tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6893539914919149172010-03-20T16:57:54.575-06:00The home of progressive music on the Internet. We specialize in all forms of progressive music, from the softest progressive rock to the hardest progressive metal. We seek to spread the word about talented artists. No talented band should ever go unheard. With this site, they won't.Andrew Kauzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04447890100007857397noreply@blogger.comBlogger175125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689353991491914917.post-33118855112074799962009-10-06T08:26:00.004-06:002009-10-06T10:36:09.315-06:00

Great (four stars out of five)It's hard to argue with the fact that Arjen Lucassen is one of the biggest names in progressive rock right now thanks to a long string of Ayreon projects, Star One albums, and his penchant for assembling the biggest names in the prog world. So, what happens when Lucassen is left with a smaller group of musicians, forming something that's slightly closer to what

Andrew Kauzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04447890100007857397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689353991491914917.post-12123526709494987102009-10-05T08:34:00.003-06:002009-10-05T08:41:32.615-06:00

Like Yes, who I featured just a few weeks ago, Kansas is a band that you likely know about, whether it's just the name or one of their big songs like "Dust in the Wind." However, you might not know just how great Kansas's albums are, including the incredible Leftoverture, which is featured this week. Sure, it has the huge single "Carry on my Wayward Son," but there are tons of other highlights

Andrew Kauzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04447890100007857397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689353991491914917.post-4489465052069793122009-09-28T09:02:00.004-06:002009-09-28T09:21:49.798-06:00

You may know Steve Howe as the guitarist from Yes (I know, yet another Yes themed Featured Album), but it wouldn't be surprising if you didn't know much of his solo work, which has largely failed to find a large audience. However, his unique approach to guitar melded with some great melodic songwriting make his solo work, including Spectrum, worth a serious listen. The majority of his solo work

Andrew Kauzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04447890100007857397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689353991491914917.post-40523343869540557742009-09-23T14:36:00.004-06:002009-09-23T15:18:25.366-06:00

I'm currently giving a lot of deep listens to the new project from Ayreon's Arjen Lucassen, Guilt Machine. I'll have a full review of this impressive disc in a few days. In the meantime, Arjen was kind enough to answer some questions for me about the debut from Guilt Machine, "On This Perfect Day." He had some very interesting things to say about the new album, his previous work, and what's in

Andrew Kauzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04447890100007857397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689353991491914917.post-19936405966286186432009-09-21T09:38:00.004-06:002009-09-21T09:46:29.058-06:00

Released earlier this year, Shackleton's Voyage is an album of mainly instrumental tracks that is inspired by the journey of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton. It's an incredible story--and one that is sadly not told in great detail through the album's few lyrics. I urge everyone, in addition to picking up this disc, to check out the Kenneth Branagh miniseries about

Andrew Kauzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04447890100007857397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689353991491914917.post-36351353268433909912009-09-14T09:35:00.004-06:002009-09-14T09:49:09.498-06:00

Released in 2006, The Syn's Syndestructible is an aptly named album for a band that spent 40 years apart before playing together again. It is based around Yes's Chris Squire and vocalist Steve Nardelli, who had originally played together yet never released an album.There's no doubt that there's a strong Yes theme going here (which is appropriate, I suppose, considering my featured album last week

Andrew Kauzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04447890100007857397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689353991491914917.post-43017621393092451452009-09-09T08:23:00.004-06:002009-09-09T09:54:02.657-06:00

Great (four stars out of five)I still remember the moment about a year ago in which I had to post about the breakup of Sieges Even. It hit me in a way that few band breakups do; Sieges Even has quickly become one of my favorite bands, and I wasn't ready for those musicians to be finished playing. Posting the news made me sad for weeks.Luckily, Subsignal was announced fairly quickly after the

Andrew Kauzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04447890100007857397noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689353991491914917.post-40504343753237911842009-09-08T09:14:00.002-06:002009-09-08T09:21:58.780-06:00

[Sorry for the late start to the week here; Labor Day here in the states yesterday.]It's hard to believe that any reader of this site hasn't yet experienced Yes in some form--especially Fragile, one of the most widely acclaimed albums from this great band. But while I generally use the featured album to try to introduce new music to people, I just want to use it this week to honor this fantastic

Andrew Kauzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04447890100007857397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689353991491914917.post-59407720748153918952009-08-31T08:14:00.004-06:002009-08-31T08:46:11.262-06:00

Many bands have attempted to mix alternative rock and progressive rock, but they often fail due to a lack of instrumental prowess or songwriting ability. Karnivool bucks this trend by offering everything that listeners love about both alternative and progressive rock, with modern vocal melody styles, a great focus on varied song structures, strong alternative-style vocals, and plenty of fantastic

Andrew Kauzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04447890100007857397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689353991491914917.post-11337635615902566182009-08-26T14:09:00.004-06:002009-08-26T14:15:16.363-06:00

Finally some solid news! The sure-to-be-amazing new album from Transatlantic finally has a title and release date, and now the long two months of anticipation can begin.Luckily, you can whet your appetite a bit with some details from the press release. The album will offer one 77-minute piece of music that I'm guessing is very aptly named. There will be two versions of the album: A Regular

Andrew Kauzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04447890100007857397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689353991491914917.post-46163910433966851922009-08-17T13:58:00.002-06:002009-08-17T14:03:34.404-06:00

Sacrum hails from Buenos Aires and plays a fairly heavy brand of progressive metal, incorporating some supporting growls that are definitely an integral part of the music, yet don't overpower the songs. This band was chosen to play alongside Dream Theater in 2008 for a show in Buenos Aires. The band has some seriously awesome songwriting, and, while I didn't immediately fall in love with this

Andrew Kauzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04447890100007857397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689353991491914917.post-10965890280078318632009-08-10T09:36:00.004-06:002009-08-10T09:45:51.636-06:00

If you checked out my previous feature on Kaipa, then you're already familiar with the voice of Patrik Lundstrom. However, Ritual offers a much more diverse and ambitious type of progressive rock, with plenty of 70s influences, heavier and more modern sounds, and strange lyrical themes. The band also does quite a bit of unusual instrumentation that give the band a definite folk feeling, as the

Andrew Kauzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04447890100007857397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689353991491914917.post-23176584211180330542009-08-03T08:57:00.004-06:002009-08-03T09:09:13.957-06:00

Ghost Opera is very likely an album that you already own. It's a fantastic disc that is certainly among the best work from Florida's Kamelot. However, if you missed out on the rerelease of the album, subtitled "The Second Coming," then all of the great bonuses here might be worth a look. Not only do you get the awesome "Pendulous Fall" that was only on some versions of the original release, but

Andrew Kauzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04447890100007857397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689353991491914917.post-50836859155049772982009-07-23T08:54:00.005-06:002009-08-01T12:11:38.124-06:00

Great (four stars out of five)Though its first offering is a mere 5 songs lasting for one half hour, Tilt makes a very strong statement with its debut EP Million Dollar Wound. At the helm of this project is Steve Vantsis, who most recently worked with ex-Marillion singer Fish on the album 13th Star. With a long list of other contributors, this is an album that has plenty of different sounds to

Andrew Kauzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04447890100007857397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689353991491914917.post-44644466066012448582009-07-20T09:01:00.002-06:002009-07-20T09:17:28.907-06:00

I've previously featured Dredg's "El Cielo" in this section, so some readers may already be familiar with this ever-changing band. The recently released album, The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion" shows the band taking even more steps to evolve its sound, incorporating a variety of new sounds into their fantastic melodies and varied harmoines. Ever wondered what a touch of disco would do to

Andrew Kauzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04447890100007857397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689353991491914917.post-40521719985564647392009-07-13T08:35:00.002-06:002009-07-13T08:43:29.577-06:00

I wasn't able to give this a proper review back when it was released (Inside Out is very sporadic with its promos), but I was able to pick it up a few weeks ago myself. OSI is a relative rarity in progressive rock, at least in terms of the band's sound. As Kevin Moore himself has stated, the collaboration has brought about a lot of quiet varied ideas thanks to the members' varied musical tastes.

Andrew Kauzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04447890100007857397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689353991491914917.post-10742633231452402032009-07-06T09:26:00.005-06:002009-07-06T10:54:30.333-06:00

Great (four stars out of five)Abigail's Ghost debuted in 2007 and quickly received heaping praise for Selling Insincerity, though the comparisons to Porcupine Tree were brought up in nearly every mention of the band. This led many to wonder what the direction of the band would be: would they be known as a clone of Porcupine Tree, or an innovative band that took risks at every corner? With its

Andrew Kauzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04447890100007857397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689353991491914917.post-73861816222173767152009-07-06T08:54:00.004-06:002009-07-06T09:10:04.041-06:00

Progressive rock is often criticized for its excess, and those who make such claims should steer far, far away from this release. The others among us may find a lot to like about this release, which is filled to the brim with incredible musicians, including Marty Friedman, Steve Walsh, Kerry Livgren, and so on.Musically, it's easy to tell what you'll be getting when looking at the tracklisting:

Andrew Kauzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04447890100007857397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689353991491914917.post-70785023802925988022009-06-29T09:39:00.010-06:002009-06-29T10:10:09.881-06:00

InsideOut Music today announced the release date of Redemption's upcoming album Snowfall on Judgment Day. The album is set to be released on September 28th in Europe and September 29th in North America. The album has been described as containing some of the heaviest and quietest moments that the band has ever created. In addition, Dream Theater's James LaBrie is featured on the album--that guy

Andrew Kauzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04447890100007857397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689353991491914917.post-87977290508982743192009-06-29T08:51:00.002-06:002009-06-29T09:30:07.063-06:00

After reviewing IQ's most recent release, Frequency, I've been thinking a lot about the band's back catalog. In essence, they've got a great set of albums, and anyone who enjoyed the last album should check out the band's past work as well--in particular, the great double disc album Subterranea.The album offers a ton of great music, which has often been called the band's best. It's certainly one

Andrew Kauzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04447890100007857397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689353991491914917.post-52552030138920177062009-06-22T08:26:00.005-06:002009-06-22T10:45:51.567-06:00

Good (three stars out of five)Keeping in line with that band's "one album every two years" schedule, 2009 sees the release of Dream Theater's tenth studio album, Black Clouds and Silver Linings. Made up of six tracks, running for about 75 minutes, and containing a cover that is quite reminiscent of some of the band's earlier albums, there has been quite a bit of speculation about how this album

Andrew Kauzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04447890100007857397noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689353991491914917.post-68282790212704600842009-06-17T09:12:00.005-06:002009-06-17T10:28:51.616-06:00

Great (four stars out of five)The second album from Dutch symphonic metal band Delain has been out since March on Roadrunner Records in many parts of the world, but it was recently picked up by Sensory Records for the US. As the cover suggests, the band is focused largely on the vocals of singer Charlotte Wessels with a backing full of crunchy guitars and symphonic strings. There are many similar

Andrew Kauzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04447890100007857397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689353991491914917.post-85190108350471148422009-06-15T08:29:00.002-06:002009-06-15T08:43:07.799-06:00

There are dozens of James LaBrie-fronted projects out there. When it comes to progressive rock, he seems to be the vocalist of choice. A few years ago, LaBrie was selected for this project headed up by Henning Pauly, which offers a great set of songs inspired by the work of Richard Dawkins. Pauly puts forth his typical great instrumental performances with a slight electronic sound to them, while

Andrew Kauzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04447890100007857397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689353991491914917.post-37928636374894711822009-06-12T08:36:00.005-06:002009-06-13T10:44:38.061-06:00

Great (four stars out of five)Billed as "fusionmetal," this self-titled instrumental album from the band Exivious, which features two members of Cynic, is meant to offer a mixture of jazz and metal in a way that has never been accomplished before. The nine tracks on this album offer a constant assault of varied rhythms and constant changes, making it an ideal album for those who love complex

Andrew Kauzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04447890100007857397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-689353991491914917.post-12608633432211577872009-06-10T08:44:00.003-06:002009-06-10T10:10:38.789-06:00

Great (four stars out of five)Pathosray crept quietly onto the progressive metal scene in 2007 with the release of its self-titled album. However, their arrival quickly led to plenty of buzz and many proclamations like "album of the year." Indeed, this full-length debut was the sort of album that you can get excited about--something with the power to revitalize the genre.Sunless Skies is the

Andrew Kauzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04447890100007857397noreply@blogger.com0