Premiata Forneria Marconi – I Dreamed Of Electric Sheep (Inside Out Records)
Way back in 1970, Premiata Forneria Marconi (Award Winning Marconi) formed in Italy and since 1972 they have been releasing, artistic progressive rock music. At the helm of the band in 2021 is founding member Franz Di Cioccio on drums/vocals and long serving member Patrick Djivas on bass and keys, the two of them have been in this position since 2017 and again they are this albums rhythm section on top of which the rest of the record is built on. But without their anchoring sound many of these songs may become unwieldy, with them they are very musical but nothing really goes into the realms of self-indulgence.
They wrote the record mainly at Patrick's home before they were able to record it properly due to the lockdown, however this period of downtime allowed them to explore wider creative influences the biggest being Blade Runner, based upon the Phillip K Dick novel “Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep”, Franz and Patrick mulling upon the increasing technology dependant world we live in (I see the irony that I am writing this on an online blog), but due to the pandemic this reliance on technology has stripped away more of our collective humanity and that is what the two men wanted to explore. Lucky for them that their style of progressive music is one that is born out of the 1970’s where anything was possible, I Dreamed Of Electric Sheep, brings the best parts of King Crimson, Van Der Graaf Generator and Peter Gabriel-fronted Genesis.
Blues (Daily Heroes), rock, jazz and more classical/folk phrasings (Kindred Souls) are present but you can’t really classify song such as If I Had Wings and Let Go as anything but progressive as all 10 songs here are fully individual but also feel like a collective whole, Electric Sheep especially brings that jazz/pop of 80’s Rush before shifting double tapped rock solo. The rest of the band are comprised of Marco Sfogli (guitar), Lucio Fabbri (violin/viola), Alessandro Scaglione (keyboards/piano) and Alberto Bravin (keys/acoustic guitar), the multitude of organs/synths a key element of PFM’s progressive power, guests Flavio Premoli (Mini Moog) and Luca Zabbini (Hammond organ/piano/Mini Moog) also getting in on the act.
Blues (Daily Heroes), rock, jazz and more classical/folk phrasings (Kindred Souls) are present but you can’t really classify song such as If I Had Wings and Let Go as anything but progressive as all 10 songs here are fully individual but also feel like a collective whole, Electric Sheep especially brings that jazz/pop of 80’s Rush before shifting double tapped rock solo. The rest of the band are comprised of Marco Sfogli (guitar), Lucio Fabbri (violin/viola), Alessandro Scaglione (keyboards/piano) and Alberto Bravin (keys/acoustic guitar), the multitude of organs/synths a key element of PFM’s progressive power, guests Flavio Premoli (Mini Moog) and Luca Zabbini (Hammond organ/piano/Mini Moog) also getting in on the act.
Not content with having this large line up, I Dreamed Of Electric Sheep also features star turns by Ian Anderson’s flute (probably on one leg right?) as well as additional guitar from Steve Hackett. You would think that after so many years writing and recording the creative spark would wane a little but PFM seem as innovative and artistic as they have ever been, like with a few of their previous albums this one is available in both English and Italian, and both are great listens from prog fans. No counting sheep here, PFM are very much awake and making top notch prog. 8/10
1914 - Where Fear And Weapons Meet (Napalm Records)
It's a well known historical fact that the 1914 to 1918 conflict, known as 'The Great War' was for all intents and purposes a completely pointless waste of millions of lives. It was fought mainly due to political wranglings, achieved very little and the result of it led to increased tension across Europe the rise of extremism and yet another war. All in all its a very dark period of history that we as a nation continue to remember though each year it become more like ancient history. It is however a very inspirational period of time, due possibly to the 'unrealness' of it all, The Great War has inspired poets, writers, film/TV and bands for years. The most recent examples of the latter being Sabaton and Memoriam, with a special mention to Cardiff own Tides Of Sulfur. The most recent band to draw inspiration from this conflict are Ukrainian act 1914 who formed in 2014, 100 years after the start of the war itself.
1914 - Where Fear And Weapons Meet (Napalm Records)
It's a well known historical fact that the 1914 to 1918 conflict, known as 'The Great War' was for all intents and purposes a completely pointless waste of millions of lives. It was fought mainly due to political wranglings, achieved very little and the result of it led to increased tension across Europe the rise of extremism and yet another war. All in all its a very dark period of history that we as a nation continue to remember though each year it become more like ancient history. It is however a very inspirational period of time, due possibly to the 'unrealness' of it all, The Great War has inspired poets, writers, film/TV and bands for years. The most recent examples of the latter being Sabaton and Memoriam, with a special mention to Cardiff own Tides Of Sulfur. The most recent band to draw inspiration from this conflict are Ukrainian act 1914 who formed in 2014, 100 years after the start of the war itself.
Their approach is to pair harrowing stories with blackened death/doom so they creep under your skin, unlocking the most desperate parts of the war. There are no tales of daring do or heroism here, like there is with the happy Swedes. That being said this is an album about life and not death with most of the song protagonists having survived, however they still experience the horrors of war. 1914 make for a ominous, at times unnerving listening experience as the colossal often labyrinthine riffs combine with the snarling vocals and authentic samples of newsreels from the time. Where Fear And Weapons Meet is the band's third album and continues telling the most gruesome, unknown and heartbreaking stories from the war often as a counter to the real propaganda, their music is akin to trench warfare and that is very much the point.
Bookended by War In & War Out, both of which are samples of folk songs, the first Serbian the last American/British, they establish atmospherics from the get go as War In is interrupted by gunfire and leads into the first track which is full of cinematic black metal riffage and deals with Prinzip's assassination of Franz Ferdinand, but told from the killers perspective. Dense and full of aggression you are yanked into 1914's richly studied historical music.
These stories all have great accuracy, so it's clear that these Ukrainians do their research of the subject matter. They even bring a few guests having Me And That Man's Sasha Boole providing clean vocals to the haunting, acoustic lament of Coward (addressing how 'deserters' and 'cowards' were shot on sight) as Halifax misery Nick Holmes contributes to the albums most emotionally taxing number ...And A Cross Now Marks His Place. Other powerful statements on this album are Don't Tread On Me (Harlem Hellfighters) and the epic The Green Fields Of France which is a song that will love with long after this album finishes. With the subject matter and the musical approach Where Fear And Weapons Meet is a powerful third full length from 1914. 9/10
Dark Vision - Ianos (Cult Of Parthenope)
Greece has always been one of the go to countries for Black metal, but there also a lot of bands that transcend the genre bringing in death metal, post metal and symphonic metal as well. Dark Vision are blackened death metal band from Athens an although they formed in 1996, Ianos is only their second album. This is due to numerous line up changes meaning the band only really resumed activities in 2006, since then they have released a few EP's but Ianos is the first album since 2000. The lyrics deal with struggles of the soul and they channel these through black metal sermons, tracks such as Of Unknown Artist which has a punishing death metal grooves that are punctuated by blasts of black metal picking.
Having toured all over the country with bands such as Septicflesh and Rotting Christ both of whom they also sound like. They claim that Ianos is them at their nadir, using their years of experience to hone their sound to what it is today. With the marching drumbeat of Sulfur Vision or the rampaging Keep Dark Vision's second album is a decent enough listen for fans of extreme metal, they even throw in a Christian Death cover to really show off their Goth credentials. Hopefully there won't be as much of a wait for another Dark Vision album as Ianos shows there is life in the old dog yet. 7/10
Alex Canion - Birthmark (Self Released)
Well this another surprising release, Alex Canion is the bassist of Australian progressive metal superstars Voyager, but there's none of the synth heavy danceable prog metal of his day job here. Rather this is a much more introspective, personal release that was written and recorded over the course of more than 6 years. Canion has even recorded a documentary to show the process of how he produced this EP. A true solo album he plays the bass here yes but also forays into drums, guitars, piano and also lead vocals, recording everything in a guitar shop after hours, Alex calls it an artistic commitment and it's a commitment that pays off in droves. The five songs are all groove driven, there are a lot of repeating musical phases much like Mike Oldfield, but Canion is definitely is a bit of musical polymath as he none of the instruments here ever sound amateurish or ignored.
Alex Canion - Birthmark (Self Released)
Well this another surprising release, Alex Canion is the bassist of Australian progressive metal superstars Voyager, but there's none of the synth heavy danceable prog metal of his day job here. Rather this is a much more introspective, personal release that was written and recorded over the course of more than 6 years. Canion has even recorded a documentary to show the process of how he produced this EP. A true solo album he plays the bass here yes but also forays into drums, guitars, piano and also lead vocals, recording everything in a guitar shop after hours, Alex calls it an artistic commitment and it's a commitment that pays off in droves. The five songs are all groove driven, there are a lot of repeating musical phases much like Mike Oldfield, but Canion is definitely is a bit of musical polymath as he none of the instruments here ever sound amateurish or ignored.
Birthmark is a deeply personal release the album title refers to the birthmarks which are now part of what makes him unique. Equally the record itself is unique from anything else he has been involved in, from the upbeat, breezy Habitual that strikes me of Del Amitri to the more dramatic Sorrowstar which is the first single and was written about Alex's struggle with depression, carrying a Steven Wilson/Opeth edge to it. Birthmark may surprise some fans of Voyager as it is quite different sonically, but it's a tribute to Alex's talent, songwriting ability and perseverance. 7/10
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