Himmellegeme

From the dark psychedelic shadows of Bergen, Himmellegeme emerges with their unique bittersweet flavored debut album "Myth of Earth". Himmellegeme's music is influenced by atmospheric prog rock, which together combine to create an otherworldly and timeless sound. With their heavy-hitting riffs, chilling melodies and melancholic lyrics, written both in Norwegian and English, Himmellegeme creates music that depicts past events in their own lives, as well as in the lives of others.

Unicorn

Unicorn is a neo-progressive rock band originating from Örebro, Sweden. Unicorn is one of the many projects fronted by influential Swedish musician Dan Swanö (Edge of Sanity, Nightingale, Bloodbath, Pan.Thy.Monium, Karaboudjan, etc). The band was formed in 1988 by Anders Mareby on guitars, Peter Edwinzon on Keyboards, and Dan Swanö on vocals and drums. Unicorn had multiple changes in bass players (Tom Nouga, Per Runesson, and even Peter Edwinzon and Dan Swanö). Unicorn released 4 demos from 1988-1992, all of which are exceptional in terms of quality. If you are to get one demo from this band, I recommend getting "The Weirdest of Tales". It's really a great example of Swedish neo-prog. After the 4 demos ("A Collection of Worlds Pt. 1", "A Collection of Worlds Pt. 2", "The Weirdest of Tales", and "After Before"), Unicorn released their debut album, "Ever Since", in 1993. This album is their definitive release, and is highly recommended to any fan of Dan Swanö, or 80's and 90's neo-prog in general. The band's second full-length album, "Emotional Wasteland" shows a much more mature band. The band advanced in terms of production qualities and lyrics, as well as creating some more high-quality neo-prog. If you consider yourself a fan of bands like Marillion, Arena, and IQ, Unicorn is a band you should check out for sure!

"A Collection of Worlds - Resurrection", released August 7, 2017, is a new remixed demo tape from the band.

Alan Lennon

Alan Lennon is a guitar player from Ireland.

A few years back he released a solo guitar album "Heaven's Call" that has been compared to Joe Satriani and others of that genre.

 "Tempus" is his second record and it's a very different affair.

The music on Tempus is very symphonic and I would compare it to some of the original musical scores for the Cirque Du Soleil. Another acceptable reference would be Ennio Morricone's soundtrack suite for the movie The Mission. Also, because of the large presence of female voices, Enya comes to my mind. Altough I started this review by making corelations with well known artists and composers, Tempus does have its unique signature. One obvious reason for this his Alan Lennon's guitar playing. He is a great performer and I cannot help myself from thinking of Steve Hackett. All the grandeur and emotion I find in Hackett's playing I also get from Lennon. He also, at times, adds some Metal to his sound and this really gives extra power to the music. Quality wise the performances and production are up there with the best and the music remains interesting from beginning to end. No fillers on this album. If you are into the music of the artists I mentioned in this review, or Symphonic Rock music in general (like for example Dream Theater's The Astonishing), Tempus is an album you will want to get. Impressive stuff indeed!!!

Btw, his first album "Heaven's Call" can be downloaded for FREE from his website: Alan Lennon 

FreddeGredde

This is the third album by Fredrik Larsson (aka FreddeGredde), a much more pop-y attempt than ever, but again outstanding music.

Dave Kerzner

"Static" is Dave Kerzner's follow up studio solo album to his acclaimed debut "New World". It's a progressive rock concept album and a "rock opera" about the distractions, chaos and clutter in everyday life and about navigating past this "static interference" in our heads toward clarity and happiness.
The album features Kerzner on vocals, keyboards and guitars and he is joined by Steve Hackett (Genesis), Fernando Perdomo (Jakob Dylan), Randy McStine (The Fringe), Matt Dorsey (Sound of Contact), Nick D'Virgilio (Big Big Train), Derek Cintron, Durga McBroom (Pink Floyd), Alex Cromarty (Mostly Autumn), Stuart Fletcher (Sea Horses), Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree) and more!