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[Bupie]

Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf

I tried this one for it gets so much praise but it did nothing for me. But I don't recall liking any stoner rock album anyway. A tip for a retry, someone ?

I have to say, that while I do like the album, I just hope they'll go back to normal album making again.
Actually, I would really like a "Train Of Thought" kind of album again. Their selftitled album was a big disappointment for me, and "A Dramatic Turn Of Events" was hit and miss. Even "Black Clouds & Silver Linings" didn't do it for me all the way.

I really love every bit of BC&SL. ADTOE took me some time but I really enjoy it in full now and it features Breaking All Illusions which is in my top 5 of DT songs. The self titled, I like it reasonably, the only (but huge) letdown being the "epic". The Astonishing, though, I could really do without. And it's the first time since WDADUthat I would not mind giving away a DT album ...

NP Dream Theater - ADTOE

[Nicky007]

Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf

Super album, QOTSA are pantheon with me

Dream Theater ~ The Astonishing

Still a great album, though it has been some time since I last played it. The diversity is immense ...

Agree! It's a classic DT-album - well, which DT-album since W&I is not ? Gradually getting into it - got several other albums to get into

And Master Petrucci's solos are still spellbinding!


Main album currently:

TesseracT:  Polaris

Sounds like it sounds transcendent, cool, easy flowing, but sufficiently dramatic too - actually not so far from Leprous Coal and Congregation, a similar mood, a bit heavier and more djent

Acle Kahney is genius!

- Nicky

[keyboardistmatt]

Flower Kings - "City Of Angels"
From 'The Rainmaker"

[PH]

Listening to Big Big Train's "Folklore" and liking it very much!!

[Bupie]

Listening to Big Big Train's "Folklore" and liking it very much!!

Yes, that one is tempting.

PP Steve Lukather - Transition I really like this one, a classic.

JF Larry Carlton - Fingerprints Easy listening jazz rock. I play it from time to time, it's pretty cool.

NP Neal Morse - ? It's pretty cool too 

[PH]

Today I listened to Major Parkinson's "Twilight Cinema".
I discovered this band through Progstreaming.com and was really fascinated by it. This album is quite good and it has a dark edge to it. I think that's because of the weird vocal style.
Anyone here who knows this band/album?
I must say it's probably on the border of Prog. It's hard to say that I love it, perhaps I shouldn't, but I can't help liking it.

Oh and this song is pretty funny too (from their 2010 album):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw1qjA84aUk

Catchy and weird!

[Teunis]

About Royal Hunt:

Yeah, tell my what you think about'm, Teunis ...

But get Collision Course. It'll afford you many hours of enjoyment. And then get the neighboring albums.

What I've heard until then was very promising indeed. Didn't have time to listen any further, because I was away for two weeks of holidays without being able to listen to YT tracks. Will listen to it as soon as possible, but first I'll have to dig into my 3 new releases:

pp: Airbag - Disconnected (Sounding great already after 1 listening, very recognisably Airbag indeed but refreshing also.)
jp: Huis - Neither In Heaven (Already heard it on streaming sites, even better through the stereo system naturally. Great album and like it even more than the debut!)
np: Frost* - Falling Satellites (Most anticipated release of the three. Not convinced by first listening, needs more listenings but I'm sure I'll eventually dig it )

[Teunis]

Steve Porcaro - Someday/Somehow

First solo album by Toto's keyboardist, also released yesterday. Listening to it on Spotify. It's a nice collection of songs, but they're all ballads. I like ballads between heavier tracks, but a whole album of them bores the pants off me ... Will give it another listen or two, but although I'm a Toto fan, I'll probably not be buying this album.

[Teunis]

jp: Big Big Train - Folklore (You have to hear this one, they said. I've heard the whole album, but I really wonder why . Some nice moments, that's all. At least for me .)
np: Frost* - Falling Satellites (For the third time and now by headphones. That really helps! The album is sinking in, but not the 'wow' feeling that I had with 'Milliontown' yet.)

[PH]

jp: Big Big Train - Folklore (You have to hear this one, they said. I've heard the whole album, but I really wonder why . Some nice moments, that's all. At least for me .)

Try again. And again. And then some more. I must be sounding like Nicky now, but I just can't believe this band is not bigger here in the room... (Pardon the pun)

Again, I'm listening to this one!

np: Frost* - Falling Satellites (For the third time and now by headphones. That really helps! The album is sinking in, but not the 'wow' feeling that I had with 'Milliontown' yet.)

I know what you mean. Milliontown was monumental. It was a big leap in Prog. For me, Falling Satellites is at least as good, probably better, but the 'amazing!-effect' is a lot less.

[Teunis]

Try again. And again. And then some more. I must be sounding like Nicky now, but I just can't believe this band is not bigger here in the room... (Pardon the pun)

Maybe it's indeed a matter of repeated listening, but I found it a bit annoying from time to time (which I have always with the music of Yes ). I'll give it a second listen.

I know what you mean. Milliontown was monumental. It was a big leap in Prog. For me, Falling Satellites is at least as good, probably better, but the 'amazing!-effect' is a lot less.

Played it again today. I so want to like it a lot, so it gets many listening . It does get better and better ...

Just listened to Radio Sympho Shop, where I heard an exciting track of a Finnish band called 'Thence'. Will check it out on Spotify. Way too busy at the moment .

[PH]

Maybe it's indeed a matter of repeated listening, but I found it a bit annoying from time to time (which I have always with the music of Yes ). I'll give it a second listen.

Actually, you're right, it does sound like Yes from time to time! Especially some of the guitar parts. But it's mostly Genesis what I hear.

Played it again today. I so want to like it a lot, so it gets many listening . It does get better and better ...

A new Frost* album is always so different from other Prog releases. I think it's proggier. I like it a lot. Yet, there's always a hint of Pop in it.

Just listened to Radio Sympho Shop, where I heard an exciting track of a Finnish band called 'Thence'. Will check it out on Spotify. Way too busy at the moment .

How can you be way too busy on a Sunday at 22:00...
Well, keep us informed about Thence.

[Steve Jones]

Haken - Affinity (Instrumental bonus CD)

Starting to get into this now, after a slow start.

[Teunis]

Actually, you're right, it does sound like Yes from time to time! Especially some of the guitar parts. But it's mostly Genesis what I hear.

The people who recommended me BBT also mentioned that when I said that I founded the music 'difficult' and 'nervous' (gepiel ) like Yes. Funny .

A new Frost* album is always so different from other Prog releases. I think it's proggier. I like it a lot. Yet, there's always a hint of Pop in it.

Yeah, definitely. The category 'neo prog' they are usually put in doesn't fit them. In fact they hate it I read .

How can you be way too busy on a Sunday at 22:00...
Well, keep us informed about Thence.

I meant with 'busy' that I still have so many albums to check out including my 3 latest purchases.

jp: Crystal Palace - Dawn Of Eternity
np: Frost* - Falling Satellites

[Bupie]

Steve Porcaro - Someday/Somehow

First solo album by Toto's keyboardist, also released yesterday. Listening to it on Spotify. It's a nice collection of songs, but they're all ballads. I like ballads between heavier tracks, but a whole album of them bores the pants off me ... Will give it another listen or two, but although I'm a Toto fan, I'll probably not be buying this album.

It worries me to read this since I had rather high expectations for this one. I will try it and let you know if I share your feeling.

NP Neal Morse - One

Creation ticks all the boxes with me, it's just everything that I like with Neal. The rest of the album, time will tell ...

[Teunis]

It worries me to read this since I had rather high expectations for this one. I will try it and let you know if I share your feeling.

Ok, curious. If you like the ballads of Toto and don't mind them being on one album, you'll love it .

NP Neal Morse - One

Creation ticks all the boxes with me, it's just everything that I like with Neal. The rest of the album, time will tell ...

I do like the album, except for one track: 'Author Of Confusion'.

jp: Thence - We Are Left With A Song (Interesting album which will get more airplay over here.)
np: Von Hertzen Brothers - New Day Rising (Fun album, really like it!)

[Teunis]

jp: Long Distance Calling - TRIPS
np: Thence - We Are Left With A Song

[Nicky007]

... I must be sounding like Nicky now ...

Since my name now appears in two posts I thought I should comment:

Yeah, very few people are willing to leave their comfort zone, even for limited excursions. If they do, it's to climb Mount Everest or something else exterior, not to try out challenging culture, particularly not music. While I'm aware of this state of affairs, I occasionally like to test and challenge it. On a so-called prog site, one would expect people to be prepared to venture out to the cutting edge of rock

Just to recollect, some (not all) of the cutting-edge albums - lyrics and music - these days are Wintersun Time, Kalisia Cybion, Keep of Kalessin Epistemology, and Tesseract Altered State - tips here to the adventurous


And a recent cutting-edge discovery of mine:

NP  Fear Factory:  Genexus

Whew!!! - but this is for the real daring

Here's the only slow song on the album, the concluding piece Expiration Date - very atmospheric and philosophical

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RprNzMtfDrM

- Nicky

[PH]

TesseracT is pretty good indeed. They really stood out when I was exploring the 'djent' subgenre some five years back or so. (I also remember Periphery and Skyharbor and of course Cloudkicker.) Don't listen to them that much anymore (actually for over a year now), but perhaps I should change that.

I'm listening to Big Big Train on a daily basis now. Loving the "Folklore" album! But I think I like the "English Electric" albums just a bit more. Still, this album is pretty much number one for 2016 for now. Easily.

Right now I'm listening to "The Astonishing" by none other than Dream Theater and enjoying it a lot. This album is dividing their fanbase a bit. I can understand both camps. But I just can't call this a bad album. I actually like it a lot, but I hate the fact that I never can listen to the whole thing. "People just don't have the time for music anymore" indeed...

[Steve Jones]

I'm listening to Big Big Train on a daily basis now. Loving the "Folklore" album! But I think I like the "English Electric" albums just a bit more.

At the time I thought the EE albums were great but preferred the earlier stuff by a small margin.  Now I find that the majority of my all time favourite BBT tracks come from English Electric!


jp: Van Der Graaf Generator - H To He, Who Am The Only One
np: Van Der Graaf Generator - Godbluff

[Teunis]

jp: Threshold - For The Journey
np: The Pineapple Thief - All The Wars

[Teunis]

Riverside- Memories In My Head (EP)

[Bupie]

NP Spock's Beard - Snow

As you may have noticed, I am in the midst of a journey through Neal Morse back catalog, and to my pleasant surprise, I don't experience the "always more of the same" feeling that I was fearing. I even think of buying some of the highly rated albums that I still don't have, mainly Testimony 2 and Momentum. In fact, the only Neal Morse output that I really did not enjoy -from the ones that I have listened to, which is far from everything !- is his last "pop" album Songs From November. I gave up on it after two listens. And I also have to say that I was not impressed by Transatlantic's Kaleidoscope neither.

As for Snow, I am still in my first listens and don't get the immediate "will like it" feeling that I got with One for instance but time is on my side ...

[PH]

That's great to hear! He is probably my favourite artist, and although he is not really known for innovative albums, he is pretty consistent in delivering quality albums.

I wish you a happy discovery.

[Nicky007]

TesseracT is pretty good indeed. They really stood out when I was exploring the 'djent' subgenre some five years back or so. (I also remember Periphery ...)

What's important to note about TesseracT is that they're far more than a djent group. It's like saying that Arena is John Mitchell's solos - OK, they're real good, but it doesn't quite yield the full picture

Altho for Altered State, the main singer of T, Daniel Tompkins, was replaced by Ashe O'Hara, at this point of my listening, I like AS best, it's simply ... hm, donno whether I can find the words ... stellar, ethereal, fantabulous

Just play it from the beginning, the first track halfway thru lifts off into wonderous dreamy harmonies of voices

Periphery are super too. Haven't listened to'm for a while, but some years ago they made it into my pantheon

Right now I'm listening to "The Astonishing" by none other than Dream Theater and enjoying it a lot. This album is dividing their fanbase a bit. I can understand both camps. But I just can't call this a bad album. I actually like it a lot, but I hate the fact that I never can listen to the whole thing. "People just don't have the time for music anymore" indeed...

We have to face the fact that DT is no longer cutting edge. They had a whole series of albums that were cutting edge, even genre defining, from I&W on. How many groups can boast of that ? Bob Dylan, Beatles, Floyd, Zep, Queen, Yes, Bowie, Priest, Metallica, one or two more.

Now DT have found their slot and they want to keep their fan base. Super music, here and there something exceptional, but mainly nothing that blows ya over

And it's true: People have lost the ability to appreciate (proper) music (properly). It's become some tralala to alleviate boredom and anxiety, meaningless stuff oozing outta the radio, and babes shakin their stuff on the screen

And there's SO much good music being made these days!


Played:

TesseracT:  Altered States
Kalisia:  Cybion
ELO:  Secret Messages

After the first two blasts, I needed something more relaxing but still sufficiently special

- Nicky