Killers (Digipak)

\"Swedish prog-rock legends THE FLOWER KINGS have returned with the newest full-length offering in their 25-year history, ‘By Royal Decree’. The group’s third studio record since introducing drummer Mirko DeMaio and keyboardist Zach Kamins into the lineup is a vintage affair in many respects. With virtually no touring to endeavor upon for the last two years, the band was free to focus on recording new material, as well as reviewing things left on the cutting room floor from previous sessions. Flower Kings lead singer and guitarist Roine Stolt elaborates on going into the way back machine for the new record, saying, “It was great to dig into that old treasure island of 'forgotten TFK music before TFK ever existed’ and re-connecting made me realize why and what The Flower Kings are. This album is a journey through my history as a writer and my ‘middle age’ saga reflecting on that.” Another significant change is that founding member Michael Stolt returns after more than two decades to contribute bass and vocals, splitting duties with current bassist Jonas Reingold."

YES, who are Steve Howe, Alan White, Geoff Downes, Jon Davison and Billy Sherwood, release their new studio album The Quest on InsideOutMusic/Sony Music on 1st October 2021. "It is simply an honour for me to have the opportunity to bring together the band members in the development of a well-refined set of songs that capture the band’s true potential,” said Steve Howe, who produced the album. He added "Much of the music was written in late 2019 with the rest in 2020. We commissioned several orchestrations to augment and enhance the overall sound of these fresh new recordings, hoping that our emphasis on melody, coupled with some expansive instrumental solo breaks, keeps up the momentum for our listeners.”   Additional percussion was provided by guest Jay Schellen who supplements YES’ live performances.Label Manager Thomas Waber said “I am delighted to welcome YES to the label and am looking forward to seeing the reaction of the band's fans to the new album. Being a long-time fan myself, I am really excited by the new material. Steve Howe managed to capture many of the important elements that we all love about YES!”For half a century YES have been the definitive band of the progressive music genre, the band by which all others are judged. Their ground-breaking albums of the 70s set the standard for the genre and influenced countless others who followed in their wake.The current line-up of YES was completed in 2015 when Billy Sherwood replaced founder member Chris Squire, at Squire’s insistence, as he bravely fought a losing battle with leukaemia. Since then, YES have concentrated on touring with their Album Series tours, each featuring a classic YES album in its entirety. During this period YES have released three live albums Topographic Drama – Live Across America (2017), Yes Live 50 (2019) and The Royal Affair Tour: Live in Las Vegas (2020).The music of YES has endured over the years and has been handed down through generations of music lovers.

This new digipak edition includes the 2015 mastering.

Its been seven years since Phideaux Xavier's last album.  Everyone has been chomping at the bit for this album and I can honestly say he delivers the goods.  If you are unfamiliar with his work you should expect contemporary progressive rock with lots of references to the 70s giants.  A perfect blending of old and new sounds.  (I'm a sucker for the Mellotron sounding bits).  While he originally started out as pretty much a one man show, Phideaux has morphed into a band with 10 musicians contributing, including Discipline's Matthew Kennedy who holds down the bass notes.  There is a lot of music here and its new so its going to take some time to digest.  This will easily sit high on year end top 10 lists.  Buckle yourself in and dig deep into this one.  Well worth the effort.BUY OR DIE!"Arguably no other progressive rock creation in recent years has been shrouded in as much mystery and expectation as Infernal, the latest studio effort from Phideaux. After all, it follows what many fans (myself included) consider to be three of the best genre albums of all time: 2007’s Doomsday Afternoon, 2009’s Number Seven, and 2011’s Snowtorch. (Of course, the prior collections were great as well and paved the way for such distinction.) As such, devotees have spent the last seven years—if not eleven since Infernal concludes the Great Leap/Doomsday Afternoon set—speculating and anticipating how exceptionally it’ll tie into the trilogy, maintain the idiosyncratic brilliance of its predecessors, and rank as one of the top works of its release year.So, was it worth the wait?Well, that depends on what you expect. Upon initial listens, those hoping for a consistent continuation of the aforementioned trio’s robust eccentric intricacy may find it a bit wanting; sure, that side of Phideaux certainly crops up from time to time within its ninety-minute duration (especially during the second half), but Infernal is deceptively unvaried and reductive at first glance since it appears to prioritize straightforward songwriting and lush yet modest arrangements. However, a deeper analysis and appreciation reveals how resourcefully Infernal actually does two things at once: touch upon the styles and stories of its two narrative precursors while also establishing an almost brand-new approach entirely. Thus, the double LP is markedly different from—yet equivalent to—the extraordinary achievements that came before it.Just as The Great Leap and Doomsday Afternoon were different kinds of albums, so too is Infernal (despite featuring the complete Doomsday Afternoon line-up). In fact, during our last correspondence, Phideaux confirmed my conclusion that the first and second discs are meant to channel the first and second entries in the trilogy, respectively, as it simultaneously feels more theatrical (“like a play”) than either of them. Perhaps, then, it’s best to think of Infernal as the BE (Pain of Salvation) or The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (Genesis) of the band’s discography, as it extends out of its predecessors in the midst of existing as a singular experiment unlike anything else in their catalog.Although the first half of the undertaking captures the more accessible rock nature of The Great Leap overall, it’s still filled with multilayered splendor and a fair amount of complexity. Opener “Cast Out and Cold,” for instance, is a tour-de-force that builds ominously (with effects and harmonies) before instantly evoking the classic Phideaux charm with its blend of male/female lamentations and pastoral instrumentation. In doing so, it sets a great stage on which to introduce the more multifaceted, urgent, and dynamic “The Error Lives On”. Later, “We Only Have Eyes for You” is relatively bouncy and playful (despite being foreboding beneath the surface), whereas “C99” is a venture into sinister surrealism and “Tumbleweed” uses the trademark piano ballad as a poignant cliffhanger. Again, these songs in particular may seem too similar to each other originally, but they eventually become truly essential components in making the record flow like a unified performance filled with captivating melodies, lively textures, poetic lyricism, and entrancing structures.The concluding portion of Infernal absolutely channels Doomsday Afternoon in its heighted emphasis on flamboyant intricacy. This is clear from the start, with “The Order of Protection (One)” contrasting its introductory choral serenity with a latter helping of dissonant tones over mesmerizingly mischievous piano motifs (that—no surprise—are reimagined brilliantly in “The Order of Protection (Two)”). Elsewhere, “In Dissonance We Play” finds a strong balance between solid songwriting and musical showmanship, “The Sleepers Wake” is tenderly enchanting, and “Endgame – An End” wraps things up in a mildly foreseeable yet entirely fitting and satisfying way. Without question, though, the standout track of the whole journey is “From Hydrogen to Love,” a fourteen-minute masterpiece that serves as the “Microdeath Softstar” of Infernal (in more ways than one and I’ll leave it at that).At the risk of spoiling any more of the LP’s magic (hence why the breakdowns of each disc barely scratched their surfaces), suffice it to say that arguably the chief feats of Infernal are its abundant allusions to past sequences and its refreshing theatricality. Not only does it offer plenty of links—both subtle and overt—to itself, Doomsday Afternoon, and The Great Leap as it develops, but it even throws a nod or two at another full-length triumph (whose identity is then made obvious via a clever anagram). Every one of these connections will delight devotees, as will the brief scattered respites that basically act like soliloquys/monologues/intermissions. Together, these elements make the album feel at once laudably unique and endearingly familiar while also revealing (and justifying) why it took so long for such a passion project to be completed.Ingeniously, Infernal simultaneously pays tribute to the Phideaux legacy and etches itself as a wildly ambitious, enthralling, and fresh entry into it. Although it can be a bit incongruent and underwhelming at first, those who fully internalize all that it offers—and appreciate what it’s doing both expectedly and differently—will find it to be another benchmark creation in the catalog of one of the most distinctive and essential artists in modern progressive rock. Taking that into consideration, a new question must be asked: Is it Phideaux’s greatest achievement to date?Well, it could be." - The Prog Report 

Limited edition of 500 copies."Every now and then you make a connection with some early piece of aural obscurity, something you've long toiled over but never quite molted with. Suddenly, the realization of genius becomes so clear, as if it were staring at you through a mirror all along. Firedance is one of situations. Far ahead of its time, and almost unheard of by anyone outside the diminishing circle of NWOBHM collectors and old metal explorers. One can only marvel that Shiva were not a raging success. After all, they struck at a time when the waters were right for progressive rock and metal, with bands like Rush and Yes topping the charts and British metal and hard rock exploding into the next big thing.Shiva possessed both of these characteristics. One might even imagine them the perfect coupling of Rush and the American band Riot, with superb songwriting skills that put the majority of their NWOBHM peers to complete shame. But perhaps this band was just too smart for the period in which it arrived, and tragically resigned to the status of a non-entity, while bands like Judas Priest, Def Leppard and Iron Maiden would soar past them. The tragedy is that they probably gave up too soon. A few more albums like Firedance and it would have been nearly impossible for anyone to ignore them, and with progressive metal labels springing up in the 90s like Inside Out, they would have undoubtedly found a reliable home. But all we have to remember them by are a few demos, a compilation of unreleased material, and this one near masterpiece of a debut album.Shiva was a power trio by definition, and by that I mean each of the members possessed enormous talent at his given instrument. Chris Logan was a skilled drummer, but never over indulgent here, and Andy Skuse has a beautiful, popping bass tone that never rolls over to play dead for the guitar. Speaking of the six-strings, the true center of the band must be John Hall, who performed both the vocals and guitars, and has quite a good run with each. His tones were sweet, clear and smooth, characteristic of many peers but not so sharp or piercing as a Kevin Heybourne (from fellow NWOBHM power trio Angel Witch). No, he reminds me quite a lot of Geddy Lee from the 70s Rush recordings, and his selection of notes is always teeming with life, perfectly married to the cycle of classic metal riffing and bluesy leads that lie beneath. The result is an album, Firedance, which would appeal far beyond the core metal fan of the day, to the lover of blues, progressive rock and perhaps even folk rock. Fly By Night meets Fire Down Under? Sign me up.Shiva never forget that they're a metal band first and foremost, and tracks like "How Can I?" and the amazing "Wild Machine" display a strength in creative, accessible riffing that moves beyond some mere mutation of Judas Priest, Sabbath and Deep Purple. Not the sinister groove that hangs at the end of the verse of "Wild Machine", before a robotic voice heralds a most glorious 'silent chorus' riff. "Borderline" shows a little more of a roadster spin, as if it were Shiva's take on something like "Living After Midnight". The vocals are superb, and they'd be alluring enough without the excellent guitars. But you are gifted with both. "Stranger Lands" journeys further into the realm of progressive rock, with a carousel of Skuse's wonderful lines. "Angel of Mons" is drifting and desperate, and "User" burns with the heat of molten, classic metal. The band's namesake "Shiva" is another impressive offering, with a crazy synthesizer break near the finale that immediately lifts the imagination above some creative percussion.The band accomplishes all of this without the inflated, excess song structures that many prog rockers were often guilty of. This is no Tales from Topographical Oceans, it's constantly aware of its status as a hard, driving rock record, but one of a positive life affirmation more than morose infatuation. It's not so mystic as to become psychedelic, but its sure to deliver the goods that a Rush fan demands from anything that band carved out in their initial decade of output. Well worth tracking down if you fancy other prog/NWOBHM crossover acts like Saracen or Budgie, and though it nears 30 years in age, its highly enduring." - Metal Archives

This is the 2015 remastered edition in a digipak.  This is where it all began with Paul Di'Anno on vocals.