10) SUBSIGNAL / A Poetry of Rain -
This is a no-brainer for me as I love the band. As everyone else has said, this one is on the lighter side of Subsignal, but the melodies are beautiful, and Arno's voice is still mesmerizing. It is quite amazing how this band just keeps on reaching the base fans that they have, disc after disc, but they don't seem to get a lot of attention outside of that base. Seeing them live at Prog Power was one of the many highlights for me over the years. They are just a class act band, and play serious music for serious listeners.
9) LEGACY PILOTS / Helix -
Another band that gets zero love around here, yet they end up on my top list every year. And that is because this band ( or project ) is the brainchild of Frank Us, who pretty much writes everything and then gathers the awesome troops in to play the music, such as Marco Minneman, Pete Trewavas, Todd Sucherman, John Mitchell, and many others who create an incredible music tapestry of Alan Parsons, Moody Blues, Kansas, ELP, Marillion, and so many others. The production on these L-Pilots discs are crazy good, and for anyone who likes those above mentioned bands, or in combination therein, this band will really do it for you. Purely entrenched in the Prog Rock arena, you can see by those bands that there are some rock elements to the music, but just classy music all around.
I/O Earth / Sanctuary -I think that Sir Exar Kun and I are the only two on this board that follows this band. And I believe that we have from the beginning. It is the brainchild of another single individual, Dave Cureton I believe, who is a multi -instrumentalist and vocalist and writes most or all of the music. They are considered a Prog Rock band, and I agree, but more in the atmospheric vein with great melodies, sometimes Mid-Eastern vibes, and just great melodies all around. He has had different female singers through the years, and on this disc, he has brought back previous I/O Earth alumni, Linda Odinson. When I first looked at the CD artwork, and saw the aggressive / monster-looking face on the cover, I knew it just had to be a bit on the aggressive side, and for I/O Earth, this is. More gritty, more raw, yet still melodic and beautiful. This band has not released anything sub-par over the years, and this disc just continues that streak of quality.
7) REDEMPTION / I Am the Storm -
One of the only two metal discs that made it to my list. There is not to be said about this one that we haven't already mentioned. It has been hard for all of us not to hear Ray Alder singing on a Redemption disc, but Tom Englund is a great singer in his own right. That combination was a bit tough for the brain to absorb whilst listening to an Evergrey disc. I was confused. Here, the confusion ends, and Nick and co. have clearly found a way through that with this disc. One will always mention the great songwriting of Nick Van Dyk, but I truly believe that he reached into a bag of tricks and pulled this one out ....just a magical combination of songwriting, melodies, prog metal, and emotion all rolled up into one. It feels like Nick just said - "here, take this and you will love it" ..... and I do.
6) THE NEAL MORSE BAND / An Evening of Innocence & Danger - Live in Hamburg
Yes, it is a live disc .. and I always include a live disc in my Top discs IF it warrants a spot - and this one does. I have become a huge fan of The Neal Morse band, and while the DT world is welcoming back Mike Portnoy, I'm grieving his exit from the band. There is no mention whether or not he will return to do another disc with Neal, but if you are going to go out, you go out this way. A 3-CD set, the whole Innocence & Danger disc, followed by 2 long songs on disc 2, then on disc 3 you get The GReat Similitude medley. Its like over 3 hrs of music. My only gripe with this is that it was not released as a bluray show, and if anything should be on a bluray, it is this show. Perfection.
5) MYSTERY / Redemption -
When Mystery releases a disc, it goes straight to my Top 10, no questions asked. If there was a band that I can't complain about anything in any of their discs, it is this band. Just pure class, time after time. If you know Mystery, then you know what you are getting here. One of the few bands left in the world that I would travel to see.
4) ICE AGE / Waves of Loss and Power -
How does a band disappear from the Prog world for 20 years - then come back and release a disc like this ? There is no answer. I am just stunned at how this band releases this disc like it was the next step in their career 20 years ago, and have it turn out this good like nothing has happened. The second of two metal discs on my list - Ice Age and I have a history. No sense in going into that, but when one of your favorite bands disappears from the planet, and then returns 20 years later to release something like this, all bands should be contacting them asking how the hell they did this ...... absolutely stunning disc that shows Josh Pincus (vocals) not aging in the least. We all loved this band back in the day - that love continues with this disc.
and now my Top 3........
3) KARNATAKA / Requiem for a Dream -
I have followed this band from day one just as I have I/O Earth.....when they release something, it's an automatic purchase. It has been quite some time since this band released anything, and without looking I'm guessing 8 or so years ? Then you release this disc, and like Ice Age, one has to ask - " how in the hell did you do this after all that time ".......sure this is no answer, but they did it. Armed with yet another female singer, who fits right in and takes this emotional, dramatic, atmospheric prog rock music to another level.....she sounds dreamy and mesmerizing - and the music just flows with her angelic voice to transport you to another dimension.
You do not just put this on in the background and go about your business....you put this on at night, with your favorite beverage, lights out, and then wait to be transported to another dimension. Once you get past the goosebumps and put the lights back on, you ask yourself again, how the hell did they do this after so many years ........ just emotional bliss.
2) AVKRVST / The Approbation -
I have surprised many people by loving this one so much. If you had told me at first that this was a mish mash of Opeth, Riverside, and Porcupine Tree, I probably would have passed quickly. There are a lot of those bands out there, and I wasn't putting any effort into checking them out. Then someone close to me said - " did you check them out yet " .... and I had to save face. The lovefest began. That description above is quite correct indeed, but throw in a bit of Pink Floyd and tons of emotion and I was hooked. What a fabulous debut - I'm not sure how this didn't reach other top lists, but its there on mine. Not many bands can put out a debut like this one, but I'm concerned about the sophomore effort that will follow - this will be a hard act to follow for themselves. Throw in a great production on top of that and this would have been my #1 disc if it hadn't been for the next one.....
1) UNITOPIA / Seven Chambers -
Let's get this one right out of the way... I have Claus to thank for this one. In spite of his relentless attack on my aging brain, he knows what I like. And this is it. This is a 2-disc set from a guy who just loves to write LONG and engaging music. If any of you have heard of the project United Progressive Fraternity, this guy excels in writing super long epic concept and enlists about 30 of the greatest musicians ever and puts out discs. I have not heard one of them although I've been urged to based on this one. But, this guy Mark Truack (Australia ?) decided to write a concept disc about the seven chambers of the heart. Yes you read that right. I won't go into that concept, but it's based on the life of the heart itself, and what keeps it going. Disc 2 consists of 2 19:00 songs, so that gives you an idea of what this guy does. Prepare yourself for long songs, a complete book on the heart, and music that just represents what progressive music is. It is based in the Prog Rock world, but encompasses everything CLaus stands for in the definition of progressive music - a mish mash of every prog musical influence possible (outside of metal) and then tells a story around that music. The production is fabulous - which adds a great touch of class to the already outstanding music, good vocals, an incredible story telling, and you have ( to me ) what progressive music is all about.
