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Adult Cinema - Teaser Trailer
Review by John Pierpoint
I found this artist and album thanks to a carefully-targeted ad campaign on Facebook which allowed me to download a free low-res MP3 copy of the album. I liked it so much that I had to get the full CD (see, it does work!).
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Big Big Train - Grimspound
Review by Larry Toering
Big Big Train are considered a prog-folk band with a pop essence to their sound, and a stronger case can simply be made for the prog side of what they do on Grimspound.
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Bud Collins Trio - No 5uch Th1ng
Review by Gary Hill
I guess I should mention at the start that this band is not a trio, and none of them is named "Bud Collins." It's a band name rather than a description.
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Colin Carter - One
Review by Gary Hill
Colin Carter is probably best known as the lead singer in the progressive rock band Flash. This is his new solo album.
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Oliver Cheung - Remembrance
Review by Gary Hill
This EP consists of three songs. They are all instrumental and quite interesting.
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The Aaron Clift Experiment - If All Goes Wrong
Review by Gary Hill
The latest album from the Aaron Clift Experiment, there is quite a wide range of music here. While it all falls under the general "progressive rock" heading, this references different sides of that sound at different points.
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Colosseum II - Wardance
Review by Gary Hill
This is a new reissue of a classic album from the 1970s. The lineup here features Gary Moore on guitars, Don Airey on keyboards along with John Mole on bass and Jon Hiseman on drums.
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Ben Craven - The Single Edits
Review by Gary Hill
This is a compilation disc featuring various single edits from Ben Craven. I'll bet you got that from the title, right?
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Michael Cullen - Michael P. Cullen - Do You Believe (digital single)
Review by Gary Hill
It should be noted that I previously reviewed music from this artist that was released under the name "Michael Cullen."
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Delusion Squared - Anthropocene
Review by Gary Hill
This progressive rock outfit consistently produces strong albums. Their sound is more on the AOR mainstream prog end of the spectrum.
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Fox & Coyote - Scattered Shadows on a Double Bed
Review by Gary Hill
While this is not a tight fit under progressive rock, it is clearly art rock. It's a classy release with a lot of roots music and classical strings involved.
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Stu Hamm - The Diary of Patrick Xavier
Review by Gary Hill
Let's make this point abundantly clear, this is not progressive rock in traditional sense. Still, it is purely instrumental music, and often related to fusion.
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Hawkwind - Dark Matter: The Alternative Liberty/UA Years 1970 – 1974 (Record Store Day 2018) Vinyl
Review by Gary Hill
The music contained on this new double disc vinyl set has only previously been released on one fairly rare CD set. I don't own that release, so I'm glad to have this.
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Hillmen - The Whiskey Mountain Sessions Vol. II
Review by Gary Hill
I reviewed the first volume from this act when it was released. This is the new edition.
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Angela Josephine - Daylight
Review by Gary Hill
Some music is really hard to categorize. This release is such music.
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Jasmine Karimova - From the Womb
Review by Gary Hill
This is an intriguing set. It's clearly not progressive rock in any kind of traditional sense.
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Karney - No Mercy
Review by Gary Hill
Karney consistently releases intriguing music. Her sound is typically hard to pin down, but lands closest to progressive rock.
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King Crimson - Earthbound 40th Anniversary Series
Review by Gary Hill
In honor of the 40th Anniversary of the Earthbound album King Crimson have released this deluxe set. It's an amazing release, too. First, you get the original album with three bonus songs added to it.
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Matthews Southern Comfort - Like a Radio
Review by Gary Hill
Not everything here is progressive rock. There are clearly some songs here that fit into that category.
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The Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed Live
Review by Gary Hill
In 2017 The Moody Blues album Days of Future Passed turned 50 years old. It's hard in retrospect to understand just how much of a game-changer that album was, merging symphonic music and rock into a concept album.
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Nirvana (UK) - Black Flower
Review by Gary Hill
I've reviewed quite a few releases from this act. I'd say that this one is probably more dated sounding than the rest, but at the same time it's among the more mainstream.
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Anthony Phillips - Private Parts & Pieces IX - Dragonfly Dreams
Review by Gary Hill
I've heard and reviewed a large cross-section of Anthony Phillips' music. One thing you can count on with him is quality.
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Anthony Phillips - Private Parts & Pieces IX - XI
Review by Gary Hill
This new box set is classy. You get three previously released Anthony Phillips albums, Private Parts & Pieces IX-XI.
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Anthony Phillips - Private Parts & Pieces X - Soirée
Review by Gary Hill
Anthony Phillips first came to prominence as the original guitarist for Genesis. Since leaving that group he has released a very extensive catalog.
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Anthony Phillips - Private Parts & Pieces XI - City of Dreams
Review by Gary Hill
Each album Anthony Phillips releases is quite different from the ones around it. This particular set is made up of atmospheric electronic music that calls to mind things like Tangerine Dream and Synergy.
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Reanimation - The Ghost of the Muse (vinyl)
Review by Gary Hill
This new vinyl release from Reanimation includes the record (complete with lyric sheet as part of an inner-sleeve) along with a download code. The music on this has a lot of different textures.
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Road to Jerusalem - Road to Jerusalem (vinyl)
Review by Larry Toering
Road To Jerusalem are so experimental that it’s more prog than not, especially with the album title following their name and overall band concept.
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ScienceNV - The Quest for Prester John, Volume Two
Review by Greg Olma
ScienceNV returns with the second part to their concept The Quest For Prester John. I liked the first part, so I was really looking forward to hearing this disc.
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Shob - Karma Obscur
Review by Gary Hill
This set is quite cool. The musicianship is incredible.
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Sky - Cadmium
Review by Gary Hill
This album is not nearly as classically oriented as some of their others are. Still, the classical elements do drive some of the pieces.
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Sky - Mozart
Review by Gary Hill
The final album (to date - the group has not worked together since, but have not officially disbanded), this is the most classical release they ever did. It was recorded with a symphony orchestra.
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Sky - Sky
Review by Gary Hill
This was the debut album from Sky. It really set a high bar.
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Sky - Sky 2
Review by Gary Hill
This was originally released as a double LP on vinyl. It actually almost feels like two different albums.
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Sky - Sky 3
Review by Gary Hill
As you might gather from the title, this was the third album from Sky. Between the two releases Francis Monkman had departed, being replaced by Steve Gray.
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Sky - Sky 4: Forthcoming
Review by Gary Hill
The fourth album from Sky focused on new arrangements of music written by others. While there is an emphasis on classical music, there are other things included as well.
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Sky - The Great Balloon Race
Review by Gary Hill
While overall the concept of instrumental prog/fusion isn't greatly changed from their previous works, this one is just so strong. The quality and intensity are really dialed up a lot.
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Sky - The Studio Albums: 1979-1987 Box Set
Review by Gary Hill
This is a particularly awesome box set. It's also a great value. You get all seven of Sky's studio albums, and as a bonus there is a live DVD included as the eighth disc.
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Space Mirrors - Cosmic Horror III: Stella Polaris
Review by Gary Hill
I've reviewed several albums from this act before, but missed this one and the other that's reviewed in this issue previously.
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Space Mirrors - The Street Remains
Review by Gary Hill
This album was released just before Cosmic Horror III: Stella Polaris but recorded during the same sessions as that album. This one lands a bit less metallic than that album.
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Tomorrow's Eve - Mirror of Creation III – Project Ikaros
Review by Gary Hill
Prog fans who feel that Dream Theater is metal rather than progressive rock will want to steer clear of this release.
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Traces d'Illusions - Après la colline
Review by Gary Hill
This French outfit has produced an intriguing instrumental album here. It seems to live within some sort of zone that's part fusion, part classical music and part progressive rock.
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Various Artists - Guitar Masters Collection
Review by Gary Hill
This various artists collection was assembled by Brian Tarquin. He's a guitar player who really seems to have a reverence for great guitar playing in all its various forms.
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Vitral - Entre As Estrelas
Review by Gary Hill
This is an instrumental album from a Brazilian band. There are three songs here.
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Benjamin Dean Wilson - The Smartest Person in the Room
Review by Gary Hill
It's a safe bet that you've not heard anything quite like this. The closest comparisons are to things like Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart, but there is a bit of a They Might Be Giants vibe here, too.
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Edgar Winter - Entrance
Review by Gary Hill
This was Edgar Winter's first solo album. It was released in 1970.
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Yes - Tormato Vinyl Picture Disc (Record Store Day 2018)
Review by Gary Hill
Like last year, there is a new Yes picture disc released for Record Store Day. Last year it was 90125. This year they turned their attention to Tormato.
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Zombie Picnic - Rise of a New Ideology (vinyl)
Review by Gary Hill
This is a review of the vinyl version of the new album from Zombie Picnic. I suppose you probably got a lot of that from the title header of this review.
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Arthur Adams - Look What the Blues Has Done for Me
Review by Gary Hill
This new release is a double disc set. The first CD is a brand new album from Arthur Adams.
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Lori Amey - Big and Bold
Review by Gary Hill
There is an intriguing array of music on this disc. Just as soon as you get complacent and think you know what's coming next, it changes.
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Rob Ashley - Premiere. Farewell.
Review by Gary Hill
The mix of sounds here ranges from folk singer/songwriter stuff to punk rock, psychedelia and more. Often one song will encompass more than one musical style.
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Big Little Lions - Alive and Well
Review by Gary Hill
While this isn't exactly my usual kind of music, I like this album a lot. In fact, it's likely to make my "best of 2018" list.
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The Darkness - Pinewood Smile
Review by Larry Toering
The Darkness have been around long enough to catch one thing or another about them, but their latest release Pinewood Smile brings them closer to the attention of many who’ve just been curious up to this point.
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Deep C Divers - Making Waves
Review by Gary Hill
If you dig old school sounding, high energy pop rock, you will find plenty to like here. The range of the music is fairly wide.
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Dynamos - Knowledge (CD Single)
Review by Gary Hill
If you dig bouncy, driving kind of pop rock with a lot of old school blues rock in the mix, you will like this new single. It's a cool tune with so much character and "oomph" built into it.
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Ferentz and the Felons - Hudson County EP
Review by Gary Hill
If you like mainstream rock music, you will want to check this new EP out. There are only two songs, but both are very strong.
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Field Report - Summertime Songs
Review by Larry Toering
Field Report return with another great release (this time on the Verve Forecast label) and with a disc that is chock full mellow of indie-folk rock gems that go the distance to create an absolute jovial easy listening masterpiece.
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Fire in the Field - War Bonnet
Review by Gary Hill
To describe this set with one phrase, the riff is king. These guys have produced a sound that is very nearly heavy metal, but probably lands more in the hard rock zone.
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Happy Curmudgeons - Meant 2 Be
Review by Gary Hill
This is a bit of a mixed bag. Personally, I think this one probably works better as single songs than it does as an album of music.
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The Jolly Pops - We Are Happy Dads
Review by Gary Hill
As anyone who has been around kids for any time will tell you, children love to listen to the same music over and over again.
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Kachinga - Balance (digital single)
Review by Gary Hill
This is the first of two singles I've reviewed for this issue from this artist. Kachinga hails from Ontario, Canada and is a hip hop artist.
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Kachinga - New York (digital single)
Review by Gary Hill
This is a new hip hop single from a Canadian artist. It's an intriguing piece with some unusual sonic concepts.
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Ranzel X Kendrick - Texas Sagebrush
Review by Gary Hill
I reviewed another disc from this artist in the last issue of Music Street Journal. This set is a bit less diverse than the other one.
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Joshua Ketchmark - The Misses
Review by Gary Hill
If you understand what this is, it's a very solid release.
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L.A.M.F. - L.A.M.F.: Live At The Bowery Electric
Review by Gary Hill
First off, the artist on this isn't precisely right.
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Nick Lamb - "Gettin' High Off You" (digital single)
Review by Gary Hill
This is one of two singles I have reviewed from this artist for this issue of Music Street Journal.
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Nick Lamb - "Simple Man" (digital single)
Review by Gary Hill
A man and an acoustic guitar. That's about the most basic musical configuration you can get (short of instrumental or acapella).
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LegoHeads - The Space Between
Review by Gary Hill
There is a type of modern pop music that is electronic based. This fits well within that genre.
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Sam Levin - I Am
Review by Gary Hill
Like his last set, this new album from Sam Levin is built on alternative pop sound, and tends to be a bit samey.
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Paul Maged - The Glass River
Review by Gary Hill
This is the newest EP from Paul Maged, and it falls under the alternative rock category. Within that general label, despite the fact that there are only a few songs, there is quite a bit of sonic range.
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Magical Beasts - Peninsula
Review by Gary Hill
These guys are definitely tied to the modern roots music trend. That means they land somewhere in the neighborhood occupied by things like folk, bluegrass and more.
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Magical Beasts - When Love's a Stranger
Review by Gary Hill
There has been a big movement toward roots music in the last decade or so. I have to wonder if it's a response to the over-production of so much modern pop music.
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MARG - The Voices
Review by Gary Hill
"MARG" is the stage name of Margarita Landry, and this is her new album. Fans of modern female pop singers will like this a lot.
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Flav Martin & Jerry Marotta - Soul Redemption
Review by Gary Hill
With Jerry Marotta as part of this (and Tony Levin as a guest) I had been expecting something along the prog or fusion lines of sound.
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Ben Noble - Whiskey Priest
Review by Gary Hill
I very nearly put this release under the progressive rock heading. It has some songs that definitely fit within the modern folk meets psychedelic zone of that sound.
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Donny Osmond - One Night Only
Review by Gary Hill
It's interesting how perceptions are altered when you just listen to something version seeing and hearing it. I reviewed this same show in DVD form in the last issue of Music Street Journal.
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Planxty - One Night in Bremen
Review by Gary Hill
This live album was recorded for German radio. It is a concert from 1979.
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Rainbow - Memories in Rock II
Review by Gary Hill
This new live album from Rainbow is so strong. The band really captures the sound and magic of the classic songs - both Rainbow and Deep Purple.
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Buddy Rich - The Lost Tapes
Review by Gary Hill
This was recorded in 1985. The tapes were stored in a facility that suffered a fire, and thought lost forever.
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George St. Clair - Ballads of Captivity and Freedom
Review by Gary Hill
This set seems to be a concept album in some ways. At least, at lot of the songs are about Native American history.
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Society of Broken Souls - Midnight and the Pale
Review by Gary Hill
There is a big roots music movement under way. This fits well into that concept.
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Stray - Live at the Marquee
Review by Gary Hill
This is a new reissue of a live album from the 1980s. The band was known for the live shows, and had released their first album in 1970, but never before released a live album.
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Thunderbird - Thunderbird
Review by Gary Hill
The easiest description here would be "hard-edged rock music." That really isn't all that descriptive, though.
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Umbrella Bed - Rotate
Review by Gary Hill
The overall description here would be "ska." That said, there are other things at play like punk, psychedelia, and Dixieland jazz.
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Whiskey Wolves of the West - Country Roots
Review by Gary Hill
"Country Roots" really might be the best title for this set. While not all of this is country music, it all has "country roots."
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Andy Wickett & World Service - Creatures of Love
Review by Gary Hill
While everyone knows of Duran Duran with Simon Le Bon as their singer, Le Bon actually replaced Andy Wickett in that group. This is Wickett's current project.
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Edgar Winter - I've Got News for You: Featuring The Edgar Winter Group and Edgar Winter's White Trash 1971-1977
Review by Grant Hill
This new box set compiles all the albums recorded by Edgar with his two bands (Edgar Winter's White Trash and The Edgar Winter Group) from 1971-1977.
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Edgar Winter - Tell Me in a Whisper: The Solo Albums 1970-1981
Review by Gary Hill
This new box set captures all of the albums Edgar Winter recorded under just his name (as opposed to the Edgar Winter Group) from 1970 to 1981.
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Black Star Riders - Live in Sugar Land, Texas April 2018
Review by Greg Olma
This has been the third time I have seen Black Star Riders over the years, and each time I see them, they seem to get better.
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The Darkness - Live in Portland, Oregon, April 2018
Review by Larry Toering
The Darkness came to PDX and took no prisoners. It was a show that I did not expect to be quite as vibrant and well received from the second they hit the stage until it was all over.
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Field Report - Live in Portland, Oregon, May 2018
Review by Larry Toering
Field Report came to Portland and simply killed the Doug Fir Lounge. The venue itself is made of tree logs with an interesting set up that is unlike any other venue.
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Iced Earth - Live in Chicago, Illinois, March 2018
Review by Kat Heitzman
This was the last stop of the Incorruptible World Tour, but you couldn’t tell they had just played 31 shows in about five weeks. Iced Earth played with the vigor and energy of a first night show!
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Judas Priest - Live in Sugar Land, Texas April 2018
Review by Greg Olma
This has been a very good year so far with some older bands putting out some great music. Judas Priest unleashed Firepower earlier this year and to these ears, it is one of their best records.
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Saxon - Live in Sugar Land, Texas April 2018
Review by Greg Olma
Saxon is no longer just a band but an institution promoting solid NWOBHM music. They have been at it since 1979 and by the looks of it, they are not looking to retire anytime soon.
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Sons of Apollo - Live in Houston, Texas May 2018
Review by Greg Olma
Sons of Apollo, for those of you who don’t know, are a new prog metal group featuring an all-star lineup.
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Uriah Heep - Live in Portland, Oregon, April 2018
Review by Larry Toering
It has been a long time coming for Uriah Heep in Portland, having not appeared here since 1993. This was a very rare, and very enlightening experience to say the least.
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