Effloresce: First Song off “Coma Ghosts” Available for Stream
January 15, 2012 by Nikola Savić
Filed under Specials
January 15th, 2012 Nuremberg, Germany – The next big thing on progressive metal scene, the Nuremberg quintet, female fronted Effloresce have posted their first track off the upcoming album “Coma Ghosts”, due on February 10th on Generation Prog Records. The video for the song Spectre Pt. 1: Zorya’s Dawn is show below.
The band has previously issued a statement announcing their collaboration with Generation Prog Records, which first official release is Effloresce’s debut. Commented on a record deal, the band says:
“The last couple of months were extremely intense and exciting, and being signed to a label created by a talented and capable guy like Michael now tops it all. We cannot wait to show our thirst for action and our gratitude. We think that Generation Prog Records is the perfect home for us, it just feels very natural.”
Bitter Resolve – Bows and Arrows Against the Lightning.
January 14, 2012 by Nikola Savić
Filed under Bandcamp undercover
I don’t really remember when it happened to have such a good band discoveries in continuity. But who cares for it actually, there is a new band coming from Chapel Hill, North Carolina and their name is Bitter Resolve. Now, the trio comprised of Lauren Fitzpatrick on drums, R. Corey Dial on vocals/guitar and Robert Walsh on vocals/bass loves to describe their rock with the term “free”.
I don’t know what free rock is, but whatever it is, Bitter Resolve’s grooving sounds really good. That grooving would be the same way if Roger Waters & David Gilmour would join forces with Tony Iommi & Co. So hear it. That’s why you have that Bandcamp player embedded below. The band’s Bandcamp profile offers album in two editions. One’s digital download for $6.99 and also you’ve got limited clear-vinyl edition for measly 12 bucks. So if you have 12 bucks, this would be my recommendation for all of you who doesn’t know how and where to spend it.
Moraine – Metamorphic Rock
One of the pleasures of this reviewing lark is that once in a while something hitherto unheard of will land in your inbox that simply takes your breath away. This is as you might imagine, a fairly rare occurrence, for although during the course of a year the reviewer may receive a handful of seriously good CDs amongst the piles of average and worse, to receive something astounding is a rarefied pleasure indeed.
Such a thing is Metamorphic Rock whose irreducible complexity, to borrow one of the song titles is of such a seriously magical content I just can’t put it down. This band is filling mega stadiums in a parallel universe where Simon Cowell is on trial for crimes against art.
Formed by composer and guitar player Denis Rea, Moraine have so far released just one studio album, Manifest Destiny in 2009, and Metamorphic Rock is a document of their appearance at the 2010 Nearfest in the USA in front of a small but appreciative crowd, most of whom no doubt know how lucky they were to have witnessed such a wonderful ensemble in action.
Covering the many strata of styles that results in an easily identifiable cogent whole is no mean feat but Dennis Rea – guitars, James DeJoie – sax, flute, percussion, Alicia DeJoie – violin, Kevin Millard – eight string bass, and Stephen Cavit – drums make it sound easy. Dennis Rea, guitar player extraordinaire, covers all bases from Page-like riffage to Fripp math excursions, along the way taking on Chinese scales and Far Eastern imagery, amongst a whole gamut of other influences. Until last year I had not heard of this man, and I regret that a lot! He is also a member of Moonjune heavy jazz-fusion combo Iron Kim Style and has recently released a gorgeous solo album, but they are stories for another page.
The compositional credits are dominated by Dennis, with contributions from James and Alicia and Kevin, with one group composition, and another written by since departed cellist Ruth Davidson who appeared on Manifest Destiny. Indeed, since that album the cello contributions have been replaced by James’ sax and flute.
After the almost Zeppelin-esque power of James’ opener Irreducible Complexity, an early highpoint is the three part track Disillusioned Avatar/Dub Interlude/Ephebus Amoebus. The first part is composed by Alicia and her violin takes a plaintive lead melody with Dennis’ subtle guitar sounding like an elongated sigh as the tune sways along, conveying the melancholy of a deity disappointed with the results of man’s “achievements”. When I read the word “Dub” in a rock context, the aural results are often cliché-ridden and cringeworthy, not this time though as the short unobtrusive section soon leads into Kevin’s jazz-infused Ephebus Amoebus. As a non-muso I often wonder how drummers write songs, but this guy has come up with a mini jazz symphony over which Dennis goes through all kinds of gear changes including an avant cacophony. Marvellous!
Dennis’ Disoriental Suite follows with a marked change of style with much Eastern percussion and is lifted from his solo album Views From Chicheng Precipice and manages to mix traditional Chinese music and Dennis’ take on that sound with a sort of alt-blues with absolutely no problems at all. This is a truly beautiful piece of music my friends, and one not to be missed, and the band’s easy intuitive style is one that should, if there was any justice, make Moraine a household name, at least amongst the prog community. Here I should mention the rhythm section which as is necessary cope with all the style changes and Eastern time signatures with a casual ease that should frighten off lesser mortals. Stephen replaced the original drummer and so had to learn most of this from scratch, which shows how good he must be.
Some of the other things I can hear in this are chamber prog, Zappa, jazz-fusion, avant garde sound painting and hoedown….that last one was possibly a joke. Unusually for a live album there are previously unreleased compositions on here as well as a good few tracks from Manifest Destiny, and the aforementioned lift from Dennis’ solo album. This was presumably to accommodate the new line up where the cello is replaced by the sax & flute, and the tracks from Manifest Destiny do sound fuller in this new context.
The Okanogan Lobe has some nice squalling guitar and sax and violin and is a tremendous thing running amok until it ends with a melancholy air featuring some nice reverbed violin and a soaring solo from Dennis. Even when things get a bit out there, as on Uncle Tang’s Cabinet of Dr. Caligari for instance, the madness never takes over to the detriment of the arrangement, such is Dennis’ and the band’s compositional flair. Blues For A Bruised Planet does what is says on the tin, free of tired old 12-bar cliché too. Some nice trading of licks and interplay between the guitar and violin permeates Middlebräu and we reluctantly come to the end of a stunning musical tour-de-force…damn, just hit repeat!
Hell, I’m beginning to sound sycophantic, but honestly, it’s not intended. Metamorphic Rock is a timeless slab of an album and there is nothing at all terminal about this Moraine! Do yourself a favour, if you like good adventurous music, be it prog or any other genre, buy this seriously good CD, currently available from Moonjune Records at a bargain $12 (USA) or $14 (outside USA) including shipping. That, my good people, is a steal, treat yourself!
Tracklist:
1. Irreducible Complexity (3:39)
2. Manifest Density (3:45)
3. Save the Yuppie Breeding Grounds (4:07)
4. Disillusioned Avatar/Dub Interlude/Ephebus Amoebus (10:25)
5. Disoriental Suite (11:46):
a) Bagua
b) Kan Hai De Re Zi
c) Views from Chicheng Precipice
6. Kuru (4:31)
7. The Okanogan Lobe (7:36)
8. Uncle Tang’s Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (3:44)
9. Blues for a Bruised Planet (4:35)
10. Waylaid (5:31)
11. Middlebräu (9:09)
Line up:
* Dennis Rea – guitars
* James DeJoie – baritone sax, flute, percussion
* Alicia DeJoie – violin
* Kevin Millard – NS/Stick (8-string extended-range bass)
* Stephen Cavit – drums, percussion
Øresund Space Collective “Chased by the Space Police” Single Coming on January 21st!
January 14, 2012 by Nikola Savić
Filed under Specials
Collective of musicians from Denmark and Sweden playing entirely improvised rock music
Prog Sphere Promotions and Øresund Space Collective have some news for all of you who enjoy totally improvised progressive-psych-space rock. Next Saturday, January 21st, we will be giving the band’s single “Chased by the Space Police” for free. But in order to get your own “copy”, you will have to like the official Facebook page of the band, as the single will be available only for those who are among the “likers”. Thus, don’t hesitate. Go to http://www.facebook.com/OresundSpaceCollective, hit like and in 7 days from now you will get the single with included press info & art cover.
Chased by the Space Police was recorded during It’s All About Delay session on March 10th-11th, 2006 in the Black Tomato Studios, Copenhagen. Previously unreleased, this track is a supersonic journey through space and far beyond. Starting in a progressive rock manner with Hammond taking a lead it develops further towards more psychedelic space-led sound with funky noodling. Clocking little bit than 13 minutes, Chased by the Space Police is a good introduction to what can be expected throughout 2012. Don’t miss this greatness!
Øresund Space Collective on the web:
http://www.oresundspacecollective.com/
http://oresundspacecollective.bandcamp.com/
Testimonials: They Said About Us
January 13, 2012 by Nikola Savić
Filed under Specials
Scroll down to read what Prog Sphere Promotions artists say about us. We can only add that it’s been a great pleasure for us working with such amazing and creative people and this is certainly making us to deliver much more. Thanks!
Relocator and Effloresce sign with Generation Prog Records
January 13, 2012 by Nikola Savić
Filed under Specials
Nürnberg, January 13, 2012 - German record label startup GENERATION PROG RECORDS is proud to announce the first two members of its band roster: The international prog fusion project RELOCATOR and the Nürnberg based prog metal quintet EFFLORESCE. From jazz fusion to death metal—the stylistic diversity between the two bands is a perfect example of the modern prog approach the new label wants to showcase.
The first GENERATION PROG RECORDS release will be the upcoming EFFLORESCE album COMA GHOSTS, scheduled for February 10. Label founder Michael Schetter comments: “It’s both apleasure and an honor to be working with EFFLORESCE on this album. I’ve been following theband’s career from the very start and it makes me proud to hear them finally unleash theirpotential with this amazing CD.”
Effloresce are a female-fronted prog metal band from Nürnberg
Effloresce – Coma Ghosts
January 12, 2012 by Nikola Savić
Filed under Reviews
The privilege of opening this reviewing year has been granted to Effloresce’s debut Coma Ghosts, released on February 10th on newly founded label Generation Prog Records. Having received all the info about the album during its recording process only increased my hunger to hear it, and luckily a few days ago I got that chance.
Coma Ghosts was mixed and mastered by the legendary Dan Swanö, well known name in underground circles. This fact will certainly have an impact in the band’s breakthrough to a wider progressive metal field. Comparing Coma Ghosts with their previous release, the Shades of Fate EP, Effloresce shows significantly improved musicianship. It’s evident that the songs were approached carefully, thus everything seems to be brought to perfection. Hypothetically, if Shades of Fate lacked for originality, with Coma Ghosts this factor is not questioned. The Nuremberg based quintet doesn’t escape from their influences. They have begun to base their sound around elements from Opeth’s Blackwater Park era and upgraded their own craftsmanship via singer / flutist Nicki Weber. Her vocals are mostly clean, but she doesn’t hesitate to deliver growl-screamwork in situations that simply require it.
Comprised of six numbers totaling a little bit less than 55 minutes, the album opens with Crib which scatters around a nice series of riffs a la Symphony X. All of the beauty lies between the masterfully developed rhythmic changes and melodiousness, which is achieved through Nicki’s clean vocals. This is actually what’s threading throughout the whole record. I feel like I should mention Agnete M. Kirkevaag from Madder Mortem, as Nicki’s singing is kind of reminiscent to this Norwegian vocalist. To quote from the album’s press sheet: ”Nicki takes the listener on a nightmarish trip through the bleakest corners of human existence, though there is always a little spark of hope that the soul of each of the songs’ protagonists is not lost (yet).“
The album’s flow is such that it will bring you down to the deepest abyss of the human existence and then bring you up again to its brightest moments. The multicolourness of Coma Ghosts certainly shines in its full glory on the album’s longest tracks, but shorter tracks (of which one comes as an interlude) complement the structure of the album and raise it to a higher level. That being said, the aforementioned interlude Undercoat, a track led by spacy synths and nice acoustic chord voicing is what separates and connects the two entities.
The first entity, made up of Crib, Spectre Pt. I: Zorya’s Dawn and Pavement Canvas, is a good introduction to the Coma Ghosts story. Crib, being an opener, exudes freshness that has been lacking from the vast field of albums my ears have heard in the last couple of months. On the other side, there is Zorya’s Dawn clocking over ten minutes, which simultaneously exudes futurism and antiquity. The song opens with the Mola-Ivanic guitar duo performing a classic riff cannonade guided by a huge Hammond melody line. A real ace. Pavement Canvas catches the run-up with a kind of ambient-atmospheric feeling, breaking out with a quality collection of riffs.
The Mellotron sound with acoustic accompaniment at the beginning of Swimming Through Deserts opens the second and final piece of Coma Ghosts. This track in particular is the dreamiest off the record, wriggling slowly down the album’s centerpiece – Shuteye Wanderer.
With its massive 16 and a half minutes, this epic discloses all the skills of the band, whether creativity or performance, complexity or easiness. Just like what Blackwater Park (the song) is for the album by the same name, structurally Shuteye Wanderer does the same on Coma Ghosts. It’s a closing achievement made of an army of exceptional moments, occupying a large space on a sonic journey through both ancient and futuristic.
With Coma Ghosts, Effloresce made a big step forward. It’s not only a big step forward because it achieves so many glorious moments, but because it makes us proud to know this fine group.
Tracklist:
01. Crib
02. Spectre Pt. I: Zorya’s Dawn
03. Pavement Canvas
04. Undercoat
05. Swimming Through Deserts
06. Shuteye Wanderer
Line-up:
* Nicki Weber – vocals, flute
* Dave Mola – guitar, Mellotron
* Tim Ivanic – guitar
* Sebastian Ott – bass
* Tobias Süß – drums
Links:
Another psychic agent, let me say.
