OpenMind

"Although "Dark Side of the Moon" might have become more iconic, "Wish You Were Here" to me is the peak of Pink Floyd's achievement. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", in particular, sums up all the qualities that made me a hardcore Floyd fan for years. I first heard it on the Saturday night rock show on Radio 1, wondering what on earth was that bluesy guitar solo floating through the air, over a dreamy wash of synth. Then there were those four notes, resounding into silence, and the four notes again. It was David Gilmour of course, and the whole band's playing is spaced and timed to perfection. The song itself, when it eventually arrives, is a powerful and deserving tribute to their original lead singer Syd Barrett, filled with nostalgia for the times before his mind disintegrated. After the song, as if it couldn't get any more perfect, it finishes with not one, but two exquisite sax solos over a glittering layer of guitar arpeggios.

The central songs are filled with cynicism. Embittered with the ways of the soulless, money-obsessed music industry, Roger Waters comes up with some distinctively acerbic lyrics. On "Welcome to the Machine", Rick Wright's keyboards create a sinister industrial throb, insistent and creepy. "Have a Cigar" is a great example of Floyd's funky blues-rock style, propelled by wah-wah organ. After the bitter ranting of the previous two songs, the beautiful ballad "Wish You Were Here" is a reflective comedown. This must be the most suitable Floyd song for one man with a guitar to sing and strum along to, simple and wistful.

The most often overlooked part of this album is the second half of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". This is not just a reprise, but a fully fleshed out piece. Starting with an impressive build up of tension that recalls their earlier masterpiece "Echoes", with the whole band putting everything into it. This blends smoothly into one last verse of the song, this rousing final tribute followed with some funky jamming and plenty of keyboard whizzes from Wright.

There's a sad tale associated with the recording sessions for "Wish You Were Here". The band and their hangers-on wondered who the dishevelled stranger was sitting in the corner of the reception. He turned out to be the very subject of the song they were recording, who they had not seen for years - Syd himself had briefly come out of seclusion to pay them a visit."

"Dream theater definitely has the most powerful spot between the bands that took the progressive music to the 21st century. The band, that almost broke up after their 3rd album tour ("Awake"), and the constant pressure from the record company to produce hits, has made the musician pretty unstable. As a last minute move, they have turned to the company's management and demanded artistic freedom to their next project - and if this demand will not be fulfilled, they have threatend to end their career. The management have surrendered, and the band started the long & hard process of creating the album... Since then, "Scenes" became the most valuable album ever created by Dream, and most importantly - a perfect figure of Progressive Metal.

"Scenes From A Memory" is a complicated, ambitious rock-opera, 77 mins long. It was called as "Metropolis Part II". The first part, was in "Images & Words" - on track no. 5. But the first part was lyrically weak on the same subjects (Life after death, eternal love, etc.), and in fact Dream have came back to the beginning and tried to continue from the place that seemed right, artistically.

Maybe the fact that all of the line-up is built from new yorkers, you can feel the influence from Broadway's musicals. It comes to an expression in the work of Jordan Rudess, the virtoaus keyboardist (who was a new joiner at that time), which enriched Dream's music melodicly (classic motifs), harmonically (right chords moves), rythmically (not keeping with the cliches of Rock/Metal), and acoustically (additions of sounds such as piano, choir & strings). Rudess balanced & challenged Petrucci, that always went - as a guitarist - to metal. With that, it's important to say that all of the members' name are on the composing, so it is pretty likely a team effort. I've got to mention, that one of the great specialnesses of this album is the brilliant instrumental improvisations, between the melodic instruments - Rudess-keyboards & Petrucci-guitar, who have a great work together and create healthy competition between wonders of players in the rock world.

As you can expect from a band that called itself "Dream Theater", were dealing with a modernic opera (or a musical...), that motorize itself by a dream - according to the story - with the technique called "Regression Therapy", you can hypnotize the patient, bring him back to different reincarnations, and to find out the meaning of problems & complexes in the present. Nicholas, our hero, is a normal guy that is troubled by dreams which include a girl (Victoria) and a house. He turns to a psychologist and realize that Victoria's soul is trapped inside his body (praticullary - in his head). Victoria's story brings him back to 1928 and to a famous murder that was made, it turns out, after the break of a romantic triangle between herself & two brothers - Jullian & Edward. The duty of revealing the past becomes an obsession - trying to find out the truth, no matter the price. It ends, traghically, in a traghedy.

Building a 77-minute long album ain't easy. There is an important need for a link between the seperated parts. It is hard to find the right balance between slow, acoustic tracks, sub-chapters that was meant to promote the plot, improvisations & instrumental inventions, effects, and brief explanations about the advance of the story. Dream Theater have definitely did the job well, and created a wide variety of so-called opposed genres: Blues Rock, Romantic, Heavy Metal, Gospel, Broadway and even Indian music.

I can easily call "Scenes" a revolutionary album, it is an exciting masterpiece, strong & well polished. The recordings are full of little & interesting details, and can testify the hard work in the studio. All the composings are well made, The instrumental performance by the trio (guitar, keyboards & drums) are just breath-taking, and the dramatic plot really expresses in the vocal delivering (by James LaBrie) and in the musical production level. Dream Theater have really built a milestone in the prog rock history, which i can bet that will remembered many years from now... In my opinion, Dream has succeed to compare itself and even uplift the spiritual fathers of the 70's."

"Prog rockers Dream Theater tallied 16 years as a band with the release of Octavarium, but in listening you're apt to suspect otherwise. As a collective they remain as tight as they were on 2003's obsessively dark Train of Thought (like all music-school outfits, they've exacted an all-for-one formula that doesn't allow a single player more than his share of swagger), but a post-hardcore edge — call it a leap into 2005 — has invaded their pledge of allegiance to theatrical heavy rock. Hear it on "I Walk Beside You" and "The Answer Lies Within," both of which, at under five minutes, play like charming haikus from a band known for its epic poetry, and also on the orchestra-backed 20-plus-minute final cut, which skips around from Pink Floyd to Rush to Yes influences, stopping off every so often at a place fans of My Chemical Romance might find familiar. As with all the band's discs, guitars loom large and both doom and redemption seem no further than the next twisted verse. What's changed is Dream Theater's commitment to carrying on their reputation as underground progressive rock's classicists, and it seems well-timed."

"Continuing in the growing commercial vein of their previous releases, Porcupine Tree's In Absentia may be the most accessible release to ever spew forth from the group. Rolling electronic percussion blends with simple and solid live drumming to provide an understated backbeat as perennial Tree leader Steven Wilson pastes his complicated pop over the proceedings. Wilson's ability to bury his layered vocals in mountains of spacy electric guitar without drowning out his fragile lyrics is still a valued feature of the music, and the rare moments of clarity that his vocals display are breathtaking in their power. A reliance on a somewhat gothic heavy metal sound makes for some bizarre moments, especially when held up against his gentler material. The best example of this is the chugging "Wedding Nails," which recalls Dream Theater in its grandiose scope without utilizing the same sort of technical wizardry. But Wilson manages to bridge the gap between the various genres he utilizes, creating an environment where his haunting melodies could take a drastic turn at any minute. Porcupine Tree also continue their Radiohead fascination, although the influence is much less direct than on their last few efforts. Instead, it comes through at odd moments, like the moments of sparse instrumentation on the otherwise lush "Heartattack in a Layby." Sonically gorgeous and deceivingly complex, In Absentia has the most immediate appeal of anything Wilson has released under this moniker up to this point. By keeping the songs at manageable lengths and avoiding the avant-garde electronica flourishes of the band's early days, Porcupine Tree grow into a fully realized pop group without cutting any of the elements that also makes them an important force in the neo-prog movement."

"Porcupine Tree have always been pigeonholed with the modern prog movement, but the reality is that they're both a riff-addicted metal band and a troupe obsessed with rich harmonies and memorable refrains. Take the grinding guitar work of "Shallow" which dukes it out with frontman Steven Wilson's undeniably melodic chorus before easing into the delicate, beautifully crafted "Lazarus." Few bands exhibit this kind of depth, be it the dreamy, Pink Floyd-inspired hallucination "Halo" or the Queensryche echoes of "Open Car." If the 12-minute sonic meander known as "Arriving Somewhere but Not Here" is as head-trippy as rock music gets anymore, it is reassuring to know that this Tree is still growing. Ideal for headphones, Deadwing -- despite its title -- takes flight nonetheless."

"The first proper album by the full band, Signify was the next great step forward for Porcupine Tree, a distinct advancement in how well the foursome could completely rock out as well as find its own narcotic style of ambient exploration. The title track signals intentions clearly after the fragmentary sample-collage start of "Bornlivedie" kicks things off. Based on a storming riff from Wilson, the Edwin/Maitland team provide a crisp, driving beat, while Barbieri throws some intriguingly aggressive keyboard work, nervy and unsettling, to offset the calmer parts he also adds to fill things out. Everyone gets to show a little bit of individual flair as the album progresses. Edwin punctuates the epic surge of "Sleep of No Dreaming" with some plucked double bass as well as electric, while Maitland himself takes over on (wordless) vocals and full composition for "Light Mass Prayers," a minimal, entrancing piece. One thing that hasn't noticeably changed much is Wilson's general songwriting and ear for arrangements -- good, but there's little in the way of distinct change in style, leaving it to the performance of the band as a whole to provide the album's own unique stamp. For all that Wilson may once again be singing obliquely on the pressures and nature of end-of-century life, he still does so in an engagingly left-of-center way. Consider the portrait of an incipient Internet/cyberpunk world in "Every Home Is Wired" or the snap-or-not? dilemma of "Darkmatter," which closes the album on a subtly tense note, besides being the best song Peter Gabriel-era Genesis never wrote. The often gripping instrumental pieces which are as much a band trademark as anything else appear throughout, including the combination drift and charge of "Idiot Prayer," littered with intriguingly curious samples, and the amusingly titled, hellfire and brimstone preacher-punctuated "Intermediate Jesus.""

"Porcupine Tree's first album for K-Scope/Snapper starts out with a definite bang -- "Even Less," with some of the quartet's biggest, blasting rock epic music yet, yet also shot through with the gentler, acoustic side that makes Porcupine Tree so intimate and lovely. The net result easily calls Yes to mind, but Steven Wilson's not so high-pitched as Jon Anderson and Richard Barbieri completely avoids Rick Wakeman's extreme idiocies -- prog that knows when less is more. With that as a fine signal for the album as a whole, Stupid Dream takes it from there -- Wilson as a songwriter and singer both sounds recharged and more ambitious, while the group collectively pours it on. The loud passages feel truly sky-smashing, the calmer ones perfectly close, and the overall sense of build and drama -- "A Smart Kid" is a fine example -- spot-on. Strings from the East of England Orchestra and guest work on Wilson's sometime Bass Communion partner Theo Travis add even lusher atmospheres without swamping the tunes. As always, the group isn't afraid to experiment where others merely re-create -- check out the funky breaks Colin Edwin and Chris Maitland lay down on "Slave Called Shiver," not to mention Wilson's catchy piano figure and Barbieri's Hammond organ fills. Lyrically, Wilson comes up with some of his best work yet. "Piano Lessons" looks back on past musical learning and a doubtful teacher as a spur to trying harder, while "Pure Narcotic" offers up a romantic scenario and tip of the hat to Radiohead all at once: "You keep me hating/You keep me listening to The Bends." There's actually a musical hint or two of the Oxford quintet as well -- the acoustic guitar/drum intro to "This Is No Rehearsal" is a good example -- but leave it to Porcupine Tree to drop in some fully plugged in thrash metal, as well."

"Some older fans looked askance at Lightbulb Sun , feeling it was verging on overt commercialism (and admittedly, the near power ballad solo on "Where We Would Be" is a bit odd!). Then again, given Wilson's own explorations of avant-garde pop with No-Man, who's to say why a slightly more radio-friendly stance can't work? "Shesmovedon" may have been a single, but there's no question who wrote and performed it -- the elegant cascade of backing vocals on the chorus shows that much. Certainly Wilson hasn't turned into Max Martin or anything -- it's still very much Porcupine Tree, in its lyrical turns of phrase and general sense of exploration. One of the best tracks on the album is the brilliantly titled "Four Chords That Made a Million," a barbed cut on some unnamed "emperor in new clothes" beset by a "moron with a cheque book." The lead riff is a majestic hit of flange and feedback, while the hints of sitar and Indian percussion give the song even more attractive heft. But there's a definite bent towards calmer art pop throughout Lightbulb Sun -- those who preferred the sheer surge of "Stupid Dream" will find this album tamer in comparison. Still, it's hard to resist the beautiful, understated tension about a fractured friendship or relationship on "Feel So Low" or the gentle, string-touched roll and build of "The Rest Will Flow," flat out two of Wilson's best tunes anywhere. Those who prefer the lengthy explorations won't be disappointed, though -- "Hatesong" unfolds its sharp message over eight minutes and then the string-swept, slow time explosion of "Russia on Ice" over 13. Slyest title of the bunch -- "Last Chance to Leave the Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled," which samples the videotape made by the leader of the Heaven's Gate cult before its mass suicide in 1997."

"They say you can recognize a good combination when they see it. It has been said about Simon & Garfunkel, McCartney & Lennon, Waters & Gilmour and many more. Some have said that even a totally coincidental mix between Aviv Geffen & Steven Wilson, is one of the following. After the first, successful album, and the tour - which was even more successful, after Blackfield have - almost literally - conquered Europe, the time has come to hear another Blackfield album.

Although the suprising fact that the album is called "Blackfield II" (Who would have thought! :-)), the album is full of exciting song, that keeps the short legacy of the band - songs that deal with the inner parts of the human soul, the deepest depression and the enormous need for love. The structure of "Blackfield II" is very like the first: 10 tracks, the same one track sung by Geffen - when most of the album is sung by SW, and the same two tracks that are taken - suprisingly - from Aviv Geffen's repertuar.

It is kind of a weird thing that Blackfield decided to take "1,000 People", which is in my opinion a very personal track that Geffen wrote about himself ("1,000 people yelled and shouted my name, but i wanna die in this moment, i wanna die" translated directly from hebrew) - but maybe that's what makes the album so interesting: the fact that songs are uprooted from it's base, translated and got a new meaning. I could only mention "End Of The World", originally written in 1997 for Geffen's compliation, "Full Moon", which dealt with the situation back then in Israel, and in the new version is more of a mourning song for a friend who died, and is now in heaven.

In conclusion, "Blackfield II" is new exciting chapter of Blackfield's career, a chapter which symbols the fact that they are not changing, keeping the same consistent way that lead them to the contract with Warner/Atlantic , and maybe will reach another heights soon."

"The Man Who Saw It All" is the 2nd studio album of Rockfour. The album characterized with 60's style psychedelic sound. Although the tracks were pretty long and complicated, and part of them are instrumental, he was very successful producing hits like "The Man Who Saw It All" (Track 2) , "Time Machine" (T4) , "Hole In The Moon" (T3) and "Any Direction" (T5) and many people define it as the best israeli album ever. Isn't it a bit disturbing to say that, for an album who is just 12 years old?

Rockfour like to play it 60's in "TMWSIA" in every aspect: from the non-conceptual instrumental tracks, the divided sound (Guitars on the left vehicle, vocals on the right - see track 02), to the sweet composings with background vocals and great harmonies. After the galloping open ("Suddenly"), Eli Lulai and his friends start to symbol the power of one of the best albums i've ever heard with "The Man Who Saw It All", "Hole In The Moon" (where Baruch Ben-Yitzhak defines a dirty guitar sound for generations to come), "Time Machine" (which can remind you of The Beatles' "For No One", in a way) and one of the best psychedelic tracks ever to be recorded in hebrew (if not the best of them) - "Any Direction".

If i can be perfectly urnest, i believe that until track no. 8, "Late No Longer", Rockfour gives you - track by track - pure israeli classics. The album grows up with the listener, so that he can learn to love even the less communicative in it - for example, if in the beginning i couldn't stop hearing "The Man Who Saw It All" and "Time Machine", i began learning to love the complexity and the beauty of the storming guitars and electric bass of Baruch & Mark in "Sometimes", and i litterally fell on the floor when Eli started screaming and Iser before "It"'s chorus. I can't even switch tracks in this album, because Rockfour have created a musical journey, when every track builds the next track, and the album as a whole. This is not a concept album, but with the time the listener turns it to a concept album deep inside.

So is the best israeli album ever a perfect song compliation? no. There are some tracks that steals this title from "TMWSIA". There are not bad tracks, or even medicore - but with the high standard that Rockfour puts here, even "good" tracks can interrupt the musical orgasm that Rockfour provides. You can mention "Late No Longer" and "Me, Myself And What Comes Between Us" (Track no. 09), are obstacles in this album's way to the top of the international music mountains.

After Track 10, comes "Witness", which is really an exposition to one of the album's peaks - "End Of The Road". In "End" Rockfour proves they can be cynical, sharp & rageous and provides a full well-done rock anthem, with extra-ordinary drumming by Iser Tennenbaum, and mainly the singing by Eli Lulai, that will reach perfection in "Supermarket". The album ends with two instrumental tracks - "The Man Who Saw Too Much" and "Dust", that besides being a stage to Rockfour's talent, really contributes to the circle feeling that the album gives, like commands you to press play again and to re-experience the journey you have just witnessed to.

So if the Rockfour-haters, the ones that define them as "A very good band, that didn't reached it's full potential" (since when a rock band became a 12 year old student?!) - "TMWSIA" is the israeli album i've most enjoyed listening to, and i recommend it very much, because it's one of the best things that can happen to your musical archive."

"The alternating bars of 12/8 and 11/8 that drive "Pablo Honey's" opening track, "You," should have given some indication to the masses that Radiohead would not be forever content to dwell in indie rock's lo-fi world. Though a solid debut effort, "Pablo Honey" gives little indication that Radiohead would go on to influence an entire generation of bands (Coldplay, Travis, Doves, Keane, et al).

"Pablo Honey" is most famous for the hit single "Creep," a simple post-grunge pop song completely atypical of the Oxford quintet's style. In fact, the song was never originally intended for the album. As the story goes, Thom Yorke had written it years before and was strumming it in the studio, when a passing record exec heard it and insisted on including it on the record. The rest is history, as they say. Though "Creep" ranks among Radiohead's least distinctive songs, it did put them on the music world's map, for which we should be eternally thankful.

Beyond "Creep," only a few songs stand out: "You" with its driving odd meters; the heartfelt ballad "Thinking About You;" the energetic "Ripcord;" and the dynamic "Stop Whispering," which starts as a catchy pop tune but builds to a ferocious crescendo that foreshadows Radiohead's evolution towards more complex arrangements. "Pablo Honey's" performances and production values are solid but lackluster, and may disappoint those expecting the studio wizardry and technical virtuosity Radiohead would go on to achieve on "The Bends," "OK Computer," and "Kid A."

All in all, "Pablo Honey" is a decent record, far overrated by the indie mavens who disowned Radiohead after they went "art rock," and unlikely to satisfy those more familiar with their later, more progressive work. It's a worthwhile debut, but remains a curio in Radiohead's increasingly impressive and accomplished oeuvre."

"Since "OK Computer", Radiohead spent several years fiddling with their Powerbooks and producing some of the best innovative music of these times with "Kid A" and "Amnesiac". But these albums were full of restless experimentation, and never stood still. With "Hail to the Thief" we get a sense that they've finally arrived where they wanted to be - with a sound that they're confident with. The itchy, bubbling layers of contemporary electronics are now a vital part of their music, while their more conventional chiming guitars and pianos are given equal importance here. But it's still innovative, and highly satisfying, even if it does take several listens to get under its skin.

"2+2=5" is a great opener, bursting out in the middle with an unrestrained punkish thrash. "Sit Down, Stand Up" is built on hypnotic layers of metallic sounds which crescendo up to a brilliant climax. Thom Yorke gives fans of his melancholy crooning exactly what they want with "Sail to the Moon" - an almost operatic aria with some wonderful harmonies. Another stand-out track is "Where I End And You Begin" - with some rich multi-layered drumming and a screeching electronic backdrop.

The more straightforward guitar-rock tracks include "Go to Sleep", which wouldn't have been out of place on The Bends. However its superior brother is "There There" - whose insistent riff, chorus and drumming are close to perfection. The intimate little song "I Will" recalls "You and Whose Army". Another great simpler number is "Scatterbrain", built on their familiar chiming guitar and soaring vocal line.

"We Suck Young Blood" has a sneering and sarcastic feel with some rather scary behind-the beat clapping. "A Punch Up at a Wedding" starts with a mellow bassline, which reminds me of David Sylvian. It has a good tune, but doesn't go anywhere. "Myxomatosis" is dominated by an old-fashioned techno synth sound and Thom's savage ranting. The less interesting tracks are the purer electronic ones, including the slippery "Backdrifts", and "The Gloaming", which could have ended up on Amnesiac. If it wasn't for these, this might have deserved full marks. But Radiohead always end albums with a gem, and this one is no exception. On "A Wolf at the Door" Thom's paranoid raps and rants are unrelenting, and its anthemic chorus is full of bitterness."

"This surprised everyone coming only half a year after "Kid A", but it's a collection of leftover material from the same sessions. As such it doesn't hold together nearly as well. Even though it's not a "proper" album, it's a valuable insight into this band's period of huge creativity, and between the fluff it has its share of fine moments.

The itchy electronica, and relentless experimentation, which had replaced their guitar rock, is still the driving force. The clanking metallic noises of "Packt Like Sardines" firmly establish this mood. The most effective use of electronics here is on "Like Spinning Plates", where the wobbly backwards noises actually evoke the title. The taunting of "You And Whose Army" is enhanced with humming backing vocals. Along with the muffled strings on tracks like "Dollars And Cents" these effects help to create an old-fashioned vinyl feel. But "How to Disappear Completely" and "Motion Picture Soundtrack" were much better showcases for this style.

"Pulk Pull.." is a merely B-side quality techno instrumental (think "Fitter Happier" as a full track). "Morning Bell" is an interesting remake of the song on Kid A, which actually sounds bell-like. It's mildly too happy-clappy though. The previous version had a more powerful edge with its jagged guitar ending, and probably deserves to be called definitive. The guitar noodle of "Hunting Bears" seems rather a pointless addition.

However they were still not afraid to simply write good songs. With "Pyramid Song" they are back in familiar territory, with Thom Yorke's beautifully plaintive lament over lazy piano chords. "Knives Out" sees them return to their OK Computer days with a simple but piercing tune and sinister culinary imagery. "I Might Be Wrong" recalls "Optimistic" with its sparse rhythm guitar backing.

As Radiohead have always done, they end the album in style. "Life in a Glass House" starts off as another plaintive piano ballad, but Thom is soom joined by a traditional jazz band. But unlike "National Anthem", the horn-blowers don't go bonkers, instead they each seem to independently lament their own bluesy dirge, as if they had got quietly drunk in an old Western bar."

"In the Olympic Sound studios, on the months between July & August, 1974, a crazy unusual band have continued to break the volume limit, who was indentified with the color red. In the end, they came out with a record that was milestone in the prog music, and symboled the end of the hippy generation. Her name was King Crimson. The album called "Red".

King Crimson, one of the pioneers of progressive rock, have gone through a lot of changes. The trio of 72'-74' (Fripp-Guitar, Wetton-Bass, Bruford-Drums), was the most unified & innovative of them. Fripp just got better on his playing & compsing skills, Bill Bruford had bought a lot of exprience and got on a meteoric learning course & John Wetton had invented a bass sound that destroy everything near to very little pieces...The three during the recording was at their best and "Red" is definitely their victory.

Musically, "Red" is a sequel to "Larks Tongues In Aspic" & "Starless & Bible Black". The constant stress between freestyling and sticking to the plan, had produced a high & interesting level of interest. Fripp, as a composer & as a performer, had totally personified his vision as a musician - the complete combination between Hendrix & Bach. A unite of Rock, Modernism & Classic music.

The two jewels on the crown in my opinion are the opener & the finale: "Red" - The instrumental track, with a threatning violin (played by David Cross) & a "distortion contest" between Fripp & Wetton. "Starless" - One of the best prog tracks ever recorded, a true wonder of production & structure. Former "Crimsons" have collaborated like Mel Collins, Ian McDonald & Robin Miller that contributed the wind instruments, when Wetton's friend, Robert Palmer James, who wrote those tragic lyrics. "Starless" includes three parts that combine wonderfully all the moods of the "Crimsonist" atmosphere ever: Melancholic sadness, Jazzy Happiness, Improvisated wildness & dramatic nobelty.

After the album was released, Fripp has lost his mind and decided to retire from music, due to mental reasons that no one really understands till today. Wetton & Bruford was furious about his desicion, but managed to survive and to found their own bands. Fripp has retired from music also, and came back with the album "Discipline" in 1981, When he came back with the "Crimsons" several times later in the 80's & 90's.

King Crimson tried to re-create this enormous sound that came out in this album, unsuccessfully. Maybe it's because great albums cannot be re-created."

"What is to say about this album that hasn't been said already? After the mostly-ordinary "Pablo Honey", Radiohead released this, often considered the pinnacle of 90's "alternative" rock (OK Computer was prog rock!). I do like The Bends lots, but find their later experimental stuff more interesting. Some of the tracks here are still in the straightforward grungy guitar style ("Bones", "Just", "Sulk"), but decent stuff anyway. The "Radiohead style" was finally defined by songs like "Bullet Proof...", "High and Dry", "Nice Dream", laid back, semi-acoustic, earnestly floaty singing. Spawned a few imitators, but the sound is strong and hasn't dated. Two tracks in particular - "Fake Plastic Trees" and "Street Spirit" have the kind of simple beauty that elevated them to iconic status, and foreshadow what was to come. They could only get better..."

"In my opinion, "Epilog" is one of the best prog albums in the 90's, if not the best of them. "Epilog" was named that way when the group members knew that this was they're last album - the "epilog" of their career, even though they have released a live album in 1996 ("Buried Alive"), but it was too late beacuse the band was already broke up.

On "Epilog" the band has stepped one step forward to the modern classic music, unlike in there previous album ("Hybris"), which was based on a the basic lexicon of the symponic prog. It is a winter-style, sad, and even traghic, that wasn't able to stop moving between outbursts of pain and suffer and melancholic appeasement with nature and earth. "Epilog" is completely instrumental, without lyrics, which is maybe good, because, as you know swedish is not my mother language :)

Anglagard didn't made they're life easy. instead of tracks on constant tempo, that on them you can show virtuosity, they chose to rebuild a dynamic, complexed, and changefull composition. Each each musician has it's own complicated part, every note fills a big amount of surprising transitions and a lot of mood changes, and special effects. If in their previous album, the listener has to concentrate on the melodical evolution, and got some interesting tunes, on that case he enters to swampy sound world (in an extreme way) that demandes more energy than usual to listen and to investigate.

Anglagard attend to more often use of musical metaphores of a strong connection to the nature, rivers, dark forests and change of seasons. The keyboards is simulating water streams, the drums are symbol of flood, the flute symbols the dark northern visions and the percussions give enrichment to the production in accociation to village and lonely world of scandinavia. There is less of the 'groove' or virtuosity of pure instrumental performence, and there is much more of an expression to the complex dialogue between the swedish culture and the multi-culture technological dissonance of 20th century.

The Band was focused on the meet between opposing world basics, on the one hand, the acoustic pastoraly, that was based on a melodic musical motif, and on the other hand, the short, effective and sharp breaks, that was based on a noisy mellotron, a stormy hammond, dramatic electric guitar and a deep electric bass - this is a smart idea that "rocks" the listener between intimate touches to a musical blizkrig. Such a demanding album is not suitable to mainstream music fans, and is opposing to the demands of the commercial radio and the expections of the record companies.

On the album, the productions are moving between low music to a music which is so loud that it will drive your neighbours crazy. Only the ones who'd like to hear this almost masochistic music can find it's big potential. With every listening you can find a new layers of music, that reveals the stracture of the album. It more than sure that the original MTV listeners won't find this album as a worth listening. It is pretty sad that best Anglagard album is, traghicaly, their last."

"There a very few albums that can be called "perfect", when you don't do it in a rush of a moment. "Hybris" is simply the most pure, constant, mature, balanced, deep & unique masterpiece I've heard. A combination of church atmosphere, a bit of metal & a touch from the gothic culture, created a great album. I can really say that "Hybris" is one of the best prog albums of the 90's. After one of their tours in 1993, viewers defined them as "the best prog band in the world" - and i can't agree less. The reviews of this album was also at the same height.

The major plus of the album is the moving tunes, Anglagard keeps the stable melodic attitude, that based well on the basic principles of classic music, but on the same time they give a strong feeling of the stress between two different cultures fighting against each other. The rich & eclectic productions are known for their wide dynamic, and that's what makes listening to this album interesting & exciting.

It's hard to pick several favorite tracks, but here are two of them: "Jordrok" - The opening track, one of the best instrumental tracks i've heard, brilliant solos, with the help of a new, scary melotron, 70's techniques with brilliant additions. "Kung Bore" - If anyone will ask me why do i love this album so much, i could say this will define my opinion. "Kung Bore" proves how much Anglagard uses the basics so well...

"Hybris" is a mith-breaker, because it shutters down the saying that "prog is a 70's-style". Anglagard are proving in the album that prog music can develop, and enrich itself. If only music lovers could treat it like they should, and put it on the same place with "Wish U Were Here" or "Selling England By The Pound", it would be a justice because this title fits this album like a glove. A good investment to every prog fan. It would be a big injustice to even compare it to the 70's bands, beacuse it's a modern masterpiece, that takes the basics that Genesis & Pink Floyd taught us and built their own style above it all. And the funny part is, it's not even their best album.... :)"

"It seems like everything possible has been said about this album. Perfect, a work of a genius, immortal as the moon, dark as the night. What haven't been said about the brilliant production, the perfect tunes, the efficient effects & the strict finish. After hearing every compliment possible, PF really don't need me to be their criticizer, but still - here are my two pennies:

"Dark Side Of The Moon" is a soundtrack of a lifetime. As the time ticks out, the money that we chase, the insanity that we fear of, the forlorness of the human excistence inside this wide space. Waters' writing is surely sharper than ever and the production is planned till the last bit. Some components of this album are so imprinted in our memory, such as the clock ticking, the cashier effect (that became so popular, ironically, in economy shows...), Claire Torry's shouts, the crazy laughters of some studio engineers - all of them are soaked in the collective memory of PF & music fans throughout the world. This is surely the most famous prog record, and i can say that "DSOTM" was a turning point in the evolution of the music industry, in Great Britain as well as in the world.

Listening to "Money", the greatest hit from the album, it's pretty ironic - when you think about the way that Gilmour protests against the same things that he stands for today: cause in 1973, it's easy to protest against the system, but i guess that after so much years of success and packed stadiums, you can easily became of the same system; considering that these revolutioners are now having car collections (like Nick Mason) and spending their time on Yachts & concorde planes. Although it is still a marvellous album it's still hard to see that those great artists don't stay comitted to their statements & beliefs.

My favorite tracks are two: First - "Us & Them", a song that fits incredibly to everyone's soundtrack, and is still on mine. Great text by Waters, that is simple but yet so exact. A great track musically as well... My second favorite is without a doubt "The Great Gig In The Sky" - which is, like "us & them", a great musical track, brilliant chords used by Richard Wright. I think that both of these two are definitely symphonic prog that are typical on this album and also on some parts of "Wish U Were Here" & "The Wall".

So even though the money wasn't so good for the Floyds (aspecially during "The Wall" era), and they behave today like braggart dinosaurs (specially Waters). Even though the relation to the album has gone way out of proportion, Even though it's still hard to explain why so many people are still connected to this album so deeply, considering that it still sold in the original price (33 years after the first release!!), Even though Waters is still making good amount of money from this album (In worldwide tours), And even though some claim that is not a prog record (Well, i guess when a record is successfull, it's not prog anymore, huh?..), and even though many people has said it before :)"

"My first taste of Dream Theater, and still stands out as the most solid of their albums. Starting with the perfectly paced build-up of the intro to "Pull Me Under", this contains some immaculate examples of musically interesting (prog, if you like) heavy rock. The instrumental interplay and restless changes of time and tempo are held together by a driving energy, and it never descends into wankiness. "Pull Me Under" and "Take the Time" hold the first half together in this way, the latter having some breathtaking rhythmic surprises. The longer pieces in the second half are no less imaginative, even if they might bore those without the patience for band instrumentals. "Learning To Live" is particularly colourful - a Spanish guitar sets off a rapid journey through several contrasting sections of soloing and group play, without ever getting bogged down.

Less interesting are the moments of plain big-hair stadium rock, such as "Another Day". "Surrounded" starts off in the same way, but contains just enough variety of mood and tempo to save it. The most successful "ballad" piece is keyboard player Kevin Moore's "Wait For Sleep", with a hypnotic, slinky piano theme."

"Apart from "Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" (which is too long/weird/rambling for many people) this is often cited as the best album of Genesis's prog-rock period. Indeed for most of this album they are on fine form. It starts starkly with Peter Gabriel's unaccompanied voice singing "can you tell me where my country lies" , continuing with some lovely resonant layers of guitar, and more firmly English-themed lyrics. "I Know What I Like" is an entertaining but silly single. "Firth of Fifth" is another great symphonic prog-rock piece. Tony Banks's solo piano introduction sets the scene for the song which builds gradually towards Steve Hackett's gloriously lyrical guitar solo. Its one weakness is in the vague and rambling lyrics.

However the album is spoiled by "The Battle of Epping Forest". Peter Gabriel playing a series of Cockney gangsters in silly voices, to an uninteresting tune, is OK for 2 minutes but not for a whole 11, please. This is appropriately followed by the mellow, pleasing instrumental "After the Ordeal", while "More Fool Me" is a throwaway ballad for Phil to practice his limp singing style for the future... "The Cinema Show" starts off with gentle layers of 12-string guitars and flutes, the typical Genesis sound again, and continues through the brief mellow song to an extended, but tasteful, band jam. The short coda consists of Gabriel reciting a 70's English grocery price list "seventeen-and-a-half p..." in layered vocals to a reprise of the opening tune."