Favorite neo prog album? Let's see...
I think I'd have to say IQ's Dark Matter with Marillion's debut, Script for a Jester's Tear, not far behind.
As for faves from 1999, I have to admit thats a fairly weak year for me. From what I'm familiar with, it's mostly a prog metal year for me. My current top 10 would have to be:
Dali's Dilemma - Manifesto for Futurism
Aghora - Aghora
Gordian Knot - Gordian Knot
Tiles - Presents Of Mind
Mulmuzzler - Keep It To Yourself
Tempus Fugit - The Dawn After the Storm
Dream Theater - Metropolis Part 2
Camel - Rajaz
Liquid Tension Experiment 2
Ice Age - The Great Divide
Nice! Will definitely get to a bunch of these.
I have some writeups on a few of these. Dali's Dilemma appears on page 20, Gordian Knot on page 7, and Mulmuzzler on page 8.
In looking back at Aghora, I listed it as 2000, not 1999. Some sources peg it as 1999 and some as 2000. I figured I'd go straight to the source as I own original physical media for that one. I went to my CD rack, grabbed the Aghora disc and..... nothing! There is no date listed anywhere on the front cover, back cover, inside cover, 10 page CD booklet or the CD itself! No recording date, no copyright, nothing. If you're still interested, that one appears on page 2 of this diary.
Page 2! AND there's the mystery of the date. Kinda feel like I have to start with that one first then. Kinda psyched u have write-ups on a bunch of these. Will make it easier to write mine when I get to them.
Advent Horizon - A Cell to Call Home Subgenre(s): Heavy Prog/Progressive Metal
Score: 80
Year: 2023
My Rank in Year as of this listen: 8th
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This recent (last October) release seems a natural follow on to my recent Threshold listens. Advent Horizon makes highly melodic heavy prog/prog metal that is more melodic and metallic than progressive. Of instrumental note is some very creative drumming, but the music's standout feature is the accessible compositions and soaring melodies. This is often crowd swaying with lighters raised prog metal. Now to be clear, I don't mean that in a disparaging way; this is finely crafted and beautifully produced music, but not entirely without bite. Some of the lyrics reflect a pseudopolitical/emotional worldview mentality that doesn't jive perfectly with mine, but the craftsmanship and musicality here is undeniable and this album makes for a mighty fine listen.
Galahad - Seas of Change Subgenre(s): Neo Prog
Score: 75
Year: 2018
My Rank in Year as of this listen: 13th
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Presented as a single almost 43 minute song (listed with 12 movements), Seas of Change is a reverent but modern neo prog commentary on Brexit. As such, the album is overtly political, but not necessarily extreme or intentionally divisive. While the lyrics do seem more trite than insightful at times, the music is good enough to carry the day. Sound and production are more than solid, musicianship is easily up to par, and the vocals are strong. Overall, a very worthwhile 2018 release.
Spock's Beard - The Light Subgenre(s): Symphonic Prog
Score: 85
Year: 1995
My Rank in Year as of this listen: 2nd
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Spock's Beard came out of the chute with fully formed prog mastery right on this, their debut. I've always been a big fan of this album, and today was no different, although I did find some of the vocal manipulation to be distracting. But when singing pure, frontman Neal Morse is wonderful.
Transatlantic is a legitimate supergroup with all members from different prog acts making significant contribution, but when I listened to this today, it became apparent that for a lot of Transatlantic, Mores carries a little extra influence relative to his bandmates; that's not just because he is the vocalist as well as the keyboardist, but this also relates to compositional approach and overall sound and style. It's hard to imagine someone liking Transatlantic and not liking Morse-era Spock's Beard and vice versa.
Il Balletto Di Bronzo - Ys Subgenre(s): Rock Progressivo Italiano, Heavy Prog
Score: 85
Year: 1972
My Rank in Year as of this listen: 14th
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This is a very difficult album to assess. After a moody, almost creepy long intro, the music gets relentlessly heavy. The vocals, while clean (this is 1972) are consistently aggressive. Nominally an RPI album, this could also qualify as Heavy Prog, even being on the heavy side of that subgenre. There's a whole log going on here and none of it is easy going. It's easy to get into this frenzy most of the time, but then it's easy to feel like you've been rather bludgeoned by the music. It seems a lot of folks hail this a one of the greatest RPI albums of all time and yet others call it anything from jus t overrated to a total ugly heap. I have to fall much closer to the former camp; this is amazing music even if can be a bit of an emotional challenge at times. It's worth it to hunt down a reissue (or simply stream) as the bonus tracks are also excellent.
Novalis - Sommerabend Subgenre(s): Symphonic Prog
Score: 75
Year: 1976
My Rank in Year as of this listen: 41st
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A symphonic prog album with just three songs of ever increasing length, this may leave one feeling as though they had listened to a Yes album even if Novalis sound very little like Yes. Actually, this seems to be something of a benchmark for German symphonic prog and one listen will let you know why. Epic songs, classical scope, and plenty of creative and accessible melody with interesting substructure and embellishments make this a very fine listen.
Continuum - Autumn Grass Subgenre(s): Symphonic Prog, Fusion
Score: 80
Year: 1971
My Rank in Year as of this listen: 22nd
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This early prog album makes for a very interesting listen. Early flute hints at prog-folk, then a very baroque organ making symphonic prog vibes gives way to a jazz-rock organ and with the addition of additional instrumentation, we get this seamless jazz-rock fusion with classical overtones. Side one is two long compositions broken up by a short interlude and side two is entirely composed of the epic that gives the album its title, a sort of everything but the kitchen sink, avant-gardish bit of fusion. For those who like a strong classical/neoclassical element in their prog, this album is pretty much a must.
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Kinda psyched u have write-ups on a bunch of these. Will make it easier to write mine when I get to them.
