Warrior on the Edge of Time sounds like a lost early-1970s Moody Blues album performed by Pink Floyd with vocals by an especially manic Peter Hammill. It's got a lot of what you'd expect from a Moodies LP: rock songs interspersed with a few poems and an acoustic-guitar-and-Mellotron piece, some echo-chamber vocal harmonies, and mystical subject matter. The hi-hat is even forward in the mix, just like on a Moody Blues LP. But in practice, Warrior on the Edge of Time sure doesn't sound like it's being performed by Justin Hayward and company. To begin with, it lacks the restraint of the Moody Blues, whose use of sound effects and synthesizers would have been much subtler, and whose vocals would have been much more sober. And as psychedelic as the Moodies could be, Warrior on the Edge of Time is way trippier - - even Floydian. While only the two-part opener "Assault and Battery" / "The Golden Void" actually sounds like Pink Floyd, most of the album seems to be in the spirit of Piper- era Floyd.

My first - - and until now, only - - experience with Hawkwind was The Best of Friends an Relations, a 1994 compilation CD not listed on Prog Archives. I figured that if this was not only the best of Hawkwind, but of their friends and relations too, I'd spend my time listening to some other band. Not long after I started visiting progarchives.com, I saw that Warrior on the Edge of Time was one of the top "Psychedelic / Space Rock" LPs (#3 among non-Floyd albums). And then it turned out that Steven Wilson liked it enough to do a remix - - and I do value his opinion. So when I had some spare credit I downloaded the Wilson mix of the album, which also includes the non-LP b-side "Motorhead."

Hawkwind still isn't my proverbial cup of tea, but Warrior on the Edge of Time is better than I would have guessed. The soundscape is more varied and songs are more engaging than were those on The Best of Friends an Relations. Plus there's the fact that this is an intact album, the songs of which hang together pretty well.

Nonetheless, Warrior on the Edge of Time is a little too flaky for me, a little too sophomoric - - but not in the sense of sophomoric humor: I'm talking about the earnestness with which the group approaches the knights-and-wizards themes, both lyrically and sonically. If you're into fantasy themes, I'd check out Camel's Mirage or King Crimson's In the Court of the Crimson King (neither of which are entirely fantasy-based) or maybe Jon Anderson's Olias of Sunhillow or Bo Hansson's (instrumental) Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings. On the other hand, if space rock's your thing, I'm sure you're already well acquainted with Warrior on the Edge of Time.

— First review of this album —

I first came across Dutch musician Coen Vrouwenvelder back in 1992 when he released his first album on CD (there had previously been a cassette) under the moniker The Coenobite. It was called 'My Habit' and featured a photo of Coen on the cover wearing a monk's habit ' he had chosen the title as apparently the name 'Coen' derives from an old Greek word meaning monk. At the time he was studying towards his PhD in medical sciences, and when he sent me his next album, 1994's 'Castles In The Air' he had changed to Dr. Coenobite, but then we lost touch. Fast forward to 2016 and I was gathering together artwork for Volume 1 of my books, and came across Coen's site to find to my amazement that not only was he still recording, but he was incredibly prolific as well, We swapped a few emails, and then recently he sent me his two more recent albums. So, what it would be like listening to his music again, some 25 years on from the last one?

'Once In A Blue Moon' was originally released in 2017 but has since been remixed and was then re-released earlier this year. All the music was inspired by images and events concerning the moon as the central theme, and unlike the last albums of his I had heard where he had a couple of guests, was this time solely recorded by Coen. Some of the songs contain vocals, and there are also snippets from broadcasts included, but where the music comes to life is when Coen relates to his inner Mike Oldfield and allows himself to immerse himself in the music. He professes to play many instruments without really being an expert in any of them, but he was originally inspired by the great Andres Segovia so did study classical guitar for some years, and it is when he uses his acoustic or electric guitar to come to the fore that the music really comes to live.

Unlike many multi-instrumentalists he does also sing, but it is the Oldfield-inspired instrumental passages where the music really comes to life. With all his works easily available through Bandcamp, it is time once again to discover Dr. Coenobite.

COS was one of Belgium's most unique progressive rock bands having formed out of the prior works of a previous band named Classroom which was founded by guitarist / flautist Daniel Schellekens or Daniel Schell for short. Having been raised in Brussels in artistic circles, the young musician took an interest in the fertile possibilities that took traditional French chanson and other cultural ethnic music and adapted it to the psychedelic and progressive rock forms that were emerging from the European scenes at the turn of the decade from the 60s to the 70s. The band known as Classroom that existed from 1968 to 1974 sowed the seeds of what would become COS (rhymes with "dose"), a name that was meant to represent a word in many languages but most importantly included three letters that were in the name Classroom.

While still Classroom, the band developed the sound that would eventually be heard on the first COS album POSTAELOLIAN TRAIN ROBBERY which took a lot of influences from the zeuhl scene like Magma but especially Zao with whom the band played with numerous times. The band went through many lineup changes as Classroom and as COS but the main lineup of Schell on guitars and flute and vocalist Pascale De Trazegnies who would become better known as Pascale Son as well as Schell's wife and bassist Alain Goutier. For this debut album the band also included Charles Loos on keyboards and piano, Robert Dartsch on drums and a second percussionist with Steve Leduc. Many guest musicians were included to record many of the Classroom tracks later on that would be included as bonus tracks on later issues of this album.

There are actually two versions of POSTAELOLIAN TRAIN ROBBERY (the name refers to a post-version of the musical scale). The first was released in 1974 and sports the rather flashy yellow and red striped album cover. This version consisted of seven tracks including the funk rock based "Karbok" that only appeared on the first vinyl release. The album saw no reissues until Musea Records re-released the album on CD in 1990. This newer version nixed "Karbok" and instead added four bonus tracks from the band when they were still Classroom and this is the album i personally own and recommend since the tracks from Classroom are every bit as interesting as those from the COS lineup. Really the only difference is the fact that as COS, Pascale scats nonsensical meaningless vocal utterances where her voice acts as extra instrument and as Classroom, the French language is used.

POSTAELOLIAN TRAIN ROBBERY gets off to a festive start with a cheery piano roll and Alan Stoop introducing the band members like a circus barker and after all introductions are completed the music turns darker and starts to generate a Canterbury tinged zeuhl rhythmic drive. COS was unique in that the band created an idiosyncratic fusion of the Zao inspired female vocal led zeuhl styles along with touches of avant-prog a la the Belgian scene and touches of jazzy rock right out of the Canterbury Scene courtesy of bands like Caravan, Gilgamesh and Hatfield & The North although those sounds would take on a more significant role on the band's sophomore release "Viva Boma." On POSTAELOLIAN TRAIN ROBBERY the tracks mostly exist in a rhythmic world of zeuhl with jazz-rock and progressive rock filling in the cracks. Each track is skillfully composed and technically charged with excellent musicianship cranking out highly complex progressive chops however most engaging of all are the phenomenal vocal talents of Pascale Son whose playful vocal styles are magnetic. She also contributes oboe.

Apart from the original track "Karbok" which sounds out of sync with the other tracks and rightfully removed on future releases, the seven tracks that appear on the newer releases are all phenomenal in their own way. POSTAELOLIAN TRAIN ROBBERY comes off somewhat as a jamming session only constructed with extremely complex passages that allow progressive jazzy chord progressions to whiz up and down the scales which allows Pascale Son to hit some seriously high notes. She is on full diva mode on this one. The other star of the show is keyboardist Charles Loos who brings the Canterbury sounds to the mix and delivers the finesse and technical wizardry on par with the greats of the day like Mike Ratledge, Dave Sinclair or Supersister's Robert Jan Stips. Add the sensual flute sounds, a chilled out percussive drive and a mesmerizing bass groove and you basically get the gist of what POSTAELOLIAN TRAIN ROBBERY has to offer.

COS was one of Belgium's more eccentric bands having released five albums from 1974-84 and each sounding completely different. While all the aforementioned ingredients appeared on many of the albums, the recipes were quite different. While most of POSTAELOLIAN TRAIN ROBBERY is dedicated to swanky vocal led jazz-rock numbers that take license to create some serious jamming improvisation, the finale "Coloc," the longest of the album just shy of 10 minutes is the true progressive behemoth of the bunch with highly complex piano workouts, mood enhancing organ antics and hairpin turns of angularity and interesting progressive workouts. COS' debut is a real gem of 70s Belgian prog which displays one of the rare examples of a band outside of England having been influenced by the Canterbury Scene (others include France's Moving Gelatine Plates, the Dutch band Supersister and Italy's Picchio dal Pozzo). This debut is interesting in that sometimes it eschews the Canterbury sounds and focuses on jazz-rock and zeuhl but the final track provides a glimpse into the next phase heard on "Viva Boma." Geez, even the older tracks from Classroom are excellent on this one! Highly recommended.

One of the most diverse discographies out there is the one that was produced by Frank Zappa. I don't think any other artist out there could write r&b music one day, lead a jazz ensemble another day, write a comedic satire the next, play a rousing guitar solo later that night, produce a rock record, and write ballets and contemporary classical music a few minutes later. Is it any wonder that with an artist can have so many fans with differing opinions and preferences can bring them all together, at least the true fans? Zappa amazes me the way he could change from one extreme to another without even batting an eye, and he could do it all so well. That is the thing that amazes me most about him.

The last album that Zappa completed before his untimely death in 1993 was 'Dance Me This'. However, it was several years later, in 2015, that it was finally officially released by The Zappa Family Trust. Many fans knew about this album and that it was his last long before it was releases, and I think most of them knew that it was a synclavier album, as that was his instrument of choice in his latter years, because he felt he could manipulate the sounds the way he wanted to and in ways that were proven to be difficult for most human musicians to play organically. That is why several of the tracks on 'Dance Me This' were actually older tracks that he had composed years before, but never felt comfortable enough about their performances to release them on an album. Or they were just unfinished and the synclavier made it possible for him to finish them the was he wanted. Anyway, his last completed album was this one.

Those that are familiar with Zappa's music know that a lot of his music is very complex and challenging. Tricky meters, contrasting lines, odd performance demands and so on made them hard to play and perform. Those interested in Dance Me This should know this up front because these tracks are quite tricky. There is no locker room humor here, all of the humor is musically based, and will slide right by most listeners, myself included. But, I think most people can appreciate how genius the work is, whether they find it hard to listen to or not.

Zappa is the main performer on this album, playing the synclavier. The only other performers are 3 Tuvan throat singers. Zappa was very intrigued with their vocal style. The Tuvans are a group of nomadic Asians that live in southern Siberia who are known for being able to sing two notes at once. Zappa invited them to his house and included them in some of the tracks on this album. Their names were Anatoli Kuular, Kaigal-ool Khovalyg, and Kongar-of Ondar. Todd Yvenga is also credited on the album for algorithm and synclavier asistancy. Mats Oberg also play keyboards on the album but is uncredited.

The album starts with 'Dance Me This' which features the throat singers and a nice jazzy instrumental performance, all done on the synclavier. By now, this instrument sounds like a full band, not a cheap sound like previously. This is the only track with a guitar solo in the middle, and it is reportedly the last time Zappa would pick up a guitar, or at least the last time it was recorded. Dweezil just happened to have recording equipement set up when Frank picked up the guitar and recorded it, and then overlayed it onto the track. The track is short and quite accessible compared to most of the other tracks on here. 'Panchuco Gavotte' is the next track, and is quite evident now that the music is all from the synclavier. The beat is a tricky, yet almost reggae style beat, but it sounds as if several different meters are at play here among the instruments.

The next five tracks are actually parts of a cohesive work called 'Wolf Harbor'. This track was part of a vision of Franks for a staged presentation made for modern dance. It is inspired by an actual place called Wolf Harbor located in the Mississippi. The section of Wolf River that flows here became a slackwater harbor which separates Mud Island from the Memphis mainland. Because of a man made diversion, the riverbed was lowered and the wetland was basically ruined. By 1970, pollution and sewage was so bad in the river, causing a group of scientists to call the river around Memphis 'dead'. In the performance of 'Wolf Harbor', Frank envisioned groups of dancers standing side by side holding long rolled out lengths of black trash bags and wave them to signify the dark and muddy waters of the sludgy harbor.

The music in the 'Wolf Harbor' suite is dark and ominous, just as you would imagine the river. The instrumental and percussion that is so complex in these tracks are all done with the synclavier, though it sounds quite realistic. The music is what you expect when you think of the complex classical music of Zappa, very avant-garde and strange to most ears. It's definitely not accessible by any means, but I find it very intriguing, and the sound on this album is some of the best of any of Zappa's synclavier albums. What may seem to most as random percussive noises and occasional musical tones are actually carefully composed sounds put together to produce a fascinating work of art. Zappa's Varese influences are quite obvious in this work. While the first movement is more 'musical' as far as tones go, the 2nd part is much more percussive using what seems like an unlimited amount of percussive effects. Part 3 goes back to tonal sounds and also increases the use of sound effects, mostly watery effects and occasional twangy sting plucking and bowing. There's more percussion and bass in Part 4 with a more minimal feel, but in Part 5, the percussion comes in small, rapid fire doses with a drone that ebbs and flows around it all.

In 'Goat Polo', Zappa uses the vocals of the Tuvan singers by taking their tones and manipulating them into a tune of sorts. It is named after an actual sport where goat carcasses are used to score goals while the players ride horses. The music is a bit more coherent and melodic, but it is by no means more accessible. 'Rykoniki' uses fast moving notes to create a melody with strange intervals. 'Piano' is a longer track using the synclavier to mimic a piano. Again the music is avant-garde, so there is no traditional melody, but the twinkling piano notes give a nice break to the otherwise heavy avant tracks. Utilizing 20th Century modal systems like 12 tone scales, FZ constructed an impressive and pensive piece. 'Calculus' is the closer for the album. It features Todd Yvega doing a demo of tempo mapping by using the Tuvan throat singers in an a cappella performance, then creating a new piece. Todd used a simple rhythm track with bass and algorithmically assisted violin pizzicato for Frank to use as a demo, hoping that he would used one of his own more complex synclavier pieces. However, the next day when Frank played the demo, he liked it so much that he used the demo. It's really quite a cool sounding track, taking the vocals that don't use rhythm and adjusting it all according to the implied rhythm of the original source material and making it actually somewhat accessible.

Frank's last album is a testament to his genius vision, and shows his real musicianship. The album is his best synclavier album as it was seeming that he was getting to be quite adept at using it. Of course, it would always be wonderful to hear how it would all sound if played by organic instruments, but I think this is one case, since it is Zappa's last complete album, where maybe it's best to leave it the way it is. That is how he wanted the public to hear it.

— First review of this album —

The first thing one notices immediately is of course the picture of Jacques-Yves Cousteau on the cover. Many my age will remember avidly watching '"The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau', and the band describe this album as a variety of musical styles like the richness of the undersea world. Formed in Moscow in 2004, the duo of bassist Mikhail "Han" Ivanov and drummer Roman Karandaev soon brought in guitarist Ivan "Vanish" Khvorostukhin, but they didn't record their first demo until 2010, by which time Karandaev had been replaced by Viktor Tikhonov. Keyboard player Peter "Peyote-R" Bolotov joined in 2011, and this 2015 release was their second album. They define their own music as progressive punk (their most recent album is actually called 'Frogressive Punk'), and they state that they are inspired by a "mix of alternative rock, funk, psychedelia and punk rock, Mike Patton's projects, funk-metal, early Queen, improvisational music of different genres, comics, circus and 80's films. For this album they brought in additional guests, use film snippets (including Cousteau), and musically are all over the place.

Even most avant garde bands have some sort of basis on which the listener can understand what is happening and where the music may be going. But here we can be listening to ska-style hardcore which drops into funk, or hard rock, or Can, or all of this at once with Fantômas also being an obvious influence. It is a mess, but interestingly I still can't say if I don't like it, as each time I play it I wonder what on earth I am doing, and know that 99.9% of people I could play this to would loath it with a passion, but there is the niggle of that 0.01% who may well think these guys have something. Screams, latin percussion, metal, swathes of symphonic keyboards, there is room for all of it and just because I can't recognise a kitchen sink doesn't mean it isn't in there somewhere.

That they know what they are doing and have the musical ability to carry it out is never in doubt. But there are times I feel I am in a musical maze which contains trapdoors and multiple levels which can drop me into chaos at any point ? just when I think I'm getting a hang of it. If ever there was a band to listen to before purchase, then it has to be these guys. Only for those who want their music to be strange, weird and challenging.

German band Cyril are back with their third album, and again they have collaborated with Guy Manning, so while Marek Arnold (keyboards, sax), Denis Strassburg (bass, programming) and Manuel Schmid (vocals, keyboards) provided the music, Guy provided the lyrics and story. The line-up is of course completed by Larry B. (vocals), Ralf Dietsch (guitars) and Clemens Litschko (drums). The story itself can be found hidden under the CD, and regards a patient in hospital who finds himself floating above his body looking down on himself, and in some ways reminds me of William Golding's classic 'Pincher Martin' (yes, be amazed, he did write many more books than just 'Lord of the Flies'). Only a few guests this time, including Guy himself who provides spoken word, but there is room for Martin Schnella to provide some additional guitar, which given his relationship with many in the band is no surprise at all.

This is crossover progressive rock, multi-layered like a thick blanket. The vocals are sublime, as always, while the band provide richness beneath. Just when one thinks that it is going to be just a little too cloying something happens which provides cut through, such as a saxophone, or strident guitar, while the drumming is always far more interesting than just someone keeping the beat (this is the last appearance from founder member Litschko as he has left to spend time with his young family, and he has now been replaced by Florian Graf). I have long been a fan of Marek Arnold, as his arranging skills and deployment of a sax at opportune moments are always a wonder, and I can't be the only one who regrets the demise of Toxic Smile which also featured both him and Larry (bassist Robert Brenner actually makes a guest appearance on this album as well).

When the band are on fire, such as on "Get Up High" which contains wonderful interaction between keyboards, bass and various guitars (actually making the listener think of classic Oldfield), then the music is majestic, powerful, and totally enthralling. However, on this album that isn't always the case, and "First Love (A Lullaby)" is at least two minutes too long, and even then, the band aren't sure how to end it, so fade it out. I actually think this could well work in concert where the guitars are allowed that little more frenetic cut through, but here it just drags, and I found myself looking at the player wondering just how much longer it had to go.

Cyril provide polished layered melodic progressive rock with many pop sensibilities, and while this may not be a totally essential album, is still one I enjoyed playing. They are starting to gig as well now, so it will be interesting to see what the next one is like, as that may well change their outlook.

The debut album by the brazilian band Casa das Maquinas (Engine room, in portuguese) was released in 1974 through a major recording company, Som Livre. The group was formed by two ex members of ne of the most famous beat groups of the 60´s and 70´s in Brazio: Os Incríveis. That band became famous for playing cover versions in portuguese of several hits of the day, rock and pop. Drummer Luiz Franco Thomas (a.k.a. Netinho) and guitarist Jose Haroldo Binha decided to leave Os Incrpíveis and form another band to play their own songs. Together with second guitarist Carlos Roberto Piazzoli (a.k.a. Pisca), multi instrumentist Pique and bassist Carlos Geraldo Carge they then formed Casa das Maquinas in 1973.

Although the cover was quite striking for the time (the heavy make up of the members on the front cover clearly showed binfluences of Secos e Molhados and the whole glam rock international scene), there is little boldness or novelty in their recent written tunes. Listening to their eponymous album it seems that the new group did not really know where they were heading. About one third of the record is formed of hard rockers, while the bulk of their work did not differ much from what Os Incríveis were doing at the time: a competent but not outstanding mix of rock, pop and soul music. Nowhere in this LP one could guess that in about an year those same guys (minus Pique) would release one of the most interesting brazilian progressive albums of the 70´s. They definitely had to reinvent themselves in a very short time. And it would be a very successful reinvention.

So I guess this album is of little interest for anyone vaguely connected to prog music. Unless you´re into brazilian hard rock/pop/soul,of course. It has its value as an historical document, but not much more than that. A curio, if you will.

For collectors and hardcore fans, only.

Russian act Ciolkowska first came together in 2012 as a result of a jam between Egor Svysokikhgor (guitars), Vano Ayvazyan (bass, keyboards) & Kirill Tsarkov (drums), and took their name from Russian space scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. Over the years they have primarily concentrated on improvisation, and until 2016 all of their material was self-released. However, they then signed with noname records who released this album towards the end of 2018. By this time Tsarkov had departed and the drum seat was now occupied by David Aaronson, while they had become a quartet with the addition of Alesya Izlesa on ukulele, while they also used guest Aleksey Gorshkov on trumpet.

Recorded live at Dobrolet Studio in St.Petersburg, this is an incredibly varied album. It is intricate, complex, and certainly not for the fainthearted as while fans of Can and Art Zoyd will certainly get a great deal from it, these guys are trying to move the avant garde into even more complex and diverse areas. It can be dreamy, almost space rock, with gently picked acoustic guitar combining with trumpet to create a mood, or it can be driving. "108" even contains a repeated chant much in the vein of Hari Krishna devotees, but if you listen to the words being chanted then you may well be in for a surprise. Let's just say they are invoking the mighty gods of the late Sixties as opposed to any more recognised religious being, although all those being named were indeed touched by genius and whose flame burned very bright indeed and for far too short a period.

It isn't an easy album to listen to, and I must confess it took me at least three attempts before I managed to get inside it, but once I had I was intrigued by what was being produced. Ayvazyan has a gentle touch on the bass, and it is often he who keeps everything pinned and moving forward, as this while there is still undoubtedly an improvised element these songs are far more structured than many working in this environment, and the use of vocals on some of the numbers only strengthens that. This is certainly well worth investigating for those who enjoy music pushing boundaries.

Kolibri´s second album is a much bolder and interesting work than their debut, albeit less melodic. First of all there are no vocals, it´s an all instrumental record where there is more originality and, yes, it´s more progressive. Both main soloists Ingo Höricht (guitar, violin) and Hans Kumfert (bass, classical guitar, transverse flute) plus new member Torsten Ribbe (transverse flute) are much more creative and the most important new element in their musical pot is a jazzier sound (they even included the classic Dave Brubeck song Take Five on this LP). Everything here is totally acoustic except for the bass parts. There is very little percussion to spice up a bit some parts of a few tracks.

The best tune is the last one, Yedigün, more classical oriented and melodic, and still very original, with several tempo and mood changes. Nothing to write home about it, of course, but it is a valid statement and a pleasant listening all along. It is only a shame they did not explore their obvious talents a little more. With a wider instrumentation they would probably make a bigger impact on the prog scene (like having some keyboards and a rhythm section, but I´m just guessing). Anyway, an interesting and well made album that should please anyone who enjoys good instrumental prog folk.

Rating: 3,5 stars.

— First review of this album —

This album has a fun and interesting flow to it to keep the listener engaged. It starts slow but then picks up, just to slow down again but before it becomes to slow, it picks right back up. Very easy to stay engaged with it from start to finish. In this concept album, each song is written around a journal entry from a young man who chronicles his emotional journey of reminiscing his past. Sounds like someone who blocked out a lot of childhood memories, but is now wanting to face whatever demons he has lived with for too long. Hence the ups and downs in the moods of the songs. A great mix/blend of fast, slow, droning, heavy and light melodic.

A nice mix of instrumentation as there are clearly a lot of keyboards used on this album, but many nice acoustic instruments (cello, acoustic guitar and drums) as well as thick distorted electric guitar.

The whole album runs for just under 1 hour, and it keeps the listeners interest all the way through. Would highly recommend to any listener.