The More You Live, The More You Love

UNHEILIG Gipfelstürmer (UNIVERSAL INTERNATIONAL 0602537706129) In recent months, there was a lot to do. Less than a week after announcing Gipfelstürmer in September, Der Graf announced to stop after the upcoming tour with Unheilig. The book will be closed on September 10, 2016  with a grand farewell concert in Cologne. Besides the fact that he wants to spend more time with his family, the main drive has to be the lack of challenges. The Eurovision Song Contest earlier this year had to be the platform for a possible breakthrough in the non German speaking countries, but the German Eurovision audience threw a spanner in the works. Gipfelstürmer is the eighth and last musical work of Der Graf. The new songs partly follow a thematic approach, where the beautiful and rugged mountain world forms the framework of the tracks. Der Graf keeps improving and perfecting his style, without neglecting the emotional side of life. He used a welded writing break to wrap his images, thought...

COSMOGRAF The Man Left In Space (private release) The joint venture with Festival Records took only one album, since with The Man Left In Space Robin Armstrong takes control in his own hands again, The results is a fourth concept album. Behind the story of a failed space mission the concept album explores the themes of aspiration, achievement, and the failures that our quest for success, sometimes brings. Maybe the themes are stodge, but the music turns it into a fine listening session. His companions on this journey are (well) known names from the prog scene: Nick D’Virgilio, Simon Rogers, Greg Spawton, Dave Meros, Lee Abraham, Steve Dunn, Matt Stevens and Dave Ware. Armstrong does all the vocals on this album and even his wife does some vocals on This Naked Endeavour. Specially the three longer tracks Aspire Achieve, the titletrack and When The Air Runs Out make clear that Armstrong, loves to play his guitarsolos in a Floydian way, which atmospherically deepen the s...

COSMOGRAF When Age Has Done Its Duty (FESTIVAL MUSIC 201107 / BERTUS) When Age Has Done Its Duty is already the thirth concept album of Robin Armstrong with Cosmograf. This time it is about the ordeal of the aging process, looking back on (family) live and dying. Armstrong is assisted by Bob Dalton (It Bites), Steve Thorne, Lee Abraham, Simon Rogers and Steve Dunn (both of Also Eden), Luke Machin (The Tangent), Huw Lloyd-jones (Unto Us) and Dave Ware. The sound produced by the gentlemen is rooted in the progressive rock of the seventies with trips to neo-prog, hard rock and metal with references to Genesis in On Which We Stand and Savatage in opener Into This World. When Age Has Done Its Duty is an album you can’t judge on a first listen. It needs several listening sessions to fathom the album, since Armstrong hasn’t walked the easiest way lyrically and musically. Maybe this is because of the attachements of sounds and confounding factors, which attracks you from the ...

  It has been awhile since my last entry. already in March of 2013 but for sure I can tell I probably already discovered one of the best albums of this year. It’s called Arc from the Manchester band Everything Everything. From the start I fell in love with most of the songs after a first listening. Cough Cough, the opener is a catchy one this makes you hum with it right away. Kemosabe, the second single from the album, got a great chorus with mellotron all over it. Duet, the third single, reminds me of White Lies with beautiful violin support. And so I can go on. Other highlights are Choice Mountain, Armourland, Radiant, Don’t Try and the beautiful ballad The Peaks. The great thing about this band is that they’re able to give each song a different twist. At first you think you are listening to the next clone of Coldplay, but surely they are in a complete different league. Because they combine it with sounds and atmospheres of White Lies and Clock Opera and deliver it...

GALAHAD Beyond The Realms Of Euphoria (AVALON RECORDS GHCD11) Beyond The Realms Of Euphoria's is the second new album of Galahad this year. With this album the group impressively continues the musical path of Battle Scars. Through piano interludes that are not inferior to Beethoven, Mozart or Schubert the group uses the entire musical spectrum, also adding the trance and dance influences from Armin van Buuren, DJ Tiësto and David Guetta.  Perhaps these last ones for the traditional listener of progressive music feels like a shock. But progressive in my view means that the progress of a band has to do with the musical development of a band. Stagnation means decline, and keep copying yourself may lead to happy fans, but I think as a musician it’s drudgery. So I welcome the progression of Galahad. The group puts down a proper mix, where everything falls into place.  Keyboardist Dean Baker occassionally let the listener believe, that we are at a dance party,...

RED SAND Behind The Mask (www.redsandmusic.ca SPBN005) After a hiatus of five years with Behind The Mask the Canadian band Red Sand delivers her fourth studio album. It is no secret that the music of the band strongly operate in the Marillion / Genesis vein. Guitarist Simon Caron does not hide the influences an d his playing and solos sound at times like a Steve Rothery clone , although the reference to Steve Hackett certainly is not neglected . It provides at least seven beautiful compositions, which retrieve musical references from the heyday of Genesis (A Trick Of The Tail and Winds & Wuthering ) and Marillion 's Fish period . In Memory Of Past Simon Caron shows his skills, and it seems for five minutes Steve Rothery is leading the band. The almost ten minute long track Mask Of Liberty holds references to Grendel while Veil Of Insanity Part 1 floats on the melody of Your Own Special Way ....