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  • A new Glass Hammer is like a universal constant.  I can always expect exemplary old school prog rock.  For an old timer like myself Glass Hammer is right in my wheelhouse.  This is their 17th studio album (amazing!) .  If you are unfamiliar with the band you should know it revolves around the core of bassist Steve Babb and keyboardist Fred Schendel.  There have been a lot of musicians through the doors of their studio over the years but somehow they always seem to find an endless supply of them.  The line up seems to be fairly stable at the moment.  Salem Hill mainman Carl Groves handles lead vocals along with Susie Bogdanowicz returning as well.  Guitars are handled by Kamran Alan Shikoh and drums by Aaron Raulston.Glass Hammer music is a reverential amalgam of Yes, ELP, Kansas and what the hell throw in a little bit of Genesis.  Steve and Fred proudly wear their influences on their sleeves.  Want wicked keyboard pyrotechnics?  Fred brings the thunder.  In fact they all do.  The Breaking Of The World arrives with epic length tracks and audiophile quality sound.  I wouldn't want it any other way.  BUY OR DIE!
    $12.00
  • Third album from this Swedish stoner rock band takes equal parts Mastodon, Pink Floyd, and Baroness and jumbles it together.  Toss in a touch of retro-folk in places (I guess that would make it unequal).  It can get a bit sludgy at times and then turns around and blasts off into space.  All I know is I want what they're smoking!"New Keepers Of The Water Towers are a Stoner Metal Band who have been going since 2006 and have a loyal following within the Stoner Metal scene. They have released two well-received albums – 2009’s Chronicles and 2011’s The Calydonian Hunt.Their blend of high voltage Stoner Metal riffs mixed with Fuzz and a slight hint of Sludge Rock made these hugely talented Swedes a band to look out for. Well things are about to change big time for the band thanks to their stunning new album – Cosmic Child.For the 3rd album – the band have went under a spacey transformation of sorts. Cosmic Child sees the band incorporating huge elements of Progressive Rock and Space Rock into their already set great sound.So if you’re a fan of Pink Floyd and Mastodon then your surely going to dig this like I did. Cosmic Child is the band’s creative and most daring work to date. They are a band reborn. This is New Keepers Of The Water Towers like you have never heard before. The band has reflected this in the 47 minute running time. An almost epic length by their standards.First track – The Great Leveller – is the perfect 6-minute introduction to show you the bands new sound and outlook on all things Stoner Metal. Blending Progressive Rock riffs with Space Rock shows you this band have taken a more direct Sci-Fi vibe to their music. What else would you expect with the excellent album cover and cool title?Imagine if NASA wanted the world’s finest Stoner Metal bands to record an album about Space Exploration then The Cosmic Child would be that awesome result. New Keepers have created an astonishing album that will take you to different galaxies and dimensions without ever leaving the comforts of your own home.2nd track – Visions Of Death – might start as a cheerful Space Rock opera but listen to the lyrics and you find something dark and mysterious lurking in the background. Before the album takes you off for an epic journey into the cosmos. 9 mins on show here feel like light-years instead of mins. However, you will not know the difference as you will be enjoying the ride too much. Just more action-packed riffs to show you that New Keepers Of The Water Towers have evolved as musicians and writers since their last release. Wait until the 5:30 minute mark before an amazing Space infused Stoner Rock riff comes out of nowhere.3rd Track – Pyre For The Red Sage – is another magical epic journey through Time and Space. Well 12 minute to be precise but you get another outstanding track, which takes time building the listeners emotions before letting rip with more top-notch Space Rock riffs. Throw in great vocals and lyrics and this album is now firmly in the realm of brilliance. This is a love letter to Pink Floyd as it contains some highly recognisable rock passages that legendary band were known for.I had the feeling when listening to the album that the band had been reading or watching 2001 – A Space Odyssey or other philosophical sci-fi classics as some of their ideas on the album might actually need a degree of some sort to fully understand. However, the riffs contained on the album will keep fans happy for many years to come.The last 3 songs follow the same path as the first 3 songs. More epic progressive space rock riffs blended with sublime Stoner Metal riffs. 18 more mins to keep you transfixed from start to finish.Best track of the remaining 3 is the 12:32 minute instrumental epic – Lapse – which showcases some of the bands finest instrumental work to date. Ambient noises have been beautifully added to create a world that is unnerving as it is exciting. Damn – this track is a work of art at times. Moods and atmospheres collide with intent and purpose. Just close your eyes and let the riffs take you on another great journey into the vastness of space.All in all – The Cosmic Child – is a wonderful album for everyone to experience. It has soul and heart like you would never imagine. It’s expertly produced and played by all involved.The Cosmic Child is going to launch New Keepers Of The Water Tower onto another level within the Stoner Metal scene.Excellent and Highly Recommended." - The Sludgelord Blogspot
    $7.00
  • This is another one of those classic Renaissance radio broadcasts that tape traders have circulated for years.  It gets an "official" release courtesy of Purple Pyramid.  It was recorded on the Turn Of The Cards tour at the Academy Of Music in NYC on May 17, 1974.  If you are fan and you don't have a cassette squirrelled away somewhere you need to own it.
    $15.00
  • Stunning reissue of the first Et Cetera album, originally released on the Global Music label. Et Cetera sported quite a lineup - Wolfgang Dauner (keyboards), Sigi Schwab (guitar, sitar, flute, etc), Eberhard Weber (bass, cello), Fred Braceful (percussion), and Roland Wittich (percussion). The music could almost be described as psychedelic jazz. Many of these members had backgrounds in free jazz/experimental music. This is a cohesive effort but their past as improv players shines through from time to time. Dauner and Schwab love to use a ring modulator and everyone seems to figure out a way to invent some freaked out noises. In fact Dauner's use of the ring modulator reminds a bit of Dave Stewart in National Health. Schwab's use of various stringed instruments brings a different dimension to jazz rock that you never hear. When was the last time you heard a fusion album with sitar, lute, tamubra, and kalimba? While this first effort doesn't hit the heights that they would attain on later albums like Rischka's Soul and Knirsch, its a pretty interesting foreshadowing of things to come. Essential!"This special limited edition contains the original Et Cetera's eponymous "silver cover" album (1980 reissue on Brain titled "Lady Blue"), originally released in 1971 on Global Records and another complete LP of recordings from the same recording session. This is an extraordinary album of weirdly trippy fusion that rides somewhere between instrumental Amon Duul II, Embryo and Dauners own earlier classic "Output". Full of ethnic (Arabic and Indian) spice with lots of the ethnic colour added by legendary guitar and sitar (et. al.) player Sigi Schwab (Embryo), oddly keyboard sounds by Wolfgang Dauner, dreamy bass patterns by Eberhard Weber and driving percussions by Fred Braceful and Roland Wittich, this is spacy, crazy, Krautrock and - a bit jazzy. Alan and Steven Freeman (The Crack In The Cosmic Egg) present this album in their "The Krautrock Top 100". Maybe the album was originally planned as a double-album because there are 4 more titles from the same recording session, which really knock you out. "Kabul" (08:56) (title-name is program) is a killer, especially because of Schwabs exploding electric guitar and Webers driving bass. "Tau Ceti" (07:15) is a wonderful dreamy delight presenting Schwabs gorgeous acoustic guitar playing. Further bonus track "Behind The Stage" (06:35) connects Schwabs special electric guitar with a band atmospheric but rhythmic fundamental play. "An Open Cans" (not an the CD-Version, for the first time ever released) is a 12:35 minute piece full of experimentation and reminds sometimes to album track "Lady Blue". This album will be a masterpiece for all time. Its unique. Remastered from the original master tapes. The sound is brilliant. Double Album comes with informative four-sided insert and a reproduction of the original album (silver cover) sleeve art. Limited edition of 1000."
    $45.00
  • Pain Of Salvation started it, Opeth followed, and Steven Wilson capped it...we thought. Dark Suns continues to evolve with no two albums sounding alike. Grave Human Genuine found them moving into an avant metal/progressive rock direction. Orange now finds the band wholly embracing 70s progressive rock. There are heavy moments but the band shows its hand offering up Hammond organ and Mellotron. The heavier tunes feature angst driven vocals that will scratch that VDGG itch. Melodic and intricate Dark Suns has somehow managed to come up with an album that will appeal to fans of old school prog, modern prog, and even the quirky side of metal. Highly recommended.
    $11.00
  • Third album from this Greek melodic metal band. Like so many of the releases on LMP, these guys are pretty much indistinguishable from the next one. Nothing awful but nothing particularly wonderful either. OK move along...
    $13.00
  • Deluxe digipak set from this amazing trio of Guthrie Govan, Marco Minnemann, and Bryan Beller.  It was filmed at Alvas Showroom in San Pedro, CA in June 2012.  The material is drawn from the Aristocrats studio album as well as the back catalog of the individual members.  Pro-shot DVD features a 5.1 surround mix courtesy of Steven Wilson.  The 2CDs feature the soundtrack to the set.  Oh yeah - the DVD is packed with live bonus material. 
    $27.00
  • "Esoteric Recordings are proud to announce the release of a newly re-mastered and expanded of Galactic Zoo Dossier , the first album by Arthur Brown's Psych / Space Rock outfit Kingdom Come. Issued on Polydor in 1971, the album launched the band, gaining instant notoriety. Touching on the musical territory of fellow travellers Hawkwind, Galactic Zoo Dossier was a masterwork and is now rightly regarded as a classic. This newly remastered edition includes bonus tracks of three alternate versions of Metal Monster , Space Plucks and Sunrise , together with both tracks from a BBC Radio One John Peel session from March 1971 (previously unreleased on CD)."
    $15.00
  • "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."
    $9.00
  • Fourth studio album from Leprous reinforces the fact that they are one of the most innovative and cutting edge bands working in the prog metal idiom.  The music of Coal has already kicked up a bit of controversy from the early listeners.  The music isn't quite as angular and frenetic as Bilateral.  Atmospheric passages similar to Tall Poppy Syndrome are perhaps a bit more prevalant as well.  All in all it's clearly identifiable as Leprous.  Ihsahn guests on one of the tracks - don't forget Leprous is his backing band.  Nice guys - great band.  Highly recommended."Considering Leprous‘s previous album Bilateral is considered by many to be a masterpiece of progressive metal; Norway’s Leprous had a tall order in front of themselves. Coming up with a followup to such a critically acclaimed and beloved album is no doubt a daunting task. Despite that, after two long years of waiting, Leprous have conjured the successor to Bilateral, and it’s called Coal. Usually, when bands release an album after their magnum opus, the result is either a “version 2.0″ of the previous album, or it’s a return back to the normal style of the band. Leprous have taken a bold turn instead, and they have reinvented themselves. Coal is clearly a Leprous album, carrying all their trademark touches, but it’s also very fresh and unique.With Bilateral, the band were clearly rooted in a sound that has been defined by the big names of progressive metal. By applying their characteristic syncopation, moody riffs and singer Einar Solberg’s haunting and powerful vocals, they were able to perfect an already existing sound. With Coal, the band have taken a different direction. The album is very dense, emotional, and quite avant-garde at times. While there are some more traditional songs similar to Bilateral, there’s also an air of neo-80s on some songs, while others carry some characteristics of modern Scandinavian indie bands. Longtime fans of Leprous will definitely see the direction that has been present since the band’s inception, but listeners who know of them only via Bilateral might be slightly confused. In the end, Leprous have always been about mood, and Coal is oozing with it.In terms of structure, Coal is more similar to Tall Poppy Syndrome than Bilateral (but not too similar to either in the end). The songs are slow burners, setting up a mood, then deliberately building on it until overwhelming the listener with the climax. Everything is very subtle, the production making every hit of every instrument matter. Each song is an exercise in building an atmosphere by slowly adding layers to form a very powerful sound. Einar Solberg is at his best here, he has taken his voice to the next level. He was already an amazing vocalist, but Coal sees him becoming a master of expression. There are many progressive metal bands nowadays with clean singers who can hit insanely high notes and execute amazing melodies. But what is often lost is the soft touch, the control over timbre that makes one’s voice special. Einar is a master of timbre, and he uses his abilities to their full extent in Coal. While this is an album about the big picture and constructing an ambiance with the convergence of all instruments, his unparalleled vocal skills definitely deserve a special mention, because he is what hammers down the emotions and makes this album so special.As mentioned before, Coal is a deliberate album, where attention is paid to every instrument. And the production, by Ihsahn (who also has a stellar guest appearance on the closing track), is perfect for this. Especially of note are the drums, they sound very real and quaint. The intimate feeling of some of the songs can directly be attributed to the unconventional drum sound. The drumming has also taken a turn for the more subtle, with small flourishes and cymbal runs building tension in the more atmospheric sections of some songs. The bass is also clearly audible and adds to the sound. The guitar work isn’t as flashy as Bilateral for the most part, but it also has more character because of that. It should come as no surprise to longtime followers of the band, but Leprous are masters of doing more with less, and all of the instruments reflect this. Another production detail worth noting is the presence of keyboards. The keyboard work is more prominent now. In Bilateral it was used mostly to add some extra layers to parts driven by the guitars, but here the keyboards form the building blocks of the sound. This is perhaps what sets the album apart from Leprous’s previous work, the heavier focus on atmosphere and a dense aural landscape. This might be disappointing to some who preferred the more direct approach of Bilateral, as Coal is less “metal”, but the more developed sound suits the band.In terms of songs, Coal is a very diverse album. The first three songs and the closer can be interpreted as a direct evolution of the band’s sound from their previous work, then there is the extremely moody and emotional masterpiece “The Cloak”. This is where the album takes a turn for the introspective, as the rest of the songs are quite experimental and ethereal. Overall, the album has a very clear journey with a defined start and end, and it works quite well. Some of the later songs can feel like they last half a minute too long, but the deliberate pacing of the album makes more sense as is.In the end, it’s hard to deny that Coal is yet another masterpiece by Leprous. The songs ooze character and deliberation. Coal is expressive, emotional and brave. It might not be what everyone expected after Bilateral, but Leprous have defied expectations and raised the bar again." - Heavy Blog Is Heavy
    $14.00
  • Legendary first album comes with 4 unreleased bonus tracks. Now available at a great price.
    $7.50
  • "Back in 2008, a force in the German melodic power metal scene released an album called “Eternal Empire.” The album was met with as much disdain as I have seen critic’s muster. It seemed that after the release of epic power masterpieces “Lord of Earth and Heavens Heir” and “Defenders of the Crown,” the band had all but abandoned the foundation that built the Human Fortress. On one hand, creating a new sound to generate a bigger audience is understandable, but to hardened power metal fans it’s a sacrilege. So, after a five year hiatus, the departure of Carsten Frank (who sang and played guitar on “Eternal Empire”) and return of one the original members Volker Trost (guitarst) and vocalist Jioti Parcharidis, the band was set to regroup and attack. However, in 2010 Parcharidis left again for health reasons, leaving the band to seek a new vocalist. The search turned up one of the rising voices in metal - Brazil’s Gus Monsanto (Symbolica/Code of Silence/Ex-Adagio). With that, Human Fortress seeks to reclaim lost glory with “Raided Land.” The end result is a successful transition back to pre-2008 derailment as the the train coasts back on the track of straight melodic power metal, with the added bonus of the best production in the band’s history.In Monsanto, the band has brought back the soaring beauty that was lost with Frank’s pseudo-harsh style vocals. His range is even more varied than with his other bands (Code of Silence and Symbolica) and there are brief moments where he is inseparable from Tommy Karevik (see “Under Seige”). It seems there is no end to the breadth of what he can sing. His style is more wide open than that of original vocalist Parcharidis, though I suspect that many fans will identify his style with the band. In a similar aspect to MasterPlan, yet on a much smaller scale, the band’s rabid fanbase will raise red flags with a new vocalist. However, the only red flag that should be raised is the one depicted on the album artwork. Monsanto is by far the best vocalist Human Fortress has ever had, and it is his range that properly propels the band to a modern audience while keeping true to its history.With a perfect mix and fantastic sound (from Orden Ogan vocalist/guitarist Sebastian "Seeb" Levermann on the music side and vocalist extraordinaire Michael Bormann on the vocal side), Human Fortress draws elements from the first two releases with a distinct nod to the current style of Kamelot. Pure power metal fans might find that it leans more progressive and is mired in mid-paced muck and pure progressive fans will find it dips into more power than they might like. For those in the middle, “Raided Land” is the band’s finest hour. The songs are a perfect balance of power and progressive with the songs averaging a svelte 4 minutes.With a recipe of “Silverthorn” Kamelot and “Mystery of Time” Avantasia, the band also throws some shades of Running Wild within the riffs of “Gladiator of Rome, Pt. 2,” the album’s strongest track. “Evil Curse” is the longest track – at 5:22 – and also the heaviest. I do wish that mighty riff was carried in force through the first verse, but it comes back half way in the second. However, if there was one song on the album that shows the full range that Monsanto offers, this is it. Other notables are “The Chosen One,” “Child of War” and “Wasted Years.” The one most closely related to Kamelot is “Under Seige,” which if I hadn’t known better could have easily fooled me as coming from that band.“Raided Land” is a return to the style that started it all for Human Fortress. With Gus Monsanto, the group added the most versatile vocalist its ever had (with no disrespect to Parcharidis). The sound and production is the most pristine in the band’s history, striking a perfect mix – a testament to the mastery of both Sebastian Levermann and Michael Bormann. While I know some diehards will find the album unfulfilling as a pure power metal album, I cannot find a time in the band’s history outside of “Eternal Empire” where it sounded dramatically different, or better. “Raided Land” is one of the finest efforts from a German band with a tremendous upswing for the future." - Metal Underground
    $15.00
  • Fourth album from this outstanding jazz metal band from Hungary getting outside exposure with their signing to IQ's Giant Electric Pea label.  Special Providence started out their career as a pure fusion band - not unlike Tribal Tech and Return To Forever.  With their third album, Soul Alert, the band injected a heavier metal presence primarily in the guitarwork.  Essence Of Change carries on from Soul Alert in terms of heaviness and the use of distortion but at the same time there is clearly more of a jazz/fusion emphasis in the writing.  This gives us a nicely balanced sound that has a lot of cross over appeal.  Liquid Tension Experiment and Morglbl fans will love this and I expect open minded fans of RTF and Mahavishnu will enjoy hearing the young kats update the sound they developed in the 70s.  Expect a non-stop assault of laser beam synth solos and blistering distortion laced guitar solos.  Yeah this one hits the sweet spot and after many future spins I suspect this will sit at the top of their already impressive discography.  BUY OR DIE!!
    $15.00
  • "Originally released in 2002 on Hammerheart Records, Storm Before Calm marked Primordial’s fourth full-length release. Their mix of Celtic tradition and Nordic bleakness was fairly unique, with only Cruachan really even attempting to cover similar ground (with some success too, I highly recommend seeking their records out!).This reissue (on Metal Blade Records) is of the original version of the album, so we don’t get the UK edition’s extra track, The Burning Season, but that omission aside Storm Before Calm remains the essential, vital experience that it was back in 2002. Seamlessly welding elements of Irish folk music and Celtic lore to a spine of purest black metal, Primordial’s 11-year history as a band up to this point makes its presence felt throughout – songs of this length (4.57 and up, discounting the short instrumental piece “What Sleeps Within”) require a degree of skill in their crafting to hold the listener’s interest, something that the band had in spades by then.Although “The Heretic’s Age” is a fine opener, all blastbeats and shuddering melodic riffing relaxing into almost a swing feel, it’s when that track gives way to the sweeping dissonant doom of “Fallen To Ruin” and its spoken-word breakdown that the album truly reveals its intent and scope. From here on out, from “Cast To The Pyre” and its mournful yet spite-filled lyrical bent, to the scathing, full-bore assault of “Suns First Rays” and on through the folky paean to the Irish tri-goddess of battle “Sons Of The Morrigan”, to the closing salvo of “Hosting Of The Sidhe”, this is a most individual take on pagan metal, steeped in Irish legends and musical tradition.Epic in the truest meaning of the word, Storm Before Calm was Primordial’s last release strictly in this style, with 2005’s The Gathering Wilderness showcasing a bleaker, blacker feel which would become their calling-card from then onwards. If you don’t already have this, it’s more than worth your while to grab a copy of this reissue." - Alternative Matter
    $15.00