Even though Esoteric’s resplendent repackaging of retro progressive rock is occasionally prone to errors in artwork or sound quality, it must be said that they do a finer, more consistent job than anyone else in the market at bringing us…
View More Quintessence – Move into the Light: The Complete Island Recordings 1969-1971
Rise Above Records have been on my radar since discovering the label nearly ten years ago in the very first issue of PROG magazine, with bands like Blood Ceremony, Astra, Purson, Electric Wizard, Beastmaker, Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, and…
View More Octopus – Supernatural Alliance
Taking their name from the geometric definition of the four-dimensional analogue of the cube, TesseracT have always been associated with being multi-dimensional, and Sonder is most definitely the next stage as this new album, their fourth, has truly seen them…
View More TesseracT – Sonder
This is the second album from Spiral Key. Formed in 2012, the band describe their music as progressive, symphonic, melodic and thoughtful metal with a “subtly dark sense of humour”. That covers a lot of bases. It’s certainly a huge…
View More Spiral Key – An Error of Judgement
Mother Turtle are a Greek studio jam band who take their cues from nearly all aspects of progressive rock, a synergy of many ingredients tossed, fried, and served sizzler style to make this a very tasty reptilian matriarch. Zea Mice…
View More Mother Turtle – Zea Mice
As We Were is the sophomore release from Colorado-based Amalgam Effect. The band is heavily steeped in ’70s-era prog rock, and cites influences as diverse as J.S. Bach, John Cage, Jethro Tull, Iron Maiden, Rush, and Opeth. That isn’t to…
View More Amalgam Effect – As We Were
Beautiful and Monstrous, released in 2009, is a wonderful showcase for the restless and creative spirit which lies at the very heart of progressive rock. Soaring melodies which fondly linger in the memory are cradled in layers of delicious harmonies,…
View More Subsignal – La Muerta
Counterweight is a new project from producer Gregory Howe’s San Francisco-based label/studio/performance space Wide Hive Records which has been releasing forward-looking jazz music since the late 1990s. The core of Counterweight is the rhythm section of bassist/composer Matt Montgomery and…
View More Counterweight – Counterweight
In 2016 the occasional band reunion suggestions finally took off when the most enduring members, Brian Hulse, David Jones and Tim Bowness, decided to re-record sixteen of Plenty’s songs and to try and complete the album they had wanted to…
View More Plenty – It Could Be Home
I enjoyed ESP’s debut album Invisible Din, so when they asked me to review their sophomore album, the recently released 22 Layers Of Sunlight, I was more than happy to do so. For this latest release the ESP 2.0 line-up…
View More ESP 2.0 – 22 Layers Of Sunlight