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
Their self-titled album is a heavy progressive masterpiece with excellent, Hendrix-influenced guitar work and vocals by Frank Diez. Armaggedon was the start of his long and impressive career. Their album had six tracks, and two of them were cover versions. Most impressive was the 10-minute version of Jeff Beck Group's "Rice Pudding". This track had some of the greatest heavy guitar riffing to appear on a German record. Their version of Spooky Tooth's "Better By You, Better Than Me" was also competent enough. In addition, both Frank Diez and Manfred Galatik (electric piano, bass and vocals) wrote great songs, as typified by the tracks "People Talking" and "Open". Michael Nurnberg (bass, rhythm guitar) and Jurgen Lorenzen (drums) provided a strong backing. Armaggedon's album has rocketed in price during recent years, due to the ever increasing interest. However, demand for the group was poor way back in 1970, and Armaggedon soon broke up. Diez never played material with a similar energy again, his next step was to join the 'slightly-above-average' jazz-rockers Emergency. He later played with Randy Pie, Karthago, Ihre Kinder and Atlantis. Line-up / Musicians Frank Diez/guitar,vocals Peter Seeger/vocals Manfred Galatik/piano,bass,vocals Michael Nürnberg/bass,guitar Jürgen Lorenzen/drums Discography(Album) Armaggedon 1970
1.Round 2.Open 3.Oh Man 4.Rice Pudding 5.People Talking 6.Better by You, Better Than Me
One of the rarest albums from Sweden, if not THE rarest. Primarily a jazz funk album with blues overtones, that features none other than Janne Schaffer on guitar. Pressed in a micro quantity of 200 copies. Privately released album in an era when that kind of thing was unheard of. Great production, and some splendid guitar, trumpet, sax and organ work (ESPECIALLY the organ). Opening track is a killer horn rock piece ala primo Chicago. Line-up / Musicians Lennart Axelsson/trumpet Mats Eriksson/trombone Kalle Lundborg/saxophone Olle Wirén/saxophone Bengt Lindqvist/keyboards Janne Schaffer/guitar Jan Bergman/bass Nils-Erik Svensson/drums Discography(Album) Hörselmat 1971
1.Introduktion...... Ta er i brasan 2.Den dan vi sket i Hugo Montenegros arrangemang 3.Teryleneblus 13:50 EPA 4.En mäktig eldaregesäll - ej Taube 5.Right on - Kliv på 6.Va då rå - va e' reö, de e' vel okey 7.Undrar om Mona och Kent spelar den här.... 8.Riff á la Lindström
Parallel to NEW TROLLS and OSANNA, this band made a psychedelic and heavy classical rock on their debut. Typically seventies group remarkable by the predominance of keyboards, singing (often in choir), beautiful and polished melodies. Evokes CITTA FRONTALE, LE ORME, and BIGLIETTO with percussive rhythms, vibrating guitar solos, and vocals close to VANILLA FUDGE."Mr. E Jones" was another superb 70's Italian Prog release. The lighter sections of the album kind of reminds me of early CAMEL at times. A wonderful recording which Italprog heads will love. Their 3rd album "Clowns" is generally regarded to be their best and most bombastic. In 2010 the band reconvened for a new album which can be found on this site under the moniker of "Siani and friends feat. Nuova Idea, Paolo", as the new material was composed entirely by Siani and officially released under his name. Released in 2011 the album is very good and a fitting postscript to the story of Nuova Idea. Do check out that album from Siani, hopefully there will be more to come. Line-up / Musicians Claudio Ghiglino/guitars Giorgio Usai/keyboards,vocals Enrico Casagni/bass,flute,vocals Paolo Siani/drums,percussions,vocals Ricky Belloni/guitar,violin,vocals Discography(Album) Clowns 1973
1.Clessidra 2.Un'Isola 3.Il Giardino Dei Sogni 4.Clown 5.Una Vita Nuova
Originally from Quebec, Canada, VOIVOD formed in 1982 as a fairly straightforward metal band, favoring the British Metal end of the spectrum. After a few years their sound took a major turn to the progressive side, incorporating futuristic imagery and unified concepts for albums. Two of the four founding members (bassist Jean-Yves Theriault and vocalist Denis Belanger) left Voivod in the early 90s; the band continued as a trio in the late 1990s with new member Eric Forrest handling both vocals and bass guitar. Forrest was badly injured in a car accident in Germany in 1998, and Voivod briefly disbanded in 2001 before Belanger returned to the band. Since the death in 2005 of Denis D'Amour (guitars), the current incarnation features two of the four founding members: Denis Belanger (vocals), and Michel Langevin (drums) along with Jason Newsted (of Flotsam and Jetsam and Metallica) on bass guitar. They rank alongside DREAM THEATER as pioneers in the development of progressive metal in the 80s, but tend to favor a heavier and more sparse musical style more akin to QUEENSRYCHE. Keyboards (or any other instruments besides vocals, guitars, drums, and bass) are almost non-existent in the music.Their first truly progressive album was "Killing Technology" (1987), followed by "Dimension: Hatross" (1988) which is often considered their most innovative work. "Nothingface" (1989) continued on the science fiction theme, and featured a cover version of PINK FLOYD's "Astronomy Domine" (They also covered PINK FLOYD's "The Nile Song" on their 1993 release "The Outer Limits"). "Angel Rat" (1991) is also well-regarded in progressive metal circles. They continue to record and tour, and have been seen on the Ozzfest roster a few times. Line-up / Musicians Jean-Yves Theriault/bass Denis d'Amour/guitar Michel Langevin/drums Denis Belanger/vocals Discography(Album) Nothingface 1989
The German psych/prog label called Garden of Delights recently made a campaign to reissue a bunch of lost krautrock classics, Arktis is at the top of these 70s obscurities. Formed in 1973, the band released their first album the same year. This self title album revisits a conventional heavy rock style mixed with freak out improvisations largely made of fuzzy guitars. In 1974 has been published an album with many demos. Konrad Plank was the producer. After a rather poor commercial support the band split. In 1975 will be released an other effort including many Arktis demos tape sessions. The music always features colourful heavy fuzz jams. Line-up / Musicians Karin Töppig/vocals Klaus Blachut/guitar Harry Kottek/drums,vocals Klaus Göllner/bass Discography(Album) Arktis 1973
1.Student's Idyll 2.Outcasted 3.Jeff the Fool 4.Rare Girl Bonus tracks: 5.Is it Real 6.Sky Drive 7.Don't Hang Around
MAGNA CARTA is an English 'folk' band, formed in 1969 in London by Chris Simpson, Lyell Tranter, and Glen Stuart. They were part of the early progressive wave, but without really fully stepping into the progressive realm. Magna Carta's music is largely inspired and influenced by the folk of Simon & Garfunkel, focusing on soft and gentle acoustic music, often with a traditional feel, augmented with orchestral arrangement and good vocal harmonies. Influences and similar artist include the already mentioned Simon & Garfunkel, Fairport Convention, Kevin Ayers, Moody Blues, Amazing Blondel, Caravan, Al Stewart, the softer folk/singer songwriter genre and Canterbury genre.MAGNA CARTA has gone through numerous personnel changes over the years, with the only constant factor being Chris Simpson. Most notable members include Glen Stuart, an amazing vocalist with a great range, Lyell Tranter, who soon departed for Australia to be replaced by Davey Johnstone on guitars (left Magna Carta to join Elton John as long time band member), and Linda Taylor who would later merry Chris Simpson.Between 1969 and 1975 MAGNA CARTA made some wonderful albums, with the beautiful "Seasons' and 'Lord Of The Ages' as absolute highlights. Also the live album "In Concert" recorded in 1971 in Amsterdam is not to be missed. With the leaving of Glen Stuart the magical beauty was lost, and for a while the band seemed to fall apart. Chris Simpson however managed to keep the band alive and MAGNA CARTA continued making nice highly enjoyable music. In 1983 Chris met Linda Taylor and they continued mostly as a duo keeping the MAGNA CARTA name alive. Studio albums became rare, but re-releases of studio albums, and new live recordings kept them performing throughout Europe until today (2006). Line-up / Musicians Chris Simpson/guitar,vocals Glenn Stuart/vocals Stan Gordon/guitar,vocals Guest musicians: Gordon Huntley/guitar Graham Smith/bass Danny Thompson/bass Gerry Conway/drums Discography(Album) Lord Of The Ages 1973
1.Wish It Was 2.Two Old Friends 3.Lord of the Ages 4.Isn't It Funny 5.Song of the Evening 6.Father John 7.That Was Yesterday 8.Falkland Grene
