MARK MURDOCK – VISITORS FROM A DIFFERENT PLANET – INDEPENDENT
Murdock is probably best known for being drummer and leader in progressive rock band Cymballic Encounters, and here he has used some of the musicians involved in that plus other guests in what is presumably a concept album of some type. Singer Tim Pepper is one of...
KRISTOFFER GILDENLÖW – LET ME BE A GHOST – NEW JOKE
Born and raised in Sweden, multi-instrumentalist Kristoffer now lives in The Netherlands, playing in Kayak. Many people still think of him as being associated with his brother Daniel, and he played on the first six Pain of Salvation studio albums but since leaving in...
GRACE AND FIRE – ELYSIUM – OOB RECORDS
As is my preference when listening to music, I read the press release only when it was time to write the review, so when playing this I was intrigued to hear the neo/melodic rock crossover sound of this new band and my thoughts immediately when to late Nineties...
GORMUSIK – SNAKES AND ANGELS – MELODIC REVOLUTION RECORDS
2021 saw the release of the second album from GorMusik, following on from 2015’s ‘Fun In OuterSpace’. This is primarily the solo project of Gordon Bennett who originally recorded and sang everything himself, but then brought in some guests who added their talents to...
BUBBLEMATH – SUCH FINE PARTICLES OF THE UNIVERSE – INDEPENDENT
I was chatting to keyboard player Kai Esbensen recently and mentioned I had never heard their 2001 debut, and he said he would send me a copy. I demurred, saying a download would be fine, but he was keen for me to have a physical version and as soon as it arrived I...
THE BARDIC DEPTHS – PROMISES OF HOPE – GRAVITY DREAM MUSIC
I first came across Dave Bandana years ago when he was in Salander, followed him to his journeys with Birzer Bandana before he formed The Bardic Depths and released the debut album back in 2020. His colleague Brad Birzer was still involved, but he had brought in a...
3RDEGREE – FROM A TO XANADU – INDEPENDENT
There is no doubt in my mind that one of the most under-rated and under-appreciated progressive rock bands around is America’s 3RDegree. Over the years they have been incredibly consistent, and while I have not heard the debut album (so consequently have not reviewed...
BABAL – Who Will I Be When I Leave – Melodic Revolution Records
Babal are back with another album which refuses to conform to what anyone thinks progressive rock should be like, with a worldview which puts them in opposition to the majority and they are just fine with that. Although they have a guest who provides additional bass...
The Steve Bonino Project – Pandora – Melodic Revolution Records
When I was young, I was fascinated by myths and legends of ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt and I was given a book, 'The Story of Greece', which had belonged to my mum when she was a child herself. With lots of colour plates I was fascinated by the stories of Achilles,...
TODD RUNDGREN – A WIZARD, A TRUE STAR…LIVE – CLEOPATRA RECORDS
Recorded in 2009, this album is available in multiple different formats, including swirled vinyl and a CD/DVD set etc. As one may be able to work out from the album title, this is a live run through of one of his most controversial albums, at least when it was first...
