F**king With Fire

"They re back at it! Flying Colors launched in 2012 following a formation that began with a simple idea: virtuoso musicians and a pop singer joining together to make new-fashioned music the old fashioned way. Refreshing, classic, old and new, the recordings are saturated with the many styles, tones and hues of the players who in becoming a band delivered a unique fusion of vintage craftsmanship and contemporary music. Flying Colors is Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), Dave LaRue (Joe Satriani) Neal Morse (Spock s Beard), Casey McPherson (Alpha Rev), and Steve Morse (Deep Purple).Live In Europe captures the quintet in Tilberg, Holland performing at 013 on September 20, 2012.  The show presents the entire studio album along with popular favorites by individual members."

"Much like my addiction to Swiss roll, for some people more is never enough. You’d have thought two wildly successful “day jobs” would be enough to keep some folks busy. But not so for Katatonia lead vocalist Jonas Renkse and The Pineapple Thief front man Bruce Soord. Clearly they've got too much time on their hands as they have come together to create Wisdom Of Crowds. I can tell you now, I am eternally grateful that these two chaps did a bit of moonlighting. As will you.Originally written for Renkse’s voice, Soord sought out the acclaimed vocalist to complete the compositions and release the music to the masses. In doing so, Bruce Soord has found the perfect foil for the music he has written. Which is all at once jagged, sharp, melodic, aggressive, tender, sparse and loud. What anchors it all together, what makes it a cohesive mix, is Renkse’s vocals. His delivery is sublime. But we’ll come to that in a bit…Album opener ‘Pleasure’ sets up the album with Renkse’s weary and plaintive voice stretching across the track as it morphs from electronic intro to a upbeat mix of live instruments, effects and sounds. This album is different to their respective bands yet retains enough familiarity to comfort fans of both. Title track ‘Wisdom Of Crowds’ evokes a faint vibe of early Gotan Project with its horns and sparsely placed guitar lines whilst ‘Radio Star’ leaves you haunted…. leaves you looking for something as Renkse sings "give you the lights, give you the stars, give you a sign".Standout track of the album is ‘Frozen North’. It’s simply stunning. A melancholic guitar line awash with strings coupled with Renkse’s beautifully evocative vocal melodies and lyrics transporting you to a place of reflection. When, 4 minutes into the song, we descend musically into a fantastically out-there blend of electronica with jagged shards of glitchy noise rhythmically pounding towards the conclusion of the song. It just feels right and natural. It feels magnificent.Next up we have ‘The Light’, a more traditional (as in what the uninitiated imagine it to be) prog tune that is reminiscent of Saucerful-era Floyd with its backwards guitar and drumbeats. It’s 7 minutes of pure progressive music: bluesy guitar licks on a bed of synths with again startlingly intimate vocals.  ‘Pretend’ counters this with aggressive shards of guitar playing from Soord.With that we head into the final 3 tracks on the album. The triumvirate of the album in fact. I’ve genuinely never heard an album FINISH with such breathtakingly songs. Most artists would have put these tracks at the top of the album such is their magnificence. ‘Stacked Naked’ shimmers into view with a tenderly melodic  intro backed with some wonderfully harmonised vocals. Renkse’s lyrics painfully urging "if anyone should ask how the story goes just pretend we're almost there just pretend....pretend.....". ‘Centre of Gravity’ is a song that made me think of the bond of friendship, of the shared experiences, of the sharing of secrets and hopes and dreams. It ends with Jonas repeating "hold out your hand", a plea to never let go of what once was but also as an offer of support. And finally ‘Flows Though You’ arrives with a wail of siren and simmering aggression. Renkse defiantly proclaiming "I can lose but I will never break" as the song heads towards a cacophony of drums, guitars and electronica.So. After all that what is this album like?Jonas Renkse’s vocals and lyrics are the highlight of this album. They are the lynchpin of the entire record. No matter where the music goes, no matter what genre it delves into, the guiding light is his voice, his delivery and inflection. In Soord, he has found a collaborator that can create music that uses every aspect of his voice and talent.It is a stunning album in both depth and range of emotion and music. It captures so many genres and yet defies labels. Part rock, part electronic it's all blended together to create and album that lifts you up, makes you think and most importantly makes you FEEL. There is a hypnotic use of space and dynamics from the frailest most intimate ambience to bombastic guitar driven sections that lift your spirits. It is everything you can want from an album and more." - Echoes And Dust 

Its been quite a long time since we've heard from Magic Pie.  They went through lots of trials and tribulations getting this album finished but now its finally arrived.  If you are not familiar with this band here's the deal: Magic Pie are a Norwegian band with a retro 70s sound.  The music is a bit of a high wire act balancing the neo-prog sounds of The Flower Kings with the heavier elements of classic Uriah Heep.  They also seem to be the darlings of Rosfest having played there multiple times."It's hard to believe it's been 10 years since these proggers from Norway released their promising debut "Motions of Desire". At that time, their music struck me as an enthusiastic combination of classic prog and classic hard rock. (Think Deep Purple for the hard rock side of that equation.) At their best, they offered memorable passages and pieces that sounded like they very well could have been long lost recordings from many years ago. At their worst, they sometimes fell short of filling the big shoes of the legendary bands whose music they strove to emulate. That's actually not bad for a debut album from a new prog band. I found much to like and looked forward to hearing from them again in the future.Checking back in on them a decade later, I must say that I am very impressed with how they have developed and matured. No longer do I get the feeling that certain sections of songs are direct homages to any particular band from any one particular decade of prog's illustrious history. Their influences, while still very present and valid, are now more varied, including a greater percentage of modern reference points. More importantly, their influences are just that--merely influences rather than templates or even primary reference points.The sound quality on "King for a Day" is superb thanks in large part to the enlistment of sonic genius Rich Mouser (whose resume includes similar work for prominent contemporaries like Spock's Beard, Transatlantic and Dream Theater).Keyboardist Erling Hananger is an excellent addition to Magic Pie's recipe. His keyboard parts are expressive, dynamic and integral to the music. When appropriate, his leads seamlessly blend, harmonize, and work synergistically with electric guitar.The lyrics have a melodramatic and somewhat tragic flair this time around, but this is prog so you should be accustomed to the musical ride including a few tragic tales from time to time by now, right?OK ' so it's time for the "magic" question... A decade after their debut album, how has my impression of Magic Pie changed?On "King for a Day", I now hear a band which has found "its own voice", one that resonates confidently in the space somewhere between classic arena rock of yesteryear (on prog-steroids of course) and modern melodic prog of the 21st Century (like Spock's Beard and The Flower Kings). Add a few dashes of modern prog-metal to taste and you, my friend, have baked up a very nice confection indeed... MAGIC PIE!If you love modern prog anthems with big harmonies and 'sing along' choruses, give "King for a Day" a listen! I'm glad I did!" - ProgArchives

"SILENT VOICES is a relatively unknown band hailing from Finland, nevertheless they had already published many recommended albums such as their debut in 2002 “Chapters Of Tragedy” or 2006’s “Building Up The Apathy” or the great “Infernal” (2004), the line-up team is also composed by ex-members of REQUIEM and also share some musicians with SONATA ARCTICA like Henrik Klingenberg as keyboardist and bass player Pasi Kauppinen (WINTERBORN / KLINGENBERG SYNDROME). It’s been a while since the last SILENT VOICES album was out in the streets, it had occurred a lot of things in their lives, lots of turmoils, hassles -you name it-, the band was on deep winter sleep and they lost their vocalist, the great but rather inconstant Michael Henneken (SENTIMENT / ADAMANTRA) was gone for good.While they were in quest of searching for a new perfect singer they opted for the trick that consist to have different famous vocalists at the same time in order to increase their creativity and the band’s polyvalence, it’s also a good marketing move but the risk is to weakened the impact, to have a dilution of the personality of the music with each guest singer's specificity but finally the idea works pretty well, I believe.Now the new permanent singer for SILENT VOICES is known as Teemu Koskela from WINTERBORN’s fame (their 2008’s release “Farewell To Saints” is warmly recommended). But the album contains, beside the impressive vocals of Mr. Koskela in the very first song (which is a killer), nothing more than four guest vocalists such as:Mats Leven (ex-TREAT / ex-SWEDISH EROTICA / ex-ABSTRACT ALGEBRA / ex-RISING FORCE / ex-SOUTHPAW / ex-THERION / ex-ADAGIO / ex-AT VANCE / ex-FATAL FORCE / ex-SABBTAIL / DOGFACE), Michael Vescera (ex-LOUDNESS / OBSESSION / ex-RISING FORCE / ex-FATAL FORCE / ex-DR SIN / ex-REIGN OF TERROR / ex-KILLING MACHINE / WARRION / ANIMETAL USA / SAFE HEAVEN / MVP), Tony Kakko (SONATA ARCTICA / ex-NOTHERN KINGS) and Mike DiMeo (PHENOMENA / THE LIZARDS / ex-RIOT / ex-ILLIUM / ex-MASTERPLAN).Swedish citizen Mats Leven is absolutely stunning within the songs “No Turning Back” & with “Burning Shine”, his vivid interpretations, his deep implication and his voice leaves no hope for another contender, his signature vocalizing are clearly unbeatable, he is the king. Those songs are very well composed , maybe a little more direct than before but with still some intriguing arrangements and great orchestrations plus as always some acrobatic playing.Mike Vescera from USA delivers also a very solid performance, within the third track that is quite reminiscent of the SILENT VOICES old style, with an amazing display of virtuosity in the solo section, that’s funny that they opted for the titled “Reign Of Terror” with Vescera singing on it. Tony Kakko is the weakest of all the hired vocalist, the track is quite good but don’t fit with the thin voice of the SONATA ARCTICA’s mastermind, I believe that Teemu Koskela could do a better job with that particular one.“Black Water” is an instrumental number that allows to each member to shine a little more, a fine demonstration of agility. New York City very own Mike DiMeo is doing a fine rendition of this song called “Through My Prison Walls” but I still think that Teemu is able to sing even better, the long epic cut itself  is a good mix of past and fresh Prog Metal , with some amazing musical parts and many twists and turns.Only little disappointment is the length of the disc itself, after seven years in the making I had wished for one more song with Teemu, a remake of an old song could have been a good ide. Maybe this is their best album, I don’t know only time will tell, but it surely can compete with their great back-catalogue, easily. " - Metal Temple

Amazing how these guys are still able to bring it. A Night For Baku turns it up a notch and then kicks it into overdrive finding the boys from Cali unleashing their usual assortment of psych-tinged progressive mayhem. Somewhere...someplace...the Progressive Gods are looking down on us with a big grin on their faces...Djam Karet have delivered the real goods again.