Arjen Lucassen, Aarvark, Anekdoten, Artrock cover og After Crying

Arpeggio er et uttrykk innen musikk, der tonene i en akkord spilles raskt etter hverandre, i stedet for samtidig. Ordet kommer av det italienske «slik som harpen» (arpa: harpe), og teknikken er vanlig ved spilling av gitar, piano og harpe. I partituret vil akkordens noter (som skal avspilles i rask serie) vises med vertikal bølge foran.

Musiker Åge Sten Nilsen - blant annet kjent som vokalist i puddelrockbandet Wig Wam , har klaget inn Nettavisens Side2 sin anmeldelse av soloskiva ”Glamunition”.

Anmeldelsen konkluderer med terningkast 1, og hevder samtidig at Sten Nilsen har gitt ut ”årets dårligste plate”. Men det er ikke i utgangspunktet dette som får Sten Nilsen til å reagere. Den aktuelle slakten blir nemlig illustrert med et anmeldelsesskjema fra politiet, der artistens navn er plottet inn, og ”det norske folk” står oppført i rubrikken ”fornærmedes/ skadelidtes navn”.

I klagen til PFU er det advokat Brynjar Meling som fører ordet på vegne av artisten.
Ifølge NRK skriver Meling blant annet at ”det virkemiddel som Nettavisen har brukt, herunder et offisielt politidokument, sammenholdt med assosiering med kriminalitet - som overgrep -, innebærer en ærekrenkelse i strid med straffeloven § 247 og et kraftig overtramp av kravet til sakelighet, omtanke og riktighet av opplysninger”. Meling skriver videre at Nettavisen indikerer at Åge Sten Nilsen skal ha begått en straffbar handling ved å lage det aktuelle albumet. Som konsekvens skal flere fans, både unge og gamle, ha tatt kontakt med artisten for å spørre hva galt det er han har gjort.

2. The Tangent - Not As Good As A Book
3. Marillion - Happiness is the Road
4. Unifaun - s/t

5. Beardfish - Sleeping In Traffic Part 2
6. Thieves Kitchen - The Water Road
7. Simon Says - Tardigrade

13. Karmakanic - Who's the Boss in the Factory
14. Pineapple Thief - Tightly Unwound
15. Mike Oldfield - Music of the Spheres

Akkorder

Besifring deles gjerne inn i grupper etter hvilken funksjon hver av skalatonene i akkorden har. Eksempelvis om gruppen tilhører dur eller moll akkordene, som bestemmes av den 3. skalatonens plassering i forhold til grunntonen.

Besifring med brøksymbol (/) betyr at akkorden med tonen angitt under brøken spilles i bassen.

Med besifring kan det altså angis om akkorden ligger i grunnstilling eller i omvending. Eksempelvis vil C dur i grunnstilling angis som C, mens 1. omvending angis som C/E og 2. omvending som C/G.

Grunntonene kan være alle tonenavn som befinner seg innenfor en oktav. Dette utgjør 7 stamtoner (hvite pianotangenter) og 5 toner som er avledet av stamtonene.

Siden de avledete tonene kan ha 2 forskjellige navn, vil altså antall grunntoner og besifrings tonearter totalt utgjøre 17 forskjellige tonenavn:

C - C# eller Db - D - D# eller Eb - E - F - F# eller Gb - G - G# eller Ab - A - A# eller Bb - H.

Stamtonerekken, C dur skalaen, bygger egentlig på a moll skalaens tonenavn: A B C D E F G, som er starten på vårt alfabet.

På engelsk kalles tonen H, B. På norsk er B det samme som tonen H senket en halv tone, som på engelsk blir en Bb. Dette kan lett skape forvirring, og i værste fall episoder der en utrent musiker spiller feil akkord.

For å sikre seg mot forveksling er det derfor en fordel å bruke H for engelske B, og Bb også på norsk for tonen som ligger en halv tone nedenfor H.

Med bruk av norske H og engelske Bb i samme system skal det mer til for at det blir spilt eller oppfattet galt. Diskusjon om denne bruksmåten kan naturligvis diskuteres.

Nettstedet musikkordboken.no har valgt å bruke dette (egentlig uriktige men praktiske) prinsippet helt konsekvent!

I enkelte sangbøker og teksthefter finnes det besifring med en blanding av store og små bokstaver, som skiller mellom henholdsvis dur og moll.

A7 vil eksempelvis være en DUR akkord.

a7 vil eksempelvis være en MOLL akkord.

Den riktige fremgangsmåten er å alltid bruke store bokstaver. Moll akkorden skal da skrives som Am7, der m indikerer at dette er en moll akkord.

For å betegne akkorder ved hjelp av besifring benyttes det et bokstav- og tallsymbol system.

Den føste bokstaven viser til grunntonen i akkorden, og bør alltid betegnes med stor bokstav.

Avledete toner betegnes enten med et kryss (#) eller en b, plassert etter første symboltegn. C# er eksempelvis tonen som ligger en halv tone over C, og Db er tonen som ligger en halv tone under D.

Skalatonene i en akkord kan ha flere posisjoner, altereres dermed opp eller ned ett halvtonetrinn. Dette vil forklares videre i kurset.

m Akkorder med liten ters (3. skalatone senket en halv tone). Moll akkorder.

sus4 Akkorder som har byttet ut tersen (3. skalatone) med en kvart (4. skalatone).

sus2 Akkorder som har byttet ut tersen (3. skalatone) med en sekund (2. skalatone).

- (Minus tegn eller en b) Akkorder der skalatonen som følger etter minus symbolet er forminsket (vanligvis 5. eller 9. skalatone, senket en halv tone).

+ (Pluss tegn eller et #) Akkorder der skalatonen som følger etter pluss symbolet er forstørret (vanligvis 5. eller 9. skalatone, hevet en halv tone).

9 Akkorder med en none (9. skalatone), vanligvis fulgt av en liten septim (7. skalatone senket en halv tone).

11 Akkorder med en undecim (11. skalatone), vanligvis fulgt av en none (9. skalatone) og en liten septim (7. skalatone senket en halv tone). Tersen (3. skalatone) er ofte utelatt, og akkorden fungerer som en sus4 akkord.

13 Akkorder med en tersdecim (13. skalatone), vanligvis fulgt av en none (9. skalatone) og en liten septim (7. skalatone senket en halv tone). Av og til også fulgt av en undecim (11. skalatone).

° eller dim er en spesiell akkord bygget opp av små terser innenfor oktaven.

Besifring/tall (eks: A6/7) er en spesiell akkordtype der skalatonen under desimalstreken er lagt til akkorden.

Besifring/tonenavn (eks: A/E) er en spesiell akkordtype der skalatonen under desimalstreken er basstonen i akkorden.

add er en spesiell akkordtype der skalatonen etter ordet add er lagt til akkorden.

Samtlige akkord eksempler som brukes videre i kurset har tonen C som grunntone. Ved hvert eksempel følger det en oversikt over hva som inngår i akkorden.

Overskrift viser hvordan besifringen noteres med C som grunntone.

Første kolonne viser skalatrinnenen, i dette tilfellet grunn-treklangen som er 1. 3. og 5. skalatrinn.

Andre kolonne viser skalatonene i akkorden, med C som grunntone. 1. skalatone er grunntonen C, 3. skalatone er E, og 5. skalatone er G.

Tredje kolonne viser navnene på intervallene. 1. intervall er prim, 3. er ters og 5. er kvint.

Siste kolonne viser intervall posisjonen. 1. er alltid ren, 3. er stor i dur og 5. trinn er i dette tilfellet en ren kvint.

Hver linje viser intervallenes nummer i rekken, tonenavn med C som grunntone, intervall navn og om tonen er alterert eller ei.

Akkordene i denne gruppen består av tre skalatoner og danner basis for alle akkorder. Det betyr at også firklanger, femklanger og enda større akkorder har treklangen i bunnen.

Treklanger innehar skalatoner som i de fleste tilfeller befinner seg fra 1. til 5. skalatrinn fra grunntonen til akkorden.

Eksemplene i dette kurset bruker tonen C som grunntone. Skalaen, som er utgangspunktet for intervall tonene, består da av tonene C D E F G A H (henholdsvis 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. og 7. skalatrinn).

Ren
Et toneintervall som kan senkes og heves.

Forminsket
Et toneintervall som ikke lenger er rent. Senket en halv tone.

Forstørret
Et toneintervall som ikke lenger er rent. Hevet en halv tone.

Stor
Et toneintervall som bare kan senkes. Det kan ikke heves for da havner tonen på neste toneintervall posisjon.

Liten
Et toneintervall som ikke lenger er stort. Senket en halv tone.

Dur akkorden betegnes med stor bokstav, der bokstaven er tonenavnet på akkordens grunntone. Akkorden består av 1. 3. og 5. skalatone i dur skalaen, og utgjør en treklang.

I sjeldne tilfeller brukes det et system som viser moll med små bokstaver og dur med store bokstaver på tonenavnet, eksempelvis e (som er E moll) og E (som er E dur). Bokstaven m brukes da ikke i dette systemet som for øvrig ikke anbefales brukt.

Moll akkorder dannes ved å senke tersen (3. skalatone) ned en halv tone. I moll akkorden er tersen altså liten.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som Cm eller CMI eller c (grunntonen med liten bokstav og uten bokstaven m for moll).

Symbolet sus4 betyr at dur treklangens ters erstattes med en kvart, den 4. skalatonen.

En sus4 akkord etterfølges ofte av en dur akkord med samme grunntone. Spenningen som dannes med sus4 akkorden, oppløses når kvarten faller tilbake til ters.

Symbolet sus2 betyr at dur treklangens ters erstattes med en sekund, den 2. skalatonen.

En sus2 akkord etterfølges ofte av en dur akkord med samme grunntone. Spenningen som dannes med sus2 akkorden, oppløses når sekunden faller tilbake til ters.

Symbolet minus plassert rett foran femtallet betyr at kvinten, den 5. skalatonen, skal senkes ned en halv tone.

Bokstaven liten m etter tonenavnet står for moll. Den 3. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Symbolet minus plassert rett foran femtallet betyr at kvinten, den 5. skalatonen, skal senkes ned en halv tone.

Symbolet pluss plassert rett etter tonenavnet betyr at kvinten, den 5. skalatonen, skal heves opp en halv tone.

Dette er en litt spesiell akkord. Med hevet kvint i en dur akkord, blir avstanden lik mellom alle akkord tonene.

Samtlige intervaller utgjør en stor ters. Eksempelvis mellom C og E, E og G# samt mellom G# og oktaven C.

Akkorden er bygget opp av store terser, og de samme tonene vil derfor dukke opp igjen ved en C+ E+ og G#+ akkord.

Andre besifring varianter kan konstrueres ved å alterere de forskjellige skalatone-intervallene, men disse er mer sjeldne. Ofte kan det være mer fornuftig å sette sammen standard besifring med en egen basstone, eksempelvis:

Csus4+5 (1. 4. +5.) (C F G#) Mer fornuftig å angi dette som Fm/C (F moll med C i bassen).

Csus2-5 (1. 2. -5.) (C D Gb) Mer fornuftig å angi dette som D7/C (D syv med C i bassen). Kvinten mangler i så fall, men en kvint kan gjerne utelates dersom den er ren.

Akkordene i denne gruppen består av fire skalatoner, er bygget på treklangene og danner basis for større akkorder. Firklanger innehar skalatoner som i de fleste tilfeller befinner seg fra 1. til 7. skalatrinn.

Eksemplene i dette kurset bruker tonen C som grunntone. Skalaen, som er utgangspunktet for intervall tonene, består da av tonene C D E F G A H (henholdsvis 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. og 7. skalatrinn).

Bokstaven liten m etter tonenavnet står for moll. Den 3. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

C6sus4 (1. 4. 5. 6.) (C F G A) Mer fornuftig å angi dette som Fadd9/C (F add ni med C i bassen).

C6-5 (1. 3. -5. 6.) (C E Gb A) Mer fornuftig å angi dette som Gbm7-5/C (Gess moll syv minus fem med C i bassen).

C6+5 (1. 3. +5. 6.) (C E G# A) Mer fornuftig å angi dette som Am maj7/C (A moll maj syv med C i bassen).

Bokstav symbolet maj betyr at den 7. skalatonen brukes slik den naturlig forekommer i dur skalaen. For Cmaj7 vil det si tonen H og for Fmaj7 tonen E.

Bokstaven liten m etter tonenavnet står for moll. Den 3. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som Cm maj7 eller Cm maj eller Cm(maj7) eller CmΔ.

Cmaj7-5 (1. 3. -5. 7.) (C E Gb H) Tilsvarer Hsus4/C (H sus4 med C i bassen).

Tallet 7 betyr at den 7. skalatonen legges til treklangen. I motsetning til en maj7 skal denne akkorden ha en liten septim. Den 7. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Bokstaven liten m etter tonenavnet står for moll. Den 3. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Tallet 7 betyr at den 7. skalatonen legges til treklangen. I motsetning til en maj7 skal denne akkorden ha en liten septim. Den 7. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Symbolet sus4 betyr at dur treklangens ters erstattes med en kvart, den 4. skalatonen.

En sus4 akkord etterfølges ofte av en dur akkord med samme grunntone. Spenningen som dannes med sus4 akkorden, oppløses når kvarten faller tilbake til ters.

Tallet 7 betyr at den 7. skalatonen legges til treklangen. I motsetning til en maj7 skal denne akkorden ha en liten septim. Den 7. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Symbolet minus plassert rett foran tallet fem betyr at kvinten, den 5. skalatonen, skal senkes ned en halv tone.

Bokstaven liten m etter tonenavnet står for moll. Den 3. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Tallet 7 betyr at den 7. skalatonen legges til treklangen. I motsetning til en maj7 skal denne akkorden ha en liten septim. Den 7. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Symbolet minus plassert rett foran tallet fem betyr at kvinten, den 5. skalatonen, skal senkes ned en halv tone.

Tallet 7 betyr at den 7. skalatonen legges til treklangen. I motsetning til en maj7 skal denne akkorden ha en liten septim. Den 7. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Symbolet pluss plassert rett foran tallet fem betyr at kvinten, den 5. skalatonen, skal heves opp en halv tone.

C7sus4+5 (1. 4. +5. b7.) (C F G# Bb) Tilsvarer Fm add11/C (F moll add elleve med C i bassen).

Cm7+5 (1. m3. +5. b7.) (C Eb G# Bb) Tilsvarer Ab add9/C (Ass add ni med C i bassen).

Akkordene i denne gruppen består av minimum fem skalatoner, med basis i treklangen. Vanligvis befinner også minst en av skalatonene seg over oktaven.

Skalatonetrinn (tall) som ikke bør brukes i besifring systemet er følgende:

Trinn 8 er grunntonen i oktav. Grunntonen er basis for akkorden, og 8 bør derfor ikke brukes i besifring.

Trinn 10 og 12 bør heller ikke brukes i besifring da dette tilsvarer resten av grunnpilarene i en akkord, treklangen, henholdsvis ters og kvint i oktav.

Eksemplene i dette kurset bruker tonen C som grunntone. Skalaen, som er utgangspunktet for intervall tonene, består da av tonene C D E F G A H (henholdsvis 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. og 7. skalatrinn).

1. skalatone - prim
er grunntonen. Den er alltid fast.

2. skalatone - sekund
kan være forminsket, ren eller forstørret.

3. skalatone - ters
kan være stor eller liten.

4. skalatone - kvart
kan være forminsket, ren eller forstørret.

5. skalatone - kvint
kan være forminsket, ren eller forstørret.

6. skalatone - sekst
kan være stor eller liten.

7. skalatone - septim
kan være stor eller liten.

9. skalatone - none
samme som sekund, over oktaven.

11. skalatone - undecim
samme som kvart, over oktaven.

13. skalatone - tersdecim
samme som sekst, over oktaven.

Tallet 9 betyr at både 7. og 9. skalatone legges til akkorden. Dersom besifringen ikke har betegnelsen maj er den 7. skalatonen senket en halv tone.

Andre besifring varianter finnes, og nier akkordene er kanskje den gruppen som har flest kombinasjoner.

Ters (3. skalatone)
Tersen kan være stor eller liten, henholdsvis dur eller moll. Eksempelvis C9 eller Cm9.

Kvint (5. skalatone)
Kvinten kan være forminsket, ren eller forstørret. Eksempelvis C9-5 eller C9 eller C9+5.

Septim (7. skalatone)
Septimen kan være stor eller liten. Eksempelvis Cmaj9 eller C9.

None (9. skalatone)
Nonen kan være forminsket, ren eller forstørret. Eksempelvis C7-9 eller C9 eller C7+9.

Kombinasjoner
Disse fire alternativene kan igjen kombineres med hverandre, og gi altererte varianter tilsvarende det som er gjennomgått tidligere i dette kurset.

Eksempler på standard none akkord varianter er Cm9-5 og Cm9+5 og Cm maj9 og Cm maj9-5 og C7-5-9 og C7-5+9 og C7+5-9 og C7+5+9.

Bruk av -10 i besifring anbefales ikke, men finnes i bruk. Eksempelvis akkorden C7+9 besifret som C7-10.

Det 10. skalatrinn er 3. trinn i oktav, altså tersen som bestemmer om det skal være en dur eller moll akkord. Siden denne tonen skal senkes ned en halv tone, vil besifringen kunne tolkes til en dur/moll akkord med septim (7. skalatone).

Dette kan også mistolkes slik at 10. trinn skal senkes ned sammen med det 3. trinn, men da vil akkorden ikke bli annet enn en Cm7.

7-10 notasjonen er, uansett hvordan en velger å tolke den, både misvisende og gal og bør ikke brukes.

Tallet 11 betyr at både 7. og 9. og 11. skalatone legges til treklangen. Dersom besifringen ikke har betegnelsen maj er den 7. skalatonen senket en halv tone.

Tersen utelates i de fleste tilfeller, og da fungerer 11 akkorden som en sus4 akkord med septim og none.

Bokstaven liten m etter tonenavnet står for moll. Den 3. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Tallet 11 betyr at både 7. og 9. og 11. skalatone legges til treklangen. Dersom besifringen ikke har betegnelsen maj er den 7. skalatonen senket en halv tone.

Bokstaven liten m etter tonenavnet står for moll. Den 3. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Tallet 11 betyr at både 7. og 9. og 11. skalatone legges til treklangen. Dersom besifringen ikke har betegnelsen maj er den 7. skalatonen senket en halv tone.

Symbolet minus plassert rett foran tallet fem betyr at kvinten, den 5. skalatonen, skal senkes ned en halv tone.

Symbolet pluss plassert rett foran tallet elleve betyr at undecimen, den 11. skalatonen, skal heves opp en halv tone.

Tallet 11 betyr at både 7. og 9. og 11. skalatone legges til treklangen. Dersom besifringen ikke har betegnelsen maj er den 7. skalatonen senket en halv tone.

Tersen utelates i rene 11-akkorder. Siden kvarten er hevet vil akkorden ikke lenger ha en sus4 funksjon, og tersen tas derfor gjerne med.

C11+5 (1. 3. +5. b7. 9. 11.) (C E G# Bb D F) Tilsvarer Bb9/C (B ni med C i bassen).

Tallet 13 betyr at både 7. og 9. og 11. og 13. skalatone legges til treklangen. Dersom besifringen ikke har betegnelsen maj er den 7. skalatonen senket en halv tone.

Den 11. skalatonen tilsvarer 4. skalatone over oktaven, en kvart. Utelates ofte, for å oppnå en varmere klang og unngå dur/sus4 disharmonien.

C13sus4 (1. 4. 5. b7. 9. 13.) (C F G Bb D A). Egentlig en 13 akkord der tersen (3. skalatone) er utelatt og undecimen (11. skalatone) er tatt med.

Cmaj13 (1. 3. 5. 7. 9. 13.) (C E G H D A) Tilsvarer D11/C (D elleve med C i bassen).

C9b13 (1. 3. 5. b7. 9. b13.) (C E G Bb D Ab) Tilsvarer E7-5+9/C (E syv minus fem pluss ni med C i bassen).

Denne siden av kurset om akkorder omhandler andre og noe mer spesielle akkorder.

Eksemplene i dette kurset bruker tonen C som grunntone. Skalaen, som er utgangspunktet for intervall tonene, består da av tonene C D E F G A H (henholdsvis 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. og 7. skalatrinn).

Ingen regel uten unntak, heter det. Regelen om at en akkord per definisjon skal ha minimum tre forskjellige samklingende toner gjelder ikke her. Denne akkorden har kun to forskjellige toner, grunntonen og kvinten henholdsvis første og femte skalatone.

Akkorden har med andre ord ikke noen ters og kan derfor brukes både i dur og moll sammenheng.

Fem-akkorder, ofte betegnet som power chords, brukes mye inne pop, rock, metal og jazz.

Symbolet gradetegn, eller bokstavsymbolet dim, plassert rett etter tonenavnet betyr at dette er en septimakkord der samtlige av akkordens toner er senket en halv tone.

Det samme gjelder til og med den lille septimen i septim akkorden. Det 7. skalatrinn er dermed senket 2 halve trinn, som i praksis utgjør det sjette skalatrinn.

Akkorden er i tillegg bygget opp av små terser. Samtlige intervaller, fra skalatone til skalatone på akkordens toner, utgjør en liten ters. Eksempelvis mellom C og Eb, Eb og Gb, Gb og Bbb (i praksis tonen A) samt mellom Bbb og oktaven C.

Akkordens oppbygning av små terser resulterer dermed i at de samme tonene dukker opp igjen ved en C° Eb° Gb° samt en A° akkord.

Akkorden angis eksempelvis som C° eller Cdim eller også C°7 eller C7° eller Cdim7 eller C7dim.

Tallet 7 betyr at den 7. skalatonen legges til treklangen. I motsetning til en maj7 skal denne akkorden ha en liten septim. Den 7. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Med både det sjette og det syvende skalatrinn lagt til, utgjør akkorden en femklang.

Bokstaven liten m etter tonenavnet står for moll. Den 3. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Tallet 7 betyr at den 7. skalatonen legges til treklangen. I motsetning til en maj7 skal denne akkorden ha en liten septim. Den 7. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Med både det sjette og det syvende skalatrinn lagt til, utgjør akkorden en femklang.

C6/7sus2 (1. 2. 5. 6. b7.) (C D G A Bb) Tilsvarer Gm11/C (G moll elleve med C i bassen).

Cmaj7/6 (1. 3. 5. 6. 7.) (C E G A H) Tilsvarer Am9/C (A moll ni med C i bassen).

C6/7-5 (1. 3. -5. 6. b7.) (C E Gb A Bb) Tilsvarer Gb7-5+9/C (Gess syv minus fem pluss ni med C i bassen).

Med både det sjette og det niende skalatrinn lagt til, utgjør akkorden en femklang.

Bokstaven liten m etter tonenavnet står for moll. Den 3. skalatonen senkes derfor ned en halv tone.

Med både det sjette og det niende skalatrinn lagt til, utgjør akkorden en femklang.

Dette er forsåvidt det samme som besifringen add2, siden 9. skalatrinn er det samme som 2. skalatrinn over oktaven.

Ved enkelte tilfeller symboliserer add9 at akkorden skal ha tonen plassert over oktaven, i motsetning til add2 som da skal ha tonen plassert mellom 1. og 5. skalatone.

Dette er forsåvidt det samme som besifringen add4, siden 11. skalatrinn er det samme som 4. skalatrinn over oktaven.

Ved enkelte tilfeller symboliserer add11 at akkorden skal ha tonen plassert over oktaven, i motsetning til add4 som da skal ha tonen plassert mellom 1. og 5. skalatone.

Vær også oppmerksom på at en add4 akkord ikke er det samme som en sus4 akkord. En add4 akkord legger til den 4. skalatonen, mens en sus4 akkord erstatter tersen (3. skalatone) med kvarten (4. skalatone).

Symbolbetegnelsen add står for addert tone, en tone som er lagt til akkorden. Det kan både være en tone som hører naturlig til akkordens skalatoner eller det kan også være en akkordfremmed tone, altså en tone som ikke høre til skalarekken for akkordens grunntone.

I serien HVORFRA? Er det nå Argentina som er under lupen, og landet sør i Sør-Amerika vil nok overraske en og annen musikkelsker. Antakeligvis er både kvantitet og kvalitet langt over hva folk flest skulle tro. Dypdykk i Argentinsk prog vil sannsynligvis fører til noen virkelige vidunderlig musikalske opplevelser for de aller fleste som leser disse sidene!

Also Eden

About Time

About Time is an apt name for the first album by Cheltenham band Also Eden whose roots span a full dozen years. From a "bloody awful blues-based metal [band] with endless guitar solos and soul-less vocals about partying all night long", vocalist Huw-Lloyd Jones and keyboardist Ian Hodson took a sensible change of direction and formed a progressive rock band. Eventually, a stable line-up was completed by the addition of Simon Rogers (guitar), Ralvin Thomas (bass) and, the recently departed, Mark Hall (drums), with the group's first live performance in July 2005. The album was recorded off-and-on between late 2005 and throughout 2006, finally being released at the Summer's End Festival in October last year.

Between The Lines sets out the prog stall with riffing guitar and layers of synths. Some fine melodies, interesting drum beats and intelligent lyrics combine to give a very interesting induction to the album. The sound is akin to some of the 1980s period prog bands and Abel Ganz, in particular, come to mind, while there are traces of early Marillion towards the end. For Bumble is a sensitive song dealing with suicide. Again, the intelligent lyrics are sympathetic to the topic and, despite the subject matter, there are some very uplifting moments, particularly the keyboard solo and the ending. A well arranged song that nicely flips between acoustic and electric moments, the best song covering this subject matter since the single Just Another Case Of Suicide by 1980s band Money.

Pandora starts with a metronomic beat resembling the grandfather clock mentioned in the opening lyrics. A tale of the internet (the titular Pandora's box) and it's opportunities for disseminating information against it's rather more nefarious uses, the piece is more centred on the lyric (there are a lot packed into the six minutes of the song!). As a consequence the song seems somewhat flat although Hodson contributes a reasonable guitar solo. The Enemy Within is an oblique love song, which is performed at a steady pace. Perhaps too long an 'introduction' for the tempo, things get more interesting at about the seven and a half minute mark with a nice change of pace, added backing vocals and a rather dirty guitar solo followed, inevitably, by a keyboard solo. Some shades of early IQ but a good way to wind up the track. Final song, Children Of The Night, tackles another 'controversial' subject in child prostitution - a far cry from wizards and goblins that a lot of (uninitiated) people seem to think that is all prog rock bands sing about! Musically more up-beat and rhythmically quite involved, the band really gel on this song. Well arranged, the song is a rousing end to the CD.

Over all, About Time is a promising debut album. The CD is well packaged and looks better than a lot of major label releases. If you remember the so-called prog-rock revival of the 1980s with fondness, then Also Eden have done a decent job of updating that sound and may well be worth checking out. Go on, take a listen to the samples on their website, you know you want to!

Tracklist: Between The Lines (8:47), For Bumble (13:21), Pandora (6:09), The Enemy Within (12:13), Children Of The Night (8:33)

Andromeda

Extension Of The Wish

Question: what is the similarity between Flower Kings, Pain Of Salvation, A.C.T, Evergrey, and Wolverine? Indeed, these are all Swedish prog/metal bands that have gained quite a reputation outside the land of elks and IKEA. I would not be very surprised if Andromeda could soon be added to this list, since their debut album Extension Of The Wish immediately managed to conquer a spot on my high-rotation list and that certainly does not happen to each and every CD that I receive for review purposes.

Andromeda was formed in June 1999, but did not manage to record their debut album until last year, because of their problems finding a suitable vocalist. They actually ended up using a session vocalist on Extension Of The Wish, Lawrence Mackrory (ex-Darkane). By now they seem to have found a permanent singer in David Fremberg, though. Apart from him, Andromeda consists of Thomas Lejon (drums), Gert Daun (bass), Martin Hedin (keyboards), and Johan Reinholdz (guitar).
The cover of Extension Of The Wish is interesting: a branded, doll-like figure is standing waist-deep in water, stirring the fabric of the universe where the water ends. The inside of the booklet is nice, but not very adventurous. It contains all lyrics, which have been printed on a background of stylised letters, and mainly deal with the (psychological) problems which so many people have to face every day (e.g. problems with a loved one, betrayal, fear, thoughts of suicide).

Although Andromeda is centered around guitarist Reinholdz, Extension Of The Wish has not become a collection of tracks filled with "guitar masturbation". Reinholdz is responsible for all the music and lyrics, but the seven tracks on the CD are definitely proper songs (i.e. not endlessly repeated chord progressions over which a continuous stream of flashy guitar licks and solos is played, like one can often find on CDs by the likes of Joe Satriani and Steve Vai) in which the keyboards play a large role.

The first track, The Words Unspoken, kicks off with a great, reverbed guitar riff. When the other instruments join in, the music becomes a nice mixture of Dream Theater and Evergrey, though some of the keyboard sounds remind me very much of A.C.T. Especially the parts where the keyboard melody is doubled by the guitar are very nice.
Mackrory's vocals are not your typical high-pitched metal screams. They carry a great deal of emotion and - as will become clear in the other songs - are very versatile in sound. I do detect a slight accent and the way the words are stressed is not always entirely correct, but I have heard much, much worse, so this is only a minor complaint. The information sheet accompanying the CD mentions that Mackrory had never heard either the music or lyrics before stepping into the studio with Andromeda, but it sounds like the guy has been singing with the band for ages. Impressive!

Apart from some Dream Theater-like sections (in the style of Awake), Crescendo Of Thoughts contains some (keyboard) parts that remind me strongly of Ayreon (Into The Electric Castle). Very much in the vein of the previous song, but different enough to be a great track as well.

Track 3, In The Deepest Of Waters, is one of the heaviest songs on the album. It starts with a massive wall of power chords, the sound of which reminds me a lot of some Rammstein tracks, but then three times as fast, and Metallica's Sad But True. When the vocals join in, the track gets a different feel. Mackrory's (sometimes distorted) vocals and the floating keyboards create a threatening atmosphere very much like the one on Faith No More's Midlife Crisis. This combination, plus some great guitar solos, killer-keyboard parts, a brilliant job by the rhythm section, and the very quiet middle of the song, make me play this track again and again. This is definitely my favourite on the album!

Chameleon Carneval seems to be the odd one out on this album. Contrary to the other tracks, this one is without vocals and it sounds a lot like an extended jam. Using a recurring theme as a basis, all instruments get the chance to take center stage in their respective solos. It does not do very much for me, though. Good musicianship, sure, but this track just does not seem to be in place on this album.

Track 5, Star Shooter Supreme, also contains some nice guitar melodies doubled by keyboards (once more, Dream Theater seems to have had a large influence on the band). The vocals are distorted and all but shouted into the microphone. They bear a strong reminiscence to Junkie XL's Rude Boy on, for instance, Saturday Teenage Kick and Billy Club. A couple of great keyboard and guitar solos add some extra spice to this song.

The title track, Extension Of The Wish, is the longest one on the album (10:03). It starts very quietly with some undistorted guitar and I must say that that is a nice resting point after all the violence of the previous songs. After a nice guitar solo the band change gear and the heavy guitars return, accompanied by some lovely keyboard licks. As if to demonstrate that he possesses even more different vocal styles, Mackrory now takes on the guise of Steve Wilson (Porcupine Tree) as he sounded in The Nostalgia Factory (from On The Sunday Of Life...) mixed with a bit of Babylon Zoo's vocal sound on their only hit Space Man.
At 4:15 minutes the song seems to end abruptly, but it continues with a long instrumental section which I think is a bit too repetitive at times. Once more one can hear a big hint of Dream Theater, especially in the parts where the guitar melody is doubled by the keyboards.

Arch Angel starts like a somewhat average metal track, but soon becomes more complicated both in melody and in rhythm changes. The first few verses and choruses are delivered over a rather calm section with undistorted guitar, after which the music becomes as heavy as before. I think this is very fitting considering the lyrics (the narrator is looking for protection from the violence around him). Apart from some more Dream Theater references, this track contains some nice oriental influences. Sadly though, it ends with a rather cheapish fade-out.

Andromeda's debut album Extension Of The Wish is highly recommended to anyone who enjoys the heavy side of prog. On this album you will find some high-powered music in which both guitar and keyboards play a large role, and which includes a steaming rhythm tandem and a versatile singer. Related bands: Dream Theater, Evergrey and Pain Of Salvation.
Knowing how much I appreciate Mackrory's vocals, I really hope that the "new" singer David Fremberg has the same kind of voice. I have seen that Andromeda will play at ProgPower 2001 and that (as well as the rest of the bands that have been confirmed by now) sure makes it worth visiting this festival!

Tracklist: The Words Unspoken (5:28), Crescendo Of Thoughts (5:25), In The Deepest Of Waters (7:07), Chameleon Carneval (5:00), Star Shooter Supreme (5:18), Extension Of The Wish (10:03), Arch Angel (5:55)

Andromeda

II=I

This is the second review of an Andromeda album to be featured in DPRP CD Reviews Page, and because Hester included a band bio in her review of Extension Of The Wish, I have omitted it here. For their previous album, Andromeda used a session vocalist, but on II=I, a permanent vocalist in David Fremberg, has been added to the band. Although I have not been able to listen to the previous album, the mp3 samples from the Andromeda website give me the impression that this new singer is an improvement (although the session vocalist was also pretty good). I also get the feeling that Andromeda has moved towards Dream Theater-like music even further.

Encyclopedia starts off with a keyboard loop that fades in, right after that the metal guitars kick in. The song is a rich collection of tempo changes, something that can be said of all songs on this album. Andromeda is not a band that likes to drag melodies endlessly with heavier guitars, and more screaming guitars following each other constantly, and at the end comes a slow keyboard tune with a screaming guitar fade out. The beginning of Mirages reminds me of The Gathering's Strange Machines. The refrain has been stuck in my head for days. I find myself yelling "Mirages" (in my mind of course) all the time.

In Reaching Deep Within the keyboard takes the prominent role and has a haunting sound that supports the refrain. This does not mean that other instruments have a lesser role, as on all the other songs on this album, they are nicely balanced. The first half of Two is One is a slow ballad and shows that David Fremberg is an excellent singer. In the second half of the song, the transitory ballad becomes more up-tempo as the metal guitars and then the speedy loops of the guitars emerge. This song is not only the longest on the album but really is the masterpiece as well.

Morphing Into Nothing could have been a song on a Dream Theater album, with a large number of tempo changes, the drums not only determine the rhythm but also are part of the melody. This instrumental song is impressive. Castaway is a slower piece that does stay interesting throughout the complete song, because of the vocals and backing vocals which sound good together. Parasite takes some getting used to, at first it seems a bit incoherent reminding me of the earlier Pain of Salvation songs. David Fremberg proves here that high pitched vocals are also within his reach. The first piano tones of One In My Head could be the start of a subtle horror movie. The uptempo piano and guitar parts further on however, are too straight-forward for that same horror movie. This Fragile Surface closes the album and it leaves you wanting for more. The dramatic keyboards and again the tempo changes of subtle guitars and metal guitars. Drums that are right all the time.

Andromeda is a band of good musicians, and although I am not a Death Metal lover, the fact that Andromeda's guitarist Johan Reinholdz also plays in NonExist makes me curious to explore their music too.

Comparison sometimes is the best way to give an idea of what a band or songs sound like, but Andromeda is in no way a copy of any other. I immediately liked this album and after listening more often, I think I can safely say: this one is a keeper. I am really impressed. I have not written a lot of reviews yet so you cannot know if I would say this easily. I think not, as Andromeda really deserves it. Find out for yourself!

A final point to note is that the excellent cover artwork is by former DPRP team member, Mattias Noren.

Tracklist: Encyclopedia (7:35), Mirages (5:42), Reaching Deep Within (4:50), Two Is One (10:09), Morphing Into Nothing (7:34), Castaway (6:16), Parasite (6:54), One In My Head (8:02), This Fragile Surface (8:04)

Andromeda

Chimera

The last album that I acquired 'On Import' was the debut release from a little-known New Jersey band called Bon Jovi. Thanks to the worldwide reach of the internet and online record stores, the whole concept of 'import' albums has pretty much disappeared.

However the third album from Swedish ProgMetal masters Andromeda was actually released in Japan way back on January 21, yet for some reason, unless you live in France where it came out on the Replica label on March 27, it won't get a worldwide release until June 23 on the Massacre label. Therefore grabbing my second ever import album, was the only way to avoid a frustrating wait.

The band's first two releases, the intense, riff-based Prog of Extension of the Wish and the more refined II=I, have set this band as one of my favourite purveyors of classic progressive metal. No Dream Theater clones here. Thanks to the amazingly gifted voice of David Fremberg and the even more amazing guitar work of Johan Reinholdz, Andromeda have crafted a sound that is immediately recognisable as their own. Indeed you won't read any comparisons here. Andromeda stands alone, in their own corner of this ever expanding genre.

Chimera is certainly not as heavy or complex as the band's debut. That may be off-putting to some, but will probably be more attractive to a great number of people. It really is a natural, albeit slightly simpler version, of II=I. Slightly more accessible, slightly more melodic and, at the present time for me, slightly more enjoyable.

The opener, Periscope, leaves you with jaw dropping ever downwards, as it's one of the best song's the band has ever recorded - and will be a major contender for my favourite tracks of the year. From then on, the music just takes the listener to wonderful places - constantly moving, never stagnating. This is no musical ego trip but progressive metal with the song at its heart.

And if you splash out for the import - then you get the pleasant bonus of the instrumental track, Chameleon Carnival, captured live in concert.

I said this with their last album, and I'll say it again with this time around, Andromeda really should be one of the big players in the ProgMetal genre - equal in quality to the likes of Threshold, VandenPlas and Fates Warning. Hopefully the worldwide deal with Massacre will help them on the way. And if you're put off by the price of an import, then put the date of June 23 in your diary now! Awesome.

Tracklist: Periscope (6:11), In The End (4:58), The Hidden Riddle (5:51), Going Under (6:27), The Cage Of Me (7:08), No Guidelines (6:23), Inner Circle (7:03), Iskenderun (5:30), Blink Of An Eye (12:29) Bonus: Chameleon carnival - Live! (5:12)

En undersjanger av folk-rock, som også går under betegnelsen US folk. Amerikansk folkemusikk eller amerikanske folkeviser vokste frem rundt slutten av 1930-tallet.

Folkrock betegnelsen ble etablert når artistene tok i bruk elektriske instrumenter, og ble musikalsk inspirert av band som Beach Boys rundt midten av 1960-tallet. Sjangeren hadde sin storhetstid under hippiebevegelsen.

Joan Baez

Buffalo Springfield

The Byrds

Crosby, Stills and Nash

Donovan

Bob Dylan

Woody Guthrie

The Mamas & The Papas

Joni Mitchell

Peter, Paul & Mary

Pete Seeger

Simon & Garfunkel

Neil Young

osv.

AOR

Forkortelse for Album Oriented Rock, en undersjanger av rock som dukket opp eller hadde sin storhetstid ved begynnelsen av 1980-tallet. Forkortelsen kan også bety Adult Oriented Rock, som betegner samme fenomen.

Det startet med amerikanske FM radiostasjoner som spilte utvalgte låter av artister og band som ble kjent for sine gode album fremfor enkelte singel utgivelser. Generelt sett mainstream radio poprock, som gjerne har voksne lyttere.

Ved slutten av 1970 og begynnelsen av 1980-tallet kom også flere av de mer progressive band fra 70-tallet med karakteristiske AOR tendenser, eksempelvis ELP, Kansas og Yes.

Asia

Bad Company

Barclay James Harvest

Bon Jovi

Boston

Bryan Adams

Chicago

Duran Duran

Europe

Foreigner

Honeymoon Suite

It Bites

Jefferson Starship

JoJo

Journey

Little River Band

Magnum

Mr. Mister

Pink Floyd

REO Speedwagon

Styx

Supertramp

Survivor

Toto

I admire Queensrÿche, mostly enjoy the band’s work, and acknowledge their importance (and especially that of their Operation: Mindcrime album) to progressive metal. Why do I mention Queensrÿche as I begin a review of Age Of Nemesis? Because comparisons between the two bands (and between this album and Operation: Mindcrime) will inevitably be made. Both bands play powerful, inventive progressive metal; Age Of Nemesis’ singer, Zoltán Kiss, has a voice in many ways similar to that of Queensrÿche’s Geoff Tate; and both bands have recorded concept albums (in Age of Nemesis’s case, sort of a concept half-album) about the manipulation of innocent people by shadowy government forces. But I’m happy to say that Age of Nemesis not only survives that comparison but perhaps comes out on top.

Now, I’ll admit that Queensrÿche’s album was, at the time of its release (can it really be eighteen years ago?), groundbreaking; and I’ll further admit that Age Of Nemesis’s story is more particular and bizarre and thus less generally engaging than Queensrÿche’s. And with those admissions I’ll abandon for now the comparison and concentrate on this particular album. The first six songs constitute "The Psychogeist Story" – and, as I say, the story’s a weird one. Very briefly, it concerns a young boy from a broken family who’s raised in an unknown location by his doctor father. When the father dies, the mother finally locates the child, only to discover (eventually) that he’s been the subject of horrific medical experiments that have turned him into a “psychogeist.” As the extensive liner notes explain, he’s been “taught to step outside himself, to places independent of his body” and has thus become “a horrific weapon of unimaginable power.” Eventually, the mother persuades (or so she believes) the son to abandon his powers, his desire to kill those who harmed him, and his determination to kill himself as well.

Yes, this is gloomy stuff as well as odd. But it’s an ambitious idea, because it forces the band to try (I think successfully) to suit the music in the six pieces that make up “The Psychogeist Story” to the many twists and turns of the story. And again here the band’s link (and I’d say debt) to Queensrÿche can be clearly heard. The album’s superb production showcases all the instruments in turn, probably most noticeably the widely varied keyboards and the excellent guitars, the former courtesy of György Nagy and the latter of Zoltán Fábián. In fact, I can hardly praise Fábián more highly than to say that, before I read the liner notes, I’d assumed that the band had at least two guitarists. Nope: Fábián does it all, from deft shredding to soaring Strat-sounding leads to chunky riffs that put me in mind of nobody so much as Zakk Wylde.

But the virtuoso guitar work and those neat keyboards only contribute to the overall excellence of the album. The songs themselves (those that constitute “The Psychogeist Story,” the three other songs, and the two instrumental pieces) are all individually interesting, well-constructed, and melodic. I think my favourite song on this album is the weird Eye Of The Snake, which on its own fulfils the band’s promo letter’s promise of “an exotic Eastern vibe” with its minor harmonic leads and nearly-sitar-sounding guitar. Also excellent is the album-closing instrumental Awaking Minds, a lovely keyboard-and-guitar piece that nicely lightens the overall dark mood of the album. But there isn’t a weak song on the album, and that’s another of its many strengths.

But no album’s perfect, and this one has a few flaws. It goes on too long and (perhaps this is largely the same thing) is a bit too ambitious, especially in the case of the conceptual half of the CD. I’d have to say that the story is a bit much, melodramatic or portentous but not truly chilling (as, I think, Operation: Mindcrime’s story was). And, while I’m very hesitant to fault the band’s English (they’re Hungarian, and this is only their second English-language release after four in their native language), it’s probably an indication of the obscurity of the story that each song, beside the printed lyrics in the booklet, has a lengthy paragraph explaining those lyrics. While I’m one of those fans who love to read CD booklets – though, as my poor eyes age along with me, I long nostalgically for the much larger print we used to see on record sleeves! – I also believe firmly that an album should stand without explanation. And, frankly, the lyrics (themselves translations) really do need explaining.

Musically, though, for fans of progressive rock and especially of progressive metal, this album is a treat from beginning to end. Over six albums, the band has found its groove, and both the music and its execution are simply excellent. I happily recommend this album and look forward to more from Age Of Nemesis.

Tracklist: Fate’s Door (6:10), Grey Room (4:33), Faceless Enemy (4:56), Mommy’s Crying (6:33), Psychogeist (3:16), Breaking Away (7:53), Goddess Nemesis [Instrumental] (3:26), Eye Of The Snake (6:03), Karma (7:02), Abraxas (7:51), Awaking Minds [Instrumental] (2:36)

Amber Light

Stranger And Strangers

Wiesbaden's finest The Amber Light follow up their recommended debut album Goodbye To Dust, Farewell To Dawn with a four-track EP Stranger & Strangers. Continuing with their eclectic blend of musical genres, this latest disc is quite a diverse package. Opening number Softly There, Everywhere has a prominent bass line and recurring drum pattern that gives it a feel somewhat akin to early The Cure, although the guitar riff and smooth, yet plaintive, vocals make it somewhat less morose. Continuing with Still Going Nowhere, The Amber Light prove that progressive bands can run with a groove. This upbeat number is a fine mixture of engaging beat and chiming guitars. The juxtaposition of slower melody line with a faster tempo back beat works well resulting in a song that will get the feet of even the most reluctant dance floor participant tapping!

For better or worse, prog rock has become synonymous with songs of extended duration. This has sometimes resulted in tracks that are lengthened beyond their natural duration or containing one too many solos. This may be one of the reasons why progressive music is dismissed by the wider population as being self-indulgent and a forum for displays of technical ability with style overcoming content. The Amber Light succeed in their longer pieces by having an arrangement that keeps the listener actively engaged for the entire length. Stranger & Strangers is no exception. Closest in style and structure to the group's album, the song will undoubtedly be the main incentive for a lot of people to buy this release. And they will not be disappointed. Starting slowly, the song gradually builds from a brief vocal introduction leading to the extended instrumental section with keyboards and bass holding the song together and laying down a foundation for the guitar to provide the light and shade. No solos as such, but a heady mixture of crashing chords, feedback, arpeggiated riffs and more reflective and subdued sections. Sigur Ros comparisons are still valid in places but this is only a small part of the whole and is so integrated with the song that it almost renders the comparison redundant - the band have really defined their own sound.

Hide Inside rounds of the album and again shows a different side to the band. Recorded live for a German radio session in May of last year, the song is stripped back to basics performed on two acoustic guitars. This gives it a more immediate impact and focuses the attention on the vocals and lyrics largely hidden in the more frantic electric band version found on Goodbye To Dust, Farewell To Dawn. As with any good song, laying bare the basic elements should still result in a piece that stands up and, indeed, should reveal otherwise hidden nuances. Again The Amber Light succeed and, if anything, the acoustic version holds sway in the preference stakes over the electric version.

Stranger & Strangers is a worthy filler while we wait for the next full-length album (although when you think of it, the early albums by The Beatles and The Stones were of a similar length to this EP!!). However, 'filler' is entirely the wrong word to use as each of the songs on this release is worthy of inclusion on anyone's MP3 playlist. And one shouldn't just focus on the title track, great as it is. The other three tracks are well worthy of attention displaying the diverse nature of what I consider to be Germany's hottest band. Well worth a listen.

Tracklist: Softly There, Everywhere (4:20), Still Going Nowhere (3:29), Stranger & Strangers (14:27), Hide Inside (acoustic) (3:55)

Alex Carpani

Alex Enrico Carpani was born in Montreux (Switzerland) in 1970 of an Italian father and a French mother. At the age of 6 he gave clear signs of a particular inclination for music, starting playing electronic organ and taking his first lessons of solfeggio and music theory. Later he passed to piano and composition. He was gifted of an ear for music that his first music teachers defined "out of the ordinary", but his musical education has been mostly a self-taught one. He constantly refused to enter in a conservatorium and to follow an "academic" musical education.

He took a graduation in Musicology at the University of Bologna, he specialized in "music for film" at the C.E.T. (a famous Italian school of music) in Central Italy, as well as in "sound engineering" with top Italian sound technicians at the Arte Scenica Foundation in Bologna. He's also been awarded in several Italian and international composition prizes.
From all these training and forming experiences, he acquired the tools and knowledge to become an indipendent artist and to be able to produce his own music, taking care of all the artistic and technical aspects of a project: composition, arrangment, recording, mastering, creation of the cd artwork, promotion via Internet (by his self-built site), etc.

Alex Carpani is a versatile composer and his repertory ranges from progressive rock to classical music, from electronic music to new age, from music for films/video to electro-jazz, from music & poetry to jazz-rock. The meeting with "Keith Emerson" at the age of 7 has been fundamental in his musical formation: Emerson's son Aaron was a classmate of Alex in his parents' college in Switzerland. From this moment, the progressive rock and the love for keyboards became part of his life, influencing his style and his following music experiences.
In 1990, at the age of 20, he formed the instrumental duo Gemini with another keyboardist and composer, starting to compose intensely and in a continuous way. Gemini recorded two concept albums: "Polychromie" and "States of Mind from a Surrealist Existence" with a mix of new age, Renaissance melodies and ballads and progressive rock. The duo made also several concerts in italy in which music, videos, dance and scenographies were mixed together.

One of their pieces, "Gentle Ballad", has been included in a compilation LP distributed in Italy. Despite of the interest of the listeners and the producers, the duo disbanded in 1992 because of soloist projects that started to overlap, just before the recording of the third album, that remained unaccomplished. However, some tracks have been re-arranged by Alex Carpani and have been included in his first solo album "Hypothesis" in 1993.

Later, the meeting with Mogol (the best Italian lyrics writer, author of Lucio Battisti's greatest hits) in 1994, when Alex has been selected to enter in Mogol's top level music career school, has been basic for him as well. There he studied with some great film composers and started writing symphonic and orchestral music.

From 2000 his attention has been mainly focused on the following genres:
- Progressive rock: this genre has always influenced and inspired him, maybe because of the "magic" encounter he had with "Keith Emerson" when he was a child... In 2005 he signed a contract with Cypher Arts, an American indipendent label that will publish and distribute his prog albums.;

- Electronic music: he composed several electronic albums and has been performing multimedia concerts with fractal animations and slides; he also has been reviewed on the Italian electronic music webzine "21st Century Music" in 2004;
-Music & poetry: he composed a 3cds-trilogy inspired by the poems of Edoardo Sanguineti, one of the greates Italian living poets, and 2 albums inspired by the poems of Filippo Finardi, another Italian poet and writer; in both cases, the music has been composed starting from the recorded voice of the poet reading his poems;
- Music for theatre and multimedia: he composed the music for a multimedia theatre show called "Il Ritorno" (The Return) written by Filippo Finardi and represented in an historical theatre of Bologna, the music for the multimedia theatre show "Cerco un paese innocente" (Looking for an innocent country), directed by Sandra Cavallini and represented in Bologna, the original soundtrack of a short film called "Passaggi" directed by Dario Marzola, the original soundtrack of a promotional DVD of CMAS (an international diving association), that has been distributed all over the world and the original soundtrack of a short film dedicated to the "Caritas" House of Piacenza, Italy, directed by Giorgia Scalia.

Alex Carpani lives in Bologna, a nice historical city of about 400.000 inhabitants in northern Italy. He speaks three languages (Italian, French and English) and has got a true passion for cinema, computer music, vintage synthesizers and modern & contemporary art. Besides being a composer he's the manager of the culture department in a municipality near Bologna.

Perfect, amazing, great, wonderful, marvelous and a pleasant Progressive Music come from Switzerland with an Italian spirit and, deserves all our attention. Influenced by the best and famous Italian bands from the seventies, the musical style retains the pure late 70s Progressive Rock, with touchs of the European Symphonic Prog Rock groups. We are talking about a complete musical orchestration including, elaborate arrangements of which consist of very tasteful intrumental. In fact, I´m talking about Alex Carpani, a versatile composer and keyboard player, the man behind some interesting musical projects and, one of them is "Waterline". The music on this album is rich, with a perfect balance of orchestral-driven sympho progressive instrumentals, playing by a collection of musicians with different experiences and many inspiration. Delightful guitar solos flows brilliantly into atmospheric keyboards sounds, complemented by melodic vocals from "Aldo Tagliapietra". The music from Alex Carpani remind me of "Genesis", "EL&P", "Gentle Giant", "Camel", "Le Orme", "Locanda Delle Fate", "Banco", "La Torre Dell'Alchimista", "CAP", "Il Castello Di Atlante", "Foglie Di Vetro", "Nuova Era", "La Maschera di Cera", and "PFM", in any moments. Listen carefully "The Siren And The Mariner", "The Levees' Break", "In The rocks", "Recalimed", "Agua Claro", "Starcurrents", "A Gathering Storm", "The Waterfall" and "Catch The Wave" you realize how many different passages of music they play on "Waterline". Brilliant and fantastic, highly recommendable...

The musicians on "Waterline" are:
Alex Carpani - Keyboards
Aldo Tagliapietra - Vocals
Dan Shapiro - Bass
Ken Jaquess - Bass
Neil Bettencourt -
Drums
Tony Spada - Guitar
Lindsey Boullt - Guitar
Michel Sajrawy - Guitar
John Thomas - Guitar
Robert Wolfe - Guitar
Marc Pattison - Guitar
David Scott - Guitar
Shelley Doty - Guitar
Cory Wright - Sax And Flute
Beatrice Casagrande - Vocal On ‘the Siren And The Mariner'

The musicians on Alex Carpani band multimedia show are: Alex Carpani - Keyboards and Vocals
Ettore Salati - (former ‘The Watch’) Guitar
Maco Fabbri - Drums
Fabiano Spiga - Bass, Guitar and Singer

01) The Siren And
......The Mariner
02) The Levees' Break
03) In The rocks
04) Recalimed
05) Agua Claro
06) Starcurrents
07) Song Of The Pond
08) A Gathering Storm
09) The Waterfall
10) Catch The Wave
11) Prelude No. 2 In
......C Min. (BWV847)*
* composed by J.S. Bach, arranged by Alex Carpani

"Waterline" (c2003-2004) this album has been published in 2007 by the American label Cypher Arts.

Also, you can read more informations, and all about Alex Carpani recording process for all albums in, Alex Carpani´s MySpace Site.

After Forever

The best Dutch rock band of this moment has finally released their finest album to date called After Forever, as it is a “compilation” of everything the band has done so far. The album has lots of atmosphere (Decipher), progressive aspects (Invisible Circles), catchy melodies (Remagine) and lots of power (Prison Of Desire). The new album is a splendid musical mix of pop, industrial, progressive, metal, classical and rock elements, perfectly produced by Gordon Groothedde. There are also some well-known guest appearances on the CD, namely Doro and Jeff Waters of Annihilator. The entire album is filled with heavy guitar riffs, killer grooves, keyboard layers, amazing melodies, but most of all with the fabulous, unbelievable voice of Floor. Her vocals are so crystal clear on this album that one wonders how this will sound on stage. Especially in brilliant songs like Cry With A Smile (an extraordinary ballad), the epic Dream Flight and the out of this world chill to the bone power ballad Empty Memories her golden voice enchants the listener.

But there is a lot more to enjoy on this album, take for example the up tempo song De-Energized with sparkling guitar solos of Mister Annihilator and Sander Gommans. Or the wonderful song Who I Am featuring the German metal lady Doro, a couple of really doomy riffs and some Eastern influences. Energize Me is the first single of the album and that one could well turn into a hit single as it has a really addictive chorus that will stay in your system for days to come…

However the musical highlight of this CD is without any doubt the longest track called Dream Flight, a song with lots of diversity. It is bombastic, you can enjoy grunts (not really my thing, but they fit in here nicely), the keyboards are very dominant, Bas Maas (the other guitar player) sings a couple of lines, and there is again the magical throat of Floor, giving me gooseflesh almost during the entire eleven minutes.

Need I say more, this album will become After Forever’s real musical breakthrough and that is well deserved after four studio albums and their tenth year anniversary. Buy or die!

Tracklist: Discord (4:36), Evoke (4:23), Transitory (3:28), Energize Me (3:09), Equally Destructive (3:31), Withering Time (4:31), De-Energized (5:09), Cry With A Smile (4:25), Envision (3:56), Who I Am (4:35), Dream Flight (11:08), Empty Memories (4:55)

After Forever

Mea Culpa

Review one

The Dutch symphonic metal band After Forever have been around now for 10 years and after working for Transmission Records for 6 years they decided to change record labels. This "farewell album" consists of the best tracks that After Forever recorded with Transmission. Among others there are songs with great musicians like Sharon den Adel, Arjen Lucassen, Damien Wilson en Marco Hietala. Furthermore the album features previously unreleased songs, non-album tracks, alternatives mixes, rarities and previously unreleased remixes, making this a special album for all the fans. The album is divided into two parts: Chapter 1 features the AF episode with guitar player/composer Mark Jansen and Chapter 2 contains all the songs that were recorded after Jansen left to form Epica.

"Mea Culpa", the Latin title refers to the Roman Catholic native region in the south of The Netherlands from which the band originates, is NOT the beginning of the end. On the contrary: this collection simply marks the end of the beginning!!

The artwork of the album is sheer magic, just check out the extensive 44 page booklet and you know what I mean.

For people who are not familiar with the CDMs Follow In The Cry (2000), Monolith Of Doubt (2002), Emphasis (2002), Exordium (2003), My Choice (2003), Digital Deceit (2004), Being Everyone (2005) and Two Sides (2006) this album is extra worthwhile as lots of songs from those albums are featured here. For die-hard fans there are only three "new" interesting pieces to discover: Life's Vortex (unreleased single version), Attendance (unreleased industrial remix) and a piano version of Strong taken from the SACD version of Remagine.

A fantastic album of an amazing band, only two misses, namely the covers Who Wants To Live Forever (Queen) and The Evil That Men Do (Iron Maiden).

Hopefully After Forever will release a lot of new and great albums in the near future, but for the moment you can enjoy this marvellous compilation!!!

Review two

The break up of After Forever and their record label Transmission is one that is subject to a number of explanations, and although there more than 40 pages in the CD booklet it does not give an explanation of the break-up. It simply states that this is the end of the beginning. In any case this is the closure of an era. This album contains an overview of six years of collaboration between Transmission and After Forever.

Before anything I need to get the following off my chest: this CD is copy protected and I hate that! I tend to rip my CDs to MP3 and put them on my iPod something that is made very hard by copy protected CDs. Next to that I archive my CDs with a tool that retrieves information from the internet. In fact most of the tracklists in reviews I copy and paste in stead of typing them myself. But not with this CD, the copy protection prevented that.

I must admit that the software that starts up once you insert the CD in the computer is pretty good. It shows album covers while playing the tracks, it does give the ability to create audio files for an iPod or even send MP3s to a friend. And it even gives the ability to copy it to a CD-R. It might seem strange this software does everything copy protection should prohibit but of course it does this on the terms of the software. So maybe this is one of the best copy protected CDs this far countering all the complaint people have about copy protection. Still I would just like the freedom of an "ordinary CD". Unfortunately stuff like this is probably needed to help copyright owners protect their property.

Compilations like this are probably only interesting if you use them to get to know the band or if the compilation itself contains new music. Looking at the tracklist of this album it is very suitable for getting to know the band, as it gives a great overview of their back catalogue and the most important songs have been included. Every stage of the band's development is addressed. If, like me, you already own most of the studio albums then this compilation also has about 15 new tracks in store, a very acceptable number (although some of them are of course different versions of known tracks). If you own the complete After Forever's back catalogue there is only three surprise on this album but then again a die hard fan would want to own this album just because it exists.

Mea Culpa is an A Cappella version of the first track on Prison Of Desire. So this album starts like most of the AF albums: with a choir. Follow In The Cry, Yield To Temptation and Silence From Afar are the same as the Prison Of Desire album version (but with a quality brush up). Wings Of Illusion can be found on the CDM Follow In The Cry, it is an excellent track that would not have been out of place on the afore mentioned Prison Of Desire, probably why it is the bonus track on some versions of this album. Beyond Me also taken from Prison Of Desire, like the album version, is a duet with Within Temptation's Sharon den Adel. Forlorn Hope is taken from the album Decipher. From the same period is For The Time Being which can be found on the CDM Monolith Of Doubt, which also on this compilation. Imperfect Tenses originally a duet with Within Temptation's Caspar de Jonge this version is done by Damian Wilson it is taken from the CDM Emphasis. It makes my realize again what a great voice Wilson has.

Intrinsic , Emphasis, My Pledge Of Allegiance all taken from Decipher but adding only the extra quality. Who Wants To Live Forever is of course a cover of the Queen song again with the excellent voice of Damian Wilson. The second CD starts chapter 2, the After Forever period without Mark Jansen (now Epica). First track is The Evil That Men Do, an Iron Maiden cover that can be found on Exordium but this version is 1,5 minutes shorter. Glorifying Means is also from Exordium, at that time a little disappointment first sign of life without Mark Jansen. My Choice and Beneath are from the same mini album but My Choice in a single version. Digital Deceit (single version) is taken from the first full album of the second era, Invisible Circles, and showed that After Forever could hold ground without Mark Jansen. Two Sides also a single spun-off from the same album. Sins Of Idealism , Eccentric and Blind Pain are taken from the CDM Digital Deceit. Life's Vortex is a previously unreleased single version of an track on the Invisible Circles album. Being Everyone is a track from Remagine, this is the single version. Face Your Demons is a duet with Nightwish's Marco Hietala just like Taste The Day and Live And Learn it can be found on the CDM Being Everyone. Boundaries Are Open is a single version of a Remagine track. Come is a track taken off the Remagine album. Attendance is a previously unreleased remix of a track from the same album. Strong is taken from the SACD version of Remagine.

Above track by track description should make you realize that there are no really new tracks or big surprises on this compilation. It does add some music to my collection that I personally did not own (a track like Wings Of Illusion is a welcome addition) but new or old, all tracks on this album are examples of the gothic/metal/progressive/rock mix that After Forever seems to hold patent to. If you passed several chances to get acquainted with After Forever then at least take this one. I am not too fond of compilation albums but must admit that this After Forever overview is certainly one of the better. Taking into account that the album is released by Transmission I was hoping for an SACD version but I will settle for this version, as it does deserve our DPRP recommended label.

Chapter 1: Mea Culpa (1:50), Follow In The Cry (4:04), Yield To Temptation (5:51), Silence From Afar (5:52), Wings Of Illusion (7:21), Beyond Me (6:11), Forlorn Hope (6:21), For The Time Being (5:04), Imperfect Tenses (4:09), Monolith Of Doubt (3:31), Intrinsic (6:53), Emphasis (4:17), My Pledge Of Allegiance #1 (6:26), Who Wants To Live Forever (4:47)

Chapter 2: The Evil That Men Do (3:18), Glorifying Means (5:00), My Choice (4:01), Beneath (4:52), Digital Deceit (4:07), Two Sides (3:15), Sins Of Idealism (4:10), Eccentric (4:35), Life's Vortex (4:35), Blind Pain (4:16), Being Everyone (3:08), Face Your Demons (4:57), Taste The Day (2:54), Boundaries Are Open (3:29), Come (5:04), Attendance (3:03), Live And Learn (4:23), Strong (3:41)

After Forever

Remagine

Review one

Since the departure of guitarist Mark Jansen (now, of course, with Epica) following 2001’s Decipher, After Forever appear to have streamlined their approach somewhat – the lead track on the next release, the EP Exordium, was a relatively mainstream ballad (My Choice), and whilst their next album, Invisible Circles, was a concept affair, it still saw the band, whilst hardly forsaking the bombast and symphonic approach of yore, at least marrying it to more conventional song structures. Inevitably that led to a mixed response from the fan base, many of whom were clearly disappointed with the more ‘mainstream’ approach the band had taken. It must be said that those fans are hardly likely to be placated with Remagine which, whilst certainly containing moments comparable to that which could be found on Prison Of Desire and Decipher, in the main takes the approach honed on Invisible Circles and runs with it. Unlike that album, this isn’t a concept affair, and this perhaps allows the band more freedom, and has arguably led to a release of greater stylistic variety.

Following the now-customary orchestral intro, which has a particularly dark feel thanks to a main keyboard melody which echoes that of the Exorcist theme, the opening track proper, Come is a good illustration of the band’s sound in 2005; there’s a typical, grandiose intro but when the guitars enter they have a sharp, modern buzz to them. Vocalist Floor Jansen’s delivery is controlled and classy on the verses, before soaring to higher places on the symphonic chorus. The mid-section of the song has a Middle-Eastern flavour to it, whilst there’s a strong vocal section where Floor goes into a vocal trade-off with the now-familiar After Forever Choir.

Whilst Come could be seen as having its foot in both the past and present After Forever sound, Boundaries Are Open has a much more straightforward approach, a strong catchy track with a memorable, spiralling lead riff, good chorus and convincing momentum – certainly one that has commercial potential. In contrast, Living Shields showcases the heavier side of the band, with Floor reaching well into her soprano range for the chorus, whilst guitarist Sander Gommans' exercises his love-it-or-hate-it vocal growls during the verse sections. The riffs here are pleasingly weighty, bearing some similarity to Master Of Puppets-era Metallica.

Being Everyone is a grandiose but easily accessible track, building from a slow-paced verse, through a somewhat eighties-style hard rock bridge section to a big, bombastic chorus. Attendance keeps the pace at pedestrian level; it’s a slightly odd track, which grinds along to a rather clunky, almost industrial rhythm. Not my favourite piece on the album, but its enlivened by a strong choral vocal section towards its end. Free Of Doubt, meanwhile, is probably one of the few tracks which would have sat easily on their earlier releases. Its perhaps a little more simplistic than Decipher-era work, but is still in that vein. Only Everything is the album’s obvious ‘epic’, a grandiose track which sees the band covering all bases of their sound, from the balladic opening to a trade-off vocal section between Floor and Sander, and encompassing plenty of tricky tempo and mood changes. I’d imagine those fans pining for a return to the band’s earlier sound will be at least a little placated by this song.

Strong lets listeners take a quick breather, as it’s the (almost obligatory) ballad on the album, and a good one at that, quite poignant, with Floor’s vocals at their best. Keyboardist Joost van den Broek gets a good church organ-like sound out of his keyboards which suits the track, and there’s a very strong melodic guitar solo. Face Your Demons sees the band back playing up-tempo, aggressive metal, with Floor’s vocals displaying a convincingly ‘evil’ side. Following strong verses, the chorus is a bit weak, and the sound a Floor producing a very ‘nu-metal’ vocal style in the latter part of the track may not go down too well with some of the band’s traditional fan base!

No Control keeps the heaviness, and is distinguished by the fact that vocals are handled by Bas Maas and Sander Gommans, with no Floor; a pity, as her voice would have fitted the song well and improved it considerably. The album concludes with Forever, a symphonic piece which, musically, edges into Kamelot territory, especially on the lengthy introduction, with its sweeping keyboards and Middle-Eastern flourishes. It’s a reasonably strong way to close out what is a reasonably strong album. Personally I think it’s a little below the standard of Invisible Circles, and as I’ve previously said will doubtless not go down well with some fans of the band’s earlier work; then again, the music’s directness and accessibility may see them attract a new generation of fans weaned on the likes of Evanescence and Nightwish (I imagine that’s the hope anyway). Certainly worthy of investigation for fans of the scene, even if you’re new to the band. I just hope the awful cover doesn’t put too many potential purchasers off!

Review two

From their founding onwards After Forever have always been a steady factor in Gothic Metal, yet they never really succeeded to break through to a larger public (the way e.g. Within Temptation and Nightwish did) I think this is totally undeserved as After Forever scores high on originality and musicality. This new offering is very much proof of that. While they are not really leaving their Gothic roots behind, After Forever has certainly moved on. Feeding the doubt whether the label for this band should be Gothic Metal or Progressive Metal, this new album is a large step towards the latter. Not in the least because there is much more of a keyboard sound, and this keyboard orientation is not a real surprise as former Sun Caged member Joost van den Broek joined After Forever. The booklet states that together with Floor Jansen and Sander Gommans he had a large say in the music of this album. But part of the band's change can also be accounted to Floor Jansen vocals: she does not only do opera-like soprano.

The band did not have an easy time before the release of this album, of course keyboard player Lando van Gils left, but more importantly their drummer André Borgman fell seriously ill. This was at the time the album was supposed to be recorded but still they could make use of his pre-production work. Borgman is now touring with the band again so hopefully this means he is fully recovered.

There are some pleasant surprises on this album, they are the reason for pronouncing this album a shift towards prog metal. It is of course something that already started in their previous album Invisible Circles. But tracks like Being Everyone (a keyboard melody), Attendance (electronic drums) and Strong (almost Dream Theater like guitars) are not found on previous After Forever albums, and even the name Lacuna Coil pops-up every now and then while listening to this album. After Forever did not do a 180 degrees turn of style, they are still a very guitar oriented band and are still not satisfying people that have been asking for more guitar solos, but much melody and solos can be found in the keyboard parts. And of course in Floor's voice - tracks one can easily recognize as After Forever tracks are also there (Living Shields, Free Of Doubt), they are good but to me less interesting.

There is something about this album that I really don't like: the cover. Luckily After Forever got rid of the tight glittering suits of the previous release but the photograph with Floor in front, with her hair all strange over her head, the rest of the band standing/sitting behind her doesn't do anything for me.

The DVD that comes with the special edition shows a band in the studio, having fun, goofing off and being disappointed when things go wrong, but it struck me how young this band still is - I had never realized that before. The DVD is nice enough, and does have a 5.1 sound track, but does not really win me over enough to the buy the special edition, especially because the other version of the album is a SACD. Transmission has already released a number of SACD's and I can only applaud them for taking this 'new' medium so seriously. Of course it is a hybrid CD which means that it can also be played on "normal" CD player.

The SACD mix sounds quite cool but as soon as Floor starts to do "her opera voice" it becomes a bit hollow - as if they were recorded in a bathroom. At first I thought it was my system because I do not have a subwoofer, but all the other music on this album sounds good, so probably this is the way it is intended.

This new release shows After Forever is progressing without losing their identity. The new things I hear sound very very interesting. Still this is not their best release but it is a good album. Within a Gothic scene that is getting a bit overcrowded with much the same sounds, it is good that After Forever is evolving. In my opinion they could have made a larger step, but maybe it would be too much too soon. Anyway, not only does this album show the promise of After Forever's future but they show once again that they deserve their spot in the higher regions of prog metal (or was it Gothic)?

Tracklist: Enter (1:06), Come (5:02), Boundaries Are Open (3:44), Living Shields (4:11), Being Everyone (3:37), Attendance (3:27), Free Of Doubt (4:40), Only Everything (6:33), Strong (3:38), Face Your Demons (4:57), No Control (3:17), Forever (5:10)

After Forever

Digital Receit

If you look at the total time of this CD-single you would expect it to be filled with music. While there are the standard four musical tracks a large part of this disc is filled by Irene Janssen interviewing two of the bands members. It is a nice interview. And in my opinion that's exactly what's wrong with it: you learn at what age they started playing guitar/drums and what they like most of playing in After Forever but not one of the questions really matters, it's all nice. Maybe it is caused by Irene's involvement with the band (Floor Janssen is her sister). I would have liked to know how they look back at Mark Jansen departure, what they think of Epica and how they hate those questions. But maybe they are fed up with these questions because they must have been asked over and over again.

As for the music: the tracks on this disc are what one should expect from After Forever and for those of you in possession of the album Invisible Circles there are no surprises on this single. All of the tracks are previously unreleased but are not really far from the originals. Digital Deceit and Sins Of Idealism are single versions which means they are a bit shorter than the album version. On the album Eccentric is a real intimate track on this single an orchestral version can be found, while it is nicely done and some instruments work really well, I personally like the album version better mainly because it is even more of a showcase to Floor's voice. Track four is a version of Blind Pain labelled "Aggressive Version" and it is more, well, aggressive.

All in all a nice single, nice to get acquainted with After Forever. For real fans it is just another item that just has to be in their collection. And for people like me, that already know After Forever, this single is just another CD-single. It does not have much added value, decide for yourself if you want to spend your buck on it.

Tracklist: Digital Deceit (Single Version) (04:08), Eccentric (Orchestral Version) (04:36), Sins Of Idealism (Single Version) (04:12), Blind Pain (Aggressive Version) (04:20), Interview (09:50)

After Forever

Invisible Circles

Review one

In my previous After Forever review (of Exordium I ended assuring fans that After Forever still had it. In that same review I worded the hope that a full album would soon follow. This hope has now been fulfilled by this album. And it was well worth the wait. Much has been said on the departure of Mark Jansen (who then started Epica) and because of that you tend to forget that 5 of the original members are still there. On this album the six piece band from The Netherlands show that they are still true to their roots and this album fits perfectly to the line set out from the very start. My hope is that not only old fans will embrace this album but that it will also attract new ones. The album certainly deserves it.

I my previous review I also made a remark on Floor Jansen's singing that I now largely regret. One of the most stunning features of this album is her voice, and this time I like it, in all it's facets, be it soprano or be it otherwise. Oh man, does this lady have an amazing voice. Just listen to Eccentric and you will know what I mean.

Many times After Forever is used as a good example of Gothic music and therefore it's a pity that they did not really profit from the increased popularity of this genre like other bands did. In my opinion this might be because After Forever is so much more than just 'Gothic'. After Forever is just, well, After Forever. A mix of many genres but most appealing to me: it is heavy music that has a firm body without only being a wall of loud and heavy sounds/screams. It has a lot of complexity and melody without being all polished and slick. In fact After Forever is one of the few bands that uses grunts in such a way that I can not only accept it but even like it at times.

This album tells the story of a child that was not exactly welcome because her parents were so busy with themselves. You are led in this story by the child writing in her diary. Most of the story is of course expressed in music and lyrics but some parts are conveyed by (long) dialogs between the parents and that to me is the only negative aspect of this album. They could have done without these dialogs, for one they slow down the pace of the album too much and it is as if the album's story is force fed. At times I find the lyrics a bit too simple and corny but then other pieces are very powerful.

Musically it took me no time at all to appreciate this album, from the first time I heard the children's music in the introduction I was sold. And, as said, the vocals on this album are better than ever before. Although the music is very recognizably After Forever, it does not mean they have copied all of their previous albums in this one. I especially like the tracks Sins Of Idealism because of the superb guitar solo's and vocals, Eccentric although it might be called the obligatory ballad it is much to good to wave it off like that, Digital Deceit because of the built up from heavy bombastic short guitar loops to soft and mellow, Life's Vortex because of the use of strings and keyboards.

After Forever is highly appreciated by a somewhat select group of people. They have played a number of larger festivals but still a lot of people have never heard of them. Of course their group of followers is growing, but a band that is able to release albums with such consistent quality should finally get the appreciation they deserve. I can only do my part in that and recommend this album.

Review two

In 2001 After Forever released their brilliant album Decipher. That album is three years old now and a lot has happened since then; Mark left the band to form Epica and Bas Maas replaced him. Before this album came out After Forever released a mini-album called Exordium and on this album it was clear that the musical development of After Forever was still growing.

This new album shows that After Forever is no longer a gothic metal band anymore; they have really chosen for the metal side of music on Invisible Circles. So for the die-hard fans that loved the previous album this one is rather a bit “weird”. You really have to get used to this album, which means that you have to listen to it a lot to truly appreciate it. Sander, guitar player, composer and grunter describes their music on the new CD as the new wave of Dutch heavy metal, which means that the bombastic choir and orchestral passages, as on Decipher, belong to the past. Furthermore it is a concept album and it deals with the daily problems of a modern family, seen through the eyes of a child.

Right from the start After Forever hits you in the face with heavy guitar riffs, howling keyboard parts, beautiful vocals by Floor and mysterious grunting by Sander, as for example in the first real song (after the intro Childhood In Minor) Beautiful Emptiness. However as I am not a real fan of grunting I rather prefer Eccentric, a superb piano ballad, beautifully sung by Floor. Digital Deceit, a very diverse, almost power metal like song with typical hooks and guitar riffs. Or the third grunt-free song Life’s Vortex, a track with orchestral parts, very bombastic and dramatic, an example of how good prog metal should sound like. Together with Reflections, Life’s Vortex belongs to my favourite tracks on this album. Reflections begins as a piano ballad, but then it evolves into a heavy song with extreme high vocals by Floor, especially the chorus sounds like an opera aria. On this CD it is evident that the voice of Floor is even more “dominant” than on the previous albums, but it is also clear that the music has changed from gothic metal to darker, heavier, powerful metal.

I truly believe that After Forever will “reach” more people with the kind of music they are displaying on this album, which not means that you could call them more commercial now. As I said before it is an album that needs some time to really enjoy, but then you will agree with me that this is one of the best Dutch metal albums ever. The only two things I do not like on this CD are the soap-like conversations at the end of Between Love And Fire and Blind Pain and the grunting of Sander. If every song on this CD would be grunt less I certainly would have given it 9 points or maybe even 9.5…… But there is no accounting for taste!!

Review three

The mini-album Exordium which appeared last year served as a reminder that After Forever were still very much alive after having lost a key member the year before, but it was this, their new full length studio album, that I have been looking forward to with most relish. Its predecessor Decipher was my pick for best album of 2001, and my expectations were pretty high.

The first time I heard Invisible Circles I was working late at the office. For the first twenty minutes I wasn't able to do much work because I couldn't stop jumping up from my chair every other minute and exclaim "this is friggin' great!". And it is: I can safely say that the suite consisting of the first five songs on the album is the best After Forever have ever done. Varied, with exciting dual rhythm guitar, tasteful keyboard accompaniment, and great riffing.

There are moments of utter brilliance here, like in Between Love and Fire, where the song is picked up after a brief narrative interlude with a three way vocal: soprano, grunts, and clear vocals, courtesy of Floor Jansen, Sander Gommans and Bas Maas. With the latter After Forever have not only found a replacement guitarist, but an additional vocalist as well, which is quite a revelation. He does great, especially in offsetting the other two vocalists, which works very well. I wouldn't mind After Forever using this song element more often.

But the band's (f)(v)ocal point remains Floor Jansen, and she's at her emotive best here. Of special mention is Sins of Idealism where she shows the incredible range of her voice in a heartrending cry which cannot fail to send shivers down the spine even of someone who's been dead and buried for three days.

This first phase of the album is closed by the gentle piano/vocal piece Eccentric, which gives the listener some much needed respite after the preceding emotionally draining tracks. What follows is really a mixed bag. With Through Square Eyes (nice vocal duel between Floor and Sander) and the orchestra heavy Digital Deceit the band manages to come close to reaching the high standard set by the first songs on the album.

Victim of Choices and Blind Pain on the other hand are rather forgettable, with the latter suffering from the inclusion of a lengthy stretch of spoken text, which becomes annoying on repeated listening. Two Sides features fast synthesizer noodling courtesy of ivory tinkler Lando van Gils, and a second vocal spot for Bas Maas. Reflections reintroduces a theme from Between Love and Fire and features nothing less than a guitar solo, a rarity in After Forever's work.

Invisible Circles peaks one more time with the fantastic closer Life's Vortex: a rising crescendo of guitars, strings, church organ and emotive vocals, leading into an operatic interlude with choir, before climaxing and trailing off rather ominously with a gargling sound similar to the one that started the album: these circles may be invisible, but they are not silent.

To conclude: a worthy album, its lesser moments more than compensated by the brilliance of especially the first quartet of tracks. Therefore, with 9.5 points for the first half and 7 points for the second half, this makes for a grade of 8 points and a big fat recommended tag.

Review four

I must be honest in saying that at the turn of the year, Invisible Circles was firmly at the top of my list of new releases that I was looking forward to hearing in 2004. Despite my disappointment with the Exordium release, I was hoping that given a full length release, the band would deliver a worthy follow-up to Decipher, but even 2 months or so after its release, and many spins, I still can’t quite come to terms with this disk.

Invisible Circles is a concept album, a format that is still quite popular in these times, yet it is a concept album written from the female perspective and from that of a young girl - an unusual point of view - at least in the world of Prog Metal, though any one who has experienced problems in matching up to their parent’s expectations will find something here that they can relate to. My main source of dissatisfaction is however the music.

The disk opens with the sounds of the schoolyard and a brief overture before the whole band make their entrance in Beautiful Emptiness. During the more tranquil passages the voice of Floor Jansen, generally playing the role of the child, sings of her plight as a child who is but an annoying presence that her career-obsessed parents prefer to ignore. Sander Gommans’s growling voice is used to represent the child’s anger at her mistreatment as well as playing the role of the Father figure but this is confusing at first and one has to refer to the detailed notes and lyrics in the booklet in order to work out exactly what is happening and which voice is playing which role.

The arguing between the child’s parents is played out during Between Love and Fire and is dramatised with the first of two major clashes between Amanda Somerville (as the mother) and Jay Lansford (as the Father). While not being the sort of acting that Oscars are made of, the words of their argument reveal the story to those listeners who have not followed the scene-setting up to this point. Introducing such spoken word sections is always a tricky thing and while it works well on the first couple of listens, it does become a real distraction after several spins. The voice of Jay Lansbury is a familiar one to those who have albums from Rhapsody, Aina etc where his voice adds the necessary cheese and pomposity required. Here however, we have serious subject matter and his voice and acting does not carry the gravitas necessary to make it all believable.

The following series of tunes have the child trying to please her parents but always falling short, eventually taking solace in the world of television, video games and an online world of her own creation, in which she is a "queen". Eccentric, which has Floor singing with just piano for accompaniment is the best of the bunch, freed as it is from the heavy and rather boring repeated motifs that link many of the songs. In fact the heavy pounding bits feature a guitar sound that becomes increasingly annoying as the disk progresses and the riff that appears repeatedly, does so to the detriment of some otherwise promising tunes.

Blind Pain is perhaps the most dramatic song on the album with the rage of the child rising once more and the riffs and vocals becoming even more brutal, especially when set alongside the contemplative passages. The second of the lengthy spoken passages closes the track and is even more dramatic than the first. It is also all the more disturbing, as one can hear the breathing of the child above her parents’ arguing voices. Unfortunately the dialogue is a little stilted and it comes off as slightly unconvincing, becoming more annoying with each subsequent spin.

Fortunately the final third of the disk is the most satisfying and positive part. In Two Sides the child begins to see that she is in danger of seeing history repeating itself, a point that is made even more clear during Victim of Choices as her grandmother warns her father about the effect his treatment of his daughter is having on her, comparing it with the mistake she herself made during his upbringing. Then we have the delightful Reflections, which is probably the highlight of the disk, the orchestra, the keyboards and Floor’s voice all being used to perfection. If only the rest of the disk was as good as this track. Yet, after the slight uplift in mood, the final track Life’s Vortex leaves the listening whether the whole process is going repeat as the child herself becomes a mother 10 years further on.

While I admire the fact that After Forever have tried very hard to do something a little out of the ordinary, I have to say that I do not find it a very satisfying disk to listen to. Vocally Floor Jansen seems to go from strength to strength and her performance here is powerful, dramatic and very impressive overall, not matter how she chooses to sing. The music unfortunately does not match up and both in the guitar department and in terms of compositional variety the band do miss the departed Mark Jansen. There is a dourness to the music which gives it a heavy feel that is lifted only briefly during Reflections and one or two passages elsewhere. After the shock of the first listen I wasn’t sure that I could bear to play the disk again. However it has become a little more palatable over the course of a further 10 spins, but even so, this will never become a disk that I’ll listen to for pleasure. Hard going.

Review five

Since the release of their last full-length album, Decipher, in 2001, there have been many changes to the musical sphere in which After Forever operate, both internally and externally. Within the band there have been line-up changes, not least the departure of guitarist and key songwriter Mark Jansen (to form a new outfit, Epica). Meanwhile, the whole female-fronted gothic/ symphonic/ progressive metal scene has taken a leap forward in popularity, with Evanescence cornering the mainstream side of the market, and acts like Nightwish and Lacuna Coil rapidly gaining in popularity. After Forever are currently popular in the low countries, but still relatively unknown elsewhere – therefore quite a lot is riding on Invisible Circles.

To be honest the stop-gap EP Exordium offered up more questions than answers – the material seemed to be taking a more ‘conventional’ turn, with a decided lessening of the orchestral bombast the band were known for. In addition, the band included a couple of covers, making it difficult to judge the effect of losing a key member such as Mark Jansen.

On first listen, Invisible Circles came as something of a surprise – quite the opposite from going in a different direction, it is in fact every bit as bombastic and majestic as before – in fact more so! All the main elements associated with the After Forever sound – strong, powerful guitar riffs, soaring strings, choirs, symphonic synths, the use of ‘grunts and screams’ – are present and correct, and turned up to 11 on this release. On top of all this, of course, is the stunning soprano vocals on Floor Jansen, and I can tell you that on Invisible Circles she has never sounded better; whilst on Exordium she seemed to be refining her range, here there seem to be no limits to where her voice will go, and she maintains a fine command over it at all times, knowing when to reign things in and when to let go. Without question, Floor Jansen establishes herself beyond doubt here as one of, if not the, best vocalists in the genre.

Of course, all this is well and good, but would be meaningless if the songs weren’t up to scratch. Thankfully, the loss of Mark Jansen doesn’t seem to have had a particularly detrimental effect on the band’s song-writing abilities, and the majority of the tracks on this album work very well indeed. The band have gone for a concept album on this occasion (the not particularly upbeat reminiscences of a child growing up, neglected by her parents and taunted at school, who retreats into her own world and confides her thoughts to her ‘diary’) and this concept holds together very well, seemingly giving the band some focus. There’s a good range of material on offer here, with stately mid-tempo affairs (opening track proper Beautiful Emptiness, the epic closer Life’s Vortex), powerful, aggressive numbers (Sins of Idealism, Victim Of Choices) and strong, emotional balladry (the excellent piano and voice effort Eccentric is a highlight, whilst Reflections makes excellent use of the string section).

The album isn’t beyond criticism, however. Two things in particular grated on me a little. Firstly are the two spoken interludes, where the ‘mother’ and ‘father’ engage in arguments, firstly about the merits of having a child, and later about how annoying she is. These simply don’t work – although short, they completely disrupt the flow of the album – especially the first break, which comes slap bang in the middle of the raging Between Love And Fire. In addition, I found the male voice very annoying indeed, and its’ hard to resist the urge to skip the CD forward at these points. Secondly, the use of grunting male vocals (courtesy of guitarist Sander Gommans) is very heavy in this album, and I think overused. Sure, at times its effective (especially on the more aggressive tracks) but at other times it seems inappropriate (in particular when Gommans’ takes the lead on Blind Pain) and besides the overuse blunts its impact. Personally I’d have preferred the band to use more ‘clean’ male vocals on the album as a counterpoint to Floor’s singing – these are used (presumably courtesy of second guitarist Bas Maas, whose credited with ‘vocals’) but very sparingly compared to the grunts.

Overall, this is a strong album, and certainly better than I expected following Exordium. Whether it will take them to the next level, or is actually better than either of their previous efforts (or indeed Epica’s The Phantom Agony) is a moot point, but then we are comparing strong albums against each other here. Suffice to say, existing fans will certainly want this, whilst it is also a decent starting point for the uninitiated.

Tracklist: Childhood In Minor (1:20), Beautiful Emptiness (5:25), Between Love And Fire (4:56), Sins Of Idealism (5:22), Eccentric (4:10), Digital Deceit (5:38), Through Square Eyes (6:23), Blind Pain (6:47), Two Sides (4:34), Victim Of Choices (3:21), Reflections (5:11), Life's Vortex (5:53)

After Forever

Exordium

Review one

What do you do when one of the principal songwriters in your band decides to leave? You either try to reinvent yourself or stay true to your chosen course. And judging from this first new offering since the departure of Mark Jansen last year, After Forever have largely chosen the second option. Because while only two of the songs on this six track mini-album bear the After Forever trademark established so succesfully on the preceding two full length albums Prison of Desire and Decipher, the other four are more the odd ones out (or odd four out, if you want) than that they establish a pattern.

Beneath, the first proper song on the album, falls into the first category: the use of breaks, the guitars and bass that provide the body and the keys and vocals that provide the melody, and the use of strings are characteristics strongly reminiscent of the Decipher album. The inspiration for the first few seconds of Glorifying Means seems to have been Nightwish, who After Forever supported on their European tour last year. This opening could however not be more deceptive because what follows would knock Tarja and her cohorts of their socks. This is by far the heaviest track on the album, owing in no small part to Gommans' grunts. The first odd one out is opener Line of Thoughts. Musically in the tradition of Metallica's The Call of Ktulu, this short instrumental is a sort of synopsis of the album, consisting of pieces of the other songs. My Choice is a ballad in which the rhythm guitars have mostly made place for the acoustic variety. The string section that again assists After Forever play a more significant role here.

The final two songs on the albums are covers. The inclusion of Iron Maiden's The Evil That Men Do (from this reviewer's favourite Maiden album Seventh Son of a Seventh Son) is not very surprising, as this rocker has been an After Forever concert staple for some time now. This rendition is very close to the original, with the vocals being the least similar, which also is not very surprising, as Bruce Dickinson may sing high but he's not a woman! The second cover is rather shockingly the cloyingly sweet One Day I'll Fly Away. An odd choice, but it actually works pretty well. And I guess the fade out at the end of the song is an ode to the days when the original version of this song was recorded and this awful practice was still in vogue!

Also included in this beautifully packaged release is a DVD, which is appropriately called Insights as it contains two behind-the-scenes featurettes, one covering the recording of this mini album, and the other the shooting of the My Choice video clip. These featurettes are more a collection of glances at a day in the life of After Forever than a documentary on the recording process, so they are for entertainment only. The aforementioned My Choice video is of course included, and is a worthy effort. It sees singer Floor Jansen exploring an old building (the Gevangenpoort in The Hague) in a very tight outfit (it sells, I guess) interspersed with shots of the band performing on stage. Extras include a live version of The Evil that Men Do and a number of photo galleries, of which the one containing pictures taken at Dutch TV programme Kopspijkers is hilarious.

In conclusion: Exordium is the introduction of a concept that will be more fully explored on the band's forthcoming third full length album. In the mean time, After Forever have proven that they can do very well without Mark Jansen, as this is a well produced effort. Even so, listeners unfamilair with the work of this Dutch band are recommended to pick up Decipher first. If you're already a fan, add another half point to the score below: this is obligatory fare for you!

Review two

Dutch band After Forever have, in their short career, already carved out a niche for themselves as quality exponents of symphonic, progressive metal, and in vocalist Floor Jansen have something of a secret weapon – a versatile singer capable of outstanding range and power. The band are already well known in their homeland, so I imagine that this EP has dual purposes; to tide their loyal fanbase over until the next full length album, and to serve as a ‘taster’ to those yet to discover the band.

Effectively what we have here are three original tracks (Line of Thought really being an extended intro to Beneath) and two cover versions. Of the originals, both Beneath and Glorifying Means are good examples of the band’s fairly unique fusion of the power of heavy metal with the dynamics of classical music. Beneath is probably the stronger song, with a well-worked structure, nice changes in pace and mood, a strong chorus and memorable melodies. Glorifying Means is, however, perhaps a more typical After Forever track, in the vein of the material from their debut album Prison Of Desire – here, the band go for the patented ‘beauty and the beast’ vocal style (i.e. a guy delivers death-metal style growls while the female provides the ‘clean’ vocals), and singer Floor Jansen reaches the high notes usually only attained by opera singers, providing a good demonstration of why she’s so highly rated in progressive metal circles.

The other original, My Choice, is something of a power ballad – Floor’s voice here is much more conventional (if still excellent), as (on the surface) is the song; whilst a little bland on first listen, it does improve with repeated spins; I particularly like the well-worked vocal harmonies used throughout, whilst the bombastic chorus is memorable.

Of the covers, there is a safe choice and a surprising one. The former is Iron Maiden’s The Evil That Men Do, apparently a live favourite; to be honest the band can’t really go wrong with this heavy metal classic, and they don’t, but at the same time this doesn’t add anything to the original; musically, in fact, its pretty much identical, and I can’t say I prefer Floor’s vocals here to Bruce Dickinson’s – I think the song is better suited to a male vocal. Ultimately the feeling here (as with so many of these identikit covers) is: what’s the point?

A more interesting cover is that of Randy Crawford’s well-known, melodramatic ballad One Day I’ll Fly Away. The idea of retaining the original melody but placing it inside a symphonic metal framework may sound slightly odd in theory, but proves (perhaps surprisingly) to be pretty effective in practice, and in contrast to the previous track it is an undeniably different take on familiar material.

The CD comes with a DVD, Insights. On this, there is a video for My Choice, a doc following the making of said video, a live clip of The Evil That Men Do, some clips of the band messing around in the studio, and a photo gallery. All pleasant enough extras but mostly of the ‘one watch only’ kind unless you’re a dedicated fan.

Overall, this is a decent ‘stop gap’ that will ultimately be of more interest to existing fans than to potential new ones; to the latter group I’d advise getting a copy of either (or both!) of the band’s full-length albums, which contain superior tracks to anything on Exordium, and are more consistently enjoyable to boot.

I have been anxiously awaiting this release. Mostly because of the question concerning the status of After Forever. How much of After Forever did Mark Jansen take with him at the start of Epica? Are they able to continue without him? My expectations and hopes for this album were high. I am very fond of the first two albums by After Forever mainly because of the music, but next to that I am proud that a Dutch band is able to make such excellent progmetal/gothic music.

After departure of Mark Jansen, Bas Maas was added to the band. Before he was just befriended to the band and worked as a permanent crew member (roadie). His previous experiences include working with a number of cover bands.

At first I was a bit disappointed, mostly because of the (short) length of this new album, of course I knew this beforehand because it is called mini-cd, but I had hoped for a bit more. If you take into account that two tracks on this album are covers it is a pretty short album. The fact that this CD is accompanied by a DVD does make up for something, but it also means that the price of this album is not inline with it's mini-cd status.

After the first encounter the music also was a disappointment: it is as if After Forever has lain down their Gothic roots. It is more prog metal than Gothic. And although normally I am not a big gothic fan, it is the mix of both genres that made After Forever special. Furthermore a more Gothic oriented album would mean that Floor Jansen would take a different approach in her singing: more soprano. Unlike many people that I know, I have never been a big fan of the sound of Floor's voice, and taking a less 'classical/opera/soprano' approach puts more emphasis on the specific sound in her voice that I do not like too much. There are exceptions to this on the album, especially Glorifying Means, which has a lot of the 'Floor that I like.'

Line Of Thoughts is an instrumental intro to Beneath a track that talks about street rage, based on an event in Venlo where a young man was killed for no real reason. The lyrics seem to take a more general point of view, why are people like this, what would you do if you were there. Musically this track is furthest away from the previous albums, in my opinion it is also the best track of this album. My Choice is more like an older After Forever song I like the higher pitched vocals of Floor. This track is still growing on me. And I am still doubting whether or not this is the best track on this album (in a few weeks I will know for sure). Glorifying Means is a track in the best After Forever tradition, even with grunts and all. I am a bit surprised (of myself) that although this is a very good track that I like Beneath more. I have some mixed thoughts on that, on the one hand I would like another Decipher and on the other I hoped the band would make some progression. The Evil That Men Do is a Iron Maiden cover and although I do not know the original I spotted it as an Iron Maiden song even before I had a look in the booklet. It catches on easy. One Day I'll Fly Away a song made famous by Randy Crawford might be an odd choice but it works very well.

The DVD that is also part of this album made me rewrite the comment I had made on My Choice. Having another listen (and first look) made me appreciate this track more. In the video clip the band is on a stage sometimes left alone by Floor who is walking through a maze of doors and choices. A number of times she steps away out of herself (2,3, or even 4 Floors in a tight catsuit! ) and although it is not a special effects wonder, like e.g. The Matrix, it is interesting to watch.The audio to this track is available in Dolby Digital, DTS and Stereo. Making of My Choice is more like a backstage video to a live concert than a insight in the tricks used to create the video clip. But it is still an enjoyable watch: the band fooling around a bit. Under special features a number of items are to be found: a live registration of The Evil That Men Do (but with the studio audio version), recordings of After Forever in the studio, a slide show of photographs, the artwork in the booklet and the lyrics to the tracks.

I think that fans of After Forever have nothing to fear: this is After Forever as it has always been, but mind you: they have made some changes and with that some progress. The tracks on this mini-album are promising and I hope a full album will be released in the near future. The fact that this is not a full album has it's influence on my rating. It is not DPRP recommended but I can recommend this album to anyone that is curious to what After Forever sounds like nowadays

Tracklist: Exordium CD [26.41]: Line Of Thoughts (2.15), Beneath (4.52), My Choice (4.53), Glorifying Means (5.00), The Evil That Men Do (4.50), One Day I'll Fly Away (4.43)
Insights DVD [26.37]: My Choice video (4.14), Making Of... My Choice (11.59), The Evil That Men Do (live) (4.29), Studio Recordings (5.55), Slideshows, Artwork, Lyrics, Liner Notes

After Forever

Deceiper

After Forever was one of the major discoveries of the last two years with their debut album Prison of Desire. They played a very impressive amount of gigs in the Netherlands, but also a couple abroad. In the meantime, even I had the opportunity to see them live in Eindhoven, together with Within Temptation a while ago. They gave a very strong performance, even though their metal side is more to the front live than it is on the album(s) (the fact that during the breaks thundering death metal was played didn't really help either...).

As was to be expected, their new album basically continues the style of the previous album, and at a first glance it even seems a copy of ideas of the first album. For instance, the classical piece with which the album opens, the choir etc. is an almost literal copy of the musical idea of the first album, also the build up, with the second track being not too complicated, and having a rhythmically more challanging third piece comes close to Prison of Desire. However, after the album has settled a bit more, and it takes a couple of spins to achieve that, it slowly becomes apparent that After Forever has grown in their music, the whole album sounds more mature, and in a sense both (even) darker and more balanced than their debut. The deep grunts are not used as heavily any more and Floor Jansen sings more in a "normal" voice (even though she does use her soprano vocals now and again). In fact, in some parts her voice even starts sounding a bit like Lana Lane.....

The impression I had after listening to this album for a week or two is that this album definitely is more "progressive" than the debut album. Especially the rhythmic section has improved a lot. I personally was most impressed by My Pledge Of Allegiance, which has a complex, yet still very catchy and powerful rhythm line. I think a lot of symphonic and progressive rock fans will love this album too, as the album is very varied and even contains sensitive ballads like for instance Intrinsic, where Floor Jansen manages to put a lot of emotion in her singing. But before everybody falls asleep, one is awakened with the powerful metal piece Zenith.
The use of original classical instruments like cello and violin, as well as a real choir, adds enormously to the overal dynamics of the album, especially in a piece like Estranged, which goes through a whole range of moods and can also be considered quite a masterpiece. In Imperfect Senses, After Forever does something new: a duet between Jansen (soprano) and a male tenor. Damn, you almost would think they were sponsered by Joop van den Ende and they are practicing for After Forever - The Musical ;-) (Dutch joke). All jokes set aside: this ballad is a bit too sweet for me, even though melodically it is well composed. After that my favorite piece returns with My Pledge Of Allegiance #2, featuring many of the themes of part 1.

In conclusion: After Forever have lived up to the expectations and produced an album that at least rivals the previous one, and indeed in most places excels over Prison Of Desire. Again, as we are used with Transmission releases, the production and packaging are flawless and stylish. This one is bound to become a classic too. If you like bands like Within Temptation, Therion or The Gathering, I insist that you try this one out!

Tracklist: Ex Cathedra (2:02), Monolith of Doubt (3:32), My Pledge of Alliance 1 (6:24), Emphasis (4:20), Intrinisic (6:43), Zenith (4:21), Estranged (6:56), Imperfect Tenses (4:07), My pledge of Alliance 2 (5:07), The Key (4:48), Forlorn Hope (6:20)

After Forever

Prison Of Desire

Wolverine, eat your heart out! Here is Dutch Prog-Dark-Metal band After Forever, from the Arjan 'Ayreon' Lucassen stable Transmission Records. Combining the darkest classical music influences (think Wagner), with pounding bass, female soprano crystal-clear vocals and melodic grunts, makes this one of the best debut albums I have heard recently. Gothic symfo pur sang, from a band with very young members.

The classical choir opening on Mea Culpa sets the dark tone for the album, and gave me a good change to pick up my Latin again. That may be a little critisism on the album: the lyrics are over-pretentious, using words that I have never even heard of (and trust me, I have had plenty of education in that respect). This track seemlessly flows over in Leaden Legacy, and together they make a perfect pair. In fact, I was so impressed that, before playing the rest of the album the first couple of times I listened to it, I just replayed these two tracks over and over. The perfect voice of the female vocalist, the beautiful dark melancholic melody, the excellent grunts and the perfect production of the tracks astounded me.

Semblance Of Confusion is proggier in style, with lots of rhythmic variations, and very classical ornaments to the melody. A somewhat more complex track that takes a bit longer to get used to. Some Iron Maiden influences in the guitar playing cannot be denied.
Black Tomb opens calmly, with some melodic keyboard chords, and acoustic guitar. Then a Threshold-like part follows, with pounding guitars and mildy dissonant keyboards, to enter into a very fast part, almost Dream Theatre-esque, intertwined with heavy grunting. Again a very well worked out track.
Follow in the City features an Middle-Eastern melody line in its opening. The classical choir, singing a duet with grunting and howling deep vocals, is particulary effective in this track.

Then, to my opinion, the albums collapses somewhat. Their box of tricks has been used up and the rest of the album does not bring any surpises any more. Silence From Afar is a ballad, quite straightforward and in the same atmosphere as the rest of the album (quite bombastic). A nice symfo-ballad though, with some (keyboard)-flute and a heavy faster middle part. The next couple of songs feature the same ideas as the previous ones. The guest appearence of Sharon den Adel (Within Temptation and the 'Indian' on Ayreon's Into the Electric Castle) on the last track is worth mentioning. A powerful ballad to end the album. One advantage of getting a deal with Transmission Records: vocalist Floor Jansen will do a guest appearence on the next Ayreon project as well.

All in all a very good album, a bit in the vein of some of the Into The Electric Castle pieces. But where the Castle was pure genius due to the very varied music, After Forever focusses on a handful of ideas that are repeated a couple of times. Of course, they will develop further and in the future I hope they will develop a more varied style. But what lies here before us is something to be proud of. If you like dark bombastic, Gothic symfo, add this one to your collection! Just listen to the soundclips on their homepage to get an idea of their skills. And note the excellent production, both sound-technically and the thick, stylish booklet!

Tracklist: Mea Culpa (2:00), Leaden Lecagy (5:07), Semblance of Confusion (4:09), Black Tomb (6:29), Follow In The Cry (4:06), Silence from Afar (5:52), Inimical Chimera (5:00), Tortuous Threnody (6:13), Yield To Temptation (5:53), Ephemeral (3:05), Beyond Me (6:11)

After Forever Interview

After Forever are a relatively new band to me, but after hearing what they do, and becoming quite an appreciater of the modern day female fronted rock band, they were added to my list of bands to check out. So I was delighted when I saw their name come up on the cast list of Download Festival at Donnington and made it my mission to arrange a chat with someone from the band. I was even happier when that someone turned out to be the stunning Floor Jansen, who is the vocalist for the band. I felt quite diminutive in her presence as she is a very tall lady, but I put all my insecurities to one side and the following is the conversation we had a couple of hours after finishing their set on the Dimebag Darrel Stage on the final day of the event.

To be honest you are a new band to me and I have not heard anything before this album here, and now I’ve heard it, I love it. It’s the big sound that I like.

Yeah. Definitely. Because our former record label in Holland was a small independent label that got us to a certain level but we noticed that we couldn’t grow any more, especially internationally. Like here in England we barely stepped foot because there wasn’t any decent distribution or promotional work done. But with the big, international, well-oiled machine like Nuclear Blast, where we’re signed up now, these things are possible. That’s the reason we are playing here at the Download festival. It’s a cool thing to start growing on and reach more people and we’ve noticed already that sales have gone up and all the reviews are amazingly positive.

Like I said, I love the big music and there is lots of orchestration on there. When you’re writing material, do you write it with that in mind or do you write then think “This will sound good”?

Of course we write things thinking and hoping they will sound good but we didn’t write it thinking that we would have an orchestra. But to be able to work with a full symphonic orchestra was not something we knew when we started writing. So for us it works like this:- Sander (Gommans) our guitar player, he’s our main song writer now with (Joost Van Den Broek),our keyboard player, he’s also the one that makes the arrangements and together they start making the instrumental parts for the song. So they determine the main basic structure and the melodies for the instruments. Then I start making my vocal lines on it and then write lyrics and rerecord that. And then we start working them out with the band and this time with our producer Gordan (Groothedde). Then we had the ability to work with the symphonic orchestra of Prague and that’s when our keyboard player started writing all these arrangements and made it extra orchestral. Once you know what you are going to have, what you can use, you can adapt your parts to it and make it as orchestral as you want.

I love to hear orchestras in rock music like you play because it expands it and makes it so much bigger.

Yeah. On this album, it’s actually the first time we’ve managed to make everything more extreme. We’ve always made the combination but this time, we’ve worked with the real orchestra, which makes a difference of course, because before we had real strings but not an entire real orchestra so this time we could do more like that, and the sound on the album became much better because of the producer we worked with. We wanted to keep a heavy sound, a real heavy guitar and metal sound and compare it with a real orchestral sound. We wanted al all and that’s kind of hard to achieve cause often real symphonic and orchestral albums sound orchestral but not heavy and real heavy albums with orchestral things have maybe a flute in the back and now we finally managed to get both out, real clear and heavy.

You’re right because rock musicians, I’m thinking guitarists cause I’m a guitarist, like Yngwie Malmsteen and various others have done things with orchestras and you’re right, it doesn’t sound heavy. But the way you marry it up and of course, it compliments your voice because that’s the area you’re in. Are you operatically trained?

Yeah. I started studying in ’99 on the school rock academy, so that was like a conservatory for pop and rock music. But while I was doing that I was also working on my lyrical voice and operatic voice and then during that study I started studying more on that direction and when I finished at that academy, I did one more year of music theatre and then one more year of opera. So I kind of did everything.

When you first started the operatic training, did you think that you wanted to do rock music?

It was the other way round. I was already in rock music. This is my tenth anniversary in the band. We started playing this kind of music with high female voices but I didn’t want it to become all “wah wah wah”. I wanted to have some balls too. So I wanted to make a difference between a rock voice and a more lyrical voice so that was my self-study through the years to get both sounds, more divided and more clear;- now it’s going to be a heavy rock voice, now it’s going to be light, now it’s going to be low, now it’s going to be high, now it’s going to be opera, now it’s going to be belting like a more musical style to make a diversity that we haven’t heard yet in other bands with female voices. So I wanted to make a difference.

I don’t know if you have them in your country, but we have impersonators here who do lots of different voices. Do you have to think carefully about which voice you use?

Yeah, definitely. When I start writing my vocal lines it’s like “which voice shall I use?”

How difficult is it when you play live? Do you sometimes start with the wrong voice?

No it’s automatic. I was gifted with this voice that has never got me into any limits. I could always do whatever I wanted with it. I just technically adjust it and there are no limits there really. I’m so happy with that. I can very easily switch.

That’s the beauty with having the sort of scale and range with the voice you’ve got. Has anybody yet suggested that you go out on tour with an orchestra?

Well yes but it’s more based on financial reasons that we can’t. There are even orchestras that really want to play with us but it is a huge thing to do.

That’s answered my next question; has an orchestra approached you yet? At some point I can imagine it will happen because these things do, especially when orchestras are interested in doing it.

I must admit, I’m not a big fan of Grunters. When I put the album on and there were a few tracks on there, I thought “It’s not going to be one of those albums is it?” But it’s fine because you don’t do that much of that sort of song.

It’s part of the music and just to make an extreme view the other way, the combination of grunts and clear voices is a nice refreshment in that way and it has to be a functional element in the music to add a certain thing. But it’s not like we have to have grunts in it because people want it or we’re not going to have grunts because people don’t like it. It’s what we want to do and where we want to do it. On this album it’s not too much but it’s still there. It emphasises the happiness of some of the songs and emphasises the metal element in our music. And that’s important to us.

As a progressive rock fan, would you say you have some progressive elements in your music, because when I listen to it, I listen to the chord structures and the way the songs are constructed?

Definitely, especially if you listen to our third album, it’s like a complete progressive album and has much more progressive elements and in the literal meaning of progressive I think we are a progressive band. If you listen to the first and last album, we have progressed in our own style. We started over ten years ago when female fronted bands in general were not as popular as they are today. The entire scene was not there. We are a part of making that and part of creating this type of music. So we have been growing in that ourselves as well and it’s funny to notice. So in that way, yeah, I would definitely call it progressive.

It’s right what you said about female fronted bands. Actually that’s when things started to come out. I always used to think that female vocalists used to try to sound like the male vocalists sang, like they sounded like Robert Plant or something and it never worked for me. But now they have evolved so it’s based around their own voice rather than trying to be somebody else.

You could be compared to Nightwish. They have just evolved with a new singer. Do you think that you are vying for the same sort of area?

Of course, yeah. But on the other hand if bands like Nightwish and also Within Temptation grow, the genre and the potential of it grows and that’s interesting for us because it expands our possibilities as well. And of course we all want to be the number one band. We are sticking to ourselves. Everybody’s doing our own thing. We are still all very different bands. Even though we are all in the same genre, we are attracting a lot of the same people. We also attract some people that won’t listen to those bands and the other way around. The sky’s the limit as far as I’m concerned. But we’ll see where it leads to.

This is the third. We have played the Bloodstock Festival and we did a club show in London. Both were very successful. Just as surprising as today, the places were packed, very enthusiastic. The merchandise was huge. Everybody wanted to have our shirt or CD. That’s also something that shows how enthusiastic people are. So Jeez, I really hope that we are going to see much more of England.

It makes it better because we could tell you were enjoying what you were doing today.

Well we are planning on it but it depends on what happens after this. Since we signed up with Nuclear Blast, we have become a little bigger. So there are a lot of places we are going to such as Germany, Belgium, Spain, France are countries we have been before and are places we are definitely going back for club shows, probably in September. In October, we will fly to North America so we are going to have our first North American tour and very likely a South American tour right after that one. And maybe at the end of the year, we’ll see if it’s going to be Scandinavia or/and England. Our booking agency has a lot of things coming in so it’s cool because we can choose depending on which place we want to go first. Exciting.

It’s a very new challenge. We’ve been talking with the guys from Within Temptation who have just come back from a very successful tour there, Epica and Lacuna Coil are doing great there. So European female fronted bands in general are doing good there. So I think we definitely fit in and if you see how much reaction we get on our website and how much North American interest in general there is, I’m looking forward to it.

A Chinese Firedrill is the new project of Joey Vera and he plays all instruments except for the drums, which are handled by Greg Studgio. Prog metal fans may know Joey Vera as the bassist of Fates Warning since their brilliant A Pleasant Shade Of Gray (APSoG) album. Lately he also played the bass on the latest OSI album Free, replacing Sean Malone. His past involvements include much heavier bands such as Armored Saint and Anthrax, as well as bands like Chroma Key. While A Chinese Firedrill’s sound borrows some elements from Fates Warning, OSI, Chroma Key, Engine, Porcupine Tree and a host of others, it is so much more than just influences. Vera showcases his outstanding song-writing skills in this gorgeous album called Circles, where a wide range of musical styles melt into one homogenic piece of art.

The album kicks off with the song Circles. The song’s intro is quite reminiscent of Alan Morse’s (Spock’s Beard) borderline guitar licks, but as soon as the distorted guitars kick in the whole sound gets a similar vibe to Fates Warning meets Tool. The song has a modern American rock flair a la Engine and some OSI elements all around and thanks to its wonderful refrain, it’s one hell of a memorable song.

Automatic Fantasy begins with some percussion work and slowly builds up into a Porcupine Tree flavoured sound. In the middle part of the song there’s a heavy section once again reminiscent of Fates Warning and thereafter another section with Alan Morse guitars. At around 4:30 a piano riff sets the mood for an APSoG style Fates Warning goodness. The addition of acoustic guitars and an electric guitar solo thereafter brings back the good old memories of Eleventh Hour to mind. Thumbs up!

Insane is quite an original track showcasing some Porcupine Tree influences with a harder edge at some points. It contains a simple but marvellous guitar solo right in the middle which is followed by multi-layered vocals building up a brilliant climax towards the end of the song.

Siucra begins with an atmospheric intro and is the most bombastic and radio friendly song on the record. Porcupine Tree in their Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun period may be a good reference, but the song still manages to sound fresh and original.

Never Say Never, another very Fates Warning-sounding track captivates the listener with its incredible chorus where the synthesis of the main melody and the underlying atmospheric keyboard work creates a small miracle.

Grass And Stone, however, is more unconventional and has an interesting vibe with all the rhythm and mood changes but it lacks the amazing melodies which can be heard on the previous tracks.

Rock, Paper, Scissors is the closing track and has a more retro vibe, with little influences of Peter Gabriel, Dire Straits and Pink Floyd. A very interesting track throughout, but could have been better in my humble opinion.

As I mentioned before ACF may be called a one-man project of Joey Vera where he is everywhere except for the drums. As you might know, he is quite good on bass. There shouldn’t be any doubt about that. His vocals are a little bit hard to get used to, but after a while one realizes that it suits the music amazingly well, though I have the admit that he is not the best singer on earth either. His guitar and keyboard work doesn’t leave too much to be desired since this album is not about virtuoso stuff. Wonderful melodies, interesting sonic textures, great arrangements and an ever changing emotional atmosphere are the strengths in this record and I don’t think it would be better if John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess would play here, but I certainly would like to see Steven Wilson and Kevin Moore in this project. I don’t have any information about the background of the drummer, Greg Studgio. I think he does OK on this record, but I wouldn’t mind a more gentle and versatile performance on drums. If you like me are a Fates Warning fan, this record comes highly recommended, but also Porcupine Tree, OSI, Chroma Key and Tool fans or any modern progressive music fan should definitely give this album a try. Highly recommended.

Tracklist: Circles (6:15), Automatic Fantasy (7:26), Insane (4:11), Siucra (6:18), Never Say Never (5:30), Grass and Stone (Ethereal) (6:50), Rock, Paper, Scissors (9:22)

Avant-progressiv rock

In the late 1970s a group of European "progressive" bands joined forces under the banner of Rock in Opposition or RIO to unite against the music industry that refused to let their music be heard. While RIO was originally a collective of bands with the same political agenda, the term is now often used to identify the "collective style of music" of the original RIO bands. This "collective style of music" later became known as "avant-progressive rock".

Avant-progressive rock music has since grown beyond Rock in Opposition and now encompasses a far greater body of music than the original "collective music" of RIO.

Art Rock

Art Rock definition

Not a sub-genre, as much as a category. Bands included in Art Rock may have very few things in common, other than the fact that they are all 100% Progressive Rock bands.

The term Art Rock has evolved from being synonymous with Progressive Rock in the early 70's, to being considered the borderline between Progressive Rock and mainstream in the 90's. However, the term has changed again with the new century, and below are the characteristics of the bands that will be included in this category:

1.     100% Prog bands
2.     Bands that are beyond the limits of the sub-genre parameters, or
3.     Bands that have evolved so much throughout their career, that they crossed different sub-genres without any single sub-genre being pre-eminent, or
4.     Bands that have characteristics of two or more different sub-genres and can't be reasonably classified in either, or
5.     Bands that are one of a kind, and for that reason can't be included as part of any sub-genre.

(The main difference with Prog-Related is that in this second category the bands included are not usually accepted as Prog bands, or are simply non Prog bands that have influenced or been influenced by the genre.)

Prog Archives accepts that this is a very generic category, but we believe it is necessary to avoid creating endless sub-genres for each eclectic band that appears.

Art Rock bands/artists list

Bands	Country
2066 & THEN	Germany
2112	Argentina
3	United Kingdom
4/3 DE TRIO	France
90 DAY MEN	United States
A.C.T.	Sweden
AARDVARK	United Kingdom
ABACUS	Germany
ABBFINOOSTY	United Kingdom
ABIOGENESI	Italy
ADVENT	United States
AFFINITY	United Kingdom
AFTER THE FALL	United States
AKKERMAN, JAN	Netherlands
AKRITAS	Greece
ALBATROS	Germany
ALEXL	Brazil
ALGARAVIA	Brazil
ALIAS EYE	Germany
ALON	United States
ALQUILBENCIL	Spain
ALQUIN	Netherlands
ALTAIR	Spain
AMAROK (POL)	Poland
ANALOGY	Germany
ANEKDOTEN	Sweden
ANGULART	Chile
ANKH	Poland
APOGEE	Germany
APOLLO	Finland
AQUARIUM	Russia
AQUILA	United Kingdom
ARCHIVE	United Kingdom
ARDO DOMBEC	Germany
AREKNAMÉS	Italy
ARGENT	United Kingdom
ART AND ILLUSION	Italy
ARTCANE	France
ASHQELON QUILT, THE	Israel
ASIDE BESIDE	France
ASTRID PRÖLL	Puerto Rico
ATARAXIA	Japan
ATMOSPHERA	Brazil
ATOMIC ROOSTER	United Kingdom
AUDIENCE	United Kingdom
AUNT MARY	Norway
AUTOGRAPH(AVTOGRAF /AUTOGRAF)	Russia
AVE ROCK	Argentina
AVIARY	United States
AVIATOR	United Kingdom
AZURETH	Multi-National
BABE RUTH	United Kingdom
BACIO DELLA MEDUSA, IL	Italy
BADGER	United Kingdom
BAINBRIDGE, DAVE	United Kingdom
BAIRD, KEN	Canada
BANKS, TONY	United Kingdom
BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST (BJH)	United Kingdom
BASS, COLIN	United Kingdom
BAUER	Argentina
BE BOP DELUXE	United Kingdom
BEARDFISH	Sweden
BELEW, ADRIAN	United States
BENCHIMOL, SÉRGIO	Brazil
BI KYO RAN	Japan
BIG BIG TRAIN	United Kingdom
BIGELF	United States
BIRTH CONTROL	Germany
BLACK BONZO	Sweden
BLACK CAT BONES	United Kingdom
BLACK WIDOW	United Kingdom
BLOQUE	Spain
BOOK OF HOURS	Sweden
BOX OF CRAYONS	United States
BUBU	Argentina
CABEZAS DE CERA	Mexico
CALIFORNIA GUITAR TRIO	United States
CAPTAIN BEYOND	United States
CARDEILHAC	Germany
CARGO	Netherlands
CASUAL SILENCE	Netherlands
CATAPILLA	United Kingdom
CHAIN	United States
CHANGES	Switzerland
CINEMA SHOW	Brazil
CIRCLES END	Norway
CIRCUS	Switzerland
CIRKUS	United Kingdom
CLARION	Italy
COBWEB STRANGE	United States
COCHRANE, STEVE	Canada
CONSPIRACY	United Kingdom
CONTRACTION	Canada
CRACK THE SKY	United States
CROSS	Sweden
CRYPTIC VISION	United States
CULPEPER'S ORCHARD	Denmark
CURVED AIR	United Kingdom
CZAR	United Kingdom
DAEMONIA	Italy
DAGMÄHR	Canada
DAH	Yugoslavia
DEADWOOD FOREST	United States
DEJA-VU (NO)	Norway
DELIRIUM (ME)	Mexico
DEVIL DOLL	Multi-National
DICE	Sweden
DIFICIL EQUILIBRIO	Spain
DISEN GAGE	Russia
DISTILLERIE DI MALTO	Italy
DIVINE IN SIGHT*	United States
DJAM KARET	United States
DOBOS, JULIUS	Hungary
DORACOR	Italy
DR. Z	United Kingdom
DRAGON	Belgium
DREADNAUGHT	United States
DREDG	United States
DRUGI NACIN	Yugoslavia
EAST OF EDEN	United Kingdom
EASTER ISLAND	United States
EKSEPTION	Netherlands
ELECTRUM	United States
EMERSON, KEITH*	United Kingdom
ENCHANT	United States
EPIDERMIS	Germany
ERE G	Canada
ESPERANTO	Multi-National
ET CETERA (CA)	Canada
EVENT	United States
EXPLORERS CLUB	United States
EXSIMIO	Chile
FAMILY	United Kingdom
FIELDS	United Kingdom
FINNEUS GAUGE	United States
FLASH	United Kingdom
FLÄSKET BRINNER	Sweden
FLOCK, THE	United States
FLORES, HUGO	Portugal
FONDERIA	Italy
FORGOTTEN SUNS	Portugal
FOXTROT	Norway
FRAGILE	Estonia
FRAMESHIFT	United States
FRIPP, ROBERT	United Kingdom
FRUMPY	Germany
FUSIOON	Spain
FUZZY DUCK	United Kingdom
GALAAD	Switzerland
GANDALF	Austria
GARGAMEL	Norway
GECKO'S TEAR	Italy
GENTLE GIANT	United Kingdom
GILBERT, KEVIN	United States
GLOBALYS	Belgium
GNIDROLOG	United Kingdom
GOAD	Italy
GOMORRHA	Germany
GRATTO	United States
GRAVY TRAIN	United Kingdom
GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH, THE	United Kingdom
GRECHUTA, MAREK*	Poland
GREEN	Italy
GREENSLADE, DAVE	United Kingdom
GREY EYE GLANCES	United States
GREYHAVEN	United States
GUARDIAN'S OFFICE, THE	Norway
GUNN, TREY	United States
GYPSY	United States
HAGGARD	Germany
HAIKARA	Finland
HAMADRYAD	Canada
HAMMILL, PETER	United Kingdom
HAPPY THE MAN	United States
HAYWARD & LODGE (THE MOODY BLUES)	United Kingdom
HEARTSCORE	Germany
HENRY FOOL	United Kingdom
HIGH TIDE	United Kingdom
HOBO	Yugoslavia
HOME	United Kingdom
HØST	Norway
HOUSE OF USHER	United States
HOWE, STEVE	United Kingdom
IKARUS	Germany
ILLUSION	United Kingdom
IMAGIN'ARIA	Italy
INDEXI	Yugoslavia
INDIAN SUMMER	United Kingdom
INDISCIPLINE	Canada
INFRONT	Russia
INTERPOSE	Japan
IRISH COFFEE	Belgium
IRRGARTEN	Canada
ISKANDER	Germany
ISLAND	Switzerland
IT	United States
IT BITES	United Kingdom
JAÉN KIEF	Colombia
JANE	Germany
JAUGERNAUT (A.D.)	United States
JEAVESTONE	Finland
JENGHIZ KHAN	Belgium
JEREMY (USA)	United States
JONESY	United Kingdom
JULIAN'S TREATMENT	United Kingdom
JUNIPHER GREENE	Norway
KAOS MOON	Canada
KAYAK	Netherlands
KEDAMA	Switzerland
KIN PING MEH	Germany
KING CRIMSON	United Kingdom
KINZOKUEBISU	Japan
KOPECKY	United States
KROMLECH	Mexico
KURGAN'S BANE	United States
LA ROSSA	France
LANDBERK	Sweden
LAREN D'OR	Hungary
LAST LAUGH	Sweden
LAST TURION	United States
LEES, JOHN	United Kingdom
LEVIATHAN (USA 70S)	United States
LIFE	Sweden
LIGHT	Netherlands
LIQUID SCARLET	Sweden
LIVGREN, KERRY	United States
LONE STAR	United Kingdom
LONG HELLO, THE	United Kingdom
LORD OF MUSHROOMS	France
LOST WORLD	Russia
LOUVETON, JEAN-PIERRE	France
LUCIFER WAS	Norway
LUCIFER'S FRIEND	Germany
MACHIAVEL	Belgium
MADRIGAL (GER)	Germany
MADRIGAL (USA)	United States
MAGELLAN	United States
MALOMBRA	Italy
MAN ON FIRE	United States
MANN'S EARTH BAND, MANFRED	United Kingdom
MANN'S PLAINS MUSIC, MANFRED	South Africa
MARS VOLTA, THE	United States
MARSUPILAMI	United Kingdom
MASSON, COLIN	United Kingdom
MASTERMIND	United States
MAXWELL'S DEMON	United States
MCDONALD & GILES	United Kingdom
MEDEA	Netherlands
MEDINA AZAHARA	Spain
MEN OF LAKE	Italy
METACONCIENCIA	Mexico
MIDIAN	Italy
MILLENNYA	Norway
MINIMUM VITAL	France
MIRTHRANDIR	United States
MOODY BLUES, THE	United Kingdom
MORRIGAN	France
MORSE BAND, STEVE	United States
MORTE MACABRE	Sweden
MUELLER, DOMINIK	Germany
MURPHY BLEND	Germany
MYSTERY	Canada
NANOOK OF THE NORTH	Sweden
NAVE	Brazil
NEMO	France
NEPOCIN	Yugoslavia
NEURAL MASS	Canada
NEUTRONS	United Kingdom
NEW MACHINE	United States
NEW SUN	United States
NICE BEAVER	Netherlands
NIGHT SUN	Germany
NIGHTWINDS	Canada
NIL	France
NIMBUS (CHI)	Chile
NIMROD	Australia
NINE DAYS' WONDER	Germany
NOVA MALÀ STRANA	Italy
NU	Spain
NURT	Poland
OCTOHPERA	Brazil
ODESSA	Italy
ODIN	United Kingdom
OLD MAN & THE SEA, THE	Denmark
OLDFIELD, MIKE	United Kingdom
OLIVER	United Kingdom
ORPHAN PROJECT	United States
OS MUNDI	Germany
OTHELLO SYNDROME , THE	United Kingdom
OVERHEAD	Finland
PAATOS	Sweden
PALADIN	United Kingdom
PALEY'S WATCH	United Kingdom
*PALMER, CARL**	United Kingdom
PANGÉE	Canada
PATERNOSTER	Austria
PAVLOV'S DOG	United States
PENTWATER	United States
PHANTOM'S OPERA	United States
PHIDEAUX	United States
PHILHARMONIE	France
PINEAPPLE THIEF	United Kingdom
POETICA IN SILENTIO	Netherlands
POPOL VUH / POPOL ACE	Norway
PRAXIS	Mexico
PRESTO BALLET	United States
PSICOTROPIA	Spain
PURE REASON REVOLUTION	United Kingdom
PYE FYTE	United States
QANGO	United Kingdom
QUATERMASS	United Kingdom
RACHEL'S BIRTHDAY	Germany
RADIOHEAD	United Kingdom
RÅG I RYGGEN	Sweden
RAIN TREE CROW	United Kingdom
RAMSES	Germany
RARE BIRD	United Kingdom
RAVANA	Norway
RAW MATERIAL	United Kingdom
REJOICE	Germany
RELOJ, EL	Argentina
RETROHEADS	Norway
ROCKENFIELD / SPEER	United States
ROOTS OF CONSCIOUSNESS	United States
ROSE	Canada
RUDESS, JORDAN	United States
RUFUS ZUPHALL	Germany
RUNNER	United Kingdom
RUPHUS	Norway
RUSH	Canada
SADLER, MICHAEL	Canada
SALVA	Sweden
SAMMELSURIUM	Germany
SAMURAI	United Kingdom
SCHIZOPHONIA	Switzerland
SCYTHE	Germany
SENOGUL	Spain
SENSE	Canada
SFILTROM	Slovenia
SHAA KHAN	Germany
SINGULARITY	United States
SKALDOWIE	Poland
SKY	United Kingdom
SOM NOSSO DE CADA DIA	Brazil
SOMNAMBULIST	United States
SONIC PULSAR	Portugal
SONIQ THEATER	Germany
SONUS UMBRA	Mexico
SOPHISTREE	Germany
SPEKTAKEL	Germany
SPIRALING	United States
SPIROSFERA	Italy
SPRING	United Kingdom
ST. ELMO'S FIRE	United States
STANDARTE	Italy
STEAMHAMMER	United Kingdom
STEEL MILL	United Kingdom
STILL	United States
STILL LIFE	United Kingdom
SUBJECT ESQ. / SAHARA	Germany
SUPERTRAMP	United Kingdom
SVANFRIDUR	Iceland
SYLVIAN, DAVID	United Kingdom
SYNEMA	United States
SYZYGY	United States
T2	United Kingdom
TAAL	France
TAGYERIT	United States
TALISMA	Canada
TANGENT, THE	Multi-National
TÁNGER	Argentina
TAPROBAN	Italy
TELIOF	Israel
TELLAH	Brazil
TEMPEST (ENG)	United Kingdom
TEN JINN	United States
TERRENO BALDIO	Brazil
TESKA INDUSTRIJA	Yugoslavia
THULE	Norway
TILES	United States
TIME	Yugoslavia
TITUS GROAN	United Kingdom
TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA	United States
TRETTIOÅRIGA KRIGET	Sweden
TRIBUTE	Sweden
TRIODE	France
TWEEN DECK 2	Sweden
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD, THE	United States
URBANE, THE	United Kingdom
URIAH HEEP	United Kingdom
UTOPIA	United States
VALINOR'S TREE	Sweden
VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR	United Kingdom
VERDUN	United States
VERSUS X	Germany
VIENNA	Japan
VIOLENT SILENCE	Sweden
VIRGO	Multi-National
VIRUS	Germany
VISOKOSNOE LETO	Russia
VITAL DUO	France
VON FRICKLE	United States
VULGAR UNICORN	United Kingdom
WALPURGIS	Germany
WALSH, STEVE	United States
WARHORSE	United Kingdom
WATERS, ROGER	United Kingdom
WAYNE, JEFF	United Kingdom
WHITE, ALAN	United Kingdom
WICKED MINDS	Italy
WOLSTENHOLME'S MÆSTOSO, WOOLLY	United Kingdom
XANG	France
XEN	United States
XINEMA	Sweden
YEZDA URFA	United States
ZARATHUSTRA	Germany
ZARG	Brazil
ZELLO	Sweden
ZEROESQUE	United States

Apple Inc. og Apple Corps. Ltd, som er Beatles' plateselskap, inngikk i 1981 en avtale om at Apple Inc. (altså Macintosh-produsenten) skulle holde seg utenfor musikkverdenen.

Årene har gått, og man kan vel trygt si at Apple er inne i musikkverdenen med både iTunes Music Store og iPod. Partene har nå kommet til en ny enighet som erstatter en kontrakt fra 1991.

- Vi elsker the Beatles, og det har vært vondt å være uenige med dem over disse opphavsrettighetene. Det føles godt å kunne avklare dette på en positiv måte, og på en måte som sannsynligvis fjerner sjansen for uenigheter i fremtiden, sier Steve Jobs i en pressemelding fra Apple.

Neil Aspinall fra Apple Corps. Ltd sier på vegne av alle aksjeeierne i selskapet at det er godt å kunne putte uenighetene bak seg og fortsette fremover. Han ønsker Apple lnc. lykke til videre.

Det foreligger ikke stort mer informasjon i pressemeldingen enn at partene er enige og tilsynelatende fornøyde. Hva avtalen går ut på, får vi ikke vite. Det er tidligere spekulert i om Apple Inc. vil bli den eneste digitale musikkbutikken som får lov til å selge the Beatles-musikk via nettet.

After Crying

After Crying kommer fra Ungarn og er et av de få bandene som har klart å fornye den progressive rocken innenfor de rammene som tidlige tiders progband satte opp. Bandet ble startet i 1986, men medlemmene hadde kjent hverandre lenge og hadde sporadisk spilt sammen helt siden skoledagene. Dengang var de et akustisk ensemble med små midler, men etter hvert opparbeidet de seg et godt rykte i musikk-kretser.

I 1990 kom debutalbumet Overground Music. Dette er kammerrock i ordets beste forstand. Et nesten 100% akustisk album uten bass og trommer, allikevel med tydelige influenser fra progressive band som King Crimson og Gentle Giant, men også fra komponister som Bélà Bartók og George Gershwin. All musikk er skrevet av pianist Csaba Vedres og cellist Peter Pejtsik. Musikken er melodisk og tilgjengelig samtidig som den er intrikat og full av overraskende løsninger både i melodilinjer og akkordvalg. Med fløyte, trombone, fagott og trompet i tillegg til piano og cello blir dette en form for populærmusikk som er annerledes enn det aller meste du har hørt. Kutt som Hommage To Frank Zappa, To Black og Shining er utsøkte komposisjoner som ikke står noe tilbake for de beste proglåtene fra 70-tallet.

Overground Music er et vidunderlig album, en perle for alle med sans for skjønnhet og klassisk musikk.

Da bandets andre album Megalázottak és Megszomorítottak (M é M) kom ut året etter hadde After Crying blitt utvidet med en tradisjonell rytmeseksjon. Dette tar vekk noe av det musikalske særpreget fra debutalbumet, på den annen side var det vel begrenset hvor lenge de ville kunne være interessante som et rent akustisk ensemble. M é M er dystrere, langsomt, veksler mellom relativt enkle, meditative partier og komplekse utbrudd. Varemerket – de helt særegne melodilinjene og akkordrekkene – er fremdeles her, likeså den klagende celloen og den sorgfulle trompeten. Plata består av to lange og tre korte kutt, og spesielt den 22 minutter lange A Gadra Megszállott tar noe tid å få tak på. Høydepunktet er det 10 minutter lange tittelkuttet – et prima eksempel på hvordan man kan skape musikalsk energi uten å støye.

M é M er nok After Cryings minst “tilgjengelige” album - ikke desto mindre gir det mye tilbake til dem som tar seg tid.

I 1993 ble bandet oppdaget av sjefen for det ambisiøse ungarske plateselskapet Periferic, noe som betydde at de fikke bedre distribusjon av platene sine i tillegg til å bli backet av en organisasjon som var genuint opptatt av musikken deres. Periferic gjenutga også debutalbumet.

After Cryings første utgivelse på Periferic var Föld és Ég (“jord og himmel”) i 1994. Her har bandet endret kurs noe, inn har det kommet en klar påvirkning fra ELP. Typisk nok heter de to første låtene Manticore èrkezése 1 og 2, og vi finner også titler som Enigma og Rondo – alle skrevet av Csaba Vedres og trompetist/keyboardist Balázs Winkler. Bandet har også blitt ytterligere utvidet bl.a. med gitarist Ferenc Torma.

Nå er det i de første 15-20 minuttene av plata hvor Keith Emersons ånd hviler tungt over musikken, etter hvert hører vi mer av det “gamle” After Crying. Leltár er en ren madrigal – uakkompagnert sang med en vakker avslutning for obo, mens Júdás er en dyster, men samtidig rocka og energisk låt hvor gitarist Torma for første gang demonstrerer sin fascinasjon for Robert Fripp. I kombinasjon med fløyte, trompet og sorgfulle vokale dissonanser blir dette en av bandets aller mest fascinerende komposisjoner. Avslutningssporet Kétezer év trekker trådene tilbake til debutalbumet med noe av den samme følelsen som Shining.

Föld és ég er After Cryings kanskje mest varierte album, og det som muligens best sammenfatter alle bandets ulike stilretninger.

Etter utgivelsen av Föld és ég opplevde After Crying det sjokket at grunnlegger og hovedkomponist Csaba Vedres sluttet. Men bandet reiste seg, Balázs Winkler og cellist Peter Pejtsik tok over låtskrivingen, og albumet som fulgte – De Profundis – er en ekstremt dramatisk utgivelse. Sentralt i albumet står fire lange komposisjoner som er omkranset av 11 korte spor. Modern Idök er tungt orkestrert, full av resitasjon (på ungarsk – forøvrig et rett så mykt og klangfullt språk) og elektronisk perkusjon kombinert med et rent “klassisk” orkesteruttrykk, stilmessig fra tidlig 1900-tall. Til tross for at Csaba Vedres var (og er) en av populærmusikkens aller ypperste pianister, gjør Balázs slett ikke skam på rollen som bandets nye pianist.

Stalker er skrekkfilm overført til musikk, en låt som gir grøsninger både av skrekk og fryd ved sin bruk av synthbaktepper, lydeffekter og dramatiske akkorder – og ikke minst Winklers trompet som skaper en helt særegen “utrygg” stemning. Et mesterverk.

De Profundis er After Cryings dystreste og mest dramatiske plate, det er også et album med store kontraster.

Etter De Profundis ga bandet ut en dobbelt CD som oppsummerte deres ti år lange karriere (Tittelen Elsö Evtized betyr da også “de første ti år”). På CD 1 plukker de kutt fra alle albumene (bl.a. Modern Idök og Júdás), men noen er i alternative versjoner, samt at det er noen få nye komposisjoner. CD 2 er en konsert fra 1991 med låtutvalg og besetning omtrent som Overground Music. After Crying live står ikke noe tilbake for studioversjonen, og som bonus får vi en live-innspilling av Crimsons 21st Century Schizoid Man fra 1993.

Elsö Evtized er en fin introduksjon til bandet selv om utvalget på CD1 kunne være mer optimalt.

Ett år etter denne utgivelsen ga bandet ut en ny CD, 6 (1997). Det første man legger merke til er at det visuelt skiller seg ut fra de tidligere albumene med sitt knall gule cover (alle ACs covere til da hadde vært sorte og dystre). For første gang merkes også en viss slitasje og gjenbruk av tidligere ideer. 6 er et album som ikke makter å engasjere og gripe i samme grad som de tidligere platene. Ikke at det er dårlig, fremdeles er After Crying et eksepsjonelt band, det er bare det at vi forventer så ekstremt mye fra dem. To elementer som bidrar til at det er et mindre vellykket album er den tidvis overdrevne og lite nyanserte synthbruken pluss at de synger på engelsk, noe som faktisk kler dem dårlig. Enkelte komposisjoner mangler også retning, den tretti minutter lange Panem et Cirences blir så absolutt mer brød (trausthet) enn sirkus (spillopper). De gjør det de må, men mangler det lille ekstra. Selvfølgelig inneholder også 6 fine øyeblikk, for eksempel Struggle For Life hvor de klarer å uttrykke en fin stemning i en minneverdig komposisjon.

Tiden etter 6 var mindre aktiv for bandet med hensyn til plateinnspilling. I årene som fulgte ga de ut en ny samling (Almost Pure Instrumental, 1998) som ga oss fire korte nye låter, men ellers samlet instrumentalkutt fra de foregående albumene, i hovedsak fra 6. Så fulgte to live-album, først det doble Struggle For Life (2000 - også utgitt som enkel CD under navnet Struggle For Life - Essential), også dette med hovedvekt på materiale fra 6, en innspilling fra 1999 med unntak av et 1997-opptak, en versjon av KCs Starless med John Wetton på vokal. De viser igjen at de er et førsteklasses liveband, det samme gjør de på Bootleg Symphony (2001) hvor de opptrer sammen med et symfoniorkester. Materialet er igjen i stor grad fra 6.

Akkurat i det man kunne tro at After Crying var i ferd med å svinne hen kom studioalbumet Show (2003). Denne plata ble anmeldt i Tarkus nr. 27, og her konkluderer vi med at det er en av det nye århundrets aller sterkeste utgivelser hvor bandet har fått tilbake inspirasjonen, og hvor både låtskriving og framførelse er noe av det beste de har prestert.

Show er bandets mest gjennomførte og gjennomarbeidede album, og et album som gir håp om at de skal forsterke sin posisjon som et av vår tids aller mest komplette band uansett sjanger.

MEGALáZottak és MEGSZOMORíTATTAK

Ungarere med en såkalt oppdater klassisk musikk som er mulig for mange mennesker å skjønne da de bruker elementer av moderne uttrykk. Her er det utallige variasjoner av klassiske og moderne komposisjonsmuligheter som spenner fra akustisk kammermusikk til 21 århundrets symfoniske og elektroniske lydbilder. Absolutt musikk for den som ønsker noe nytt og spennende. Tar vi med at det er musikere av ekstremt høy klasse skulle det meste være sagt.

Overground Music

Ganske så rolig utgivelse fra After Crying, men fylt med deres spesielle tilnærming til klassisk musikk. Masse vakre stemninger, fjærlette lydbilder og trolske stemninger. Uendelig vakkert til tider, men med tidvis noe mer fart på turboen, noe som skaper nødvendige kontraster. Dette er så utsøkt, kall det gjerne sofistikert at det bør kunne tiltale de fleste som liker vakker men utfordrende musikk. Mye vokal her, og den klokkeklare kvinnelige er absolutt noe å låne øret til. En orgie i akustisk vellyd og kompositorisk talent og overskudd.

De Profudis

Elsö Evtized

Show

Arjen Lucassen

The following is an update on Ayreon mastermind Arjen Lucassen's current activities issued by his manager:

The studio at Arjen's new home is finished. It is completely soundproof. All the wires are in place. All machines are hooked up. And everything works! Phew. It is still a bit strange, because the 'feeling' is so different from the previous studio, but I'm sure Arjen will get used to it soon enough.

Arjen has, in fact, plugged in the old, old analogue synths (and even the digital one). Unfortunately a few of the analogue synths are still roaming around in the Netherlands as they've been lent to other musicians. The same is actually true for some of the guitars. But... it hasn't stopped Arjen from embarking on a new composition for a new album. And no, I am not going to tell you anything... No, you can't make me. Not going to happen. I'm silent. Not a peep out of me (but it's 'progressing' nicely ;-)).

In the ArjenLucassen store we've added a few new things: singles! Over the past year or so we've gotten quite a few request for the singles that don't seem to be as available as you would like. So for a limited time only, this is the time to complete the Ayreon and Stream of Passion collection. Check the store here.

In the mean time Stream of Passion (and Arjen, of course) is getting ready to hit Mexico City for a one-off gig (October 14th). Anathema is headlining, but Stream of Passion will still be playing a long set (so it is kinda sorta like double headlining). There may be more concerts lining up in the future, but nothing is clear yet - there are too many factors to consider - suffice to say: "they're looking into it". When this Mexican concert opportunity came along, it was too good to pass up - giving the Mexican band members a chance to finally perform for a Mexican audience.

We've been getting questions about whether the band will be available for a meet and greet, and the answer is: not directly after the concert. Security is a real fun-breaker here, but the band can't help it.

Aardvark

The group Aardvark remains one of those numerous bands who released a single album in the early seventies and subsequently sunk without a trace. However the band still retain a certain amount of interest amongst progressive rock enthusiasts because of their particular heavy styled progressive rock that was completely keyboard based with the band making do without the use of any guitar.

The band itself was a studio band with most compositions entrusted to the hand of Dave Skillin and were based in the Midlands. Strangely enough, though the band dispensed with any guitars, they had trouble with the recruitment of a keyboardists and one could say that they were mainly a studio band with very little live dates to their name.

Because of their very brief history, very little can be said about the band and it is their album that speaks volumes for what they were all about. However, there are a couple of interesting anecdotes related to this band and for those musos who try to connect musicians and bands through the ages, Aardvark had a number of musicians who would later go on to make names for themselves with various other outfits. The album was released in 1970 on the Deram Nova label in both mono and stereo versions as (S)DN 17 with a value on today's market of 50.00 British sterling. Though titled Aardvark, it is also known as Put It In Your Pipe And Smoke It. In all probability the title was withdrawn because of its obvious drug references, with the title track reduced to just Put It In You Pipe.

Steve Milliner previously played keyboards with Black Cat Bones, a London based blues-rock based band who only released one album during their brief tenure together. The band is rather more well-known because both Paul Kossof and Simon Kirke played in the band before leaving to form legendary band, Free.

Dave Skillin would eventually join prog-band Home, another Forgotten Sons candidate whilst I could not find anything related to Frank Clark. Stan Aldous is also known for the work he had done previously with garage band Odyssey.

Throughout the brief Aardvark history, the band also went through a number of keyboardists. Amongst these one finds Paddy Coulter, Dave Watts, who would later play with Jackson Heights and Affinity and the late Peter John Wood. Wood would go on to play with Quiver, The Sutherland Brothers, Al Stewart and Natural Gas.

The band Aardvark are also involved in one of the myths of British psychedelia. The group Tintern Abbey only released one single throughout their recording span, Beeside/Vacuum Cleaner, for Deram (DM 164) in 1967. Considered as one of the most collectable items from this particular musical period, it has long been rumoured that the band had recorded a second single, How Do I Feel Today which was never released yet which was supposedly circulated amongst collectors. In fact the single was never recorded and the name of the single was actually an unissued Aardvark single that was meant to be released on independent label as Rubble 12. However the tapes were lost by Deram and the band used the name of the Aardvark title, created a fictitious cover and thus deceived countless numbers of psychedelic fans all over the world!

Before going on to give details about the album, one should remark that though the album has never been released on CD in Europe, it is available on the Korean Si-Wan label and thus can be bought from a number of Internet dealers though it seems that this label tends to have a problem with stocks.

From the opening notes of the album, Copper Sunset, one immediately realises that the brunt of the music is to be carried by the fuzzed up Hammond organ which practically does the job of the distortion on a guitar. The heaviness that the music on the album portrays via the organ can only be compared to Jon Lord's style of Hammond organ playing, though there is one main difference, there is no Ritchie Blackmore to the band, and this is what probably was the main fault within the band structure. Vocals are extremely pleasant and the melodies are catchy though there seems to be a lack of variety in the overall sound of the album.

Very Nice Of You To Call is extremely ear-friendly with piano and keyboards intertwined though it fades out just as it seems to be picking up in terms of musical virtuosity! One of the problems that the album does face is that it sounds very outdated, possibly because of the dominant Hammond, an instrument that has not stood the test of time within the rock world. At least on Many Things To Do, Frank Clark comes to the fore with some exquisite percussive work though the music tends to fall within the general musical feeling of bands that emerged from those years such as Atomic Rooster and Deep Purple.

Greencap, with its muffled, distorted vocals starts to get things going with some shifting time signatures, though once again, it is only the organ that carries the brunt of the musical. To the band's credit the chorus is pleasing to listen to, reminding me at times of The Moody Blues, though once again there seems to be a certain lack of imagination when it comes to the instrumental sections. I Can't Stop picks up a distinctive rhythm and blues riff following a lengthy organ intro, with Skillin demonstrating that he has a great set of vocals. The bluesy style seems to really suit the musical setup Aardvark possess with the inclusion of the piano as a solo instrument creating a pleasant break in the monotony of the Hammond sound.

The Outing could be considered to be the highlight of the album. Starting off with a rowdy chorus and a distinct British accent, the track manages to incorporate within it the tongue in cheek nature that the band included in their music together with their strong R&B roots. Of interest on this track is the band's use of distortion during the instrumental section, giving The Outing a psychedelic flavour, almost Floydian in nature. It seems that Aardvark left the best of their material for the end as following the relatively experimental The Outing, one finds what could be possibly described as the most complex of tracks on the album, Once Upon A Hill. This track has what is essentially a medieval structure with the music strikingly subdued and the use of instruments such as the recorder which add an acoustic and folky flavour. This song on its own would lead to comparisons being made with other bands along the likes of Gryphon.

The album comes to close with what was essentially meant to be the title track of the album, Put That In Your Pipe (and smoke it). The closing track rekindles the flame of the album's initial tracks with a relatively fast paced organ and bass driven rhythm that persists incessantly throughout with even a pause for breathing. The main flaw, and this is something which afflicts a number of tracks on the album, is that in true fashion of the early seventies instrumentals, it drags on for too long a time. What initially sounds refreshing and interesting becomes repetitive after a short while and becomes somewhat unnerving.

Having heard the album, I could understand why the band did not persist. However the album does have it's interesting moments and should be of considerable interest to those rock fans who are especially enamoured of the use of the Hammond organ as a dominant instrument within the band framework. Comparisons are difficult to make, however one could attempt to describe the sound of Aardvark as being a cross between the power of Emerson, Lake And Powell and the R&B nature of bands such as The Moody Blues and Procol Harum.

Tracklist: Copper Sunset (3:17), Very Nice of You to Call (3:39), Many Things To Do (4:22), Greencap (6:04), I Can't Stop (5:28), Outing (9:50), Once Upon A Hill (3:03), Put That in Your Pipe (7:13)

Musicians: Stan Aldous (bass), Frank Clark (drums), Steve Milliner (keyboards, recorder, vibraphone), Dave Skillin (vocals)

Anekdoten

Vemod

In February of 1990, guitarist Nicklas Berg and bassist/vocalist Jan Erik Liljestrom began discussing the idea of forming a band together. They had both played in various local groups around their hometown of Borlange, Sweden for years, but were interested in exploring more deeply the area of progressive rock. Percussionist Peter Nordin, who had played with Nicklas through most of the '80s, was also keen to delve into progressive rock, so the three of them formed King Edward, playing primarily King Crimson covers.

Cellist Anna Sofi Dahlberg had been playing strictly folk and classical music when she saw a King Edward performance in early 1991. Having been interested in playing in a progressive rock band for some time, she approached Nicklas about the possibility of joining the group. The band welcomed the new musical possibilities brought by Anna's cello, and in the fall of 1991 began rehearsals under the name of Anekdoten. They began writing their own material, and that winter recorded a five song demo which included the songs "Karelia", "The Old Man And The Sea", and "Thoughts In Absence".

Throughout 1992 they rehearsed and played gigs, occasionally with fellow progressive bands Anglagard and Landberk. In the winter of 1992 they recorded a second demo containing the balance of the songs which would appear on their first album, "Vemod". The demos received an enthusiastic response from several progressive labels, so the band began looking for a suitable studio to record the album. They finally settled on Studio Largen after hearing Anglagard's debut Hybris, also recorded there. With the help of Landberk's Simon Nordberg, the band completed a month of recording sessions in early April 1993. As the summer passed almost a dozen labels showed an interest in releasing the CD, but inspired by the success of Anglagard's Hybris, which the group distributed themselves, Anekdoten also chose to release Vemod on their own. Jan Erik and Tord Lindman of Anglagard had made contact with distributors throughout the US, Japan, and Europe, so by the time of the release of Vemod in early September they had more than 1000 CDs on order. A release party in their hometown on the 24th of September was a great success, and within three days the initial pressing of 1500 copies had sold out.

In the summer of 1994 Anekdoten undertook a mini-tour of Europe, which included a two day progressive rock festival in Altomonte, Italy. There they were one of two headlining acts, along with Project Osanna, consisting of members of Osanna and Citta Frontale. After Progfest they embarked on a 15 date US tour with the band Discipline, and made an appearance at Progscape in Baltimore

From Within

Anekdoten have not wandered far from their roots as a King Crimson cover band. It's probably safe to say that their approach combines both the mellotron-laden melancholy of Crimson's early period and the aggressive and dynamic methods of the infamous mid-period. Personally, I've never been that much of a King Crimson fan, and it's perhaps this that somewhat hinders my enjoyment of Anekdoten's music. Most of the same characteristics that were on their debut and subsequent albums are also here on From Within. There is the generous portion of mellotron (for many a symphonic rock fan, this is more than enough), the angular and somewhat predictable patterns of Nicklas Berg's guitar playing, and the John Wetton-like approach that Jan Erik Liljestrom takes to both his vocals and bass. In many ways, Anekdoten are taking the same evolutionary pattern that their musical cousins Landberk did, by taking their style and refining it over a series of albums. Are there any differences on From Within? A few, but not many. Occasionally, they'll develop an almost space rock vibe on a few of their riffs, but all this does is make me yearn for a guitar solo, something severely lacking in the majority of Anekdoten's output. I can imagine that From Within will be quite the draw for most symphonic rock lovers, it's well produced, has some really nice melodies, and is possibly their most accessible to date. For those hoping for development or a major evolutionary step, it's possible that this will seem, disappointment being too strong a word, somewhat lacking.

Jan Erik Liljeström - bass, voice
Nicklas Berg - guitar, mellotron, voice
Peter Nordins - percussion
Anna Sofi Dahlberg - keyboards, cello, voice

In May 1990, Nicklas Berg, Jan Erik Liljeström and Peter Nordins formed a King Crimson cover band under the moniker King Edward in the town of Borlänge, Sweden. Cellist Anna Sofi Dahlberg joined the group in August 1991. As the band began focusing on original material the name was changed to Anekdoten, first suggested by Nicklas. In December 1991, Anekdoten's initial demo tape was recorded, which included the songs "Karelia," "The Old Man & The Sea," "Thoughts In Absence," "Darkness Descends" and "Sad Rain." A second demo was laid down the following year, which contained the songs "Where Solitude Remains," "The Flow," "Longing," and 'Wheel." These songs comprised the material for Anekdoten's debut CD Vemod, which was professionally recorded at Studio Largen in Sweden in the spring of 1993. Vemod is translated as "melancholy, sadness", an apropos title. The dark, brooding, but beautiful soundscapes full of angular Crimsoid guitars, haunting cello, mellotron, and plaintive English vocals, made Vemod an instant latter-day progressive classic.

Anekdoten's freshman disc garnered exceedingly positive reviews, and invitations to perform live all around the world. During 1994 the band played to enraptured audiences in Europe and North America, culminating in a headline performance at Progfest '94 in Los Angeles. Recording for a second album began in earnest in the summer and fall of 1995. The heavier sophomore effort Nucleus was the fruit of these sessions. This CD was as well-received as the first, and Anekdoten gigged all over Europe and Japan in 1996 and 1997. The four-song live EP from a Swedish concert, and the double live album Official Bootleg-Live in Japan, was released in 1997. The Japanese live set included five previously unreleased tracks. This pristine-sounding recording is the definitive document of a typical powerful Anekdoten performance.

In summer 1998 Anekdoten performed at the week-long ProgEst festival in Quebec City and came south of the border for a few US club dates. In October 1998 Nicklas Berg and Peter Nordins teamed up with Stefan Dimle and Reine Fiske of Landberk to form Morte Macabre. This side project produced the bone-chilling but gorgeous Symphonic Holocaust CD, mainly consisting of soundtrack themes from 1970's era horror movies.

October 1999 saw the release of the long-awaited third studio album From Within. Nicklas Berg has more lead vocals on this new CD as the band felt his voice better suited the material. Introspective and dark, but musically and emotionally powerful, From Within shows further development in Anekdoten's composition and lyric writing. Immediately after the album's release Anekdoten played gigs in Italy, Germany, France and Belgium. After a few weeks rest, the band embarked on their first-ever South American tour. In June 2000 Anekdoten played at the second annual North East Art Rock Festival in Pennsylvania.

Artrock Covers

ARTROCK COVERS: If you're a band in search of some striking artwork for your new album, the new website Artwork Covers might be a good solution.

ArtrockCovers.com is a new place where labels and independent artists can obtain stunning artwork by top illustrators from around the world, including Disney feature animator Christophe Vacher, Chesley award winning artists Tom Canty and Marc Fishman, as well as dozens of others.

Artrock Covers licenses existing artwork for only portion of the costs which would be involved in hiring an artist for a new job. We also provide stunning graphic design at prices attractive for small labels and independent artists.

Artrock Covers was created with one goal in mind: to enable recording artists and labels to simply bring more beauty to the sleeves of their CD covers and make their music albums more collectible for the buyers. We want to invite you to take a tour in our gallery - let yourself be inspired by fantastic imagery!

Allofmp3 med hevn

Den russiske musikkbutikken AllofMP3.com lanserer nå en gratis musikktjeneste for å hevne seg på platebransjen etter at Visa har sperret for betalinger til tjenesten.

Platebransjen og amerikanske myndigheter har lenge vært i tottene på AllofMP3.com, som selger hele album til rundt en tier. Platebransjen mener AllofMP3 bryter opphavsretten og at de ikke kompenserer rettighetshaverne for musikksalget på en tilfredsstillende måte.

AllofMP3 på sin side hevder at de forholder seg til russisk lov, og peker på at nettstedet aldri er blitt dømt i en russisk rettssal. De påpeker også at de betaler 15 prosent av omsetningen sin til den russiske rettighetsorganisasjonen Russian Multimedia and Internet Society (ROMS).

Den internasjonale platebransjens talerør IFPI er ikke fornøyd med denne forklaringen, og mener ROMS ikke har mandat til å lisensiere opphavsrettsbeskyttet materiale, verken i eller utenfor Russland.

Nå har platebransjen fått Visa med på laget, og kortgiganten annonserte nylig at de stoppper alle transaksjoner til AllofMP3.com

AllofMP3.com svarer nå ved å lansere en gratis, reklamefinansiert nedlastingstjeneste. Tjenesten fordrer at man installerer en proprietær musikkspiller kalt Music for the Masses fra selskapet, som vil vise reklame mens man spiller av musikk. Musikken vil ikke kunne overføres til bærbare musikkspillere som iPod eller Walkman.

Internettleverandøren Tele 2 møtte plateselskapene representert ved IFPI i retten og domstolen slo fast at det er internettleverandøren som har ansvar for hva brukerne foretar seg på nettet.

Resultatet blir derfor at Tele 2 og andre internettleverandører i Danmark må finne en måte å blokkere adgangen til nettsteder som betraktes som ulovlige.

Ifølge Computerworld.dk kan avgjørelsen også få konsekvenser for de andre EU-landene.

Både Tele 2 og resten av bransjen mener det er umulig å oppfylle vilkårene i dommen.

- Hvis man skal stenge adgangen, noe som ikke er mulig å få til 100 prosent, vil regningen komme opp i 100-millionersklassen, anslår Michael Brandt som representerte bransjeforeningen «Telekommunikationsindustrien» overfor Danmarks Radio.

- Å stenge adgangen til Allofmp3 er kun mulig hvis vi stenger adgangen til hele nettet for alle våre kunder. Og det er vi ikke interessert i, sier Jens Breüner i Tele 2 til Computerworld.

Retten er imidlertid ikke enig og mener at en enkel DNS-blokkering, som man bruker til å blokkere nettsider med barnepornografi er tilstrekkelig. Retten erkjenner at denne metoden er relativt enkel å komme rundt, men mener dette kun gjelder de mer avanserte brukerne.

Kjennelsen lar det forøvrig være opp til nettleverandørene å avgjøre hvordan de vil løse saken.

- Hos bransjeorganisasjonen «Telekommunikationsindustrien» er man ikke i tvil om at dommen fra fogedretten vil få konsekvenser for hele bransjen.

- Vi er mildt sagt rystet over over dommen som betyr at vi nå må holde øye med hva brukerne foretar seg på nettet. Blokkering av adgangen til bestemte nettsteder vil heller aldri bli perfekt, sier Ib Tolstrup, direktør i Telekommunikationsindustrien.

- Dette kan jo spre seg til hva som helst. Neste gang kan vi bli bedt om å blokkere sider med ulovlig software eller noe tilsvarende. Uansett vil vi be om en kjennelse fra retten hver gang vi blir bedt om det, sier Tolstrup.

Allofmp3.com har lenge vært i platebransjens søkelys for brudd på opphavsretten.

Kortselskapene Visa og Mastercard godkjenner heller ikke lenger betalinger til Allofmp3.

Kjennelsen fra «Fogedretten» er påkjært til en høyere rettsinstans så siste ord i saken er foreløpig ikke sagt.

Tidligere denne uken avgjorde den danske fogedretten at internettleverandøren Tele2 må forby sine kunder å besøke det populære nettstedet.

Saken ble startet av organisasjonene IFPI, som representerer den internasjonale platebransjen. Nå studerer den norske avdelingen av IFPI den danske dommen.

- Vi har lest den danske avgjørelsen og med glede ser vi at Fogderettet har beordret Tele2 til å lukke flere abonnenters adgang til AllOfMP3, sier Marte Thorsby, sjef for norske IFPI. - Det er en veldig gledelig avgjørelse.

Tele2 vil anke avgjørelsen.

Populært nettsted

Det russiske nettstedet har holdt åpent i flere år, og tilbyr musikkfiler uten kopibegrensninger for knapper og glansbilder sammenliknet med andre nettbutikker som iTunes Store og MSN Music.
Det har vakt harme hos den internasjonale platebransjen, men AllOfMP3 hevder de har retten på sin side.

- Det de sier er at de har en avtale med ROMS, men den organisasjonen har ikke mandat til å inngå avtaler på internasjonalt repertoar, sier Thorsby.

De kaotiske forholdene i russisk rettsvesen har sin andel av skylden for drakampen frem og tilbake rundt rettighetene, men AllOfMP3 møter stadig nye motbører.

Visa og MasterCard har trukket seg fra kundeavtalen med nettstedet, noe som gjorde at AllOfMP3 begynte med en reklamebasert modell.
Den nye reklamebaserte modellen krevde at AllOfMP3 krypterte musikkfilene, så de kun ville spilles i AllOfMP3s avspiller.

Krypteringen ble knekt og åpnet bare dager etter at konseptet ble lansert.

Norske IFPI vurderer nå sine neste steg i saken.

- Kommer dere til å ta sake for norsk rett?

- Det er for tidlig å si. - Vi har ikke gjort noe tilsvarende overfor AllOfMP3 foreløpig, men det kan hende at vi kommer til å forfølge det i Norge, sier Thorsby til VG Nett.

Russiske AllofMp3.com er lei av det de kaller hets fra internasjonal platebransje, og varsler at de vil endre sin prisstruktur.

Nå sist er det den britiske platebransjens organisasjon, BPI, som har gått ut og advart britene om at den russiske nedlastingstjenesten AllofMp3.com er ulovlig. Nå har nettstedet sett seg lei på alle angrepene.

En torn i øyet på platebransjen
AllofMp3.com har oppnådd enorm popularitet med sin nedlastingtjeneste på nettet. Brukerne kan laste ned fra en fyldig katalog til en brøkdel av hva man må ut med på for eksempel iTunes og MSN music. I tillegg er musikken fri for kopibeskyttelse, og kommer i nesten alle formater man kan ønske seg.

Internasjonal platebransje har lenge øvd tungt press på russiske myndigheter for å få stengt nettstedet, til tross for at det flere ganger er fastslått at AllofMp3.com ikke bryter russisk lov. Nå slår nettstedet tilbake med en fem punkts kunngjøring:

- Vil beskytte vårt gode navn og rykte
1: Nettstedet AllofMp3.com er eid av et russisk selskap og har operert fullt ut i tråd med russisk lovgivning i seks år. Selskapet er gransket flere ganger av offentlige myndigheter uten av ulovligheter er påpekt. Det er heller aldri falt noen dom mot AllofMp3.com i en russisk domstol.

2: AllofMp3.com verken driver eller averterer sin virksomhet på andre lands territorier.

3: AllofMp3.com overfører regelmessig store pengesummer til de russiske organisasjonene for kollektiv rettighetsforvaltning, ROMS og FAIR. Disse har gitt nettstedet lisens til å formidle musikk lovlig på nettet.

4: Nettstedet AllofMp3.com forbeholder seg retten til å ta de nødvendige skritt for å beskytte sitt rykte. Vi oppfordrer alle til å inspisere nettstedets lovlighet grundig og fordomsfritt.

5: Den 1. september kommer nye russiske opphavsrettslover. Siden januar 2006 har nettstedet inngått direkte avtaler med rettighetsholdere og forfattere, samtidig som prisen på verker er satt opp og royalties overført direkte til opphavspersonen eller plateselskapet. Det er AllofMp3.coms mål å bli enige med alle rettighetsholdere om priser og royalties innen 1. september 2006.

6: Vi tror på langsiktig og sivilisert forretningspraksis basert på respekt for loven, der man tar hensyn til både kundens krav og nasjonale og internasjonale opphavsrettshavere.

Ikke konkretiserte prisendringer

I punkt fem antyder altså AllofMp3.com at de vil endre sin prisstruktur for å komme på godfot med de internasjonale plateselskapene. Foreløpig er det ikke konkretisert hva dette vil innebære.

Allofmp3

AllofMP3 er ulovlig ifølge IFPI, men akkurat det er det jo i høy grad delte meninger om. Det er derfor all grunn til å anta at siste ord ikke er sagt i denne saken.

Diskusjonene om lovligheten til den råbillige MP3-tjenesten AllofMP3.com har vart i lang tid. Men nå slår platebransjen fast at tjenesten er ulovlig.

Den mektige musikkorganisasjonen IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) anklager nå den populære musikknedlastingstjenesten AllofMP3.com for å ikke betale såkalte royalties til artistene, noe som skal gjøre den ulovlig.

For godt til å være sant

AllofMP3.com har en markedsandel på hele 14 prosent i Storbritannia og er nest størst etter iTunes. Mye av grunnen til populariteten er nok prisen, som ligger milevis under alle andre tjenester. Men IFPI hevder det er en grunn til at prisen er så billig.

- AllofMP3.com er ikke en lovlig tjeneste, hverken i Russland eller noe annet sted. I motsetning til lovlige tjenester betaler den ikke noe til artistene eller åndsverkseierne, noe som betyr at den i praksis stjeler fra de som lager musikken. Som de fleste ting som virker for godt til å være sant, er ikke alt som det skal være med AllofMP3.com, sier Lauri Rechardt i IFPI.

Har ikke autorisasjon

MediaServices er selskapet bak AllofMP3.com og de hevder på sin side at de følger russisk lovgivning. De hevder også at musikken som distribueres er lisensiert via Russian Multimedia and Internet Society (ROMS).

Her ligger imidlertid litt av problemet. For Rechardt kan fortelle at ROMS ikke har noen som helst rettigheter til å lisensiere denne musikken og at både ROMS og AllofMP3.com er kjent med at plateselskapene ikke har autorisert tjenesten.

For tiden skal to separate saker mot tjenesten være til etterforskning i Russland.

A-ha

A-ha begynte å ta form når Paal Waaktaar-Savoy og Magne Furuholmen ga ut et selvfinansiert album med bandet Bridges. Med på albumet var Viggo Bondi (bass) og Øystein Jevanord (trommer). Pål og Magne ville dra til England for å "erobre verden", men Viggo og Øystein ville bli i Norge. Dette var forløperen til det som senere skulle bli A-Ha.

Etter en stund traff de to Morten Harket som på den tiden sang i et blues/soul band som het Soldier. Pål og Magne stod på spranget til å dra til England. Morten fikk noen dager på seg på å bestemme seg for om han ville bli med, men han valgte å bli hjemme. Magne og Pål dro over og de var der i 6 måneder, og så bestemte de seg for å dra tilbake for å prøve å få med Morten igjen. Denne gangen var Morten mer interessert, men han ville bruke tid først for å spille inn noen demoer.

De fikk låne hytta til foreldrene til Pål, og melodier som "Take on me" og "Living the boys adventure tale" ble laget her. Etter en del måneders arbeid bestemte gutta seg for å dra over til England for å presentere det de hadde laget. Her starter A-ha storyen for alvor.

Etter en noe turbulent tid med avtaler med diverse plateselskaper som ikke førte til noe traff de endelig Terry Slater og John Ratcliff. Nå ble det virkelig fart i sakene. Warner fattet etter hvert interesse for bandet og A-ha fikk platekontrakt. Like etter kunne man lese i norske aviser at "det ukjente bandet A-Ha hadde fått kontrakt med Warner".

Bandet slapp sin første singel "Take on me", produsert av Tony Mansfield, men de oppnådde ikke noen stor suksess. Etter en stund bestemte de seg for å gi ut en ny versjon av låten mikset av Alan Tarney.. Deretter laget de etter hvert så berømte tegneserie-videoen til låten, og dermed åpnet dørene seg for A-Ha i USA. Tre uker etter videoslipp ga de ut singelen i USA, og som de fleste kjenner til ble den nr.1.

Etter dette fulgte singelen "The sun always shines on TV", som ble nummer 1 i Storbritannia og A-Ha gjorde etterhvert stor suksess verden over.

Albumet "Hunting High and Low" solgte flere millioner eksemplarer på verdensbasis. To år eter på kom oppfølgeren "Scoundrel Days", og dette albumet er vel et av de beste albumene som A-Ha har gitt ut. Fra dette albumet kom singelen "I've been loosing you".

A-Ha har også bidratt med tittelkuttet til James Bond filmen "Living Daylights". I tillegg til dette har de gitt ut albumene "Stay on these Roads"," East of the sun, West of the Moon" og "Memorial Beach".

Memorial Beach representerte en nedtur for A-Ha, albumet solgte svært dårlig, og det var helt tydelig at A-ha befant seg i et blindspor. Gutta i bandet bestemte seg for å ta en pause og satse på egne prosjekter. De antydet samtidig at A-Ha ville komme tilbake.

A-Ha har etter mange års pause sluppet albumet "Minor Earth, Major Sky". På dette albumet har de forandret soundet sitt en hel del. De har byttet ut de dystre gitarene med synth, og hele platen bærer preg av en mye varmer lyd. Singelen "Summer moved on" har fått strålende kritikker, og bandet har igjen nådd toppen av hitlisten verden over.

Arpeggio

Akkorder

Also Eden

About Time

Andromeda

Extension Of The Wish

Andromeda

II=I

Andromeda

Chimera

Folkrock betegnelsen ble etablert når artistene tok i bruk elektriske instrumenter, og ble musikalsk inspirert av band som Beach Boys rundt midten av 1960-tallet. Sjangeren hadde sin storhetstid under hippiebevegelsen.

Joan Baez

Buffalo Springfield

The Byrds

Crosby, Stills and Nash

Donovan

Bob Dylan

Woody Guthrie

The Mamas & The Papas

Joni Mitchell

Peter, Paul & Mary

Pete Seeger

Simon & Garfunkel

Neil Young

osv.

Ved slutten av 1970 og begynnelsen av 1980-tallet kom også flere av de mer progressive band fra 70-tallet med karakteristiske AOR tendenser, eksempelvis ELP, Kansas og Yes.

Asia

Bad Company

Barclay James Harvest

Bon Jovi

Boston

Bryan Adams

Chicago

Duran Duran

Europe

FM

Foreigner

Honeymoon Suite

It Bites

Jefferson Starship

JoJo

Journey

Little River Band

Magnum

Mr. Mister

Pink Floyd

REO Speedwagon

Styx

Supertramp

Survivor

Toto

Amber Light

Stranger And Strangers

Alex Carpani

After Forever

After Forever

After Forever

Mea Culpa

Review one

Review two

After Forever

Remagine

Review one

Review two

After Forever

Digital Receit

After Forever

Invisible Circles

Review one

Review two

Review three

Review four

Review five

After Forever

Exordium

Review one

Review two

After Forever

Deceiper

After Forever