Aethellis (USA) - 2003 - "Aethellis"
Before making a step on the path of solo activity, Ellswarth Hall was the member of Logos Affinity.
The 47-minute "Aethellis" contains five songs and one instrumental composition,
all of which Hall composed and performed alone. With the exception of the
12-minute closing song on the album: Final Affinity, all of the other tracks
are from 6 to 8 minutes in duration. The music on the first four songs here
represents an instantly accessible keyboard-based Neo Progressive. With the
exception of Saint Augustus (2), which is a banal Pop-Art song much in the
vein of those by ELP in the 1990s, all of them feature the bright solos and
passages of synthesizer and piano. Both of the last tracks on the album:
Djibouti and Final Affinity, the first of which is an instrumental piece,
are about a lushly orchestrated, quite diverse, and tasteful Classic Symphonic
Art-Rock. These two are the best tracks here, even though Final Affinity
features a few themes and solos resembling those on Rick Wakeman's "Myths
& Legends". Overall however, Aethellis is by no means an extraordinary event on today's progressive scene.
Ancient Future (USA) - 1993 - "Asian Fusion"
Ancient Future, formed in the far 1978, are the pioneers of a modern style known as World Music,
one of the most progressive outputs in this genre. Needless to say that Ancient Future describe
their music with the term World Fusion, coined by themselves in the same far 1978, and it sounds
right regarding to what I hear on "Asian Fusion". These guys may have several albums on CDs, but
I am only familiar with this one. A four-piece of guitars, keyboards, drums and violins, plus
6 guest musicians, three of whose (Asians) play very exotic instruments. All instrumental, the
music on this album can be described as three parts accessible yet virtuostic Jazz Fusion, three
parts Art-Rock-bordering-on-New-Age, and four parts true World Music. There are twelve pieces
on "Asian Fusion" in all, and the most interesting tracks (from the 'standpoint of progressivity')
are from 2 to 5, though, on the whole, this album is full of exceptionally original melodies.
Antiqua (Mexico) - 1999 - "In red nights"
The only metal band that's based on the unique Mexican prog label Luna Negra. One of the latest
releases of the company. English vocals, two singers (male plus female lead-vocals), prog-doom
structures characteristic for such bands on the whole. One of the tracks is stunnungly progressive
and unique. An impeccable product for all who are on Amorphis/Moonspell/The Gathering.
Arachnoid (France) - 1979 - "Arachnoid"
(64 min, "Musea")
Frankly, until now when I listened to the only Arachnoid
album, I never thought that the vocals in French could be so wonderfully
impressive. This work, however, shines both vocally and instrumentally. A
highly complex and rather heavy Classic Symphonic Progressive presented here,
is, in my view, distinctly original and unique and has nothing to do with
King Crimson, the influences of whom have been supposedly found by many of
my progressive brothers in pen. To me, "Arachnoid" is not only one of the
best Classic Symphonic Rock albums of the second half of the 1970s, but also
the most complicated and intriguing.
Arena (UK) - 1995 - "Songs from the Lions Cage"
Although the first album from this band showed just a profanation of Marillion's style (I
think, drummer Mick Pointer is used as a shield for another pride of the ubiquitous Clive Nolan.
Not sure that songs were really composed by Pointer / Nolan, but only by Nolan himself), I like
this one a bit more than the next CD. With the exception of stupid "Crying for Help"s, about one
half of the songs, especially the last Solomon, display quite decent Neo. Good for Prog-novices.
Arena - 1996 - "Pride" (maybe this is a hint at anything but not the lion's pride?)
Structurally, this album again is just a poor Marillion-clone, not bad thereby, but with a bland
voice of the new singer Paul Wrightson, unlike previous John Carson with his open (and nice)
Fish-ism. Nolan's vain endeavours make the relentless (and now there are eight in all!) "Crying
for Help"s, absolutely trivial here, the hallmark of the band, only the other way round, bury
alive this "Classics for the future" (as the band describes their production). This album is
simply free of inspiration, sometimes open poppy, very easy even for Neo album. Written again
by Pointer (?) / Nolan.
Arena - 1998 - "The Visitor"
Very, very unexpected! After the sharp criticism of the band's previous albums, I'm amazed by
these radical changes: is it really the same band? It's about right time to forget the past...
For the first time written by the BAND (I like new guitarist Johnny more than Keith), this work
is a step forward. Nolan's keyboard arrangements are also very good here. Highly comprehensive
album with a united text conception. All Arena's albums are released (along with some other
Neos) on their own new lable "Verglas".
Arkus (Holland) - 1981 - "1914"
A rarity, discovered by French label "Musea" (in my opinion, a Prog-leader these days), one-shot
project. Neo-Prog with a prominent role of guitar, melodious, accesible, though not bad,
especially for the beginng of the '80s. A related band is modern Jadis. I'm almost sure that
these popular British Neos are just followers of Arkus. CD-reissue of the LP was made in 1993 by
the well-known home of Neo "SI Music" (Rotterdam, Holland), that went bankrupt the following year.
Ars Nova (Japan) - 1998 - "The Book of the Dead"
Looking at the cover of this band you would hardly dare to buy it if you're a
prog-head. Languid, very emancipated maidens on the cover would probably insinuate: is
there anything of value with such an outright pop image? Ars Nova really designs the cover
that doesn't correspond even to the album title, much less to the music, which is great,
stunning.
Who could believe that these eccentric three (on this album two and for the first time in
about ten-year history of the band a guest male bass player) young women play like that!
But, it's not accidentally that they're called the Princesses of Progrossive Rock. This unique,
one-of-a-kind (female) band performs a head-wrenching, daringly complex art-rock in the
wake not unlike Emerson & Co, but free of any borrowings, like it occurs to you immediately
while hearing Triumvirat or especially Par Lindh Project. The more so, the two bands don't
stand up to the maidens in terms of both composition and performance. So, Ars Nova, it's
really novo (Ital.)! The first completely female band, and even more completely progressive
rock-band appeared in Japan of all countries. As for me, and I'm fascinated with their
music and skill, their appearance in the horizon of the prog-front is like a visit of a UFO to
us. So, hail to you, Sisters in Reason (progressive).
Atomic Opera (USA) - 1993 - "Alpha and Orange"
I would not say that this band plays Progressive Rock in its true meaning, though Atomic
Opera's recording company describes their music as "Heavy Progressive Modern Groove".
This is a type of strong and powerful Metal, structurally mostly based on varied heavy guitar
riffs with just some elements of Prog Metal genre. Quite aggressive guitar attacks are not
monotonous, unlike, as an example, the majority of the bands, which play Grunge.
Some of the songs here (10 in all, total playing time 48 min) are distinctively "pure Metallic".
All of them contain a variety of interesting themes, slow and fast, and also, figuratively
speaking, some specific guitar solos. The rest of the songs on this album are more diverse in
arrangement. Heavy "Metallic" themes quite often changes by slightly melancholic, vocal
melodies ranging from aggressive and dynamic to dramatic. On the whole, much better than
the same famous Queensryche circa 1997-1999. ("A Comic Opera")
Autumn Tears (USA) - The promotional sampler CD
(75 min, "Dark Symphonies")
This is a compilation culling from several years
of this group's efforts, - a kind of echoes from the past. Echoes of melodic
Gothic Rock, that is. All the right orchestral chords are also there, plus
plenty of angelic female vocals. Nice and melodic, with tons of beautiful
vocals in the presence of the minimum quantity of purely instrumental arrangements,
the music of Autumn Tears presented on the compilation generally looks very
accessible. Sometimes it sounds even slightly monotonous and, on the whole,
the songs are not quite progressive. Generally, it is always really difficult
to comprehend what the band is really about, listening to a compilation.
But after a couple listens to this promo CD, at least one thing becomes obvious
- the music of Autumn Tears is quite original, and we all know that originality
is the main trump of an artist of any Art. Also, such pleasant music, clearly
a child of inspiration should shine with beauty like a wonderful pearl in
the sea of mainstream tastelessness with mostly dead computer hits that like
the digital bitches just use and abuse the senses of inhabitants. That's
why I am so brave to rate this set, consisting of mere pages out of different
books written by Autumn Tears in different years, with four "good stars".
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