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Progressive Rock CD Reviews

Cyborg Asylum

Never Finished, Only Abandoned

Review by Gary Hill

This is not traditional progressive rock. That's for certain. These guys don't even call their act progressive rock. I would have to say that the label fits, though. They have a lot in common with modern electronic prog acts. Add in the fact that they also have a lot of space rock in the mix, and I think it's an obvious connection, but your mileage may vary.

This act is two guys: David Varga and John Tumminia. They have given us album that's probably about half instrumental and have vocal tunes. It all works well, but sometimes the vocals are less than effective. Still, when it's this strong, that's a minor quibble. If you dig electronic music with a healthy helping of techno, give this a try. You won't be disappointed.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2017  Volume 5 at  garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2017.

Track by Track Review
Blitz

The sounds of an incoming blitz start this instrumental. They work out into some killer techno-industrial sound from there. I love the texture and energy of this piece. It's great stuff. There are some intriguing melodies built into this, too. The cut gets into some great electronic territory. An air-raid siren returns at the end.

Synergy
There are elements of space rock built into this. It has some modern progressive rock in the mix, too. Overall, though, this piece is more of a techno kind of thing. It has some catchy hooks and a lot of great energy.
My Metallic Dream
I can make out quite a bit of 80s new wave based stuff here. There are also bits of things like Buggles. Yet, there is an electronic modern prog element here. I suppose the main basis is techno. This has some catchy hooks and works particularly well.
War Machine

This instrumental is trippy space techno. It definitely has a lot of energy and power.

Weightless

This cut is still electronic, but falls thoroughly into the kind of territory often occupied by modern progressive rock acts. It has some interesting melodies. The over layers of sound deliver a lot of class, too. I really like the vocal performance on this. It brings a healthy amount of power and "oomph."

Angle of Incidence
There is a lot of symphonic classical music built into this instrumental. It has electronics, too, making this one full on progressive.
Steampunk Highway

I like this a lot. It definitely lands in the territory of modern post-prog stuff. There is a good chunk of folk rock in this along with hints of techno. This is quite a bit different than the bulk of the album. It's very cool, though.

Fragments As Illusion

This doesn't work as well as some of the rest do. That's because some of this feels a little awkward. Still, the combination of techno and space rock is cool on this number. It has some great soaring moments.

Ion
This instrumental is electronic and melodic. It's one that is very full modern prog rock in nature, too
Asymmetry

Kraftwerk and the Buggles merge on this. It's a cool tune, but the vocals are a bit awkward.

Pale Green Dot
Cool keyboard textures open this. The cut quickly shifts to a piano based arrangement. After a while a synthetic rhythm section joins the other layers of sound. This is a cool instrumental.
Paradigm Shift
An energized prog sound merges with 80s electronic elements, space rock and more here. There are some parts of the vocals that don't work completely, but overall this is a strong tune. I dig the techno parts of this quite a bit.
 
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