Music with a Mind – Featuring Riverside, Quicksand Dream, Sound&Shape, and (Damn) This Desert Air

Waveriders, recently some EP's have come in that just blew my mind.  Or whatever it is that I call a mind.  This is why we started the Ripple in the first place to spread the word on artists making music like this.  All prog of sorts, each fills a different need in my music loving soul.  Check em out.

Riverside – Memories in My Mind

Poland’s Riverside have been plying their trade for 10 years now, immersing themselves in gorgeous, atmospheric progressive rock full indebted to the Porcupine Tree-vein of creativity rather than the ELP-vein of pretension.  In celebration of their 10 year anniversary and recent signing to The Laser’s Edge Records, Mariusz Duda and boys have uncorked this “mini” album that is really anything but.  Not mini on length (at over 30 minutes spread over 3 songs) not mini in songwriting ideas, not mini in stellar musicianship and certainly not mini in atmosphere.  Rarely ever escalating above a distant thunderous rumble, Riverside explore peaks and valleys of dense ethereal overtones and sinuous moods.  Never rushed, each of these prog epics takes its time in exploring Floyd-ian keyboard progressions, serpentine guitar solos, crashing crescendos and emotionally moving lyrics sung in hushed vocals.

After the swirling keyboard intro, acoustic guitars bring us into the opening melody of “Goodbye Sweet Innocence,” echoing a distant familiarity with Iced Earth’s “I Died For You.”  But whereas that song exploded in metallic fury, Riverside expand their power, bringing in bridging keyboard passages courtesy of Michał Łapaj, complex time keeping via Piotr Kozieradzki, and the spear-to-the-heart guitar of Piotr Grudziński. “Living in the Past” and “Forgotten Land” follow suit, mixing Floyd-ian space rock, jazzy inflections with muscular prog metal reaches, all bathed in one dripping wet melody after another.   A true “mini” masterpiece of prog.

buy here: Memories in My Head (EP)

Quicksand Dream – Aelin – A Story

A rare and beautiful album.  Listening to this, I just can’t help feel like I’m listening to something important.  Epic, sure, but more than that.  Quicksand Dream’s take on metal is stark, powerful, disturbing, and incisive.    Not so much metal in the traditional sense of monster chords, power, and pain, but still heavy in tone and atmosphere.  The closest reference I can toss out would be some of the better work of Sentenced, another band that didn’t do metal in the normal way, but crafted some works of ugly elegance just the same.   Perhaps they sound like early Fates Warning or Candlemass, perhaps not.
 
Quicksand Dream is the brainchild of Patrick Backlund, who plays all the instruments, supported by Göran Jacobson on vocals (and guest keyboarder Henrik Flyman).   A totally D.I.Y., effort, "Aelin..." is a concept album of magic and dreams, where the young sorcerer-to-be, Aelin, is thrown between the choices of following his heart and sail the oceans or follow the path destined by The Mighty One, to study sorcery under the supervision of the Old Sorcerer.   Epic storytelling, that never stumbles under the weight of its concept.  Limited to 500 copies.  Not to miss.

buy here: Aelin - A Story About Destiny

Sound & Shape – Now Comes the Mystery EP

It's amazing to watch a band grow right before your eyes.  To witness amazing leaps and gains in songcraft and dynamic.  Sound & Shape is one such band.  After the dynamite, complex The Love Electric Sound & Shape come racing back with an aEP burst of unrelenting, driving composition and stunning musicianship.  Each song is a mini-epic, all glued together by undeniable melodies and phenomenal playing.

More straight ahead than The Love Electric, Sound & Shape have taken their inherent power, passion, and creativity and wrapped them in melodies infectious enough to eat holes into my brain.  While the concept of employing more “straight ahead” structures may sound like Sound & Shape are playing it safe, trust me they’re not.  Each song, particularly the frenetically complex “The Sacred and the Profane,” and the beefy “Bells at Twelve” marry intricate riffs, stop-start time changes, and walls of sound into soundbites of neo-prog perfection.  Lush vocal harmonies and constant surprises make these four songs a true blessing for my iPod.

A band everyone should know about.  A band few could imitate

buy here: Facebook

(Damn) This Desert Air – Distance Waits

A while back I raved like a drooling lunatic over The World Concave’s last album, Harbor.  Soon thereafter, I received an email from one of the band members asking if I’d check out his other project, (Damn) This Desert Air.  Of course I agreed, then immediately forgot about it.  And there it sat.  For an eternity.

When I finally rediscovered the file, I hesitated to play it.  This World Concave was an artistic triumph of sublime beauty that took me eons to get “into.”  I wasn’t really in the mood to listen that hard again.  Then I hit the play button, and it all faded away.

Much more immediate than TWC, (Damn) This Desert Air is quite simply a fantastic modern prog EP.  With moments raging from inspired splendor to chaotic aggression, DTDA mix it all into the prog pot, stir that baby up, and come up with a concoction sure to satisfy even the most discriminating palate.  The gorgeous melodies I expected, as I did the intense playing and stellar musicianship.  What I didn’t anticipate was how hard this EP rocks (at times) and how immediate the songwriting is.  Forget the hard listen, songs like “Trembles” and “Your Atlantis” grab me by the cerebellum and pull my brain instantly into the music.  Complex.  Intricate. Dynamic. And beautiful.  (Damn) This Desert Air is a keeper.

--Racer

buy here: Distance Waits

Riverside


Quicksand Dream


Sound & Shape (last album)


(Damn) This Desert Air

Fen to Open for Steven Wilson and Blackfield as They Launch Their North American Tour

 Blackfield are starting their North American tour today in support of their new album, Welcome To My DNA and the Ripple will be there.  Ripple artist, Fen, has been chosen to open for Blackfield for their Vancouver date.  Come to the show and look up Pope and Racer and have some Ripple fun.


  
North American Tour Starts Today
Get Free Music Plus A Special Foursquare Deal On The New Album  

Blackfield, the acclaimed collaboration between Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) and Israeli artist Aviv Geffen, launch their North American tour today in Washington, DC.  The three week trek sees the band hit the US, Canada and Mexico with special guests Anathema on the first nine dates.

Their 3rd studio album, Welcome To My DNA, was released in April on Kscope and has garnered amazing accolades around the world where magazines such as Rocksound called it "Blackfield's finest hour" and Dave DiMartino at Yahoo Music says "Arty, melodic, adventurous, and significantly catchy throughout, Welcome To My DNA is a nifty and sophisticated rock album"

To celebrate the start of the tour, the music television network Fuse.tv is giving away a free download of "Glass House" at http://fuse.tv/music/free-music.html?artist_id=532. 

Another special promotion starting today is via Foursquare.  When fans arrive at each date of the tour and check in on Foursquare, they'll get a discount code for the album from The Omega Order. Fans can find the code redemption instructions under the "tips" section of the venue called "Blackfield with special guests Anathema".

BLACKFIELD
"Welcome To My DNA"
Kscope

MAY

18th Washington, DC  

19th Philadelphia, PA, Theater of the Living Arts  

20th New York, NY, Irving Plaza  

21st Boston, MA, Royale Boston  

23rd Montreal, QC, Le National  

24th The Opera House Toronto 

25th Cleveland, OH, House of Blues  

26th Detroit, MA, St Andrew's Hall  

27th Chicago, IL, Park West  

30th Vancouver, BC, Rickshaw Theatre   

31st Seattle, WA, Studio Seven  

JUNE

1st Portland, OR, Aladdin Theater  

3rd San Francisco, CA, Slim's  

4th Los Angeles, CA, El Rey Theatre  

6th Mexico City, MEX, Metropolitan Theater  

Freak Kitchen - Land Of The Freaks

“Hello everyone.  My name is Chef Penfold.  Welcome once again to ‘Cooking With Penfold’.  I’m very happy you could join me today.  Folks…wow, do we have a great show for you!  If this is the first time you’ve tuned in to the broadcast, allow me to fill you in on what you’ve missed.  At the beginning of last month, we here at ‘Cooking With Penfold’ decided to take a culinary trip around the world, bringing you my favorite recipes from thirty different countries.  Today we’ll be showing you how to make a fantastic casserole hailing from Sweden.  And to make today’s program extra special, I’ll be joined by a very special guest.  He is a true master of the culinary arts, and I am honored to cook beside him.  Without further ado, ladies and gentlemen I present to you the one…the only…Swedish Chef!”

“Hellu Cheff Penffuld, I'm gled tu be-a here-a. Bork Bork Bork!”
“Thank you Swedish Chef.  It truly is an honor to have you as a guest on my show.”
“Theenk nutheeng ooff it. I'm joost here-a tu help.”
“You’re too kind Chef, too kind.”
“Nunsense-a.  Su vhet ere-a ve-a gueeng tu be-a mekeeng tudey?”
“I’m glad you asked Chef.  Today, we are going to be making Janssons Frestelse, otherwise known as Jansson’s temptation.  It is a creamy potato and anchovy casserole, named after a famous Swedish opera singer, which is traditionally served around Christmas time but is eaten year round.”
“Oh guud! Thet is oone-a ooff my fefureetes! Bork Bork Bork!”
“Yes, it’s one of my favorites too!”

“All right, we’ve gathered all of the necessary ingredients.  Arrayed on my cooking table we have 1.2 kg (2½ lb) potatoes, 400 g (14 oz) onions, 375 g (13 oz) spice-cured anchovy filets, 600 ml (3 cups) heavy whipping cream, salt, white pepper, breadcrumbs, and butter.  Now the first step is to peel the potatoes and onions and then cut them into thin strips or slices.  Chef, if you’ll please peel and cut the potatoes I’ll take care of the onions.”
“Off cuoorse-a.”
“Great.  I’m finished slicing the onions.  Now I’m going to gently sauté them in a little butter, but I’m going to make sure not to brown them.  While I’m seeing to that, Chef would you please grease that ovenproof baking dish sitting over there?  Oh, you’re ahead of me I see.  You’re already covering the bottom with a layer of potatoes.  That’s fantastic!  Okay, I’m going to add half of my sautéed onions and half the anchovy filets.  There we go.  Let’s add another layer of potatoes, and then the rest of the onions and filets.  Beautiful!  One last layer of potatoes and the hard part is over. Now, I don’t want to tempt you too much Chef, but do you know what comes next?”
“Zee fletteneeng?”
“That’s right, the flattening of the surface.”
“Oh buy, ooh buy! Bork Bork Bork!”  The Swedish Chef flattens the surface with his customary gusto!
“All right Chef, thank you.  That’s flat enough.  We’re down to the last few steps here folks.  First, we add a few turns of pepper from the mill and just a little salt.  Next, we’re going to pour the cream on until we can almost see it through the potatoes.  That’s it.  Lastly, we’re going to put a few dabs of butter on top along with a sprinkling of breadcrumbs to add some nice texture.  Okay, all that’s left now is to put this dish in the oven where it will cook at four hundred seventy five degrees Fahrenheit for about an hour.”

Waveriders, while we wait on the delicious casserole to finish baking, I want to tell you about something else from Sweden that is incredibly exciting.  This non-edible, non-perishable entity I am going to discuss is the band Freak Kitchen.  At this moment there are no ifs, ands, or buts about it.  Freak Kitchen has established itself as one of my all-time favorite bands, and they released one of my favorite albums of 2010 (it was originally released in October 2009, but I was unable to obtain a copy in the US until 2010).  That album’s name is Land of the Freaks.  Using what I like to think of as incontrovertible evidence, I’m going to emphatically explain why all music fans need to become familiar with this album and its intrinsic greatness.

Freak Kitchen is a trio.  No…scratch that.  Freak Kitchen is a power trio!  The band, brainchild of guitarist/lead vocalist Mattias “IA” Eklundh, has been in existence since the early 1990s.  Their debut album Appetizer came out in 1994.  After three additional albums the original trio disbanded, leaving Mr. Eklundh the task of finding two new bandmates.  Shortly thereafter a new trio was formed with the addition of bassist Christer Ortefors and drummer Bjorn Fryklundh.  Land of the Freaks is the group’s seventh overall album, and the third for version 2.0 of the band.  But enough of the history, let’s talk about what’s most important…the music!

Here is where it gets interesting.  Freak Kitchen is typically classified as a progressive metal band.  I am not going to argue with that.  What I am going to do is flesh out a couple of intricacies that make this particular progressive metal band unique.  First of all it is critical to note that the songs contain as many pop elements as progressive ones.  What does that mean?  Easy.  When you break down one of their songs you will find wacky time signatures, ridiculous playing, grand thematic changes, etc.  But here is the catch.  If you don’t concentrate on uncovering these elements, you won’t notice they exist thanks to the band’s pop sensibilities.  Nothing, no matter how flashy, disrupts the flow of a song.  That means unlike some other progressive metal bands I can name, there is never a moment of mid-song headbanging recalibration.

Second, also stemming from the pop sensibilities, the songs themselves never outstay their welcome.  The longest track on Land of the Freaks is five minutes and forty two seconds.  All of the others end before the five minute mark, most before four minutes.  I’m not trying to imply that epic-length songs are bad (I love quite a few of them myself), but I am saying that I like knowing I don’t have to specifically set aside a half hour to fully enjoy one song.  Third the contributions of Mattias Eklundh, both vocally and on guitar are spectacular, plain and simple.  To say that he is a gifted guitarist is an immeasurable understatement.  His tonality, technicality, timing, and musical IQ are second to none.  The fact that he is also a fantastic vocalist is icing on the cake.  His clean vocals are able to perfectly match the mood of the song whether it calls for all out aggression or heartfelt tenderness.  In a time where a lot of metal bands are choosing the growling option, it’s nice to know who I can turn to when I need a break.  So what about that album?

Land of the Freaks is terminally ill.  “God Save the Spleen”, the opening track, has been my go to neck snapper for well over a year now.  The monstrous guitar tone, devastating main riff, and bottomless groove cast a magic spell upon my person.  I-Can’t-Stop-Listening-To-This-Song!  But let’s not stop there.  Other top-shelf metal anthems on this album include the South-Asian flavored “Teargas Jazz”, the deceptive “Murder Groupie”, and the phenomenally amusing anti-fascist “Honey, You’re a Nazi”.  Feel like something different?  No problem.  Try the transformative “OK” which begins like a ballad before morphing into a rocker, or the straight up acoustic ditty “Do Not Disturb”.  Not good enough?  Fine.  How about “Hip Hip Hoorah”, a danceable metal song.  That’s right…danceable (don’t ask me to demonstrate; I promise you’ll be sorry you did).  What I’m trying to get across is that there is a chasm-wide variety of material on offer here.  No matter what you’re looking for, Land of the Freaks will fulfill your order.  Ooh, looks like our casserole is ready!

“Okay folks, it’s time to take our dish out of the oven.  Chef wait!  That baking dish is going to be HOT!”
“Ehh! I boorned my hunds!
“Chef!?  Are you all right Chef?”
“Oh dun't vurry ebuoot me-a, I'll be-a feene-a. Bork Bork Bork!”
“Thank goodness!  You had me worried with that whole blowing air on your hands thing you have going there.  Well folks, this dish will make six to eight servings.  I hope you enjoy Jannson’s temptation as much as I do.  Thanks again to my honored guest the Swedish Chef for helping me cook today.  Join us next time when we continue our culinary trip around the world, won’t you?  This is Chef Penfold saying goodbye for now.”

--Penfold

Buy here: Land of The Freaks

Jethro Tull - Stand Up (2 CD/DVD) Collector’s Edition

Admittedly, I don’t know squat about Jethro Tull. I mean, Jethro Tull outside of songs such as “Aqualung”, “Cross Eyed-Mary”, “Bungle in the Jungle”, Locomotive Breath”, y’know . . . the “hits” as they may be called. Sure, I’ve owned and played, and replayed, and lost, and re-owned the band's M.U. Best of disc a hundred times over and I’ve lived with their music for the better part of my life as the songs have made their way through the FM rock station airwaves. But it wasn’t until recently that I realized that this is a band that I’ve always claimed to adore, yet knew in the most superficial way. Kinda’ like being in love with that hot chick on the far side of the mall but not knowing if she has any redeeming qualities outside of her outstanding looks. So, here I go. Manning up, walking up to her, asking her name, preparing for the eventual rebuff, and go ahead and fill in your own conclusion.

I’ve gone back and explored the sounds of Aqualung, Thick As A Brick, and War Child, and I’ve come to the conclusion that like most women, Jethro Tull are more complex a creature than one will ever truly know. In listening to Stand Up, all I can really do is marvel that this is music originally released in 1969, the same year that saw the first two Zeppelin albums, all three CCR albums, Abbey Road, Santana’s first, Let It Bleed, and countless other releases that changed the music world and the way so many of us actively listen and create music. The music from Stand Up probably doesn’t need any description from me, for I’m sure I’ll never be able to add any new or useful insight. I can, however, sit back and smile that I have been blessed with ears, and appreciate in some voyeuristic fascination that music fans world around have been blessed to have a group of young men who pushed the boundaries of folk and rock music to carve out their own cubby in the world of progressive music. Gentlemen, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Every spin of your records is a musical safari through lands, cultures, and ideas that I never would have imagined.

This re-issue, and especially this particular package, of Stand Up is beyond cool. The original re-mastered version of the album needs no introduction other than to say, “Woof. Incredible”. The bonus material to this package, on the other hand, is above and beyond the price of admission. If you’re like me and somewhat versed, but not really, in the ways of Tull, then go through the CD and familiarize yourself with the tunes that make up the gem. You should immediately recognize tracks like “Fat Man” and “Nothing Is Easy”, and you’ll probably sit back in some cosmic orgasm when you hear “Bouree”, but these tracks aren’t what makes this particular package so fucking cool! Kick that disc out and insert disc 2 . . . yeah, that’s right, the live portion of the package. Good. Now push play and join me on this journey of sonic discovery!

Disc 2 was recorded live at New York City’s Carnegie Hall in 1970 and having never had the opportunity to catch Jethro Tull live, I now feel cheated for being born too late. Thankfully, I now have this live recording in my possession and it’s fair to say that its one of the most important pieces of my collection. I’m sure it doesn’t need to be said, but Jethro Tull are a bunch of bad asses! Opening with “Nothing Is Easy”, it takes all of five seconds to realize that this performance is going to be a thrill ride and by the time Ian Anderson utter s the first lines of lyric, it’s a stone cold fact that the world’s best scientists would spend several lifetimes trying to dispute that Jethro Tull are a spectacular and brilliant live group. The band comes across as confident despite this recording being early on in the careers, the breaks are tight, the solos are filled with passion and creativity, and the energy is infectious. Close your eyes tight enough and you may smell the sweet fragrance of weed filling the air. This is a crystal clear recording and whoever had the foresight to push the record button needs to be thanked, maybe even knighted.

By far my favorite part of this concert is the second track, “My God”, and oh my God . . . Ian Anderson, what have they fed you, my friend?!? First off, the song is one of those dark and gritty tunes in tone, opening with some chaotic acoustic guitar flourishes before dropping into that ever so somber and mournful chord progression. The music almost sounds like a dirge and Anderson’s vocals always come across as intense and manic, and once the drums and electric guitars come in on the second verse, it’s like lightening striking a tree and splitting it in half. I love the feedback . . . I know it’s technically a flaw but it adds an authentic air to the recording, make me feel more like I’m right there watching everything going down in front of me. Then, it’s all about the flute solo. Amazing. Absolutely amazing . . . filled with vibrancy and massive elements of creativity, immediacy, humor, and intellect. Anderson is insane and a god. The dude’s head must spin from lack of oxygen after doing this kind of thing every night! I never thought the flute could be so rockin’, even after hearing Tull for the better part of my life and knowing better. Flat out . . . Jethro Tull rocks!

And it’s not just Anderson who shows his chops and musical proficiency on this live album. Guitarist Martin Barre and pianist John Evan steal the spotlight on numerous occasions, adding flair, lighting up the sky, dancing between the bombast and the delicate, none of it possible without the rhythm section of Glenn Cormick on bass and Clive Bunker on drums. The way these guys communicate musically on stage is something to behold . . . like one musical being split into five personalities! “To Cry You A Song” is outstanding and a great example of how this unit works together to create a stunning tune. There’s something just a little sinister about the tones of all of the instruments and Barre’s guitar work is of a searing nature, the lyrics spit out by Anderson are packed with imagery that makes me want to throw my current life to the side with all of my dirty laundry and try my hand at something else. The starts and stops to the song are just that tight . . . world class. Love it!

Christ, I could go on about every song . . . “A Song For Jeffrey”, the medley of “Sossity, You’re A Woman/Reasons For Waiting”, and “Dharma For One” (bitchin’ drum solo) are all killer! The thing I realized with Jethro Tull is that the music they create is thought out, highly intelligent music meant more for firing up the mind than it is to get your ass swinging on a dance floor. The off time rhythms, the odd chord progressions, the intellectual subject matter, the arrangements of the music, it all screams progressive rock and I love that. It never feels like these cats are trying to speak above me. They may be speaking above me, but that’s more due to my own lack of intelligence than the band trying to be superior mental beings. Stand Up is a must for any who are trying to get into Tull, but I think you’d be better served to pick up this collectors package (complete with pop-up figures of the band in the packaging . . . get it? Stand Up? Pop-up? Intellectual) and spin the live portion over and over and over again. The live venue is where one truly gets to understand a musician and what it is that they’re trying to express, and this performance is one of the best I’ve heard from anyone, to the point that I’m inspired to complete my Jethro Tull catalog by draining my bank account and filling up my Amazon cart.

--Pope

buy here: Stand Up

Prophecy Productions - Whom the Moon a Nightsong Sings (Compilation)

Never . . . ever . . . in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that I would sit down and write my thoughts about a compilation album. Compilation albums have always been a mixed bag for me. Some songs will be just okay from the artists that you expect to be great, some songs are great from artists that you would expect would suck, and every so often, you stumble on a new name that’s doing something interesting, but that in itself never warrants the penning of a review and the typical collection usually sounds mismatched and unfocused in style and sound. Well, slap my ass and call me Susie . . . I have been pummeled senseless by the fine folks at Prophecy Productions (read my thoughts on Les Discrets, Alcest, Negura Bunget . . . yeah, I’m a big fan) with their compilation of dark and moody ambient trance inducing songs entitled Whom the Moon a Nightsong Sings.

Prophecy Productions has quickly become one of my favorite labels for a few reasons, but namely the music that’s coming out from this label is emotionally complex and the kind of stuff rocks the soul rather than the body. The music is generally heavy in mood, not in overall sonic tone. The music is usually pretty dark, both in imagery and in emotion. And, the music never gets bombastic in the pummeling sense . . .it’s extreme, but on the other side of the spectrum than what we in the metal community have become accustomed to with the blastbeats and detuned instruments set to eleven. Then, of course, there’s the production value that you get from these guys! The packaging on their products is worth every red cent that one can dig from under their couch cushions or from the drink holders in their cars. Prophecy delivers a quality product . . . end of story.

This compilation is all of the above. Starting off with a quiet instrumental tune from Vali called “Hoestmelankoli”, I got this immediate sense that something tragic was about to happen. Less than a minute and a half long, this introduction to all that is Prophecy is packed with sorrow and despair, yet with an ever so faint ray of hope. The song is just a couple of acoustic guitars picking away at a gorgeous melody that escalates in epicness before morphing into a traipsing through a desolate castle sounds of Empyrium’s “The Day Before the Fall”. Laden with a multitude of instruments . . . cellos, acoustic guitars, the steady hum of what sounds like an old pipe organ . . . this song is simply mournful. This is one of those rare tracks on this album that is truly heavy in instrumentation as it is in mood and emotion. We have huge drum and distorted guitar portions in the middle passages of this one, and the whole thing builds in tension as the reality of a kingdom dissolves into ash. Absolutely brilliant!

Nebelung’s “Ich würd es hören” is a gem of a tune. Sung in native German and played with a couple of acoustic guitars and some string accompaniment, this song is a great example of how a band can create some serious mood without the massive production of a full band ensemble. Roughly translated to “I’d Hear It”, I get the sense that this is a personal tale of loss. The vocals are packed with so much sorrow, mournful . . . but not full of despair, not the suicidal type . . . this reeks of a man who has lost something of great emotional value is trying to find a way to fill that void or honor that loss. Man . . . truly a heavy song in an emotional sense! Then follow that one up with October Falls and their contribution of “Viima” and the soul is just torn apart. There is an epic sadness to the melody of this track. The acoustic guitars are played over a foundation of howling winds, which add an organic sense of natural wonder. Then, these guys add subtle flourishes of cello to create a massively heart rending texture. This is the kind of song that fits well with sitting in a darkened room, watching the rain or snow fall from a dark grey sky, and recollecting past transgressions or lost loves.

Ainulindalë’s “A Year Of Silence” was actually the first song that I heard from the album and I was immediately hooked by the vocal performances, both from the lead vocalist as well as from the choir of backing vocalists. Throw in the plaintive screams from the violins and the accents from the percussions and this song is drenched with elements that tickle the ears and, ultimately, the soul. My personal favorites on the Prophecy roster and the act that made me want to hear this compilation in the first place, Les Discrets contribute a couple of tracks back to back with “5 Montee Des Epies” and “Apres l'Ombre”. The first is a simple arpeggio being repeated on a chorused out guitar with some subtle synthesized sounds in the background, but then the second track kicks in and the sound that made me fall in love with this band hit me like an axe blade in the forehead. The strumming acoustic guitars, the textural synth flourishes, the impassioned vocals, the overall dark and shoe-gazing appeal of this song remind me of why I adore their full-length album Septembre Et Ses Dernieres Pensees as much as I do. These are two tracks that get better and better with every listen!

In truth, there is not a track on this compilation that doesn’t fit or doesn’t take me to some magically emotional place. The Musk Ox track is beautiful, the Havnatt seven minute epic . . . Wow! Ethereal beauty emanates from this one and the female vocals, sung in a native Norwegian tongue, are the key to its elegance. Dornenreich . . . stunning and I’ve only made it through the first disc in this set! Nhor, Ulver, and Neun Welten’s sprawling tune “Pan”, all stand as fantastic examples of the individual bands abilities of carving out their own niche in this organically ambient genre. Tenhi . . . Oh, Tenhi! You who I had never heard before, but now feel the need to cling to every note that you produce! Folks . . . this song is laden with so much soul shaking music that to not feel something from it would equate to one being dead inside. What is that? A mandolin being played over a throbbing and pulsating drum rhythm, those haunting and cryptic vocals, the plinking of piano keys and the constant reverberation of the violin strings . . . this song is my new life changer! The tones shift from ominous to hopeful and back again, all seamless and unforced. Remember this name. Tenhi.

It’s impossible for me to ramble on about every track on this glorious release and hope to keep from being redundant. Just know this, Prophecy Productions has some of the most wonderful songwriting talents on their roster and this compilation is perfect. Perfect, in that I have now been exposed to so many new artists who have the ability to move me on an emotional level as well as on an intellectual level. The songs have a dark, foreboding menace to them . . . a sorrow laced within the individual notes . . . an emotion that despite many of the songs being sung in languages that I don’t understand still impact me to feel shivers across my skin and my soul. All of these artists should be damn proud of the work that they’ve contributed here, but as true artists, they won’t be proud of these works. They’ll feel that these songs were simply a snapshot of how they were feeling at a particular moment and they were fortunate enough to capture those emotions forever in these recordings. For me . . . well, I’m thankful that they did. Whom the Moon a Nightsong Sings is an instant classic and ranks up there with the first Metal Massacre album. Outstanding work, folks!

Pope

Buy here: Whom the Moon a Nightsong Sings
Buy mp3: Whom The Moon A Night Song Sings

http://www.prophecyproductions.de/front_content.php?idcat=256&lang=1

Fen - Trails Out Of Gloom

WOW!! Every now and then you roll across a CD that just affects your soul in a way that is both disturbing and pleasing. You find yourself listening to it over and over and with every repeat listening, a deep trance like feeling washes over you. Songs seem to flow, as you find yourself adrift in a collection of Progressive Rock filled aggressively dark, brooding and hauntingly majestic material that you will find difficult to put down. This is what Vancouver, B.C. band, Fen will do to you. The brainchild of guitarist/vocalist Doug Harrison and guitarist Sam Levin, Fen, have released their 4th album, Trails Out of Gloom (Ripple Music), a scrapbook of 9 eerily memorable lullabies, sagas and stirring ballads, which engages the audience onto a trip of almost mythical proportions. Filled with dark lyrics and delivered by painstaking personal vocals, Fen offers a CD that feels like a beautifully, anguish filled dream, with songs that stories with both voice and instrument. Haunting, deliberate and chilling.

Blending elements of Progressive Rock with the aggressiveness of Metal and the melodic sensibilities of modern Alternative Rock, Fen have created a complex artistic expression that from the first acoustic, lamenting notes of CD opener, "Trails Out of Gloom", simply captivates the imagination. With the ability of being able to grasp the listener and dive in and out of various musical forms, fans of Porcupine Tree, Tool, and the elegant side of Opeth, will easily call Fen their own. Doug Harrison delivers vocal performances that are stellar and soothing with beautiful and soaring melodies, all the while being quite quirky. Imagine if you can, a blend of the passionate vocals of a Brent Smith of Shinedown and the obscure, often falsetto'ed, idiosyncratic styling's of The Mars Volta's, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, and you are on the right path. Harrison somehow makes this delicate combination work and leaves you wanting more.

Gloomy dynamics of early '90's Seattle-themed Hard Rock, filters through the excellent production on this opus and hi-jacks you through a myriad of moods of almost psychedelic proportions that showcase the overflowing talent of both Harrison and Levin. Heavier moments on Trails Out of Gloom are counterbalanced with acoustic guitar passages that just co-habitat so perfectly in a grandiose fashion, much in that brilliant Opeth/Porcupine Tree way. Enormous and intense are just two of the magnificent words that come to mind to describe the utter brilliance contained within. Standout track, "The World is Young", while heavy and herculean, this song intersects with a delicate cascading beauty with glorious vocals.

 Fen delivers a different type of "heavy" with Trails Out of Gloom, one that is dank and opaque, with plenty of texture and substance that requires complete digestion for your optimum pleasure. This is very much like a classic '70's Prog Rock record that contains immensely crafted songs with excellently well written lyrics that also allows for the musical interludes to not be self indulgent, but rather an integral piece of the pie. There are no 12 minute overkill pieces here, but rather 6 minute voyages into remarkableness. And remarkable this CD is. This CD will impact you immediately, but the true brilliance of Trails Out of Gloom comes from further absorption. This is a stellar release.

--Butch Jones via Sea of Tranquility

Buy here: Trails out of Gloom

Let your Fingers Do The Talking – Progressive Instrumental Masterpieces - featuring Charles the Osprey and Canvas Solaris

In recent weeks, I’ve been holed up in the Ripple Offices concentrating on getting this label up, running, re-charged so that it could run some more, etc. Y’know, business as usual. And, like any record label/music PR firm/music review blog/music commentary radio show office will, there’s music going on. I haven’t really wanted to listen to too much new stuff because when I’m entrenched in detail oriented work or acts of mundanity (yes, I made up my own word,) I like to have material that I’m familiar with., stuff that I can unconsciously sing or hum to. But, that kinda’ changed when I discovered a couple of instrumental albums. I found that while the music was unfamiliar and went all over the place, it didn’t inhibit my flow of energy. I like that. Then I began to take note of the musical intricacies nestled within the flurry of notes, and I that I wasn’t singing with my voice, but rather with my hands. Just as the musicians within these submissions were doing.

Take a gander with your eyes and ears to these two releases, and hopefully you’ll find that little something that will inject you with some additional energy.

Charles The Osprey – Consider

This outfit is a duo, and frankly, I’ve never heard a two-piece create so much intricate sound. The duo of Rafael Ohli on guitars and Derek Lancioni on drums seem to speak in waves of sound as the weave their musical performances between each other like two birds in flight, like two dancers across a ballroom floor. The music is kind of post-punk-y, post-rock-y, post-harcore-y, and at first glance, may appear to be senseless showmanship, but that’s where folks would have the completely wrong idea of what these guys are doing. These songs have structure, albeit, a loose one. The tightness of the musicians’ performances are enthralling and, often times, breathtaking. Ohli’s fingers pull off impossible chord changes, scale runs, and technical feats  . . . all of it leaving my finger joints a little more sore than when I woke up. Lancioni’s drum work is as expressive as the guitar work . . . filling the songs with huge tom patterns, incorporating subtle cymbal crashes, and propelling the songs into some of the oddest time signatures imaginable. The two musicians then meet somewhere in the middle for these hopped up musical conversations and magic is created.

Listen to a song like “Hornets Don’t Have To Feint” and marvel at how these guys can be so damned technically proficient and still craft a compelling song. The song is filled with amazing guitar acrobatics . . . scales played at stunning speed, but executed with clarity. In the background, loosely holidng things together, Lancioni fires of rolls with accented snare crashes to compliment the work that Ohli is doing, and then things get crazy and off time. These guys say more with their hands than a gymnasium filled with debate teams do with their mouths. The composition of this song is immaculate. One part loose and feeling like they just sat down and jammed this out in one sitting, the other part of it feels like they must have stood in front of chalk board, plotting out the parts for eons. Heavily structured music with a loose under current.

And while songs like “Conversations With The Deacon, Vol. I” are mind-boggling feats of musicianship, the song that absolutely floored me was “The Frontal Lobe A-Go-Go.” What a fucking master work! The clean guitar tones sound like they’re being pinched within their own groove and the way that Lancioni drops in, the whole tone of the song becomes this jazzy little epic. While Ohli is still holding down the rhythm, Lancioni is able to go ape shit, lobbing huge bursts of expression with the aid of his kit. In time, a dubbed in heavier distorted guitar creeps into the mix, adding an ominous wave of tension and intrigue. As the song cruises along its path, the duo holds back the barrage of notes and lets the song breath by adding longer pauses between the notes. But when they do get back to their chaotic nature, they don’t overdo it . . . they add just enough nuance and cacophony to create a dynamic shift in mood.

If you like progressive music and don’t’ mind a thrill ride when it comes to individual musical performances, then Charles The Osprey is not going to let you down on the first listen . . . or a one thousandth listen.

Buy here: Consider

http://www.frictionrecords.net/

Canvas Solaris – Irradiance    

     

Much like East of the Wall did a few years back with their stellar album Farmer’s Almanac, Canvas Solaris approach their post-metallic sounds with a complete disregard for the vocal element. Irradiate is filled with many an epic moment, constantly shifting the focus between the individual performance and the song composition, ultimately creating a piece of nine song masterpiece. The music, like most progressive music, utilizes odd time signatures, and what I’m finding most intriguing about Canvas Solaris is that they have an uncanny ability to create huge moments of mood. When these guys are all playing in seemingly different directions, it’s like walking through a dense forest, the senses are working overtime to process all that surrounds us, at times feelings claustrophobic and disoriented . . . and then when the band drops down to a more standard tempo and allow more space between the notes, it’s like walking out of that forest, into a wide open plain where the world is open for us to delight in its vastness.

“Conveyance of Flux” is a beautiful epic of a tune. Crafted in what sounds like a linear fashion, the song feels like it’s telling a story. I love how the track opens with some distorted synth-bass tones and then the rest of the band joins in with their avant jazzy attack, scale runs at a million miles an hour and drums snapping, smashing, and crashing like a wall full of china exploding on a hardwood floor. Then, to create nuance and extra dynamics, the band drop down and open up, sustaining notes and tones . . . creating space for the listener to breathe in the delights of the various sounds. This song has a lot of metal elements and, at times, reminds me of some of the more progressive moments of Iron Maiden and the gutter grit of Metallica. Note the exceptional bass work around the 3:34 mark. It doesn’t start off all that fancy, but after the first couple of measures, the bassist works some magical extra notes into the run and makes that portion of the song pop. Then, of course, there’s the understated guitar work with its volume swells and moody tones. I love that Canvas Solaris took us somewhere a little different on this song and didn’t simply dazzle us for the sake of dazzling.

“The Horizons Feast On Stars” is another fabulous journey into the mentally challenging areas of progressive music. Again, the band brings more mood and elements of emotional expression than most prog-music, and we as listeners don’t have to over think what the band is doing. This is partially due to them breaking up the din of multi-note flurries with ambient moments and subtle melodies. The three minute mark of this track is another high mark to listen for as this group of musicians executes highly proficient runs of music. “Glacier” follows it up with a high speed thrill ride that kind of paints images of riding on a snowmobile across an icy terrain, weaving in and out of frosty canyons, daring death to sweep us away. Then, there’s “Soliton,” a song that has huge jazzy elements, a quasi-Latin polyrhythm vibe, and some sexy bass tones. Amazing execution and an album that simply gets better and better with every listen! --Pope JTE

Buy here: Irradiance

http://www.myspace.com/canvassolaris