This album by americans Mastodon is not so progressive as their other albums, but more stripped down. They have got good reviews of the album and reached nr.10 on the Billboard-list. I have never understood the greatness of this band, and I don't understand it with this album either. It must be one of the worst albums of 2011. Even though the production is superb and the drummig out of this world it does not change my opinion. This is a band that it has become popular to like, it doesn't matter what the kids think of the music, they are just cool to listen to. Tragic. Also, in the DVD that comes with the album there is a interview with drummer Brann Dailor about the album, and I must say that he seemed...well, stupid and immature. But the video with the Muppet show-like dolls is just great! Really fun stuff!

1)Black tounge (6,5) Short and intense start.

2)Curl of the burl (8,0) Superb superheavy riff and a steady heavy rhythm.

3)Blasteroid (6,0) Intense song and evil vocals in the refrain.

4)Stargasm (5,0) Symphonic and big arrangement but there's not much happening, no melody, no heaviness. It just goes on and on in chaos.

5)Octopus has no friends (4,0) Same as above. Seems like they just write songs and lyrics just for the sake of it and to fill the album out.

6)All the heavy lifting (5,5) More or less as above but with some interesting things happening.

7)The hunter (5,0) Boring.

8)Dry bone valley (7,5) Reminds a lot of Alice In Chains and I like the driving rhythm and as always, the furious drumming.

9)Thickening (5,0)

10)Creature lives (2,0) Meaningless song.

11)Spectrelight (6,0)

12)Bedazzled fingernails (5,0)

13)The sparrow (3,0)

Score: 5,27

Brent Hinds-guitars and vocals (b.1974)

Bill Kelliher-guitars (b.1971)

Troy Sanders-bass and vocals (b.1973)

Brann Dailor-drums and vocals (b.1975)

A band with a name like this I connect with death or black metal but it's far far from that. This band from Holland plays a kind of 70's psychedelic progressive rock/hardrock that often sounds like the early progressive times of Blue Öyster Cult with a weird twitch and space-like sound. Unfortulately the production and sound is a bit "light". It could have been better with more power and heaviness. Also it's impossible read anything in the CD-booklet due to the way its been written. What's the point?

1)The time of no time (-) Intro.

2)Evermore (6,5)

3)I'll be your ghost (7,5)

4)The yonder beckons (7,0)

5)House of ten thousand voices (6,0) Difficult and complex song.

6)Christ or cocaine (7,5) Very melodic in 70's style rock/hardrock.

7)Queen of my burning heart (7,0)

8)Angel's prayer (7,5) Beautiful more laid back song.

9)Feeding the fire with tears and blood (5,5) Too chaotic.

10)Rake your nails across the firmament (4,0)

11)The anti-kosmik magick (5,5) 11 minutes which just continues as the rest of the album. They could have made something special out of this one instead.

Score: 6,40

After a string of fantastic albums Kansas for some reason released this one. I don't know what happened but probably there wasn't any more ideas, and it's not very strange after the incredible quality of their past albums.

1)On the other side (8,5) Typical melodic and progressive Kansas. Good song by Livgren once again.

2)People of the south wind (7,0) Very poppy song with a catchy refrain and some silly keyboardsounds.

3)Angel have fallen (7,0) A very variated powerful progger. Maybe too much variation without something that holds it together.It's like 3 different songs.

4)How my soul cries out for you (4,0) Very heavy and messy song. Don't like it at all. Walsh's songs are not at all as good as Livgren's.

5)A glimpse of home (6,5) An okey melodic progger but it's really getting an repetition of what Kansas had made on all their albums and the ideas are starting to lack.

6)Away from you (6,0) Very melodic and boring.

7)Stay out of trouble (6,5)

8)Reason to be (5,0) A really boring acoustic ballad.

Score: 6,31

Steve Walsh-vocals and keyboards (b.1951)

Kerry Livgren-guitars and keyboards (b.1949)

Rich Williams-guitars (b.1950)

Dave Hope-bass (b.1949)

Phil Ehart-drums (b.1950)

Robby Steinhardt-violin and vocals (b.1950)

On this album Rush continued their prog-rockmission with their not-very-heavy rocksongs with lot of tempochanges, weird passages and sudden stops and starts leading the songs forth and back again in a roller-coaster ride. Synthesizers were used more than before, probably since everybody else were beginning to use them in those years. Unfortunately the songs don't have much power and heaviness. I find the songs too light and almost poppy. The arrangements are good but it could have been so much better with some more substance. A typical Rush-album.

1)A farewell to kings (7,0) Acoustic intro and then a midtempo song with some breaks for guitarsoloing with pumping bass. Okey song but nothing special.

2)Xanadu (7,0) 11 minutes long. Typical Rush-progressive rock with a lot of variation but it's lacking some power. It gets very tame.

3)Closer to the heart (7,0) Too short song that has a good melody and is more of a normal rocker.

4)Cinderella man (7,0) Nice melodic refrain in this song that sounds just like the other ones on the album.

5)Madrigal (7,0) A short song.

6)Cygnus X-1 (6,0) 10 minutes with a Darth Vader-like spoken intro. The song lacks melody and is very chaotic. Rush have made way better music than this album.

Score: 6,83

Geddy Lee(born Gary Lee Weinrib)-vocals, bass, guitars and synthesizers (b.1953)

Alex Lifeson(Alaksandar Zivojinovic-guitars and synthesizers (b.1953)

Neil Peart-drums (b.1952)

This is the 1st album from the english band Yes since 2001. It is also the 1st album to feature the canadian singer Benoit David after the departure of original and longtime Yes-frontman Jon Anderson due to Jon's ill health. David has for 10 years been a member of the Yes-tribute band Close To The Edge and is a member of the band Mystery. David's singing in Yes is a copy of Jon Anderson's.

This album is very calm and almost poppy compared to previous Yes-albums, which have included some heavier and more progressive music. There is very litte progressive music on this album, it focuses more on popish melody. That does this album quite onehanded and almost boring. Here and there there are some good melodies and refrains that is enjoyable but I would not buy this album. The foldout cover is really nice with its fantastic drawings of naturelandscapes.

1)Fly from here-Overture (7,5) A short intro that promises much.

2)Fly from here Pt.1: We can fly (6,0) Very light melodic poppy rockmusic.

3)Fly from here Pt.2: Sad night at the airfield (8,0) Wonderful acoustic intro to a sensitive and very melodic ballad.

4)Fly from here Pt.3: Madman at the screens (7,0) Pop/rock with some progressive elements.

5)Fly from here Pt.4: Bumpy ride (5,0) 2 minute Nintendogame-song that goes back to Pt.4

6)Fly from here Pt.5: We can fly reprise (6,5) 2 minute continuation of Pt.1

7)The man you always wanted me to be (4,0) This is not very fun...

8)Life on a film set (7,0) Mystic and pompous beginning and then poppy mixed with progressive weird rhythms.

9)Hour of need (6,0) Acoustic. Steve Howe plays excellent like always.

10)Solitaire (8,0) Only Howes guitarplaying in a classical way. Very nice. He really is one of the best guitarplayiers I have ever heard. Such technique and feeling!

11)Into the storm (6,0)

Score: 6,45

Benoit David-vocals (b.1966)

Steve Howe-guitars (b.1947)

Chris Squire-bass (b.1948)

Alan White-drums (b.1949)

Geoff Downes-keyboards (b.1952)

Jordan Rudess was the keyboardist in the progressive metalband Dream Theater and he recorded this album in 14 days prior to him going on tour with Dream Theater. Like Dream Theater, this is music that combindes hardrock, heavy metal and proggressive music. Of course it contains a lot of keyboardplaying but I really enjoy the way Rudess can make good songs with the help of his instrument. Kip Winger's singing on 2 of the songs is really good and there is many wellknown artist performing on the album. It's definitive an album worth having.

1)Time crunch (7,5)

2)Screaming head (7,5)

3)Insectsamongus (7,5)

4)Beyond tomorrow (8,0)

5)Bar hopping with Mr. Picky (7,5)

6)What four (7,5)

7)Ra (8,5)

8)Tear before the rain (8,0)

Score: 7,75

Jordan Rudess-keyboards (b.1956)

Kip Winger-vocals on 4 and 8 (b.1961)

Daniel J.-guitars

Joe Satriani-guitars on 2 and 3 (b.1956)

Steve Morse-guitars on 5 and 6 (b.1954)

Greg Howe-guitars on 4 and 6 (b.1963)

Vinnie Moore-guitars on 1 and 7 (b.1964)

Dave La Rue-bass on 2,4 and 5

Rod Morgenstein-drums (b.1953)

The 1st album from this progressive band from England. It reached nr. 7 on the UK chart. The music is progressive rock/pop and the production is unfortunately very plastic and flat. The first 3 songs sound like one, with the same rhythm and some progressive elements. The album could have been so much better with better production and songs with more substance. It's very light, almost pop. The fold-out cover is really nice.

Fish is born in Scotland and his nickname comes from the amount of time he spent in the bathtub. After he left Marillion he has released many soloalbums, the 1st in 1990.

Pete Trewavas is also a member of the progressive band Transatlantic with Mike Portnoy (ex.Dream Theater), Neal Morse (ex.Spocks Beard) and Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings).

Mick Pointer played only on this album by Marillion. He founded the progressive band Arena after he left the band.

1)Script for a jelsters tear (7,5)

2)He knows you know (7,0)

3)The web (7,5)

4)Garden party (6,0)

5)Chelsea monday (7,5)

6)Forgotten sons (7,0)

Score: 7,08

Fish (Derek William Dick)-vocals (b.1958)

Steve Rothery-guitars (b.1959)

Pete Trewavas-bass (b.1959)

Mick Pointer-drums (b.1956)

Mark Kelly-keyboards (b.1961)

CMX (Cloaca Maxima) was founded in Tornio, northern Finland in 1985. They released their 1st album in 1990 and is one of the most respected and successful bands in the country. They are among the few that has earned both critical acclaim and commercial success. From being a hardcore-band in the beginning they have developed their style to a more progressive rock-band with a very special style of their own and lyrics in finnish. The singing on this album is clear and melodic to rough. It suits fine with the not-so-heavy music and have a typical finnish darkness and mellowness. I can hear the heavier band (also from northern Finland) Sentenced here and there. It's an album that can appeal both to proggers, hardrockers and the normal radiolistener. I would have prefered heavier songs and more variation between them, it gets a little too soft, but the quality of the music is there. There is no dout that this is a band who knows what they are doing.

1)Sateenkaaren pää (7,5)

2)Kappaleina (7,5)

3)Taistele (7,5)

4)Auringon kultainen kaupunki (7,5)

5)Kuoleman kulkumies (7,5)

6)Iäti (8,5)

7)Totenmann (7,5)

8)Manisola (7,5)

9)Kättenpäällepanijat (7,0)

10)Linnunranta (7,0)

11)Laulu todellisuuden luonteesta (6,5)

Score: 7,41

A.W Yrjänä-vocals, acoustic guitars and bass (b.1967)

Janne Halmkrona-guitars (b.1968)

Timo Rasio-guitars (b.1966)

Tuomas Peippo-drums (b.1968)