Tag Archives: rock

Frost* – Falling Satellites

by Jeff Nixon

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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

Masiro – Technocologist Unknown

by Dæv Tremblay

covertechnocologistIn 2013, experimental math rock then-duo Masiro impressed me a lot with their debut “EP”. It displayed the creativity of guitarist Chris Pethers and drummer Mike Bannard on four songs. The unconventional rhythms and dissonant choices of notes made for an interesting time. However, it felt a bit empty with the lack of a bass in the mix. Much to my surprise, the band released Technocologist Unkown, their debut album, on May first. It was completely unexpected for me, and I was also pleased to hear that a bassist had joined their ranks: Chris Hutchinson-Mogg. And what an addition!… Read more

Warm up Your Throats! Audition to Be the Voice of II II II!

by Dæv Tremblay

II II II is amongst my favourite bands because of their unique style of composition. Their experimental, jazzy mathcore album, A Conundrum on My Coffee Table, from 2012, still gets played fairly frequently, which is quite a feat for me! The recent news of new material from the band, with the release of an instrumental demo on Youtube (below), stirred me up and got me very excited. It seems I wasn’t the only one because in response to the public’s reaction, the band decided to move on and concretize the new EP.

Right now, on SoundCloud, they have put … Read more

Danimal Cannon – Lunaria

by Jeff Nixon

ALBUM ART Lunaria_RGB_1500x1500Danimal Cannon’s 2011 album Roots was one of the albums that got me into chiptune music (although other Ubiktune releases certainly contributed to that as well) and remains one of my favorite albums still. Danimal’s new album Lunaria contains the same familiar upbeat gameboy programmed chiptunes paired with prog metal guitar riffs, but on a whole new level.

What sets this album apart from past Danimal albums is the fact that the songs were composed on guitar first, with the chiptunes composed around those guitar parts. Also new to Lunaria, is the addition of vocals on a few of the … Read more

Axon-Neuron – Metamorphosis

by Dæv Tremblay

covermetamorphosisI was totally stunned, back in 2012, when Axon-Neuron released their previous album, Dreamstate. Their unique blend of jazz, classical and rock or metal music, the excellent vocal delivery, as well as the proficient use of a 9-string guitar, simply overwhelmed me, and I became an instant fan. Oh, and there was a string quartet in there, too. Three years and two thirds later and a bunch of personnel changes – Jeremey is the only member left from Dreamstate -, the band releases Metamorphosis, an almost two hour-long double album that takes all they’ve previously did and cranks … Read more