Relationships and chance encounters is the background for the formation of US act VISUAL CLIFF. Rob Perez (guitars) had become aquainted with Rick Mals (drums) in the 80's, and in the early 90's with Rob Klan (keyboards). In both cases circumstances saw to it that they drifted apart though, but in 1999 Perez sought out Rick with some ideas in mind in terms of creating music together, and a chance encounter with Klas in a restaurant and then later in the year hooking up with Eric Fuller (bass) resulted in a band forming - more or less. A demo was made at first, but as Fuller had an education to finish, as well as getting married, concrete results didn't appear until 2003, with the release of Visual Cliff's debut album "Lyrics For The Living", and it wasn't until one year later that Fuller could join the band in earnest, for the recording of the second album "Key To Eternity".Both albums were pretty succesfull, and are currently on their second print run. For their third album Perez decided to contact vocalist Shane Lankford of Orphan Project, who made quite an impression on Perez, and asked if he's like to hook up with Visual Cliff for vocal duties there as well. He was positive, and in 2005 "Freedom Within" was issued, to great success. The album is currently in it's third pressing, after selling out the first two.In 2007 "Into The After" saw the light of day, and this time around Lankford's vocals were given more place than on their 2005 album. Line-up / Musicians Rob Klan/keyboards Rick Mals/drums,bass Rob Perez/guitars Discography(Album) Lyrics for the Living 2003
1.Piercing the skies (Psalm 33) 2.The endless generation (Psalm 49) 3.Spirit filled (Psalm 96) 4.Conquering mind (Psalm 118) 5.Leap ff faith (Psalm 115) 6.For all she is 7.Wisdom's call 8.Rapture
The short-lived band named Asterix was a direct precursor of the better-known Lucifer's Friend, having in fact the same exact lineup of vocalist John Lawton, guitarist Peter Hesslein, organist Peter Hecht, bassist Dieter Horns, and drummer Joachim Rietenbach when they recorded their sole, eponymous album, in 1970. A single called "Everybody" (b/w "If I Could Fly") had actually been released earlier that year while the group was still working with one George Monroe as singer, but it was obviously Lawton's presence that catalyzed their evolution into Lucifer's Friend, whose classic eponymous album would soon emerge through Phillips and signal the retirement of the Asterix moniker. Line-up / Musicians Peter Hecht/keyboards Peter Hesslein/guitar Dieter Horns/bass George Monroe/vocals Joachim Rietenbach/drums Discography(Album) Asterix 1970
1.Look Out 2.Gone From My Life 3.Broken Home 4.Time Again 5.Jump Into My Action 6.Open Up Your Mind 7.Corner Street Girl 8.Chance In You 9.Morning At My Dawn
Canadian brass rock band LIGHTHOUSE were formed in Toronto 1969. Unusually, the band leader Ronn "Skip" Prokop (born 13 December 1946 in Ontario) was a drummer, he has played previously with artists such as Janis Joplin, Carlos Santana and Al Kooper before forming his first band THE PAUPERS. Of these, the Kooper connection is probably the most significant, as the music of Lighthouse is based around a solid brass section and big arrangements, similar to those of BLOOD SWEAT AND TEARS and CHICAGO (TRANSIT AUTHORITY).Prokop's ambitions were made clear from the outset when the first line up of Lighthouse had no less than 11 members. The were quickly picked up by RCA Victor, who release the bands self titled debut in 1969. Further albums followed quickly, but the punningly titled "Peacing it all together", their third release, would see the end of their relationship with RCA. The move to GRT records coincided with the recruitment of vocalist Bob McBride, whose contribution to the fourth album "One fine morning" proved to be a commercial turning point for the band. The album spawned the bands first two hit singles, including the striking title track. Prokop's penchant for jazz/fusion and classical music led to a number of live collaborations with orchestras which, when combined with the band's appearances at a number of high profile pop/rock festivals (they declined an offer to appear at Woodstock though), meant Lighthouse's fortunes continued in the ascendancy. Perhaps realising letting the band go had been a touch premature, RCA quickly put together a compilation of the material they still owned in 1971, in the form of the rather cheekily titled "One fine light" compilation. The following year, the band's first live album, the superb "Lighthouse live" was released, becoming Canada's first platinum selling album. Singer Bob McBride would leave the band after the release of the "Sunny days" album, a time which in retrospect was the beginning of the end for the band in both commercial and creative terms. Despite the fact that it was on reality his band, Prokop left in 1974 after the next album "Good day". The rest of the band soldiered on for a while, but the soul of the band had gone, and they eventually bowed to the inevitable and split in 1976. Line-up / Musicians Dick Armin/cello Ralph Cole/guitar,vocals Don Dinovo/viola Paul Hoffert/keyboards Keith Jollimore/vocals,wind Bobby McBride/percussion,vocals Pete Pantaluk/trumpet Skip Prokop/guitar,drums,vocals Howard Shore/saxophone Larry Smith/trombone,vocals Louis Yacknin/bass Discography(Album) One Fine Morning 1970
1.Love Of A Woman 2.Little Kind Words 3.Old Man 4.Sing Sing Sing 5.1849 6.One Fine Morning 7.Hats Off (To The Stranger) 8.Show Me The Way 9.Step Out On The Sea 10.Sweet Lullaby
Museo Rosenbach’s Zarathustra is usually considered as one of the best examples of the genre to come from outside England. Yet the band was not so successful at the time, even having problems for their supposed right-wing inclinations coming from the all-black cover, the Mussolini image in LP collage, the Nietzsche-inspired lyrics.The group, initially named Inaugurazione Museo Rosenbach, was created around 1971 from the fusion of two late 60's bands from Sanremo, La Quinta Strada and Il Sistema, and their first line-up included future Celeste member Leonardo Lagorio on sax and flute, and singer Walter Franco. The only recordings Il Sistema ever made were released on LP and CD by Mellow in 1991-92, while La Quinta Strada was just a cover band.The tracks for Zarathustra were ready at the end of 1972, when the band were suddenly contacted for a recording deal by Ricordi, who were interested in promoting new progressive groups such as Banco del Mutuo Soccorso and Reale Accademia di Musica and the album was released in April 1973.The long Zarathustra suite on side one is probably their best effort, with slight classical influences and keyboards in evidence as in the best Italian prog tradition, but side two with three shorter tracks has some great moments. Vocalist "Lupo" Galifi has a very distinctive voice and keyboard player Pit Corradi adds a touch of originality to the band sound.Museo Rosenbach had a short life, splitting soon after the album and some good concerts in the summer of 1973, and the two posthumous CD's released by Mellow let us understand what a great band they were. Drummer Giancarlo Golzi experienced a great commercial success with his later band Matia Bazar, still lasting today.A new 10-track album, Exit, has been released in 2000 by original bassist Alberto Moreno and drummer Giancarlo Golzi along with new members, in a more commercial direction than their brilliant debut album.The most recent product by the new line-up is an appearance on the Kalevala 3-CD box set by the French label Musea, dedicated to the finnish traditional epic, with a song called Fiore di vendetta.Singer "Lupo" Galifi formed new group Il Tempio delle Clessidre, that often plays excerpts from Zarathustra in concert. Their eponymous album has been issued in 2010 by Black Widow (BWR 123).In 2012 a new line-up of Museo Rosenbach featuring original members Galifi, Golzi and Moreno with guitarists Sandro Libra and Max Borelli, keyboardist Fabio Meggetto and bassist Andy Senis issued a CD containing a remake of their 1973 classic, entitled Zarathustra - Live in studio. In 2013 this line-up has issued a new studio album entitled Barbarica and played in Japan, for a concert released as a double CD, Live in Tokyo. Line-up / Musicians Giancarlo Golzi/drums,vocals Alberto Moreno/bass Enzo Merogno/guitar,vocals Pit Corradi/Mellotron,Hammond Stefano Lupo Galifi/vocals Discography(Album) Zarathustra 1973
1.Zarathustra a) L'Ultimo uomo b) Il re di ieri c) Al di la del bene e del male d) Superuomo e) Il tempio delle clessidre 2.Degli Uomini 3.Della Natura 4.Dell'Eterno Ritorno
The roots of VITAL SCIENCE can be traced back to former bands, the Latvian Distant Light and Estonian Shadow Cry, who united their powers in the year 2008. And it was worth it ... The result is an impressive mixture of complex progressive arrangements paired with orchestral symphonic elements, hard-hitting metal riffs, melodies with catchy character, and - not to forget - the remarkable instrumental skills of each individual musician. Everything will led by an extraordinary and matchless voice which perfectly contributes to the total work of art. Assuredly "Imaginations On The Subject Of Infinity" will be one of the first Progressive Metal highlights in 2014! For fans of Symphony X, Nevermore, Redemption and Dream Theater as well as best choice for each music lover who prefers tech savvy Progressive Metal with top-notch instrumental passages. Line-up / Musicians Alexey Boykov/Vocals Sergey Boykov/Keyboards Aleksandr Volpert/Guitars Vladimir Mihailicenko/Guitars Stanislav Kilmasov/Bass Rustam Guseinov/Drums Discography(Album) Imaginations On The Subject Of Infinity 2014
1.Overture 2.Bridge Of Sorrow 3.The Last Trail 4.Endless Sky 5.Truth To Be Told 6.Fallen From Grace 7.Black Judgement Day 8.Dream Survive 9.Prayer To Survive 10.The Curtains Fall
Association P.C. was founded in 1969 by Dutch keyboarder Jasper van't Hof along with the Dutch drummer Pierre Courbois and the German guitarist Toto Blanke. The bassist was sometimes the Dutchman Peter Krijnen, sometimes the German Sigi Busch. Association P.C released their first record "Sun Rotation" in 1971. The band produced a synthesis of jazz, rock and avantgarde music reminding sometimes Soft Machine and was highly acclaimed at the Berlin Jazztage of 1971."Eighty percent of Association P.C. was electronics", Jasper recalls.In 1972 the band released their second record "Erna Morena", the last with Jasper van't Hof who left the band to form Pork Pie with Charlie Mariano and Philip Catherine.On the 1973 release "Rock Around The Clock"he was replaced by German pianist Joachim Kühn. The record moved away from the Canterbury oriented sound and integrated free-jazz elements. Their last record "Mama Kuku" (1974) contained live recordings from 1973, on which the band was joined by American flute player Jeremy Steig. Association P.C. continued to tour until 1975. Line-up / Musicians Pierre Courbois/Drums Toto Blanke/Guitar Jasper Van't Hof/Piano Peter Krijnen/Bass Siggi Busch/Bass Discography(Album) Earwax 1970
1.Spider 2.Hit The P. Tit 3.Elsen 4.Earwax 5.Round A'bout Nine 6.Jazzper
CMU, also known as CONTEMPORARY MUSIC UNIT were an UK band active in the early 1970's. They were fusing various aspects of art-rock, jazz-rock and folk with a nod to the psychedelic rock.A unique (at the time) characteristic of the band was a combination of female and male vocals, making an interesting blend. The male vocalist was James Gordon (who was also participating with percussion in the band),the female vocalist being Larraine Odell (later of RED EXPRESS, still active in various jazz projects nowadays). Other members were keyboardist Terry Mortimer (who also played some violin), Ian Hamlett (guitar, flute), Ed Lee (bass) and Larraine's husband Roger Odell (on drums).The band released their debut 'Open Spaces' for Transatlantic in 1971. The record is an unpretentious mixture of psychedelia and blues, with some bizarre sonic patches here and there. The opener "Henry" is one of the better tracks, based in a nice melody and with tasteful, atmospheric arrangements consisting of piano, guitar, bass, drums and some almost inaudible flute. "Voodoo Man" sounds like something Arthur Brown could have done, and the heavy chorus in the middle introduces the raspy voice of James Gordon, who together with guitarist Ian Hamlett is the main reason for the bluesy touch of this album. Hamlett really proves that point on the instrumental "Slow and Lonesome Blues" that is actually a bit faster and more energetic than what you would expect from such a title. "Chantecleer" starts slow, dark and moody with some haunting pairing of vocals from Odell and Gordon, but builds quickly up to a fast, organ-driven and almost funky tune where an influence from Arthur Brown again can be detected.The second side opens with "Japan", an attempt at traditional Japanese folk music that sounds surprisingly authentic, especially when considering that the band just used their usual instruments. "Clown" is a lightweight and whimsical tune, but catchy enough to be worthwhile, and Gordon's vocals has an unusual operatic twist here. One of the most best melodies on the record can be found in "Mystical Sounds", a ballad dominated by Hamlet's flute and Odell's voice. The title-track is a lengthy, mystical and atmospheric journey with lots of dreamy, wordless vocals from the two singers, and keyboardist Terry Mortimer also contributes with some spooky violin here. They changed their line-up drastically for the following album: instead of Mortimer, Gordon and Lee, the band hired Richard Joseph on acoustic guitar (and vocals), Steve Cook on bass and Leary Hasson on keyboards (Hasson came from MARSUPILAMI, which was also on Transatlantic label).Reinforced with new members, and a moderate shift in their sound (the presence of Mellotron and spacey synthesizers), the band released their second (and last) album titled 'Space Cabaret' in 1973. This effort was much more elaborate, complex and original. Line-up / Musicians Jim Gordon/vocals,guitar,keyboards Ian Hamlett/guitar Larraine Odell/vocals Leary Hasson/keyboards Richard Joseph/vocals,guitar Roger Odell/drums Ed Lee/bass Discography(Album) Open Spaces 1971
1.Henry 2.Voodoo Man 3.Slow & Lonesome Blues 4.Chanticleer 5.Japan 6.Clown 7.Mystical Sounds 8.Open Spaces
More active abroad than in Italy (where only one of their 4 albums was released), Nova are a unique case of an Italian progressive group that spent almost all of its career in foreign countries. After the split of Uno, former Osanna founders Elio D'Anna and Danilo Rustici stayed in London and formed another band called Nova with other well-known Italian musicians as Corrado Rustici from Cervello and Dede Lo Previte from Circus 2000.The band, with a stronger jazz-rock influence than their previous groups, released their first album, Blink, in 1976, aided by such big names as Pete Townshend and with help from lyricist Nick J.Sedwick (who also wrote the lyrics for Uno). An usual Osanna feeling is still in the air, but the style is changing to a more commercial kind of music. Only two of the six tracks are instrumental, the singer role been taken by Corrado Rustici, and the album has some good moments.Since the following LP their records never gained an Italian release, the band having now stably moved to England and, since 1978, to the USA.Second album, Vimana, saw the band reduced to a trio, original members Elio D'Anna and Corrado Rustici augmented by ex-New Trolls Atomic System's keyboardist Renato Rosset and with help from international stars like Percy Jones (bass), Narada Michael Walden (drums), Phil Collins (percussion). Though some of the typical Osanna/Cervello sound elements can still be heard (listen to Elio D'Anna's sax or Corrado Rustici's frantic guitar), the band's style is slowly approaching a mainstream jazz-rock with a funky edge, and the last two albums will go to a lower level.The fourth and last one, Sun city was recorded in the USA in 1978 and showed a harder sound with the magic guitar of Corrado Rustici (one of the most talented guitarists from that era) in great Evidence.D'Anna then returned to Italy for a career as producer, leaving the musical scene to completely disappear, while Corrado Rustici stayed in the USA, returning back to Italy where he's long collaborated with such artists as Zucchero and Elisa, both as musician and producer.During their early days in England with Nova, both Elio D’Anna and Corrado Rustici (credited on the cover as Carrado Rusticci!) appeared on the 1976 album Sunset wading by Caravan’s bass player John G.Perry. Line-up / Musicians Elio D'Anna/ saxes,flute Franco Loprevite/drums Luciano Milanese/bass Corrado Rustici/vocals,guitars Danilo Rustici/guitar Morris Pert/percussion Discography(Album) Blink 1976
1.Tailor made - Part 1 & Part 2 2.Something inside keeps you down - Part 1 & Part 2 3.Nova - Part 1 & Part 2 4.Used to be easy - Part 1 & Part 2 5.Toy - Part 1 & Part 2 6.Stroll on - Part 1 & Part 2
Italian band VITRIOL was formed back in 2007, the band name inspired by the quote "Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultam Lapidem" (English: Enter the bowels of the Earth and, through your purification, you will find the hidden stone). They released an initial EP in 2009, and in 2012 they signed to the US label Melodic Revolution Records which released their debut album "Into the Silence I Sink" towards the end of 2012. These Italian musicians have made themselves a neat and fairly inventive debut with "Into the Silence I Sink". With great care for moods and atmospheres, more alterations in style, mood and intensity than most progressive metal bands manage to incorporate in a natural manner and always with an ear for melodies and room for gentler interventions. A strong and intriguing debut album by a band that has the potential to become major players. Line-up / Musicians Gianluca Pappalardo/vocals Francesco Lombardo/bass Michele Panepinto/drums Andrea Roda/keyboards Tommaso Semrov/guitars Alessandro Sanfilippo/guitars Discography(Album) Into the Silence I Sink 2012
1.Behind the Electric Veil 2.Slowly She Dies 3.Arabesque 4.Sinking 5.The Frozen Wind 6.Endless Spiral 7.Despite Your Cries 8.Oceans 9.The Continuous Struggle 10.Three Times
ASHRA was Manuel GÖTTSCHING's continuation of ASH RA TEMPEL, moving from the outerspace psychedelic realms of the temple to the electronic domain of Berlin characterized by TANGERINE DREAM. It's this aspect which leads to the "New Age", which has since been quite successful. The spiralling guitars and electronic layers create calm ambiences which are the basis of this style.There were four excellent albums in the late 70's/early 80's: "New Age of Earth", "Blackouts", "Correlations" and "Belle Alliance". "New Age of Earth" (mainly synth but with some guitar) was the result of his new direction. This is a beautiful, lyrical release, with solo guitar against tapestries of electronics, which has a much more 'human' feel than other similar 'Berlin school' works of the same period. "Blackouts" is very relaxing and a great way to unwind after a difficult day. Line-up / Musicians Manuel Göttsching/keyboards,synthesizer,guitar Discography(Album) New Age Of Earth 1977
1.Sunrain 2.Ocean of Tenderness 3.Deep Distance 4.Nightdust
As The Parlour Band brothers Craig and Mark Anders (guitar and bass respectively) and singer/lead guitarist Jonathan 'Pix' Pickford recorded an interesting slightly progressive-feeling LP - 1972's "The Parlour Band Is a Friend." Following the band's breakup the Anders brothers and Pickford continued their musical collaboration with A Band Called O. Signed by Epic, 1975's "Oasis" was the band's sophomore album. Musically it found the group (now expanded to include drummer Duck Ballard and keyboardist Pete Filleul) teamed with producer Nicky Graham. Clearly interested in courting a larger audience, material like the funky 'Amovin'', 'Foolin' Round' and 'Fine White Wine' found the band working in a more commercial mid-1970s AOR genre. With all five members and producer Graham contributing to the writing chores, the set wasn't bad. Powered by some nice lead vocals from Pickford, the collection was tuneful and occasionally fun (check out 'Bird of Paradise'). Most of this stuff would have easily slotted into top-40 radio along side other mid-1970s AOR acts like Pablo Cruise, Head East, Journey, etc. Doubt that comment then listen to 'That's Up', or 'Some People'. Unfortunately the album seldom rose above that pedestrian level. Professional, but largely forgettable this was a pretty good example of music as product, rather than art. Not bad product, but product nevertheless. So was there anything that actually stood out? Powered by some jumpy synthesizers the group composition 'Take Your Time' showcased a mild progressive feel. Similarly. complete with a pretty melody and weird reggae mid-section 'Sleeping' offered up a nod to their progressive roots and was probably the most atypical of the ten songs. Line-up / Musicians Pix/Vocals,Guitar Craig Anders/Guitar Derek Ballard/Drums,Percussion Peter Filleul/Piano,Clavinet,Synthesizer,Vocals Mark Anders/Bass Discography(Album) Oasis 1975
1.Amovin' 2.Foolin' Round 3.Sleeping 4.Morrocan Roll 5.Fine White Wine 6.Take Your Time 7.Bird Of Paradise 8.Ice 9.That's Up 10.Some People
A band from Pavia formed around 1967 from the ashes of local beat groups Gli Spettri, I Solitari, Gli Imprevisti, they only released an album in 1971 for the small Polaris label (the same as I Teoremi). The band included lots of covers by the likes of Free, Deep Purple, Grand Funk Railroad in their live act.The album, housed in a very nice cover, is song-based, with soft and dreamy atmospheres and good lyrics by composer Guido Bolzoni. He had worked with some important names of the Italian pop music (like Mina) and also had released a solo album, Happening, in 1969 under the name of Guido.Some foreign influences are evident in the guitar playing of Mario Rognoni (nicknamed Carlos for his ability in playing in Santana style), but the band's sound is very far from King Crimson or other English groups and more in a melodic vein, the only different track is the opening Alpha ralpha boulevard (sung by Bolzoni though he was not a member of the group). A new member, sax/flute player Paolo Fabbri, joined the band right after the album came out (he had already taken part in the recording sessions), to replace one of the guitarists, and this line-up had a good concert activity and even played at the Festival di Re Nudo in Zerbo in 1972, one of that year's main musical events.The group split later the same year, when drummer Sollazzi left to join Lucio Dalla's band. He formed a short-lived group called Corte dei Miracoli (not to be confused with the more famous group from Savona with the same name) that also included former Numi members Buccelli and Tiranzoni.Around the same nucleus a new Numi incarnation was reformed in 1975, this time with two keyboardists and a more symphonic and ambitious sound. This line-up composed a concept work entitled Storia di Zero that was played at Pavia's Teatro Fraschini and released in a limited CD issue in 1993. A long suite, this included good symphonic prog-inspired parts along with covers of famous tracks by Beatles, Moody Blues and others, this can be interesting to hear, though a bit fragmented. The CD also includes a good live jam by the 1972 line-up.Other reunions came in 1979, with the follow-up to Storia di Zeno, another suite called 2079, but even this group (including a horn section with ex-Maxophone Maurizio Bianchini) had a short life, and again in 1990 when a book on rock bands in Pavia was released.Drummer Sollazzi, whose surname was misspelled as Solazzi on the LP cover, still plays now in a Beatles-cover band called Back To The Beatles (with two CD's, Rubber songs in 1995 and Beatle-Sconcerto in 1998) and is still active in the musical field with reviews on newspapers and concert organization. Other ex-Numi play in the same group, bassist Paolo Buccelli and guitarist Aldo Tagliaferri that was in the band's first line-up. Line-up / Musicians Marco Pazzi/guitars,vocals Furio Sollazzi/drums Paolo Buccelli/bass,vocals Mario Rognoni/guitars,vocals Beppe Tiranzoni/keyboards,vocals Carlo Gatti/keyboards,vocals Discography(Album) Alpha Rapha Boulevard 1971
1.Alpha Ralpha Boulevard 2.San Miguel 3.La Nuova Età 4.Luce e Gloria per te 5.Furma Materiae Progredientis 6.325 7.Alpha Ralpha Reprise
Vitruvius is a young progressive metal band from Mexico. Female fronted band, Dulce Robles has a pleasant voice whom integrates very well in the music, but the cherry on the cake here is the instrumental passages, who really kick ass on every piece. From the opening track Stealing a Tear From the Rain, the listener will know that something great will appear in the almost 1 hour music. Excellent musicianship, even the song writing is ok, but nothing really new under the sun, only pleasant with some amazing passages, specially the twin guitar of Oskar Villarreal and Tonio Tejeda. The drumming is more then ok, some great chops made by Ronnie Rodriguez worth to be investigated on this first release of Vitruvius. The interplay between musician is excellent, just take a listen to the instrumental track Alchemist , simply great, and of course the rest of the passages, another worthy moments are on opening track or in the last piece Black Sphere divided in 2 parts, the first one is atmospheric with spacey moments , while the second parts, is a great ex of how must sound progressive metal these days. Line-up / Musicians Oskar Villarreal/Guitars Ronnie Rodriguez/Drums Dulce Robles/Vocals Armando Thamez/Bass Discography(Album) Vitruvius 2011
1.Stealing A Tear From The Rain 2.Inner Space 3.Somewhere 4.Memories 5.Alchemist 6.Shade My Sight 7.Lost Perception 8.Stain In The Moon 9.Black Sphere Pt. 1 (instr.) 10.Black Sphere Pt. 2
One of the most formidable of the German Krautrock groups, ASH RA TEMPEL were a powerful force led by guitarist Manuel GÖTTSCHING, and also included former TANGERINE DREAM drummer Klaus SCHULZE at various points. Their music is very spacy and psychedelic, in the manner popularized by early HAWKWIND and AMON DÜÜL II. Their albums are all classics; those with Klaus SCHULZE ("Ash Ra Tempel" and "Join Inn") are the best. ASH RA TEMPEL's first release is a classic of the space/cosmic genre. This is definitively the one to start with if you're not familiar with this band. "Schwingungen" is a vastly underrated album even by ardent fans of the band. Basically, "Join Inn", along with the two albums, are supposed to be the essential woks from ASH RA TEMPEL. GÖTTSCHING's later work varied between solo albums and those within a group format.Later, after recording the dreamy soundtrack "Le Berceau de Cristal" (1975 unreleased until the 90's) ASH RA TEMPEL changed name to ASHRA, making a more melodic synthesizer based music. In the year 2000 the ASH RA TEMPEL moniker was reborn. Joined by long-time colleague Klaus SCHULZE, the appropriately titled "Friendship" was released. This is the best release by Manuel since "Blackouts" and shows that he hasn't lost his touch. ASH RA TEMPEL is probably the best known band of the German space scene. Line-up / Musicians Manuel Göttsching/guitar,voice,electronics Hartmut Enke/bass Klaus Schulze/drums,electronics Discography(Album) Ash Ra Tempel 1971
A fitting name for this outfit as they play cookin’ rock-n-roll, the late-‘60s San Francisco variety. Riding the trend set by SF jam bands like Quicksilver, Moby Grape and The Grateful Dead, Cookin’ Mama rocks heavily with sure-footed crankin’ bluesy electric guitar riffs through nine original tunes like ‘New Day’, ‘Dice Of Life’, ‘What Will You Do’ and ‘2 A.M. Jam’. There’s a lot of background rhythm sax that also brings to mind the funkiness of Average White Band or the classic rock edge of Chicago’s debut. Parts even remind of Wilson McKinley and Joshua. Spiritual songs such as ‘I Don’t Fear No Evil’ (inspired by Psalm 23), ‘Feelin’ Good’ and ‘Little Children’ play alongside more secular slice-of-life musings like ‘Just To Pass The Day’ and ‘Out The Door’ (the latter with the lyric “stay away from the bitch outside, she’s gonna change our loving mind”). Real long-haired hippie-looking bunch as was often the case with these Way International folks (although it’s not stated anywhere on the cover, I’m assuming there’s a connection since the group played on the Way’s Rock Of Ages ’71 album). Original press bears the title New Day and shows a photo of the band on the front. There’s also a 1980 self-titled re-issue on Picc-A-Dilly with an illustration of a waitress serving a steaming record. Line-up / Musicians Sherry Fox/Vocals Paul Hann/Tenor Saxophone,Percussion,Vocals Jesse Harms/Organ,Piano,Congas,Vocals Vince Palazzotto/Drums,Percussion Lou Sarrica/Bass Kevin Smith/Vocals,Percussion Tom Thompson/Guitar,Organ,Bass,Percussion,Vocals Pat Thrall/Guitar,Percussion,Vocals Preston Thrall/Percussion Paul Trousdale/Tenor Saxophone,Flute Pat Thrall/Vocals Steve Nelson/Trumpet Miles McCleary/Tenor Saxophone Nancy Paris/Vocals Discography(Album) New Day 1972
1.New Day 2.Just To Pass The Day 3.Dice Of Life 4.Out The Door 5.I Don't Fear No Evil 6.Feelin' Good 7.What Will You Do? 8.Little Children
Unique in the history of Italian progressive music, NEW TROLLS were leaders and were for a time the top band in Italy. In 1973, NEW TROLLS split into two camps, the hard-rocking IBIS and the symphonic-oriented NEW TROLLS ATOMIC SYSTEM. They crossed many different permutations of line-up changes, many musical stylings... and great hits, passing through beat, pop ballads, progressive rock works, hard rock, and melodic pop followed groups like GENESIS and PFM. In 1971, the TROLLS released their greatest album "Concerto Grosso No. 1" that's still recognized as one of the most important Italian rock releases ever made. This album was to take them in a new direction. It was the first effort in Italy to fuse rock music with classical treatments. 1972 was the year in which NEW TROLLS became the producers of a mature music. Two albums were released that year, "Searching For a Land" and "UT". "Searching for a Land" (1972) is full of great songs and amazing musical highlights. "UT" is an amazing amalgam of progressive rock covering a wide variety of styles (references: YES, ELP, GENESIS, KING CRIMSON). The second "Concerto Grosso No. 2" (1976) is severely overrated and suffers from an inherent design flaw: The second side bears no relationship to the first and breaks up any continuity that could have made music history. The Beatles, Moody Blues and Pink Floyd had all fused popular and classical music by 1971. New Trolls had an opportunity to be the first rock band to actually play classical music, at least in Italy, for an entire album's length. Instead, the opportunity is squandered with a bloated side-long improve.The first three movements, or Tempos, of Concerto Grosso are essential listening for all prog rock fanatics. Unfortunately, this eleven minutes of RPI glory doesn't necessitate its purchase. "1 Tempo: Allegro" establishes the formula, alternating literally between the speakers from Baroque instrumentation to the band. As these ingredients homogenize, New Trolls are able to achieve something really groundbreaking. This becomes more evident during the second minute, with unison playing between the low strings and rhythm section. De Scalzi and Di Paulo double their guitars in octaves and hop on for the ride. This is great, great stuff and a perfect opening statement to an important yet indulgent album. Line-up / Musicians Frank Laugelli/bass Maurizio Salvi/piano,organ Vittorio De Scalzi/guitar Nico Di Palo/guitar,vocals Gianni Belleno/drums,vocals Discography(Album) Concerto Grosso Per I New Trolls 1971
1.Tempo: Allegro 2.Tempo: Adagio 3.Tempo: Cadenza - Andante Con Moto 4.Tempo: Shadows 5.Nella Sala Vuota, Improvvisazioni Dei New Trolls Registrate In Diretta
VIUDA NEGRA was born in the beautiful Andean city of Quito, capital-city of Ecuador, in 1996. The majestic mountains only worked as the perfect background for this progressive-metal band to come to existence; after years of playing in low-profile bands, with a love for 80's rock as common denominator, VIUDA NEGRA's members gave their first concert together in a small bar called "La Nota" (The Note), on February 2nd of the mentioned year. The band performed together for 2 years, after which the original line-up dissolved. Santiago Silva (vocals) and Johnny Gordon (drums), the only remaining members, performed with several other musicians in an effort to find the right musicians for their project. Many of the songs they wrote and played during this period would appear in the band's first full-length. VIUDA NEGRA were finalists, between 2000 and 2002, of two of the first Rock Concerts organized in Ecuador the principal objective of which was to promote national bands, part of a rock movement that was growing. 25000 copies were produced with the finalist's songs of one of this concerts, "Fioramusica"; this record contained VIUDA NEGRA's song "Pretendo", making the band known among the ever-growing rock and metal audience in the illustrious city.November, 2002, marked an important date for VIUDA NEGRA, as they were invited to open for the worldwide known, acclaimed power-progressive-metal Brazilian group ANGRA during their "Rebirth" tour. The band gave a tremendous performance which won several fans and critics over. In 2003 the band signed a contract with "Corporacion Cultural Ecuador" , and in October they released their first full-length, "El Final del Silencio" (The End of Silence).The group toured the geographically-varied, magnificent country to promote the CD. Most of the music media and press gave the album rave reviews, and praised the band for being one of the first to truly attempt to play an Ecuadorian version of progressive-metal. Later on, next year, VIUDA NEGRA won a survey to represent Ecuador as the opening act for Finnish metal masters NIGHTWISH when they visited "America's Light", as Quito is known for having been the pioneering city to revolt against the Spain during the years of the Colony. The band performed in front of 10.000 fans who rallied behind the ever-improving metal outfit. 2006 saw VIUDA NEGRA concentrating on the writing and recording for their next album. They worked with producer Thiago Bianchi, who had previously worked with bands such as ANGRA, SHAMAAN, among others. The album was recorded in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and released on 2007, again to great critical acclaim. VIUDA NEGRA's music, a perfect mix of power and progressive metal, with elements taken from some of the genre's masters, among them SYMPHONY X and, most of all, DREAM THEATER, seems only to improve with time. It's a safe bet that the Andean metal musicians will help a lot in opening the eyes of the metal world to the recently-born, but tremendously-promising musical scene of one of South America's smallest yet more diverse and beautiful countries. Line-up / Musicians Santiago Silva/Vocals Santiago Villalba/Guitar Mauricio Maldonado/Keyboards Matias Alvear/Bass Johnny Gordon/Drums Discography(Album) La Voz de los Bosques 2007
1.Núcleo II 2.Instintos 3.Jardín de las Delicias 4.Ausencia 5.La Voz de los Bosques 6.La Sinfonía de los Elementos 7.Requiem 8.Criaturas Nocturnas
