This Week's Featured Album: Ra - Black Sun

Yet again, we'll go for something a little different this week. Ra can best be described as a modern rock outfit that specializes in highly melodic and fairly heavy tunes. There's not a lot of progressiveness here, although the instrumentation is quite strong and the vocals are very similar to what many progressive metal bands offer (in fact, I'd say that Sahaj, the band's vocalist, is one of the best around. According to Wikipedia, he briefly "held the record for longest single note, for a male vocalist, in a song, having held a high B for 24 seconds. This record breaker can be heard on Ra's live album, Raw, on the track 'Skorn'.")

Perhaps the most interesting element of the band's sound is the fact that they incorporate a Middle Eastern feel into some of their songs, both in the vocal melodies and in the instrumentation. Not only does this help the band set itself apart from many other modern rock bands, but it also gives them a sound that will likely appeal to people who find most modern rock lacking in substance.

So while this isn't prog, it will likely appeal to many prog lovers. Check out the samples on the right to hear for yourself. The band's two previous studio albums, From One and Duality, are both very strong as well ("Sky" from the album "From One" is a stunning tune with an incredible vocal performance).