Mini album review: Pain of Salvation

Pain of Salvation - Road Salt One

Wow, this is turning into a one-per-year review... I'll try to get back at it, even though I know that there's probably next to nobody who reads these. But I don't mind, it still exercises my English writing skills (I'm French-Canadian born, if you care to know...). Anyway, now on to the mini-review.

I have a love/hate relationship with Pain of Salvation. Or should I say love/indifference, because I don't hate them at all. There are many songs from them that I love, some albums even, namely Remedy Lane, 12:5 (one of very few live albums I actually like), and The Perfect Element. On the other hand, I have difficulty listening to other albums in their entirety. Be comes to mind, as well as Scarsick. But what I do appreciate from them, which is a constant in their music, is that they don't limit themselves to a style. They explore many facets of rock music, and they're not afraid to do it.

Speaking of exploring... Their latest album, which came out just about a month ago, is another different one. I hadn't read a lot about it, so it was kind of a surprise to me. Although I didn't expect anything in particular about this album, I didn't expect this! If you happen to have the special edition of the album, you'll hear the opening track What She Means To Me, that sounds like it was stolen from a Queen album from the 70's. It may sound like they were copying Queen, but I've never heard anyone do it this well. It sounds absolutely great. But that track is very short, and makes it seem more like an intro than anything else. I wished there was more of it.

But then it goes on to the second track (or first one on the regular version), No Way. Sounding very different from the first, Queen-like track, here again they're doing something that very few bands know how to do well today: sounding like a flashback to the 70's rock/blues scene, a bit like how Jethro Tull sounded before going almost strictly prog. I'm thinking the like of Tull's Benefit album. Also in the next tracks you'll find more variety, including the haunting Sisters, a very soulful Of Dust, and a track that sound as if you're in a circus (?). But all in all, the album is very early-70's sounding, using elements form rock, blues, soul, psychedelia and prog of the time, and done very well. Even some sound textures are reminiscent of the 70's, mostly the vocals: when Gildenlöw sings louder, the sound distorts, like you would hear on an early Zeppelin record.

I don't know if people will notice, but personally I think Pain of Salvation just came out with a gem.

My rating: ****½

Mini DVD review: Gentle Giant

Gentle Giant - Giant on the Box

Gentle Giant is really a band apart from all the other progressive rock bands. Basically, they are all classically trained, so they excel on their main instrument, as well as at least one other. But that's not really what puts them apart, but what does is the complexity of most of their compositions, both instrumentally and vocally. Unfortunately, also because of this, sometimes their music is hard to digest. But there is a consensus about their musical prowess.

This DVD is really a jewel. It contains, in addition to old interviews and pictures, two concerts that were filmed for TV. One was filmed in 1974, the other in 1975. Yes, its age really shows, like watching a movie from the 70's, but its qualities are still there. The concerts are untouched (unlike modern concert DVD's where they record multiple shows, remix everything to have the best performance, even retouch some parts in the studio, sometimes resulting in non-matching sound and video - I just dislike that, as it is non-representative of the true performance), the sound is pretty good considering the period, and the musicianship can be qualified with the word 'awesome'! Instruments vary from the common guitar, bass, multiple keyboards and drums, to violin, cello, flute, trumpet and xylophone. All played like masters (in my point of view anyway). Even some songs that I do not totally enjoy on record, I enjoyed much more seeing them perform it live. And I like the variations they did live, which puts a new twist to the songs. My only complain is I wished the shows were either longer, or the set-list from both shows be different from each other, because all the songs of the 30 minute concert were played in the 50 minute one. But hey, at least we have this.

So in a few words, if you're a fan of the 70's prog, even if you do not like Gentle Giant, you will probably enjoy this DVD. And for those who like them, well obviously, it's a must!

My rating: ****½

Mini album review: Porcupine Tree

Porcupine Tree - Nil Recurring

Don't get me wrong, Porcupine Tree's latest full album, titled Fear of a Blank Planet, is an excellent one. But for some reason, I haven't been drawn to it as much as I have been so to Deadwing and In Absentia, their two previous albums. Maybe it's the subject of the album that depresses me a little bit...

But now they have released Nil Recurring, which is sort of a companion EP to Blank Planet. If I recall correctly, Steve Wilson, the leader of Porcupine Tree, did not want Blank Planet to be too long an album. It clocks in at 50 minutes, and it is fine like that. Would they have added the content of Nil Recurring, not only the album would have been too long, but it wouldn't have fit on a single CD... But anyway, back to the music... I admit that I've enjoyed Nil Recurring more than Blank Planet. I could say it's short and sweet, in a positive way. It has the typical Porcupine Tree signature sounds of the few latest albums, which is more mainstream than what they used to do before that. It has those mellow parts and heavy parts, catchy melodies and complex rhythms, and spacey feels. The guest electric violinist added a very nice touch as well.

So needless to say, I ended up listening to this EP more often than the full album. Usually an EP from a band is more targeted to the fans, but this EP, which is almost 30 minutes in length, I would say is actually a good introduction to the band, for those who do not know them, as much as a 'for fans' item.

My rating: ****½

Mini album review: Coheed and Cambria

Coheed And Cambria - Good Appollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes of Madness



Although this band has been increasingly popular in the recent months, as of last week I had only heard the name, along with positive comments about them. But after I came across their albums, I decided I was due to try them out...


A fan of the band recommended I start with his favorite album, which has quite a lengthy title: Good Appollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes of Madness. I’ll call it ‘IV’ (that’s what you see on the album cover anyway). The person in question explained to me that not only it was a concept album, but that all their four main studio albums are based on a sci-fi comic book series, so they are part of the same story, in which Coheed and Cambria are the two main characters. That’s why, I presume, some people like to call them a ‘concept band’, as opposed to bands that make ‘concept albums’.



Well, let me tell you that I was VERY pleasantly surprised. The style is refreshing. Some say it’s Progressive Rock, although in some music stores, they’re classified under Punk. I think they are neither, although I do recognize those styles in there. There are a few acoustic bits, and many heavy parts, but all the way through, the melodies are very catchy. I’m a sucker for vocal harmonies, and on this album, I can say it is rare that there isn’t any vocal harmonies. The singer has a high pitched voice, which some people might not like, but I do like it. At this point anyway, I would not want it otherwise. They would not sound like Coheed And Cambria anymore... All in all, very accessible and melodic, with a heavy penchant.


I’m not certain with which band I could compare them, would I be ask how do they sound. For some reason I first thought of a less progressive version of A.C.T - oh wait, bad comparison, there are much better chances that you actually heard C&C than A.C.T... Let's say then, a less experimental, more accessible Mars Volta. The vocal pitch reminds me of Geddy Lee of Rush, although it's not the same vocal style. Plus an alternative side similar to Muse. But in the end, they are hard to describe. I recommend you go to their official web site, where you can listen to some of their material yourself. Highly recommended.


My Rating: * * * * ½

Mini album review: Epica

Epica - Consign to Oblivion

There's a trend in the Heavy Metal and Prog Metal industry since a certain number of years to mix heavy with classical. Some do it very well, but others not so very well. And surely there is a whole bunch that sound very similar from one to the other...

Then there is Epica, who I find stands out a little, not because they are necessarily much better than others, but because instead of sounding like metal with some classical parts, they are more like classical with some metal parts. Well, lets say lots of metal parts, but the classical is definitely more present. And the classical side sounds a lot like the instrumental parts of an epic movie. So it is intense.

Another possible downside of Symphonic Metal bands, depending on your taste, is to have a singer that sounds too operatic. This is another point that Epica scores. Simone Simmons has a very lovely voice, and even in the higher notes where she starts to sound operatic, it still sounds nice (again, for my taste anyway). The main, and probably the only, down side of the band is the grunts. The guitar player, Mark Jansen, of which I have no complaint on his guitar playing, sometimes does grunts. While it is not very often, I find it breaks the mood and sometimes borderlines the ridicule. It's OK to have some sort of deep voice to express feelings of anger or the such in specific parts of a song. But grunts? not for me... Not in this type of music anyway. But fortunately, the rest is so fantastic that I will not prevent myself from listening to any Epica songs.

My rating: * * * * ½

Mini album review: Yes

Yes - Union

Like I mentioned in the previous Genesis mini album review, I'm a prog guy. So of course, I love the music that Yes created in the 70's, progressive rock's early glory years. That's a given. But I find myself among a rarer species who continued liking their music through their transformation to better fit the 80's trends. This happened to many of the 70's prog bands - either that, or they just split up or disappeared (sometimes to re-surge in the new millennium, for better or for worse). But instead of hating them for it, I tried to appreciate it. And sometimes their presence in the pop-rock world stood out from others because of their background and musical talent, which unfortunately was not the case for all 80's-born bands. Because of that, for me, these bands made some of the best sounding pop and rock music in the 80's and 90's. A lot of these albums I still listen to today, and of of these is Yes' Union.

Union seems like it was not a very popular album. Most of the people who like their 70's material did not like it (because it was another pop-rock sounding album), and even those who liked them in the 80's, with popular songs like Owner of a Lonely Heart in 1983 and Love Will Find a Way in 1987, did not remember they still existed, so they probably were not even aware that album came out. But personally, I think it's an even better album than Big generator, and on par with 90125. There are many contributors on this album. I think the entire Yes cast of past and present (that "present" was 1991) played on at least 4 tracks. There are no tracks with all nine of them playing together though, but that's probably a good thing - more musicians at once is not necessarily better in rock bands... I think the reason is that there was in reality two "outfits" of the band making up songs - one for a second ABWH release, and one for a Yes album. They decided to put all the created songs on a single album (although some versions of some songs also appeared on the Squire/Sherwood Conspiracy album, which I have mini-reviewed here), thus the title of Union, and created an awesome record. Every single track is strong, and there is enough variety to satisfy the music lover in me. I would say it's their last great album they did to date.

My rating: * * * * ½

Mini album review: Genesis

Genesis - Wind and Wuthering

Being a fan of the Progressive Rock genre, I, like many others, am a fan of the 70's Genesis. I was not old enough to know them back then (I was born in 1972 actually), but in the late 80's, a friend of mine introduced me to Genesis, which was my first step into the prog world. And like all prog fans who like Genesis, their best period was when Peter Gabriel was their lead singer. That's the way we identify that period: the Gabriel-era. But for me, it was not the Gabriel-era, it was the Hackett-era...

Yes, in reality, Genesis really turned away from prog when Steve Hackett left the band, not when Gabriel did - although I do agree that a major piece was lost when Gabriel left... but for me, and if you would listen to that album carefully, it was Wind and Wuthering that was the last of Genesis' glorious prog album library. It does not sound like Foxtrot for sure, but nonetheless is an excellent progressive rock album.

So if your Genesis prog collection stopped at The Lamb, Gabriel's last effort with the band, maybe you should take a peek at W&W, and even Trick of the Tail (although I prefer W&W). Or you might have heard it before, but put it aside because you were too used to Gabriel's voice, or for other reasons. Try it again, you might enjoy it ;-)

My rating: ****½

EDIT: they now have released the special version of this album, which now includes a DVD-Audio disk, with a 5.1 remastered mix of the entire album. Wow, now it sounds even better than ever!!!

Mini album review: Ayreon

Ayreon - Into The Electric Castle

Ayreon is one of multiple "projects" by Dutch musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen. With Ayreon, A. A. Lucassen covers a lot of musical grounds, allbeit all in the Rock department... And that's why I like the Ayreon albums so much. It would seem like Arjen has very similar influences as I, ranging from 80's Hard Rock and Metal bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, to classic rock of the 70's, such as Led Zeppelin, Rainbow, Deep Purple and David Bowie, some 60's with The Beatles, 70's prog scene with Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull. There is even some folk in there, along with the album-length story, like a rock opera is written, with multiple singers, each with their own "role", or "part".

How he does it I don't know, but it all ties in very nicely. In my own opinion, he creates masterpieces. And my very favorite of these masterpieces is Into the Electric Castle. It is probably the one that most represent what Ayreon is. I'll just quote what's written on the Ayreon web site about the album:

"Into the Electric Castle' tells the story of 8 stereotypical characters from different periods of time who suddenly find themselves in another dimension. A Highlander, Knight, Egyptian, Indian, Barbarian, Roman, Hippie and Futureman each try to understand where they are and what they are supposed to do. It is then that a voice rings out from the sky to tell them that the dimension they have arrived in is built on dreams and fears. In order to find their way back to their own dimension and time, they must go in search of The Electric Castle. During the search every character is forced to confront his or her innermost fears, and not everyone survives the treacherous journey to the Castle.

At the end of the journey those that successfully dealt with their personal demons find out that the voice belongs to an alien named 'Forever of the Stars', a member of an alien race living in a distant galaxy. These aliens created planet Earth and its people as an experiment so they could study, and hopefully one day experience emotions, as they themselves lost feelings eons ago."

My rating: *****

Mini album review: Rush

Rush - Snakes & Arrows:

Rush is one of my all-time favorite bands. They have many albums which I like entirely, from beginning to end (A Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, etc). For that reason, I will always have some Rush which I'm "In the mood" for (gratuitous reference to a track on their first album). Let's face it: Rush is surely THE most influential Canadian band on the prog scene, and one of the most influential of all in general. And quite frankly, I have yet to hear another band of the present that sounds like them.

I even like the more mainstream albums they released, like Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows and Hold You Fire. My interest stays strong up until Counterparts, with Presto and Roll the Bones having some "lows". Since Counterparts though, they have failed to amaze me with a full album. They have very good tracks here and there, but no entire albums. Actually, I would only take 2 or 3 of the best tracks of Presto, T4E, and Vapor Trails, and even Roll the Bones, and make one great compilation. But that's it.

But now, Snakes and Arrows has put a halt to this. YES! Finally, Rush IS BACK!!! What a fresh sound, that resonates the good vibes of the 80's, that reminds me of Power Windows and Grace Under Pressure, but with a harder edge in parts, and a little bit of experimentation in others. No it's not the prog sound of the 70's and early 80's - don't get overly excited... But I think fans of Rush will find that this is the album they have been waiting for for a long time.

My Rating: ****½

Mini album review: Spock's Beard

Spock's Beard - The Light (The Artwork Collector’s Series)

I was fortunate enough to put my hands on this little jewel. The Light is Spock's Beard's first studio album, and a classic of progressive rock work. Neal Morse, the lead member at the time, has been greatly influenced by the 70's prog rock bands, and you really feel that on this album. Although it still has a modern feel to it. So without a doubt, any prog fans who like the old Genesis, Jethro Tull, Gentle Giant and the like, will probably like this album.

Now, what makes this a jewel? The package is part of what is called The Artwork Collector's Series, and is a limited, numbered edition. In addition to the remastered album, there are extensive liner notes for each song, a poster of the album cover, and some postcards. All this in a triple fold, enlarged CD case. The whole thing simply excites the music geek in me ;-)

I never heard the original release of this album, so it's hard for me to say if the remaster makes a big difference, but it sure sounds amazing!

My rating: *****

Mini album review: Steve Hackett

Steve Hackett - Momentum

I've been acquiring a few albums from Hackett's catalogue. I've been very curious about his solo work - for some reason, even though I'm a big fan of Hackett-era Genesis, I had not explored his work until recently. It started with Please Don't Touch, which I only bought because it was very cheap at a favorite record store, and I loved it instantly. Then I bought some more of his albums (some of which I will probably talk about in future mini reviews), and I was rarely disappointed.

This brings us to Momentum. Another shock! But again, very pleasantly surprised. This album is entirely classical guitar, and most of the time in solo. I had heard bits of him playing classical guitar on a documentary video I had (and still do actually, on good ol' VHS), but I always wondered if he recorded some of it. Well, not only did he record some, but if I'm not mistaken he now has three entire albums such as this one.

The mood all through the album is very calm. I would not hesitate to put this on to help a child or baby sleep. And I'm not saying that because I think it's boring, but because I think it's soothing. It's a good feeling - although some might find soothing is boring... but I digress. So of course, if you don't like classical music, you won't like this album. But if you like Hackett, then you like prog, and if you like prog, then you must have at least an appreciation for classical music, as part of prog's roots are in there. So good chance you would like this album, although you, as myself, will probably not put it on every day, but will come in very handy on a day where calmness is needed.

My rating: ***½

Mini album review: Chris Squire / Billy Sherwood

Squire / Sherwood - Conspiracy

This album was released in 1990, and went straight through my Yes radar unnoticed! And what a shame, because I've been missing out on a very good, fresh-sounding pop-rock Yes-type album (lots of dashes in there o.O). I have heard a couple of tracks of their second album The Unknown, mainly the track Conspiracy, which brought in some confusion about the first album - for me The Unknown was their first album since I hadn't heard of Conspiracy, so when I first saw the album cover of Conspiracy, I thought it was an earlier version of The Unknown, using Conspiracy as the title track. Obviously I was wrong...

Like I mentioned, this album is in the pop-rock range, similar to the sound of Yes in the late 80's and early 90's. One of the reasons the sound is so similar is probably because Sherwood was also part of Yes (as a co-writer at first, then as a co-writer and band member) - oh and, in case you don't know, Chris Squire is one of the permanent members of the band Yes. There are even tracks on the album that are different versions of some Yes songs that were actually released on Yes albums, alongside, of course, of other original tracks. So after all, I was pleasantly surprised, and I'm always happy when this happens :-D

My rating: **** (out of 5)

Mini album reviews: Sylvan, Triumvirat, Shadow Gallery, Ayreon, Spock's Beard

Here are albums I recently acquired, with a very summary review, and a star rating (number of stars out of 5). I will not make extensive reviews as you can find many on the web anyway. Some of these are fairly recent albums, others are older albums I have, or used to have, on vinyl, which I eventually wanted to purchase on CD. So here we go...





Sylvan - Posthumous Silence. This is one of the most highly acclaimed progressive rock album of 2006, from this German band, so I decided to check it out. Mostly after hearing some samples on their web page, I was very interested. It's the band's fifth album (they actually already have a sixth album out at this date), and it's one of those concept albums, meaning that it's written like a story that unfolds through the album. Most of the time you will also find musical elements that are present in multiple places, depending on what part of the story is being told. This is a very good album. You will find a lot of elements of prog, from mellow to heavy, melodic, emotional and complex. The recording quality is excellent, as is the musicianship. I must admit though that I should probably listen to it a few more times to appreciate it fully, and follow the lyrics to better understand the story, which I did not have the opportunity to do yet.


My rating: ****½



Triumvirat - Illusions on a Double Dimple (remastered). I've been planning to fill a whole in my CD collection, that should be filled with my four favorite Triumvirat albums, mostly since these are now remastered, with extra tracks, all this for a fairly good price. This is one of them. Triumvirat is not as widely known as the classic prog rock bands of the 70's, but they are just as good. They are often referred to as the German counterpart of british band ELP (or Emerson, Lake and Palmer), and with reason. Jürgen Fritz is a masterful keyboard player, and I always found that Triumvirat's music was more accessible than ELP's, even though they we not as successful after all, if my information is correct. This album is like two short stories (one per "side" - remember this was originally on vinyl record). It shows that Fritz has a classical background, and the trio does deliver.

My rating: ****



Triumvirat - Spartacus (remastered). Hey, there's that rat again! What a fugly cover, that is! and has absolutely nothing to do with the subject of this album either. And the writing is in neon-disco blue, while it talks about and anciant roman-era hero (fictitious, if I recall correctly). But, that's just the cover, and the content is as good as the cover is ugly. This is arguably the best work from the German band. Another concept album, but there is not a single weak track, and all holds well together. Many would say they are ELP copy-cats, but I think they stand on their own. But they do sound similar though. I really enjoyed the extra studio track, which I never heard before, as well as the extra live tracks. I'm really not a big fan of live recordings, but since I had never heard the 'rat live before, I did enjoy it. And it shows how well they played together, and how good musicians they were.

My rating: *****



Shadow Gallery - Tyranny. My first Shadow Gallery album was Room V, which I really liked. But Room V was the follow-up story to one of their previous albums, Tyranny. So I had to get it, as I also read that it was a good album. I must admit I was a little dissapointed, as I was expecting the quality I heard on Room V. But I did not. It's not a bad album though, far from it. The musical style is between metal and prog-metal, as it is not prog all the way. It is probably their second best album after Room V.

My Rating: ***½




Ayreon - Actual Fantasy Revisited (CD + DVD package). This is a re-recording of Ayreon's second album, Actual Fantasy. One big improvement for me is that all the drums were re-recorded with a real drummer, while the original recording used a drum machine. Again, an excellent Ayreon album, as A. A. Lucassen only is able to do. The package I bought also contains a bonus DVD with a 5.1 remixe of the entire album, a video for Stranger From Within, and a documentary on the making of the album. Very nice package I must say. Arjen is always generous on what he offers as extras for his fans, and that is very much appreciated.

My rating: ****½




Spock's Beard - Beware of Darkness (special edition). I put this album amoung the best ones from SB, after The Light, V and Snow. The other albums all have excellent tracks on them as well, but they also have weak ones. Beware of Darkness is very strong, and has two of my all-time Beard favorites: Doorway and Waste Away. This version of the album has been remastered, but I don't know if it makes that big of a difference since I always though their albums sounded pretty good to start with. Maybe if I listened to both side by side, I would heard the difference... The extra tracks don't bring much to the album I think. They are demo versions of two track. To me, demo = unfinished versions, so why bother, mostly when there is nothing noticeably different from the finished version. If the demo was somewhat different, or completely different, it would be more interesting, but they are not. Nevertheless, one of the best SB album, which of course, I did not have on CD already...

My rating: ****

New Rush single

From the forthcoming album, to be released on May 1st, listen to the new single here: http://www.rush.com

YAY!!!

It's not easy being middle-class...

Not that I'm complaining, because I do consider myself pretty lucky in a financial point of view. But sometimes, I which I had more spending money... The reason right now? Well, one of my favorite artists is coming to town on June 4th: Roger Waters. He came to Montreal no long ago, and I really wanted to see him, but with the ticket price at $150 each, plus the travel expenses, that was way too expensive for me. Now he's coming to Ottawa, and I don't know if I'll be able to afford it still. My wife would like to go see him also, and I would really like to go with her too, so that's twice the ticket price. And I might even be able to get early tickets because I'm registered at the sponsoring radio station's web site. Everything is right... except for the ticket price. The prices have not been announced yet, but I don't expect it to be below $100 each, possibly up to $200 for the good ones.

Oh well, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Maybe my income tax return will be generous this year, and I could get the tickets for us as a gift. I mean, we don't go out very often, so that would be nice...