Bringer Of Light

"Iced Earth are going through a bit of a renaissance period at the moment. While they do have many hardcore fans who would defend their back catalogue to the end, honestly the heavy metal titans haven’t made a truly exciting album in about twenty years; that is, they hadn’t, until the release of 2011’s Dystopia. After two decades of putting out stale and generally uninteresting meat and potatoes heavy metal, finally they had an album that managed to match up to their first few records, one with the power and energy to justify their continued status as metal heroes. Plagues of Babylon is its follow-up, and thankfully they have managed to take this momentum forward and release another great album.Opening with the title track’s marching drum beat (strangely similar to Dystopia in that regard) and ominous harmonized leads, as soon as the heavy, chugging main riff kicks in it’s clear that this album is going to be a worthy successor. Noticeably, the production is very good, giving the guitars a sharp razor edge that albums like the totally flat The Glorious Burden lacked. Mainman Jon Schaffer churns out some of the best riffs in his career on this album, especially on the raging and thrashy Democide. Some new blood is brought in with an all new rhythm section, bassist Luke Appleton helping give the album its low-end crunch while drummer Raphael Saini (who was sadly since left) punctuates the songs with intricate tom patterns and ride cymbal work while maintaining a constant driving power. Stu Block meanwhile, who debuted as vocalist on Dystopia, continues to make sure that fan favourite Matt Barlow is not missed too much, his gruff voice helping give the songs a darker edge while his highs are utilised when appropriate, never being over-used.This is hardly perfect though. Plagues is a bit front-loaded, the second half never quite managing to match up to the first, especially considering it contains two somewhat unnecessary covers. The first is Spirit of the Times by Sons of Liberty, a Jon Schaffer side project, and you can’t help but question the logic in covering your own material, especially as aside from the darker and heavier overtones it’s not massively different from the original. The second, Highwayman by Jimmy Webb, is hardly electrifying either.That said, many of the problems that plagued previous Iced Earth efforts no longer show up. The obligatory cheesy metal ballad only appears once in If I Could See You, which is one of the better ones they’ve done, and only a couple of songs have a clean guitar intro, unlike on The Dark Saga where they appear on nearly every song. Iced Earth are a band who are at their best when they’re firing on all cylinders, and that is largely what they stick to here. With it’s almost death metal cover art, Plagues is for the most part a balls-out thrill ride, and honestly might be Iced Earth’s most complete work to date." - Sound And Motion Magazine

Once upon a time there was a brilliant Canadian composer musician named Franck Dervieux. In 1971 he recorded a great album of classically influenced progressive rock called "Dimensione M". Dervieux passed away at an early age due to cancer. The members of his ensemble essentially formed Contraction upon his passing. The main drivers behind contraction was vocalist Christiane Robichaud and bassist Yves Laferriere. While the self-titled debut didn't hit the lofty heights that their second album reached it's not without it's charms. The focus is on Robichaud's ethereal vocals with all the firepower a bit in the background. Start with "La Bourse Ou La Vie" first.

The band's fifth album was a brilliant amalgam of Beatles influenced pop and classically influenced progressive rock. I still get a rise out of hearing "Fire On High". This remastered edition comes with five bonus tracks which are a bit dispensible alternate mixes.

"Killing Touch is a new band founded by Italian ace vocalist Michele Luppi, whom you might remember from acts like Vision Divine, Michele Luppi’s Heaven and/or Los Angeles.“One Of A Kind”, the band’s debut, is a concept album based on Stephen King’s novel “The Dead Zone”. It contains 12 tracks, produced by Luppi himself, that can be described as a mix of power and progressive metal, but with enough attention for the melodies to satisfy the fans of (classic) melodic hard rock. I can’t help it, but I have a soft spot for Michele Luppi. He hasn’t disappointed me so far and this album from Killing Touch is surely worthy of purchasing. Genuine songs, great vocals, heavy guitars and a powerful production all add to the overall quality. With guest appearances by Oleg Smirnoff (Eldritch, Vision Divine), Andrea Torricini (Vision Divine) and Federico Puleri (Vision Divine), this is surely a fine start for Killing Touch. If you like Vision Divine, you will surely like Killing Touch as well. " - Rock Report

Kingfisher Sky is a new Dutch ensemble put together by former Within Temptation drummer Ivar De Graaf along with classically trained vocalist Judith Rijnveld. Ivar left Within Temptation to pursue other musical interests. His collaboration with Judith produced a brilliant debut that encompasses progressive rock, gothic metal and mystical Celtic themes. At times the music bears some similarities to the more mainstream direction that Within Temptation went with their latest release, but the music has more of a prog rock feel. There is a heaviness that permeates the album due to the background of the rhythm section (bassist Eric Hoogendoorn was in Orphanage) but despite the crunch of the guitars it never quite crosses over into metal. Judith's vocals are simply amazing - she sings with incredible control and range - somewhere between Sharon Den Adel and Christina Booth. This is not hyper-complex prog. It relies on moods created by the vocals and writing. The moodiness of the ballads evokes Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Peter Gabriel which the more agressive tunes suggest Porcupine Tree, Within Temptation and even Pink Floyd. For my particular taste this is a different kind of album that pushes the right buttons. If it was a bit heavier we'd probably be referring to it as a metal album but it's not (I do love that crunch though). The band's label is trying hard to not ride the Within Temptation connection too heavily, hoping that the band's music will stand on its own - it does and then some. Having said that it's impossible to deny the musical connection. Highest recommendation!Kingfisher Sky on Myspace

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