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April 2010 - Issue 81
Progressive Rock CD Reviews
Asia - Aqua
Review by Gary Hill
I’d consider this to be a middle of the road Asia album.
blld - Materia Prima
Review by Gary Hill

This is a short (roughly 20 minutes) EP that should definitely appeal to fans of modern King Crimson.

Colosseum II - Electric Savage
Review by Gary Hill
With Gary Moore on guitar and Don Airey on keyboards and an outfit doing a fiery form of fusion, how can you go wrong? The truth is, you can’t.
Beppe Crovella - What’s Rattlin’ on the Moon
Review by Gary Hill
This CD is fully instrumental and for the most part is Crovella’s interpretations of Soft Machine music. Much of this is nearly RIO in nature.
The Dolly Rocker Movement - Our Days Mind The Tyme
Review by Bruce Stringer
Although very little has been heard of them in their native country, Dolly Rocker Movement have obviously got the right stuff with Danish label Bad Afro Records picking them up for their 3rd outing, Our Days Mind The Tyme.
Doubt - Never Pet a Burning Dog
Review by Gary Hill
RIO and fusion are the primary motivators here. Most of the album is instrumental, but there are two songs with vocals.
Gentle Giant - Free Hand – Remastered
Review by Gary Hill
Another of the new remasters of classic Gentle Giant albums, this is a good one. Of course, when you are talking about GG, you really can’t go wrong.
Gentle Giant - In A Glass House – Remastered
Review by Gary Hill
One of a series of new remasters of Gentle Giant discs, this one represents their classic In A Glass House
album.
Gentle Giant - Power and the Glory – Remastered
Review by Gary Hill
Another of the new series of Gentle Giant remasters, this is actually one of my favorites from the band.
Brett Gleason - The Dissonance
Review by Gary Hill
I’ve read a few reviews of this disc that just plain trashed it.
Half Past Four - Rabbit in the Vestibule
Review by Gary Hill
Combining classic progressive rock sounds with jazz and a serious bit of weird humor, this is a cool album.
Allan Holdsworth and Alan Pasqua - Allan Holdsworth, Alan Pasqua, Jimmy Haslip, Chad Wackerman - Blues for Tony
Review by Gary Hill
A live album, this is some killer fusion. Since fusion includes both jazz and rock and since Allan Holdsworth has been in several prog outfits, I consider this progressive rock.
Inverse Gravity Vehicle - Magnetizer
Review by Gary Hill
This double disc set is simply amazing. I’m fairly certain that when I do my list of best of 2010 this will be there.
Iron Kim Style - Iron Kim Style
Review by G. W. Hill
Take a healthy helping of ambient, textural music. Blend in some jazz. Stir some King Crimson into the mix. Sprinkle with some space rock and a bit of jam band.
King Crimson - Red – 40th Anniversary Edition Remastered
Review by Gary Hill
For me Red has always been King Crimson’s ultimate album. I know, there are those who will point to Larks’ Tongues…, but personally I think this one is more cohesive and to the point.
The Lifeline - For All Who Triumph
Review by Travis Jensen
As we begin another new decade, it is time again for the music industry to change focus and direction towards a new horizon.
Makajodama - Makajodama
Review by Gary Hill
Take some classical music. Blend in a healthy helping of jazz.
Mangrove - Beyond Reality
Review by Gary Hill
This is a potent progressive rock adventure.
Modest Midget - The Great Prophecy of a Small Man
Review by Gary Hill
This is an unusual CD. It’s also likely to be one of my picks for ten best albums of 2010. It’s catchy and quirky.
Mooch - The Pagan Year
Review by Gary Hill
Mooch’s latest CD is a concept album that delivers the pagan year as 8 tracks each corresponding to one of the 8 major festivals of the pagan calendar.
Bill Mumy - Speechless
Review by Gary Hill
I definitely wouldn’t consider the bulk of Bill Mumy’s material to be progressive rock. However, this instrumental album would pretty easily fit into that category, and that is why I have included it there.
Lelio Padovani - Electronic ep
Review by Gary Hill
This is an all instrumental set that has a lot of fusion built into it.
Profuna Ocean - Watching the Closing Sky
Review by Gary Hill
I really like this album a lot. Profuna Ocean’s blend of progressive rock conjures up a lot of different acts, but they still maintain a unique identity.
Trevor Rabin - Can’t Look Away
Review by Gary Hill
Trevor Rabin’s solo album during his tenure in Yes, this is arguably the strongest of his solo releases.
Trevor Rabin - Face to Face
Review by Gary Hill
Most people probably know of Trevor Rabin because of his time in Yes.
Trevor Rabin - Trevor Rabin
Review by Gary Hill
Trevor Rabin’s first solo album (after leaving Rabbit and well before joining Yes), this is really (with one or two exceptions) not a progressive rock album.
Social Hero - The Famous
Review by Gary Hill
Featuring Ian Lloyd, Social Hero might not be purely progressive rock – in fact, they aren’t.
Traffic - Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory
Review by Gary Hill
Traffic was always an interesting band.
The Wellworkers Guild - Call It Home
Review by Gary Hill
This disc certainly fits under the banner of progressive rock, but there is a definite jam band element to a lot of it.
Metal/Prog Metal CD Reviews
Black Sabbath - Headless Cross
Review by Gary Hill
I like every version of Black Sabbath. Certainly the Tony Martin period is one that got less attention than a lot of the others.
Brainstorm - Memorial Roots
Review by Gary Hill
This is a cool disc. It combines classic metal with European epic metal and other forms of true steel to create a sound that never gets tiring or redundant but still feels cohesive.
Evergrey - Torn
Review by Gary Hill
I’ve had this disc sitting around for a while waiting to be reviewed. I keep wondering why I didn’t do it right off the bat.
Fear Factory - Mechanize
Review by Mike Korn
I had written off Fear Factory quite a long time ago.
Gamma Ray - To the Metal
Review by Gary Hill
When Kai Hansen left Helloween he formed Gamma Ray. For that reason one would expect the group to sound like Helloween.
Heathen - The Evolution of Chaos
Review by Mike Korn
Heathen are certainly no Johnny-come-latelies to the metal scene.
The Hidden Hand - The Resurrection of Whiskey Foote
Review by Gary Hill
The easy header for this band is “stoner rock” and it fits pretty well.
Icarus Witch - Draw Down The Moon
Review by Greg Olma
Every now and then I get a CD that totally blows me away.  I had not heard anything from Icarus Witch and my only recollections of the band were posts I saw on Blabbermouth.net.  
Mob Rules - Radical Peace
Review by Gary Hill
With a name like “Mob Rules” you might think that these guys were going to have a sound that was based on the Black Sabbath era that was fronted by Ronnie James Dio (or the band now called “Heaven and Hell”).
Reflection - When Shadows Fall
Review by Gary Hill
Take an epic metal sound and stripped it down to a more raw production. You’ve got a really good idea of what this disc sounds like. 
Sahg - Sahg II
Review by G. W. Hill
It seems that in terms of Norwegian metal bands, this outfit is a supergroup. That said, I’m not hugely into that country’s music so I haven’t heard any of the bands these guys come from.
Widow - Nightlife
Review by G. W. Hill
This album really is genre bending. A lot of the disc is in keeping with the NWOBHM sound of early Iron Maiden and yet they include death growls and hair metal in the mix.
Non-Prog CD Reviews
Black 47 - Bankers and Gangsters
Review by Gary Hill
I’ve always liked Black 47 a lot, but I’ve always considered their Fire of Freedom album to be their best – with nothing else coming close.
Chain Reaction - Electric Playground
Review by Gary Hill
This hard rocking album sits fairly firmly in the territory of classic rock. It’s a strong disc, but perhaps a bit lacking in terms of production.
Cherry Poppin’ Daddies - Skaboy JFK
Review by Gary Hill
This best of compilation from Cherry Poppin’ Daddies seems to be focused primarily on the ska side of the group’s sound. Of course, given the title that makes sense.
The DirtyHeads - Any Port in the Storm
Review by Gary Hill
This is a unique, but tasty album. It combines reggae, hip hop and classic rock for a mix that’s unusual, but somehow works quite well.
Joe Firstman - El Porto
Review by Gary Hill
Bouncy, catchy and compact in size, this disc definitely entertains. It’s got a lot of folk and country, but overall is a singer/songwriter type of deal.
Craig Maher - Propel
Review by Gary Hill
This is a great CD with a lot of variety to it. It is well immersed in modern rock, yet it also loaded up with a lot of retro sounds. It rocks out, but knows when to drop it back, too.
Bill Mumy - Carnival Sky
Review by Gary Hill
I really like Bill Mumy’s music. There’s generally nothing earth shattering or genre breaking, but it’s just accessible and yet meaty at the same time.
Professor Louie - and the Crowmatix – Whispering Pines
Review by Gary Hill
Professor Louie was at one time a member of the band. Some of this album nods to that connection. 
Tokyo Rosenthal - Ghosts
Review by Gary Hill
This time around Rosenthal built a lot more country and folk into the mix. Somehow it works quite well.
Joey Stuckey - So Far
Review by Gary Hill
This is a compilation of recordings (a “best of” collection) from Joey Stuckey. Stuckey is a guitarist and vocalist whose music seems to work around a lot of musical territory.
Robin Trower - Twice Removed From Yesterday
Review by Gary Hill
Robin Trower has always been an exceptional guitarist. His band was one of the coolest power trios out there.
Uriah Heep - Celebration
Review by Gary Hill
Celebrating forty years of Uriah Heep, this new album is sort a way from them to make good on the promise of “Look at Yourself.”
 
Various Artists - Overkill is Just Enough
Review by Gary Hill
Like most compilation discs, this is a mixed bag. There are some tracks I like a lot here. 
DVD/Video Reviews
Joan Armatrading - Steppin’ Out – Greatest Hits Live DVD
Review by Gary Hill
What a cool performance this is. I remember hearing Armatrading way back when and being impressed.
Paul Di'Anno - The Beast In The East DVD
Review by Greg Olma
Poor Paul Di’Anno.  He will forever be remembered for his time in Iron Maiden.  
Free - Free Forever DVD
Review by Gary Hill
I’ve never been a big fan of Free. I have to admit that for some reason I have a dislike of Paul Rodgers’ voice.
Gary Moore - The Definitive Montreux Collection DVD Set
Review by Gary Hill
Gary Moore has brought his brand of rocking blues to the Montreux Jazz Festival a number of times. This killer set documents those appearances. It is a companion to the 5 CD set that was released last year.
Muse - Under Review DVD
Review by Gary Hill
Right at the onset, let’s just say I’ve not really heard Muse.
Interviews
Jon Anderson
Interview by Scott Montgomery
Interview with Jon Anderson from 2010
Marvin Ayres
Interview by Gary Hill
Interview with Marvin Ayres from 2010
California Guitar Trio
Interview by Gary Hill
Interview with Paul Richards of California Guitar Trio from 2010
Circle of Fate
Interview by Gary Hill
Interview with Circle of Fate from 2010
Brett Gleason
Interview by Gary Hill
Interview with Brett Gleason from 2010
Half Past Four
Interview by Gary Hill
Interview with Half Past Four from 2010
Inverse Gravity Vehicle
Interview by Gary Hill
Interview with Joie Hinton and Deborah L. Knights of Inverse Gravity Vehicle from 2010
Ian Lloyd
Interview by Gary Hill
Interview with Ian Lloyd from 2010
Mask
Interview by Gary Hill
Interview with Sonja Kristina of Mask from 2010
Mooch
Interview by Gary Hill

Interview with Stephen Palmer of Mooch from 2010

Bill Mumy
Interview by Gary Hill
Interview with Bill Mumy from 2010
NQ3
Interview by Gary Hill
Interview with NQ3 from 2010
Øresund Space Collective
Interview by Gary Hill
Interview with Scott Heller of Øresund Space Collective from 2010
Profuna Ocean
Interview by Gary Hill
Interview with Chris Fraikan of Profuna Ocean From 2010
Random Touch
Interview by Gary Hill
Interview with Christopher Brown of Random Touch from 2010
The Rick Ray Band
Interview by Gary Hill
Interview with Rick Ray from 2010
Tokyo Rosenthal
Interview by Gary Hill
Interview with Tokyo Rosenthal from 2010
Shadow Circus
Interview by Gary Hill
Interview with Shadow Circus from 2010
Joey Stuckey
Interview by Gary Hill
Interview with Joey Stuckey from 2010
Concert Reviews
Paul Di'Anno - Live in Chicago, IL February 2010
Review by Greg Olma
It had been 17 years since Paul Di’Anno played in the states so there was quite a bit of fanfare surrounding this tour.  
Icarus Witch - Live in Chicago, IL, February 2010
Review by Greg Olma
This was my first taste of Icarus Witch.  
Kreator - Live in Chicago, March 2010
Review by Greg Olma
I had a great time at the last Kreator show in Chicago which was almost a year ago.  
The Lifeline - Live in Dekalb, Illinois, March, 2010
Review by Travis Jensen
Northern Illinois has always been a Mecca for music; mainly because of Chicago, Rockford and Rosemont, which have hosted most of the greatest rock bands in the world.
WASP - Live in Lincolnshire, IL, March 2010
Review by Greg Olma
What do you get when you take away the blood, raw meat, and “The Rack” from a W.A.S.P. show?  A concert filled with great metal music played by a super tight band, that’s what. 
 
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