ColdFireYYZ

Thanks for the well-wishes everyone! Been quite busy so I haven't been posting lately, but I'll definitely stop by this forum more often again. :)

With the exception of Open, I haven't heard anything decent from Anderson since he split with Yes. Everything he's been doing recently just seems so undeveloped and amateurish, so I hope this new band will help flesh out his ideas and maybe produce something good. However, I'll pass on contributing to the Kickstarter, because based on Anderson's track record over the past few years, there's a good chance this project might fall through. As for the new Yes album...it's just bland and uninspired. I was hoping Davison would bring something exciting to the band after seeing a good show with him last year, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

This is the only Portnoy project that really has kept my attention, so I'm looking forward to the new album. Hopefully it's as strong and consistent as the debut.

Yeah, The Death Defying Unicorn for a couple of years ago was fantastic, and this year's Behind The Sun is killer too. Great band, and I really need to pick up the rest of their discography. Been really into a band called Jack o' the Clock recently. They have four albums, all of them are great, but the last two, Night Loops (2014) and All My Friends (2013) are my favorites. They're definitely not for everyone; their music is pretty complex while having a bit of a folky/Americana vibe (the hammered dulcimer is very prominent), combined with various other styles/influences. All of their albums can be streamed or downloaded from Bandcamp. Took me several listens to get into them, but they're quickly become a favorite of mine. http://jackotheclock.bandcamp.com/

I really like The Division Bell so I'll definitely pick this one up.

Love Knifeworld and all of Kavus Torabi's projects. Can't wait for the new album.

Nice to see another Chrome Hoof fan here!

Just listened to Boys for Pele today for the first time. The instrumentation was really cool, especially the harpsichord/harmonium, and all the songs were pretty good with no real low points. However, it was not as immediately impressive as Little Earthquakes, Under the Pink, and From the Choirgirl Hotel (the other three albums of hers that I have) were. I can definitely see it growing on me with further listens though. I think now that I've heard her first four albums, I'm going to work my way through the rest of her discography chronologically, starting with To Venus and Back. Really enjoying what I've been hearing from Amos, and she's quickly becoming one of my favorites.

While I love the solo in Anathema, the first half hasn't really clicked for me yet.

I was a little worried that the album would sound too much like Weather Systems, and while the first half is in a similar style (if a bit moodier), the songs are all really strong so I don't really care. With the exception of You're Not Alone (a song I hated at first, but am beginning to tolerate), I love the electronica-influenced songs but wish they were spread out across the album, as it feels a little unbalanced having them all at the end. So overall, I'm really happy with this album. Favorites are Distant Satellites, Ariel, and The Lost Song Part Two.

New song's not outstanding, but it was solid. That said, I hope this is one of the weaker songs of the album because if it isn't, the album will be a bit disappointing. Usually I'm not all that crazy about the first singles released, but The Devil's Orchard was one of my favorites from Heritage, so I hope that was just an exception!

New song's not outstanding, but it was solid. That said, I hope this is one of the weaker songs of the album because if it isn't, the album will be a bit disappointing. Usually I'm not all that crazy about the first singles released, but The Devil's Orchard was one of my favorites from Heritage, so I hope that was just an exception!

I've only listened to the new Agalloch album once. I liked it but I wasn't blown away like I was when I first listened to The Mantle. I wish there were some clean vocals to mix it up a bit. Casulties of Cool is fantastic. I've already listened to it three times since it was released yesterday. Reminds me a bit of Ki, but more mellow and atmospheric. So far, my top 5 of the year would have to be: 1) Jack o' the Clock - Night Loops: Kind of proggy/avant-garde folk music; very unique and original. 2) Swans - To Be Kind: Not really sure how to describe this album or this band, but this album is fantastic. Two hours of very experimental, noisy, and brash music. 3) Marissa Nadler - July: Really great folk album. Very atmospheric and dreamy with fantastic layered vocals. 4) Casualties of Cool - Casualties of Cool 5) Univers Zero - Phosphorescent Dreams: Great album of instrumental chamber rock/prog rock; a bit more upbeat and accessible than their older (and darker) material.

My favorites are One Size Fits All, Chunga's Revenge, Overnite Sensation, Roxy & Elsewhere and Hot Rats. I started with Overnite Sensation and Apostrophe, both of which are a good introduction to his music, IMO. Also, if you like what you hear, make sure you see Zappa Plays Zappa (Frank's son Dweezil's Zappa tribute) if they come near you. They're a fantastic tribute to Zappa's music and all the musicians are top notch.

Sucks that it's delayed. Still looking forward to it though, and I hope it's worth the wait!

Longer, one minute samples here: http://de.7digital.com/artist/anathema/release/distant-satellites Someone on last.fm who has heard the album said that these samples, even the longer ones, are mostly from the beginning of the songs and don't really represent the songs too well. They also said that there's some heavy guitar riffs and the album sounds a lot different than WHBWH and WS.

Have you heard the album already?

Samples sounded really interesting! There seems to be a lot of piano, which is definitely not a bad thing!

Danny and Vincent playing the title track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKaBwbqEcCA

That was awesome!! Thanks for sharing.

I like the new song and it's really growing on me with multiple listens, but I hope it's not representative of the whole album. Sounds a bit too much like Weather Systems (I love WS but I'm expecting something a bit different from this one). Regardless, the first singles released from albums are usually not among my favorite tracks, so I'm not worried that I won't enjoy the album.

You'll be right down the street from me (I go to Clark)! Congrats to Circumstantial Tree and everyone else graduating!!

Tangerine Dream - Ricochet Tangerine Dream - Poland Univers Zero - Phosphorescent Dreams

Bolus http://bolus.bandcamp.com/ Druckfarben http://druckfarben.bandcamp.com/

There's a 40 second long clip from the new album. Hard to judge from such a short clip, but it sounds cool!