Karmakanic – Dot

Karmakanic’s fifth studio album, Dot, is a progressive rock album inspired by recent writings by Carl Sagan. Frontman Jonas Reingold stated that this inspiration stemmed from Sagan’s quote about the picture of the earth that Voyager 1 took in 1990 from the outer areas of our solar system. “Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter Read more

The Mercury Tree – Permutations

The Mercury Tree is one of the rare bands that has managed to constantly grow and improve with every record they put out. On their fifth record, Permutations, they are barely recognizable as the same band that created their radio-friendly alt-rock debut nearly a decade earlier. Permutations is an extremely dense and challenging listen that demands and rewards multiple listens; it is one of the rare records which combines technicality and innovation with a strong emotional core.

Bandleader Ben Spees has been the only constant throughout the band’s discography, and he manages to be the lead vocalist, guitarist and … Read more

Anderson/Stolt – Invention of Knowledge

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

iamthemorning – Lighthouse

lighthouse350x350Russian progressive chamber duo iamthemorning has been a growing name over these years since the release of their debut album, entitled “~”, which blends chamber music with touches of progressive rock to create a beautiful atmosphere formed in majority by Gleb Kolyadin’s amazing piano work and Marjana Semkina’s astonishing vocals. Their sophomore record, “Belighted”, saw the band increasing its potential and audience. Lighthouse, their second KScope release, reaches new levels of sound and ambition to deliver a touching work of art. For this release, they’ve enlisted the help of Porcupine Tree’s musicians Colin Edwin (bass) and Gavin Harrison (drums), … Read more

Frost* – Falling Satellites

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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