ADAGIO Archangels in Black

Adagio , progressive metal band from France is characterized by technical precision, dark, dense orchestration, complex lead work, and a driving rhythm section, add death grunts to that mix and a rich soundscape is created !!!

For this album according to the band's website the "compositions are the ultimate between melodic and extreme metal, and can be considered as a more brutal version of their previous album Underworld."








Studio Album, released in 2009

Songs / Tracks Listing

1 Vamphyri
2 The Astral Pathway
3 Fear Circus
4 Undead
5 Archangels in Black
6 The Fifth Ankh
7 Codex Oscura
8 Twilight at Dawn
9 Getsu Senshi

Line-up / Musicians

Stephan Forté - guitars, keyboards
Franck Hermanny - bass
Eric Lebailly - drums
Christian Palin - vocals

Part 1

Part 2

SHADOW GALLERY Digital Ghosts

After the dead of Mike Baker I was afraid of losing such a great band as Shadow Gallery, thanks god they found a suitable replacement for the vocals and hit us in the face with this great release..more symphonic than before but still amazing !

This version have 4 extra tracks !!!

Studio Album, released in 2009

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. With Honor (9:59)
2. Venom (6:21)
3. Pain (6:22)
4. Gold Dust (6:45)
5. Strong (6:50)
6. Digital Ghost (9:37)
7. Haunted (9:36)

Total Time 55:26

Line-up / Musicians - Brendt Allman / guitars, vocals
- Carl Cadden-James / bass, vocals, flute
- Gary Wehrkamp / guitars, keyboards, vocals
- Brian Ashland / lead vocals
- Joe Nevolo / drums

Guest musicians:
- Ralf Scheepers / vocals
- Clay Barton / vocals

Part 1

Part 2

SUBSIGNAL Beautiful & Monstrous

A pleasure posting again......

and with a great album.......Subsignal is basically a broader reincarnation of Sieges Even so I just have to say the music is majestic.....Enjoy !

Subsignal biography
German outfit SUBSIGNAL was at first a side project for Sieges Even members Arno Menses (vocals) and Markus Steffen (guitars), and was set up in 2007. The first creative output from this duo actually made it onto the Sieges Even album Paramount - a track called Eyes Wide Open.

In the summer of 2008 they left Sieges Even, and decided to turn this side project into a band, and with the addition of Ralf Schwager (bass), Roel van Helden (drums) and David Bertok (keyboards) a full line-up was in place. The aim of the band is to more or less continue where Sieges Even left off, but with a greater variety in terms of musical expressions.

In the spring of 2009 they started recording material for their first production, and in September 2009 the debut album Beautiful and Monstrous was released.

Studio Album, released in 2009

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Where Angels Fear to Tread (6:04)
2. Paradigm (6:29)
3. The Sea (7:00)
4. The Trick Is to Keep Breathing (6:21)
5. Walking With Ghosts (7:40)
6. I Go With the Wind (4:54)
7. To Hope the Road Is Long (4:15)
8. Beautiful & Monstrous (9:38)
9. The Last Light of Summer (4:02)

Total Time 56:23

Line-up / Musicians

- Arno Menses / vocals
- Markus Steffen / guitars
- Ralf Schwager / bass
- Roel van Helden / drums
- David Bertok / keyboards

Part 1

Part 2

SIEGES EVEN Playgrounds (Live)

If you love SIEGES EVEN music wait until you heard them live !!!!


Live, released in 2008

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. When Alpha And Omega Collide (5:33)
2. Tidal (4:21)
3. Unbreakable (9:31)
4. The Waking Hours (4:55)
5. Iconic (5:03)
6. These Empty Places (9:06)
7. Duende (5:10)
8. Paramount (8:14)
9. The Lonely Views Of Condors (6:43)
10. The Weight (11:08)

Total Time 69:51

Line-up / Musicians - Arno Menses / vocals
- Oliver Holzwarth / bass
- Markus Steffen / guitars
- Alex Holzwarth / drums

Part 1

Part 2

Coming soon......

New 2009 Albums from:

SHADOW GALLERY

TRANSATLANTIC

ADAGIO

&

IQ

BEARDFISH Slepping in Traffic Part 2

The 2nd part of the Sleeping in Traffic album...great follow up....

The Hunter, South of the Border and Cash Flow
are awesome tracks !!
Studio Album, released in 2008

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. As The Sun Sets (1:13)
2. Into The Night (8:52)
3. The Hunter (5:57)
4. South Of The Border (7:43)
5. Cashflow (6:08)
6. The Downward Spiral/Chimay (7.10)
7. Sleeping In Traffic (35.44)
8. Sunrise Again (1.37)

Total Time: 74:24

Line-up / Musicians - Rikard Sjöblom / vocals, keyboards
- David Zackrisson / guitars
- Robert Hansen / bass
- Magnus Östgren / drums

Album Review
'Hey baby, what would you like for breakfast in the morning?'

That's gotta be one of the lamest pick-up line ever, and one of the funniest; and the song South of the Border is full of that college fun. Humor is a part of Beardfish that is not to be negliged when judging their albums...and what a masterpiece this is.

Where to start frankly? There's nothing to throw out yet, and this is like my 10th listening. Every song is carefully crafted, and compared to Sleeping part 1, this one has more instrumental passages, more time changes, more technique, better melodies and more punch...well you get the picture, it's a band that finally found their ground and sound.

Their influences goes from Frank Zappa (South of the Border) to Gentle Giant (everywhere!) and Radiohead (Sleeping in Traffic part 2) but their main strenght is again to create a retro-1973-sound-but- it's-actually-2008 atmosphere with amazing brio. The musicianship is not absolutely complex or flamboyant, but it's a perfect mix of 70's classic prog and modern ideas.

This record has stolen my heart completely and deserves a place in your home, your head and your life.

Perfection is rare but does happen.

Part 1 http://www.sendspace.com/file/7n3c9s

Part 2 http://www.sendspace.com/file/64dxas

LINK UPDATES

Links updated for:

SIEGES EVEN Paramount

Tribute to ELP: Encores, Legends & Paradox

BEST PROGRESSIVE METAL ALBUM 2009 POLL

There is an interesting poll at http://www.perfectprog.com asking to vote for the
best Progressive Metal Album of 2009...running candidates are:

BEST ALBUM 2009

	Adagio - Archangels in Black
	Atmosfear - Zenith
	Redemption - Snowfall on Judgement Day
	Riverside - Anno Domini
	Spheric Universe Experience - Unreal
	Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings
	OSI - Blood
	Pantommind - Lunasense
	Hourglass - Oblivious To The Obvious
	Vision Divine - 9 Degrees West of the Moon
	DGM - Frame

Some of this albums have been posted in this blog some don't (not for long I guess...I will hunt them down) !!

Which you consider best ???

New POSTS coming soon.....

Have been crazy lately no time to post........

I will post soon and fix some broken links ....!

ROCK ON !!!

Larvarela

PELICAN What We All Come to Need

New Release from PELICAN, great sounding album with a similar creative ideas as the Ephemeral EP.

Love the sound scape that this band creates !!!

Studio Album, released in 2009

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Glimmer
2. The Creeper
3. Ephemeral
4. Specks Of Light
5. Strung Up From The Sky
6. An Inch Above Sand
7. What We All Come To Need
8. Final Breath

Line-up / Musicians

- Trevor de Brauw / guitars
- Laurent Lebec / guitars
- Larry Herweg / bass
- Bryan Herweg / drums

Guest musicians...
- Greg Anderson (Sunn O)
- Aaron Turner (Isis)
- Ben Verellen (Harkonen)
- Helms Alee and Allen Epley (The Life & Times and Shiner)

Review:

Pelican have been around for 8 years now and this is their 4th album. Their sonic evolution from pummelling riffage on the early EP and Australasia to City of Echoes' more stripped down and textural approach has been topic of discussion of many a heavy music fan. You see - lovers of Pelican's music can usually be separated into two camps; a) the heavy sh-t and b) the swirly psychedelic progressive sh-t. I myself enjoy both aspects but tend to lean towards the heavy stuff. The monstrous riffing on early tracks like `The Woods' and `Drought' is hard to ignore.

With subsequent albums, Pelican have become masters of weaving instrumental guitar passages in and out of one another: of spiralling intertwining distorted melodies up into the heavens where the God of the Almighty Riff nods his approval. Yet, nothing really seems to happen anymore. There aren't any tension and release moments - no big build-ups into cathartic crescendos. Sure, it's fun listening to their riffs bob, weave and uncoil for 7mins at a time but us fickle listeners need a reward at the end of it. The early material was so brutally simple and powerful in it's sheer relentless heaviness that it was cathartic in itself - no crescendo needed - you're already in one my friend. The newer material - particularly their previous album, City of Echoes, sacrificed the simple, heavy riffs for the (actually quite stunning) intricate guitar interplay that they're now renown for. The primal factor has been overthrown by sophistication. Whilst it's impressive and still brilliant music it's just not as engaging as before.

What We All Come to Need definitely continues in the same vein as City of Echoes - textural, intricate and generally shorter track lengths. City of Echoes wasn't received particularly well when it was released back in 2007 because of this change. The majority of material on What We All Come to Need is more direct and a smidgen heavier than City of Echoes. The whole album has a lot more impact and whilst it's not a return to the massive churn of Australasia, it's a lot more satisfying.

Appearances by esteemed musical colleagues also serve to spice up Pelican's sound slightly. Greg Anderson (Sunn O))), Goatsnake) appears on the `The Creeper' to heavy it up a bit. Aaron Turner (Isis, Old Man Gloom) lends some textural effect-making to `Specs of Light'. Allen Epley (The Life & Times, Shiner) adds some - shock horror - vocals to the final track. For everyone wondering what Pelican sound like with vocals, now's your chance. It actually works pretty well - Epley's vocals are clean and melodic and compliment rather than impose upon Pelican's backing. Whilst it's an interesting experiment I don't think it will catch on as they're obviously still an afterthought.

What We All Come to Need is a decent album and noticeably more focused, purposeful and also more varied than City of Echoes. If you're a Pelican fan there's nothing not to like on here but as I've mentioned they're strongest when they're pummelling your brain into a fine paste and sadly I can't foresee any return to such states of high drama.

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