Akribi are a new female fronted Progressive Metal band who combine excellent technical musicianship with some great melodies and excellent (but also unique) vocals. Black Morning Sun is their debut album. I was excited when I saw one of my RYM friends had rated it 5 stars, and thankfully it took no time for me to discover that he was right.
The overall sound here certainly reminds of Dream Theater, particularly their early work. The musicianship is extremely impressive, as is required if you want to match DT. The keyboards in particular are fantastic and vary quite a bit, from more traditional keyboard sounds, to more of piano style, and some really strange sounds on "Where the Water Meets the Sky" that really make that song special.
I usually don't care too much for keyboards (even with DT I occasionally find them annoying), but on this album they are amazing. The guitarist also does a very impressive job, as does everyone else. And as you'd expect, there are tons of great solos and several extended instrumental sections (including an entire instrumental track in "Blue Clay"), and these sections manage to be extremely technical without ever becoming boring or feeling like they drag on, probably because the band is so good at what they do.
For all the technical prowess the band displays, they do have some very strong songwriting, though the first minute of "Puppies of War" could immediately turn people off, as the band goes into full Progressive mode right from the start, beginning the with a crazy stop and start sequence. But once things calm down the song is actually quite straightforward, which could be said for some of the others as well. Actually, in the middle of my second listen I discovered I already had parts of "Surface", "Angel Kiss" and "The Plains of Nevermore" stuck in my head, so that's a very good thing for this type of album.
Speaking of which, those last two I mentioned are the ballads, and they definitely sound like they would work well in a broadway musical. Yes, they are somewhat cheesy, but being a fan of cheesy ballads I think both of those songs are fantastic, and Jessica certainly does an excellent job with the softer vocals, as opposed to her usually more powerful style, which is also fantastic.
And that finally brings me to the highlight of the album. "The Sum of it All" has quite the dark tone to it, and this works very well. The instrumental sections are strong as always, but the chorus is where things really pick up: Jessica is particularly animated there, with her voice sounding even more powerful than usual, and it could possibly annoy some people, but she is most definitely hitting the right notes, and does a fantastic job as always. She even has to hold one note for around 2o seconds, and does that perfectly. Overall it's my favorite song on the album, with "Angel Kiss" and the ultra epic "Carry the Rain" being close behind. The title track is a less cheesy ballad as compared to the other two, and while it's my least favorite on the album, it's still very good, and closes the album nicely.
Overall, this could best be described as a female fronted Dream Theater, and it gets everything right. Considering my thoughts on both that band and female vocals in general, it should come as no surprise that I loved every second of this. It's up there with Wolverine's "Communication Lost", Flaming Row's "Elinoire" and Fuseboxx's "Animated" as one of my favorite Prog albums of the year.
1. Puppies of War
2. Where the Water Meets the Sky
3. Surface
4. Angel Kiss
5. Blue Clay
6. Carry the Rain
7. Wither and Die
8. The Plains of Nevermore
9. The Sum of It All
10. Black Morning Sun
Oct 4, 2011 22:34
Heavy Metal |Power Metal Melodic Rock | AOR Progressive Rock
BandD-I-O-N Info: Intelligent Design Style: Melodic Prog Metal / Melodic Rock Years: 2011 Info: mp3 VBR 200 Info: 70 mb Upload: Depositefiles Info: :UK / USA
?? ?????? Chandler Mogel (Outloud)!
Tracklist:
01 - I Believe
02 - The Sign
03 - I Can Save You
04 - Broken
05 - Reborn
06 - Intelligent Design
07 - A New Star
08 - Killing Machine
09 - There's Only Time
10 - Forever
11 - Someone
By SandFord
??????
Chandler Mogel (Outloud) - Vocals
Dion Smith - Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Synths, Programming
Charlie 'Z' Zeleny - Drums, Percussion
Band Tony Carey
Info: No Human
Style: Instrumental / Art Rock
Years: 1982
Info: CBR 320 kbs
Info: 81,04 Mb
Info: USA
Tracklist:
01 - Spy Music.
02 - Leave The Room Poodle.
03 - The Weight.
04 - Superman.
05 - Why Me.
06 - Power Tools.
07 - Belonging To Me.
08 - Modern Time.
09 - Pinball Express.
Rip By: Sledkom
Download :
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Jan Akkerman & Thijs Van Leer – Focus (1985)
Oct 3, 2011 15:35
Progressive Rock
Band Jan Akkerman & Thijs Van Leer
Info: Focus
Style: Progressive Rock
Years: 1985
Info: CBR 320 kbs
Info: 140,25 Mb
Info: Holland
Tracklist:
01 - Russian Roulette.
02 - King Kong.
03 - Le Tango.
04 - Indian Summer.
05 - Beethoven's Revenge.
06 - Ole Judy.
07 - Who's Calling.
Rip By: Uporofff
Download :
Unibytes.com Filesonic.com
Pendragon – The Round Table (2001)
Oct 2, 2011 16:40
Progressive Rock
Band Pendragon
Info: The Round Table
Style: Progressive Rock
Years: 2001
Info: CBR 192 kbs
Info: 100,97 Mb
Info: UK
Tracklist:
01 - Midnight Running.
02 - Sister Bluebird.
03 - Paintbox.
04 - Ghosts.
05 - The Voyager.
06 - Dark Summer's Day.
07 - Total Recall.
08 - The Black Knight.
Rip By: FileTram
Download :
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IQ – J’ai Pollette D’arnu (1991)
Oct 1, 2011 17:22
Progressive Rock
Band IQ
Info: J'ai Pollette D'arnu
Style: Progressive Rock
Years: 1991
Info: CBR 320 kbs
Info: 153,93 Mb
Info: UK
Tracklist:
01 - It All Stops Here.
02 - Sera Sera.
03 - Intelligence Quotient.
04 - Dans Le Parc Du Chateau Noir.
05 - Medley.
06 - Common Ground.
07 - Promises.
08 - Wurensh.
Rip By: UncleSandy
Download :
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Arion – Arion (2001)
Sep 30, 2011 16:25
Progressive Rock
Band Arion
Info: Arion
Style: Symphonic Progressive Rock
Years: 2001
Info: CBR 320 kbs
Info: 149,78 Mb
Info: Brazil
Tracklist:
01 - Eyes of Time.
02 - Daybreak Child.
03 - True Love.
04 - Land of Dreams.
05 - Cosmic Touch.
06 - Everyway.
07 - Natureza Mistica.
Rip By: Veushka
Download :
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IQ – The Lost Attic – A Collection Of Rarities (1999)
Sep 28, 2011 15:52
Progressive Rock
Band IQ
Info: The Lost Attic - A Collection Of Rarities
Style: Progressive Rock
Years: 1999
Info: CBR 320 kbs
Info: 185,28 Mb
Info: UK
Tracklist:
01 - The Universal Scam.
02 - Wintertell.
03 - The Last Human Gateway (Middle Section).
04 - Hollow Afternoon (1999 Recording).
05 - Apathetic And Here, I....
06 - N.T.O.C. (Resistance).
07 - Eyes Of The Blind.
08 - Barbell Is In (12'' Lizard Mix).
09 - The Bold Grenadier.
10 - My Legs.
11 - Fascination.
12 - Hollow Afternoon.
13 - Awake And Nervous (Radio Sessions).
14 - Just Changing Hands (Radio Session).
15 - Widow's Peak (Radio Session).
Rip By: UncleSandy
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Gongmaison – Gongmaison (1989)
Sep 27, 2011 15:49
Progressive Rock
Band Gongmaison
Info: Gongmaison
Style: Progressive Rock / Psychedelic Rock / Jazz Rock
Years: 1989
Info: CBR 320 kbs
Info: 131,53 Mb
Info: France
Tracklist:
01 - Flying Teacup.
02 - ''1989''.
03 - Titti - Caca.
04 - Tablas Logorythmique.
05 - Negotiate.
06 - We Circle Around.
07 - Flying T Dance Mix.
Rip By: Damoff
Download :
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Rough Silk – Wheels Of Time (1999)
Sep 26, 2011 16:36
Heavy Metal |Power Metal Progressive Rock
Band Rough Silk
Info: Wheels Of Time
Style: Progressive / Heavy Metal
Years: 1999
Info: CBR 320 kbs
Info: 167,29+180,27 Mb
Info: Germany
Tracklist:
CD 1:
01 - Plane-You-Down (New Song).
02 - Beyond The Sundown.
03 - Insania.
04 - In The Deep Of The Night (New Recorded Version).
05 - Subway Angel`s Caravan.
06 - Pianoman (New Song).
07 - Somebody`s Out There.
08 - My Last Farewell.
09 - Gods Of Darkness.
10 - Roots Of Hate.
11 - The Clown.
12 - Nosferatu.
13 - Walls Of Never (Remix).
14 - A Matter Of Size (Remix).
CD 2:
01 - Wisdom Of Steel (New Song).
02 - Circle Of Pain.
03 - Never Say Never (New Recorded Version).
04 - Just A Mouldrin' Body (New Song).
05 - Desert Wind (Previously Unreleased).
06 - Friends.
07 - Mephisto.
08 - Something To Believe In.
09 - Wheels Of Time.
10 - Never Lose Again (New Recorded Version).
11 - The Angel And The Raven.
12 - The End.
13 - Is There Anybody There (Scorpions Cover) (Bonus Track).
Total playing time: 02:27:22
Rip By: FileTram
Download :
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Unibytes.com - CD 2 Filesonic.com - CD 2
LOCH VOSTOK – DYSTOPIUM (2011)
Sep 25, 2011 19:07
Progressive Rock
Band Loch Vostok Info: Dystopium Years: 2011 Info: Sweden Time: Extreme Progressive Metal ????Upload: 00:55:58 Info: MP3 VBR~260-320 kbps Info: 113.34 Mb
Tracklist:
01. A Mission Undivine (04:08)
02. Repeat Offender (03:16)
03. World Trade Dissenter (04:54)
04. Sacred Structure (05:06)
05. Navigator (04:30)
06. In the Wake of Humanity (05:02)
07. Viral Strain (04:57)
08. Disconnection (04:11)
09. Taste the Flame (04:58)
10. Absence (04:10)
11. Dystopium (06:27)
12. Release (Bonus Track) (04:20)
Band Avalon
Info: Eurasia
Style: Melodic Progressive Metal
Years: 2000
Info: CBR 320 kbs
Info: 122,56 Mb
Info: Germany
Tracklist:
01 - Aurora.
02 - Burning Souls.
03 - Temujin.
04 - Black Hole Wisdom.
05 - Eternal Flame.
06 - Save The Holy Land.
07 - The Last Call.
08 - Eurasia (Instrumental).
09 - The Stranger.
10 - The Painting.
11 - Kyrie.
12 - Semaruma.
Rip By: Rtu777
Download :
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JOSEPH MAGAZINE – NIGHT OF THE RED SKY (2011)
Sep 22, 2011 17:50
Progressive Rock
Band Joseph Magazine Info: Night Of The Red Sky Years: 2011 Time: Progressive Metal Info: Poland Info: mp3 320 kbps Info: 133 mb
Tracklist:
1. Beginning
2. Vision
3. Self-Examination
4. Liquid Dream
5. Holy Land
6. Wormwood
7. Tower
8. Heremit
9. Reflection
10. Flashback
11. Night Of The Red Sky
12. Thorn Piece Of The Sky
