Live News: An Italian Summer of Prog

In spite of the difficult economic times, and also of the prevailing “the grass is greener” attitude, in 2011 Europe is all set to offer an almost unprecedented range of progressive rock (and related) festivals – in sharp contrast with the (hopefully temporary) demise of both NEARfest and CalProg in the North American continent. In the past few weeks I have come across no less than four announcements of respectably-sized events taking place in various part of the boot-shaped peninsula.

The first edition of the Civitella Progressive Rock Festival will be held at the sports centre of the town of Civitella Paganico, in the Tuscan province of Grosseto, starting on July 16 with guitarist Alex Carpani and Pink Floyd tribute band Time Machine, and then continuing on the weekend of July 22/23  with Classic ELP Tribute, local band Gran Turismo Veloce and legends Le Orme (July 22), and The Watch opening for Fish (July 23).

On the same weekend (July 22-24), the festival We Love Vintage will be held at the sports centre Due Madonne in Bologna, with an impressive lineup featuring well-known names of the classic prog era such as the new supergroup CCLR (with Bernardo Lanzetti, and Aldo Tagliapietra as a special guest) and Arti e Mestieri with Mel Collins and David Cross, as well as up-and-coming acts such as Paolo Schianchi, Alex Carpani, Ego, Altare Thotemico, Stereokimono, Mappe Nootiche, Astralia, and Bologna’s own Accordo dei Contrari (with legendary ‘voice of Canterbury’ Richard Sinclair as a special guest).

Again on the same weekend, on July 22, the Austin-based duo WD-41 (recently interviewed here) at the Portello River Festival in Padova, an event that is sure to appeal to those with a keen interest in experimental and world music.

While the month of August in Italy is traditionally dedicated to vacation, progressive rock will make a comeback in September with another two extremely intriguing events. The 2 Days Prog Veruno will take place at the Piazzetta della Musica in the town of Veruno, in the Piedmontese province of Novara. This year the festival, in spite of its name, will last 3 days instead of two (September 2-4), and its exciting lineup will feature Italian acts such as Alex Carpani Band, Methodica, Il Tempio delle Clessidre, Arti e Mestieri (again with Mel Collins and David Cross) and Goblin, alongside celebrated international acts such as RPWL, Anathema, Riverside and Agents of Mercy.

This staggeringly rich season of music will be wrapped up by theProgressivamente Festival held at the Casa del Jazz in Rome on the following week (September 6-11). The event, dedicated to the memory of Italian musician and Chapman stick virtuoso Virginia Splendore (who tragically passed away at the end of May 2011), will offer a veritable ‘who is who’ of classic and modern Italian prog, with bands such as Il Tempio delle Clessidre, Locanda delle Fate, Murple, Fonderia, Metamorfosi, Le Orme and Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, as well as Gentle Giant offshoot Three Friends and tribute acts Us and Them, Goblin…Rebirth and Progtop. An additional feature of the event will be listening ‘seminars’ for audiophiles comparing analog and digital recordings of the great prog albums of the Seventies.

As unbelievable as it may sound to my American readers, some of these events will be free of charge, or have a very accessible price (no higher than 20 euros).  Whoever is planning a trip to Italy in the summer months may be interested in planning things so as to be able to attend at least one of those concerts, which will offer the added bonus of great surroundings and excellent food and drink.

Links:
Civitella Progressive Rock Festival:http://www.synpress44.com/01Comunicati.asp?id=1113

We Love Vintage: http://www.welovevintage.it/

Portello River Festival: http://www.riverfilmfestival.org/PRF7.pdf

2 Days Prog Veruno:http://www.lastfm.it/festival/1936079+2+Days+Prog+Veruno

Progressivamente Festival: http://www.progressivamente.com/

Transatlantic – The Whirlwind

Since the 1980s, much of the so-called progressive rock mainstream has become something of a contradiction. While the meaning of the word ‘progressive’ inherently means to be moving forward with something, many prog rock bands opt to go for a sound that might sound a little too much alike the old giants like Genesis or Yes. In other words; these bands may be able to craft highly intelligent suites of music and play their instruments with often virtuosic skill, they are not holding true to their label and actually moving the sounds of rock music forward into the future. Such is the somewhat discouraging case with prog rock supergroup Transatlantic, a band that features an all-star cast of prog musicians. From well known bands like Spock’s Beard, The Flower Kings, Marillion, and Dream Theater, Transatlantic’s reputation preceeds them, and their individual talents as musicians and artists cannot be disputed at this point. With their third album together, Transatlantic makes an expansive two-disc set of music with ‘The Whirlwind’, an album that received great amounts of praise from prog rock circles in 2009. Looking back on it, the talents of each member is shown quite clearly in the music here. It is no small feat to create an hour plus epic suite, and all things considered, Transatlantic pays an immense gratitude to the old greats of progressive rock with this album. However, even factoring the masterful execution of the album into the judgement here, ‘The Whirlwind’ still feels more like an homage to 1970s prog rock, than an individual artistic statement of its own.

From start to finish, ‘The Whirlwind’ dishes out all of the cliches and trademarks of classic prog rock epics into one sprawling piece; orchestral introductions, recurring musical themes, fantasy-based lyrics, and liberal instrumentation. The first disc of this double album is entirely devoted to the title track, a seventy seven minute observation that draws upon each of the band member’s talents and in no dearth of musical ideas. Although mostly a Neal Morse and Roine Stolt driven project here, all of the band members put in their distinctive sounds into the music. Although having risen to fame as being a metal drummer, Mike Portnoy’s distinctive drum sound translates very nicely here into the laid-back prog rock that Transatlantic plays. Moreover, all members sing on this album, although once again, Stolt and Morse take up much of the disc time with their voices.

On top of a spot-on execution in terms of performance and production, the album is also very well composed, although this should not come as a surprise to anyone who has heard the music of any of these guys’ flagship bands before. Although ‘The Whirlwind’ is a bit shallow in emotional dynamic, everything is given a lush arrangement, as is best heard in the complex keyboard and vocal harmonies. However, although the execution of the music here is close to perfection, the formula that Transatlantic is using still feels stale, no matter how much flash they may try to douse it with. As has already been said, ‘The Whirlwind’ offers very little to a listener that they have not already heard before; pleasant and cheerful symphonic progressive rock was already mastered as an art form a good forty years before this album dropped. Moreover, there does not feel as if there is much contrast or dynamic throughout the seventy seven minutes of length. The emotions are kept fairly light, and there are rarely any moments of cutting tension to give the epic a sense of dramatic conflict. Although this constantly mellowed and ‘rose-tinted’ music may have been exactly what Transatlantic was aiming for, it can feel slightly monotonous even long before the epic wraps up. ‘The Whirlwind’ in total though is quite an enjoyable piece of music, and although the whole act feels fairly unoriginal and not as inspired as I may have liked a project like this to turn out, the sheer depth of the performance and arrangement to the music is alone worth the experience.

Onto the second disc here; ‘The Whirlwind’ does feel as if it ends on the first disc, and the second is simply a compilation of bonus material. A compilation of some less successful original material and cover tracks, the same musicianship is carried over here, but especially with the covers, the whole thing feels somewhat unnecessary. Due to the fact that Transatlantic’s entire gimmick seems to be around making 1970’s progressive rock, the covers don’t bring anything new to the songs that would be worth checking out on their own, unless the listener is a big fan of any one of the musicians playing. In any case, while the second half of Transatlantic’s project here is much less successful than the main attraction, it does not deter from the power that the band has conjured here. Although I do feel somewhat underwhelmed by the band’s derivative style and the band would be a failure were it not for the legendary talents of these men, ‘The Whirlwind’ is still a perfect record for a listener looking for a complex piece of revivalist symphonic prog rock.

Tracklist:

Disc 1: The Whirlwind (77:47)
i) Overture / Whirlwind (9:54)
ii) The Wind Blew Them All Away (6:10)
iii) On The Prowl (6:03)
iv) A Man Can Feel (6:35)
v) Out Of The Night (4:22)
vi) Rose Colored Glasses (7:54)
vii) Evermore (4:10)
viii) Set Us Free (5:03)
ix) Lay Down Your Life (5:11)
x) Pieces Of Heaven (2:17)
xi) Is It Really Happening? (8:11)
xii) Dancing With Eternal Glory / Whirlwind (Reprise) (12:04)

Disc 2 (56:27)
1. Spinning (9:58)
2. Lenny Johnson (4:20)
3. For Such A Time (5:23)
4. Lending A Hand (8:43)
5. The Return Of The Giant Hogweed (Genesis) (8:26)
6. A Salty Dog (Procol Harum) (4:59)
7. I Need You (America / The Beatles) (4:39)
8. Soul Sacrifice (Santana) (10:00)

Line-up:

* Neal Morse – vocals, keyboards, acoustic & electric guitars
* Mike Portnoy – drums, vocals
* Roine Stolt – vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, mellotron, percussion
* Pete Trewavas – bass, bass pedals, vocals

Links:

http://www.transatlanticweb.com/

Black Mountain – Wilderness Heart

The third album from Black Mountain shows the band developing their sound even further. Best described as their ‘maturation’ record, ‘Wilderness Heart’ shows Black Mountain really getting their presentation down and consolidating their music, but still, something feels missing here. While ‘In The Future’ remains the most inventive thing that Black Mountain has ever released, ‘Wilderness Heart’ shows the band at their most refined, even if it still results in a fairly bland release.

Although the past of Black Mountain has relied mainly on retro rock conventions, ‘Wilderness Heart’ shows the band really embracing modern rock sounds, although some sounds from classic rock and 70’s prog still remain. There are mellotrons, psychedelic samples and exotic sounds that sound like they could have been taken from Led Zeppelin’s ‘Kashmir’ here, all thrown atop some fairly conventional songwriting. Black Mountain was relatively adventurous with their second album, really letting loose with experimentation with the sixteen minute track ‘Bright Lights’ really coming to mind. Here, Black Mountain has become almost something of a standard rock band that one could hear on the radio, with a few prog sounds thrown in here and there for the sake of good measure. Surprisingly enough, this isn’t the worst possible idea for the band, due to the fact that while they showed promise while tugging their psychedelic influences, they never really grabbed hold of it. Here, ‘Wilderness Heart’ shows the band stripping down, but the presentation simultaneously improves. The vocals are still very twangy and none too pleasant to listen to, but are certainly a step up from the poor Arcade Fire-knock off I heard on the debut.

While it is something of a step forward for Black Mountain, ‘Wilderness Heart’ also doesn’t have the same shock value. There is also more than enough of this sort of radio-friendly rock to go around, and quite frankly, there are many bands that do it better than these guys. The development here is audible however, and it makes one wonder that providing they choose to work out a fourth album, whether or not it will be another step forward for the band.

Tracklist:

1. The Hair Song
2. Old Fangs
3. Radiant Hearts
4. Rollercoaster
5. Let Spirits Ride
6. Buried by the Blues
7. The Way to Gone
8. Wilderness Heart
9. The Space of Your Mind
10. Sadie

Line-up:

* Stephen McBean – Guitar/Vocals
* Amber Webber – Vocals
* Matt Camirand – Bass
* Jeremy Schmidt – Keyboards
* Josh Wells – Drums/Keys

Links:

http://www.blackmountainarmy.com/

Dream Theater – On the Backs of Angels

It’s finally happening. Earlier today, Roadrunner Records released the first single for the upcoming Dream Theater album, entitled ‘A Dramatic Turn Of Events’. With Mike Portnoy having left the band late last year and a new drummer taking his place, there is great anticipation to hear what this new incarnation of Dream Theater sounds like. Although fake leaks aplenty were circling the internet, ‘On The Backs Of Angels’ is the first we get to hear of the real thing, and coming from someone who has been a huge fan of the band for the better part of a decade, the single has not disappointed. At nearly nine minutes in length, ‘On The Backs Of Angels’ really isn’t what I would normally think of when it comes to a single. And going with the territory, there are plenty of instrumental sections for the band to really strut their stuff with the new drummer, Mike Mangini. Although the music here is nothing new for Dream Theater, I have not been disappointed; this song is excellent.

It begins with some proggy mellow guitars that lead the song into something much heavier; a nearly symphonic progressive metal that really underlines the dark sounds the band has started gravitating towards in order to compete with other bands. Instrumentally, the band is in top form here, and its much what one would come to expect of this band. The real focus here is on Petrucci and Rudess, who have quite a few moments to the two of them where they really shred, but it all feels intentioned and composed, rather than shallow technicality like many of the band’s detractors would attest to. Coming as a bit of a disappointment is Mike Mangini’s drum performance here. Although the drums were written by Petrucci, Mangini’s performance doesn’t feel like anything particularly excellent here, save for some interesting accents he makes towards the introduction of the song. Vocally, James LaBrie’s voice begins somewhat blandly, but it makes up for it later in the song where he takes control of a brilliant chorus, and some very effective harmonies here and there.

‘On The Backs Of Angels’ is a very promising start to the upcoming record, and now that the time is getting so close, I’m really beginning to feel excitement for this.

Tracklist:

01. On the Backs of Angels (08:40)

Line-up:

* John Petrucci – guitar
* Jordan Rudess – keyboards
* James LaBrie – vocals
* John Myung – bass
* Mike Mangini – drums

Links:

http://www.dreamtheater.net/

The Contortionist – Exoplanet

Metal has always been a type of music where a little bending of the rules is encouraged, and with that in mind, many talented young acts have been taking advantage of the style to express themselves in new heavy ways. Enter The Contortionist, a five piece progressive metal act that carries that somewhat stigmatic label of ‘deathcore’ around with them, but as one can hear on their debut full-length record ‘Exoplanet’, there is much more going on to them than the label implies. Contrasting claustrophobic technical death metal with wonderfully atmospheric jazz and post-rock moments, ‘Exoplanet’ is a futuristic dive into metal that showcases the skill of some promising young talent.

Many of the younger bands have been attracted to the breakdown-heavy and crushing sounds of deathcore, but to be entirely honest, few are able to pull off the sound with intelligence or taste. The Contortionist is certainly a heavy act by all accounts, but as virtually every track on this debut indicates, there is more going on to them than mere metal riffage. ‘Primal Directive’ and ‘Flourish’ both start out as fairly straightforward technical metal tracks, complete with blistering drums and guitars, and fairly generic growls. As the music goes on though, the band is common to shift into lighter, melodic sections. This is where the great strength of ‘Exoplanet’ lies; in the atmospheric beauty moments where they take it down a notch and contrast their typically heavy metal sound. This is not to say that the metal aspect of The Contortionist is not tight however, just not as unexpected. The Contortionist is very technically complex, and during the most technical moments of their fury, it is often very difficult to predict where the band will head next, even if the sound revolves around the same guitar tones over the course of the record.

The Contortionist does contrast the heavy and light moments throughout the record, and at times, this can start feeling a little formulaic. Luckily, the melodic moments are so atmospheric, and the heavy parts are technical enough to keep the whole thing interesting to the end. The closest comparison or evident influence to the band’s sound would actually be to Cynic, and while that influence certainly does not show in the band’s necessary breakdowns and tech riffs, it is clear in the melodic moments, particularly in the way that a vocorder is used over the clean vocals. Overall, this gives the band a fairly futuristic sound to them that works well with the sci-fi lyrical themes they cover.

An excellent first full-length from this band, and while I’m not finding myself endeared to every sound that the band has to offer, there are incredible parts here that must be heard by progressive metal listeners.

Tracklist:

1. Primal Directive (4:01)
2. Flourish (6:21)
3. Expire (3:45)
4. Contact (4:59)
5. Advent (3:17)
6. Vessel (4:57)
7. Oscillator (5:00)
8. Axiom (2:24)
9. Exoplanet I: Egress (4:11)
10. Exoplanet II: Void (3:32)
11. Exoplanet III: Light (5:46)

Line-up:

* Jonathan Carpenter – Vocals, Keys
* Robby Baca – Guitar
* Cameron Maynard – Guitar
* Chris Tilley – Bass
* Joey Baca – Drums

Links:

http://www.myspace.com/thecontortionistband

Blood Ceremony – Living With the Ancients

This is the Canadian quartet’s 2^ndrecord and it was quite delayed in coming out. The gatefold double vinyl LP turned out quite nice. I was a bit bummed I did not get to see the band at Roadburn due to choosing to see another band. There were three great bands all playing at the same time, so what can you do? You must choose one.

The record starts off with a short instrumental track with some nice acoustic guitar and flute, very folk oriented. This leads into Coven Tree which starts quite dramatic with a heavy organ sound and then some samples from a movie (I think) come in and the track takes off. This is a cool melodic doom track with a nice guitar solo and some great vocals.

The Hermit brings the flute back and the vocal is quite spacey on this one. Musically it is a bit like Witchcraft meets old Tull. Fantastic song.

Side B starts with an uptempo track called My Demon Brother and it has a long organ solo followed by a great guitar solo as well. Excellent track. Morning of the Magicians has a hard edge guitar riff that is nicely balanced out by the flute playing and melodic vocals. Wow. The flute playing is so much better on this LP than the first one. She has really improved a lot.

Side C starts with the track, Oliver Haddo. It sadly fades out with a really cool riff and groove going. Night of Augury is one of the really melodic epic style tracks and reminds me one from the debut LP.

Side D starts with a short intro piece with flute called the Witches Dance and this leads into a long track called Daughter of the Sun, a track with many sections. A great track to end this excellent record that tops the bands debut.

Legend – Cardinal Points

After a fifteen year wait between studio albums, any band’s new output is going to meet some level of anticipation, regardless of how popular they were during their golden years. The UK melodic progressive act Legend has been out of the spotlight for quite some time, leaving listeners with a trilogy of records that earned them something of an underground fanbase. Coming back with promises of another great record to round off their saga, Legend returns with ‘Cardinal Points’, an album that continues their chronological album number concept by focusing the record around the number four; more specifically, the four primal elements.With an epic track devoted to earth, air, fire and water respectively, this feels like fairly standard prog rock canon. While Legend’s ambition does not necessarily fail them here, the music on ‘Cardinal Points’ rarely feels as if it works well with the epic format, and coupled with a dated 80’s sound and somewhat dry presentation, Legend gives a very mixed impression with their comeback record.

Although Legend is commonly given the rather dated label of ‘neo-prog’ to describe their music, the band certainly does have more going on to their sound than a single term would do justice to. Although very melodic in nature, Legend has a more longwinded approach to their music making, often making use of alot of folkish ambiance to get the point across. With each of these epics that Legend has crafted to represent the elements, there are fairly common sections where the music is kept slow and subtle. In some parts, this laid-back approach works very well. The opening minutes of ‘Carved In Stone’ are calming and mystical, keeping pretty mellow, yet keeping the sound dense with different soundscaping techniques and details that are often hidden deep within the mix. ‘Drop In The Ocean’ features some of the album’s most heartfelt moments, using light acoustics and synthesizers to create a muddy dreamscape. While the mellow approach that Legend takes to many of these epics works well in small doses, it can make these so-called ‘epics’ into a fairly monotonous journey, especially considering that the more energetic segments of ‘Cardinal Points’ can be downright annoying.

Although Legend show their maturity through their attention to detail, the songwriting and composition itself really does not sit well with me. While each of these tracks are fairly lengthy (ranging from thirteen minutes to seventeen), they all have parts to them that are best described as ‘choruses’; catchy sections that are repeated to death throughout the track. Unfortunately, these choruses are not only malfitting of an epic, they are downright irritating. The bouncy, synth-laden chorus of ‘Spark To A Flame’ feels like it is ripped straight out of a female-fronted 80’s arena pop group. The vocals here also really tend to hurt the instrumentation and ambiance of the record. While vocalist Kerry Parker has a decent voice in parts, her singing often feels strained, especially when she tries to hit the higher notes. They result in fairly cringe-worthy moments where she warbles out of key, and while I am a fan of her full-sounding lower register, I can’t say the same the higher.

Legend’s ‘Cardinal Points’ is disappointing both for its rather uneventful compositions and the fact that the album came to me with the highest of recommendations. Along with a very muddy production job that tends to take away from the music even more, ‘Cardinal Points’ is washed away with the legions of other prog albums this year that have failed to grab my imagination. That being said, Legend does get points for ambition and a clever insight into detail and soundscaping, but it can be a tough sell when put in the context of the album’s weaknesses.

Tracklist:

1. Carved in Stone (13:09)
2. Whisper on the Wind (14:42)
3. Spark to a Flame (13:57)
4. Drop in the Ocean (17:03)

Line-up:

* Kerry Parker – vocals
* Steve Paine – keyboards
* Dave Foster – guitars
* Dan Nelson – bass
* John Macklin – drums

Links:

http://www.stevepaine.org/

Luxury Liner – Six Tracks

I have no idea if this quintet from Sweden named this recording Six Tracks intentionally or it’s totally unofficial, but at the end who cares. This is how a modern country music should sound. And these guys and the girl named Rebecka Cronsten are really good at what they do.

I have to mention that I got interested to this band after I saw them on my personal Facebook profile in a news feed. Mathias Danielsson of Makajodama, My Brother the Wind and The Usual Suspects lent his enormous big skills by playing pedal guitar on two tracks (obviously 4 and 6), and actually these two appear as the most favorite. Not only because I dig everything Mathias is involved in, but also because these two songs carry a spirit of legendary Gram Parsons. This is contemporary, but still enough this revokes the golden era of country music. Looking forward to hear more.

Verma – Salted Earth

Chicago’s Verma is a successful exploration of spacey psychedelic and krautrock improvising, blending a vast field of influences ranging from drone, minimalism, post-rock and electronic to already mentioned space/psychedelic base with recognizable krautrock motorik. Atmospheric at moments, with haunting vocals and repetitiveness of rhythm section it’s highly recommendable for everyone who thinks that Can is the last krautrock samurai.

Nicklas Barker – El Ultimo Fin De Semana

Should I introduce you at all who is Nicklas Barker? Instead I may tell that he is already an established name in progressive rock circles as the man has been around since the early 90’s, mostly known by being a founder of highly appreciated Swedish band called Anekdoten. Since 2010, he has been involved in a psychedelic rock project named My Brother the Wind and their debut called Twilight in the Crystal Cabinet was released the same year. Besides Anekdoten and My Brother the Wind, Nicklas was a part of a project known as Morte Macabre (also featured Peter Nordins, Stefan Dimle (ex-Paatos, ex-Landberk) and Reine Fiske (Dungen, ex-Landberk) with whom he recorded an album titled Symphonic Holocaust, covering the themes from the horror movies, such as Cannibal Holocaust and Rosemary’s Baby.

And actually this project is mostly related for this post. Namely, Nicklas wrote a score for a Spanish horror movie El Ultimo Fin De Semana (Our Last Weekend) directed by Norberto Ramos del Val. Knowing that Nicklas is a fan of horror movies, this soundtrack sounds pretty refreshing in a lethargic ocean of horror soundtracks (films). I guess that no many horror OST composers use mellotron in reaching the needed creepiness. It’s tense, dark, majestic, progressive, it’s horror and it’s more than good. Don’t forget to turn off the lights.

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