Now Playing Thread

[Nicky007]

BTW, I've dabbled in David Bowie as well

Greenie

Bowie is a serious, truly progressive artist.

I don't know whether he's doing anything groundbreaking himself these days, but he's helping many other fine artists with their stuff 

My fave with Bowie is Diamond Dogs. It's really a very special album, with an eerie atmosphere (I like that, as you know), and lotta melody, poignant lyrics, and fine instrumentation.

He's covered an incredible range. And he's always exciting, regardless of what he does 


JP  Bullet For My Valentine:  The Poison

JP  BTBAM:  Alaska

Both fine albums, altho they don't really grip me 


This one does bigtime:

NP  Ten:  Babylon

This tale of love (both perverted and true) placed in a dreary future never ceases to grip me, and the music really strikes home with me 

Nicky.

[Nicky007]

NP  Anubis Gate:  The Detached  (on repeat)

Here's what I wrote on their Facebook site. I was the first to write anything. Where are the proggies who can identify Genius ? 


Anubis Gate are one of the greatest bands on this planet, to my mind in league with Dream Theater and Judas Priest (after 1996) !!!

The Detached is an epic as majestic as The Wall, DT's Scenes From A Memory, and Priest's Nostradamus.

Why do I say that ? Cause these albums have concepts that draw you in and seize your thinking. They substantially change your way of thinking about your life.

Of course the music has to live up to it ... and it does in all four cases.

Martin Rauff has rendered a captivating story, for those of us proggies who have philosophical inclinations, of the so-called "detached", humans who gain the power to escape the usual trappings of time and space. The detached can travel in time and space, backwards and forwards, instantaneously. Further, they do not age. The detached resemble what in theosophy are called "masters". Thus Martin Rauff, being an academically trained philosopher and a fantasy master, has drawn from both spheres to create a mind-boggling tale.

The Anubis guys live up to this challenge. Henrik Fevre has written the lyrics to the songs, and the English here is almost as masterly as Rauff's. Jacob Hansen has a tremendous range of expression, and he delivers his English texts eminently.

I could rave much more about this great epic, and maybe I will later on, but now I'd just like to add: Guys, this is BIG stuff. Get this album and make it part of your life! It deserves it and merits it.

Also Andromeda Unchained is fabulous. The music here entices easier than that of The Detached, but I won't say that it's better. I'v realised that The Detached is an album you can work with a looong time, and you will again and again experience new things.

So to the Anubis guys and Martin Rauff: Thanx sooo much for this great gift to us music lovers. A super album !

How about some concerts soon ?

That this group has arisen out of Denmark, a country where the mainstream music culture is depressingly low, attests further to their genius.

Nicky Brown (living in Copenhagen).


Roomies 

Nicky.

[Nicky007]

NP  Aeon Zen  on  MySpace

British melodic progmetal band.

Another amazing band. Extraordinarily varied, we pass by Andromeda, Circus Maximus, To-Mera, SyX, DT, Scar Symmetry, Sinatra 

Does that give an impression of the range ? 

http://www.myspace.com/aeonzen

Nicky.

[maddox]

Nice story about AG, Nicky. 

Both thumps up. 

NP> Spock's Beard ~ X

Brilliant!

[Nicky007]

JP  Pearl Jam:  Riot Act

Donno whether I'm gettin old and sentimental, but I'm beginnin to like these guys more and more 


NP  David Bowie:  Hours

Guess I got a crush on Bowie these days 

Nicky.

[erik]

NP Marillion - Happiness Is The Road

NP  David Bowie:  Hours

Guess I got a crush on Bowie these days 

Same here I've been playing the Reality tour live album a lot the past days.
Hours is a strong, moody album. I really like Bowie's latter day work.

[funkster]

Night is the new day by Katatonia and then hoping to listen to some Anubis Gate

[erik]

NP Steve Hackett - Out Of The Tunnel's Mouth

Vintage Hackett, Fire On The Moon is my fave track on this one.

[Nicky007]

... hoping to listen to some Anubis Gate

  Funkster.

I'm sure you'l enjoy it 


NP  David Bowie:  Hours 

Nicky.

[funkster]

V by Symphony X

Back in a prog metal mood 

[funkster]

Dream Theater - Black clouds and silver linings

[Nicky007]

Excellent choices, Funkster. Both faves of mine 

Another fave:

Korn:  Follow The Leader  (on repeat)

A great album, groundbreaking. If one hadnt used "nu metal" for Korn, one could well have used "avantgarde metal". Korn are one of the most exciting progmetal bands around 

They do some of the same stuff as Linkin Park, particularly on Leader, but they go much deeper 

I'm keeping company with Korn these days 

Nicky.

[maddox]

Korn isn't bad.
Haven't heard their latest album but I tend to like them from time to time.

NP> Shadow Gallery ~ Room V disc II: Floydian Memories [24:36]

[Nicky007]

NP  Caamora She

All Roomies should get into this one, for several reasons, mainly cuz it's a fabulous album 

Guys, I'm tired of being the daily entertainer. If you guys want the Room to be a place that we look forward to visiting daily, then you *#§ well better get yer finger outta yer a*. I mean it !  If I can conjure up stuff, then you can too. I'm not that much more intelligent than you 

Nicky.

[Manatee]

JP: Genesis - Nursery Cryme    Still amazing after all these years.    I'm particularly fond of Musical Box and Hogweed.

NP: Gentle Giant - Free Hand    I need to get some more of these guys in digital format.  Lots of fun for those who enjoy odd timings and inventive vocals.

[Teunis]

IQ - The Wake 25th Anniverary Deluxe Edition (sound improved a lot!)
Pendragon - Not Of This World

[Teunis]

Sylvan - Presets

[funkster]

The blue garden by Masters of reality
Time travelling blues by Orange Goblin

Bit of heaviness a la Sabbath 

[Bupie]

Hey guys. Back from my regular european-salaree-three-weeks-summer-vacation. Yes, I know, Manatee, you dont have it on your side of the world. Sympathy is what you need my friend (*)

I don't own any Crüe, but they're always good for a listen if you're in a party mood.  They're sort of a poor-man's Van Halen.

This is definitively not the kind of categorization that will help to raise my interest for MC

I need a Jonesy visitation to get my next Marillion recommendation.  Any ideas from the rest of you M fans?  I have the above, the two Happinesses, and Marbles (plus the first three from the Fish era on vinyl).

So you dont have Clutching At Straws yet ?  That can not be true !!! That will be your first move. Then go forward from the beginning of the Hogarth's area : Seasons End, Holidays In Eden(*), Brave and so on. Of course, go for the 2 cd's version each time it exists (*)

JP Magenta - Seven The kind of music that makes you believe in mankind again, not less 
NP Pendragon - Concerto Maximo  The live rendition gives a (slightly) rougher edge to Pendragon's music that is welcome to my ears.

(*) There's a link between those three passages. Will you find it ?

[Nicky007]

So you dont have Clutching At Straws yet ?  That can not be true !!!

This is my fave Marillion album. Lotta great rage, energy and melody ... which followed Fish thereafter 


NP  Priest:  Ram It Down

Still basically classic Priest.

They naturally got a lotta criticism for this title from bourgeois and women's lib circles 

How they changed after this album 

Nicky.

[maddox]

Muse ~ Haarp (DVD)

So actually, it's now watching.  

I'm so very into Muse at the moment.
It's fresh, energetic, intense...

I never thought I would say this but... I like them!

Bellamy has a strange way of singing but it fits the music.
People say that the band's music sounds like Queen but to me they are way better than Queen. 

[Nicky007]

People say that the band's music sounds like Queen but to me they are way better than Queen. 

The thing is, Mad, that Queen were groundbreaking back in the 70's, one of the most exciting bands at the time !

Particularly Sheer Heart Attack practically gave me one when I heard it first time. It overwhelmed me like very few other albums have.

You can't say "groundbreaking" about Muse. They'v mixed things in a new way, particularly drawing on classical music and rock, but that's it.

In fact, already Electric Light Orchestra back in the 70's combined classical and rock, and that was groundbreaking. Try to listen to A New World Record, Mad.


NP  Caamora She

I played it from beginning to end and listened intently, also read all the liner notes 

This album is awesome

Lotta great music, lots to muse on 

Nicky.

[Manatee]

JP: Arena - Contagion

NP: Transatlantic - Bridge Across Forever

Not much necessary to say about these two that hasn't been said.  They're just simply .

Re: Queen

I suppose they really did do some things that weren't the norm in music at the time, but somehow they just never really grabbed my attention (except maybe Bohemian Rhapsody).  Perhaps I should revisit them, although it seems like there are lots of bands that are completely new to me still out there to try.

Re: Clutching at Straws

This Marillion album completely flew under my radar because it came out not long after my "prog blackout period" began when I didn't really have easy access to prog (I moved away from my major source of prog information and favorite record store shortly after I got Misplaced Childhood).  It turns out that it's available for a very reasonable price on Amazon marketplace, so I just ordered it.  Thanks for the recommendations, guys.   

[Bupie]

Re: Clutching at Straws

This Marillion album completely flew under my radar because it came out not long after my "prog blackout period" began when I didn't really have easy access to prog (I moved away from my major source of prog information and favorite record store shortly after I got Misplaced Childhood).  It turns out that it's available for a very reasonable price on Amazon marketplace, so I just ordered it.  Thanks for the recommendations, guys.   

Lucky you ! What a gem you are going to discover 

NP Magenta - New York Suite Seems to be a title that fits the discussion above

[Manatee]

NP: Flower Kings - Space Revolver

Transatlantic inspired me to give this one another spin.  I've found Flower Kings rather hard to get into, although I like this album.  Perhaps if I play it enough, I'll be ready for a more difficult one.  The beginning of this does sound somewhat like parts of Bridge Across Forever, which I'd say is a good thing.