Delusion Squared - Delusion Squared

Since their formation in 2009, French trio Delusion Squared have got a long road ahead for them and their self-titled debut album is a mysterious concept album about a Post-Apocalyptic land into four chapters. The story is about a girl that the strong free will against what was to bring peace for the Arcologies. Before that she was against the gene alterations and wanted a DNA to tamper with to get pregnant. She was arrested and soon was found by many years later by the Elders and took her in as if she was their daughter to them. She becomes a leader to them and dies at the age of 97 as they considered to her, the “Mother-of-all-people.”

The story is something straight out of a Philip K. Dick short story ala Blade Runner style, but it’s quite heavy stuff for a band to go beyond the pregnancy act, but the songs and the music are brilliant. The band is clearly in the realms of Porcupine Tree’s Delerium-era and the OK Computer sounds of Radiohead. You can tell that just before the band was working on their self-titled debut album, they were listening to these two bands and researching on how the sound was done, using technology and the way they were recording the music for the future and it is quite evidential when you hear this disturbing sci-fi album. And let’s just say this is not your daddy’s concept album, this is the concept album for all generations to take an understanding of politics, betrayal, renewal, death, and being considered a folk hero.

Opener, The Very Day creates an alternative folk riff futuristic sound of Delusion Squared’s love of the ‘80s New Wave of British Prog. With a train chugging acoustic rhythm guitar sound, burst of Wilson’s homage of atmospheric guitar sound and layered technique, the keyboards sounding like 2518, and Lorraine Young’s vocals sounds like a female version of Thom Yorke, really adds the touch of the power of the future to a soaring roar. Meanwhile on the eerie and moody In My Time of Dying, it firmly belongs to the atmospheric orientation of isolation that Young carries of her vocals about the girl’s life. It has this classical guitar sound in the finger picking technique as the keyboards pay tribute to the early days of Tangerine Dream’s Phaedra sound while the guitar goes into a Gilmour-sque melodic dark sound.

The 7-minute composition, Copyrighted Genes, sees the band make a tribute towards Porcupine Tree’s Fear of a Blank Planet with a jazz-like percussion sound, sneering guitar metallic roars, folky-riffs on the acoustic guitar, and a Vangelis-sque sound that could have been recorded in 1982 for a sci-fi vision of I, Robot. The sinister but suspenseful twist of Betrayal provides the girl’s trial, as the keyboard that Emmanuel De Saint does brings a Floyd-like sound that was taken from the sessions of The Division Bell as Young plays some Ottmar Liebert classical guitar licks in the midsection before the band go into as the judges sentencing the girl to prison as the music really adds the drama inside the room.

The mellower Sentenced that forms the guitar surround sound grips the girl’s isolation in different textures for the first few minutes of the song. At times it’s almost that Lorraine Young has got the torch of David Gilmour to light the Prog Olympics within the flames arising. The time signature is in ¾ and 4/4 as they spent into the storyline to rebuild to find freedom and Saint’s keyboards and drummer Steve Francis almost make the track a bit more of the Pink Floyd sound to make it very peculiar. By the Lake (Mourning) and (Seeding) are both beautiful and haunting tracks and this time it’s Saint’s time to shine as the band go back into the New Age sound that would make you go back and listen to them all over again.

The first part is very Keyboard and guitar layered sound while the second part features a disturbing fuzz tone bass line that Saint does while Young does her homage to Kate Bush in her vocals as she brings the guitar to a spooky yet creative territory as Francis lays down the drum patterns to calm down for the girl to be saved from the Elders. Rebirth starts off as a haunting lullaby opening section for the disturbed children of educational programs and perfect for Argento’s Suspiria before going into a fierce progressive metal experimental adventure in the realms of King Crimson’s Red period. What We Will Be begins with a Stephen Hawking voice which almost sounds like him as he describes the question, “What is the planet Earth going through right now?”

It almost sounds like Radiohead’s Fitter Happier as the atmospheric keyboards come in for the voice and then it’s a mourning ballad, with emotional lyrics dealing on who we are and why are we on this planet right now – even though it’s a situation to go green and being free to bring world peace to the globalization than where we are right now of war and destruction. Yet the last two tracks, The Departure and A Creation Myth that really sets a mysterious finale as the woman dies of old age, she is now a folk hero to the people on the planet and now her message will spread throughout the whole world. Opening with a classical piano sound before going through a layered guitar segment and a funeral song for the woman, Young really sings this peace as if she sang this inside a gothic cathedral while the band members wove into the atmospheric tradition that delivers a huge touch.

The last track has the Mike Oldfield keyboard testament at first before going through the alternative rock format of acoustic ballad through the band’s touching power. Ultimately you may play this album about three times to really get you into the band’s touch of progressive goodness with a ooh-la-la flavor to the Prog Torch. For keeping the concept album torch fire growing from their influential background growing up in France, Delusion Squared has really captured the essence of prog. Not a great album, but taking the step forward very carefully.

Wolf People - Steeple

So you want to get into the deeper waters of the Indie Prog scene? Well you are in for a big surprise. Wolf People have gotten a big delicious bite of the apple with their second album. The band was launched in 2005 to capture the elements of obscure psych-prog sounds of: Mighty Baby, Second Hand, Tractor, Black Widow, and Czar, they released their debut album Tidings last year and they have gotten something big in their hands that is beyond a huge measure of real good music for 2011. Perhaps with an album cover that is the realm of Jackson Pollock, Wolf People now find themselves with the underground scene and creating hopefully a following with their retro sound of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s hidden treasure gems of progressive music. Already carrying the footsteps of those lost classics, Steeple is a clever exercise in psychedelic power house guitar feedback and the efforts that the quartet have in them will stand till and give them a huge energetic force that is mysterious or strangely strange but oddly normal.

The best moments are the guitar parts that Tom Hollick does as he improvises with his disturbing fuzz tone guitar licks with all the voltage’s he has with his hands to give Wolf People a real kick in the gut while the flute playing that is portrayed here pays homage to Clive Jones of Pesky Gee and Black Widow fame. But here on Steeple, the album is an inspiration of the scientific thunder of explosive compositions could easily fit for a film score of a Hammer Film-era starring Peter Cushing. The middle-eastern eerie psychedelic opener Salisbury Sands and the pounding flute riff rocker Tiny Circle, a number that could have given The Mars Volta a run for their money with a freak-out boogie with heavy guitar sounds and flute playing the melody together to bend a ghost-like haunting call. If only Andy Votel could sample a beat, it would be the second track to give it a huge jolt for B-Music.

More like a psych-hard rock conjoined twin with Black Sabbath’s debut album and Blood Ceremony’s music, Painted Cross starts off with a thunderous guitar lick that Tom does while Jack Sharp grooves with his vocals as he creates a mysterious place that is post-apocalyptic and people dying by being crucified, he really adds the disturbing elements with the story-line before Hollick creates a moody layered ‘60s guitar sound as it ends with an Avant-Garde Varese spoken-word crescendo. The eerie funeral isolated beauty of Morning Born offers a crunchy sound of being the loneliest person in your home town, but it’s quite pleasing in what Wolf People are breaking the door down and saying, “Look there’s something that you need to know. We are very different from the big Prog names and we take the obscurity by heart.”

Drummer Tom Watt doesn’t play the drums like John Bonham or Neil Peart, but he plays like a vicious Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde combination on Morning Born at first he plays gentle then he goes into the attack mode as Hollick goes in for the syringe with his sneering guitar work while Sharp creates a moody rhythm sound as if he’s finger picking the notes to create the song on a perfect touch of energy while bassist Dan Davies lines are suspenseful and dramatic to the composition that is more emotional and more viciously in your face to give it an anti-climatic finale. What may lay the road ahead for them, Steeple seems like a trip to a world of eerie adventures that is out of this world and very much in the realm of David Lynch meets Alejandro Jodorowsky.

Fitting the void of Ash Ra Tempel’s debut album and homage to guitarist virtuoso Manuel Gottsching, the sinister and tour de force electric power of Cromlech is in the waters of the Krautrock trio as Wolf People pay a tribute to the Space Rock cadets with Joe Hollick creating a solar system ride into the black hole with his Dave Brock and Gottsching guitar sounds to give it a wall of feedback and keeping the space ship into full orbit as it goes into the black hole of a forbidden planet. One By One from Dorney Reach starts off with a crescendo with Tom Watt and Joe Hollick going bat shit crazy for 30-seconds and then it pays tribute in the Amon Duul II Yeti-era sound of psychedelic punk attitude with a chomp to the leg filling the battlefield of the war to rage. Sharp creates a disturbing rhythm sound on the guitar while Hollick does a chugging train sound on the guitar before it becoming a bluesy metallic rockin’ touch as Watt plays like the drum beats with a funky groove as Davies follows Watt with his picking garage rock bass lines.

The sequel to Black Sabbath moody and disturbing ballad of Planet Caravan has just come in with the 7-minute rumbler, Castle Keep. Beginning with the folksy obscure guitar reverb rhythm as Sharp sings, “My Heart is dying.” Almost as if he’s Robert Johnson, the band go into a bluesy-prog feel before going into the Blood Ceremony punch for Wolf People to get in there and move away from the blues sound and into the middle-eastern feel as Watt creates an Egyptian percussion feel on the drums before getting into another space hard rock adventure almost as if they recorded this track in 1972 for Ralph Bakshi to use in his underrated cult animated classic for Lord of the Rings.

The two-part composition closer, Banks of Sweet Dundee is a tribute to the obscure folk rock sound of Comus and obscure hard rock band, The Human Beast. It provides an acoustic and mellowed layered guitar sound that Hollick brings and lay back to give Sharp a chance to shine with his heartfelt vocals as the band take a mystique sound with their instruments to give it a closing to a T. For keeping the Obscure Prog sound alive and the inspirations to come in, Wolf People have released the beast to the wild and Steeple is huge step in the underground rock tradition, but the evidence is in the pudding and the music keeps on growing. The result? A tremendous amount of credit.

Blonde on Blonde - Contrasts

It’s quite understandable to see where Blonde on Blonde were one of Welsh’s obscure progressive rock bands to come out of the late ‘60s. While I adore their second album, Rebirth, reissued by the Fantastic Voyage label which was originally released on the Ember label, their first album, Contrasts, is an appropriate proto-prog album. The band was signed to the Pye label and released their debut in June of 1969. Contrasts features cover songs and a musical psych approach that was the bands new adventure that would come for them.

Blonde on Blonde brought a mixture of psychedelic and raga-rock with guitar, organ, sitar, and dramatic percussion orientated beauty here. The evidence of early prog is here with the dramatic introduction Ride With Captain Max that sounds like something that was left out of the sessions of the Rolling Stones Their Satanic Majesties Request with a pounding percussion roar, sneering guitars, and a thundering bass line that makes it perfect for a roller-coaster ride before going into a calm folk-like lyrics that is yet a breathtaking experience.

And that was only the beginning. Next, we have the early beginnings of raga-rock with sitar and flute on the groove with Spinning Wheel while their cover of No Sleep Blues originally done by Scottish Folkies the Incredible String band. It has a country rock flavor but with a humoristic point of view to pay tribute to them, but according to notes, “a while sequence of trauma in miniature” makes you realize that this piece will give you quite an understanding to the song.

The homage of the Zombies song, Imagine The Swan is evidential on the flourishing and soaring sound of the Hammond on Goodbye. It has a baroque pop sound that is quite surprising for Blonde on Blonde to do as the song deals with moving on and saying farewell to school, family, and friends and into the clouds of heaven to start a new life after death. The garage rocker I Need My Friend, has a great pounding piano work, fuzz tone guitar sounds, and vocals that Ralph Denyer has in the realm of Roger Chapman.

The dooming and explosive Mother Earth is quite an underrated song, but with a menacing folk and hard rock sound dealing with the spiritual world, it’s a crowning achievement for them to deal with social issues on Contrasts. They would also embrace the Beatles music with the medieval, mariachi, and symphonic folk crisp of their cover of isolation, outsider and death on Eleanor Rigby while the psych-pop mood kicks in the B-side single and their homage to Eric Burdon and the Animals on Conversationally Making the Grade. It has a soul sound rather than a funk influence as Ralph just brings the influence of Burdon’s voice into the gospel-like energetic rumble.

Regency is a short instrumental piece that goes into the classical sound of the 15th century with harpischord and Spanish guitar fingerpicking techniques before seguing into the Renaissance Folk beauty on Island on an Island. Don’t Be Too Long has an emotional ballad about moving on and leaving to start a new life at a different city as the song has a Nick Drake element feel to it as the closing track Jeanette Isabella has a bit of the eerie tribute to a psychedelic female fictional singer that has a love-song feel, but with a West Coast sound that could have been a bit more majestic and heartfelt.

The two bonus tracks because if you think that Contrasts is over and done with, well the people at Esoteric Recordings have got a surprise for you. The two tracks from the A & B-sides of the single. Here, we have the homage of Tyrannosaurus Rex of the raga rumble on All Day All Night and the psych-pop marriage issue of Country Life. This rare album is a must have for anyone who wants to get into the deeper realms of the underground-era. It’s so amazing that you can hear what the bands sounded like and never got the achievement they deserve from the past until now.

The Dog That Bit People - The Dog That Bit People

Like Locomotive’s sole-debut album We Are Everything You See released in 1970 which has a prog-orchestral psychedelic jazz feel to it thanks to the mind of Norman Haines, The Dog That Bit People was a band that moved away from Norman’s vision into something that was in the deep realm of the American West Coast Sound of the late ‘60s. And their only debut album originally released in 1971 on the Parlaphone label, is a wonderful treatment with Country Rock, Folk, Hard Rock, and the early beginnings of Southern Rock.

Like a burning candle that burns bright, The Dog That Bit People had all of the ingredients to write their own compositions and created some beautiful songs to fill their wings. The band really carries the sound of CSNY and Stephen Stills like as if they went to the studio carrying their albums and before getting ready to record, they would listen to them and see where the writing and music come in. There’s a perfect example of this on Sound of Hunter and the result here is fantastic. You have an acoustic rhythm guitar section while the background vocals have an earlier resemblance of The Marshall Tucker Band as guitarist Paul Caswell gives his heavy southern riff that is more expected from Gary Rossington and Toy Caldwell. But the four-piece could take a huge beauty and make it more like a flower growing to see the sunlight.

But what Esoteric Recordings did was absolutely fascinating. The booklet features pictures of the band, sleeve notes by Crimson and Canterbury expert Sid Smith, and an interview with drummer Bob Lamb about the making of the debut album. The band considers Locomotive bassist Mick Hincks, guitarist John Caswell, and keyboardist Keith Millar. Their own love of Country Music, Scott Joplin, and George Jones comes with a sense of humor on the short track of the Memphis sound with Someone Somewhere, yes it’s a funny track as they have a ball to get you in a dancing mood while they go into the realm of Black Sabbath’s first album treatment on The Monkey and the Sailor and the closer, Reptile Man. It comes with a psychedelic mellower romantic sound on the opening number that could have been an A.M. hit in the ‘70s with Goodbye Country and the issues of meeting a beautiful woman with a Buffalo Springfield feel to it on Lovely Lady.

But you might see that the Dog that Bit People had some progressive moments in them to let Norman Haines know they have it in them with the fantasy-mellotron soaring angelic rocker on Cover Me in Roses. It has Keith Millar’s power house organ sound as he goes at it like if he is in full control while Bob Lamb’s lays in the groove on the drums. He isn’t like Charlie Watts, but he calms the band down with his patterns and his ear trains to give the band time to lay back. On piano grooves with a bluesy feel and a Shofar introduction to a psychedelic pounding rocker that pays homage to Traffic featuring Steve Winwood, A Snapshot of Rex is almost a sequel to Forty Thousand Headmen and Red Queen’s Dance is the ultimate medieval keg rocker of Medicated Goo and the bass line similar to Pink Floyd’s Careful With that Eugene in the beginning, it’s a killing track that really gets your blood boiling.

Mr. Sunshine stands on the toes with David Bowie’s psych-pop flavor of Janine while Tin Soldier is a wonderful composition with Hinck’s vocals, John Caswell folk and heavy guitar sounds fill the album while Millar does a Thunderclap Newman sound on the piano as drummer Bob Lamb goes at the drums like a shining diamond as he takes the band to the soaring skies. Walking is another ballad that makes it perfect to walk in Central Park to exercise with by adding the calm and feel that makes the album closes with a perfect note. The bonus track which was a B-side single that according to the liner notes has a Badfinger flavor which is spot on with Merry-Go-Round just makes you want to put this on the graduation dance to get you going for more of the band’s lost classic. Not only that Esoteric pulled a great job to bring the album out of the tunnels, but the reissue and re-mastering that they did is like as if they brought it back from the dead and getting the recognition it deserves.

Banco - Banco

Already having success in their hometown in Italy as the Manticore label was searching for up-and-coming artists in their wing, Keith Emerson had praised the Italian scene in the ‘70s during an interview with Melody Maker and praised Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso’s musical style and he knew that it would be a perfect deal for Keith to sign them to their new prog label. Leaving the Ricordi label was a difficult decision after having the first three Italian albums up their sleeves, but it was time to move on. Like their predecessors Le Orme and PFM who were climbing the Italian Prog tree, the band had a massive cult following in England after performing at the Roundhouse and the Marquee while receiving a lukewarm telegram from Greg Lake saying, “Congratulations on first successful English tour. Hope all goes well. Sorry won’t be able to be with you best of luck.”

Originally released in 1975 on the Manticore label and in 2010 from the reissued Esoteric label who worked on the Manticore catalogue, simply called Banco and feature the first new three tracks in Italian while the last four tracks are a translation of their songs in English from their Ricordi years. The band recorded the album in their home town in Rome and their love of the British Prog sound in England. Like looking through a crystal ball, the music is very classical, baroque and very much in the realm of Gentle Giant thanks to the keyboard sounds of the Nocenzi brothers who give the soaring vocalist Francesco Di Giacomo a huge boost and let him give a chance to shine. Not to mention the sound of an operatic rock vocalization of Pavarotti that Fransesco has.

The album starts off with the new age ambient almost ‘80s sound of Chorale (from Traccia’s Theme) as Vittorio and Gianni create a medieval Kraftwerk sound in the realm of Autobahn as it segues into a Renaissance jumping tempo sound on L’Albero Del Pans (The Bread Tree). It has a lot of dynamic, dance beats with the synth and piano and thunderous bass work that Renato D’Angelo brings to the table while guitarist Rodolfo Maltese strums like Pete Townshend on the acoustic side. The 14-minute Metamorphosis is one of the band finest moments.

Starting off with a thunderous guitar work that Rodolfo Maltese does with a heavy riff section that creates the tension as the Nocenzi brothers help him out to ease out and have some fun before becomes a thunderous roar and sinister background as they give Gianni a chance to shine. Gianni is absolutely magnificent as he does his Piano Concerto which goes through various time changes and variations almost as if he’s performing in front of ELP to give the band the big thumbs up. And then Calderoni’s thunderous drum patterns come in to give a hell of a solo.

He is a combination of Billy Cobham, Jamie Muir, and Bill Bruford as he starts off quiet for a good while while Gianni creates a suspension atmosphere for Pier to come in to be as loud as possible as Vittorio comes in to do a disturbing moog piece to set up the emotional boundaries as it screams like an insane person going to break free out of the asylum before calming down into screaming and shouting as the bass and piano create an eerie scene for a good while. Rodolfo creates some metallic sounds on the guitar before the instruments go into a clashing mode as it explodes like dynamite.

Later on, Renato and Vittorio pay homage to Franco Battiato and Amon Duul II’s golden-era before it becomes a twisted circus gone into a world of magnetic insanity. The band take a moody yet symphonic finale as Francesco comes in to close the track with his mighty voice to give it a wonderful rock opera sound for the Italians to go batshit crazy over Banco shouting “Encore! Encore! Bravo! Bravo!” But it’s not over yet, folks.

The English versions of the tracks have only just begun. Outside (R.I.P.) sees Renato’s creating his bass lines like a speeding train as Vittorio and Gianni Nocenzi going at it to see who has the best solos on the keyboard and piano before it becomes a futuristic sound of Tangerine Dream’s early days while Maltese on the other hand does his homage to Robert Fripp for a good while before it becomes a heavenly climatic ending. The ballad, Leave Me Alone (Non Mi Rompete) which features Maltese’s classical guitar sound in a renaissance folky way, carries the Baroque sound for the band to lay back and go acoustic as Francesco goes mellow on his vocals while the lyrics have fairy-tale complex. Maltese is powerful on his guitar playing with conducting time movements to let the band come in and see where the direction comes in.

On that tune, it’s just Francesco, Maltese, and Nocenzi’s springful keyboards unplugged as they improvise in the bridge with Giacomo’s vocalization and Maltese’s bullet train’s homage again to Townshend’s strumming. A perfect combination match made in heaven. Nothing’s The Same (Dopo Niente E’Piu Lo Stesso) tells the tale of Soldier’s coming home from a brutal war on a speeding train probably from the second World War. It has a dramatic background and sinister musical scenario’s from the Nocenzi brothers sound of the flourishing keyboards, Maltese dooming guitar work, and Renato’s thunderous force of electricity on the bass creates a moody anti-war scenery.

Then it becomes a free-for-all changing of the pace as the band just transform into their heroes Gentle Giant and ELP as they give drummer Pier Luigi Calderoni a moment to shine with his drum patterns and helping the band out with his time signatures. This guy knows his Improvisational Theory very damn well. As he and Francesco go into the hall and work together as brothers and see where the piece would take them before Vittorio ends the piece with his spooky electronic string section and Gianni’s synth helps calm the storm down.

Traccia II which was originally released on Io Sono Nato Libero, features Gianni’s grand piano work as Vittorio helps his brother out with his Kerry Minnear-sque sound on the keyboards to make it sound very medieval. Again it’s medieval instrumental rock that gives it a heartfelt ending as if the good guys have won the battle and come home from a hard and long work. Stand the test of time? Take a trip with their days on the Ricordi label and then go deep into the waters of the Manticore years and take a wonderful magic carpet ride with Banco’s music and see where the carpet takes you.

The Fierce & The Dead - Part I

An unbelievable experimental adventure that Matt Stevens has cooked up with this twisted ride of the revival of the post-rock sound, Matt’s virtuoso has gone up a level with The Fierce and The Dead, a project that features Kev Feazy on Bass and Keyboards, and Stuart Marshall on drums & percussion. A perfect trio that follows in the footsteps of Radiohead, Mogwai, The Wall-era of Pink Floyd, and Krautrocker’s of the Avant-Garde, Faust. Even though this only a one-track EP, this is one hell of a ride that you are about to embark on for a very long time that the composition suggests, not to mention the beautiful cover.

Although Stevens layered and eerie guitar sound creates a disturbing tone that is in the realm of Jonny Greenwood, this a wonderful and attractive atmospheric music and weird travel of ambient noises that goes into various places of insanity, life, death, and rebirth in different changes of the instrumental piece that is only 18-minutes and 40-seconds. The piece starts off like a moody flowing gentle embrace that is like a glowing flower ready to burst hitting every note and voltage before going into an adventure of droning forces of evil.

It sends the listener’s ear to get them full and complete attention on what they are hearing on this composition and taking them into haunting places that they have never seen before with elements of the retro ‘70s German rock sound and synths going haywire almost sounding like a combination of a razor blade and a chainsaw making this loud and mind-craving noise that sounds like something out of a horror film as Feazy creates some Mogwai-like bass lines in the fuzz-tone value while Marshall’s drum patterns sound very much like Phil Selway. And then Matt calms the scenery with his jazzy improvisation for a good while to let the two members give some time to relax as they do an Indian tribe relative sound to set the scenery for Matt’s guitar playing.

And then all of a sudden, BAM! The band comes into a full circle like as if they are a gang band to release a sudden attack then followed by a psychedelic droning feedback amplification as the synth goes into an attack mode in the background. Treated as if Guitar, Synth, Bass, and Drums are giving Justin Bieber a heart attack in a BIG way, they do an homage of Tangerine Dream’s ‘70s atmospheric sound of Phaedra before going into the OK Computer-era with Marshall’s electronic sound of the drums as if it was made to be in the futuristic scene of the 22nd century. He is playing the drums like a thundering storm as Stevens and Fezey watch him to say, “Give all the energy you got and let’s take this home with a bang!”

After coming back with the drone sound, the bass joins in with the drums while Stevens creates an echoing improvisation on the guitar into a swirling whirlpool of terror like a Hitchock film score, the first part has been reached to inherit the earth…Volcanic, Erupted, and lava coming out to terrorize the pop sound of today’s bullshit of mainstream radio top 10 singles. Matt just comes swinging as he gives some Frippertronic guitar layered sound that is the signal of the waves to crash.

The last three minutes is Stevens doing his guitar work as he pays tribute to Greenwood, Fripp, and Lifeson as if it’s the calm of the storm in an eerie way with a clapping rhythm beat before the synth goes into a futuristic ending ala Argento style! As the level goes up into a serious haywire mode before going into a static and then ending into a sudden stop ala Beatles Abbey Road momentum. The soundscapes that the trio created on the first part of the Fierce and the Dead is almost as if it was recorded for the Pawn Hearts sessions for Van Der Graaf Generator. The recording in time changes, spaced-out adventures, mysterious finale, and all of this makes this composition The Fierce and The Dead’s evocative and haunting ingredients of a post-apocalyptic landscape.

Odin of London - The London Tapes

Having admired BunChakeze’s Whose Dream and one of the best lost albums of 2010 (this was in the early 1980s) and released on internet stores like: iTunes, CD Baby, and Amazon MP3 last year, this is more of the unsung tracks by Odin of London in which is called, The London Tapes. You could buy the MP3 album on CD Baby and now self-released, these sessions offer more of the lost tracks that the band had done before dissolving.

Listening to these tracks is almost like being in the studio and experiencing the band working to create some magic here. It’s hard to deny and never anything bad when Odin created something magic. They could have been the next Marillion and take the New Wave of British Prog a step further and would have given Derek “Fish” Dick a run for his money. And we got to give credit for the band and Colin Tench to re-release the tapes. You could imagine a modern version of Pink Floyd teaming up with Marillion and adding some layered ‘80s sound simulating melodic harmonies, atmospheric surround sound, and story-telling lyrics, makes the compositions a ticket to ride.

There are traces of The Who’s rock opera Tommy in the soaring beauty of Eagles and the elements of riff-ballad on Change sounds a lot like the duo guitar sounds of Dave Murray and Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden, but with Colin Tench he made it sound like as if the guitar had a double-tracking sound as if Fruupp had teamed up the two guitarist to create a medieval retro rock sound. The dooming futuristic straightforward rocker, Dead of Night acknowledges a film soundtrack reference that could have been used in Disney’s 1982 cult classic, Tron for the light cycle race sequence while it owes a large debt to the AOR (Album-Orientated Rock) sound resembling Styx’s golden days and Starcastle’s sound of Citadel.

Now on the opening track, Alcatraz, at first it sounds like the riff-rocker of Boston’s More Than A Feeling, but it provides a mellower but beautiful guitar passages that Tench does to give the band to cool down as if he is Andy Latimer and gives a warm welcome to the London Tapes. Musically, there is again the tributes with Raven, an homage to gothic poet writer Edgar Allen Poe, it becomes a going on the road power house piece with the guitar roaring in the sound of early Thin Lizzy’s Vagabond-era and Camel’s Snow Goose-era. Mythically, Catherine sounds almost like an acoustic British Folk song at first with Colin doing a finger picking sound on the acoustic guitar as the song deals with life after leaving home and not coming back, but it a smooth and eerie disturbing piece in the realm of Odin’s sound before becoming a thunderous finale that sends a chill in your spine.

The last two bonus tracks are worth a gem. You have the alternate version of Tony Butler’s vocals sounding almost as if Dennis DeYoung and Geddy Lee had a kid brother in a big way on a different take of Alcatraz while the new song Gentle Friend featuring John Culley's homage to David Gilmour as he carries a huge torch in the Pink Floyd Momentary Lapse of Reason-era and it maintains a sentimental upbeat tempo that carries the Odin sound. All in all, The London Tapes is almost another unsung gem that carries the resume of Whose Dream in any of the unsung obscure prog bands that never saw the light at the end of the tunnel. This is a must have for all prog lovers to sink their shark-like jaws into.