Album Review: Actionfredag – Turist i eget liv

Band: Actionfredag | Album: Turist i eget liv | Genre: Progressive rock | Year: 2023

From: Oslo, Norway | Label: Hærverk Industrier

For fans of: Beardfish, Shaman Elephant, Jordsjø

I’ve talked at length about Scandinavia’s 21st Century ascent to being one of modern prog’s hotspots. Even within that small ecosystem, Norway’s scene is especially vibrant, with plenty of creative cross-pollination between acts. Actionfredag (Norwegian for “Action Friday”) is a collaboration between members of several bands, including Tusmørke and Jordsjø, with guest contributions from members of a number of other Norwegian prog acts.

Turist i eget liv (Tourist in My Own Life) is the first album from this band, and it’s a strong outing. But considering the members’ pedigrees, that should hardly come as a surprise.

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Album Review: Dominic Sanderson – Impermanence

Artist: Dominic Sanderson | Album: Impermanence | Genre: Progressive rock | Year: 2023

From: Wakefield, UK | Label: Independent

For fans of: Porcupine Tree, Van der Graaf Generator, King Crimson

Bandcamp

For the last three years, my album of the year has been a debut record (Moura’s self-titled in 2020, Papangu’s Holoceno in 2021, and The Mighty Orchid King’s Mycelium Music Vol. 1 in 2022). It’s a bit of a strange coincidence. So far this year, I’ve found some good debut records, but none are quite in that top echelon to vie for the top spot on my year-end list.

Dominic Sanderson’s new album, Impermanence, isn’t technically a debut, but it is his first full-length release. (Prior to this, he released an EP in 2020.) This record is an impressive collection of some of the darker sounds of classic prog, synthesized into something modern and exciting.

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Deep Dive: Van der Graaf Generator

Welcome back to Deep Dive, where I look at the full studio discographies and histories of some of the major names in progressive rock and progressive metal. It’s here that I highlight output beyond an act’s “classic” releases.

For those who don’t feel like reading this massive entry, I’ve included a TL;DR and ranking of albums at the end. I’m opting to explore albums chronologically, as opposed to a ranked-list format. The context in which albums were made is important, and this is an element often missed in a ranked-list.

Van der Graaf Generator (VdGG) were (and continue to be) a weird, weird band. Their classic lineup lacked guitars of any sort, but they managed to use organ and saxophone as cudgels to lay down nasty, proto-metallic music. Peter Hammill is one of the most distinctive vocalists in all of progressive rock; and paired with such unique instrumentation, VdGG managed to carve out a singular niche.

Hammill is also one of the few lyricists whose words I feel significantly added to his music. I’ve written at length about my general ambivalence to lyrics, but this band’s dark but often relatable imagery feels like an integral element of their identity.

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Odds & Ends: July 3, 2023

Band: Chafouin | Album: Trois, quatre | Genre: Math rock, Progressive rock | Bandcamp

I liked this band’s 2021 album Toufoulcan, so I was excited when I saw they had something new coming out. Where Toufoulcan had a sense of sonic continuity between the tracks, this release feels more like a collection of unrelated (or barely-related) songs. The music itself is good, and none of the songs overstay their welcome. When taken as a whole, though, Trois, quatre feels a bit unfocused.

Score: 74/100

Band: Numidia | Album: South of the Bridge | Genre: Hard rock, Progressive rock | Bandcamp

This album was a huge disappointment. I loved this band’s Middle Eastern-tinged debut record, which expertly blended Near-Eastern flavors with prog and psych in very satisfying ways. Here though, the band has stripped away anything that makes them unique and put out a bland, bluesy hard-ish, vaguely-prog-adjacent record that often reminds me of ‘90s Pink Floyd (and not in a good way). The music isn’t bad, per se, especially if you’re looking for something evocative of certain 1970s blues rock acts, but it’s a major step down from their self-titled, in terms of both creativity and impact.

Score: 52/100

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Survey: The next Deep Dive entry

I’m finishing up this year’s Deep Dive, and it should be up in the next 1-2 weeks. In the meantime, I’d love to hear if there’s an especially strong desire among my readers for whom I’ll cover next. The acts I’ve already covered are Yes, Jethro Tull, Porcupine Tree/Steven Wilson, Rush, Pink Floyd, and Magma. This upcoming Deep Dive will be about Van der Graaf Generator.

You can find the poll here, since polls are not included in the tier of WordPress I subscribe to.

If you are going to suggest your own option, a band needs to have a fairly substantial discography for me to consider them for a Deep Dive. ELP put out 9 studio records, and that’s really about the smallest discography I’ll consider.

Album Review: Lars Fredrik Frøislie – Fire Fortellinger

Artist: Lars Fredrik Frøislie | Album: Fire Fortellinger | Genre: Progressive rock | Year: 2023

From: Oslo, Norway | Label: Karisma Records

For fans of: Yes, Wobbler

Bandcamp

Lars Fredrik Frøislie is the keyboardist and a backing vocalist of Wobbler, and Fire Fortellinger (Four Stories) is his first solo album. I had a few people reach out, independent of one another, to tell me about this album, and they all had a line to the effect of, “I know you’re not really a fan of Wobbler, but…” I would like to clarify something: I don’t dislike Wobbler. I think they’re over-praised in modern progressive rock discourse, but I don’t think they’re bad. Dwellers of the Deep was a mixed bag of a record, yes; but From Silence to Somewhere, Rites at Dawn, and Hinterland are all pretty solid. They’re not doing anything groundbreakingly original, but they’re putting out good, classic-style, Mellotron-and-organ-powered prog.

So, I went into Fire Fortellinger less skeptical than many people probably expected me to be. This guy’s the keyboard player for a very keyboard-forward band, so I knew about what to expect. And sure enough, this album is pretty decent, classic-style prog.

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Album Review: King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard – PetroDragonic Apocalypse

Band: King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard | Album: PetroDragonic Apocalypse | Genre: Progressive metal, Thrash metal | Year: 2023

From: Melbourne, Australia | Label: KGLW

For fans of: Coroner, Dark Angel, Vektor

Bandcamp

The 24th album from these prolific Aussies sees them dipping their toes back into thrash metal. 2019’s Infest the Rats’ Nest is a modern thrash masterpiece, and the band’s eco-apocalyptic lyrics suit the grim nature of that music. PetroDragonic Apocalypse is in a similar vein, but the songs are more progressive and ambitious. The riffs are fast, impactful, and complex, and Stu Mackenzie’s hoarse vocals are distinctive throughout.

(It should be noted that the album’s full title is actually PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation, but that’s a bit clunky, and PDADENAPEBMD isn’t the catchiest initialism. The album title is also long enough to have caused issues when transferring the folder to my phone’s internal storage, putting it in the same club as such prolix album titles as Dr. Colossus’s I’m a Stupid Moron With an Ugly Face and A Big Butt and my Butt Smells and I Like to Kiss My Own Butt and Eximperituserqethhzebibšiptugakkathšulweliarzaxułum’s debut album, the title of which is nearly 500 characters long.)

PetroDragonic Apocalypse was recorded in a manner similar to that of their 2022 album with a long-winded title, Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava. Where that album was recorded one song per day from scratch, with songs evolving from jam sessions, Mackenzie explained that he wrote the general concept for this album first and then worked backward from there. However, there is much less bloat here than on IDPLML. The songs are often long, but they’re bursting with ideas and frequently take surprising, unexpected turns.

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Album Review: Monika Roscher Bigband – Witchy Activities and the Maple Death

Band: Monika Roscher Bigband | Album: Witchy Activities and the Maple Death | Genre: Progressive rock, Avant-pop | Year: 2023

From: Munich, Germany | Label: Zenna Records

For fans of: black midi, Frank Zappa, UK, Van der Graaf Generator, iamthemorning

Bandcamp

When I first had this album recommended to me, I was a bit skeptical. When I think of mixing big-band jazz with rock music, my mind immediately goes to Diablo Swing Orchestra, and I hate Diablo Swing Orchestra. However, the person who recommended this to me is a reader who has given me a number of other good suggestions, including Daniel Rossen’s You Belong Here, so I decided to give this a shot.

I’m glad I did. The massive ensemble assembled by bandleader, guitarist, and vocalist Monika Roscher manages to form amazingly coherent songs from disparate musical ideas. Aside from rock and jazz, electronica, blues, and avant-garde music all get their moments across this sprawling record.

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Odds & Ends: June 5, 2023

Band: Demolished Men | Album: In a Violent Way | Genre: Jazz-Fusion, Progressive rock | Bandcamp

This EP is full of light, smooth, complex instrumental passages that equally put you at ease and keep you guessing where they’re going next. It constantly treads the line between rock and jazz, and sax, electric piano, and guitar share lead duties fluidly. The hand percussion is executed excellently, adding a nice depth to the rhythmic elements of this release.

Score: 81/100

Band: Krallice | Album: Porous Resonance Abyss | Genre: Progressive metal, Progressive rock | Bandcamp

Prolific prog-metallers Krallice have returned with another new album, but this one is pretty distinct within their discography. This sprawling, four-part piece has synthesizers as the lead instrument for almost the entirety of its runtime. There’s a lush, haunting atmosphere to this release, and it suits the band’s black metal quite well. There’s a Gothic aesthetic to the coldness and oppressiveness of the synths, and the whole 40-minute suite flows together beautifully.

Score: 82/100

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Album Review: Seven Impale – Summit

Band: Seven Impale | Album: Summit | Genre: Progressive rock | Year: 2023

From: Bergen, Norway | Label: Karisma Records

For fans of: Van der Graaf Generator, Beardfish, Leprous’s good stuff, King Crimson

Bandcamp

Seven Impale is a Norwegian sextet that plays a fairly dark, heavy, jazz-inspired version of progressive rock. In many ways, they bear a lot of similarity to Van der Graaf Generator, albeit with more maximal arrangements. It’s been seven years since their last release, so when they announced this, I was very excited to hear what they had been working on.

City of the Sun, their 2014 debut, is a stellar record and one of my favorite albums from that year. 2016’s Contrapasso, though, never quite landed with me. It isn’t bad, by any means, but it just lacked that certain something that would have allowed it to click. I think a lot of it had to do with the sheer length of that release. At 67 minutes, that’s a lot of jazzy, sax-forward prog to listen to, and it became a bit exhausting. Compare that to their debut, which clocks in at 45 minutes. Summit, their new release, sees them staying in their usual vein, but consists of just four songs. So I went into this hopeful I’d like it.

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