’t Know Why,” mid-tempo Beatlesque gems that build and build until they explode:

And (always important in prog-pop), Kino sticks Radio Voltaire’s ending: “Keep the Faith” is a warm Trewavas love letter to the next generation, with his McCartney-style melodic bass lines setting up both Mitchell’s delectable vocals and an unexpected orchestral surge in the song’s home stretch.   But hard-won serenity isn’t the final word; that goes to Mitchell’s “The Silent Fighter Pilot,” a lament for a unexpected casualty of war that deploys extremes of quiet and loud to devastating effect.

In sum, Radio Voltaire pulls you in and doesn’t let go till an hour later, when you return to life challenged, refreshed and invigorated for having heard it.  Check out Mitchell & Trewavas’ track by track take on the album here.  But above all, listen to it for yourself; it’s a winner.

— Rick Krueger