Tag Archives: prog

Devin Townsend Project – Transcendence

by Jeff Nixon

transcendenceDevin Townsend has gone many different musical places in his career, frequently doing something drastically different that what he’s done before, most notably on his first four albums in the Devin Townsend Project with Ki, Addicted, Deconstruction, and Ghost. Transcendence is no exception, as it takes his sound to a new level. On this album, Devin took input from the rest of the band, musicians he’s been working with for 10+ years, and relinquished some control to them. Because of this, the band sounds more united than on other recent DTP albums, like Epicloud and Sky Blue.

This was brought … Read more

Anderson/Stolt – Invention of Knowledge

by Jeff Nixon

Press_Cover_01The Flower Kings is a band that really helped carry the torch in the 90’s that bands like Yes lit during the 60’s and 70’s, taking that style of Progressive Rock to a new level and continuing to help it grow. So it’s quite a treat to hear a collaboration between the leader of The Flower Kings, Roine Stolt, and the former lead vocalist of Yes, Jon Anderson. If you’ve ever wondered what a new Flower Kings album with the vocalist from Yes would sound like, Invention of Knowledge is it, as Anderson/Stolt make a perfect combination! As much as … Read more

Frost* – Falling Satellites

by Jeff Nixon

Press_Cover_01

Their first album in 8 years (during which time the band disbanded and reformed), Falling Satellites is the much anticipated third album from Jem Godrey’s Frost*. Their critically acclaimed debut album Milliontown remains one of my favorite prog albums, and while I wasn’t as into the follow-up in 2008 Experiments In Mass Appeal (the mix on the first two tracks was strange, with the quiet sections being barely audible and the loud sections blowing out your speakers) I was excited to hear what was next for the band.

first-half

The intro to the album, ‘First Day’, is a soft ambient … Read more

Minarchist – In Absence, with Exclusive Song Premiere

by Dæv Tremblay

Listen to “The Ecstasy of Dreams” in an exclusive premiere stream right now!

coverinabscenceWe rarely, if ever, have the chance to witness a band in its infancy that later becomes widely known and loved. Most of the bands we write about here, although they are insanely good and talented, are often too far underground to catch widespread attention even though some manage to thrive in the understream. Minarchist, however, have a bright future ahead of them. Remember how Black Crown Initiate started out: they simply put their EP, “Song of the Crippled Bull”, on bandcamp one day and, the … Read more

Divine Realm – Tectum Argenti

by Jeff Nixon

a0104658246_10Divine Realm’s Tectum Argenti is a nice mix of melodic prog and djent with some impressive musicianship. While not as heavy as similar bands like Between the Buried and Me or Animals as Leaders, Divine Realm’s debut album still packs quite a punch.

Fronted by Canadian multi-instrumentalist, Leo Diensthuber, Divine Realm which started out as just a one-man band, grew into a full band before this debut full length album, which came out this week on February 23rd.

The album consists of seven meaty tracks, all between 3 and 5 minutes a piece. Not a second seems wasted though, there … Read more