The music these Texans play is undiscribable. It can seem as total chaos when listening on it for the first time...or even the 10th time, but this is music to listen to over and over again and to discover new things the 50th time you listen to it. Somehow they manage to put melody to the chaos and that's what make me able to listen to this album. They, as good progressive bands do, always return to the basic ground in a song. Not just flipping away like some other bands do just to be able to call themselfs a progressive band. There are some songs I like here, some that I can listen to but also some that I just can't stand. 64 minutes of this kind of music is way too much, I get totally messed up in my head.

On Mars Volta's 6th album guitarist John Frusciante from Red Hot Chili Peppers is for the first time not playing on the album. Also Deantoni Parks had replaced Thomas Pridgen on drums.

1)The whip hand (4,5)

2)Aegis (7,5)

3)Dyslexicon (7,0)

4)Empty vessels make the loudest sound (5,5)

5)The malkin jewel (3,0)

6)Lapochka (6,0)

7)In absentia (3,0)

8)Imago (7,0)

9)Molochwalker (6,5)

10)Trinkets pale of moon (3,0)

11)Vedamalady (4,5)

12)Noctourniquet (3,5)

13)Zed and two naughts (5,0)

Score: 5,08

Cedric Bixler-Zavala-vocals (b.1974)

Omar Rodríguez-Lopez-guitars, bass and keyboards (b.1975)

Juan Alderete-bass (b.1963)

Deantoni Parks-drums (b.1977)

30 years after the last album by Magazine, here came their 5th album. It's an album full of progressive pop-rock like I have never heard anywhere else and I like it a lot except for a couple of songs that's not as good as the rest. I like the psychadelic rhythms and guitar- and bassplaying that make the songs interesting all the way through.

Since the last album Magazine's guitarrist John McGeoch had died (in 2004, 48 years old) and bassist Barry Adamsondid not participate due to other musical obligations.

1)Do the meaning (8,0) Spacy guitar, mystic, melodic and very charming song!

2)Other thematic material (8,0) Advanced progressive pop-rock with some really cool guitarpicking.

3)The worst of progress... (7,0) Slow, heavy song that reminds of Midnight Oil but with very interesting noises and pianoplaying that don't fit but in this music it does anyway...

4)Hello Mister Curtis (With apologies) (6,5) Heavy main bass line but somewhat dull song.

5)Psysics (6,5) Kind of a ballad that sounds like Bryan Ferry.

6)Happening in english (7,0) Odd and cool rhythms.

7)Holy dotage (7,5) Uptempo rocker.

8)Of course Howard (1979) (7,0) Spacy and big sounding that draws my thoughts to Pink Floyd.

9)Final analysis waltz (7,0) Laid back and slow but anyway a good song but the album looses some of the good quality from the beginning.

10)The burden of a song (6,0) Odd rhythm again and not the best uptempo song they could have made.

Score: 7,05

Howard Devoto (Howard Trafford)-vocals (b.1952)

Noko (Norman Fisher-Jones)-guitars (b.1962)

Stan (Jonathan White)-bass

John Doyle-drums (b.1959)

Dave Formula (David Tomilson) -keyboards (b.1946)

This band is from Japan and is the first japanese album I write about. Flower Travellin' Band's 1st album (with the actual band name) from my birthyear 1971 is a complicated piece of work that is very hard to describe. When it comes to Japanese culture, art, music and so on it is many times "over the top" and very difficult for many to understand. This piece of music is inspired by the psychadelic wave of the time and probably by japanese music without knowing anyting about it. The guitarsound is never heard of before nor after this album. Very sharp and loud. There's not much singing but it doesn't matter much.

1)Satori Pt. 1 (6,0) Heavy and psychadelic hardrock. Too chaotic and monotone at the end.

2)Satori Pt. 2 (5,0) Very monotone shuffle-like heavy hardrocker.

3)Satori Pt. 3 (8,0) 10 minutes long instrumental psychadelica and I like it. They made this song in a very cool and interesting way.

4)Satori Pt. 4 (5,5) 11 minutes slow and a little too monotone and with some harmonica-guitar soloing.

5)Satori Pt. 5 (5,5) Very progressive 8-minute song.

Score: 6,00

Joe Yamanaka-vocals and harmonica (1946-2011)

Hideki Ishima-guitars (b.1944)

Jun Kozuki-bass and guitars

Joji "George" Wada-drums

On this album Hammers Of Misfortune had parted company with Mike Scalzi, who focused on his main band The Lord Weird Slough Feg, and Jamie Myers in order to raise a family. I don't know if that is the reason why the band left their metal-roots and concentrated on a more 70's progressive rock-feel with theatrical impacts and mixed male and female vocals. I like some of the music here, I havent really heard anything like it, at least not in more modern prog. I would like the drumming to be more variated, the drumming is quite ordinary and it doesn't fit progressive music.

Fields:

1)Part 1: Agriculture (7,5) Interesting variated start. Traces of Porcupine Tree and Pink Floyd can clearly be heard here.

2)Part 2: Fields (7,0) Female vocals in this almost-a-ballad. Somewhat medieval melodic song.

3)Part 3: Motorcade (7,0)

4)Rats assembly (7,0)  Melodic start that goes into an cool organ-chaos.

5)Always looking down (6,0) Strange drumsound. Spacy vocals. Monotone song.

6)Too soon (7,0) Nice mix of melody and rock in this 8-minute progger but the last minute is... weird.

Church Of Broken Glass:

1)Almost (left without you) (5,0)

2)Butchertown (3,0) Incredibly boring slow 10-minute song.

3)The gulls (6,5)

4)Church of broken glass (5,0) Boring ballad.

5)Train (6,5) High energy but somethings's missing.

Score: 6,14

Jesse Quattro-vocals

Patrick Goodwin-vocals

John Cobbett-guitars

Ron Nichols-bass

Chewy Marzolo-drums

Sigrid Sheie-piano, organ and flute

For the 2nd album from british progressive rock/hard rock-band Atomic Rooster, vocalist and bassist Nick Graham had left the band and guitarrist (the 1st album did not include guitars) John Du Cann from the acid/progressive rock-band Andromeda was recruited. He also took over vocals duties in Atomic Rooster. Carl Palmer, founder member of the band left prior to this album and he's spot was filled by Paul Hammond. Carl Palmer later became a well known member of Emerson, Lake And Palmer. The album reached nr. 12 on the british chart in 1971, the year after it's release and is today considered a prog classic.

Vincent Crane died in 1989, aged 45, of an overdose of painkillers after a lifetime struggling with mania-depression; Paul Hammond died in 1992, aged 40, of an overdose and John Du Cann died in 2011, aged 65, of an heart attack, meaning that all of the musicians on this album was dead by 2011.

1)Death walk behind you (7,0) Slow, heavy mystique doom-laden 7-minute start.

2)Vug (8,0) Very good instrumental song with organ in the forefront and cool guitarplaying.

3)Tomorrow night (8,0) Very melodic song with a catchy refrain.

4)Seven lonely streets (8,5) Great prog! Intense, driving rhythm and great organ-/guitar-riffing and singing.

5)Sleeping for years (7,5)

6)I can't take no more (7,5) Very nice melodic heavy rock song.

7)Nobody else (7,5) Wonderful melodic piano/vocal that goes into a progressive guitar rocker in the middle and then ends as the beginning.

8)Gershatzer (8,5) Just great instrumentalsolo/improvisation! The band's connection to Arthur Brown can really be heard here!

Score: 7,81

Vincent Crane-Hammond organ and piano (1943-1989)

John Du Cann-vocals and guitars (1946-2011)

Paul Hammond-drums (1952-1992)

A Swedish band that I had never heard of that I found at the musiclibrary. Moa plays a hard-described kind of experimental, intellegent, musical and punky pop-rock-something-like-that... It's interesting, dark and crazy but not something that I would listen to very often.

1)I walked into the hotel room and the TV was on... (-) Cool intro.

2)Cannibal (7,0)

3)Crash, burn and die (6,5)

4)DanceSingDreamSmellTasteFuck (7,5)

5)Like a soldier (6,0)

6)Bulldozer (6,0)

7)The M in S and M (5,5)

8)Lynch (6,5)

9)Crazy (6,5)

10)Hunt you down (6,5)

11)Moneyman (6,0)

12)Appendix (4,0)

13)The end (5,0)

Score: 6,04

Moa Holmsten-vocals, guitars and electric piano

Tony Naima-guitars

Markus Ingberg-bass

Fredrik Haake-drums

Per "Ruskträsk" Johansson-saxophone and clarinet

+

Conny Nimmersjö-guitars on 8, 10 and 12

On the 4th album by Savatage. On this album they began experimenting with progressive elements of the music and the album is considered one of the first progressive metal-albums. It was their new producer, John O'Neill that inspired the band to play a more symhonic kind of heavy metal. For metal it is! It's raw and heavy and full of killer songs that makes my head move up and down! I really like this album. It was also their first commercially successful album.

1)24 hrs ago (7,5)

2)Beyond the doors of the dark (8,5) The band really sets the standard with the first two songs. Aggressive, heavy and powerful and aggressive vocals like Metal Church's David Wayne.

3)Legions (8,0) Heavy, slow and I really like the attacking guitarriffing and singing.

4)Strange wings (7,5) Very melodic but very good.

5)Prelude to madness (-)

6)Hall of the mountain king (9,0) Incredible song! Starts with a blistering guitarsolo and a solopart in the middle is just superb!

7)The price you pay (7,5)

8)White witch (8,0)

9)Last dawn (-)

10)Devastation (7,5)

Score: 7,94

Jon Oliva-vocals and piano (b.1960)

Chriss Oliva-guitars (1963-1993)

Johnny Lee Middleton-bass (b.1963)

Steve Wacholz-drums

+

Ray Gillen (Phenomena)-backing vocals on 4. (1959-1993)

This band is from San Francisco, USA and this is their 5th album. They sound like a product of a popular type of music at the moment since they seem to be riding on the progressive metal-wave of the 2000's. Ufortunately this album isn't very good, in fact most of it sucks. It sounds like someone said to them: -Play progressive metal, it sells at the moment. The singing is very lame and they sound like they are trying hard to play progressive music even if they don't like that kind of music. This is crap like most american hardrockbands at the moment.

Joe Hutton and Leila Abdul Rauf are new in the band.

1)317 (3,5) Terrible start, almost instrumental.

2)17th street (4,5) Very progressive with strange vocals and a steady but boring rhythm.

3)The grain (5,0) 7 minute boring song that just goes on and on. Only the refrain is melodic and nice.

4)Staring (The 31st floor) (5,0)

5)The day the city died (6,0) Intense and better song.

6)Romance valley (7,0) Much better. Very intense and some nice male/female vocals.

7)Summer tears (2,5) Truly terrible. Why?

8)Grey wednesday (5,0)

9)Going somewhere (5,0) How can 10 minutes of progressive hardrock sound so boring?

Score: 4,83

Joe Hutton-vocals

John Cobbett-guitars

Leila Abdul Rauf-guitars and vocals

Max Barnett-bass

Chewy Marzolo-drums

Sigrid Sheie-piano and organ