The prog / metal band that I play bass in broke up right after finishing our album, so I never really posted this anywhere...but I've been playing again with the other two remaining members, so I figured why not? Might be of interest to some of you. These two are probably my favorites.
http://www.reverbnat...w/song_11599110
http://www.reverbnat...w/song_11598986
The Official Progressive Rock Thread
Started by Djinnocide, Feb 27 2011 02:04 PM
278 replies to this topic
#197
arise_shine
-
- Members
-
- 3,969 posts
Shizz JediMaster
- Location:Scansin
Posted 05 June 2012 - 09:15 AM
Solaris, nice. 
Their 80s album album "Martian Chronicles" (or something like that) was pretty rad. They played the very first Nearfest and proceeded to piss everyone off by playing 2-3 more encores than they were slotted to play.
Oh yeah, speaking of, UK is the replacement headliner for Nearfest Apocalypse. Apparently they were their first choice all along, but I guess scheduling didn't work out? Either way, they're coming. Yay? I had the first UK album back in the day and didn't really care for it. Maybe their music will have grown on me. We'll see.
Speaking of which, I finally got around to listening to Eloy in earnest, and .. yeah, this shit is for real. I got Ocean and Silent Cry & Mighty Echoes, and they're both winners from front to back. So much spaciness and tasty melodic soloing. Love it. Need to get moar.
Their 80s album album "Martian Chronicles" (or something like that) was pretty rad. They played the very first Nearfest and proceeded to piss everyone off by playing 2-3 more encores than they were slotted to play.Oh yeah, speaking of, UK is the replacement headliner for Nearfest Apocalypse. Apparently they were their first choice all along, but I guess scheduling didn't work out? Either way, they're coming. Yay? I had the first UK album back in the day and didn't really care for it. Maybe their music will have grown on me. We'll see.
Speaking of which, I finally got around to listening to Eloy in earnest, and .. yeah, this shit is for real. I got Ocean and Silent Cry & Mighty Echoes, and they're both winners from front to back. So much spaciness and tasty melodic soloing. Love it.
Need to get moar.
My MTG blog.
"The sun has left the sky, now you can close your eyes, leave all the world behind until tomorrow." (Latimer/Bardens)
#198
arise_shine
-
- Members
-
- 3,969 posts
Shizz JediMaster
- Location:Scansin
Posted 27 June 2012 - 09:42 AM
NEARfest Apocalypse is in the books. Here's my off-the-cuff review ...
Friday:
Aranis: Univers Zero clones, but very good stuff. Complex and engaging, yet melodic and catchy. Dave Kerman played compressed air cans on one song.
Van Der Graaf Generator: Pretty rockin for a bunch of old guys. Seriously, they looked like they were pushing 70. Peter Hammill played the tormented madman very well. Musically, it was pretty intense for a three-piece. Wish I could have heard the organ bass pedals better though. Good stuff.
Saturday:
Helmet of Gnats: Prog-fusion. Lots of tasteful soloing, and great chops. Seemed like nice down-to-earth dudes. I don't normally like this kinda thing, but these guys did it well. I still don't understand, though .. is it a helmet with gnats in it, or is the helmet composed of gnats?
Twelfth Night: British Neo-prog. This kinda thing never seems to go over well at fests. Would have been much better in a small club or something. But they put on a great show, and Andy Sears did a great impersonation of Geoff Mann (their first, dead lead singer, RIP) impersonating Peter Hammill. Good stuff, but their energy seemed to be lost on the seated theater crowd.
Anglagard: Swedish symphonic. Pretty much my favorite band. They played a lot of new stuff (3/4 of their new album), which unfortunately seems to be "more of the same." Kinda disappointing. Their keyboard player has retired (for now) from live performing, so they had the keyboard player from the other Swedish band on the bill filling in. He did a good job. But he and the guitar player seemed to miss a few notes here and there. And something about their performance seemed a little less inspired than it was in 2003. I dunno. Still really good stuff though. I stood in the autograph line afterwards just so I could awkwardly tell them thanks for the music. I have a such a hard time meeting and talking to people that I know but don't really know. Ya know?
Renaissance: British symphonic. Annie Haslam was awesome .. about 70% of the time. The other 30%, oddly enough, wasn't the high dramatic stuff, but the more "middle of the road" parts of her range, where she had a hard time hitting some notes. Kinda painful to watch, but still good overall.
Sunday:
Gosta Berlings Saga: Swedish rock. Kinda zeuhl-ish? Or Crimson-ish? Great sound, but I felt some of their stuff dragged on, when they basically jammed on one riff for way too long. Lots of other folks were blown away, but I wasn't really one of them.
Il Tempio delle Clessidre: Italian goth-metal-symphonic. Good stuff. Bordering on cheesy/campy at times, but it was all done very well. Great players. They had a touch of the "classic Italian" sound, but mostly they were pretty heavy. Liked it a lot.
Mike Keneally Band: American rock .. kinda fusion influenced? Talented musicians, but not really my thing. I walked out on them to get some food and to give my ears a rest.
UK: John Wetton didn't really seem to be into it, like he was going through the motions, but they still brought it. I was super tired by that point, and I kept nodding off, but I liked what I heard. Eddie Jobson rocked the keyboards HARD, and they brought all the bombast fitting for the very last NEARfest. Good stuff. Wish their CDs were easier to find for less than $30 a pop.
The next day I felt really bummed about the whole thing. It's really ending. I have a lot of great memories from when I went from 2000-2003. So many great performances over the years. Wish I could have gone to more of them. But ... and I think this where it gets to me emotionally .. I think progressive rock is dying again. The vast majority of fest goers are the same white middle-aged demographic as from 15-20 years ago when the prog-revival started. The 70s bands are all getting old, and so are the fans. Some younger folks are discovering some of this music, but other than kids tagging along with their dads, there weren't more than a dozen or two attendees younger than myself. And most of us know, younger fans aren't really going to financially support the scene. "Check out this new band .. okay, lemme hop on Bit Torrent ..." And they don't seem to be into really traveling or fest-going. At least not for this kinda music. I'm afraid that in 10 years it's going to have dwindled back down to nothing.
Another thing that stood out to me .. I was a LOT more social this time around than in years past. It seemed much easier for me to strike up conversations with strangers. I ended up befriending the guy sitting next to me, a nice white middle-aged guy from Toronto who just discovered Anglagard last year and came specifically for them. We hung out and got dinner and drinks and it was pretty cool not to have to sit awkwardly by myself all the time. I also ended up chatting with a couple of younger folks who commented on my Magfest t-shirt. And on the way back from Pennsylvania, I saw a guy at a travel plaza in Ohio or Indiana wearing a NEARfest t-shirt, so I just said, "NEARFEST!", and we ended up chatting and becoming Facebook friends. I guess it goes to show how much I've become more comfortable with myself in the last 10 years. It's just really nice to be able to talk with others about this stuff, like when I went to MWS and Magfest for the first time and could talk video games with like-minded folk. Wish I could do it again ...
Friday:
Aranis: Univers Zero clones, but very good stuff. Complex and engaging, yet melodic and catchy. Dave Kerman played compressed air cans on one song.
Van Der Graaf Generator: Pretty rockin for a bunch of old guys. Seriously, they looked like they were pushing 70. Peter Hammill played the tormented madman very well. Musically, it was pretty intense for a three-piece. Wish I could have heard the organ bass pedals better though. Good stuff.
Saturday:
Helmet of Gnats: Prog-fusion. Lots of tasteful soloing, and great chops. Seemed like nice down-to-earth dudes. I don't normally like this kinda thing, but these guys did it well. I still don't understand, though .. is it a helmet with gnats in it, or is the helmet composed of gnats?
Twelfth Night: British Neo-prog. This kinda thing never seems to go over well at fests. Would have been much better in a small club or something. But they put on a great show, and Andy Sears did a great impersonation of Geoff Mann (their first, dead lead singer, RIP) impersonating Peter Hammill. Good stuff, but their energy seemed to be lost on the seated theater crowd.
Anglagard: Swedish symphonic. Pretty much my favorite band. They played a lot of new stuff (3/4 of their new album), which unfortunately seems to be "more of the same." Kinda disappointing. Their keyboard player has retired (for now) from live performing, so they had the keyboard player from the other Swedish band on the bill filling in. He did a good job. But he and the guitar player seemed to miss a few notes here and there. And something about their performance seemed a little less inspired than it was in 2003. I dunno. Still really good stuff though. I stood in the autograph line afterwards just so I could awkwardly tell them thanks for the music. I have a such a hard time meeting and talking to people that I know but don't really know. Ya know?
Renaissance: British symphonic. Annie Haslam was awesome .. about 70% of the time. The other 30%, oddly enough, wasn't the high dramatic stuff, but the more "middle of the road" parts of her range, where she had a hard time hitting some notes. Kinda painful to watch, but still good overall.
Sunday:
Gosta Berlings Saga: Swedish rock. Kinda zeuhl-ish? Or Crimson-ish? Great sound, but I felt some of their stuff dragged on, when they basically jammed on one riff for way too long. Lots of other folks were blown away, but I wasn't really one of them.
Il Tempio delle Clessidre: Italian goth-metal-symphonic. Good stuff. Bordering on cheesy/campy at times, but it was all done very well. Great players. They had a touch of the "classic Italian" sound, but mostly they were pretty heavy. Liked it a lot.
Mike Keneally Band: American rock .. kinda fusion influenced? Talented musicians, but not really my thing. I walked out on them to get some food and to give my ears a rest.
UK: John Wetton didn't really seem to be into it, like he was going through the motions, but they still brought it. I was super tired by that point, and I kept nodding off, but I liked what I heard. Eddie Jobson rocked the keyboards HARD, and they brought all the bombast fitting for the very last NEARfest. Good stuff. Wish their CDs were easier to find for less than $30 a pop.
The next day I felt really bummed about the whole thing. It's really ending. I have a lot of great memories from when I went from 2000-2003. So many great performances over the years. Wish I could have gone to more of them. But ... and I think this where it gets to me emotionally .. I think progressive rock is dying again. The vast majority of fest goers are the same white middle-aged demographic as from 15-20 years ago when the prog-revival started. The 70s bands are all getting old, and so are the fans. Some younger folks are discovering some of this music, but other than kids tagging along with their dads, there weren't more than a dozen or two attendees younger than myself. And most of us know, younger fans aren't really going to financially support the scene. "Check out this new band .. okay, lemme hop on Bit Torrent ..." And they don't seem to be into really traveling or fest-going. At least not for this kinda music. I'm afraid that in 10 years it's going to have dwindled back down to nothing.
Another thing that stood out to me .. I was a LOT more social this time around than in years past. It seemed much easier for me to strike up conversations with strangers. I ended up befriending the guy sitting next to me, a nice white middle-aged guy from Toronto who just discovered Anglagard last year and came specifically for them. We hung out and got dinner and drinks and it was pretty cool not to have to sit awkwardly by myself all the time. I also ended up chatting with a couple of younger folks who commented on my Magfest t-shirt. And on the way back from Pennsylvania, I saw a guy at a travel plaza in Ohio or Indiana wearing a NEARfest t-shirt, so I just said, "NEARFEST!", and we ended up chatting and becoming Facebook friends. I guess it goes to show how much I've become more comfortable with myself in the last 10 years. It's just really nice to be able to talk with others about this stuff, like when I went to MWS and Magfest for the first time and could talk video games with like-minded folk. Wish I could do it again ...
My MTG blog.
"The sun has left the sky, now you can close your eyes, leave all the world behind until tomorrow." (Latimer/Bardens)
#199
arise_shine
-
- Members
-
- 3,969 posts
Shizz JediMaster
- Location:Scansin
Posted 12 July 2012 - 12:05 PM
Okay, Eloy is quickly becoming one of my new favorite bands. I've got like 8 of their CDs now, and I like just about every track on every single one of them I've listened to so far. So good. I used to see them as the German Pink Floyd, but I think they're more like the German Camel (Mirage/Moonmadness-era) than anything. Love it.
My MTG blog.
"The sun has left the sky, now you can close your eyes, leave all the world behind until tomorrow." (Latimer/Bardens)
#200
Djinnocide
-
- Members
-
- 5,196 posts
Shizz Master Zero
- Location:FL, U.S.A.
Posted 12 July 2012 - 12:41 PM
Being an avid fan of both (especially Camel), I can hear the comparisons between the two for sure.
Just got around to reading your writeup on NearFest. Sounds like a pretty great time and I'm kind of bummed I never made it up for that. Glad to hear you enjoyed yourself!
Just got around to reading your writeup on NearFest. Sounds like a pretty great time and I'm kind of bummed I never made it up for that. Glad to hear you enjoyed yourself!
#201
Jadbgjoka
-
- Members
-
- 4,013 posts
Shizz JediMaster
- Location:Fredericton, N.B. CANADA
Posted 13 July 2012 - 02:12 PM
Nearfest sounded awesome! Glad you had a great time, and I suppose the latter bit of your post is something many MAG-goers can attestto. It sure is a strange feeling, a tearing down walls sort of vibe where it seems to be the closest to truly being natural outside of the select few people we truly share ourselves with.
I also feel the bumming vibes of seeing the scene die off. While premature, I had the same feeling after seeing the Minibosses in Montreal years ago. I was lucky enough to have gone with and met such great people that we managed to keep MAGFest in our sights to ward off the gentle twilight of a personal era.
I also feel the bumming vibes of seeing the scene die off. While premature, I had the same feeling after seeing the Minibosses in Montreal years ago. I was lucky enough to have gone with and met such great people that we managed to keep MAGFest in our sights to ward off the gentle twilight of a personal era.
I doubt 9 inches would play much into a relationship, if at all.
#204
Demonstray
-
- Members
-
- 8,856 posts
Shizz Boss
- Location:Pits of Rage, Canada
#205
the Wozz
-
- Members
-
- 10,644 posts
DAD Jr.
- Location:TX
Posted 05 August 2012 - 05:42 PM
This is one of my absolute favorites. Prog from my own hometown, Fort Worth. Yeti. If you like Magma and Goblin, check this out.
Yeti - Things to Come
Yeti - Things to Come
#206
arise_shine
-
- Members
-
- 3,969 posts
Shizz JediMaster
- Location:Scansin
Posted 06 August 2012 - 12:39 PM
I saw those guys at Progday ... '00 I think it was? I forget. They were good, but a sunny outdoor fest was kinda not the ideal venue for them. It's been a long time since I heard that CD.
My MTG blog.
"The sun has left the sky, now you can close your eyes, leave all the world behind until tomorrow." (Latimer/Bardens)
#207
the Wozz
-
- Members
-
- 10,644 posts
DAD Jr.
- Location:TX
Posted 27 August 2012 - 04:43 PM
I'm jealous! I have seen their subsequent bands: The Great Tyrant and Pinkish Black live. Check them out too. Not the same, but still great.
Yeti - Interstellar Biplane (live)
Great Tyrant - Candy Canes
Pinkish Black - Bodies In Tow
Yeti - Interstellar Biplane (live)
Great Tyrant - Candy Canes
Pinkish Black - Bodies In Tow
#208
chronolever
-
- Members
-
- 3,945 posts
Shizz JediMaster
- Location:Nebraska
Posted 27 August 2012 - 04:53 PM
Been listening to a lot of Zappa lately.
#210
chronolever
-
- Members
-
- 3,945 posts
Shizz JediMaster
- Location:Nebraska
Posted 27 August 2012 - 05:43 PM
Joe's Garage part I is my favorite zappa.
Mine too!
Reply to this topic
0 user(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users
