DVD: Rick Wakeman - The Six Wives of Henry VIII: Live at Hampton Court Palace

Label: Eagle Rock Entertainment

Released: October 13, 2009

When you combine Rick Wakeman with a celebration of the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII's ascension to the throne of England, things are bound to be a bit over-the-top. Not to disappoint, Wakeman comes out in royal robes with six "wives" in period dress and the whole thing happens right in Henry's old home, Hampton Court Palace.

Wakeman is great. The English Rock Ensemble is great. The Orchestra Europa is great. The English Chamber Choir is great. From a technical point of view, all of this is to be expected. The venue is fabulous as well. For anything less bombastic than Wakeman's musical interpretation of Henry's wives, it might be overkill, but for this, it's perfect and it's completely clear why Wakeman always hoped to perform it here. While the venue is well-shown, the downside is that the players' faces get more screen time than their fingers. Wakeman is one of the most enjoyable keyboardists to simply watch. His hands do things that just seem unnatural and sadly, this film doesn't offer much opportunity to enjoy that.

The thing from which prog suffers most, and Wakeman is perhaps one of the biggest offenders in this respect, is its inaccessibility. Unlike most rock music, the average fan can neither pick up a guitar and learn the songs nor even understand the esoteric themes. What's beautiful in this concert is that it bridges that huge chasm that exists in a remarkably simple way: The performance is narrated by actor Brian Blessed and it is his dramatic readings and earthy humor that are not only engaging in their own right, but also bring the whole over-the-top performance back to earth in a way that even prog skeptics can appreciate.

This set also comes in CD format separately. While this will surely please Wakeman fans, the DVD is more exciting and has a much broader appeal.

Rating: 7/10



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Review: Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats - Meet the Meatbats

Label: Warrior Records

Released: September 15, 2009

Fans of Chad Smith's other endeavors, the funk/punk of Red Hot Chili Peppers and the generic hard rock of Chickenfoot, will find his Bombastic Meatbats project to be a surprise to say the least. It owes more to 70s fusion artists John McLaughlin and Herbie Hancock and jazz-oriented prog than it does to any mainstream rock influence.

At times, it really nails things. "Oh! I Spilled My Beer" builds on its funky groove, really freeing a wild, fun madness by the end. The mellow melding of soul and prog on "Tops Off" moves nicely, giving both sides of its nature space to breathe. The trouble is, though, that there are also tracks, like "The Battle for Ventura Blvd" and, to lesser extent, "Night Sweats," which wander too far into smooth jazz and light fusion to feel much better than cheap. In fact, much of the album has at least small bits of real badness, but as on "Death Match," it is saved by a combination of both fire and fun, often in the form of Smith's drumming and Jeff Kollman's guitar licks. Smith's group isn't going through an exercise in soul by any means, but they do manage to find enough life to keep things from becoming stagnant or completely self-indulgent.

By its nature, an album like Meet the Meatbats will suffer from too much noodling and too little soul and in some ways it's no exception to that rule. It does, at times, devolve into session-band-like fluff. However, despite playing an awful lot of notes, this one remains fun overall and that makes all the difference. The Meatbats also have the distinct advantage of not involving the ridiculously overindulgent and soulless Joe Satriani, so this is a much better diversion from the Chili Peppers for Chad Smith than Chickenfoot.

Ratings
Satriani: 9/10
Zappa: 6/10
Dylan: 5/10
Aretha: 5/10
Overall: 6/10

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DVD: Jethro Tull - Live at Madison Square Garden 1978

Label: Virgin/EMI

Released: October 20, 2009

Jethro Tull live in 1978? Haven't we already heard that? The ill-timed Bursting Out was from European dates of the same tour and that immediately begs the question, of all the live Tull recordings sitting in the vaults, why release yet another form the Heavy Horses tour?

Depending on your feelings about progressive rock, this concert could be seen as either a high point of the genre or as an example of the overindulgence that forced it to collapse under its own weight (with a little help from the simple DIY ethos of punk). Certainly no other prog band brought rock, classical and folk together in quite as dynamic a way as Jethro Tull. This concert proves that they were a tight and musically adventurous group who could move deftly between pastoral folk and grooving heaviness just as easily live as they could in the studio.

One true advantage of this package over the aforementioned Bursting Out is the inclusion of the DVD. More than most bands, Jethro Tull, or Ian Anderson more specifically, is a visual spectacle. The engaging and eccentric Anderson, whether as vocalist, flutist, percussionist or simply frontman, walks the line between theatrical and simply insane throughout. However, he's anything but aloof (his crack about the balding Martin Barre being "close behind Elton John" was great). He somehow brings his outlandish personality down to earth, resulting in a performance that is both over the top and completely accessible.

The concert was filmed for satellite broadcast (the first from America on British TV) over 30 years ago, so the video quality isn't superior by today's high def standards, but complaining about it would be nitpicking. The concert is a real gem for prog fans and even entertaining to all but the genre's true naysayers. Does it warrant release despite being from a tour already documented with an official release? If this package only included the CD, the answer would be, "Not really," but seeing Anderson and company in action is another story altogether.

Rating: 8/10

Review: The Mars Volta - Octohedron

Label: Warner Bros

Released: June 23, 2009

Straightforward. Subdued. Accessible. If Octohedron had been recorded by just about any other band, those words would never cross anyone's mind. However, the Mars Volta has pushed the boundaries of their music and their mania time and again, leaving the expectation that each album will be a further exploration of psychedelic insanity. This album explores to be sure, but in a different way than they have previously.

After the very, very quiet first minute and a half, the largely acoustic opening track, "Since We've Been Wrong," is practically radio-friendly. By the time they get around to "Cotopaxi," the first song to enlist their signature bazillion notes per measure approach, the album is in its back stretch. While the wide musical expanses and dabbling in free jazz is missing on Octohedron, the album is, in the end, more human. Their esoteric ramblings aren't altogether absent mind you, just significantly scaled back.

They have proven once again that their direction is as cryptic as Cedric's lyrics. Compared to most, they're still living in the prog rock ivory tower, but Octohedron reaches down and touches us in a way that is at once concrete yet fleeting.

You can pre-order the vinyl here.

Ratings
Satriani: 10/10
Zappa: 8/10
Dylan: 8/10
Aretha: 8/10
Overall: 8/10

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Review: Spirits of the Dead

Label: White Elephant Records

Released: September 29, 2008

Even those who love prog rock often understand that its shortcoming stems from putting the head before the heart. While no genre in rock can compete with prog's technical prowess, it's still often dismissed as self-indulgent and lite where the true spirit of rock n roll is the exception, not the rule. That leaves any band that takes the prog road with quite an uphill haul.

Enter Spirits of the Dead and their self-titled debut with its own flavor of prog that endeavors to remedy some of these musical ills. They open up the prog sound with psychedelic meanderings and then ground it with 70s hard rock fuzz, giving it a spaciness to freak out to as well as a grittiness to hold on to. When they drift away from that hard rock basis, the music can wander a bit as on "The Waves of Our Ocean," but a dose of stoner rock on "Red" and the super-sludge of "Spirits of the Dead" make for a wild album that can be both light and agile as well as crushingly heavy.

Most importantly, Spirits of the Dead don't get overburdened by their own technical abilities. They show off their chops when needed, but they're just as given to slow, plodding rumblings as they are to elaborate, precise passages. They can be jarring or lulling and that fuller sound is simply the result of a willingness to get outside of the accepted boundaries of their chosen genre. While their influences lie in the past, their vision looks to the future, setting them apart from so many of their peers.

The album will apparently be re-issued on vinyl (in Europe at least). The silver foil stamped image has beautiful, intricate detail that deserves 12 inches square at least to adequately enjoy.

Ratings
Satriani: 9/10
Zappa: 7/10
Dylan: 7/10
Aretha: 7/10
Overall: 8/10

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Review: Fun Machine - Sonnenhuhn

Label: BNS Sessions

Released: February 24, 2009

Story problem: If King Crimson and ELP were together heading south at 75 mph, Art of Noise was heading north at 102 mph and Hawkwind was heading west at, well the speed of the Silver Machine, what would you call the force where they met?

Answer: Fun Machine.

If that isn't enough in the mix for you, others stroll into this madness as well. The psychedelic ghost of Syd Barrett materializes on "Flaking Reality." "Family Vapor" dives into sections of unabashed punk rock. A not-so-metal Voi Vod rears its head throughout. Most importantly though, Sonnenhuhn doesn't suffer from the cold stoicism and pure experimentalism that often bogs down prog albums. Instead, it has the quirky earthiness of nerdy indie rock. It's this sense of humanity, even more than the bold mix of musical flavors, that allows the album to really take off and get wild. Frantic psychedelia, angular prog rock, eclectic influences and general craziness are all found in beautifully natural abundance on Sonnenhuhn.

Ratings
Satriani: 7/10
Zappa: 8/10
Dylan: 6/10
Aretha: 7/10
Overall: 8/10

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Review: Grayceon - This Grand Show

Label: Vendlus Records

Released: November 11, 2008

Symphonic metal seemed like a good idea, but every time someone gives it a try, we either get Metallica's S&M, where classical is merely superimposed onto metal, or Dragonforce, where we get all the soul (or lack thereof rather) of classical dummied down for the average rock fan. It should work, but it never does.

Now, Grayceon isn't symphonic metal...but they do some of the things symphonic metal should. Sure, there's a cello, but their classical leanings go much further than just a bit of anti-rock instrumentation. Their arrangements, particularly in the 20+ minute "Sleep," draw from everything from the sacred compositions of Bach to modern power metal. What really sets Grayceon apart though is that they don't noodle for the sake of noodling nor do they play for the sake of merely displaying their skills. Their focus is on the music itself. While Jackie Perez Gratz's cello is immediately striking, it is Zack Farwell's drumming that plays the biggest part in the management of This Grand Show's energy. When the music is at its most dirge-like, the drums still go off. When the rest of the band catch up with Farwell, the tension is released and the energy explodes, then everything else tones itself back down and the tension and potential energy build again.

This Grand Show's madness isn't as immediately striking as it was with Grayceon's self-titled album last year, but don't be fooled. They've just gotten a little bit better at it. While you wait to be smacked in the face, they're knocking your feet out from under you and then setting you back up before you even know you've fallen. It's much more subtle, but don't think that means it won't move you.

Ratings
Satriani: 8/10
Zappa: 7/10
Dylan: 7/10
Aretha: 8/10
Overall: 8/10

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Review: Omni - Ghosts

Label: Faux Pas Records (buy it at the band's site)

Released: May 2008

If you have any doubt that Radiohead has been tremendously influential on today's rock scene, take a look at all the bands that have inherited Thom, Johnny and company's particular take on Brian Eno. It's everywhere from indie rock to post-metal and Omni is no exception.

While the Radiohead influence is easy to put your finger on, to Omni's credit, their overall sound is not. They take ambient rock in many directions. Rhythmic change-ups give them a mathiness that runs throughout. They also mix in alt rock and emo tendencies and the experimental boldness of prog rock. Dabblings in funk and electronica also work within the context of Ghosts. Occasionally devolving into lite jazz doesn't undermine the record, but it does point out its biggest weakness: there too much head and too little heart here. Omni really only seems to hit their emotional stride once and that's on the minute and a half long "A Ghost." Otherwise, if they're feeling what they're doing, it just never quite comes across.

Omni certainly has creativity on their side. They've taken an increasingly overused influence and managed to do some very interesting things musically. Now the only trick is fill out that creative spirit with a sense of wildness to match, something that makes their music fly in fact rather than just theory.

Ratings
Satriani: 9/10
Zappa: 7/10
Dylan: 6/10
Aretha: 5/10
Overall: 6/10

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Review: Microtia - Distance is Oval

Label: Exigent Records (available through CDBaby.com)

Released: July 15, 2008

Microtia clearly loves the Mars Volta, but the Mars Volta they are not. Of course, that's not the worst knock in the world. Trying to play TMV's game and not fully succeeding is kind of like being a guitarist that isn't as good as Hendrix or a sax player that isn't as good as Coltrane. There's still plenty of room to be awfully good without reaching the pinnacle of your craft. The question isn't whether Microtia is as good as TMV so much as how they fill that area just below the very top of the prog genre.

Microtia have a clear love for all things prog. Their arrangements are complex and avoid simple verse-chorus-verse structures, yet they maintain some of the ferocity of hardcore. They don't exhibit the amazing technical skill that is a prog hallmark and that may be a strike against them among the more serious prog-heads, but for the rest of us, the music is more grounded and dabbling in grunge (check out "Organ Harvest" in particular) makes it more organic. They also aren't afraid of at least a few pop touches and that coupled with a desire to be bigger than just rock gives them moments that hint at Faith No More's genre-bending assault on the conventions of their day.

The biggest problem Microtia faces on Distance is Oval is simply keeping the intensity up, partly because they stretch too far and partly because the production doesn't afford them the crisp sound they need. Often enough though, they do find a fair balance between their chops and their hooks. The problem is not, as their name suggests, a problem with their ears, but a problem of getting their hearts in sync with some of the rather cool things their ears seem to want to hear.

Ratings
Satriani: 7/10
Zappa: 6/10
Dylan: 6/10
Aretha: 5/10
Overall: 6/10

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Review: Dead Man - Euphoria

Label: Crusher Records

Released: May 5, 2008

For outsiders, prog rock really seems like a limited genre full of musicians whose musical narcisism takes center stage, relegating things like hooks, emotion and all things rock n roll to the background. That may be true to some extent, but prog has also expanded rock's palette in many ways. A band like Emerson, Lake and Palmer is heavy on the classical, while King Crimson incorporates angular jazz and Mahavishnu Orchestra is as much a fusion band as a rock band. Jethro Tull stamps their prog with a heavy gothic brand. Voi Vod puts prog in a fast and heavy format and the Mars Volta even approaches their music from a hardcore background. The really great thing about Dead Man's Euphoria is that it brings many of the things these bands did individually into a single package (okay, not the hardcore bit) and even add touches of hard rock and jam band folk (a lá the Grateful Dead). They are thoroughly a prog band, yet it is difficult to pin down just one or two influences.

The album is a dynamic ride with surprises around each corner. Occasionally, those surprises aren't so great (like when "Footsteps" had me thinking about fairies and wizards), but generally they keep the album out of the stagnation that plagues so many complex, technical bands. As a matter of fact, the playing on Euphoria is often quite understated, letting the music stand on its own rather than as a vehicle to show off the bandmembers' chops. The vocals, by prog standards at least, are flat at times, but it gives the album an earthiness that escapes many of its genre-mates. None of this makes the music any less grand. In fact, it comes across nearly as big as the classics of the genre. Dead Man doesn't transcend prog itself, nor do they extend its boundaries (except perhaps on the very country, yet very fitting "A Pinch of Salt"), but they do manage to add another album to the must have list of the world's thousands of prog rock fans. While it might be hiding behind many of the musical turns on the album, Euphoria does manage to put the rock in prog rock.

Ratings:
Satriani: 8/10
Zappa: 6/10
Dylan: 7/10
Aretha: 6/10
Overall: 7/10

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Review: Bushwhack - s/t

Label: self-released

Released: 2007

These kids can play. There's no doubt about that. They're outstanding technicians and, at their age (all 18 and 19 years old), almost unparalleled. Beyond the technical though, they really struggle.

Their sound eases its layers back and forth between airy and heavy, but neither conveys anything meaningful other than that they've practiced. Hints of life in "Guacamole" are quickly stamped out by senseless complexity. Stabs at incorporating Middle Eastern and Latin influences too often devolve into bad jazz fusion. "Sirens" almost finds a groove, but it's too little to save it from horrendous synth parts and overuse of the phaser. They spend too much time showing off as individuals and not nearly enough making music together. The big keyboard swells have all bombastic arrogance, but without any punch. Acoustic guitar parts don't even sound acoustic. The rhythms are stiff and icy and the over-processed production robs any richness that the songs might have by overdosing on cheap, clichéd electronics. It's one thing to make a record that is intentionally cold. Those records still have life, however desolate and desperate that life might be. Bushwhack on the other hand have created something whose life, if it ever had any, has been subjugated and ultimately destroyed by technique that gives us the worst of both worlds, being neither interesting nor moving.

A young band usually struggles with technique or songwriting to get their own sound, but makes up for it with passion and excitement. Bushwhack is the opposite. They're textbook musicians and textbook writers, but they play like old men who've spent their days honing their skills rather than honing their souls. They play as if rigor mortis has already set in. Nothing is loose. There are no chances, no improvisations. It is safe and sterile and those are two traits that never make up great rock n roll.

Ratings
Satriani: 9/10
Zappa: 4/10
Dylan: 4/10
Aretha: 2/10
Overall: 4/10

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Forgotten: Stranger Than Fiction - Motherfungus

Label: self-released

Released: 1991

Baltimore metal fans are probably familiar with Meatjack, but perhaps fewer know of the Daniloski brothers' first band, Stranger Than Fiction. Their Motherfungus demo was released in 1991 (when the brothers were in their early 20s). These were the days just before a band could make a professional sounding demo cheaply, so the thin production dates this every bit as much as the fact that it came on a cassette. However, the tape explores a sinister silliness (à la early Butthole Surfers) using a kind of lo-fi, punk/prog and even free jazz at times. Don't expect prog and jazz chops on Motherfungus though. It's more the grand, avant garde spirit of those genres that lives here in a strange symbiosis with DIY energy and simplicity.

The tape's first side is a tougher listen as it delves deepest into experimentation. Their live version of "God of Thunder" at the end of Side 1 is a turning point. It maintains the over-the-top hard rock appeal of Kiss, yet it's also infused with the strange craziness that pervades the whole album. The second side doesn't stray so far into the bizarre, though it is still a far cry from what was typically coming out of garages in the late 80s and early 90s. The album's finale, "A Little Off the Top," is reminiscent of Henry Rollins' spoken word material on Family Man, where more effort was put into shock than substance, but the music helps by conveying an increasing madness as the song winds through it's nearly 10 minute story of what happens after a man snaps. Motherfungus is anything but a pop album, being more concerned with crazy than catchy. While the Daniloskis' current work isn't exactly in the mainstream, it is not nearly the free, open (and unfocused) work from whence they came.

Ratings
Satriani: 6/10
Zappa: 9/10
Dylan: 5/10
Aretha: 7/10
Overall: 7/10

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Fall of Troy on tour

w/Protest The Hero, Chiodos
Apr 11 Vancouver, BC Croatian Cultural Centre
Apr 13 Calgary, AB MacEwan Hall Ballroom
Apr 14 Edmonton, AB Edmonton Events Centre
Apr 15 Saskatoon, SK The Odeon
Apr 16 Winnipeg, MB Burton Cummings Theater


w/The Dear Hunter, Foxy Shazam, Tera Melos
Apr 19 Lawrence, KS The Bottleneck
Apr 20 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock
Apr 22 Chicago, IL Reggie’s Live
Apr 23 Detroit, MI Magic Stick
Apr 24 Grand Rapids, MI The Intersection
Apr 25 Covington, KY The Mad Hatter
Apr 26 Cleveland, OH Beachland Tavern
Apr 29 Rochester, NY The Club @ Water Street Music Hall
Apr 30 London, ON The Salt Lounge
May 1 Toronto, ON The Mod Club
May 2 Montreal, ON Club Lambi
May 3 Poughkeepsie, NY The Loft @ The Chance
May 4 Bamboozle E. Rutherford, NJ
May 6 New Haven, CT Toad’s Place
May 7 Baltimore, MD The Ottobar
May 8 Wilmington, NC The Soapbox Laundrolounge
May 9 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade
May 10 Orlando, FL The Social
May 11 Miami, FL Studio A
May 13 Metairie, LA The High Ground
May 14 Houston, TX Meridian Red Room
May 15 Dallas, TX The Door
May 16 Corpus Christi, TX House of Rock
May 17 San Antonio, TX White Rabbit
May 19 Tempe, AZ The Clubhouse Music Venue
May 20 Pomona, CA Glasshouse
May 21 Hollywood, CA Knitting Factory
May 22 San Francisco, CA Bottom Of The Hill
May 23 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theater
May 24 El Corazon Seattle, WA

Review: Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe - An Evening of Yes Music Plus

Label: MVD Entertainment Group

Released: February 19, 2008

After a brief introductory piece, this live recording from the 1989 ABWH tour moves into solo medleys by Anderson, Howe and Wakeman. While these clearly demonstrate things we already know (Wakeman and Howe are top notch technicians and Anderson is likely the not-so-distant descendant of an elf), there is little of real interest aside from a version of "Owner of a Lonely Heart" that feels quite different without Trevor Rabin. Things pick up with the group material, running through both Yes classics as well as new ABWH material. The album does lack the pristine sounds they created in the studio which would be a happy trade-off to capture the electricity of a live show. Instead, it's a trade-off for some alternate arrangements and a bunch of noodling, some of which are more interesting than others, but none of which is particularly compelling. Essentially, this is yet another live Yes recording, because ABWH is the first line-up since Tormato to even approach that of the classic Yes. The problem is really two-fold: First, Yes was a studio band that never offered much in the way of live energy on their live recordings even if they often reproduced the quality of their studio work and augmented that with alternate arrangements. Second, they were way past their prime. If a live Yes album is what you really want, stick to 1973's superior Yessongs or even 1980's Yesshows, because they capture the the band (along with their old friend Chris Squire) at a better time. The ABWH material on An Evening of Yes Music Plus is fine, but a step down from the studio versions as well as previous live recordings. This is essential (or even enjoyable really) for serious Yes fans only.

Ratings
Satriani: 8/10
Zappa: 5/10
Dylan: 7/10
Aretha: 3/10
Overall: 5/10

Review: Lafcadio - Kibosh

Label: Joyful Noise Recordings

Released: January 22, 2008

In a nutshell, Lafcadio could be described as King Crimson meets Dillinger Escape Plan meets Black Flag meets Black Sabbath meets Shel Silverstein. If you're not immediately turned off by the threat of that, then their new album Kibosh is probably for you. At times, they are as refined (though not quite as safe as) late 70s/early80s King Crimson jazz/prog. At other times, they play what sounds like noise, except...there's something to it. In between these two extremes is the heavy, discordant noodling that can likely only be picked up by locking oneself in a room and listening repeatedly to side 2 of Black Flag's My War. Just in case you're tempted to take all of this too seriously, check out that album cover with its 70s catalog spoof and the track list with the likes of "freewillynelsonmandela." That's right, on some level, it's all supposed to be fun. The result is hardly accessible, but for the brave and silly alike, there's something here that will catch you when you're not looking.

Rating: 8/10

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Review: The Mars Volta - The Bedlam in Goliath

Label: Universal Records

Released: January 29, 2008

The Mars Volta really scaled things back for this one. Gone are the super-long songs (the longest here is comparatively radio-friendly at nine and a half minutes). All sarcasm aside, they run completely wild with music that's almost impossible to follow, yet just as impossible to ignore. On previous efforts, their bold explorations have never broken down, pushing to the very sonic limits of rock music. The Bedlam in Goliath, while it too reaches the upper atmosphere of experimentation, does get lost and confused at points. For the first time, the Mars Volta may have pushed too far or, more likely, not held on tight enough for their own ride.

Right away, "Aberinkula" makes no secret that the band intends this album to challenge the boundaries they had continuously pushed on their previous albums, particularly Amputechture. With its near chaos of manic virtuosity at full tilt, it's still possible to pick out their love for Mahavishnu Orchestra and Ornette Coleman. They seem to bring things back to this world on "Ilyena," but even that ultimately goes bananas as well. When "Tourniquet Man" also devolves into the nearly unlistenable (or completely unlistenable, depending upon your tolerance), the band might have given up too much control.

Still, their ability to mash-up Latin and thrash and intersperse it with spacey prog on "Ouroborous" or to transition the funk-infused energy of "Cavelletas" into Black Flag guitar noodling is amazing. In fact, the influence of Greg Ginn's playing on Omar Rodriguez-Lopez pops up in a few places and speaks well of both Ginn's underrated playing and Rodriguez-Lopez's ability to recognize it and incorporate it into his own seemingly boundless bag of tricks.

Always pushing, the Mars Volta find a home for Middle Eastern and classical, free jazz, prog, metal, punk and probably every other style under the sun in the boiling pot that is The Bedlam in Goliath. While there are a few moments when the music may crumble under the weight of its own ambition, Omar and company still hold the mania together over the course of the album even if the music can be as esoteric as the lyrics. The closer, "Conjugal Burns," breaks into free jazz and spacey electronics toward the end, but returns to its structure with about a minute to go as if to assure us that, despite the meandering ride, the Mars Volta is very much in control of the destination.

Rating: 9/10

The limited promo EP that many record stores were giving away (every store in my area was out of them by the day after the release) contains a cover of the Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd tune, "Candy and a Currant Bun." The Mars Volta certainly put their stamp on the song, but it's more for the serious Volta fan (do they even have casual fans?). Sometimes, too many crazy geniuses spoil the soup. The really great thing about the EP is that it's a CD on one side (that also contains the video for "Wax Simulacra") and vinyl (yeah, I said VINYL) on the other. That's as crazy cool as the band themselves!

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DVD: Yes - Their Definitive Fully Authorized Story

Label: Image Entertainment

Released: January 15, 2007

I'm a fan of Yes. I understand that they have serious flaws from Jon Anderson's esoteric, eastern-philosophy-lite lyrics to their frequent substitution of calculation for emotion, but somehow, they manage to get away with it in my book.

Like Yes' better moments, this DVD often finds itself short on thrills, but long on quality nonetheless. The biggest problem is that the whole thing is 95% interviews. There is very, very little live footage and only slightly more vintage images. While that makes it rather dull and difficult to connect to the music (isn't the music the point?), there is still value here. Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Peter Banks, Steve Howe, Bill Bruford and Alan White as well as managers, journalists and other insiders all share their point of view quite honestly. They deal frankly with firings, members quitting and the pressures of the business end of music. You also get to see Steve Howe looking like a mad scientist these days and that's kinda cool.

The second disc provides more interviews (probably overkill after the 204 minutes of disc 1) and three music videos. "Owner of a Lonely Heart," while perhaps not a true Yes song to prog purists, is a classic video, but the "Wonderous Stories" video doesn't add much value. "Tempus Fugit" is a strange inclusion, because there is a camp for classic Yes line-ups and another for the Trevor Rabin era, I doubt there's anyone who runs to the defense of Drama. Disc 2 also includes a still photo gallery, but I for one have never found the galleries on DVDs to all that interesting and this one is no different.

Yes - Their Definitive Fully Authorized Story is interesting, but that hardly qualifies it as a great rock film. For the die hard Yes fan, there is plenty of good information, but it might be more enjoyable to get your old Yes album out and listen while you watch, because there's just too little music here. If you're a casual Yes fan, there's just not a lot here.

Rating: 5/10

Review: Birds of Avalon - Bazaar Bazaar

Label: Volcom Entertainment

Released: May 22, 2007

If I were to write that Birds of Avalon mix grandiose prog, upbeat power pop and riffy psych and leave it at that, most people would scratch their heads and just assume that Bazaar Bazaar was an erratic affair that couldn't possibly find itself. That assumption seems like a good one, but it's flat out wrong. Birds of Avalon reminds us that prog doesn't have to be devoid of emotion and that pop doesn't have to be devoid of grandness. Surprisingly, the two aren't mutually exclusive and Birds of Avalon bring the them together along with an element of trippiness for good measure. It's no small feat, but Birds of Avalon do it with such ease that it doesn't even seem striking unless you think about it.

Rating: 8/10

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Review: Thrice - The Alchemy Index Vols I & II: Fire & Water

Label: Vagrant Records

Released: October 16, 2007

Some bands seem to have potential, but early on, it's unclear whether they'll fulfill that. When I first heard Thrice open for Hot Water Music at the 9:30 Club back in 2002, that's exactly the way I felt about them. The live show was dynamic and energetic, but the two studio albums were trying too hard and the result was disjointed and messy. They certainly had the potential and the big ideas for their own sound, they just hadn't brought everything together yet.

Five years later, Thrice has shown that those weren't just random ramblings on their early releases. They were in fact up to something big and that something begins to really pan out on these first two volumes of The Alchemy Index. The first two of the four EPs that make up their concept album about the medieval elements focus on Fire and Water.

There may not be a better explanation of the success of these volumes than the one-word descriptions that easily came to mind with each. Fire simmers, burns, explodes and ignites. It is the heavier of the albums and its churning rhythms and chunky riffs scorch the ground between hardcore and hard rock. Fire finds the band excelling at what they've been doing for years, turning up the heat enough to make it standout from its post-hardcore peers for both the standalone music as well as its ability to nail the concept.

Water is new ground (or sea) for Thrice. It's very fluid and moves in waves. It's much more low-key, but like water itself, probably more than fire. It is easy to become enveloped in the ebb and flow of its soundscapes which will carry you, pull you under, let you up. It's a cold sea, with ambient electronics and quiet echoes and the very distinct sense of the lapping waves on the surface. Sometimes the waves are big and heavy and others they are calm and gentle, but they are always present. Water's musical pictures are painted with a palette that includes Pink Floyd and King Crimson, but also colors that are distinctly Thrice.

On both EPs, the song titles hide nothing about their theme and in that sense, they may border on telling rather than showing their purpose. The music is never so blunt, yet leaves no more doubt about what it has to say. Concept albums are always a tricky game that can lead even good bands astray. Thrice, however, may have found their true calling with an album that is brilliant, challenging and listenable, a trifecta seldom achieved.

As if making a great record wasn't enough, Thrice is donating a portion of their proceeds to Blood:Water Mission which partners with local villages to build sustainable wells for the thousands of Africans without access to clean water. As little as one dollar can provide water for one person for one year. You can't beat that, so check out their site.

The band will follow this release up with a companion double EP in 2008. Obviously, it will address the elements of air and earth.

Rating: 9/10

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Review: Grayceon

Label: Vendlus Records

Released: February 14, 2007

Prog rock's faults aren't usually related to technical skill at any stage of the process, from writing to playing to producing. In fact, the genre's greatest difficulty stems from its artists being too good, too musical. Prog bands have a tendency to lose the emotional connection with their audience that is essential in rock n roll. Sure, some bands were successful in incorporating pop elements and others just dummied everything down to nothing more than a grandiose version of pop, but so many of them still had that problem with emotion.

Grayceon is not purely a prog band, but their music, a successful amalgamation of metal, punk, classical and folk (particularly of the Eastern European variety), is complex enough to at least overlap significantly with prog. What Grayceon does that so often eluded even the top bands in rock's most complex genre is to simply connect with listeners. While prog plays at its audience, Grayceon plays too them. Their music, despite being the work of a trio, is every bit as complex, but it remains in a raw, emotive form than envelops rather than alienates the listener. Cello might not be a standard rock instrument, but it never feels like a novelty on this album. It's smooth lines are often juxtaposed with heavy, plodding guitar and wild percussion. Instead of taking those elements and streamlining them into a neat package, Grayceon allows them to remain loose and raw, giving the music both a chaos and freedom that feels more like a reflection of life than an esoteric musical exercise.

Grayceon's appeal is two-fold. First, their musicianship is so strong that their possibilities have few boundaries and second, they still play music that is very human and easy to take to heart. If that's not enough, this four track album has songs of 12 1/2 and 20 minutes in length and neither gets tedious even for a second. Few bands can say that whether they dabble in prog rock or not.

Rating: 8/10

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One Sentence Review: Queensrÿche - Take Cover

Listening to Take Cover reminds me that the word "good" cannot be made from the letters in "Queensrÿche," but the word "cheesÿ" can.

Contest: Queensryche - Take Cover

I have a copy of Queensryche's new covers collection, cleverly titled Take Cover, for giveaway. I'll send it to the person who has the best definition for what a queensryche actually is. The best answer might be serious or it might be funny, who's to say. Go ahead and post your answers in the comments and I'll choose a winner on Monday, November 26. Check back to see if you're the winner, because I'll need to get contact info from you.

I'll have a review posted soon, so check back if you're interested.

Review: Chiodos - Bone Palace Ballet

Label: Equal Vision Records

Released: September 4, 2007

After finding a fair amount of success with 2005's All's Well That Ends Well, Chiodos were in a position to coast safely into their next album. Instead, they chose to further break out of the emo-screamo scene that spawned them and follow their arena-sized prog-rock dreams.

Bone Palace Ballet has some leanings into the realm of the Mars Volta, primarily with Craig Owens' vocals, but they aren't quite so esoteric, staying rooted in things the common rock fan can get a handle on. Like My Chemical Romance, they have tried to push the boundaries of their own genre to something much bigger, drawing not only on the influences of hardcore and metal, but also the operatic nature of Queen and the jazz-rock of early Chicago, and they do it well. The songs seem longer than they are, not because they're tedious, but because they move outside of the standard rock song structure and an awful lot gets packed into each one. While they have expanded their sound and minimized their reliance on growling vocals, they have also become heavier, adding another layer of intensity. There are times when they lapse into the typical, but those moments are the exception as Bone Palace Ballet spends more time pushing the limits than adhering to them.

As the field of prog-influenced metal/hardcore/emo/screamo gets more and more crowded, Chiodos looks to be one that will stand above the masses and dictate rather than follow. Bone Palace Ballet is a significant step forward from the group's already challenging body of work.

Rating: 8/10

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Review: Torman Maxt - The Problem of Pain Part 1

Label: Mars Hill Records

Released: July 1, 2007

Concept albums are a difficult endeavor with a variety of pitfalls. Only the very best avoid all of them. Most of these complex albums fall into at least a few of these traps and Torman Maxt's The Problem of Pain Part 1 is no exception. Nonetheless, that shouldn't completely overshadow its strengths.

As the title suggests, the album deals with the difficulty in reconciling a benevolent and omnipotent God with the pain of His creatures. To accomplish this, the album revolves around the Biblical story of Job, a "blameless and upright" man, and the trials and tribulations that put his faith to the test. The first difficulty that Torman Maxt faces is the literalism of the lyrics. They do too much telling and too little showing, giving the words little emotional appeal. The trick here would be to retell the story in a way that is creative and evocative and that just doesn't happen here.

Luckily for Torman Maxt (and most rock artists for that matter), the lyrics don't have to stand on their own, because songs rely just as heavily on music. Another concept album pitfall is that the constraints of the story force the album to be uneven and once again that's the case with The Problem of Pain. The first three tracks come across as technically proficient songs in the realm of Styx or Kansas, not bad for a band that hasn't hit the big leagues yet, but not exactly a ringing endorsement for their ability to rock either. However, beginning with "Satan's First Song," they really draw a lot more color into their music, showing Satan as dark and sinister, the angels as holy and pure. Psychedelic elements evoke the torture of Job's life during these trials. There are a few steps backward into more straightforward arena rock which makes it an erratic ride, but over the course of the album, Job's story is told much better by the music than the lyrics.

As this is only the first part of Torman Maxt's effort to tell Job's story and explain the problem of pain, it is neither the whole story nor the final word. Part 1 is promising enough to generate anticipation for Part 2, both to see where they go with it and how they grow as writers. It's not a perfe3ct concept album, but supposedly better bands have done worse with ambitious undertakings of this sort.

Rating: 6/10

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Review: Kosmos

Label: The End Records

Released: September 4, 2007

For anyone truly familiar with Kosmos' drummer Michel "Away" Langevin's longer term project, Voivod, this album should come as no real surprise. For those who think of Voivod as merely a metal band, Kosmos will be a shock though.

The self-titled debut is an organ-heavy tribute to 70s prog rock dipping heavily into ELP and pre-Dark Side Pink Floyd with lesser nods to Yes, King Crimson and Mahavishnu Orchestra. Needless to say, this one is trippy as all get-out, but it never gets bogged down in its psychedelic trappings. Even the album's least accessible track, the Eastern influenced "Indu Kush" could stand on its own. Fabulous production and good use of ambient electronics as well as the ability to actually rock despite its technical elements help to bring this homage to the past into the same league as its influences.

Kosmos doesn't seem likely to wrest the keys to prog's future away from the Mars Volta, but they nonetheless add a valuable addition to the genre's catalog which has been spotty at best over the last 30 years or so.

Rating: 8/10

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Review: Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound - Ekranoplan

Label: Tee Pee Records

Released: March 20, 2007

I don’t take drugs and because of that, I believe I am much more discerning about my psychedelic music. It isn’t an accompaniment to my trip, it is my trip. From the space rock explosion that opens Ekranoplan, across its mind-altering landscapes and through its soul-inflected finale, this is a tour de force of trippiness. Assemble Head is heavy when they need to be, yet delicate at all the right moments, choreographing 38 minutes of another world altogether.

They jump right into the trip with the overdriven power chords and echoey vocals. Cooking it up with spacey organ and electronics, it puts the mind in the perfect state, teetering between totally mellow and completely freaked out. Over the course of the trip, heavy space rock is mixed with surf, blues, soul, jazz and classical. The result is an album that alternates between blunt heaviness and delicate touches. Sometimes it pushes, sometimes it carries, but constantly it moves. Driven by the psychedlic power of guitar and organ, baked vocals and a rhythm section that controls the ride, Ekranoplan is more of an experience than simply an album. With this one, there's no need for any drugs but the music. If you need anything else, you’re not listening. It takes us down the mind-bending road from which the greatness of Dark Side of the Moon detoured us, but that still begs to be traveled.

Rating: 8/10

Review: 31Knots - The Days and Nights of Everything Anywhere

Label: Polyvinyl Records

Released: March 6, 2007

Often a great album is one where everything comes together in ways unimagined with hooks that make one wonder how anyone could write something that instantly likable. Other times, great albums take effort. The Days and Nights of Everything Anywhere, 31Knots' fourth full-length release, is like that. A consistently unsettling work, it achieves this by juxtaposing different styles, creating discord that runs deeply throughout the album. The result is an uncomfortable listen, yet one that is not to be missed.

From the opening moments of electronic noise on the first track, “Beauty,” 31Knots manage to challenge. With its agitated vocals, simple piano bass pattern, harsh staccato guitar and odd math rock rhythms, it creates a blueprint for the album as a whole. But that blueprint is very general, because the tension it creates is never done in quite the same way from cut to cut.

For instance, “Savage Boutique” mixes alternating vaudeville and baroque pop and a subtle hook in the horns with vocals that sound as if they’re sung straight from a padded cell. Call and response vocals and fuzzy, jangly guitar pull at the loose ambling rhythm of “The Salted Tongue” while smooth interludes break the tension. Cold electronics give way to hints of pop and then let loose with prog guitar riffs on “Hit List Shakes.”

The rough vocal melody of "The Days and Nights of Lust and Presumption" is just shy of having single potential, yet the quick guitar blasts and a simple bass drum rhythm keep it off kilter. It leads into the album’s most accessible song, the near pure prog of “Imitation Flesh,” but it’s only accessible insofar as it’s perhaps the only song on the album that can be pigeonholed into an existing genre.

The Days and Nights of Everything Anywhere closes with the low-key, but still disturbing, “Walk With Caution.” Thin, dirty vocals suddenly give way to a cleaner, impassioned voice (somewhat reminiscent of U2’s Bono) and echoey church bells. The sounds of a scratched record and sad, but heavenly voices join in before the song, and therefore the album, closes with the soft ambient dissonance of an old sci-fi flick. It is perhaps a perfect finish even if it leaves more discomfort than satisfaction.

This is an album that borders on both pop and sanity, yet both seem to (diliberately) elude it. It is so often just a hair shy of pop perfection and manic collapse all at once and that is what makes it brilliant. The musicianship is deceptively strong, but never indulgent and the absence of glossy hooks forces the music to be taken on its own merit, exposed in a way that’s bold and honest. The Days and Nights of Everything Anywhere is not the kind of album that is easy to like. It’s not really even the kind of album that can be enjoyed. But it is definitely the kind of album that is worth experiencing. It is difficult, but isn’t that the road to enlightenment?

Rating: 8/10

Review: Titan - A Raining Sun of Light and Love for You and You and You

Label: Tee Pee Records

Released: February 6, 2007

The problem with Emerson, Lake and Palmer is that they don't put enough rock in progressive rock. Don't get me wrong, I like a lot of ELP, but they do tend to lean a bit too far to the classical side. Over 30 years after ELP's peak, Titan comes along to correct those errors.

A Raining Sun of Light and Love for You and You and You takes ELP in their prime and adds a very healthy dose of heaviness, producing something along the line of progressive stoner rock (ELP meets Boris, perhaps). It seems that some people have been put off by the first minute or so of acoustic intro, but it (along with other quieter moments throughout) really serves to bring the album's sonic gravity into full relief when the amps kick in. Over the course of the album, the traditional prog keyboards mix it up with fuzzy yet precise guitar parts that alternate between cooperation and opposition. Even when the guitar is more riff than thunder it still feels like they're turned up to 11. The incredibly tight and dynamic rhythm section keeps the frequent pace changes seemless. The songs are so cohesive that even with all of them clocking in around 10 minutes or so, they never grow dull. Across the first three tracks, there is little distinction even across songs as the album works as a single piece in many ways. The fourth and final track is distinctly different from the others, drawing more from Trevor Rabin-era Yes and early 80s Rush than from the more esoteric sounds of early 70s prog. Still, it works well, letting the listener down easy after the mind-altering ride of the first three quarters of the album.

It's pretty amazing that Titan spent years honing their skills and exposing their music through self-released CD-Rs. Now that they've unleashed themselves upon the world, they sound like they are at their musical peak rather than their formative period. This is a band that blurs musical definitions without losing focus or direction. They are certainly ready for the world, but the question really is, "Is the world ready for Titan?" Probably not, but it should be.

Rating: 9/10