RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://www.apollonrecords.no/ Norwegian art rockers Yobrepus have a knack for crafting richly nuanced songs and albums that are both musically and lyrically absorbing, a prime example being their latest LP entitled A Rhizome Revolution Part 1. Weaving traces and elements of prog, alt. rock, psychedelic folk, and brooding electronica together to stunning…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/nealmorse/ Neal Morse hardly needs any introduction to the prog rock aficionados out there, and his impressive back catalog speaks for itself. Personally, I favor his work with the amazing Flying Colors but that is a story for another day. The Nashville-based musician and songwriter is undoubtedly a virtuoso and his…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://whitewillow.bandcamp.com/album/ex-tenebris-remaster Recently remastered by White Willow’s very own Jacob Holm-Lupo and sporting the original cover artwork, this 2024 version of the band’s sophomore album Ex Tenebris (1997) is a most welcome addition to the prog music library. Venturing into darker and more world-weary territory than its predecessor did, the LP feels…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/uncannysounds/ This is my first encounter with the charming and delightfully wonky progressive metal band from Norway known as Uncanny, and I must say that I find this eclectic and perfectly unpredictable eight-track offering of theirs, which will be out in April, quite beguiling and seductive. While their soundscapes undoubtedly are…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/wolfenreloaded/ This is my first encounter with the German rockers known as Wolfen Reloaded and I must say that I find this sophomore effort of theirs titled The Ghost From Within an engaging and delightful listen. Containing bucketloads of muscular riffs, magnificent vocal hooks, and interesting arrangements, the LP immediately stands…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://fatherrobin.bandcamp.com/album/the-songs-tales-of-airoea-book-ii The first installment of the trilogy by the splendid Norwegian prog rock ensemble known as Chronicles of Father Robin was a mind-blowing musical experience in that it captured a richly layered atmosphere with an earthy and folk-ish feel to it that was unlike anything that I had come across before.…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://arabs.bandcamp.com/album/victim-of-your-father-s-agony The fifth record by the magnificent Norwegian ensemble known as Arabs in Aspic, which originally came out in 2015, is an evocative journey through glorious psychedelic landscapes shaped by hazy atmospheres, doom-laden riffs, and epic vocals that never fail to impress me. Impressive actually would have been a rather apt…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://arabs.bandcamp.com/album/pictures-in-a-dream This remixed, re-edited, and remastered 2023 edition of the otherworldly and all-enveloping Pictures in a Dream by the Trondheim-based prog rockers Arabs in Aspic is a proper musical treat and treasure trove. If you want warm and fuzzy guitars, 70s-flavored riffs worth dying for, and vocals that speak to the…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://mesaverde.bandcamp.com/album/all-is-well I thoroughly enjoyed the debut offering by the eclectic Oslo-based ensemble known as MesaVerde, namely the engrossing KY album that came out in October 2022, and I was very much looking forward to this sophomore effort of theirs. In simple terms, All is Well surpasses its predecessor in every conceivable…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://maddermortem.bandcamp.com/album/old-eyes-new-heart Is there even any point in trying to categorize or label the unique sound conjured up by one of Norway’s most enticing musical outfits, namely Madder Mortem? Thirty years into their career and they still manage to amaze and excite me – how awesome is that?! Incorporating traits from doom…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://whitewillow.bandcamp.com/album/ignis-fatuus-remastered This remastered re-issue of White Willow’s legendary debut offering titled Ignis Fatuus is a most welcome addition to the prog rock collection. What a joy and thrill it is to relive this eclectic mixture of symphonic rock, prog, and inspired folk music again given that it sounds better than ever…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://jordsjo.bandcamp.com/album/salighet Adorned by wonderfully evocative artwork and sporting a most intriguing title, the uniquely skilled Norwegian prog rockers known as Jordsjø are back with a new masterpiece. Just when I thought that it would be impossible for them to top the outstanding and flawless Pastoralia LP (2021), they have in fact…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://andersbuaas.bandcamp.com/music Anders Buaas is without doubt a musical genius and a bit of a visionary, which is perfectly illustrated by this much-needed reissue of his renowned The Witches of Finnmark opus, or rather the first part of the trilogy. What we have here is atmospheric instrumental prog rock with bucketloads of…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://fatherrobin.bandcamp.com/album/the-songs-tales-of-airoea-book-1 Sporting a great moniker and an even greater line-up featuring some of Norway’s most awe-inspiring prog rock musicians from acts such as Wobbler, Tusmørke, and Jordsjø, it goes without saying that this album is something that many of have been looking forward to for some time – me included. High…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://pixieninja.bandcamp.com/album/hypnagogia Fresh, clever, and inventive are words that immediately spring to mind when trying to sum up this highly engaging offering by instrumental prog rockers Pixie Ninja, and there can be no doubt that these Scandinavians are flying the flag of musical innovation high. Darkly atmospheric yet playful and eclectic, the…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://ringvanmbius.bandcamp.com/album/commissioned-works-pt-ii-six-drops-of-poison Even if you remove this wonderfully evocative opus from its natural context and intended setting, it works as a cohesive piece of music that is full of surprises and captivating twists. The Norwegian prog rockers composed and arranged the material that constitutes Six Drops of Poison for a modern dance…
VENUE: KvarteretDATE: 03.06.2023 ORGANIZER: Karisma Records Photo by J.N. The wonderful people at Karisma Records invited yours truly to attend their one-day festival at Kvarteret in Bergen in celebration of the label’s twentieth anniversary, and I am forever grateful to them for doing so as this superbly arranged event turned out to be heaps of…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://solstein.bandcamp.com/album/solstein Boasting a stellar lineup consisting of Jacob Holm-Lupo (Donner, White Willow, The Opium Cartel), Keith Carlock (Toto, Steely Dan, Sting), Stian Larsen, Brynjar Dambo (White Willow), and Bill Bressler, it would be fair to say that this exciting new endeavor from the US and Norway does not exactly lack musical…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://sevenimpale.bandcamp.com/album/summit Yes, it has finally arrived! Seven years was a long time to wait for a new musical treat by inventive Norwegian rockers Seven Impale, but how exhilarating it is when it turns out that it was all worth it and that Summit stands tall and proud as a well-written and…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://thezombiesmusic.bandcamp.com/ Legendary psychedelic rockers The Zombies surely need no introduction as the British outfit is something akin to a musical institution in some respects. Even after all these years Rod Argent and his skilled bandmates are still a fabulous thing to witness live on stage and a most impressive and well-oiled…
