Stoner Rock

Often things happen in an adjacent musical universe that we are not aware of but perhaps we should be more attentive to.  Such is the case with my general interest in the jam band scene.  While I can appreciate the musical prowess of many of these bands the foundation of their music doesn't really interest me all that much.  For example I never got Phish.  Great players but their music flatlined for me.  On the other hand Umphrey's McGee is a very interesting band that resides in the jam band world.  You can tell that progressive rock is a part of their musical DNA.  Such is the case with a band that reached out to us called Squeaky Feet.  I had never heard of this Denver, Colorado based group but it appeared that they were rising stars in that scene but referred to themselves as a progressive rock band.  So perhaps a bit skeptical I gave their studio debut "Cause For Alarm" a listen and I was absolutely blown away and I think you will be too.  The vocal tracks do remind me a bit of Umphrey's McGee - a subtle pop layer sitting on a bedrock of intense virtuosity and intricacy.  As soon as the vocals stop these guys go off into a world of pure prog - blazing dual guitar, flute and sax, keys - over a rock solid rhythmic bed.  These are Berklee grads - they're not fooling around.  These kats can play!  Vocal tracks pop up here and there but the overall musical weight of the album tends to skew in the instrumental direction.  The album is filled with long tracks - each one having a great sense of soft/loud dynamics.  As I mentioned the vocal passages give way to long instrumental stretches where these guys go off.This one came in too late for me to stick it in my Top 10 list for 2023 (lots of competition this year) but if I could I would - it would sit very high up on the top half.  Do I need to say it???  I will anyway...BUY OR DIE!!"Squeaky Feet was conceived within the walls of Berklee College of Music. Its members relocated to Denver in 2018, and their hunger for greatness manifested into what the band is today. Comprised of Colin Shore (guitar/vocals), Greg King (guitar), Jimmy Finnegan (bass/vocals), Brian Keller (keyboards/sax/flute/vocals), and Kevin D'Angelo (drums), Squeaky Feet is poised for success.Their debut album, Cause For Alarm, is scheduled for release on November 17, 2023. It promises to be an electrifying testament to Squeaky Feet's exceptional musicianship, genre-blending prowess, and their innovative approach to progressive rock. The astute listener may hear the influence of King Crimson, Dream Theater, Frank Zappa, Steely Dan, and Snarky Puppy, particularly of guitar player Mark Lettieri, who serendipitously came to play on the album’s lead single."

Phase - Midnight Madness is the third release in our limited edition Modulus series.  Pressed in an edition of 500 copies, it comes housed in a old school style tip-on mini-LP jacket.  A 12 page booklet features detailed liner notes from the members of the band.Phase was a New Jersey based quartet formed in 1978.  It featured Regan Ryzuk (piano, Moog, Celeste), Dave Anderson (electric and Anscor stereo guitar), Carl Scariati (Carl Thompson electric bass), and John Hvasta (drums/tympanis).  All members were young but highly accomplished musicians with a serious interest in jazz, classical composition, and progressive rock.  Their high energy instrumental music clearly demonstrated these influences.  The music of Phase can easily be classified as fusion but there are strong undercurrents of progressive rock that weaves its way through the album - not just in terms of the instrumentation or playing, but the compositions as well.The band signed a deal with QCA/Red Mark Records in Cincinnati.  The band left New Jersey and heading out to Ohio to record Midnight Madness.  The album was recorded and mixed very quickly.  It saw a release in 1979 and unfortunately sank without much of a trace.  Keyboardist Regan Ryzuk reissued the album two years label, rebranding and repackaging the release under the Fusion Quartet moniker.Hearing this music for the first time was quite a revelation.  I was blown away to say the least.  When I'm asked to describe the music I typically reply "Return To Forever meets Emerson Lake & Palmer".  Not only did this quartet have chops from hell but the compositions were challenging as well.  If you are a fan of RTF, Mahavishnu Orchestra or the prog giants ELP, Yes, Zappa, and PFM you will find much to enjoy here.Please keep in mind that when this edition sells out it will be gone forever.   

"If you’re talking about modern progressive rock and don’t bring up Haken, you’re doing it wrong. Since the south English sextet started jamming together in 2004, they’ve been one of their genre’s most loyal yet, simultaneously, adventurous forces. And how do you honour such an eclectic, unpredictable career? You make Fauna: Haken’s most genre-busting and conceptually fascinating album to date. “The premise of the album when we started writing it was that every song would have an animal assigned to it,” explains singer and co-founder Ross Jennings. “They all have something related to the animal kingdom that we could write about, but they also connect to the human world. Each track has layers, and some of them are more obvious than others.” Musically, Fauna represents Haken at their most diverse. Taurus commences the album with its scraping heavy metal chords, as polyrhythmic as they are jagged. However, Ross’s melodic croon and the triumphant chorus are true Haken. Eyes Of Ebony is pure math rock, delicate in its start-stop clean guitar picking and chiming cymbals, while Island In The Clouds flaunts its bouncing bassline. Eighteen years deep, they’re still evolving and keeping their fans on their toes. Is there any truer definition of what making progressive rock means than that?"

"English neo-progressive rock spear-header IQ has been furthering the genre in the 21th century with much acclaim. Sound-wise the band hasn't changed much since ' The Seventh House', but on this album the band has finally revolutionized their composition style, arrangements and production. The symphonic layering by Neil Durant has this adult feel, reminding me of 'Tilt' era Scott Walker or 'Blackstar' era Bowie ' yet drenched in a Bladerunner like delicate sci-fi universe. Somehow this album sounds like a collaboration of the band IQ and... well a new 'force' that can look beyond its songs, its verses, its solo's and its refrains. Because of this 'force' the band has also given new meaning to the prog epic. On 'Resistance' a prog epic isn't just a multi- song. Don't take me wrong ' I really like a track like 'The Narrow Margin' ' but on this album the longer tracks really make sense from a songwriting point of view. Bare with me. Like a in a small song, where a bridge can add to strengthening the final refrain ' IQ manages to intelligently intervene and keep the song growing towards that final refrain. Furthermore, the first cd, which is 'the album', flows like a continues experience. Almost like a movie, including some modern cinematic sound-effects. What also becomes apparent after a few spins is the absence of leaning on catchy refrains, which gives the music a modern feel ' at times almost hinting at modern classical music. Peter Nicholl's voice doesn't allow for much variation, but because of the distinctive atmospheres of the songs his performances do tick the box every time. This material doesn't need catchy line A or B, it needs a performer. The rhythm section of the band has found a perfect balance between fusion styled sophistication and adding to the effectiveness of the material. Guitar player Mike Holmes somehow comes off as a bit left behind in the old IQ with his Marillion/Floyd styled guitar solo's. On acoustic guitar his contributions strike me as more imminent ' like on 'Perfect Space'. If the band ever aims to top this album in the future ' which would prove extremely difficult I guess - the electric guitar will need to contribute in more diverse ways. Now about that second disc, which I will describe in a bit more detail because most reviewers will probably focus on the first disc. If that were an album; the 22 minute 'The Great Spirit Way' alone would suffice for an indispensable purchase. Personally, I think this song is placed right after the rather dark and soundtrack-like first disc because it matches best stylistically. 'Fire and Security' is a more traditional IQ piece ' albeit a bit bleak - with a balled type opening, some darker passages and a melancholy ending section with some strong lead guitars. On 'Perfect Space' the band drives its jazz/fusion influences to the max, which will perhaps turn of some ' but I like it. The second epic, the 20 minute 'Fallout' is a bit more relaxing, abstract and dreamy. In its second halve the band experiments beautifully with sophisticated chord progressions, which also allows for Holmes' most interesting guitar solo. Conclusion. Without a doubt this will become the progressive album of 2019 and I hope it will inspire a lot of other neo-progressive bands to elaborate and expand on their Marillion/Genesis/Floyd roots and take the music to a next level of artistry. This album will probably outshine the nostalgic likings of many of its listeners, but it may also attract listeners that have previously written off the neo-prog genre. " - ProgArchives

"Two-time GRAMMY-nominated and millions-selling progressive music titans Dream Theater announce the forthcoming worldwide release of their 15th studio album, A View From The Top Of The World on October 22nd. A View From The Top OF The World is Dream Theater at its musical finest expanding on the sound they helped create while maintaining the elements that have garnered them devoted fans around the globe. The 7-song album also marks the second studio album with InsideOutMusic / Sony Music.The artwork was created by long-time cover collaborator Hugh Syme (Rush, Iron Maiden, Stone Sour). A View From The Top Of The World was produced by John Petrucci, engineered and additional production by James “Jimmy T” Meslin and mixed/mastered by Andy Sneap.Dream Theater – comprised of James LaBrie, John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, John Myung and Mike Mangini – was in the middle of a sold-out world tour in support of their last release Distance Over Time and the 20th anniversary of Scenes From A Memory when a Global Pandemic brought the world to a stop. The musicians found themselves at home with LaBrie in Canada and the rest of the group in the States. As fate would have it, they’d just finished construction on DTHQ (Dream Theater Headquarters) —a combination live recording studio, rehearsal space, control room, equipment storage, and creative hive. With LaBrie in Canada, he initially wrote with the band via ZOOM on a monitor in DTHQ. In March 2021, he flew down to New York, quarantined, and recorded his vocals face-to-face with Petrucci. The album ultimately threaded together lean and uncompromising hooks with tried-and-true technical proficiency.“We just love to play our instruments,” observes Petrucci. “That never goes away. I love to be creative, write, and exercise that part of my mind. We’ve been able to do this for a long time, and we don’t take it for granted. Whenever we get together, we know we can’t disappoint ourselves or our fans, so we manage to try even harder.”“We approach every album like it’s our first,” adds LaBrie. “It’s been such a great ride, but we’re not going to stop.”"

Is Nospūn the best band you've never heard of?  Probably unless you've been paying attention to all the year end best of 2023 lists.  This Georgia based band released their album back in May 2023 digitally and with some gentle arm twisting from the masses they have finally pressed CDs.  What we have here is a band that came out of nowhere, combined some of the best elements of prog metal bands like Dream Theater and Haken, and dropped one hell of an album.  If you are a prog metal fan this one is BUY OR DIE!"2023 has been very busy as far with plenty of new offerings from classic bands and heavyweights just in the first half. But the biggest surprise has been the number of impressive debut albums so far this year, and we have another one to add to that list with ‘Opus’ from the American band prog metal group Nospūn. The group, from North Carolina, has basically come out of nowhere with one of the more impressive prog metal debut albums you’re likely to hear. Released in May of this year, Opus has gained traction the old-fashioned way, word of mouth. So what is this album like? Well, if you like Dream Theater, Haken, Native Construct, BTBAM, and even a little Avenged Sevenfold, this is the album you’ll want to look into.The first thing that is noticeable upon listening to this album is the immaculate production. This is as good-sounding an album as you can hear from any of the major bands that have been doing this for a long time. The production was all done in-house by the band, nothing short of impressive. The other aspect that sticks out is that this band knows what they want to achieve and seemed to have a plan when making this album, from the arranging to the over-sequencing. It all flows and makes sense. Nothing feels disjointed or confused, as you might expect from a debut album.As with many concept albums, ‘Opus’ opens with an acoustic/vocal track softly laying the groundwork for the story about “The House at the End,” which of course leads into the “Implosion Overture.” You can immediately tell these are guys that can play; all the elements are there, brilliant fret-work on the guitars (James Nelson), explosive drums (Paul Wood), and complicated bass lines (Cole Millward). The first main track “The Death of Simpson” starts to lay out the story both lyrically and musically, with vocalist Phil Rich displaying a dynamic range that fits perfectly.The strongest section of the album is from tracks 6-9 which is a truly wonderful 4-song stretch beginning with the frantic and fun “Earwyrm,” one of my favorite songs of the year. It is both crazy and gorgeous in one song. “…And Then There Was One” is a slightly mellower turn for the album and features the most singable chorus on the record. “4D Printing” is a wild instrumental with some incredible musicality and heaviness. And what would a prog metal album be without a long epic, which you will get in “Within the Realm of Possibility.” The album closes in epic fashion by wrapping things up with “The House at the Beginning.”Now there are a lot of noticeable influences; you can definitely hear Dream Theater at times, or Haken at times, but the band are also able to mold those into their own sound as the album continues from one song to the next. Hopefully, the band continue to grow more into their own sound on future albums. But if this debut is any indication, we should expect big things from Nospūn in the future. ‘Opus’ from Nospūn is one of the best albums to come out this year and you can expect to see on best of the year lists." - The Prog Report