2025 Wrap Up Part Two!

I admit I'm really cutting this one close, but I wanted to make sure that my review of the year wasn't just all metal!  I've got some prog rock as well as some AOR for this one, which might be a little contradictory, but these albums are all worth checking out.  Here's what I've finally gotten around to!

exo-X-xeno - Luminous Voyage

So this is a bit of a weird one.  A few years ago, I had heard that a man named Craig Maher had put together a prog rock project that featured Billy Sherwood and Jay Schellen of Yes, and Patrick Moraz, who was Yes's keyboard player for Relayer.  I admit I was moderately intrigued by that, but then I heard nothing for quite some time.  Recently, while picking through some of my spam emails, I discovered that I had signed up for their newsletter and saw that they had finally released their album last June!  So figured I had better check it out before I was finished with the year!

Listening to this is a bit of an odd experience.  The best way I'd describe the music that it's like that era of late 70s Genesis where Phil Collins has just taken over on vocals, but they haven't gone full pop yet, but then pushed through Yes's 90125 to make it more lush.  Craig Maher is not a bad singer, but I do think there are a few weak spots.  His guitar playing is quite good, though, as it's more in the melodic school of Ian Bairnson.  Billy Sherwood seems to be channeling Drama-era Chris Squire, as he has some very energetic basslines, and Schellen is right there with him on the drums.  However, Patrick Moraz feels like the weak link.  He has some good keyboard runs, but some of his synth choices are odd, and sometimes sound cheap.  "At Water's Edge" is a good example of this.  However, I think the biggest problem is the production.  While it's not bad, it does feel a little uneven.  Billy's bass might be a little too loud, and it feels like everything needs some more polish to help it feel like the instruments are working together, though I'm not smart enough to know what's missing.  I just know that it's off somehow.

The songwriting is decent enough, though.  "Vitrivian Man" is probably the best song, as it feels like they really put a lot of thought in putting that one together, "Reaching for Beyond" has some nice ideas, and "Live Life" has good energy as the closer.  I don't know if this album really makes the most of its promise, but I could see this being a decent starting point for a new prog project.  If they do more, I will certainly be curious.

Spock's Beard - The Archaeoptimist

So going from their first album to their latest is certainly quite the leap, especially since only Alan Morse and Dave Meros are the only two members who have remained.  (Though Ryo Okumoto joined shortly after the first album, making him the third longest member of the band.)  This time, the band worked with someone named Michael Whiteman, resulting in some pretty solid prog rock.

Sonically, this seems to be between Marillion and Haken, with the melodic sensibilities of the former with the creative transitions of the latter.  Despite the fact that it's all I've listened to, comparing this to their first album would be pretty unfair as they have clearly matured since then.  In fact, maturity might be the key word for this whole thing.  Nothing feels particularly excessive (for prog anyway), letting sections drift a little, but not too far.  "Invisible" is a good starter for what to expect, but I think "Electric Monk" is a little stronger as a song.  The title track is the album's 20-minute epic, telling a story about a post-apocalyptic future about a father who teaches her about the past, inspiring her to become a good leader in the future.  The closer "Next Step" is another rather optimistic number that sings about leaving the past behind, featuring some neat transitions and dynamics.

Overall, I liked a lot of it.  I don't know if I have much to say about the performances other than they're pretty solid.  Okumoto definitely plays around his synth tool box, drawing on influences ranging from Keith Emerson to Isao Tomita, but otherwise, this is some pretty good third-wave prog from a band who clearly has the experience to do it well.  I know that this is a pretty huge gap in my prog knowledge, but this album gives me hope that it will be one worth filling.

Crazy Lixx - Thrill of the Bite

Making a hard switch from prog rock to glam metal, this band has been pretty reliable lately in providing some solid, 80s-inspired hard rock, and their latest is more of the same, in the best way possible!

While there has always been a small cinematic quality in their sound, I do think this album they lean much harder into the schlocky movies of the 80s (if the album art wasn't a clue).  Nearly all the songs are about darker, edgier subjects while keeping that decade's iconic glam metal sound, feeling like a blend of Def Leppard with Ozzy's or Mötley Crüe's shock rock approach.  Of course, this is a subtle thing, as they are still rocking hard like the MTV hits that inspired them, and they rock it well.  The album kicks off with the very upbeat "Highway Hurricane," and blasts its way through to the end, with no ballads to bog things down at all!

I think the main difference that makes this band stand out compared to others in the same style is that Crazy Lixx has the right energy.  They know they're being kinda cheesy and campy, but they also love this stuff and embrace it like fans, which allows them to find the fun in what they're doing.  The production is spot on, and the band plays with so much precision and gusto, I can't help but smile through most of this album.  While I could make some nitpicks, this is definitely Crazy Lixx at their most pure, and I don't think I'd want it any other way!

W.E.T. - Apex

I can't believe it's been nearly five years since I'd heard anything from this band.  I enjoyed their last album enough that it got a spot in that year's Top 5 article.  While I'm sure these guys were busy with other bands over the years, they've come back together for another round of AOR, and once again, it's a solid set of songs.

Night Ranger comes to mind again for this band, finding that sweet spot between Journey and glam metal.  Whitesnake comes to mind as well when the band gets a little bluesy.  Henriksson provides more crunchy riffs and melodic solos, and vocalist Jeff Scott Soto is joined by Eclipse's Erik Mårtensson on a few songs, making this album feel more like an Eclipse album than the last one did.  However, these are minor details as the band rocks together quite well as usual.

The album starts well with "Believer" and "This House Is On Fire," both being good uptempo rockers, "Nowhere to Run" has a nice groove, "Day By Day" is a crunchy closer with good energy, and the rest of the album carries on its melodic rock path much like the last one did.  Again, what could have been some standard AOR is bolstered by the band's passion for this kind of music, making it quite the cut above the rest.  I don't know if it will make my Top 5 for the year, but it's definitely a highlight of the previous year that I should have gotten to sooner.

Retro Reviews - August 2025 Part Two!

Finally moving on from 1990, this is the first of two Retro Review articles I plan on dedicating to 1995, as it turns out there's quite a bit I wanted to catch up on.  This one will feature a quartet of rock bands, one of which I haven't really listened to before (sorta)!  Here's what I've been checking out lately!

Candlebox - Lucy

When I reviewed this band's debut album, I found it to be some pretty decent, if standard, grunge rock for the era, but it was enough to break them out.  This album follows up by going for a bit of a harsher, darker feel, and yet they sound more like Pearl Jam than ever!

Once again, this feels like the right album to come out in 1995, where grunge was becoming much more familiar, so bands needed to really push themselves to stand out.  Here, Candlebox aims for something more atmospheric in their alternative angst, like a series of a short, trance-like journeys.  Once the song starts, it generally locks into that groove and doesn't change much other than adding or taking away layers for verses and choruses.  Kevin Martin's wailing is right in the flow, fitting with the grooves and tones very well, and it's easy to get lost in these songs.  Unfortunately, that also means that the album tends to drone on, especially the two "Butterfly" songs.  As it turns out, this one didn't do as well as their first, and I wonder if this is why.

That doesn't mean there aren't some stand outs.  They made singles out of "Simple Lessons," "Best Friend," and "Understanding," and those were probably the best choices.  "Bothered" did have some chunky riffs though, and it was much more aggressive than the rest.  Otherwise, it feels like more standard grunge again, and with the darker tone, perhaps not as strong as their debut.  While the album is decent for what it is, it's certainly hard to recommend unless you have strong nostalgia for this era of rock music.

AC/DC - Ballbreaker

After the massive success that was The Razors Edge (and a quick little single for a Schwarzenegger film), it took them five years to put together another album, bringing back Phil Rudd on drums.  They decided to bring in Rick Rubin as the producer this time, after working with him on "Big Gun," making sure that this album is business as usual for the band.

I know I've mentioned this before, but reviewing AC/DC albums can be rough.  Their style is so distilled and direct that, unless there's some major mistake, their albums end up being generally fine.  While I don't think this is as good as the one that came before, they continue with their bluesy brand of hard rock.  "Hard as a Rock" kicks things off with some solid, mid-tempo rocking, "Boogieman" has a good 6/8 blues groove, and "Hail Caesar" is an interesting piece of social satire.  Many of these songs often have a build-up in intensity toward the end, making them pretty anthemic.  They're also an uptick in the raunchy lyrics, but with an album title like that, I suppose it's not a surprise.

So once again, we have another decent chunk of hard rock from a band who has long since mastered their craft and were (and still are, honestly) content to keep trucking along, album to album.  This album doesn't have the iconic tracks like their others, but at the same time, it sticks to what works, and that isn't a bad thing.

Spock's Beard - The Light

While I've heard a song or two, most of what I know about Spock's Beard is the one Pattern-Seeking Animals album I reviewed.  (Apparently, they have five albums now!  When did that happen?)  Anyways, this legendary third-wave prog rock band started with the Morse brothers, Alan (guitars) and Neal (vocals, keyboards).  It was originally just supposed to be the two of them, but by the time they got recording, they had picked up Dave Meros on bass and Nick D'Virgilio on drums.  The result is some pretty iconic third-wave prog rock, even if it is maybe trying a little too hard.

The album starts with "The Light," which has been the band's signature song since it came out, and I can see why.  It's a very dramatic piece with a lot of changes, including one that's full-on Latin fusion.  Dream Theater's influence is notable, though Spock's Beard is certainly not metal, but the songwriting of shifting between sections does have that feel.  In fact, these sudden transitions is pretty consistent through the album.  As a result, it does make it a rather unpredictable listen, but at the same time, I do wonder if it isn't too much.  They have plenty of neat little ideas, but instead of giving any of them time to expand, it's off to the next section.  I think I would have liked to hear them explore these ideas more, but I suppose this isn't that kind of band, and they do have some neat little callbacks.  The big epic "The Water" is much the same way, going over 23 minutes and several genres and styles.  However, it does come together like a Pink Floyd song, featuring a small choir of female singers to croon and wail along.  "On the Edge" is probably the most consistent song, but it is also only 6 minutes long, the shortest on this four-song album.

It's definitely an interesting collection of music, taking the prog rock that inspires them and making it relevant in a later decade, and I think they sorta make it work.  Again, I am bugged by the constant transitions (I wonder if this is where Haken gets it from), but that could be a matter of taste.  The material is performed well by all members, and establishes a solid baseline to build on from here for more prog rock adventures.

Glass Hammer - Perelandra

I checked out this band's first album a few years ago, and while it may have had some peculiar synths, it had some decent songs about Aragorn's adventures around Middle-Earth.  Two years later, they come back with another album, now about the works of C.S. Lewis (which I admit I am not as familiar with).  This time, they draw upon a wider prog palette, making them more in line with their third-wave peers like Spock's Beard and The Flower Kings.

Right off, the synths are better, and I think the production, while still not perfect, has improved as well, making these songs sound very lush and Yes-like at times.  This is most apparent in their first full song (after the strange intro track) "Time Marches On."  I felt there was a significant increase in Wakeman-like synth runs and Squire-like basslines compared to the previous album.  Of course, their ELP influence is still around, mainly on the instrumental pieces like "Felix the Cat" and the title track.  The rest of the album is a little all-over-the-place, but it all flows pretty well.  "That Hideous Strength" is probably the biggest jump in style, with it's near-industrial vibes, making me think of Pink Floyd at its darkest.  I have to say the keyboard work is probably the highlight, though I have no idea which parts are by Fred Schendel or Steve Babb, as I understand they're both jamming on the synths along with all the other instruments they play.

This is quite the improvement over Journey of the Dunadan, largely because it feels more consistent, though I do think the shorter tracks are a bit odd.  "Time Marches Out" is a great starter, and "Heaven" serves as a solid closer, getting rather triumphant after the defeat of evil in the previous tracks.  While I don't know if they've reached any kind of peak with this album, I can definitely hear them starting to put the pieces together to become their own thing, and look forward to when I can take the time to listen to more of their work.

Last Played - August 2020!

Hey, it's one of these again.  It's been longer than I was anticipating, to be honest.  I thought I would be able to really dig into some new albums over the summer, but it hasn't really happened.  However, I've finally turned on enough stuff to put together another one of these articles, and this time, it's all progressive rock!  Here's what I've been checking out lately.

Transatlantic - SMPT:e

So members of Spock's Beard, The Flower Kings, Dream Theater, and Marillion got together at the turn of the millennium and made the proggiest of prog rock albums.  It's an interesting assortment, but one that certainly has plenty of potential.  20 years later, I'm giving it a spin.

The first thing I noticed was just how much jazz-fusion it had.  The band is much more interested in jazzy grooves and jams more than anything else.  The album opens with a 31 minute epic called "All of the Above" that exemplifies this, going through some interesting moodshifts and throwing in a few nods to other prog greats of the past.  However, it does go on for a bit too long, especially at the end.  The shorter songs show different sides of the band, with "We All Need Some Light" being a anthemic and uplifting acoustic ballad while "Mystery Train" is a very quirky and weird piece.  As for the other original epic, "My New World" draws more from Sgt. Peppers-era Beatles before eventually falling back into a jazz fusion groove.  The album ends with a cover of Procol Harum's "In Held 'Twas In I" (often regarded as the first prog rock epic), and it's a curious arrangement.  They sing the spoken part of "Held", and skip "Twas" entirely, instead adding in more jamming and even a free jazz section.  Needless to say, it's a bit all over the place.

Overall, it's some pretty decent stuff, but it does lack a little in energy, mostly content to sit back and soak in it's jazz/rock tone that rolls back and forth, but never really rocks.  Fans of Stolt and Morse will find plenty of familiar sounds, and the production is very clear, but it really doesn't do anything that I would call great.

Pattern-Seeking Animals - Pattern-Seeking Animals

Finally, I decided to give this a listen through, after liking pieces of it last year.  It's kind of an interesting follow up from that Transatlantic album, given that PSA is made up of different Spock's Beard members, current and former.  The tone of the album is also pretty similar: proggy, but rather laid back, content to just kinda wallow around its moody atmosphere.

The album starts off with the solid "No Burden Left to Carry," with some nice mood shifts, some solid guitar work.  The follow up of "The Same Mistakes Again," is a nice, softer piece.  However, the album just kinda meanders around those same moods.  It doesn't even try to spice things up with jazz-fusion, going for a more straight-forward, somewhat plodding songwriting.  A little quirky, sometimes light, sometimes dark, but never straying too far from their soft, prog rock style.  Despite not really knowing these artists' heritage, I'm sure fans of Spock's Beard will find plenty to like.

So in the end, it's album that's nice while it's on, and is clearly well-played, but none of it really sticks with me, unfortunately.  It rocks a little here, does a soft-jam there, has plenty of layers of keyboards and synths, but like Transatlantic's debut, never really seems to push it to that next level at any time.

Rick Wakeman & The English Rock Ensemble - The Red Planet

Now this is prog rock!

Okay, I admit that I'm not being fair, here.  I'm a diehard Yes fan, so I've been anticipating Wakeman's new solo album for a while now.  He's gone full-on Six Wives mode here, with a band backing him up, and tons of layers and ideas all blending together.

The song titles are thematically appropriate, all based on various landmarks of Mars.  Otherwise, each song is a little prog epic that stands on its own, featuring a variety of moods and tempos.  Songs like "Pavonis Mons" and "Ascraeus Mons" are upbeat and driving, while "Tharsis Tholus" and "South Pole" offer more mellow sounds, with the former going for a dark, jazz-fusion vibe, and the latter being more chill and well-paced, with some soft piano in the middle section.  Then there are songs like "Arsia Mons" and "The North Plain" that shift around quite a bit, with "The North Plain" drifting from thick rock organs to ambient soundscapes.  It also features a great guitar solo from Dave Colquhoun at the end.

Overall, compared to the other two in this article, this just has more energy.  A lot of that simply might have to do with Wakeman's electric synth runs, his fingers not having aged a day since the 70s.  The band almost makes Mars itself seem varied and magical in comparison to the rust-colored and largely empty planet that it is.  Solid work from top to bottom, this album is proof that Wakeman is still the wizard at the keys and as imaginative as ever.

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Well, I'm still plugging away around here.  Getting out more articles than I would have thought.  I'm not sure what the rest of the year will be like, but I'll continue doing what I can.  I should probably get into more current year releases.  I'm running out of time to include them in a best-of article!!

Until then, rock on! \m/