I am back as years before, struggling to know if I missed any albums on this list, and the answer would be a resounding yes. Every year see thousands of releases just in the prog genre alone. It’s virtually impossible to discover and hear every prog release in any given year, so I did my best to showcase the cream of the crop, but then again I must point out these are one man’s points of view and will vary from publication and reviewer abroad. My taste in music is vast so I hope you all feel I have done justice by showcasing these 21 releases. The Un-qualified Critic
1) A Gardening Club Project – The Blue Door We Are The Truth
2) Evership – The Uncrowned King (Act 1)
3) Hasse Fröberg & Musical Companion – We Are The Truth
4) Soen – Imperial
5) Lifesigns – Altitude
6) Cast – Vigesimus
7) Nine Skies – 5.20
8) Mostly Autumn – Graveyard Star
9) Big Big Train – Common Ground
10 ) Ciccada – Harvest
11) Transatlantic – The Absolute Universe Forevermore
12) This Winter Machine – Kites
13) Kerrs Pink – Presence of Life
14) Drifting Sun – Forsaken Innocence
15) GorMusik – Snakes & Angels
16) Copeland King Cosmo & Blew – Gizmodrome Live
17) Dream Theater – A View From The Top Of The World
18) Meer – Playing House
19) Jeffrey Erik Mack The Forgotten Earth
20) Sylvan One to Zero
21) Leprous – Aphelion
1)The Blue Door First full-length release by Candian Progressive jazz folk-rock act, A Gardening Club Project CD & Digital Melodic Revolution Records http://gardeningclubmusicandart.ca
2) The Uncrowned King (Act 1) The third release by US art-rock band, Evership CD & Digital Self-released https://www.evership.com
3) We Are The Truth Sixth studio album by Swedish progressive rock band, Hasse Fröberg & Musical Companion CD, LP & Digital Glassville Records https://www.hfmcband.com
4) Imperial Fifth album by progressive metal supergroup, Soen CD, LP & Digital Silver Lining Music https://soenmusic.com
5) Altitude Third album by English progressive rock band, Lifesigns CD, LP & Digital Self-released https://lifesignsmusic.co.uk
6) Vigesimus Twenty Seventh release since 1994 by Mexican neo-prog band, Cast CD, & Digital Progressive Promotion Records http://www.castofficial.com
7) 5.20 Third studio album by progressive rock band, Nine Skies CD, & Digital Anesthetize Productions https://nineskiesmusic.com
8) Graveyard Star Fourteenth studio release by progressive rock band Mostly Autumn CD, & Digital Self-released https://www.mostly-autumn.com
9) Common Ground Fourteenth album by English progressive folk-rock band, Big Big Train CD & Digital Self released LP Plane Groovy https://www.bigbigtrain.com
11) The Absolute Universe Forevermore Fifth studio album by multinational progressive rock supergroup, Transatlantic CD, LP & Digital InsideOut (Europe) Metal Blade/Radiant (US) https://www.transatlanticweb.com
12) Kites Third album by English progressive rock band, This Winter Machine CD & Digital Self released LP Plane Groovy https://thiswintermachine.uk/about/
13) Presence Of Life Seventh album by Norwegian progressive folk group, Kerrs Pink CD, LP & Digital Self-released https://kerrspink.com
14) Forsaken Innocence Eight studio by UK-based Progressive Rock band, Drifting Sun CD, LP & Digital Self-released https://driftingsun.co.uk
15) Snakes & Angels The second release by US progessive metal artist, GorMusik Melodic Revolution Records CD & Digital https://gormusik.com
18) Playing House 2nd release by progressive art-rock band, Meer Karisma Records CD, LP & Digital http://meerband.com
19) The Forgotten Earth Debut solo release by Scarlet Hollow prog band bassist, Jeffrey Erik Mack Melodic Revolution Records CD & Digital https://www.jeffreyerikmack.com
16) Copeland King Cosmo & Blew, Gizmodrome Live First, live album and second release by progressive rock supergroup Gizmodrome formed in Italy Ear Music CD, LP & Digital https://www.facebook.com/Gizmodrome
17) A View From The Top Of The World Fifteenth studio release by US prog metal pioneers, Dream Theater Inside Out Music CD, LP & Digital https://dreamtheater.net
20) One to Zero Eleventh studio album German progressive rock band, Sylvan Gentle Art Of Music CD, LP & Digital http://www.sylvan.de/home/
21) Aphelion Eighth studio album by Norwegian progressive/avant-garde metal band, Leprous Inside Out Music CD, LP & Digital https://www.leprous.net
In 2015, after a gap of some sixteen years, Drifting Sun returned with their third album. Keyboard player Pat Sanders had decided it was time, and created a brand-new version of the band, with himself being the only person who had appeared on the two albums in the Nineties. Making up for lost time they have released four acclaimed albums since then, as well as a number of singles which have often included bonus songs which were not available on a physical CD and were only available as downloads. So, a decision was taken towards the end of 2019 to release a physical album (and download of course), containing 12 songs ranging from solo piano pieces to full-blown band numbers, plus some interesting demos and various outtakes. Full details of where each track originally appeared are included in a 6-panel Digipak along with a full-color 12-page booklet.
In my humble opinion Drifting Sun’s last album, ‘Planet Junkie’, is their best album to date and one of the few to get full marks from me, and I am sure many people have discovered the band because of that release and hopefully, they will be looking back through the catalog. But there are distinct and different areas of the band, and this collection only includes rarities from the time when Peter Falconer was singing with Drifting Sun, who appeared on the albums ‘Trip The Life Fantastic’. ‘Safe Asylum’ and ‘Twilight’. Having played this a lot now, one has to wonder just how so many of these songs did not make it onto a full album yet given their release rate they are already putting many other bands to shame. Yes, some of them are solo pieces, and to my ears, there is probably more piano than normal, but there are some real delights on here. It is a nice bookend to Falconer’s time with the band, as he is a wonderful singer, melodic and emotional, and while there have been a few line-up changes even during that short time, there is a restrained beauty as everyone comes together.
Musically it is often based on piano, with those lush vocals, and then the other guys coming in and out as the need arises. Sometimes their contribution to the music is by not taking part at all. Take for example “Atlantis” which originally featured on the “Remedy” single: this song is basically Peter and Pat who provides piano (plus there are some strings) and is simply stunning. Harmonies abound and I fall into the music headlong, immersing myself in the emotions. I really enjoyed the solo piano pieces such as “Bubble” – I could listen to a whole album of music like that (Pat – are you reading this?) – and although the album is slightly more fractured due to coming together from different musicians and time periods the overall result is something which is a delight from start to end. There are some gems on here to be discovered, and it is great they have not been “lost” in the world of digital downloads but are available in a physical form all in one place. More crossover to my ears these days then neo-prog, this is a rarities compilation worth discovering for the quality of the music and not just the scarcity of the material. 8/10 Kev Rowland
We are incredibly pleased to offer you guys a one-off chance to own some Drifting Sun music on vinyl for the very first time, and hear the classic album Twilight in the way music should be heard.
The 2017 release by Drifting Sun received much acclaim from the press and media when it came out.
The maturity of the writing and musicianship of the highest of standards created a defining moment in the development of this studio project!
The rich deep production, broad soundscapes, and complex harmonies are perfectly suited to the warmth of the vinyl experience.
Today we are pledging to all our fans who would like to get their hands on this great album on vinyl.
Once the amount required to manufacture the album has been reached with your orders, we will go into production and turn this dream into reality!
We do need your support to make it happen, pre-orders can be taken from February 8th on the pledge website below: https://qrates.com/projects/19733
As per the nature of every pledge, we are bound to reach the amount set in the pledge to put the project to fruition, or all those who have invested in the pledge will be fully reimbursed… we have complete faith that this is something we can achieve!
It will be a double album of the original record, plus an extra bonus song.
The discs, pressed on 180gr finest quality vinyl, will be offered in a stylish gatefold jacket with color-printed labels, poly-lined inner sleeves in black, and delivered shrink-wrapped. The record will retain the original Twilight artwork and will contain song lyrics and photos of the band.
The album is priced at £25 per copy + postage (£5 for UK orders, £7 for the order to the EU, and £10 for rest of the world).
As a special token of our appreciation for your commitment to this exciting project, everyone who places an order during the pledge (that is until we have received enough orders to launch the manufacturing of the actual disc) will get their name mentioned in the thank you section on the album sleeve.
If you have never purchased Drifting Sun before this is a superb introduction and if I haven’t said it before it’s on VINYL!
The tracklist below shows how the album will be broken down:
SIDE A:
1 Twilight
2 Wings of Hope
SIDE B:
1 Mystery of Lies
2 Soldiers
SIDE C:
1 Summer Skies
2 Remedy
SIDE D:
1 Outside
2 Remain
3 Atlantis (Bonus Track)
Get your copy of this extremely limited edition of only 300 copies and get in early because once it has gone it has gone!
Peter Falconer – Vocals
Mathieu Spaeter – Guitars
Pat Sanders – Keyboards
Manu Michael – Bass
Will Jones – Drums
With Christmas fast approaching, a bunch of us have teamed up to concoct a festive song entitled ‘Wake Up’ which was released as part of an EP on December 1st.
Wake Up features Colin Tench (Corvus Stone), Gareth Cole (Mike Kershaw, Tom Slatter), Ben Bell (Patchwork Cacophony, Gandalf’s Fist), Stefan Hepe (Gandalf’s Fist), Peter Falconer, Pat Sanders and Manu Michael (Drifting Sun).
The song was mixed and mastered by Jon Huxtable at Smallfish Studios, Scotland.
All the profits from the sales will go to TIERHILFE SAUERLAND E. V.
Barbara Hellekes, CEO of the animal welfare organization said “We’re over the moon about this! Winter is coming, and it’s really hard to get the poor souls through the winter, especially in Hungary and Greece, where we support and help privately organized shelters in keeping the streets free of stray dogs, trying to find them a forever home”
We, Shits ‘n’ Giggles, take this opportunity to thank everyone who has taken up their valuable time to bring their contribution to this EP to help make this release possible, and we hope that the charity organization we have chosen will benefit greatly from the generosity of the people who donate to their cause, cheers everyone and Merry Christmas to all!
Melodic Revolution Records has brought together a collection of the best musicians from around the world to participate in the charity release “One Love! Music for Relief” which will be made available on September 9th 2016 via There is Hope Records a charity sub-label of Melodic Revolution Records.
Melodic Revolution Records strives to not only promote and release creative works of music by many of the best up and coming artists, but to also help those in need in our community and around the globe. The music donated will help raise money for the recent events in Baton Rouge Louisiana which has experienced catastrophic flooding and the devastating earthquake that struck Amatrice , and surrounding communities in the central region of Italy.
We were gratified by the outpouring of support from the music community. When we put forth a call to action for track donations to support – One Love! Music for Relief, t he immediate reaction from the musicians was “Yes we want to help anyway we can!” After the official announcement of One Love! Music for Relief, many more artists reached out in wanting to lend their support and the result is a digital album that has almost 3 hours of music with 30+ artists.
Our hope is that this release will not only raise some of the much needed money to help the survivors of these tragedies and their families, we also hope to continue to focus awareness on the human aspect of our existence long after the fickle media cycle has moved on. Yes there are natural disasters, unfortunately there is no short supply of these, but it is how we humans come together that is the true miracle of our existence. We cannot let these events S fall off our radar, we must continue to support our fellow humans as they begin to rebuild their lives. So yes the earthquake in Central Italy and catastrophic flooding in Louisiana have abated, but now the road to rebuilding has begun and we know that support will be needed for some time to come, There is Hope Records wants to ensure that support continues.
We would like to encourage everyone to help promote this project on social media and those with a website we encourage to add a link or embed the player on your site.
Thank you!
Where Does The Money Go?
Minus PayPal and/or credit card transactions; 100% of money will be donated to… and split between Habitat for Humanity and The Red Cross.
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