#18 -Top of 2012

Flower Kings- Banks of Eden (Inside Out)

Flower Kings are back after a 5-year break with their eleventh studio album "Banks of Eden", which is another unique chapter in their progressive rock journey. While the classic members are present (with Roine Stolt and Hasse Fröberg in vocals/ guitars, Jonas Reingold in vocals/ bass/ guitar and Tomas Bodin in keyboards), this is the first album with the band's new drummer, Felix Lehrmann. The album starts, as expected, with the amazing "Numbers" (with guitar interludes and great choruses that go a little over 25 minutes) which sets the mood and the expectations for a feel good record! It is followed by "For The Love Of Gold", "Pandemonium", "For Those About To Drown" and "Rising The Imperial", all of which are Flower-Kings-representative songs that are meant to accompany the listener through mellow guitars and vocals as well as a number of instruments such as flutes (more prominent in "Pandemonium").
If you are feeling this doesn't sound long enough for a progressive album, there is a bonus disc with shorter but equally amazing songs including "Illuminati", "Fireghosts", "Going Up" and "LoLines". It sounds like the 5-year gap was beneficial for the band as "Banks of Eden" is an interesting modern (but at the same time classic) progressive record that becomes better after each listen!


93/100

Below is the audio track of the song "Rising the Imperial"

#19 -Top of 2012

Astra - The Black Chord (Metal Blade/Rise Above)

In number 19 of the best albums of 2012, yet another progressive rock masterpiece, this time from American prog rockers Astra in their second album. Immediately, the characteristic style of Astra's modern space rock meets classic 70s prog, is prominent.

'Cocoon' begins with solar winds and ambience building into a mellowness that welcomes you into the album and lets you know what you are in for! It segues straight into the mammoth 'The Black Chord' that is a mosaic of colour and musical motion, with Piano keys reminiscent of early Pink Floyd tunes. 'Quake Meat' is an astonishing prog orgasmatron, starting with a rapid awesome riff, exploding into a full on psychedelic trip. 'Drift' begins wit a minimalist intro as softened vocals sweetly blend over, being an interlude piece. 'Bull Torpis' is an instrumental with an excellent blend of keyboard and guitar 70s sounds. 'Barefoot In The Head' is a tribute to Pink Floyd with lyrics clearly alluding to the legendary band and musically building into their legacy to finish out the album with a hell of a song!
This is an album that grows on the listener and is truly inspirational on showing how music can sound contemporary and yet remain genuinely reverent to the golden sound of the 70s.




93/100

Below the audio track for Quake Meat.

#20 - Top of 2012

Echolyn - Echolyn (Velveteen Records)

The self-titled album by Echolyn is in the 20th place of the 2012 countdown. Echolyn are an American band that is playing a "classic" type of prog rock, while still remaining relevant to today's prog scene. This is their 7th studio album (with a newer one, "I heard you listening" being released in 2015) and is of an equal artistic value with their best album before, "Mei" in 2002.
Going track by track, the album starts with "Island", where we have all the trademarks of the band, with multiple part vocals and delicate instrumental breaks. "Headright" which follows is the exact opposite style of song, keeping it short and simple. "Locust To Bethlehem" starts like a country song with the guitar but mixes classical instrumentation at some point while having excellent mingling of vocal melodies with the instrumentation of the piece. "Some Memorial" relies on piano to carry on through the first part, while breaking into a classical progressive crescendo later on. "Past Gravity" also starts slowly with piano and vocals, exploding into a more energetic rock tune in the latter part of the song."When Sunday spills" is another song in two parts, the first one being  more minimalist while the second incorporates  heavier elements. "Speaking In Lampblack" is more reminiscent of post rock, while the finisher "The Cardinal and I" is more on the progressive side, with more instrumental breaks, the delicate sound of the music tempered by some heavy passages.
In conclusion,this is a very diverse album, with excellent inspiration, driven by both progressive rock and contemporary influences that sounds unique and deservedly belongs among the best music outputs of 2012.


 93/100
Below is the audio track for "Some Memorial".

#21 - Top of 2012

Mortalicum - The Endtime Prophecy (Metal on Metal Records)

"The Endtime Prophecy" is the second full-length album of the Swedish heavy metal band Mortalicum and it is a very interesting hard-rocking album with doom elements! "My Dying Soul" is an amazing start as it kicks in with great riffs and vocals by the band's frontman Henrik Hogl. It is followed by the quick paced songs such as the "Revelation Within" and the "Devil's Hand", as well as full-of-heavy-riffs songs with the best example being the song that gave its name to the album "The Endtime Prophecy". "When Hell Freezes Over" adds a heavy-doom sound to the album that can also be heard in the groovier "Embracing Our Doom", while the pace slows down for the "Ballad of a Sorrowful Man". The album closes with the fitting song "The End" wrapping up a captivating entry for 2012!


 93/100

 Below is the video clip for the song "My Dying Soul".

#22 - Top of 2012

Flying Colors - Flying Colors

In number 22, this is the debut album of the Prog Rock supegroup conceived by Mike Portnoy, Neal Morse, Steve Morse and producer Bill Evans as a more straightforward  radio-friendly project.Their second album has also been featured in the top list for 2014 (here is its review) and although superior to this debut (hence its higher place in that list), this album is not devoid of good qualities either.

Being the band's debut album, there is still a feeling of exploration here and there is less focus than in "Second Nature". Despite that this album is also an excellent listen and one of the most easy to listen progressive records of 2012

All in all a very promising debut from a supergroup that here delivers exactly what was expected of it; high calibre good music.


93/100

 Below is the music video for "Kayla"

#23 - Top of 2012

Rush - Clockwork Angels (Roadrunner)

In number 23, come the legendary Prog-fathers Rush with their final album (to date) in "Clockwork Angels". This album is a testament to the incredible talent and creativity of Rush, as much as their impeccable craftsmanship, keeping them musically relevant so many years after the height of their musical fame. Rush, as one would expect from a band of their caliber, do not stay stagnant here, but continue to evolve their sound and create  songs that sound at the same time both familiar and new, progressing their sound but keeping the essence of what made them the giants that they truly are.

There are a number of etraordinary tracks including the opener "Caravan", the title song and the epic closer "The Garden", but as with all Rush records it is difficult to find a song lacking in any meaningful way.A solid album which might very well be the final work of one of the most talented bands that have ever graced the prog rock scene.


93/100

Below is a live performance of the final track "The Garden"

#24 - Top of 2012

Storm Corrosion - Storm Corrosion (Roadrunner)

In number 24, we are introduced to Storm Corrosion, a collaborative project between Mikael Akerfeldt (the vocalist of Opeth) and Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree. The project came about after a long collaboration and friendship between the two and is an amalgam of the creative output from both into a cohesive music project.

The album opens with a blend of keyboards and vocals, in a song which is about the tale of a hangman bidding farewell to his victim. It's an intriguing opener with a lot going on; it's also one of the few tracks with a "traditional" song structure, unlike the rest of the songs here.The title track is beautiful, with soft guitar strumming, flute tones, and Wilson's vocals adding an ethereal dimension to it. with a dramatic shift halfway through the song leading to more challenging prog sounds."Hag" is a somber and threatening song reminiscent of recent output from Opeth , "Happy" follows up in much the same manner with the follow-up "Lock Howl" being a rather unusually upbeat instrumental. The closer, "Ljudet Innan" is a slow-paced song, very evocative of Porcupine Tree and sounds the most personal moment of the album rounding out the experience. This is an excellent collaborative album but might be challenging to someone not versed with either the work of Wilson or with modern progressive rock harmonics.


93/100

#25 - Top of 2012

Wintersun - Time I (Nuclear Blast Records)

Wintersun was initially a side project of Ensiferum's vocalist, Jari Mäenpää who recorded the first album of the band along with Kai Hahto (drums). "Time I" is the second album of the symphonic/ melodic band from Finland who has since gained new members; Teemu Mäntysaari (in guitars and backing vocals) and Jukka Koskinen (bass and backing vocals). The record is full with amazing orchestrations and choruses which make the songs sound epic, and although there are few songs in the album each stands out for a different reason. Starting with the instrumental songs " When Time Fades Away", moving to the powerful "Sons of Winter and Stars"(which spans over 13 minutes!), the amazing "Land of Snow and Sorrow", back to another unique instrumental song "Darkness and Frost" and finally wrapping up with the amazing " Time" (which gave its name to the album), this is an amazing 40 minute journey. Though some might call it "not metal enough", I think that the listener cannot deny the captivating atmosphere that fills this ambitious album making it deservedly one of the more intriguing albums of 2012.


93/100

Below is a video with a live performance of the song "Time".

#26 - Top of 2012

Woods of Ypres - Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light (Earache Records)

Woods of Ypres were a duo from Canada that played what can be described as goth/doom prog metal. This is lamentably their last release as their singer David Gold passed away about a month before this album was released in a car crash (December 2011/ January 2012).
"Woods 5" is their best release, where they were able to further escape the norms of their original Doom Metal roots and progress into refining their own sound. The atmosphere is captivating and there is a clear emerging dark lyricism. The album is heavily influenced by the "greats" of the genre like Katatonia, Paradise Lost and old Anathema while retaining a firm personal style.
 The melodies of the songs are addictive, deeply melancholic, reflecting the fragile psyche of Gold.  Heavy metal riffing alternates with prog rock catchy choruses and the alternations of "heavy" parts with the more mainstream is done very skilfully, without impacting the quality of the songs.
 "Death Is Not An Exit", "Travelling Alone", "Adora Vivos" and "Kiss My Ashes (Goodbye)" are the best moments of the album with lyrics that are balancing (somewhat ironically) between life and death.
 An excellent final output from a band that progressed its sound and tried to be creative in an otherwise very stagnant genre.




93/100

Below is the audio track for "Career Suicide (Is not Real Suicide)"

#27 - Top of 2012

Lagerstein - Drink 'Til We Die (Independent)

In number 27, we have Lagerstein, an Aussie band belonging in the "noble" pirate folk genre. "Drink til We Die" is the debut album of the band and was released independently. Although not a big name or very well-known in their own subgenre, Lagerstein manage to produce an excellent record with references to excessive drinking and pirating the world, while at the same time sounding fresh and not too cliche or repeating the endeavors of similar bands.
The album with the starts with the heavy " The Rum Thieves" which sets the tone with great choruses and riffs, followed by the equally entertaining "Dreaded Skies" and the more melodic "Harpoon the Sun" and "Nightmare Ship". The record is filled with energy (as expected by pirates!) that will make you want to join the party with the highlights being the "Pirate Music Piracy" and the "Plunderberg"! The party is wrapped up with two great cover versions of "Beer" (by Reel Big Fish) and "I Am on a Boat" (by The Lonely Island)!

AHOY!

 92/100

Below is the live version of the song "Pirate Music Piracy".