Music Review #36:

Voivod
The Outer Limits
1993
MCA Records

Nothingface had been a turning point for Voivod in '89, cementing a trait of constant re-structuring and fine-tuning for every subsequent album for the band. The next LP Angel Rat began to hint at a future where Voivod would become an innovative piece of the prog metal scene, but as an album itself was a bit of a shaky change of tone. This loss of footing was completely thrown out the window with it's followup titled The Outer Limits. A fresh, slightly manufactured sound rife with complexity and creative promise was prevalent, without losing the classic aggressive elements of their past.

The track-list provides an albeit cluttered set of unique elements that range from the dark, melodramatic 'Le Pont Noir' to the heavy-footed stomp of 'The Nile Song' and 'The Lost Machine', to gargantuan 'Jack Luminous'. The Outer Limits has some of Voivod's most interesting and eclectic work to date, and surpasses many albums that followed it. If you are one for mind-challenging music in the metal vein, then this is an album you should definitely check out. 

2016 - The Frying Pan & Thatcher 

Originally written for Metal Music Archives on 6/24/2016.

Visit the site at www.metalmusicarchives.com

Music Review #35:

Rush
Fly By Night
1975
Mercury Records

Rush's personality didn't really come in until this album. Like such Fly By Night resonates early echoes of what the band would become, granted with less experimentation and overall "progressive" nature and more of the classic rock sound featured on their debut. Then, you may ask, is so great about this album if isn't blatant hard rock or intricate prog? Well, that's very simple. You see, Fly By Night walks such a fine line between these two aforementioned genres that it combines them extremely well, having a bit of each for each type of fans. You have the rock in songs like the title track and 'Anthem', and the prog in 'By-Tor And the Snow Dog' and my personal favorite 'In The End'. If you are indeed a fan of Moving Pictures / Farewell To Kings-era Rush, then this album is right for you.

2016- The Frying Pan & Thatcher 

Originally written for Prog Archives on 6/16/2016.

Visit the site at www.progarchives.com

Music Review #34:

Aisles (AISLES)
4:45 A.M.
2013
Presagio Records

This is an album from a band that arises from the less complex side of the neo-prog genre, and features callbacks of vocal-fronted pop rock circa very late 70's progressive rock akin to material by Kayak or Styx. Atypical of most well- known prog bands Aisles (or I guess AISLES as they stylize it) has an aforementioned heavy emphasis on vocal work performed by Sebastian Vergara, which depending on who you are, could spoil most experimentation or improvisation present on 4:45. Guitar work and overall use of flashy, echoing effect-laden playing style is very similar to music you'd find on late-career material from Pink Floyd (Division Bell mainly). To me this is a bit disappointing because it has that sense of a band who used to play extremely well on their own but due to age they had to rely on background ambiance and soundscapes to make up for any emptiness they would have been able to kill in their heyday. This does not at all apply to Aisles, who has been around only since 2001, but is forgivable because, surprise, they aren't Pink Floyd. Variation is mostly present towards the end of the album, but retains mainly the same style, tempo. This causes a bland factor for most of the tracks on the album, making them forgettable for the most part- that is but for the finale epic Melancholia; a song where this style of Aisles actually works as well as has equal balance between the vocals and the instrumentation. This song demonstrates creativity that I do hope to see on upcoming albums from the band.

Unfortunately 4:45 as a whole is humble but also doesn't quite cross the threshold of skill that I expected. Compositions are not unique, lacks a unique style, and overall is not played quite to snuff as I think it could have. Like most of Aisles' releases up to this point, this is another step up the proverbial rung for the band's rising potential. An album doesn't quite satisfy but also makes me expectant for a followup.

2016- The Frying Pan & Thatcher 

Originally written for Prog Archives on 6/4/2016.

Visit the site at www.progarchives.com

Music Review #33:

The Dillinger Escape Plan
Miss Machine
2004
Relapse Records









There's a certain point where music can build up too much of a head of steam and simply become a malformed mess of half baked ideas and botched compositions. This is the fate of Dillinger Escape Plan's second album, Miss Machine, released in 2004. Myself never a fan of the band, I will admit their early albums set some standards. Unfortunately such influence does not excuse the honestly poor quality of Miss Machine. The cover alone explains everything wrong with this album; a jumble of angst-ridden songs that try so very hard to be aggressive that it falls backwards into the silly category. Not to mention when placed alongside the band's other (mediocre) discography, this honestly disquieting work sticks out like blood on snow. Any talent the band could show unfortunately does not translate well here. Uncomfortable and enjoyable, this album is one for only those who seek the roughest listening experience possible.

2016- The Frying Pan & Thatcher 

Originally written for Prog Archives on 6/16/2016.

Visit the site at www.progarchives.com

Music Review #32:

Phish
Round Room
2002
Elektra Records

Phish were onto something early in the new millennium- an epiphany if you will. Whilst their well and highly acclaimed 90's albums featured highly eclectic songwriting with zany and nonsensical lyrics, they were able to claim success with a slower, more cooled-down version of their rock. This latter statement is of course in reference to Farmhouse, the 2000's album featuring pop-rock songs that were slightly bogged down by the sappiness of that darned "mainstream" taste. The album was slightly panned by critic for lacking the acid-fueled pseudo depth from Junta or Lawn Boy, but it attracted more every-men to join the Phish circuit. A follow-up album was quickly set up and on track.

Hark! The palindrome year of 2002 rolled around in the form of the spherical Round Room. Like Farmhouse there was many of the same typical rock songs for your casual ears, but something was different this time a"round". The album featured many new epics that are much more intricate than what would be expected. These songs are structured very similarly- with a slow, almost minimalist first half and a raucous second half-, yet are unique in all of their own ways. It's hard to place a finger on it but it's almost as if these songs, mainly 'Pebbles and Marbles', 'Seven Below', 'Walls of the Cave', and 'Waves', feature more depth and meaning than those of any prior Phish album. A controversial opinion maybe, but just a listen to the aforementioned 'Walls of the Cave', with it's creative rhythm patterns set up by drummer god Jon Fishman, and beautiful yet simplistic lyrical abilities of Anastasio and Page McConnell, it is hard for me to deny it to myself. Of course, the shorter songs are good too; like I said they are indeed callbacks to Farmhouse, ranging from slow ballads to jazz-funking, puffed up powerhouses. A noteworthy mention is the track 'Mock Song', which as a fan of the band I felt was a fun poke at their past work, mainly the meaninglessness of their lyrics and such.

Round Room is something that eases you in. It doesn't take multiple listens to enjoy- just let go of any prior notions and sink in. By that time that path of enjoyment has already paved subconsciously for you. And the neatest thing of all: you did it all yourself.

2016- The Frying Pan & Thatcher 

Originally written for Prog Archives on 6/10/2016.

Visit the site at www.progarchives.com

Music Review #31:

Can
Monster Movie
1969
Elektra Records













Can's 60's debut is one of the few first albums by a band that I can safely say is my favorite of said band's discography.

I've never been a huge fan of krautrock- most of what I've heard is pretty disjointed, most likely because of me listening to things like Organisation which I absolutely abhor-, but Can was my introduction and still to this day reigns as my favorite from the genre. My largest highlight of their consecutive releases is obviously Can's 1969 Monster Movie. Everything about it is great, at least on the first side of the LP.

Many people make points about how Monster Movie has large amounts of early punk elements. I mean sure, I suppose, but really the seven minute opener epic 'Father Cannot Yell' is most likely the most connected to the genre, but overall this album pioneers flowing, almost hypnotic riffs that early krautrock bands were doing. The band largely relies on improvisation to get through the longer tracks, not unlike jam bands such as the Grateful Dead. In fact, 'You Doo Right' was originally a whopping six hour long jam until it was compressed into twenty minutes. Most of the songs on here have at least some iota of Can's later atmospheric hypno-rock, with in this case a style that paved the way not only for the band but also for other krautrock bands.

The opener 'Father Cannot Yell' as said before it is a speeding, punk-influenced song that starts off the album. Although it was a strange way to set off this particularly slow album, it is quite enjoyable as a casual listen. 'Outside My Door' is a shorter, even more punk-ish track that uses more repetitive drumming as well as some cool guitar riffs.

'Mary, Mary So Contrary' is the best song on the album and perhaps my favorite song from it's genre as well as the band. It uses very different mesmerizing tones with lyrics based off of a children's rhyme. The guitar work, although seems to be pretty standard, sounds absolutely epic in the light of it's overall atmosphere. Mooney's vocals are absolutely outstanding, using a tired, almost scratchy feel to give his voice that needed effect.

Ah, 'You Doo Right'. Probably one of the most boring, repetitive songs I've encountered in my progressive wanderings. Even when the song is three times as long as it should be, it's still boring and retains the same sound throughout listening. It uses massive repetition, and although I can say that I like when Can does it on their other songs, here it's just pointless. Absolutely mediocre and not enjoyable to sit down and listen to.

Even in the light of the second side, Can's Monster Movie still gets a 4.5/5 from me. It introduced me to the genre, and I still love it with all my heart to this day. In the light of me liking it so much, I've rounded the rating to a full five rating. Absolutely fantastic.

2016- The Frying Pan & Thatcher 

Originally written for Prog Archives on 1/29/2015.

Visit the site at www.progarchives.com

Music Review #31:

King Crimson
Red
1974
Island Records







King Crimson: a pool of ever-changing talent rarely ceases to amaze. Most of the time I disagree with Mr. Fripp's ideas of the structure of his band, however I like to forget background information of something and just listen to the music sometimes. Red was one of these instances, and without thoughts of the details the music simply sounded better.

1974 was the year where metal was starting to spring up all over the place. Much credit was due to King Crimson for their early work to the creation of the genre, however by this time they seemed to be more of another hard prog band.While other bands like Scorpions, Sabbath, and Judas Priest all started experimenting with this newly founded genre, King Crimson continued to write elaborate compositions with much flare and musical brilliance. I will admit that I disliked much of their pre-Red content, but when this album came around everything changed. It was less about being art for arts sake and more about playing what they willed. Mind you, changes were still made and lineups were constantly fixed and re- ordered, so much chaos still happened there. The beauty about Red however is none of that translates to the music. In the recording studio, all was forgotten.

The title track is a wonderful opening, probably one of the more themed tracks as opposed to jamming, but it's utilization of ambiance and heavy guitar with no vocals bogging it down (one of the few songs where I feel like it would). 'Fallen Angel' translates to me more of a ballad, and marks one of the weaker points of the album. Fripp intended it to be more "emotional", but I found it to be rather weak in comparison to the rest of the album. One thing that never really changes is Wetton's amazing vocalizations which seem to fit into every musical circumstance. He is definitely a singer that brightened up any weak part the album has. 'One More Red Nightmare' is one of the aforementioned jams. Although the term 'jam' may not be exactly fitting, the song's length does lead to many tangents that the band members expound on briefly. Much like 'Red', this song has some fantastic riffing and great clear drumming from Bruford. Wetton's vocal skills are probably on peak at this point, along with his bass-work. Violins bring in the next track, 'Providence', most of which is much adventurous work of different instrumentations that come in at different parts. Slightly uncomfortable due to it's erratic nature; very reminiscent to Ummagumma-esque Floyd if you enjoy that sort of music. 'Starless' is a fantastic mix of everything you've heard prior in an orchestral style all in a clean twelve minutes. Shifting constantly, it never ceases to lose your attention and also does a great job closing shop.

As a final verdict, Red is undeniably wonderful. Wouldn't exactly call it a masterpiece due to some of the weaker aspects but it still shines wonderfully with what it does well and I applaud Crimson for being able to accomplish it. I think a healthy 4-4.5 stars is fitting.

2016- The Frying Pan & Thatcher 

Originally written for Prog Archives on 7/7/2015.

Visit the site at www.progarchives.com