Ritual! Dark, moody, mysterious, powerful, aggressive, beautiful. A wonderful album from a wonderful band. This album goes everywhere from dark anatolian folk, to incredibly dynamic, Psychedelic prog rock, and mostly just those two, as is the fashion with Nemrud. The band does not really break down any barriers in comparison to the first album but rather refines its sound. This album sounds like a few musicians doing exactly what they want to do, with some of the very good execution. When the music becomes intense it is very exciting and an abundance of thoughts will flow through you. I am a bit saddened by a lack of recording quality here, but that perhaps might have taken away the overall effect of this album. Regardless, Ritual is excellent modern Psychedelic prog.

Hancock enters the hip-hop and dance area with this release and thankfully it largely succeeds unlike his two following excursions in the 80's. Not only is this album revolutionary, it should also be digestible for most progressive fans who don't sacrifice good music for experiments ( I am one of them ;)). The first track is indeed a shock with turntable magic, electronic drums and spare Hancock playing. It is undeniable catchy and groovy (supported by the typical 80's bass and some 70's funky keyboard sounds like clavinet).

The next track is sung and frankly, quite dull (and long). Not only it is a weak composition, it also features simple playing - only vocal save it. Despite the setback, the good news is that now some deeper tracks follow. "TFS" is less disruptive, it actually flows with digital piano and has tasty jazzy chords reminiscent of late 70's Hancock. "Earth beat" has an African feel with interesting marriage between world and hip hop rhythms. "Autodrive", despite heavy drumming and fills, feels like a core of the 70's piano fusion dressed in the progressive 80's rhythm jacket. Both piano and bass have space to show off and if you haven't enjoyed the album so far, you will now ;).

Future shock has aged quite well because it doesn't prevailingly focus on the sound and has still enough substance.

I have this on vinyl, it is an absolutely beautiful white with a smokey dark grey imprint. Same for the seven inch single that comes with it. I found it in a second hand record shop and really liked the cover, I think the whole art surrounding the album is really cool. Now, for the music: I feel like it is not the most original thing out there, but the orchestral parts are nice and Black Star Aeon, the opening track, is a stand-out piece for me. While I will not be replaying this endlessly, it is definitely worth a listen at least a couple of times

Experimental and progressive? Hancock has been at the forefront of keyboard jazz development from the 60s until the 80s. His two records ("Future shock") and ("Perfect machine") benefit from the collaboration with other progressive minds like Bill Laswell to create futuristic electronic beats, post-funk vocals and perhaps the only classic instrument here, bass. Some tracks like the title track and "Vibe Alive" have a catchy motive and I bet they have been sampled by others in the 80's. Unfortunately, Hancock gets away with little effort in composing and playing. This is, first and foremost, about sound and atmosphere. For more conventional listeners, the only suitable track is the instrumental part of "Maiden Voyage/B.Bop" As such, this effort confirms Hancock's chameleon abilities but is severely dated nowadays. Luckily, he left the techno aspirations until 2001's Future2future which is a better product.

Ben really pulled a psych on me with the release of this album of all-vocal songs--right after I had complained publicly to him about his album of all-instrumental music that he released in July. What a mean trick! Anyway, I hope all is forgiven as I am totally in heaven getting to know this gifted young man's lyrics-carrying music. (Plus, I really liked Tactile Demons!)

1. "Winning Ends" (3:57) fun and full of plenty of delightful twists and turns as well as horns and VOCALS! Yes, Ben saved all of his great, quirky vocals and lyrics for his second album release of 2025! (9/10)

2. "TIML / Ears Adjust" (3:57) the first half of this song is quite typical of Ben's quirky, stop-and-go syncopation and complexity, but the shift that occurs mid-song seems to slow things down (slightly)--to spread out the music enough to be able to process a little easier than a video game. I like it. (9.125/10)

3. "Rufking Tonic" (1:30) now this sounds truly like music to some video game/rabbit hole into the underground. What can I say? The guy is creative genius--one that grew up in a different era than us old-timers. (4.5/5)

4. "Wishtank" (4:27) featuring the support vocals of Elizabeth Smiland, the catchy melodies and lyrics here have been slowed down and spread out, perhaps specifically for us near-drooling old-brain curmudgeons. A song that keeps growing on me for its lyrics. (9.125/10)

5. "Glimpse of the Echomaniac" (0:49) working through an idea on cheap keyboard?? (4.375/5)

6. "Hilltide Lights" (4:10) a really fun song created with all kinds of bubbling noises and other computer generated (even sequenced?) sounds. Still, Ben calmly sings over the top as if he's either a robot or a patient in a sanatorium. There's quite a fun Devo/XTC-like sound and feel to this excellent song. (9.25/10)

7. "Reason Fearlessly" (2:52) the lyrics of this song are quite inaccessible to me: it's as if Ben randomly inserted incongruous words throughout the "normal" sentence flows. A linguistics experiment? The music is fairly smooth guitar-based fare, the vocal typical Wippy B. (8.875/10)

8. "Haven C" (3:23) ooh! A walk down the heavy side of prog! Kyrically, it feels like a companion song, a companion moment, to the being living at Hilltide (song #6). Actually a pretty cool song, with a pretty cool vocal delivery; almost Pearl Jam/Stone Temple Pilots/grunge-like (9/10)

9. "2PM for Chumps" (0:34) another fascinating, actually really cool instrumental interlude. (4.625/5)

10. "Plot Device" (4:41) this one has a distinctive STEREOLAB sound and feel to it: Brilliant! Ben is learning about the role of love and relationships in his life: they're all brought to you for experience! For accumulative information. For pattern recognition. Self-discovery! (9.25/10)

11. "What's Gonna Come of Me" (2:50) great strummed guitar, bass, and drum spacing behind/within which Ben's (a) reverbed and (b) theatricized voice(s) are dispersed more as another instrument in the weave (a) and interesting accents (b). Very psychedelic spacy--and very cool. (9.25/10)

12. "Well Awake" (2:36) teaming up with Elizabeth Smiland again, the two deliver a relatively happy-go-lucky pop tune. There's almost a simple 1970s Todd Rundgren Soul-Pop feel to this one. (9/10)

13. "Shortness of Magnitude" (1:02) another instrumental interlude, this one an exposition of guitar and editing prowess. (4.5/5)

14. "Fort Malice" (4:57) with an almost Gentle Giant start, this one turns into an almost tongue-in-cheek, rather listless, vocal performance, and yet there is an existential indolence to it that betrays the product of deep (and disheartening) introspection. A rare song in which the lyric and vocal performance is the reason for my high rating. (No disrespect to the fine instrumental performances and song construction.) (9/10)

15. "Easy to Peel" (2:20) Gino Vannelli!?! 21st Centurized! I'm in heaven! Yes, Ben has here resuscitated the amazing synth-generated traditions of Gino's great keyboard master, his brother Joe. (5/5)

16. "Bulstrobe" (2:36) like a soundtrack trip through the at haunted house ride at an 1980s outdoor theme park--and there are multiple parts! For the multiple chambers and themes along the ride's course. (9.25/10)

17. "My Sissy Mammoth" (3:46) another masterful pop song that draws from several styles and sounds from our rich past (including jazz, AC/DC, The Tubes, Adrian Belew, and many others). And then there's the amazing vocal and lyric. Genius! (9.333/10)

18. "Fleebar's Folly" (1:01) an awesomely melodramatic video game soundtrack. Reminds me of Devy Townsend's Ziltoid farce. (5/5)

19. "Mercy Bag" (1:35) a little Led Zeppelin (Houses of the Holy) creeping through to support a psychedelic lyric. (4.5/5)

20. "Fly Off Hiding" (4:27) a meta-confrontation with . . . himself! Built over a musical landscape that sounds like early HALL & OATES. (8.875/10)

21. "Knowall Goes Away" (3:12) another tough internal dialogue brought to resolution through music. Nice drum and guitar work. A little too busy and obfuscated. (8.875/10)

22. "The Separator" (6:15) another song in line with the previous two: busy, complicated, and lyrically obscured to my meagre comprehension. (I am shocked at how much I want to know--at how hard I try to gain access to this young man's psyche through his lyrics. It's so unlike me! So unnatural to me!) (8.875/10)

Total Time 66:57

This has been such a difficult album to get to know, much less to write a review for: it's just so dense, so full of infinite twists and turns, stops and starts, lyrical gems and genius constructs not to mention the myriad influences and cleverly-appropriated sounds and themes. Like 22, Ben's songs have taken multiple listenings in order to glean some meaning, op

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of sophisticated, even virtuosic past-future blending music that is used to float Ben's deeply introspective (and self-critical) thoughts and lyrics.

Ange founder Christian D�camps marches on, helping the modern lineup to their 25th studio album release, their 9th of the 21st Century. Joining him are long-time members Hassan Hajdi on guitars, Thierry Sidhoum on basses, and Christian's nephew--son of his brother, Francis (who was also a founding member), Tristan D�camps, all of whom are participating on their 10th album under the Ange moniker.

1. "Un diamant dans le coeur" (5:36) a thick and heavy, if single-motif-dominated song that definitely puts the listener on notice that founding father, Chri-Chri D�camps has definitely still got it! Nice opener! (9/10)

2. "Fruits & l�gumes" (7:00) (/15) an interesting song for its revival of some of the older near-circus sounds and stylings that the band employed more liberally in the 1970s and 80s. Christian's vocal is suitably theatric, just like the old days sauf la voix ancienne. Excellent bass and keyboard performances (despite the used of a couple of slightly dated synth sounds). Hassan Hajdi plays an awesome guitar solo in the instrumental fifth minute while drummer Beno�t Cazzulini shows off some of his excellent chops underneath. Cool section! And it just keeps on going--with both Beno�t and Hassan lighting it up the whole way--into the seventh minute before everybody backs off to play out a soft jazzy outro. Who'd have thought these elders had this kind of creativity and ambition still left in them?!! Awesome song! (14.125/15)

3. "Le langage des fluides" (6:10) a great, even lovely, motif of aqueous chill sets up over the opening minute before Christian's vocals enter and put us under his spell once again. Great keyboard chord washes with some great, dramatic drumming to match Christian's theatric performance. Bassist Thierry Sidhoum and Beno�t's synchronic timing is so well coordinated that it sounds as if they're operating from one mind. "We are Borg." What a buildup and climax in the sixth minute! Wow! Now this is prog! And I'm not talking about Neo, this is the inventive, creative progressive rock that we all grew up knowing and loving from the 1970s. (9.5/10)

4. "Pace Nobilis" (4:10) gentle piano and equally-gentle guitar notes and chords lay down the foundation for a plaintive vocal in which the singer is just pouring his heart out: ascending the scales into the realm of the falsettos before the drums and bass ever enter the song. After Christian touches the sun and is forced to drop to more human heights he starts over, only redirecting his energies into volume instead of pitch. At 2:35 there is an awesome little pregnant pause out of which the band restarts the whole thing backing Christian with lots of choir-like vocals and a full package of powerful guitar and keyboard layers to back the repetition of the song's title over and over. Wow! I wasn't going to like this song as well as I ended up because it was kind of dull, but that vocal performance and the band's buildup in support beneath and unexpected shifts and changes definitely impress me. (9/10)

5. "Un passage de r�ve" (3:37) what feels like a cinematic interlude of synth washes and arpeggiated guitars and keyboard chords earns the cushion of support and inspiration for another incredibly emotive vocal performance from the ancient master. This guy knows what he's doing--knows the power and gifts he still possesses. (9/10)

6. "Prisonnier de l'Aube" (4:44) a song that unfolds as if a piano jazz avenue for a lounge singer's signature song turns into something a little heavier and more thoughtfully-conceived than expected. The vocal is, for once, not the key or primary focal point of this one as the number of instruments that appear in support and transition are rather impressive. Plus, it feels as if the support vocals (Tristan? Hassan?) and synths and guitars are deceptively important to the power that this song projects (not to mention Beno�t's prog-perfect drums). Hassan's guitar solo at the end of the fourth minute feels a bit "by-the-numbers" but the overall effect of this vehicle is nothing if not impressive. (8.875/10)

7. "Ennio" (6:07) harmonica and bicycle noises open this before a theatric scene from the cinema seems to unfold behind. Is this a tribute to Ennio Morricone? It feels self-evident. The Sergio Leone "Spaghetti Western" themes and theatrics continue within and beneath the music, even after the ramp-up crescendos and joinder of the "strings" in the fourth minute. The choir-like vocals and orchestrations that ensue feel so reverential, almost bringing me to tears. What a great tribute! One that truly captures the essence of that which the Italian master gave to the world. (9/10)

8. "Quitter la meute" (6:44) heavy, thick, modern, like something the Scandinavian metal bands of the turn of the century might have done (Opeth, Pain Of Salvation, Green Carnation) or American bands Symphony X and Fates Warning, the point is this one plays out as a meldoic, symphonic heavy prog-borderline-metal song even with the unusual progression of four chords used to move the song along. The solid vocal is not quite as powerful as the music. Great performances from Hassan and Beno�t. (9/10)

9. "Cun�gonde" (6:38) a solid and very enjoyable prog song with Le mec anciens singing with as much Gallic passion as he ever has. Christian's performance in the middle reminds me of some of the contributions another prog elder, former LE ORME singer Aldo Tagliopietra, made to other artist's albums over the past 15 years. But then the music explodes into something heavy and powerful and, for once, Christian has trouble matching his band's force and energy. (9/10)

Total Time 50:46

Though not perfect or totally innovative, I am so impressed with the creative ideas and constructs these old-timers have come up with, over and over, for this album--with the vocal performances of the most ancient of them all, band founder Christian D�camps, the most impressive of all. Made possible by the amazing instincts and talents of Christian's massively-talented support crew.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of progressive rock music. In total honesty: this may be the greatest true/traditional prog album of 2025! HIGHLY recommended! Especially if you like prog!

There are seminal albums in the career of some artists, some may have several in the same trajectory, that is the case of Peter Hammill, who after Chameleon in the shadow of the night, would devise another completely different album, and with the same musicians as the previous one.

Neither the bass (played by Banton) sounds the same, nor Guy Evans' drums, Hugh Banton's keyboards, or David Jackson's saxophone...nor even Hammill's own voice! It's true that it influenced John Lydon (acknowledged by him), however, it's very close, as already mentioned, to the Glam Rock of Roxy Music with Brian Eno.

One thing is certain, the album was recorded after the decision to bring back Van der Graaf Generator, a return in which the band would not be the same either...why would it be different with his solo career? The guitar sounds overloaded, saturated in the homonymous track Nadir's Big Chance, but listening to The Institute Of Mental Health, Burning, more than something proto-punk, I think of Krautrock. There's an oriental saxophone peeking in and giving it an exotic feel, while the lead vocals are joined by a chorus that always reminded me of David Bowie, an artist with whom I've always drawn many stylistic parallels with Hammill's career.

Open Your Eyes is one of my favorites; the band sounds tighter, sharper, and more dangerous, with fewer detours to develop the idea. The same would happen from Godbluf onward. There's more... the music is loud, but his voice isn't; it's soft, almost like a lament, which deepens the contrast. Jazz and funk seep in, and there was an enviable compositional freedom. It veers off in different directions constantly, and the keyboard and saxophone take turns with solos in dialogue, where Banton's funky clavinet is glorious. It ends up being sophisticated! Where's the punk, I wonder? Jackson's solo is legendary because it goes out of tune and then comes back.

Hammill was inspired, he would be again years later when he made The Future Now, another turning point in his career, however here Nobody's Business sounds experimental with echoes, and I perceive that it influenced bands like Bauhaus.

Often the songs had instrumental codas (as Paul Weller would do in his solo career years later, someone who would also soon leave the punk scene that saw him born). When we get to more reflective songs like "Been Along So Long," we find his more classic Hammill-esque side; in fact, it has elements of classical music, which he has been very fond of all his life, the influences creeping in surreptitiously.

Pompeii seems to rise from the ruins...and from that stripped and fragile skeleton, we move to Shingle, where he is exposed in his raw, exposed state. An acoustic guitar in his hands was a weapon...used against others or even against himself. The lyrics weren't mere embellishments for rhyming...he knew when to sing low, when high, when to whisper. In the middle, Jackson, with the drums and piano, rehearses a kind of minuet!

Airport has an epic feel and a cyclical format where it ends and begins again. The saxophone is very important; it lends feeling and reinforces the vocals. It's like a chorus that accompanies and affirms the song.

Birthday Special is chaotic and almost danceable, Two Or Three Spectres is modern...complex, with syncopated cuts, and they talk about doing it like Stevie Wonder at the beginning!, and Hammill laughs, the final track really gets complex, without ceasing to sound urgent, direct, just like the proposal of the whole album...which would not resemble at all what would come, because this was Rikki Nadir's opportunity and nobody else's.

This is a solo effort in symphonic prog. The instrumentation is the standard symphonic prog kit, the starter pack: guitar, bass, drums, piano, mellotrons, Hammond. There are also vocals on top that, with timbre reminiscent of Jon Anderson's.

The work sounds very much as you would expect from a solo effort. The vocals sound as generic and amateurish as possible. The singing style reminds me of Rick Miller (another "solo" artist, incidentally): very monotonous and melodically repetitive. In Rick's case, however, his warm timbre at least fits the goals of his atmorpheric music; here this is just annoying and hard to listen to. The drums are also neither well-mixed nor well-played -- this seems standard for solo symphonic prog artists. Keys are unremarkable either, and only some of the guitar and bass work could be praised. Besides, the tempo is very steady, and this music will never surprise you in any way.

It has its high moments, especially when it goes instrumental, but generally a very amateurish effort.

Celebrating its 30th year as a musical entity since dropping its debut "The Light" on the world and in the process joining the prog revival that made prog cool again in the 1990s, SPOCK'S BEARD has had a rather tumultuous existence but still found a way to steer its ship through turbulent seas without sinking. Last heard in 2018 with the band's 13th album "Noise Floor" it seemed perhaps the band could have possibly come to an end with the three members of Ted Leonard, Dave Meros and Jimmy Keegan launching Pattern-Seeking Animals and then releasing five albums since but somehow the BEARD finds a way and now in 2025 not only do we find a new Patter-Seeking Animals release but also THE ARCHAEOPTIMIST from the BEARD itself which puts all those rumors of finality to rest.

Despite the band emerging from its slumber, the prog landscape has shifted quite a bit in the last decade with the sounds of symphonic inspiration from classic Genesis and Yes somewhat falling out of favor to the more darkened soundscapes of dissonant King Crimson flavored musical approaches. THE ARCHAEOPTIMIST opens in its classic symphonic form adopting a bit of Kansas demeanor especially from the "Point Of Know Return" era. Brisk keyboard stabs punctuate the musical landscape ushering in an avalanche of crafty time signature workouts, high octave operatic vocal bel canto and mid-70s arena rock guitar heft backing it all up. Throw in some Steve Howe inspired soloing and the occasional Gentle Giant inspired group harmonic vocals (as heard right from the get go on the opening "Invisible") and it appears the BEARD is back for the attack.

The album's near hour run finds SPOCK'S BEARD sounding fully recharged after seven years with Alan Morse and Ryo Okumoto keeping the creative juices flowing with Okumoto providing the lion's share of the composing duties. The band's title track shows the BEARD still feeling adventurous enough to churn out 20+ minute multi-suite scores as displayed on the sprawling title track which features all the by now tried and tested SPOCKisms often looking back to the Neil Morse days on "V" and "Snow." A strange shift a few minutes through though showcases a few tricks up the band's sleeves which give it a bit more grit then previous offerings. As the lengthy track proceeds the band takes on a bit more Steely Dan feel in lieu of the more dominant Kansas aspects that dominate.

All in all a decent comeback album by the legendary SPOCK'S BEARD although the tall claims of pushing boundaries seem a bit far fetched when this style of prog seems to have more than played itself out by now and the constant rehashing of symphonic prog ideas from the 70s are seeming more anachronistic as time goes on. With bands like Black Midi taking prog into the 2020s suddenly SPOCK'S BEARD sounds like the old kid on the block however if for those who simply want a form of comfort prog that promises to deliver an established sound with little or no innovation then i can't say THE ARCHAEOPTIMIST is an unpleasant listen in the least. In fact it's quite a good one but not a great one unfortunately which fails to live up to the high expectations that such a classic band conjures up when it wakes up from its long cryogenic state and demands a few moments in the limelight. For my liking though this sounds too much like some lost Kansas album.

3.5 rounded down

Notable for blurring the lines between the worlds of rock, jazz, psychedelia, folk and early prog, AFFINITY existed from the experimental years of 1968 to 1972 and although a popular live act in its native Brighton on the southern coast of England, the band only released this sole self-titled release in 1970 on the Vertigo label. With the spotlight clearly on the band's school teacher turned rock star vocalist Linda Hoyle who has been touted as a fusion of Janis Joplin, Grace Slick and Sandy Denny, i find her stylistic approach to also offer a bit of what Mariska Veres was belting out in the Dutch pop group hit-making machine Shocking Blue. While Hoyle steals the show in many ways, AFFINITY was a fairly developed group with excellent keys courtesy of Lynton Naiff who offered a diverse arsenal that included Hammond B3 organs, Wurlitzer electric piano, harpsichord and the vibraphone. The band was rounded out by bassist Mo Foster, guitarist Mike Jopp and percussionist Grant Serpell, both of whom offer their distinct styles to the band's overall sound.

The album exudes a mystical vibe, the kind you would find at some swanky cocktail lounge in the heart of the psychedelic London scene circa 1968 with smoky hazed rooms featuring a mysterious band through the brume and performances that seem right out of an Austin Powers flick. Their style was slightly groovy and hip with a touch of sophistication that kept it all above the average psychedelic band of the day but just a few grades shy of high-brow prog sounding more as if some hippie band had entered the Motown studios with a complementary brass band backing as a unique synthesis of West Coast California rock of the late 60s had somehow copped and R&B vibe only with the proper British sensibilities. For an album's worth of material the performances are quite the pleasant affair as it has the ability to transfer the zeitgeist of the era instantly although the compositions themselves are only partially original with an unlikely coupling of an Ann Peacock cover in the form of "Mr Joy" and another from Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower" made famous of course by the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

The music overall is cool and calculated with over-the-top brass performances metered to enhance the otherwise soulful musical slinkiness that allows Hoyle to tenderly accentuate the proper vocal intonations. The album has a sensuality reminiscent of the samba soul of 60s Brazil or what comes to mind for yours truly is what the 80s sensation Sade would've sounded like if it emerged in the psychedelic 60s with a smoky bong wafting from the studio. While the prog claims are bit exaggerated, AFFINITY was more in the lines of a psychedelic jazz-rock band with tight-knit instrumental interplay which allowed for both tenderness and wild displays of jamming eruptions (as on "All Along The Watchtower" which is actually not a band cover.) Hoyle for all her range though never seems to conjure up the proper bravado to belt it all out as would Janis Joplin, Tina Turner or other divas who cranked it out in top decibalage. Despite the covers dampening the otherwise original self-penned comps, the album seems to flow cohesively from beginning to end.

On the one hand AFFINITY didn't offer much that really stood out from the burgeoning legions female-fronted acts of the days which included Carol Crimes and Delivery, Julie Driscoll and Trinity or Grace Slick in Jefferson Airplane however something about this band conspired to make them sound somewhat unique even if it's not immediately detectable. It's that kind of sound that found a small bandwidth in the in-between zone of musical styles that were popular of the era without sounding avant-garde or alienating. Add to the fact the band hits all the right notes and plays it all conservatively by not taking things further than all the band members were capable of delivering. The results amount to a standard period piece that sounds exactly like the era it was released all the while possessing a very pleasant pacifying epicurean stylistic approach. This will surely sound generic to many but personally i find it very appealing as a fairly "typical" psych-induced rock album of the era.