Virgin Grounds, the ‘new’ album by Ton Scherpenzeel, best known for his work with Kayak, is an enhanced reissue of an instrumental album originally composed for a Dutch television series, Conquer the Arctic (1991). At the time, it was released…
View More Ton Scherpenzeel – Virgin GroundsCategory: Album Reviews
This Winter Machine – The Clockwork Man
This Winter Machine return with their fourth album, the ambitious conceptual piece The Clockwork Man, a dark dystopian story with a sci-fi steam-punk feel, rooted in insights and perspectives about modern society. It is probably fair to say that things…
View More This Winter Machine – The Clockwork ManNova Cascade – The Navigator
I had not heard of Nova Cascade until two years ago, when while listening in the chat room of Progzilla Radio’s The Prog Mill (curated by the beloved prog master Shaun Geraghty) I heard the title track from their Back…
View More Nova Cascade – The NavigatorMagnum – Great Adventures: The Jet Years 1978 – 1983
These days, there is often debate on the many social platforms out there as to which group or artist is the most underappreciated, one that is often overlooked and should be more widely known. Maybe Magnum would be named in…
View More Magnum – Great Adventures: The Jet Years 1978 – 1983Renaissance – The Legacy Tour 2022
I can still remember it vividly. My sister and I, both huge fans of Renaissance, had seen them perform in smaller venues. Now we were going to see them on a warm summer night in June 1975 at Carnegie Hall,…
View More Renaissance – The Legacy Tour 2022Mask of Confidence – Mask of Confidence
Taking the music that British new wave band Japan made in the 1980s as a starting point, and particularly the fretless bass work of the late Mick Karn, Italian producer Stefano Castagna and bassist Fabio Trentini have teamed up to…
View More Mask of Confidence – Mask of ConfidenceJudie Tzuke – Jude the Unsinkable
For some men, and women, of a certain age, Judie Tzuke’s appearance on Top of the Pops to sing hit song Stay With Me till Dawn was a life changing experience. I was a teenager at that time, and the…
View More Judie Tzuke – Jude the UnsinkableNick Fletcher – Quadrivium
Last year, I wrote in glowing terms about Nick Fletcher’s second solo album, The Cloud of Unknowing. It was his most coherent and consistent electric guitar-led album to date, raising the bar even higher than his impressive solo debut, Cycles…
View More Nick Fletcher – QuadriviumOblivion Protocol – The Fall of the Shires
The Fall of the Shires is the stunning, vibrant and accessible prog rock debut from Oblivion Protocol – the new musical project from Richard West, keyboardist and writer for UK prog-metal stalwarts Threshold. A sequel to Threshold’s acclaimed double album…
View More Oblivion Protocol – The Fall of the ShiresDownes Braide Association – Celestial Songs
Two-and-a-half years after DBA enthralled melodic rock fans with their tremendous fourth album, the bucolic Halcyon Hymns, they return to our CD players and turntables with their latest effort, Celestial Songs. Dave Bainbridge, Andy Hodge and Ash Soan are on…
View More Downes Braide Association – Celestial Songs