Concrete Sun – Sky is High

I am not sure if what we are witnessing with the Serbian underground rock scene is emulating the mythological image of the Phoenix’s ascension, but certainly the lake that seemed to be pretty tepid in recent years is raising waves. Erm, let’s leave that discussion for some other time and focus on this promising new band, hailing from the city of Novi Sad. This band delivers a striking combination of southern metal and stoner rock, although their own categorization is “southern sludge ‘n’ grunge“.

First of all, if I didn’t know where the band came from before I listened to the album, I’d probably say this is another band from Texas. Not sure if it’s because of the band’s reminiscence to Pantera and Down, but other than that there is an omnipresent feeling of southern (desert) and stoner factors. Sky is High is a record which requires the patience and if you are not armed with it, then go back listening to Slayer. It’s kind of weird, but the album fits perfectly in time when the Sun is torturing my sweat glands on a +40 (celcius) day.

The harshly melodic vocals of the singer Strahinja Cerovina keep the album’s flow up together with guitar duo of Bojan Mijatović / Budimir Živković and their heavy-as-fuck riffs. Last Man Under the Sun, which we included on Progstravaganza 7, is the most commercial track off the album (if commercialization does work here) paying tribute to Pantera’s Cowboys from Hell / Vulgar Display of Power period. That being said this particular track stands out from the other songs, but at the same time binds them.

Marshalling the riffs in an equal order from the opening Just a Beginning down to Hide Behind, with absorbing guitar solos and excellent singing, Concrete Sun prove that southern metal is not unfamiliar for this part of the world.

Tracklist:

01. Just a Beginning
02. Euphoria
03. Last Man Under the Sun
04. D.A.N.U.B.E.
05. Junkyard Dog
06. God Forsaken Prostitute
07. Ruff Song
08. Sky is High
09. Hide Behind

Line-up:

* Strahinja Cerovina – vocals
* Bojan Mijatović – guitar
* Budimir Živković – guitar
* Strahinja Petrović – bass
* Miloš Topić – drums

Links:

http://www.facebook.com/concrete.sun

The Heavy Company – The Heavy (Please Tune In…)

Blues and psych – that is how this Lafayette, Indiana based trio called The Heavy Company could be characterized. Having a giant mushroom on the art cover comes as a plus, as it always turns that the album proves to be good. By that criteria, The Heavy Company justifies the previously statement.

Six songs, totalling almost 24 minutes bring to mind a blend of The Allman Brothers Band, Jimi Hendrix, Fu Manchu and Clutch. Southern rock wriggles in from time to time, as well as space rock bits, though bluesy psychedelia is the foundation of this EP. Although you might expect it to be heavy due to the term’s double appearance in both the band’s name and the title of the EP, they are most of times pretty laid back and mellow, the heaviness dissolved by the bluesy guitars and organs. The guitars become fuzzy in the parts when blues is not enough to cross the bridge to the other, more psychedelic side. Classic rock is present as well, mostly appearing in Black Tuesday, but other than that you get a lot of interlacing between psychedelia and blues.

Out of these six songs the band provides the best game on one of three instrumentals called Wormweed, with bass and guitars picking the best cards. Caged Bird brings the southern feel in the mixture, while The Heavy displays early Floyd spacey psychedelia.

All in all, this EP is a more than satisfactory debut release and with the guard kept up The Company is ready for a great full-length. Looking forward hearing more from you guys! Until that happens, Please Tune In…

Tracklist:

01. Please Tune In…
02. The Heavy
03. Black Tuesday
04. Wormweed
05. Monsignor Charlie Bird
06. Caged Bird

Line-up:

* Ian Gerber – guitars, vocals
* Jeff Kaleth – drums
* Ryan Strawsma – bass

Links:

http://theheavycompany.bandcamp.com/

The Illness – The Monument to Our Guilded Age

The Illness come from San Francisco and by their words these guys bring a new sound to the progressive rock world. Their music can easily be assigned as progressive, judging by the range of subgenres San Franciscans cover. The best description of what can be heard on A Monument to Our Guilded Age is compiled by picking up the tags from the band’s Bandcamp profile. These are: Deftones, Mastodon, System of a Down, The Mars Volta and Tool, with a slight addition of Alice in Chains, here and there.

Comprised of 12 songs (although their Bandcamp says there are 13), The Illness breaks all possible conventions of what’s being considered progressive rock/metal. Their variant of progressive is slightly different, the complexity in the songs structure compiled together with the energy which blasts off from any single tone is the best example of how “new“ progressive music sounds. Or at least, how it should.

There is no hesitation in their sound to not employ “second hand“ subgenres such as punk or metalcore which fall beyond grungy and new metal cross-rhythms wrapped  up with whole lot of progressive rock and metal cannonballs (Eyes in the Wals, Fire Escape, Misanthropy). Aside that, to not keep the things overpushed, in some parts of the album the band sweeps into calmer waters with an emphasized sense of melody (Slowpoke, Krakatoa, Downside Outright), and based on what was previously said this helps the album become a well balanced record in terms of its structure.

The strongest ardour comes in the shape of the vocalist Josh Viers, whose vocal skills fall far beyond the already excellent album. The Illness has their own Mike Patton, considering what this dude is able to provide in short intervals, coming all the way from screams to soothing voices. I wouldn’t be surprised hearing this guy singing the chansons in some French restaurant around SF.

If you think that Pink Floyd, Genesis and Yes told everything about progressive rock and progressive music in general back in the heydays, then you are absolutely wrong. In that case, The Illness’ A Monument to Our Guilded Age is a direct hit to that same progressive rock, a hit that awakes and inflames the fight. With the closing Victory, The Illness wins the twelve-round match quite convincingly.

Tracklist:

01. Lengua de la Morte
02. Eyes in the Walls
03.  The Monument to Our Guilded Age
04. Fire Escape
05. Slowpoke
06. Krakatoa
07. Misanthropy
08. Turn Your Head
09. Take a Number
10. Defenestration
11. Downside Outright
12. Victory

Line-up:

* Chris Thalmann
* Joshua Viers
* Carlos Villarreal
* Matthew Zipkin
* Cyrus Wong-Weissman

Links:

www.SpreadTheIllness.net
http://www.facebook.com/SpreadTheIllness

The Fërtility Cült – Eschatology

Taken from TheObelisk.net:

The bottom line here is that The Fërtility Cült, like a lot of bands, use stoner rock as their basis for varying stylistic explorations. Their jams are consistently engaging with hypnotic rhythms that, added to the flourishes of sax and organ, make for a solid listen. It probably won’t change your life, and if you never liked stoner rock, it probably won’t change your mind, but if you’re a fan of the style who regularly bemoans the lack of individuality within it, there’s enough personality on Eschatology to maybe quiet your woes for a while, and more than enough to make me want to see what the band does the next time around. I dig it. You might too.

Johnny Engstrom Band

Opusculus – Consonant

Opusculus are a trio based in Montréal (Canada), where they were first formed in 2004 by drummer Michel Landry. The current line-up, featuring guitarist Jocelyn Maheux and bassist Thierry Alexandre Zambo, has been together since 2007. Part of the material on Consonant, the band’s debut album,  released in the second half of 2010, dates back from their early years. All of the three members have extensive musical training and experience; the band are also quite active on the live front in their home town, both as performers and organizers of musical events, though they are still relatively unknown outside Québec. Fiercely proud of their independent status, Opusculus fly the flag for all those bands who would rather take risks rather than bow down to market pressures.

The mention of a  power trio hailing from Canada is inevitably bound to bring Rush to mind, and the legendary Toronto outfit is indeed listed among the main influences on Opusculus’ music. However, while Rush’s output has always been based on songs, even in the days when they still wrote 20-minute epics, Opusculus have adopted a sharply different approach for their debut album – which is basically a single, completely instrumental composition divided into 20 movements (or, as the band put it, “a 20-chapter epic song”), each named after a consonant of the English alphabet. Though employing nothing more than the basic rock setup of guitar, bass and drums, the trio produce an impressive volume of highly complex music, aided by superb sound quality that lends a detailed, multi-dimensional feel to each instrument’s contribution.

The CD’s press release points out that Consonant was inspired by a wide range of musical genres, and as such likely to appeal to fans of such iconic bands as King Crimson, Rush, Porcupine Tree, Liquid Tension Experiment and Tool. While all of those acts base their sound on a finely balanced mix of creativity and outstanding technical skill, most of them also employ vocals and more conventional song structures, as well as keyboards, seen by many as an almost mandatory ingredient of progressive rock. Indeed, although the lack of the depth and fullness that keyboards can provide to instrumental music can occasionally be felt on Consonant, the classic “power trio” format encourages the three musicians to push their own boundaries, weaving a tight web of sound with the rather minimalistic instrumentation at their disposal.

Clocking in at almost 62 minutes, Consonant is bookended by its two longest segments, which seem to summarize the  whole of the band’s musical conception in a more articulate fashion. The remaining 18 tracks, all between 1 and 3 minutes, run into each other without any clearly defined pauses, though often distinguished by sharp changes in mood and pace. Like a statement of intent, opener “B” introduces the listener to the three instruments’ seamless interaction – alternating aggressively riff-driven sections with more sedate ones, which spotlight Thierry Alexandre Zambo’s role in providing a steady, rumbling stream of bottom end to complement Michel Landry’s acrobatic drumming. The track reminded me of Rush in terms of style rather than actual sound, with the rhythm section playing as much of a starring role as the guitar, though Jocelyn Maheux’s amazing performance runs the gamut from harsh, metal-infused riffing to laid-back, melodic soloing. The band’s wide- ranging network of influences is clearly displayed throughout the album, from the strong King Crimson vibe of “C” and “S” to the mellower, jazzy feel of “K” and the Latin suggestions in “G”. The almost 8-minute “Z” wraps up the album by juxtaposing two very different styles such as the relaxed, faintly hypnotic warmth of reggae and the obsessive angularity of math-rock. The latter influence pervades most of the album, with some of the frantic, high-energy drum parts reminiscent of heavily percussion-focused bands like Battles or Don Caballero.

Complemented by stylish though slightly disturbing cover artwork, Consonant is a very ambitious project, especially for a debut album, and a bit of an acquired taste on account of its idiosyncratic format.  Definitely an attractive proposition for fans of instrumental progressive rock with a high degree of complexity and eclecticism, the bare-bones instrumentation, frequently repetitive patterns and occasional bouts of dissonance may put off those who prize carefully structured compositions with plenty of melody to offset the technical brilliance. However, while the album might have benefited from some editing here and there,Consonant is an intriguing first effort by a trio of very talented and dedicated artists, and would deserve to get more exposure in prog circles, especially when all-instrumental bands are discussed.

Tracklist:

1. B (5.34)
2. C  (3:02
3. D  (1:39)
4. F  (1:36)
5. G (2:03
6. H  (3:48)
7. J  (3:39)
8. K  (2:56)
9. L  (3:41)
10. M (3:00)
11. N  (3 :11)
12. P  (3 :23)
13. Q  (3 :34)
14. R  (2:00)
15. S  (2:41)
16. T  (1:24)
17. V  (1:48)
18. W (2:34)
19. X  (2:38)
20. Z  (7:50)

Line-up:

* Jocelyn Maheux – guitar
* Michel Landry – drums
* Thierry Alexandre Zambo – bass

Links:

http://opusculusprog.blogspot.com/

http://www.myspace.com/opusculus

Unified Past – Observations

This is the last album of this US duo Unified Past, which has been released this year (2011). Here we will find a cool mixture of symphonic prog, heavy prog and even some rock-pop moments distributed in eleven compositions that together make a total time of 62 minutes. This is actually my first experience with this band, so I cannot really give you a background, however, I will surely look to their past and listen to their first footsteps.

It opens with “I’m Not Answering”, after an introductory first minute, the vocals appear along with what would be the musical structure. I like the guitar sound here, especially the riff that we can hear just before the fourth minute. The music is a mixture of heavy prog with symphonic elements, excellent for us, the fans of the genre. “Mr. Extravagant” starts with a bombastic keyboard sound which sadly only lasts for a few seconds, it opens the gates to the song’s main rhythm which is mid-tempo with a kind of 80s prog feeling. This is not a bad song, but not my favorite at all.

“Insulated” has a constant keyboard background which after some seconds will become addictive. It is complemented by nice bass lines, cool drums, great guitar riffs and average vocals. Here I honestly enjoy more the instrumental passages in which we can truly appreciate their quality as musicians, and their compositional skills. “Crushed” is a softer track, I would say a bit experimental and different from the previous ones. In moments I cannot help but remembering Rush in their 80s phase. This song has also a couple of nice guitar solos.

“Exploratory Observations” starts with percussions and little by little the other elements are joining, first vocals, then keyboards, bass, guitars and drums. It has a catchy sound and we can even listen to some claps here. I would not really call this particular song as a progressive rock one, nonetheless it is worth listening. “Painful Observations” has a nice rhythmical base, I like its start and how it suddenly slows down and acoustic guitar stays. When vocals appear we can once again feel a kind of rock-pop feeling, a catchy tone that one can use to sing. I like the bass a lot, though the song is not their best, in my opinion, actually, this two-observations-song is a weak moment in the album.

“The Move” is a wonderful track, with some birds sound as background while a nice acoustic guitar plays. Later a slide guitar appears and gives a special flavor to the sound. After a minute it stops for a couple of seconds and then becomes more aggressive with heavier guitars and vocals, the feeling is a bit tense and angry. However, later it returns and finishes with the same soft and gently sound as it began.
“Mesmerized” is another interesting track with an excellent structure. I like its beginning, the first moments where an atmospheric sound announces that a change will come, and it comes. Later the music takes a different direction, creating nice textures and colors until it reaches a climax, which is when the guitar solo appears. The last minute sounds more intense. Great!

With “Faithless” we are reaching the final and probably strongest part of the album. This is the longest track, and the first of the last trio. Its sound is softer, with delicate vocals, percussions and calm guitars that together create a tranquilizing moment. What I like here is the intercalation of instrumental moments with the ones with vocals, the band wants to explode both and make the listeners notice their quality, and I do notice it, though I cannot hide my preference for the instrumental ones. There is a part where the guitar solo appears and works together with that exquisite percussion sound. This is one of their finest moments.

“Remember When” is another long song, and it also has a soft sound in the first moments, however it will change after a few seconds when the guitar appears and creates a constant and long solo that works as both, fore and background, it leads and complements the music at the same time, which is great, a difficult work. The song maintains completely instrumental for the first three minutes, then vocals appear with an emotional tone. The music is pretty interesting, I like the keyboards here, and later the awaited guitar solo. Here the music transmits several things, and that is invaluable.

The album closes with “Here They Come”, a cool track with a keyboard feast at least for the first minute. Later bass, drums and guitars appear creating an eclectic and challenging sound. This is an instrumental track, and a wonderful choice to finish the album.
So Unified Past new album is a good one, with some highs and lows, but with a nice potential especially in their last three tracks, which were my favorites, besides the opener. However I would honestly omit a couple of songs which did not really let me happy, anyway, I like the album as a whole and it is worth listening.

Enjoy it!

Tracklist:

1. I’m Not Answering
2. Mr. Extravagant
3. Insulated
4. Crushed
5. Exploratory Observations
6. Painful Observations
7. The Move
8. Mesmerized
9. Faithless
10. Remember When
11. Here They Come

Line-up:

* Victor Tassone – drums, percussion, chants & special effects
* Stephen Speelman – vocals, guitars, bass, Taurus pedals, keyboards & lap steel

Guest musician:

* Vinny Krivacsy – keyboards

District 97 – Live at Calprog

This is the first live album by US band District 97, you may say it is a bit early because they have only released one studio album, and having on par one live is not something that we can see every day. This is a performance in the Cal Prog Festival which was completely recorded and released, and now enjoyed by District 97 newcomers and future fans.

What this live show features is a set of seven songs, including their long 27-minute epic Mindscan, so this is an ambitious live introduction which in my opinion works as a revulsive for the band, because in this high-quality performance we appreciate that they are not only good on studio.

The first track here is the single “I Can’t Take You With Me”, with symphonic keyboards, nice harmonies, cool drums and nice female vocals. This may be their introductory piece, but not their best.

“Termites” has a heavier sound, which does not really mean the music goes towards prog metal, not at all. When keyboards appear they really help, putting even more power to the music, which in addition with the vocals make a strong, heavy and good track. I also like the short changes and the backing male vocals. The final two minutes are crazy, with a weird but cool guitar solo.

“Who Cares?” is a track not included in their “Hybrid Child”, and I don’t know if it will be featured in their next album. It is a shorter song with nice vocals and cool instrumentation, it also has some catchy flavor that explains a little bit why this band has been often labeled as a crossover prog one.

“The Back and Forth” is a wonderful track. Eight minutes in where we can listen and appreciate the band’s compositional skills, as well as their wonderful performance, they really create a communion, the sound is pretty clean and challenging, and the vocals perfectly work and complement the music. I like also the instrumental passages, the heavier ones are cool, well-placed so one can enjoy these changes without losing track. I bet people who witnessed this performance had a great time.

The following is a nice rendition to UK and Genesis, with the performance of “Presto Vivace / Back in NYC”. They do it pretty well, I love the especially the keyboards, but worth mentioning Leslie Hunt vocals, which are excellent.
Now, what may be the strongest part, their 27-minute epic “Mindscan” which is divided in ten short parts which I will not describe one by one this time, I did it when reviewing the studio version, now I will limit to mention that this is an ambitious, well-crafted song with several changes in mood, time and tempo, and sound which actually fit in perfectly, acting as ten pieces of the puzzle, without one, the song would not have that success. Here you will have a nice mixture of symphonic prog, heavier moments and even some spacey ones.

The concert finishes with “Open Your Eyes” which is a nice song, but not their best and honestly after that strong combo (Back and Forth, the covers, and Mindscan) I believe they closed the album in a weaker way.

A great concert, a nice live introduction that allows us to follow District 97 first footsteps. Now I can say that I would like to see them in concert, hope they come to Mexico someday.

Enjoy it!

Tracklist:

1. I Can’t Take You With Me (5:59)
2. Termites (6:27)
3. Who Cares (4:50)
4. The Back and Forth (8:34)
5. Presto Vivace/Back in NYC (7:01)
6. Mindscan (27:17)
7. Open Your Eyes (4:26)

Line-up:

* Leslie Hunt – vocals, tambourine
* Rob Clearfield – keyboards, additional guitar
* Jim Tashjian – guitar, backing vocals
* Patrick Mulcahy – bass
* Jonathan Schang – drums

Matt Stevens – Echo

This is what I would say about UK composer Matt Stevens, whose music is based in acoustic guitar. His compositions are very original, well-structured and designed to catch everyone’s attention, he caught mine since the first time I ever listened to his music, he really knows how to use that acoustic guitar and how to express with it. Back in 2008 he released his album entitled “Echo”, which consists of ten compositions that make a total time of 33 minutes, so as you see, all of them are short tracks, but with high quality.

“Burning Bandstands” is the first song here which curiously happens to be the longest one, the only one that passes the four minutes length. Since the first moments we can appreciate Stevens’ style and feel attracted by the sound, which is calm, charming, promising and enjoyable. “Airships” has that inherent Spanish feeling, here also can notice that he also uses the guitar as a percussion instrument by delicately hitting at its body. It is great to listen to different guitars used as back and foreground.

“Drama in the Coals” follows the same path as the previous one, actually I would say the sound is pretty alike in most of the tracks, which does not necessarily means it is repetitive, I actually would say this is Stevens’ style and that’s it. “Flies in the Basement” is one of my favorite tracks, with an Andalusian style, mixed with some kind of jazzy tone, reminding me a bit of Paco de Lucìa or Al di Meola. Wonderful track.

“Snow part 3″ is a shorter track, and with a different style, a more melancholic sound, even sad and disarming at the same time, like a moment of reflection. With “Chasing the Sun” the music returns as the style we are used to. Nice acoustic guitar harmonies, cool repetitive background and an always constant and interesting foreground.

The name of Rodrigo y Gabriela also came to my mind while listening to some Stevens’ pieces, it would be cool if they three gathered together for one night and make a glorious acoustic guitar trio. “Spencer Park” is another shorter track, with a calmer sound, a nice structure and some additional elements that makes it richer. One can be listening to this and feeling relaxed, happy, pleased.

“West Green” might be a kind of reggae-classic-acoustic track, mainly due to the friendly rhythm. The last part has also some nice spacey effects. “Jubilee” may be more of the same, the first seconds with the hit to the guitar’s body, and later the stringsbeing played with high quality, once again. And finally “Dolls house” which is another of my favorite tracks, a great way to finish the album.

Matt Stevens music is great, I really like his style, though “Ghost” is still my favorite album (and better than this, in my opinion) I am happy with “Echo”, a cool album whose music may appeal to any prog lover. My final grade will be three stars (3.5).
Enjoy it!

Tracklist:

1. Burning Bandstands (4:19)
2. Airships (3:28)
3. Drama in the Coals (2:58)
4. Flies In The Basement (3:36)
5. Snow Part 3 (2:56)
6. Chasing the Sun (2:23)
7. Spencer Park (2:35)
8. West Green (3:46)
9. Jubilee (3:51)
10. Dolls House (3:52)

Line-up:

* Matt Stevens – guitars, loops

Cynthesis – DeEvolution

Due to the incredible diversity of progressive metal, it’s rare to find an album that satisfies all fans of the genre. Cynthesis’ debut album DeEvolution may end up being one of the few. Keep in mind, reading the rest of the review, that despite all my criticisms DeEvolution is a fantastic album and well worth your time and money.

Cynthesis is formed from the remnants of Zero Hour, a band known for being Opeth but with speed metal (fans of Zero Hour will note that this is not an entirely accurate comparison, but it should suffice for the purposes of this review). Some of their original sound can be heard in DeEvolution, but for the most part Cynthesis seems to have formed a new style independent of their Zero Hour roots.

DeEvolution is a concept album that probably shouldn’t be. While the music is nothing short of excellent at all times, the concept part of the album is handled a bit clumsily and tends to be confusing and preachy. According to the Amazon product summary, “‘DeEvolution’ tells the story of an elite group of leaders from a heavily industrialized city who find, brainwash and then exploit an indigenous tribes shaman, believing he would be the perfect supreme leader. By propping him up as possessing all the answers to societies ills the elites use him in order to gain and maintain control over the masses.” I quote the product summary here because without it I would have had no idea what was going on. The anti-consumerism and anti-corporate sentiment comes across clearly (albeit somewhat preachingly), but the “shaman” storyline is fairly esoteric, and definitely needs some clarification. The album does make clear the idea that someone is being put into power against his will, but the story beyond that is so vague that it might as well not exist. The concept of DeEvolution is not bad – and is even quite successful on occasion – but it would have greatly benefited from a little more attention and revision.

Despite my criticisms of the concept, however, it culminated quite well in an Ayreon-style finale, full of emotion and suitably epic music (although critics of Ayreon will find that it’s not quite as cheesy).

Within the finale, though, arises another issue – that of vocals occasionally restricting music. There is no doubt that the Tipton brothers are fantastic musicians, but I can’t help but feel that they might be held back by their singer – there are a few tracks where the music is notably tempered for the sake of the vocals. This goes both ways, however, as there are times when the music clashes with or almost completely blocks out the singing.

Cynthesis’ only real problem, then, is a failure to properly mesh instruments and voice. The singing and the music are oddly syncopated to one another, and seem to be entirely independent. As someone used to the Pain of Salvation school of “voice as part of the melody,” the awkward juxtaposition of voice upon music comes as a bit of a shock. There are times (in fact, I’d say the majority of the album) where they work together quite well – but there’s no denying that the two sides of the album don’t quite fit together. It can perhaps be attributed to the fact that the Tipton brothers haven’t worked with Erik Rosvold in some time, or that DeEvolution is Cynthesis’ first album – I don’t know, but if these hurdles are overcome then Cynthesis could easily become a new favorite band.

Ultimately, these criticisms are nitpicking complaints on a work that is just really good. If nothing else, DeEvolution is worth picking up to hear the amazing instrumental talent of Jasun and Troy Tipton, with music that is equal parts slow and melodic and frantic and heavy, all with perfect execution. The members of Cynthesis are both talented and creative and all fans of progressive metal can find something to love in their styles.

Tracklist:

1. The Man Without Skin – 4:08

2. Incision – 7:30

3. Divided Day – 7:45

4. Shallow World – 4:44

5. Profits of Disaster – 6:00

6. The Edifice Grin – 5:03

7. Twilight – 3:40

8. A Song of Unrest – 6:47

Line-up:

Jasun Tipton – Guitars and Keyboards

Troy Tipton – Bass Guitar

Erik Rosvold – Vocals

Sean Flanegan – Drums

Links:

http://www.myspace.com/cynthesisband

http://www.amazon.com/DeEvolution-Cynthesis/dp/B004OKFIW2

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