The Book Of Knots

The Book Of Knots is an Brooklyn-based experimental art rock band including Matthias Bossi, Joel Hamilton, Carla Kihlstedt and Tony Maimone.

The band was formed in 2003 by three core band members Joel Hamilton, Matthias Bossi and Tony Maimone at Hamilton and Maimone’s Brooklyn based Studio G. Members of Book of Knots have played or worked with various acts previously, including Skeleton Key, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Shiner, Battle of Mice, Sparklehorse, Elvis Costello, Unsane, Pere Ubu, Frank Black, They Might Be Giants and more. Carla Kihlstedt (of Tin Hat Trio, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, 2 Foot Yard among others) joined later in 2003 to solidify what would become the group's core quartet.

The Book of Knots decided to release three conceptual records:

First was to be an ode to rotting seaside towns, a self-titled debut which appeared on Arclight Records in 2004.

Second was a tribute to the American rust belt, titled "Traineater", with the albums release in April 2007 and featuring guest spots from the likes of Tom Waits, Mike Watt, Jon Langford, and David Thomas.

Third, devoted to all things aeronautical and ready to conclude their ”By Sea, By Land, By Air” trilogy with the release of the final chapter, "Garden Of Fainting Stars", on June 14, 2011.

As the “By Air” installment in the trilogy, Garden of Fainting Stars is inspired by the infinitely vast celestial world that sits above the clouds, otherwise known as space. The band provides a rather profound explanation of the album in their recent press release:
”…A vast and empty universe stretching far beyond infinity, capable of containing the countless imaginary creatures, civilizations and otherwise terrestrial impossibilities that inhabit our dreams, dies in the fluorescent lighting of the laundry soap aisle at Walmart. Once again, we cast a wormless, rusty hook into the lifeless seas of the music industry, expecting to reap only sorrow…”
The Book of Knots previously tackled the sea and the land with albums inspired by growing up in a small fishing community and a depressed steel town, '04's Book of Knots and '07's Traineater, respectively.

In addition to the rather heavy musical concept, Garden of Fainting Stars is also stacked with quite the diverse guest musician roster. Making appearances on the album are founding Einstürzende Neubauten member Blixa Bargeld, Mike Watt,
Mr. Bungle/Secret Chiefs 3 guitarist Trey Spruance, and Ipecac Recordings’ co-owner Mike Patton.

http://www.thebookofknots.com

Time Horizon

Time Horizon is based out of Northern California and has been musically influenced by several symphonic prog rock-groups.

Their first CD "Living Water" melds together stylized lyrics of faith, as well as refined symphonic prog and instrumentals, to bring together the positive inspired sound of Time Horizon.

Sometimes album names are just that, a striking moniker that hopefully conjures up an image that will inspire interest in any prospective purchaser of the band's music. However in the case of Time Horizon, their debut album's title 'Living Water' means much more than that. The first 1000 copies of this album to be sold will have their entire proceeds donated to Living Water International, which is a charity organisation that drills for water in deprived areas of India and Third World countries in Central America and Africa.

So, having established the genuinely noble intentions of Time Horizon, I suppose that the really important question is, are they any good? Thankfully I can answer with a resounding "Yes!" to that query, and if you have a penchant for melodic, AOR inspired prog, then I'm certain that you will too. The band themselves cite their influences as a mixture of Kansas, Boston, Styx, Spock's Beard, Saga and Neal Morse, and to be fair they have it pretty much spot on, with the majority of the songs on 'Living Water' combining progressive themes with layers of vocal harmonies, bags of melody and hooks galore. Drummer Bruce Gaetke also doubles up on vocals, and while his percussive work is spot on, it is really his vocals, the guitar work of Dave Dickerson and keyboard playing of Ralph Otteson that shines brightest on this uplifting CD. My own personal highlight of the album is the ultra catchy Kansas like 'Wonders', where the layers of vocals are so reminiscent of Boston's gloriously harmonic voices, making this a song that I can listen to over and over without ever tiring of. 

There are plenty of other wonderful moments to soak in, with 'Life Fantastic' bringing on a slower Styx like vibe with touches of Saga, while 'I'm Not Alone' heads off into slightly more prog metal territory with its flashy guitar blazing and huge keyboards. Vocally Gaetke comes across somewhere between Neal Morse and unusually enough Stuart Adamson of Big Country, which contributes to his wonderful pitch and tone. As mentioned, he is no slouch on drums either and his slick grooves and punchy fills combine perfectly with the bass rumblings of Steve Gourley and together they really set the foundations from which the keys and guitars are allowed to flourish. Between the longer track there are a few shorter numbers and some almost interlude like tracks, with the song 'Time Horizon' coming on like 'Rendezvous' era Jean Michel Jarre, while 'Living Water Reprise' is a wonderful showcase for the layered harmony vocals that grace this album. I could however do without the admittedly excellently performed Spanish guitar bursts of 'Mi Chili Caliente', but that is a small complaint on an otherwise excellent album.

Now with Neal Morse as inspiration and song titles such as 'Wonders', 'Life Fantastic' and 'I'm Not Alone', you may have already picked up on the strong Christian themes that feature heavily in Time Horizon's lyrics. Personally (and as someone with no religious leanings whatsoever) I have no problem with this aspect of the band and in the same manner as Morse, or John Elefante manage to do, the themes fit the music perfectly.

Obviously Time Horizon and Living Water International deserve your support to help continue their excellent humanitarian work, but more importantly for potential purchasers, the album is well worth the investment on its own musical merits as well.
(review by Steven Reid)

http://timehorizonmusic.com

Graal

The Italian quintet Graal first came to prominence in 2005 when it released its full-length debut album "Realm of Fantasy". Since then the band has hooked up with its native label Bloodrock Records, and two more productions have seen the light: "Tales Untold" in 2007 and "Legends Never Die" in 2011.

 Placing a band within a set context can be a challenging task. In this particular case the end result of the relatively few clues available outside of the music on the disc itself didn't help out too much, and the music will have to do the talking exclusively. Which, for me, places this band well inside the retro-oriented hard rock universe, a rather eclectic one however: A few touches of southern rock Molly Hatchet-style, some details heralding a plausible Deep Purple influence, others with similarities closer toIron Maiden and early 80's UFO, with occasional additional flavoring with more of an art rock origin, sporting the odd detour into folk-oriented territories to boot. The latter mainly by way of brief, acoustic-based pieces with Across the Land as the prime example, a piece featuring gentle acoustic guitars, flute soloing and the occasional medieval-sounding passage. Elsewhere this disc is mostly about well-made hard rock: bass lines that make me think of Pete Way and Steve Harris being a central feature, steady and solid with a slight boogie touch or a more energetic galloping expression, depending on pace and intensity on any given song and segment. The guitars have a clear 70's sound to them, more hard rock than metal, with circulating motifs and recurring constructions regular features, often reminding me of so-called southern rock for some reason, now and then dropping down on the scale to a sound with slightly more of a vintageBlack Sabbath-inspired sound. The organ hovering in the back is a regular feature, underscoring the retro mood of this production quite nicely and yet not resulting in a sound that reminds too much of legendary acts like Deep Purple or evenUriah Heep.
A few nods in the direction of both can be found, but not to the extent one might expect from a band exploring an expression with such a distinct 70's-sounding flavor, featuring both guitar and organ motifs in interwoven thematic constructions. As the disc unfolds, symphonic-inspired keyboard backdrops start showing up while the compositions to a greater extent sport contrasting themes, most commonly gentle verses with clean or acoustic guitars underscoring the lead vocals, with the riff patterns taking over in the instrumental parts and the chorus. Sophisticated instrumental soloing is another feature of these excursions; in sum totaling an expression with some art-rock sheen to them. Personally I found Graal to be most inspired albeit sticking to the less elaborate parts of its repertoire, the energetic Maybe Tomorrow Maybe One Day being the highlight of this production to my ears and the rather more pastoral Across This Land another fine effort.

Despite the slightly eclectic scope of this disc, I would be hard-pressed to describe Graal as an innovative band. Its musical foundation would appear to be 70's-oriented hard rock, and while it has occasional visits to art rock-inspired realms I suspect its main audience would be found amongst fans of acts like Deep Purple and to some extent Uriah Heep, especially those among them with a relatively broad musical taste.

http://www.myspace.com/graalmusic

Echo

"The Dream" is the first album after 20 years by Echo, a progressive Romanian band hailing from Bucharest.

The band's history goes back to the group's college band that was active in the late 80s, only to unfold due to the harsch times. Reunited to pursue the initial dream, Echo are now a mature quintet that is rapidly establishing a name in the local scene.
Their music is based on the interplay between electric guitars and organ, which pays a beautiful tribute to classic Pink Floyd but is further enriched by acoustic guitars, jazzy piano moments reminding of Ray Manzarek, while the songwriting and the singing often hint in a discreet manner at classic heavy metal.

Echo? The story begins long time ago, about twenty years, when we played for the first time, with a lot of enthusiasm, yet few achievements, in a time when the options were limited. Twenty long years had to go by, to meet again the echo of those songs, in another era, as enthusiastic as ever.
For all those fond of musical style analysis and classification, our sound comes probably near the prog rock, but for us Echo is the nostalgia for the 70s and 80s when great bands showed to the public a complex and elaborated message on both lyrical and musical levels. Without creating an antithesis with most of the music of today, we want to put our music on a level aiming at both mind and soul.
In 2007, when we found ourselves again, after twenty years of silence, we wanted a refuge, with no pretensions, no targets or deadlines. We wanted just to see how it sounds, today, when technically we have means and possibilities impossible to imagine some twenty years ago.
And maybe to dream at what we could have become all these years hadn’t we stopped playing back then.
And then, the songs found their way flowing like a rain, waited too long. This first album,  "The Dream", is a collection of songs, made up partially from ideas developed during these long years of silence, when the music still sounded, silently, in each of us. Therefore, the sound might seem to be coming from other times, but, hey, we are from other times…

 http://www.echo-band.ro

Proto-Kaw

The new studio release from Proto-Kaw simply named "Forth". 

Three years in the making, "Forth"  is the most intriguing Proto-Kaw album to date.  New material from composer Kerry Livgren takes the unique Proto-Kaw sound to fresh, new heights that will excite current fans while expanding their broad appeal even further to entirely new audiences.
Proto-Kaw's "Forth" again boasts the talents of four original members of an early 1970's version of the band Kansas.
As with their previous releases, "Forth" contains all original material from Kerry Livgren, the driving influence of the famous version of Kansas. Credited for such timeless classic hits as "Dust In The Wind" and "Carry On Wayward Son", Livgren continues to inspire beyond his music. Musically, "Forth" is undoubtedly Proto-Kaw's strongest and most diverse work. This 12 song tour-de-force highlight's Livgren's incredibly broad approach to composition. 
A myriad of ingredients beautifully mesh the styling's of rock, prog, jazz and beyond. 
The ultimate triumph of the new release is the fact that the music cannot be easily relegated to any one particular genre.

Discography:
2002 Early Recordings from Kansas 1971-1973
2004 Before Became After
2006 The Wait Of Glory
2011 Forth

http://www.proto-kaw.net

Vestascension

Vestascension is an Ambient/Progressive/Dream Rock band based out of Maryland.

A band bio? No, thank you. It takes only a few seconds of clicking through websites and social-networking pages to witness the hilariously overinflated bios of what seem like a billion bands all vying for your attention and hard-earned dollars. They boast about all kinds of redundant accomplishments and exaggerated reviews and chart positions. They proudly list each and every member (names that mean nothing to you) and every previous band they ever played with (all ones you've never heard of or are D-list at best). If this band has John from "Deathgrinder" and Billy from "Skullraper," does it really make the music stand out and draw you in? No. Do YOU care? No. Don't feel bad because you're not alone.

The truth is NOBODY cares. While all these bands are pushing their "new album you just gotta have" and racking up MySpace, YouTube, SoundClick, and friend counts using automated play boosters, friend adders, and every other type of heinous software out there, it's easy to see that something has been lost along the way. It's all about chart numbers, Soundscan, that three-minute song with the huge hook, or being a "star." It's not about music anymore; it's about money - and it's been that way for years. What used to be only a part of the mainstream pop industry has seeped into every other genre in music. Too much time is spent trying to fit into a mold you think will sell, too much time making a "perfect" album abused with Autotune and processed to the point that it's completely lifeless, and just not enough time being "real." It's all wrong. Do you REALLY wonder why people aren't buying albums anymore?

So, what is Vestascension? Simply put, it's a group of close friends that have set out to make music we would enjoy listening to. Instead of taking this bio to tell you what we think we are, we'll tell you what we know we are not. We're not asking for your money. We're not trying to pull the wool over your eyes. We don't preview one single in hopes you will buy our album filled with nine other crappy tracks. We give you all of it. For free. We just hope you enjoy the songs as much as we enjoy creating them. If we happen to start collecting a few fans along the way, then that will be amazing. We will be extremely grateful to have you listening. What else is there to say? Nothing.

 

They're releasing a FREE track on the first of each month for all of 2011!

 bandcamp

For me the most impressive newcomer of 2011!!!

http://www.vestascension.com

STEEO

STEEO is the project of mastermind Stefano Ruggiero (guitar, vocals), living in Turin/Italy.
Released in 2010 on Electromantic Music he produced his first album "Four Eyes In The Silence" with a crew of related musicians (guitarist Marco Roagna, Beppe Crovella on keyboards, Roberto Cassetta on bass and Marco Fenocchio's drums) representing a standard rock instrumentation.
The compositions are deeply inspired by Pink Floyd, melodic, psych pop and psych prog halfway through.

This album is clearly "pinkfloydian" sound for "pinkfloydian" minds! The main characteristic of STEEO's sound is indeed a unique "Pink Floyd trait" that Beppe Crovella and Stefano have created and pursued in studio. All "3 pinkfloydian eras" (the "barrett-era", the "Gilmour-era" and the "Waters-era" ), have been revisited, blended, re-interpreted and widened in a free and original way, to find the ideal soundscape for Steeo's composing work. An album that will get into the ears and heart of Pink Floyd fans and many more great listeners!

We have here all the arsenale Floydian distributed: echoes vocals, guitar entry in lascivious, suspended or very energetic keyboards, pause constants, break tones, lovely ballads, long psychedelic incantations, pop melodies charms to Syd Barret, great emphasis and atmospheres.

A territory well know by everybody, but rediscovered and retraced in long and wide across ten compositions and magical fifty minutes.

As the dear Simone Rossetti had done with The Watch for Genesis, Stefano Ruggiero incorporates the fundamentals of Pink Floyd and appropriates to summarize them nowadays in a brilliant exercise well away from the copy/paste. The result is amazing and high quality.

http://www.steeo.net