SYD BARRETT

ALBUMS:

1970 - THE MADCAP LAUGHS

Musicians

- Syd Barrett / guitar, vocals
- Mike Ratledge / keyboards
- Vic Seywell / horn
- John Wilson / drums
- David Gilmour / bass, guitar
- Hugh Hopper / bass
- Roger Waters / bass
- Robert Wyatt / drums

Tracks Listing


1. Terrapin (5:04)
2. No Good Trying (3:26)
3. Love You (2:30)
4. No Man's Land (3:03)
5. Dark Globe (2:02)
6. Here I Go (3:11)
7. Octopus (3:47)
8. Golden Hair (1:59)
9. Long Gone (2:50)
10. She Took A Long Cold Look (1:55)
11. Feel (2:17)
12. If It's In You (2:26)
13. Late Night (3:10)
14. She Took A Long Cold Look At Me (2:44)

Total Time: 40:24

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1970 -BARRETT



Musicians

- Syd Barrett / guitar, vocals
- Jerry Shirley / percussion, drums
- John Wilson / drums
- Vic Saywell / tuba
- Willie Wilson / percussion
- Richard Wright / organ, harmonium, piano, keyboards
- David Gilmour / organ, guitars, bass

Tracks Listing

1. Baby Lemonade (4:07)
2. Love Song (3:02)
3. Dominoes (4:02)
4. It Is Obvious (2:55)
5. Rats (2:57)
6. Maisie (2:46)
7. Gigolo Aunt (5:42)
8. Waving My Arms In The Air (2:09)
9. I Never Lied To You (1:46)
10. Wined And Dined (2:54)
11. Wolfpack (3:41)
12. Effervescing Elephant (1:52)

Total Time: 37:53 

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                                                            1988 - The Peel Sessions





Musicians:

- Syd Barrett / guitar and vocals
- David Gilmour / guitar
- Jerry Shirley / drums
- Rick Wright / organ

Tracks Listing

1. Terrapin (3:02)
2. Gigolo Aunt (3:35)
3. Baby Lemonade (2:30)
4. Effervescing Elephant (0:57)
5. Two Of A Kind (2:28)

Total Time: 12:32
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                                                                                        1989 - OPEL


Musicians

- Syd Barrett / guitar and vocals






Tracks Listing

1. Opel (6:24)
2. Clowns And Jugglers (3:24)
3. Rats (3:00)
4. Golden Hair (1:42)
5. Dolly Rocker (2:48)
6. Word Song (3:17)
7. Wined And Dined (3:02)
8. Swan Lee (Silas Lang) (3:11)
9. Birdie Hop (2:27)
10. Lets Split (2:20)
11. Lanky (5:30)
12. Wouldn't You Miss Me? (Dark Globe) (2:58)
13. Milky Way (3:05)
14. Golden Hair (Instrumental Version) (1:49)

Total Time: 44:57 

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MACEDONIA

DEN ZA DEN/ДЕН ЗА ДЕН
KAROLINA GOCEVA/КАРОЛИНА ГОЦЕВА
MARGARITA SOTIROVSKA/МАРГАРИТА СОТИРОВСКА
MIZAR AND HARMOSINI/МИЗАР И ХАРМОСИНИ
DD SYNTHESIS

CROATIA

AZRA

SUSPYRE

                                    SUSPYRE

Progressive Metal 
USA

ALBUMS:

2008 - WHEN TIME FADES...

Tracks Listing

1. Possession / The Negative (5:33)
2. Evolutions (6:10)
3. Lighted Endrhyme (7:39)
4. Maniac Main Point Check (1:51)
5. Siren (One Last Breath) (10:14)
6. Reign (7:45)
7. Fallen Stars (3:41)
8. A World With No Measures (6:16)
9. The Light of the Fire (8:55)
10. Apparitions (6:09)
11. Let Freedom Ring (The Heart of It All) (11:09)

Total Time 75:22

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                                      RUSH

progressive metal
canada

ALBUMS:



Rush - 1980-01-26 - Mid-Hudson Civic Center. Poughkeepsie, NY





Track Listing:

Jacob's Ladder 7.37
Working Man 3.34
Finding my Way .23
Anthem 1.39
Bastille Day 1.28
In the Mood 2.45
Drum Solo 4.43
Working Man Reprise .48
La Villa Strangiato 9.44
We'll Meet Again (Vera Lynn) 1.34

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2002 - Vapor Trails

Track listing:

"One Little Victory" – 5:08
"Ceiling Unlimited" – 5:28
"Ghost Rider" – 5:41
"Peaceable Kingdom" – 5:23
"The Stars Look Down" – 4:28
"How It Is" – 4:05
"Vapor Trail" – 4:57
"Secret Touch" – 6:34
"Earthshine" – 5:38
"Sweet Miracle" – 3:40
"Nocturne" – 4:49
"Freeze" (Part IV of "Fear") – 6:21
"Out of the Cradle" – 5:03

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MENTAUR

                            MENTAUR

Neo-Prog 

United Kingdom

MENTAUR is a British band that was formerly known as Mordred, who released material during the 80s and early 90s, through demo tapes until they issued a real output that goes by the name of "Darkness Before Dawn", that acts as a kind of Best-Of for the band's previous unsigned stuff. This album contains two 20' pieces: "The Last Battle" and "Days of Wrath", that encapture all that was made by them during their career. Rough vocals, energetic and melodic instrumental and breaks with superb guitar and keyboard work.

MENTAUR music is rather dark and sometimes heavy showing influences from several neo-progressive bands like Marillion, Aragon, Pallas and Abel Ganz as well as others like Saga, Magellan, Shadow Gallery and World Trade and is also characterized by impacting melodies and sharp guitar riffs. MENTAUR sound will certainly fill the taste of prog fans in general.


Band members:


- Robin Barter / guitars
- Carlton Evans / vocals
- Ed Lepper / drums
- Nick Ridley / bass guitar
- Tim Ridley / keyboards
- Steve Cochrane / vocals on Imperatrix & Cracks
- Jim Gross / bass guitar on Day of Wrath, Imperatrix, Silver Snakes, Cracks spoken voices on Cracks
- Dan Hart / vocals on Day of Wrath, Silver Snakes & Chasing Time

ALBUMS:

1996 - DARKNESS BEFORE DAWN

Tracks Listing

1. Day of wrath (15:00)
2. Imperiatrix (5:55)
3. Silver snakes (4:00)
4. Cracks (4:24)
5. Rainscape (5:22)
6. Chasing time (2:56)
7. Far cry (7:06)
8. Distant ways (live) (6:11)
9. The last battle (22:44)

Total Time: 73:38

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                          INDISCIPLINED LUCY
Neo-Prog 
Sweden





From what little there is to find about this one album group, it seems as if they formed just for this particular project. Guitarist / vocalist Pelle Lindroth, percussionist Ellias Unge, guitarist Mikael Eriksson, bass player Jakob Luttinger, and keyboardist Arvid Nerdal came together in Uppsala, Sweden. It was the early '90s, and the intention was to combine their favorite classic rock influences (mainly Bowie, and King Crimson), with classical music (particularly Stravinsky). Gunnar Östman was a friend, who played violin, and sang, in his own band. Strings seemed like a natural for the project, and he was asked to join. The violin worked so well with the music, and Pelle's voice, that more seemed necessary. Cellist Lisa Fagius was found, and Pelle then wrote string arrangements.

The music itself is pure concept, and can best be described as theater. "About the Black Eyed Girl" is a complete story, and is told through the perspective of two characters (Lucy and The Clown), and the singer (who could be described as a narrator). The music is said to be heavily influenced by David Bowie and King Crimson. Jakob Luttinger referred to them as the "house Gods" while the music was being written. He also sites The Cure, Pink Floyd, Roxy Music, and old Motown as having some effect. Actor Malcom McDowell's performance in "A Clockwork Orange" was an inspiration for the character of The Clown.

The EP released prior to the album is really more of a preview. Nothing else has been released by INDISCIPLINED LUCY. Unless an idea for another bit of musical theater comes along, I think this will remain their only offering.

H.T. Riekels (bhikkhu)


Musicians:

- Pelle Lindroth / vocals, guitar
- Gunnar Östman / violin
- Ellias Unge / percussion
- Jakob Luttinger / bass
- Lisa Fagius / cello
- Mikael Eriksson / guitar
- Arvid Nerdal / keyboards


Albums:

1999 -ABOUT THE BLACK EYED GIRL

Tracks Listing:

1. Theatre (6:29)
2. About the clown (4:51)
3. Water (4:22)
4. Lucylove (5:34)
5. The Beautifulizer (4:15)
6. Miracle (6:53)
7. Interlude (1:16)
8. The Marionettes (4:48)
9. The age of Lucylove has come (1:31)
10. Lucy enters the sunmachine (4:12)
11. Malenka (8:09)
12. Epilogue (5:23)
13. Resistance (4:17)

Total Time: 61:58

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                                   SKYDOG
psychedelic rock
progressive rock 

USA

Line-up / Musicians

Michael Sweat - Guitar - Vocal
Tommy Gordon Landsahw - Vocal, Rythm Guitar
Gary Elmore - Bass
Jimi Hughes - Organ Hammond
Johnny Parish Landshaw - Drum 



ALBUMS:


1974 - Just Want to Make You Happy

Tracks Listing

01. Luck In Your Life 10:40
02. North Georgia Carnival Blues 05:37
03. Ali Sahd 07:02
04. Just Want to Make You Happy 09:46
05. Innocent-Eyed Lady 12:37

Bonus Tracks:
06. Israeli-Arabic Sun 5:55
07. Ali Sahd (Alt. Version) 6:32
08. Just Want To Make You Happy (Alt. Version) 8:58
09. The Mood Is On 6:03


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WALKING ON ICE

                         WALKING ON ICE

Neo- Prog
UK

briliant progressive


If you like Genesis, Pink Floyd, etc., and you want to listen to some proper music played by real people on a surprising variety of proper musical instruments, and not record-company conveyor-belt rubbish, buy this CD. You won't be disappointed.

Albums:

1994 - No Margin For Error

Tracks Listing:
1. Jealous Hearts 5:13
2. Set Me Free 6:37
3. Today, Tomorrow? 5:44
4. A Thinking Man's Friend 4:32
5. End Of An Era 3:45
6. Walk in the Rain 5:04
7. What You See, What You Hear 4:56
8. Footpump 4:35
9. Loser's Waltz 6:52
10. Everyman 7:33
11. The Rock 2:38

Total Time: 54:55

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                                     Elysium 

PROGRESSIVE ROCK

Albums:
  2010 - Fogdays

1. Neptune's Land 7:24
2. Hoodwinked 5:41
3. Cat-O'-Nine-Tales 7:18
4. After Eight 8:13
5. Fogdays 3:22
6. Amucle 5:27
7. Time's Passing 7:40
45:05

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                                 LANDS END
Country: USA

Genre: Psychedelic/Space Rock, Progressive Rock 


Musicians:
Mark Lavallee,-drums
Fred Hunter,-keyboards, bass
Francisco Neto,-guitar, guitar synth
Jeff McFarland,-vocals, acoustic guitar

A couple of weeks ago keyboard player Fred Hunter send me two CDs. One was his recent 'solo' project Transience and the other one a 1997 album of his band Land's End. Land's End's history goes back a to the early nineties. After several changes in line-up and the release of a demo in 1992, the band got the line-up that was maintained until this day; Mark Lavallee (drums), Fred Hunter (keyboards & bass), Francisco Neto (guitars) & Jeff McFarland (vocals & acoustic guitars).

In September 1994 they released their first album Pacific Coast Highway. Several months later the band signed with the Cyclops label, with whom they released 3 more studio albums and one live album so far. Natural Selection was the band's most recent studio album.

The first time I played the Land's End album I was slightly put-off by the lack of originality when I heard the first real track. I switched to the Transience CD and put the other one on the stack of 'Pending Work'. The Transience review was a lot easier to do (you'll find it elsewhere in this column. After finishing the hardest work on the DPRPoll I went back to the Land's End album and after playing it several times (I found it rather hard to form an opinion about it) it really started to grow on me.

Strictly Speaking In Geographical Terms is just one minute of sound effects of frogs and a keyboard soundscape. It's one of those tunes that makes you turn up the volume of your stereo set just before the next track suddenly starts with a loud and bombastic beginning, startling you.

That second track is From The Ruins Of A Fallen Empire and is a long epic of almost 15 minutes. The start sounds like a mixture of Punch & Judy (keyboards), Bitter Suite and Assassin' (drums) and Eye in the Sky (bass). After this Marillion-esque start (Fugazi period) a very Tony Banks-like keyboard solo followss. The middle piece is more Floydian with a nice guitar solo by Francisco.

Many variations and new themes follow. After the melody of the opening section has returned the song goes into a closing section with some more solos.

It is a very nice track with a lot of variety, some great melodies and good singing.

From The Ruins Of A Fallen Empire merges seamlessly with the next track, Love Through The Winter And Blood In The Spring - bloody hell, who made up these weird titles ? As a matter of fact, the whole 74 minutes album is really one long track, with every song merging into the next one.

Love Through the Winter ... starts with some freaky guitar in the background and percussion before keyboard bass and guitar pick up a threatening repeated low key note. Vocals come in and sing a mysterious dirge that slowly gains in agressiveness.

The mid section of the song is formed by several rather psychadelic bits (reminiscent of early Floyd), including a Marillion-esque keyboard solo .....

.... and then after 11 minutes of bliss, the song goes into the wonderfully emotional ballad An Emptiness That Cannot Be Filled. Acoustic guitar and vocalist Jeff at his best, and a Floydian guitar solo in the end to top it off.

Next track, My Home, starts with a powerful prog rock section before it goes into a more laid-back Marillion-esque song. In the middle section guiitarist Neto goes berserk on the wah-wah pedal. Great stuff ! After an orgasmatic climax the song returns to the earlier low tempo rhythm after 6 minutes. After s slightly cheesy synth-sax solo the vocals continue and the song comes to a final climax one more time.

Natural Selection is an incredibly long track; 30 minutes ! Of course that doesn't immediately make it a good song, although it will fascinate most prog fans. The track starts with the same frog sounds as the opening track of the album. In the first part of the epic, Unravelling The Threads Of A Waning Moon, Spanish guitar and congas accompany a nice quiet laid-back ballad that last about 4 minutes. The second part of the track, Meridians Of Time, is a slightly more experimental bit, accompanied by the Spanish guitar from the previous section. So far so good.

After about 6 and a half minutes a rather horrible section called Practice starts. This part is a DAT recording with 2 microphones set up in a room of a spontaneous jam. The first problem is that its sung in German. If there's one thing worse than a German singer with a heavy German accent than its an American singer who wants to sing in German for no good reason whatsoever. Besides that, since it's a spontaneous jam, it really isn't a good piece of composing and therefore completely out of place. This torture lasts for about 6 minutes. What were they thinking ?!

The next segment, the two minutes long Theory, the weird fiddling of Practicechanges into a slow tempo section with vocals and a dark low bass line. Next is Hell, a 9 minutes long instrumental section which starts with a variation on the same bass line. After some Rothery-like echoing guitar effects it's one guitar and keyboard solo after the other, most of them variations on earlier themes in the song. At 21 and a half minutes the song returns to the melody of Unravelling ....

The final segment is called Awaiting Extinction and starts at 24 minutes. The tempo increases while more variations on earlier themes follow. The song ends with a veryFocus-like bit of guitar and a final verse with a bit of a Klaatu-feel.

Despite it's length the title track is probably the weakest song on the album.Practice definitely spoils the continuity of the epic and some of the instrumental segments don't really work quite the way they should. Some of it just feels too long and drawn out, especially the last two sections, which are just repetition after repetition of the same themes. If the song would have been limited to about 15 minutes it would probably have worked better.

While writing this review I still find it hard to describe the music. None of the band members are brilliant musicians and there are quite some bum notes and bits and pieces when not everybody is playing 100% in time. Especially Mark Lavallee is a rather questionable drummer (which only enhances the 'early Marillion' feel of some of the songs). Fred and Francisco are doing quite reasonable on keys and guitars and occassionally they really shine in a moment of excellence. Jeff is a very capable singer, although most of his singing is in the same style, never getting really agressive. His voice is very enjoyable though, although some of the multi-vocal overdubs are a bit clumsy, so you hear Jeff singing twice, but out of synch.

Nevertheless there is a real 'live' feel to the music and there's a certain chemistry between the band members that gives the music it's edge. You don't just listen to this album; you experience it. It's got a lot of influences from Pink Floyd, Marillion and Genesis. There's the occassional psychedelic bit reminding me of Pink Floyd in the late 60s, early seventies.

Most of the album evolved from jam sessions, and they managed to capture that feel in the songs, while not losing themselves in senseless repeated themes and mediocre musiscianship (not counting practice that is).

Recommended to fans of early Floyd or Fish-era Marillion. Early Genesis fans might give it a try as well.

Albums:
1997 - Natural Selection

Tracks Listing
1. Strictly Speaking In Geographical Terms 1:03
2. From The Ruins Of A Fallen Empire 14:44
3. Love Through The Winter And Blood In The Spring 11:36
4. An Emptiness That Cannot Be Filled 6:03
5. My Home 10:30
6. Natural Selection 30:00
Total Time: 73:56

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ILUVATAR

                                    ILUVATAR
Neo-Prog 
USA


www.iluvatar.com


Very good band from Baltimore, which plays a symphonic Neo Prog music with total influence of Peter GABRIEL's era GENESIS, MARILLION and PINK FLOYD. The musicianship is very good, but the vocals are real GABRIEL clone like.



The music of Iluvatar (i-LOO-va-tar) cannot be accurately summed up with a casual phrase or label. Having a solid foundation in rock music, Iluvatar combines different elements from other genres such as jazz, classical, and psychedelia, and weaves them into sound tapestries that, while pushing the boundaries of the standard rock formula, remain very accessible, even radio-ready. Although often incorporating extended instrumental passages, time signature shifts, strong dynamics, and sometimes unconventional arrangements, the music steers away from the self-indulgence of many artists that fall into the "progressive" genre. The focus remains on creating unique songs with strong memorable melodies and heartfelt vocals. The end result is music that can be appreciated by both the casual listener and aficionado alike.




History:

The band's roots go back to the 1983 and a local progressive rock cover band called Sojourn. Many of the songs and lyrics on the first album, as well as a few on the second, were written or co-written by original Sojourn guitarist Tom Kraus (currently a member of Brave New World). Tom left the line-up when Sojourn mutated into Iluvatar in 1992.

Iluvatar began performing live in the Baltimore area and quickly acquired a steadily-growing following of devoted fans. Though the primary focus of their live performances was on their original compositions, the band occasionally accented their sets with music from Genesis, Marillion, Pink Floyd, and Styx.

Iluvatar's self-titled debut CD was released on Kinesis Records in November 1993 and quickly became the label's top-seller. Iluvatar soon began to receive international recognition for their work. Iluvatar re-entered the studio in March 1995 to record "Children", their second album for Kinesis, with Dean Morekas replacing original bassist Mick Trimble. "Children" firmly established Iluvatar as one of the premier American bands in the 90's progressive movement. Following the release of the album, original drummer Gary Chambers left the band and was replaced by Rick Fleischmann who can be heard on some of the live tracks on 1997's "Sideshow" CD, a collection of live tracks, alternate versions, and unreleased material. Allen Brunelle (currently with The Dark Aether Project) played drums on the subsequent Sideshow international tour in '97. Drummer Chris Mack has been with the band since December 1997 and plays on the latest studio CD "A Story Two Days Wide".

In addition to numerous headlining shows, Iluvatar has played before progressive rock fans at both ProgScape 94 and 96 in Baltimore, one of New York City's ProgNights in 96, ProgDay 96 in North Carolina, and ProgEast in Quebec Canada. They played to packed theaters in Buenos Aires, Argentina in September 1997, and performed in Mexicali Mexico at BajaProg 98 as well as NEARfest 2000 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.



Musicians

- Gary Chambers / drums, percussion, back vocals
- Glenn McLaughlin / lead vocals, percussion
- Dean Morekas / bass, back vocals
- Dennis Mullin / guitars
- Jim Rezek / keyboards



ALBUMS:

1995 - CHILDREN

Tracks Listing

1. Haze (6:43)
2. In Our Lives (6:35)
3. Given Away (6;39)
4. Late Of Conscience (8:56)
5. Cracker (5:59)
6. Eye Next To Glass (4:56)
7. Your Darkest Hour (5:04)
8. The Final Stroke (12:29)

Total Time: 57:21

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SARIS

                                    
Neo-Prog 
Germany 

www.myspace.com/sarisband 


German act SARIS was founded back in 1981 by Derk Akkerman (guitars), with Johannes Stuecker (vocals), Udo Kellermann (bass, vocals), Wolfgang Schneidereit (keyboards) and Wolfgang Voight (drums) taking up the other slots in the band. In 1982 and -83 they toured extensively in their native Germany, as well as recording the single Out of Your Night.

For various reasons this line-up didn't last though; and Saris went on the backburner for a few years. In 1992 a new line-up was in place though; as Martin Gellhaus (vocals), Udo Raitzig (bass), Stefan kremer (keyboards) and Helge Bungert (drums, vocals) joined Akkermann for the recording of an album, released as Dead End Street in 1993. A subsequent tour followed; and at the end of this Raitzig and Bungert left, first and foremost because extensive touring was too tiring for them.

It took several years before replacements were found, but in 1998 Lutz Guenther (bass) and Achim Schmidt (drums, keyboards) joined Saris; and for the next year recording sessions took place; with highly promising results allo band members were exceedingly pleased with. Sadly, personal issues saw to it that the band split in 2000.

In 2006 Akkerman, Schmidt and Guenther decided to give the band another go; and with the addition of Anja Guenther (vocals) and Thomas Hackmann (vocals) new recordings were planned; and in 2009 a finished album saw the light of day - Curse of Time.

The album gets favourable reviews, and their mix of vintage Neo-Progressive rock and progressive metal is generally deemed likeable.

But on May 23rd 2009 disaster strikes, when Achim Schmidt suddenly dies after suffering pulmonary embolism. His contribution to Saris' latest album had been essential; and the fate of the band following this is uncertain.


Band Members:


Derk Akkermann:Guitars, Keyboards, Programming, Lyrics
Achim Schmidt:Drums, Keyboards, Orchestra Arrangement, Programming
Thomas Hackmann:Lead & Backing Vocals, Vocal Arrangement
Lutz Günther:Bass
Anja Günther:Lead & Backing Vocals

Albums:

2009- CURSE OF TIME

Tracks Listing:

1. The Curse (6:54)
2. Falling Leafs (5:05)
3. Victims Of The Night (7:26)
4. Kingdom Of Shadows (4:54)
5. Miracles (17:09)
6. A Winter's Tale (3:49)
7. Waiting 4 (6:04)
8. Behind The Times (7:27)

Total Time 58:48 

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SLYCHOSIS

                                     SLYCHOSIS
Neo-Prog  
USA


www.slychosis.com

The band's music is sometimes heavy, sometimes spacey and sometimes includes a modern symphonic sound, and they cite such diverse influences as GENESIS, HAWKWIND, GONG, BLACK SABBATH, CAMEL and GENTLE GIANT, among others.

Slychosis began during the Fall of 2004. After a much needed three year hiatus from club gigging with Jackson, MS cover band, Final Spin; Gregg Johns called longtime friend and Final Spin bassist, James Walker, to discuss a writing and recording project. Karma-Kannix was formed (yeah, yeah, I know there is a Swedish project called Karmakanic - we didn’t at the time!). This project was very rough and from the heart. Recorded with ill-fated discontinued Lexicon and ST Audio soundcards. I was going for a loose funky feel much like the vibe of the Bowie Ziggy Stardust album. I even played electronic drums on it - a major feat

for a guitarist/keyboardist. In a review from Progression, my drumming was described as “Nick Mason on Quaaludes.” I thought this was pretty cool! But, I got the point (I still want to get that quote on a t-shirt). Karma-Kannix had progressive elements, but more of a classic rock or metal feel. The songs “Innerspace” and “Cosmic Irony” were two tracks appearing on the Karma-Kannix project that were reworked and re-recorded for the first two Slychosis albums, respectively. Given the Karmakanic issue and new found focus, the project was re-named, Slychosis.Former Final Spin drummer, Todd Sears, was enlisted in the project and Slychosis was born. The Fall, 2006 S/T debut cd was more prog focused, yet eclectic. This disc was also an homage of sorts to classic prog influences while forging the Slychotic sound.

Johns was living on the grounds of the psychiatric hospital where he was employed and the cd was recorded in the often flooding basement with the buggy ST Audio soundcard. The name Slychosis came together from the setting of the project, Johns’s day job as a psychologist and humor associated with the phrase “crazy like a fox.” The Johns photoshoped cd cover was another area of confusion. People just didn’t get it. It was pure gonzo humor! The bizarre butterfly was composed of headshots of band members.

The head of the butterfly is that of Sears with drumsticks for antennae and the wings are the headshots of Johns and Walker. It was given a psychedelic Rorschach look set with a humorous parody of The Silence of the Lambs promotional poster. There is a huge degree of dark humor in Slychosis! The cd received very encouraging reviews and reception given its meager production resources.

With new found motivation and a Layla soundcard, Slychedelia was begun. However this project would prove a difficult venture in reaching completion. Not long after initial writing, Johns would have to move very quickly due to structural issues with housing. This delayed progress by a couple of months and a studio was setup approximately 45 miles away. Sears was gigging regularly with Jackson staple bands A Bitter Sunday and Supernoise and going through a less-than-amicable divorce and became MIA for a while.

Johns and Walker continued writing and recording with MIDI drum programming. Singers and drummers were auditioned to no avail.

Recording and writing continued with Johns continuing vocals. Longtime friend Ceci Smith-Whitehurst was brought in on Cosmic Irony to give a female perspective on the track and Vocaloid Miriam software was also used to provide additional vocal textures.

Chip Griffith was brought in to add saxophone lines to Cosmic Irony and Metaphysical Fitness. Jeremy Mitchell, a music store tech acquaintance, was brought in on drums during the latter part of writing. Before long, the distance and creative and personal differences began plaguing Johns and Walker leading to Johns setting up a home studio and assuming bass duties. Given the response of Wild Night in Calcutta, the humorous Todd Sears track on the first cd, Johns tracked down Sears and Crimson Fields of Glory came to life with Sears’s idea for a lofty Scottish battle epic. Walker came back in to refine the bass line on Distrust and added his stylings to St. John’s Wood. Mitchell completed drums in quick setup on the non-MIDI tracks and the cd was complete. Johns and Walker then headed to Memphis for mastering services by L. Nix. It was also during the Slychedelia period that Johns established a correspondence and creative relationship with Ukrainian surrealist artist, Vladimir Moldavsky. Johns was immediately caught by the unique creative vision

of Moldavsky on the Surrealists.org site and arrangements were made for artwork on Slychedelia. Moldavsky proved to be a creative muse for Johns in that his visuals inspired writing themes as well as Moldavsky’s critique of pre-production tracks given his ear as a guitarist. Thus, Fall, 2008, Slychedelia was released with a generally favorable reception.

Around the latter stages of completing Slychedelia, Johns began conversing with Jeff Hamel of Majestic via MySpace and the pair found a mutual respect for each other’s musical projects and a complementary style to progressive music. These kindred spirits struck up a collaboration and Proximal Distance was born. Through the wonders of internet, Johns and Hamel have been co-writing, recording and sharing guitar, keyboards and bass duties. Hamel brought in Jessica Rasche from the Majestic Arrival disc for vocals and Johns brought in Jeremy Mitchell and Todd Sears from Slychosis on percussion. This has been an exciting and rewarding project and is nearing completion. We hope listeners love the tracks as much as we do because WE ARE SERIOUSLY PUMPED!!!!

Slychosis? The writing is underway on disc 3. With Jeremy now in Nashville, Todd Sears is back on the skins and new bassist, Clay Pale, is now onboard. Vocally, Bridget Shield, has joined the lineup and will provide a new dimension and artistry to the Slychotic sound. This disc is planned to be a more group driven and focused. Johns is excited about his new studio setup with MOTU 24 and URS gear and stationary Tama kit with drumbooth. Not to mention all of the boutique guitar gadgetry recently acquired.

Musicians:

Gregg Johns / vocals, guitars, keyboards
James Walker / bass, vocals
Todd Sears / drums, vocals 


Albums:

2006 - SLYCHOSIS

Tracks Listing

1. Samuel (6:35)
2. Innerspace (4:59)
3. Dreamscapes (4:27)
4. Galactic Wormhole (5:00)
5. Wild Night In Calcutta (3:23)
6. Cyber-Evil (4:58)
7. Frosted Mini Suite (4:06)
8. Glass 1/2 Full (3:18)
9. Meltdown (5:08)
10. Space Bass (2:05)
11. Until Then (4:06)
12. EVP (5:31)

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THE VOW

                                THE VOW
Neo-Prog 
Germany

 



THE VOW was founded by Ralf Link and Holger Goetz at the end of 1998.

The band have dedicated themselves to NeoProgRock and reviewers often compare them to the "big ones" like IQ ,Pendragon and Arena.Again and again THE VOW manage to fascinate the listeners with their music and to take them along on a musical journey.

Started as a 2-men studio project at the end of 1998, THE VOW has changed into a classical 5-men band in the meantime after having released the CD´s "Another World" (released in 2000), "Trojan" (released in 2002) and "Devil In Disguise" (released in 2005).

On their 3rd album "Devil In Disguise", released in June 2005, THE VOW were supported by Manfred Wirth, drums. Furthermore a lot of new equipment was used for recording the CD. Their complete dedication and their delight in making music contributed to another enormous step forward for the three members of THE VOW. Once again this has been confirmed by numerous reviewers of the international progscene.

Now the time had come for THE VOW´s stage comeback and they were crazy about presenting their catalogue - 3 CD´s containing melodious NeoProg paired with bombastic symphonic rock - to their audience.

With Uli Knoerr (keys) and Mathias Kuhn (bass guitar) two brilliant musicians were found to complete THE VOW.



Musicians
- Holger Goetz / vocals, keyboards
- Ralf Link / guitars, bass, synthesizers 



ALBUMS:

2002 - Trojan



Tracks Listing:

1. Introduction (11:00)
2. The old and wise man (7:43)
3. Close to the sky (10:59)
4. The dragons' cave (9:25)
5. Castle of the thousand doors (9:17)
6. In the maze (8:31)
7. Under the apple tree (5:47)
8. The prince of darkness (8:20)

Total Time: 71:02

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TURKEY

ALTIN SARKILAR

Bosna i Hercegovina

ALMA EKMECIC                                                                             POP

SERBIA

TESKA INDUSTRIJA

BALKAN MUSIC

TURKEY
SERBIA
CROATIA
ALBANIA
MAKEDONIA
BOSNA I HERCEGOVINA

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BALKAN COLLABORATION

BALKAN HORSES BAND

KNIGHT AREA

                               KNIGHT AREA


Neo-Prog 
Netherlands

Knight Area was founded in 2004 after Gerben Klazinga released the first Knight Area album: The Sun Also Rises. This album was a project of Gerben, who wrote all the music, and many musicians participated in the recordings of the album. The album was a worldwide success and as a consequence Gerben formed a band to play live. A new album was released in 2007 (Under a New Sign) after the band successfully played the European and American stages. The album was a real band effort which got very good reviews worldwide. In September 2009 the third album will be released and a short European festival tour will follow.
Style of Music

Knight Area plays symphonic rock music, also classified as neo-progressive rock.

The music is a variety of styles with very melodic keyboards and guitars and the songs vary from ballads to more rock and metal kind of music.


Musicians:

- Gerben Klazinga / keyboards
- Mark Smit / vocals, backing vocals
- Mark Vermeule / guitars
- Gijs Koopman / bass, Moog Taurus pedals
- Pieter van Hoorn / drums

Albums:




2004 - THE SUN ALSO RISES


Musicians

- Gerben Klazinga / keyboards, drums (1-2-5 to 9), vocals (8)
+ Ron van der Bas / bass (2-6 to 9)
- Klees Flameling / accordion (2)
- Vincent Frijdal / acoustic guitar (6)
- Arjan Groenendijk / guitar (4-6-7-9)
- Peter van Heijningen / lead guitar (1-2-4-6-9-10)
- Jeroen Hogenboom / guitar 1 to 5, 7 to 9)
- Joop Klazinga / flute (2-9)
- Gijs Koopman / bass (1-3-4-5-6), bass pedals (1-3)
- Stephanie Lagrande / vocals (7)
- Mark van Nieuwenhuizen / drums (3-4-5)
- Mark Smit / lead vocals (2 to 4, 6 to 9)

Tracks Listing

1. Beyond (0:27)
2. The gate of eternity (7:21)
3. Conspiracy (5:38)
4. Forever now (4:21)
5. The sun also rises (5:51)
6. Conviction (5:44)
7. Mortal brow (6:21)
8. Moods inspiring clouds (5:14)
9. A new day at last (5:12)
10. Sævis tranquillis in undis (3:14)

Total Time: 49:24

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2009 - REALM OF SHADOWS

Tracks Listing

1. Ethereal (6:51)
2. Antagony (7:52)
3. Two Of A Kind (5:11)
4. Momentum (2:21)
5. Awakening (2:50)
6. Dark Souls (5:29)
7. Realm Of Shadows (5:51)
8. A Million Lives (6:52)
9. Occlusion (11:15)

Total Time: 54:36

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2011 - NINE PATHS




Musicians

- Gerben Klazinga / keyboards
- Mark Smit / vocals, backing vocals
- Mark Vermeule / guitars
- Gijs Koopman / bass, Moog Taurus pedals
- Pieter van Hoorn / drums

guest musician:
- Charlotte Wessels / vocals (3)

Tracks Listing

1. Eversince You Killed Me (10:02)
2. Summerland (7:26)
3. Please Come Home (5:24)
4. Clueless (4:18)
5. The River (7:45)
6. Pride And Joy (2:46)
7. The Balance (6:24)
8. Wakerun (8:05)
9. Angel's Call (9:37)

Total Time: 61:47






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UNDER THE SUN

                           UNDER THE SUN


Neo-prog
Progressive rock
United States

www.underthesunband.net

The term progressive rock just won't do. Not when you're discussing the bombastic, purifying, spiritual, cathedral-ceilinged enigma that is California's UNDER THE SUN. Band sage Chris Shryack can wade into the name game with ease, but that's as far as he will go. Can something this large and panoramic be called progressive rock, or even neo-prog? Likely not. Chris amusingly thinks about it for an instance, and decides that he likes the term "cinematic symphonic art rock!"

Perhaps a good touchstone. But UNDER THE SUN is so much more. Having formed ten years ago, the band's self-titled debut is likely the most shamelessly textured, unabashedly spiritual and unapologetically intellectual art rock record since The Yes Album. And above the fray, through the rock, and under the sun, the band codifies and gold-plates the display within songs that are often immediate, accessible, not too lengthy, and expertly laden with driven power chords. Comparisons with any era of RUSH really won't fly here. Think early YES, early GENESIS, German prog from the '70s, DREAM THEATER riffing, and perhaps brainiac songwriting from the likes of Peter Hammill or Roy Harper.

The acrobatic rhythm team of Paul Shkut on drums and Kurt Barabas on bass propel each song limitlessly. Almost everything on the record, whether "violent" or simply panoramic and cleansing, benefits from their energy and chops. Matt Evidon's keyboard work is an integral part of the band's famous high science texturing, while Chris provides a second tsunami of tones and tunes built from a vast guitar vocabulary. Finally, you've got Chris' elegant and almost surreal vocal work, which, oddly, sound like Chris Squire crossed with a technically trained version of Ozzy Osbourne, something perhaps prophesized by the band's name, Under The Sun, which is also the name of a bruising old BLACK SABBATH song.


Albums:

 2000- UNDER THE SUN

Tracks Listing::

1. This Golden Voyage (7:13)
2. Tracer (5:41)
3. Seeing Eye God 3:37)
4. Gardens Of Autumn (5:02)
5. Perfect World (5:21)
6. Reflections (5:45)
7. Breakwater (7:34)
8. The Time Being (10:01)
a) In The Valley Of The Shadow of
b) Passage Angel
c) Scream For Redemption
9. Dream Catcher (7:56)
10. From Henceforth Now And Forever (PS 124) (9:16)

Total Time: 67:26

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Musicians

- Chris Shryack / lead & harmony vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, sound effects, ebow, chimes, shakers & rattles
- Kurt Barabas / bass guitars, bass pedals, harmony vocals, tamborine, additional distorto-acoustic guitar
- Matt Evidon / harmony vocals, keyboards
- Paul Shkut / drums, percussion
- John Massey / bagpipes (7)
- Terry Brown & David Townson / drum loops (3)
- Chief Running Bear / Cherokee narration (9)

MARS HOLLOW

                               MARS HOLLOW
NEO PROG
USA
www.marshollow.com

perfect prog

Mars Hollow are based out of Southern California’s musically fertile San Fernando Valley, where some of rock’s classic albums have been recorded. Comprised of four veteran musicians – John Baker (vocals/guitar), Jerry Beller (drums/vocals), Kerry Chicoine (bass/vocals) and Steve Mauk (keyboards/vocals) – Mars Hollow blend their unique individual musical voices into one captivating whole.

Mars Hollow take the foundation of ‘70’s progressive rock – classical-based song structures combined with melodic pop and rock sensibilities – and update this classic formula for the new millennium. Seamlessly blending unexpected instrumental passages with traditional progressive, pop and rock motifs, Mars Hollow strive for songwriting balance sprinkled with the left-turns necessary to keep the music challenging and moving. In other words, it’s all about the song.

Mars Hollow’s self-titled debut album is a rich tapestry of influences, combining matchless musicianship with infectious pop hooks and hard-driving progressive rock sensibilities. The CD was produced, mixed and mastered by King Crimson associate Ronan Chris Murphy. Ronan has also been involved with such artists as Terry Bozzio, Steve Morse, Tony Levin, Steve Stevens, Mike Keneally, the California Guitar Trio, and Nels Cline.


MUSICIAN:
John Baker - Guitar/ Lead Vocals
Kerry Chicoine - Bass/ Lead Vocals
Jerry Beller - Drums/ Vocals
Steve Mauk - Keyboards/ Vocals

ALBUMS:

2010 - MARS HOLLOW


1. Wait For Me 9:30
2. Midnight 5:07
3. Eureka 9:21
4. If I Were You 7:32
5. In Your Hands 6:33
6. Wild Animal 7:11
7. Dawn Of Creation 12:23

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NORTH STAR

                               NORTH STAR

Neo-Prog

USA



LINEUP:

Dave Johnson - guitars, bass
Kevin Leonard - keyboards
Glenn Leonard - drums
Joe Newman - vocals

NORTH STAR has strong influences from the Peter Gabriel era of GENESIS. Highly colorful melodies, full of power and beauty meet with Joe NEWMAN's superb voice and Kevin LEONARD's keyboards. The NORTH STAR material has all the trappings of great progressive rock: snapping Rickenbacker bass, fast changes and odd time signatures, grand anthemic keyboards...These guys are fast, tight and extremely good. "Power", recorded in 1991 and published in 1993: it is the most successful album of the group, although still strongly marked by GENESIS


ALBUMS:

  2005 - EXTREMES

Tracks Listing:

1. Midnight Soldier (8:35)
2. Star Child (4:00)
3. Sometimes in the Suburbs (7:00)
4. Battles Waged Before (10:10)
5. The Form (6:55)
6. Dr. Pill's Backlash Ballroom (2:13)
7. Unleashed (6:12)
8. Live with Liberty (4:14)
9. Stained Glass Doors (3:39)
10. Living on the Fringe (8:37)

Total Time: 61:35

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AMON RA

                                 AMON RA

Neo-Prog 
Germany 

BRILLIANT PROGRESSIVE
 

Musicians:
Scott Balaban, - lead and backing vocals;
Thomas Wenzel, - guitar, backing vocals;
Sebastian Amberger,- bass;
Dierk Neldner, - keyboards;
Lothar Hermann - drums, backing vocals.






1998 - Precarious Balance

Tracks Listing:

1.The way 7:44
2.Two suns 6:30
3.In the name of Ra 7:28
4.The Forest 1:13
5.Waterfall 5:56
6.The story of beren and luthien 9:50
7.Dragonwall 6:48
8.Search your soul 8:35
9.Stay 8:14
10.Illu-Vata 11:30
Total Time: 74:02

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BULGARIAN AUTHENTIC FOLK

BULGARIAN JAZZ,FUNK AND SOUL MUSIC

BELOSLAVA

BULGARIAN ROCK MUSIC

AXAT

NO NAME

                                  NO NAME
www.noname.lu

Neo-Prog 
Luxembourg 

 

Musicians


- Iris Sontag / vocals, flute, bass
- Patric Kiefer / vocals
- Chris Sontag / drums
- Alex Rukavina / keyboards, programming
- Yves Di Prospero / guitars


Albums:


1998 - THE OTHER SIDE


Musicians

- Patric Kiefer / vocals
- Gilles Loes / bass
- Chris Sontag / drums
- Alex Rukavina / keyboards, programming
- Yves Di Prospero / guitars

Tracks Listing

1. Horizon (5:26)
2. Dolphin's, Sharks and Flood of Sunshine (5:16)
3. Downpour, Sunflowers and Sadness (4:12)
4. Strange Decisions (5:46)
5. TAN IBHAN (35:50), - consisting of: Leap in the Dark (6:50)
6. The Discovery (4:20)
7. Sha'uri (5:29)
8. Ra (5:57)
9. The Ruler (6:09)
10. No Farewell (6:35)
11. In The Name of the Moon (4:58)

Total Time: 61:38


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 2006 - "4"

4 was nominated for the
PROG AWARDS 2006

Tracks Listing

1. The Curse
2. Fountains Of Dreams
3. Thoughts Pay No Toll (Extended Version)
4. A Recollection Of Dreams
5. Visions
6. Promises

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2009 - 20 CANDLES
Boxset/Compilation, released in 2009

Musicians

- Patrick Kiefer / vocals
- Alex Rukavina / Keyboards, programming
- Yves Di Prospero / guitars
- Marc Muller / bass
- Christian Sonntag / drums

Guest musicians
- Fred Hormain / saxophone on ''Broken Heart''
- Jonathan Tilly / bagpipe on ''Battlefield''

Tracks Listing

1. First Night (6:27)
2. The Summer's Already Gone (5:03)
3. Mat Enger Tréin (4:45)
4. The Man (4:48)
5. Merry-Go-Round (3:32)
6. Orient Express (12:04)
7. Broken Heart (5:30)
8. Strange Decisions (6:34)
9. Dolphins, Sharks and a Flood of Sunshine (5:38)
10. Thoughts Pay No Toll (6:17)
11. Battlefield (5:35)
12. Uncompromising (4:29)

Total Time: 70:42


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