Welcome to Trollheart's Fortress of Prog!

Trollheart · 12-28-2013, 03:14 PM

It's my own fault of course: I've left you too long without decent prog. Look at the last time this thread - hell, this sub-forum had a post made in it! Well, now that I'm back from reha - ah, I mean, my sabbatical, I'm going to do my damnedest to kick some life back into this thread, and hopefully provide some good prog rock and prog metal for those who are missing it. After all, as we all know

so fear not, I'm back. After what, seven years? Glad we didn't hold our breaths, TH! Yeah yeah. I was, you know, busy.

Anyway, now that I am back, I've decided to go the whole hog and move all or most of my prog-related reviews and features from other journals and/or threads to here. May take a little while, and as a result you will see different formats popping up. Just bear with me. Anything that has been previously published will be so noted.

Other than that, the rest of what's below applies, and all that's left for me to say is, prog on!

Welcome, welcome, welcome! Did I say welcome? If you’re one of those breed of people who believe a ten-minute keyboard solo is “just getting going”, if your prefer to listen to a song that’s in four or five parts, if you prefer suites to suites and your lyrics on the obscure side, and if you like to hear a guitar being used evocatively and thoughtfully rather than being used for shredding, this is the place for you. In other words, welcome progheads!

Here I’ll be talking about some of my favourite prog records, mostly prog rock but some prog metal too, and mostly new ones I’ve discovered but that’s not to say some of my old mainstays won’t find their way in here. They won’t really be reviews so much as short rundowns, with some information on the band or artiste and any background I can supply to the album. Anyone is welcome to post their own prog albums but please no “just YouTube” posts: if you love or like an album that much that you want to post it then talk about it: this is not the “Albums you’re digging” thread, and such video-only posts will be ignored. This is a place to discuss our love of prog, so let’s discuss it.

In the same spirit, please don’t come on here posting “Prog sucks” or other pearls of wisdom. I’m fully aware there are a lot of prog-haters out there in the forum, and others who just don’t care for it and that’s fine: progressive rock is not for everyone. But please respect the views and choices of those who do post here and don’t come into the thread just to cause trouble or troll. There’s enough diversity in music for everyone to have something they enjoy, but inevitably some people will never like some music, and that’s just how it is. I’m prepared to accept that, so please do me the same courtesy.

If of course you are not into prog but want to or think you might be interested in it, this could also be the place for you. My plan is not for this to be an elitist, snobby place where if you’ve never heard a Yes or Genesis or Camel album in your life you’ll be laughed at. Beginners are very welcome, as it says in all the best of those card ads you see in phoneboxes advertising …. sorry, got a bit sidetracked there! Yeah, if you know nothing or very little about prog then feel free to ask questions. You will not be ridiculed if you don’t know a Moog from a Mellotron or Trespass from Tarkus. Progheads may have something of an upper-class, superior reputation but that is not what I want to project here. All are welcome, just please leave your prejudices at the door. And your boots: I’ve just had the carpet relaid! Thanks.

So cross the threshold if you dare, gaze deep into the wonderful world of progressive rock, and don’t worry about the dragon: he’s a sweetie really. Aren’t you Cecil? Aren’t you? Oo’s a sweetiekins then? No really, he is. Just don’t step on his talons cause otherwise he gets a little … irritated.

Come in, come in! The door’s open, there’s food and wine in the Great Hall and we have the bitchinest (copyright The Batlord, MMII) sound system you could ask for. The first album is cued up and ready to go. Let me just go check the heating is working and I’ll be right back. Sit down, sit down! Make yourself at home. This could be your new hangout, or at least somewhere you come regularly. We certainly aim to help make that happen.

The Index

Acid Rain - Worlds Apart
A.C.T. - Last Epic
Ana Never - Long Turning
Anubis - A Tower of Silence
The Arc Light Sessions - Perchance to Dream
Banco del Mutuo Soccroso - Io Sato Nato Libero
Borknagar - True North
Cobalt Blue - Stop Momentum
Cosmograf - The Man Left in Space
Delusion Squared - II
DGM - Tragic Separation
The Dreaming Tree - Silverfade
Elephants of Scotland - Execute and Breathe
ELO - El Dorado
Eloy - Planets
Evership - Evership
Exodus to Infinity - Archetype Asylum
Eyot - Similarity
Fish - Vigil in a wilderness of Mirrors
The Flying Caravan - I Just Wanna Break Even
Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel 1977/Scratch[
Glass Hammer Valkyrie
Glass Kites - Glass Kites II
Goblin - Il fantastico viaggio del Bagarozzo Mark
Tuomas Holopainen - Music Inspired by The Life and Times of Scrooge
The Hour of the Shipwreck - The Hour is Upon Us
Humanity Gone - The Seven Deadly Sins
Iluvatar - A Story two Days Wide
IQ - Subterranea
Kansas - Masque
Leap Day - From the Days of Deucalion, Chapter I
Magnum - On the Thirteenth Day
Mike and the Mechanics - Mike and the Mechanics
No-Man - Returning Jesus
Opeth - Blackwater Park
ARTIST OF THE MONTH, DECEMBER 2020: PENDRAGON
Kowtow
Not of This World
Pure
The Masquerade Overture
The Window of Life
Passion
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon
Porcupine Tree - Signify
Progenesi - Ulisse: l'alfiere nero
Riverside - Out of Myself
Riverside - Second Life Syndrome
Riverside - Rapid eye Movement
Rush - Signals
Shattered Skies - The World We Used to Know
Derek Shernihan - Oceana
Teramaze - I Wonder
ARTIST OF THE MONTH, JANUARY 2021: THRESHOLD
March of Progress
Clone
Wounded Land
Critical Mass
Pyschedelicatessen
For the Journey
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Time Horizon - Transitions
Touchstone - The City Sleeps
Twelfth Night - Fact and Fiction
Unreal City -La Crudeltà di Aprile
Van Der Graaf Generator - Still Life
Verbal Delirium - From the Small Hours of Weakness
Yes - Close to the Edge

Up Next:

12-28-2013, 03:14 PM	#1 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,996	Welcome to Trollheart's Fortress of Prog! It's my own fault of course: I've left you too long without decent prog. Look at the last time this thread - hell, this sub-forum had a post made in it! Well, now that I'm back from reha - ah, I mean, my sabbatical, I'm going to do my damnedest to kick some life back into this thread, and hopefully provide some good prog rock and prog metal for those who are missing it. After all, as we all know so fear not, I'm back. After what, seven years? Glad we didn't hold our breaths, TH! Yeah yeah. I was, you know, busy. Anyway, now that I am back, I've decided to go the whole hog and move all or most of my prog-related reviews and features from other journals and/or threads to here. May take a little while, and as a result you will see different formats popping up. Just bear with me. Anything that has been previously published will be so noted. Other than that, the rest of what's below applies, and all that's left for me to say is, prog on! Welcome, welcome, welcome! Did I say welcome? If you’re one of those breed of people who believe a ten-minute keyboard solo is “just getting going”, if your prefer to listen to a song that’s in four or five parts, if you prefer suites to suites and your lyrics on the obscure side, and if you like to hear a guitar being used evocatively and thoughtfully rather than being used for shredding, this is the place for you. In other words, welcome progheads! Here I’ll be talking about some of my favourite prog records, mostly prog rock but some prog metal too, and mostly new ones I’ve discovered but that’s not to say some of my old mainstays won’t find their way in here. They won’t really be reviews so much as short rundowns, with some information on the band or artiste and any background I can supply to the album. Anyone is welcome to post their own prog albums but please no “just YouTube” posts: if you love or like an album that much that you want to post it then talk about it: this is not the “Albums you’re digging” thread, and such video-only posts will be ignored. This is a place to discuss our love of prog, so let’s discuss it. In the same spirit, please don’t come on here posting “Prog sucks” or other pearls of wisdom. I’m fully aware there are a lot of prog-haters out there in the forum, and others who just don’t care for it and that’s fine: progressive rock is not for everyone. But please respect the views and choices of those who do post here and don’t come into the thread just to cause trouble or troll. There’s enough diversity in music for everyone to have something they enjoy, but inevitably some people will never like some music, and that’s just how it is. I’m prepared to accept that, so please do me the same courtesy. If of course you are not into prog but want to or think you might be interested in it, this could also be the place for you. My plan is not for this to be an elitist, snobby place where if you’ve never heard a Yes or Genesis or Camel album in your life you’ll be laughed at. Beginners are very welcome, as it says in all the best of those card ads you see in phoneboxes advertising …. sorry, got a bit sidetracked there! Yeah, if you know nothing or very little about prog then feel free to ask questions. You will not be ridiculed if you don’t know a Moog from a Mellotron or Trespass from Tarkus. Progheads may have something of an upper-class, superior reputation but that is not what I want to project here. All are welcome, just please leave your prejudices at the door. And your boots: I’ve just had the carpet relaid! Thanks. So cross the threshold if you dare, gaze deep into the wonderful world of progressive rock, and don’t worry about the dragon: he’s a sweetie really. Aren’t you Cecil? Aren’t you? Oo’s a sweetiekins then? No really, he is. Just don’t step on his talons cause otherwise he gets a little … irritated. Come in, come in! The door’s open, there’s food and wine in the Great Hall and we have the bitchinest (copyright The Batlord, MMII) sound system you could ask for. The first album is cued up and ready to go. Let me just go check the heating is working and I’ll be right back. Sit down, sit down! Make yourself at home. This could be your new hangout, or at least somewhere you come regularly. We certainly aim to help make that happen. The Index Acid Rain - Worlds Apart A.C.T. - Last Epic Ana Never - Long Turning Anubis - A Tower of Silence The Arc Light Sessions - Perchance to Dream Banco del Mutuo Soccroso - Io Sato Nato Libero Borknagar - True North Cobalt Blue - Stop Momentum Cosmograf - The Man Left in Space Delusion Squared - II DGM - Tragic Separation The Dreaming Tree - Silverfade Elephants of Scotland - Execute and Breathe ELO - El Dorado Eloy - Planets Evership - Evership Exodus to Infinity - Archetype Asylum Eyot - Similarity Fish - Vigil in a wilderness of Mirrors The Flying Caravan - I Just Wanna Break Even Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel 1977/Scratch[ Glass Hammer Valkyrie Glass Kites - Glass Kites II Goblin - Il fantastico viaggio del Bagarozzo Mark Tuomas Holopainen - Music Inspired by The Life and Times of Scrooge The Hour of the Shipwreck - The Hour is Upon Us Humanity Gone - The Seven Deadly Sins Iluvatar - A Story two Days Wide IQ - Subterranea Kansas - Masque Leap Day - From the Days of Deucalion, Chapter I Magnum - On the Thirteenth Day Mike and the Mechanics - Mike and the Mechanics No-Man - Returning Jesus Opeth - Blackwater Park ARTIST OF THE MONTH, DECEMBER 2020: PENDRAGON Kowtow Not of This World Pure The Masquerade Overture The Window of Life Passion ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon Porcupine Tree - Signify Progenesi - Ulisse: l'alfiere nero Riverside - Out of Myself Riverside - Second Life Syndrome Riverside - Rapid eye Movement Rush - Signals Shattered Skies - The World We Used to Know Derek Shernihan - Oceana Teramaze - I Wonder ARTIST OF THE MONTH, JANUARY 2021: THRESHOLD March of Progress Clone Wounded Land Critical Mass Pyschedelicatessen For the Journey -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Time Horizon - Transitions Touchstone - The City Sleeps Twelfth Night - Fact and Fiction Unreal City -La Crudeltà di Aprile Van Der Graaf Generator - Still Life Verbal Delirium - From the Small Hours of Weakness Yes - Close to the Edge Up Next: __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 02-02-2021 at 09:26 AM.