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#41
Off Topic / Re: Now Playing Thread
Last post by Teunis - Mon, 2024-02-05, 19:35:24
Today:
Genesis - Selling England By The Pound
Soen - Lotus
Neal Morse - The Dreamer ~ Joseph: Part One
Mystery - Lies And Butterflies
Airbag - A Day At The Beach

np: This Winter Machine - The Clockwork Man
#42
Off Topic / Re: Best albums of 2023
Last post by PH - Mon, 2024-02-05, 19:00:01
Just now I counted my top ten and found out that it's actually a top eleven. ;D
But I like it that way.
#43
Off Topic / Re: Best albums of 2023
Last post by PH - Sun, 2024-02-04, 22:27:49
My 2 cents...


1. Moon Safari - "Himlabacken, Vol. 2"
This album was a big surprise. It has never happened before that I listened to my number 1 release so late in a year. It's hard to say Moon Safari's "Himlabacken, Vol. 2" surpasses expectations, as I hadn't heard about this release as soon as I was able to listen to it. The band really even improved on Vol. 1 from ten years earlier. I hear influences from Dream Theater, The Flower Kings, Yes and lots more. There are even subtle nods to the '80s. I think this is a masterpiece. I think the best songs are the 20+ minute epic Teen Angel Meets The Apocalypse and the short but (sugary) sweet Blood Moon, but honestly, it's filled with only killer songs!


2. Haken - "Fauna"
I was really late to the party with this one, as it was released on 3 March 2023 and I really began listening to it properly in september or so. The thing is, I was afraid it would be a disappointment. "Vector" from 2018 was such a fantastic album that it was already unthinkable that "Virus" (2020) would reach that level (and I'd like to think I was right about that, although it was still a really good album). But on top of that, Diego Tejeida left the band and he was such a big part of their sound. All in all, there was no way "Fauna" was going to top those albums. But in the end, "Fauna" turns out to be only slightly less than those albums. I might even rate this on the same level as "Virus" (which in turn appeared to be my second favorite of the band anyway).


3. Mystery - "Redemption"
This album is so good. Like a typical Neo-Prog album it has wonderful melodies, great guitar solos, beautiful keyboards/synths. On top of that, there is a pretty fantastic singer! The album gives me nostalgia feelings as well. Am I the only one? My Inspiration, what a beautiful song...


4. Neal Morse - "The Dreamer - Joseph: Part One"
At first I was not really sure. This album is a strange one. To me it's somewhere between a musical album like "Jesus Christ: The Exorcist" and a prog album like "Sola Gratia" (which I consider a little bit of a disappointing Morse album). But after a while it really grew on me. Especially after having listened to the first and second part back to back.


5. TEMIC - "Terror Management Theory"
Members of Haken (keyboard player Diego Tejeida), The Neal Morse Band (guitar player Eric Gillette) and Maraton (singer Fredrik Bergersen). That piqued my interest! Very refreshing to hear Eric doing something else. And I think it was 2023 that I (finally) picked up on Maraton, of which their latest album is definitely coming up in the best of 2022 albums topic!


6. The Flower Kings - "Look At You Now"
It seems like a new Flower Kings album is no longer a big deal. I haven't heard much about it anyway. To me, this is another very nice Flower Kings album, and in fact, to me it sounds like a return to their earliest sound. I have not listened to this as much as I'd like. It might end up higher over time.


7. Ozric Tentacles - "Lotus Unfolding"
Ever since I listened to "Technicians Of The Sacred" back in 2015 I guess, I became extremely curious about new releases! "Space For The Earth" was alright, but "Lotus Unfolding" is right back at the game. And such beautiful artwork! Still have to dive into the backlog, but it's so intimidatingly large!


8. All My Shadows - "Eerie Monsters"
Wow! I am not familiar with Vanden Plas or with Andy Kuntz and/or Stephan Lill. I only know about them (and some of their side projects) by name. But somehow this album reached out to me. This is such a fun album. AOR, (Prog) Metal, (melodic) Hard Rock. I don't know, but it sounds great! I just can't get these songs out of my head. After the first five songs it drops off a bit, but the last song (there are nine) is a killer again. Phew! Gotta keep an eye on these guys. Hopefully it won't just be one album.


9. Riverside - "ID.Entity"
Some pretty nice songs on this one again. Unfortunately also a few bad ideas scattered around (all in my opinion of course). For instance, the lyrics feel a bit infantile at times, forced even. By the way, while I love Riverside and Lunatic Soul, I think Mariusz's (many) solo releases are bit boring... :(


10. Fish On Friday - "8mm"
Very pleasant album. It sounds like a continuation of their previous album. Funerals is a really beautiful song.


11. Lazuli - "Onze" (11)
In 2020 I was really glad to (finally) have discovered Lazuli with "Le Fantastique Envol De Dieter Böhm" and the compilation album "Dénudé" (re-recorded acoustic renditions of earlier songs). Lazuli's eleventh ('onze' in French) album is not as good, but still very pleasant.

Honourable mentions:
Zopp - "Dominion"
Nice Canterbury style music. Mostly instrumental.
D'Virgilio, Morse & Jennings - "Sophomore"
Pretty good actually. I was gonna include this in my top ten, but after listening to some of the other albums for the purpose of this topic I decided to leave it out.
Yes - "Mirror To The Sky"
Finally, a very listenable album by Yes once again.
Damanek - "Making Shore"
Another nice album by Guy Manning and co.
Karfagen - "Passage To The Forest Of Mysterious"
2023 saw multiple Antony Kalugin related releases: Karfagen's "Birds" (an instrumental 'remix' album of 2020's "Birds Of Passage") and "Dragon Island" (same treatment, but for "Echoes From Within Dragon Island" of 2019). And Sunchild's "Exotic Creatures And A Stolen Dream". And obviously also "Passage To The Forest Of Mysterious". All very pleasant, but also very alike. And I suffer from Kalugin fatigue...

Time for some vinegar. Here are some of my disappointments:
Not really a disappointment per se, as I kinda knew what to expect following "The Future Bites", but "The Harmony Codex" does absolutely nothing for me. People talked about a comeback after TFB, but I honestly cannot see why so many think Steven Wilson's latest album is such a masterpiece. To me it's only slightly better than TFB. I think Steven should listen carefully to his own The Sound Of Muzak again.

"16" by Einar Solberg is a disappointment for me. Initially I liked it, but that probably had got to do more with familiarity. A Leprous comparison is so obvious. Enthusiasm wore off quickly, unfortunately. It's predominantly vocal gymnastics. I really like two or three songs though!

Peter Gabriel's "i/o" is a minor disappointment. I was looking forward to the album and tried not to listen to all the singles. But in the end I am not really a PG solo fan after all. It's pleasant but there's not much happening.

Arjen Lucassen's Supersonic Revolution is also one of my disappointments. I bought "Golden Age Of Music" right away, but rarely listened to it. I don't regret buying it (I am a completionist!) and I really like the artwork. It was probably exactly the intention but it sounds so cliche. And Arjen already announced the next project... Have you heard it? Oh boy... ::) Will probably end up buying it anyway.

Oh and Roger Waters' "The Dark Side Of The Moon Redux" was doomed from the start.


I did not have enough time for Subsignal, The Ancestry Program, Pallas, Earthside, Galahad, Comedy Of Errors, RPWL, Lumsk, Jethro Tull, TesseracT, Voyager, Redemption, Lalu, Kamelot, Katatonia, Agusa, Glass Hammer and probably a lot more...


The future
I'm already enjoying Neal Morse's "The Restoration - Joseph: Part Two", Caligula's Horse's "Charcoal Grace" and Emerald City Council's "Motion Carries".
Then there's ANOTHER Karfagen album released already... I've heard Big Big Train will release their first proper studio album since the untimely passing of David Longdon. I saw Frost* are busy again. And of course Dream Theater WITH Portnoy, could be interesting!


EDIT:
What a lenghty post! :D I'm sorry!
#44
Off Topic / Best albums of 2023
Last post by PH - Sun, 2024-02-04, 17:01:33
Here we go again! It's been a while. The last "Best albums of ..." topic dates to 2021! :o
Time to make a 2023 version.
If I find the time, I might even go back and start topics of the missing years, just for the sake of it. Might be interesting to look back on those forgotten years!

But first things first:
What's your top 10 of 2023 releases?
And any honourable mentions after that?
Any albums you missed?
Disappointments? Surprising discoveries?
And what are some of the most anticipated releases and/or happenings for 2024?


Earlier "Best albums of..." topics:

2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
#45
Off Topic / Re: Now Playing Thread
Last post by Teunis - Sat, 2024-02-03, 19:19:03
pp: Lonely Robot - A Model Life

John Mitchell's last album is definitely my favourite Lonely Robot album 8).

np: This Winter Machine - The Man Who Never Was

A great album from the UK!
#46
Off Topic / Re: Now Playing Thread
Last post by Teunis - Thu, 2024-02-01, 19:29:40
Pink Floyd - Animals
#47
Off Topic / Re: Now Playing Thread
Last post by Teunis - Wed, 2024-01-31, 19:10:43
Today:
Airbag - Disconnected
Mystery - Delusion Rain
Pendragon - Love Over Fear
The Pineapple Thief - Versions Of The Truth
Blind Ego - Numb
Bjørn Riis - Coming Home (EP)

np: Emerald City Council - Motion Carries

I do hear more Kansas than Toto in the music, not bad at all :).
#48
Off Topic / Re: Now Playing Thread
Last post by Teunis - Mon, 2024-01-29, 19:50:43
Today:
Airbag - The Greatest Show On Earth
Huis - Abandoned
Frost* - Day And Age
Mystery - The World Is A Game
Moon Safari - Himlabacken Vol. 2

np: Different Light - Binary Suns Part 1 (Operant Condition)
#49
Off Topic / Re: Now Playing Thread
Last post by erik - Mon, 2024-01-29, 18:27:12
Quote from: PH on Sat, 2024-01-27, 17:11:49Anyone familiar with The Smile? It's both the singer and the guitarist of Radiohead. The first album ("A Light For Attracting Attention") was interesting and had a few nice songs here and there. The new album ("Wall Of Eyes") is also interesting. But needs a lot of listens I guess. What a strange album! Actually, I don't know what to think of it.
I really like their first album, have not heard the new one yet but will surely check it out. Like the later Radiohead and Yorke solo stuff which I am very much into it is probably an acquired taste but I like it 😁
#50
Off Topic / Re: Now Playing Thread
Last post by Teunis - Sat, 2024-01-27, 20:25:47
Quote from: PH on Sat, 2024-01-27, 17:11:49Anyone familiar with The Smile? It's both the singer and the guitarist of Radiohead.
Nope, but I'm not into Radiohead either :).

pp: IQ - Subterranea (classic 8))

np: Caligula's Horse - Charcoal Grace

Will play it again, but I'm afraid it is not my taste ... a bit too heavy and don't like the vocals that much. And the latter thing is pretty important ;).