Metal Related

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Metal Related is a term used on Metal Music Archives (MMA) to describe artists and releases that, although not metal enough to be placed under any of the MMA metal sub-genres, still contain a reasonable amount of metal elements.

While this tag will often be applied to releases by artists who do indeed have more fully-fledged metal releases such as Opeth's Heritage or most releases by A.C.T. after their debut, the site will often take in artists that have no releases in metal sub-genres, as Metal Related artists due to the metal elements on some or all of their releases. Examples of such artists are Neal Morse for his 2007 album Sola Scriptura, Galahad for their later releases and Beardfish for their 2012 album The Void.

As such the actual music on releases with the Metal Related sub-genre can vary greatly, both in terms of the main style and the metal elements that flavour the music.

- Written by adg211288 (August 2015)

Sub-genre collaborators:

The Metal Related team is always the same as the standing admin team. Currently:

  • adg211288
  • Bosh66
  • 666sharon666
  • Vim Fuego
  • Nightfly


Click for Full Sub-Genre Chart

metal related top albums

Showing only albums and EPs | Based on members ratings & MMA custom algorithm | 24 hours caching

SPOCK'S BEARD V Album Cover V
SPOCK'S BEARD
4.91 | 10 ratings
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NEAL MORSE Sola Scriptura Album Cover Sola Scriptura
NEAL MORSE
4.48 | 36 ratings
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TRANSATLANTIC Bridge Across Forever Album Cover Bridge Across Forever
TRANSATLANTIC
4.55 | 23 ratings
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NEAL MORSE One Album Cover One
NEAL MORSE
4.62 | 14 ratings
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PORCUPINE TREE Deadwing Album Cover Deadwing
PORCUPINE TREE
4.35 | 76 ratings
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PORCUPINE TREE In Absentia Album Cover In Absentia
PORCUPINE TREE
4.34 | 91 ratings
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RIVERSIDE Second Life Syndrome Album Cover Second Life Syndrome
RIVERSIDE
4.32 | 94 ratings
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KATATONIA Last Fair Deal Gone Down Album Cover Last Fair Deal Gone Down
KATATONIA
4.40 | 32 ratings
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THE NEAL MORSE BAND The Great Adventure Album Cover The Great Adventure
THE NEAL MORSE BAND
4.76 | 8 ratings
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COHEED AND CAMBRIA The Afterman: Ascension Album Cover The Afterman: Ascension
COHEED AND CAMBRIA
4.54 | 12 ratings
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TRANSATLANTIC The Whirlwind Album Cover The Whirlwind
TRANSATLANTIC
4.38 | 22 ratings
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SPOCK'S BEARD The Oblivion Particle Album Cover The Oblivion Particle
SPOCK'S BEARD
4.61 | 9 ratings
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This list is in progress since the site is new. We invite all logged in members to use the "quick rating" widget (stars bellow album covers) or post full reviews to increase the weight of your rating in the global average value (see FAQ for more details). Enjoy MMA!

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RIVERSIDE ID.Entity

Album · 2022 · Metal Related
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Negoba
A Very Uneven Endeavor with a Few Bright Spots Riverside has been creating a unique take on progressive metal for over 20 years now based in part on Mariusz Duda's amazing voice and heavy use of Floyd-ian atmospherics. ID.Entity still has these elements, and some very solid riffage. But the band has also decided to slide in the pop / 80's direction to mixed effect. Though I don't usually review song by song, this album almost demands it as there is so much variation in approach and quality.

1. Friend or Foe - maybe it was Stranger Things. Pulling in early 80's keys is trendy and Riverside goes full in on the opening track and promo single. The song reminds a bit of the similarly intention retro 80's synthpop of the Weeknd's 2019 hit "Blinding Lights." Luckily, I think the move works here. It's a great melodic hard rock song. Hard to call it prog, besides the fact that it's (too) long.

2. Landmine Blast - my favorite song on the album. The band takes a great riff (yes a throwback to their own previous work) and trades it through different instruments and permutations almost like a classical piece. Some of the guitar solos also intentionally point back to early work (even though it's not the same player).

3. Big Tech Brother - after a clumsy, dumb spoken word intro, we get another very strong song. It opens with a great riff in odd time that almost has an R&B feel (a horn like keyboard patch is used and I can definitely hear a Tower of Power horn section taking it on). Duda uses a staccato delivery in the verses a la Haken to great effect. It has a strong aggressive rhythm, and plenty of layering. So far so good.

4. Post-Truth - here things start to slow. The lyrics, meant to be political criticism, start to sound obvious and whiney. The songs itself it pretty straight forward. Nothing wrong here but no surprises.

5. The Place Where I Belong - and we go off the rails. This epic length song has almost nothing progressive, or even interesting. The first half is quite boring. The second half is PF/PT moody and does carry some emotion, but there is absolutely no excuse for a song of this kind to be this long. There just isn't enough happening, too repetitive.

6. I'm Done with You - another relatively straightfoward rock song with bad lyrics. The main riff and intertwining parts are pretty driving and form a good groove, but the verses are boring and the chorus is bad. The "Fire Away!" section is pretty cool. The instrumental breaks toward the end are good. But like the album as a whole, really uneven.

7. Self Aware - starts with a riff straight out of the 80's that Ghost has already used with more menace and I consider them a tongue-in-cheek parody / novelty act. Not as tightly constructed as Friend or Foe, but seems to have a similar intention or inspiration. Harmless.

Perhaps that word is the best description of the album. Harmless. The first time I listened to this album I actively disliked it, probably because the last 3 tracks are the weakest. But on repeat listens, I can appreciate it. It has it spots. But overall - harmless. Not compelling. Mostly solid. A little better than meh. Not sure I would ever put this on just for enjoyment (I listen to alot just to see what's new in the world) when there is so much better music out there (even from Riverside). I may steal track 2 for a 2023 prog playlist. That's about it.

Good but really non-essential

RIVERSIDE ID.Entity

Album · 2022 · Metal Related
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Kingcrimsonprog
January 2023 saw the magnificent Polish Progressive Rock band Riverside release their eight full-length studio album on InsideOut records, ID Entity. It is their second album since the passing of late guitarist Piotr Grudziński and first with Maciej Meller as an official band member.

Sonically, the album is a delight. The production is superb. Crystal clear, brilliantly balanced, perfectly recorded.

Lyrically, the album seems to either be a concept album or at least heavily themed about modern society in the age of questionable truth in the media, social media enraging the public, and a divided society. The lyrics are very blunt, direct and barbed compared to most previous Riverside albums (not to dissimilar to Pain Of Salvation’s Scarsick album). They could come across as a too bit on the nose if you just read the lyrics, but when you hear it with the vocal delivery and over the excellent music it seems almost profound (eg. “unsubscribe the ones who make us hostile” doesn’t seem particularly epic when written down here, but the part of that song when this lyric gets repeated is absolutely massive!).

Stylistically, the album is varied. There are moments that remind me of the more note dense 70’s prog influenced parts of the previous album Wasteland, mixed with the more ‘80s influenced parts of Love Fear And The Time Machine but it is also in many ways unlike any of the band’s previous material most of the time.

Therein lies the charm. Riverside are the most consistent band in music, and yet never make the same album twice. Constant evolution and change, but unshakable quality-control. A few days ago I tried to make a “Riverside Albums Ranked” list, and I really couldn’t do it, all albums were equal, all joined first… and I don’t mean that hyperbolically. I mean that stone cold literally. In terms of full-length studio albums at least, the band have a perfect discography to date, including this new record).

I usually make a list of standout songs in my reviews, but this album is such a brilliant journey from start to finish, and such a great album experience, that I almost don’t want to mention individual tracks. There is also absolutely no filler. Even the songs themselves have no weak parts. There is nothing skippable on the whole album.

In summary; as if you can’t tell already from all this gushing praise, I wholeheartedly recommend this album (and band if you aren’t into the band yet).

RIVERSIDE ID.Entity

Album · 2022 · Metal Related
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lukretion
Polish prog metallers Riverside are back with their new full-length album ID.Entity released worldwide via InsideOut on January, 20. The new LP is the first with Maciej Meller as a permanent member on guitar, after the tragic death of the band’s original guitar player Piotr Grudziński in 2016. The rest of the line-up is completed by Mariusz Duda (bass, vocals), Piotr Kozieradzki (drums) and Michał Łapaj (keyboards), who have now been playing together in Riverside for over twenty years.

Despite the remarkable stability in the band’s line-up, ID.Entity shakes things up considerably as far as its sound is concerned, and it is probably one of the most unique and diverse albums in Riverside’s discography so far. Fear not, though: the band’s sound is still firmly rooted in that special hybrid of prog rock and metal that Riverside have been perfecting for more than two decades now. The songs strike a great balance between accessibility and technical complexity. The structure is rich, with multiple interconnected sections and returning motifs, but there are always prominent melodic lines to guide the listener through the ebbs and flows of each of composition. There are also plenty of staccato riffs and intricate polyrhythms that prog fans can sink their teeth into, and a very prominent bass sound for the pleasure of 4-string enthusiasts. The playing is sublime as always by all musicians involved, with Michał Łapaj’s keyboards striking me as particularly inspired on the new songs.

So far things may feel familiar. However, there are also some clear departures from the sound Riverside developed in previous records. The new songs are much more upbeat and uptempo than usual, shaking off that dense sense of melancholy that had almost become a hallmark of Riverside’s albums, especially the last few ones. The sound is also slightly more metallic and heavier, throwing us back to the early, hard-hitting Riverside’s LPs. At the same time, the band here experiments with a vaster array of non-metal influences than in any of their previous albums. There are 80s synthpop references surfacing at various places through the LP, more obviously on opening track “Friend or Foe?”. In a few tracks, I also hear neoprog influences - Marillion in particular (“The Place Where I Belong”, “I’m Done With You”), while “Self-Aware” even digresses in reggae territory, if you can believe it.

Dazzling technical playing, a broad set of influences, and lots of proggy adventurousness to placate our nerdiness are definitely among the many strengths that ID.Entity has to offer. However, if I have to be honest, the new record does not come without weaknesses. Two are bothering me particularly. First, the album sounds a bit like its cover image looks: fragmented. There are lots of great moments here and there that do perk my ears, but somehow I can’t seem to find the glue that holds all these little pieces together. Sometimes, it is just a matter of the band cramming too much in too little time: this is especially the case in the shorter tracks where often one does not have even the time to get to know a riff or melody, that Riverside have already moved on to the next one (“Post-Truth”). But things do not always feel smooth even in the longer tracks. The 13-minute “The Place Where I Belong” sounds a lot like 3 separate songs stitched together into one for the sake of it, and it fails to carry momentum from start to finish. I gave quite a lot of thought to what I might be missing, and it seems to me that the new songs do not always manage to create a consistent emotional red thread that can connect the various themes together and ultimately engage and engross the listener. The music does ebb and flow, but the emotional tension remains disappointingly flat for a lot of the album’s duration.

The album’s concept may be partly the culprit here. ID.Entity focuses on social criticism asking important questions about identity and technology in a post-truth world riddled with fake-news that spread on social media like the plague. It’s a controversial and difficult concept, and Duda’s intelligent lyrics make for an interesting and at times thought-provoking read. However, I feel that the concept may have somehow hijacked the creative process here, ultimately stealing the poetry out of it. It is almost as Duda’s need to clearly convey the message took priority over the musicality and poetry of what he is singing. There are moments in the album where his lines simply have too many prosaic words to make for compelling song lyrics or even for decent lines to sing. Snippets such as “Everyone’s divided/extreme right or extreme left/that’s the only choice”, “And this goddamn anger/coming from every corner/I am not surprised/not happy either/because how much can you bear being fucking lied to”, or “You are not my own CEO” should give you an idea of what I mean. I find myself constantly snapping out of the album’s flow and mood because of it, which contributes to my struggle to get emotionally involved with the music.

Ultimately, and it pains me to say this, ID.Entity is a record that was interesting to spin for the purpose of this review, but that I did not feel attracted to return to for more after each spin. There are only a couple of songs that I genuinely enjoy listening to repeatedly: “Friend or Foe?” (perhaps the best track here), “Big Tech Brother” (but I really have to ignore the annoying fake-robot voice at the start of the song) and “Self-Aware” (though the reggaeton part is a tad jarring). This does not mean that ID.Entity is a bad album, and in fact I suspect that if you are not too bothered by its emotional dryness or the lyrics as I am, you may enjoy this quite a bit as the LP contains a lot of strong music and great playing across its 53 minutes. Overall, while I predict that ID.Entity will divide opinions and is not likely to end up at the top of many people’s favorite Riverside LP list, it is certainly yet another high-quality release from the Polish band, and the start of a new chapter that I will eagerly continue to follow.

[Originally written for The Metal Observer]

ARENA The Theory of Molecular Inheritance

Album · 2022 · Metal Related
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lukretion
UK neo-proggers Arena have been around for nearly three decades now, guided by founding members Clive Nolan (keyboards) and ex-Marillion Mick Pointer (drums). The line-up soon coalesced around the two musicians as well as guitarist John Mitchell, and the trio together wrote and recorded most of the 10 full-length albums that currently form the band’s discography. The line-up on their latest LP, The Theory of Molecular Inheritance, is completed by bassist Kylan Amos (now at his third album with the band) and singer Damian Wilson (ex-Threshold, Headspace, Ayreon), who joins Arena for the first time here.

The curiosity for Damian’s debut was high among fans of the band as well as the broader progressive rock/metal community, who recognizes in Damian Wilson one of the most significant voices in the genre. Unsurprisingly, the singer steals the scene here with a stellar performance that is worthy of all the accolades he has received over the years. Switching with ease between powerful, high-pitch belting and mellow singing, Damian is a perfect fit for Arena’s eclectic sound. The Brits have always balanced their neo-prog roots with a penchant for heavier and more metallic atmospheres, at time even close to the classic Iron Maiden sound. The new album is no exception, as it alternates softer melodic moments with heavier sections, which at times even approach the stylings of modern prog metal acts like Haken (“Twenty-One Grams”). Elsewhere, Arena usher in subtle hard-rock/AOR influences, like on the chorus of “Pure of Heart” or in the gloriously melodic coda of “Life Goes On”. The end result is a satisfyingly varied collection of songs that navigates a vast universe of prog-adjacent styles with taste and class.

Surprisingly given their considerable duration, the 11 songs of this LP are fairly compact and chorus-centric, favouring a streamlined form with repeated verse/chorus sequences rather than more elaborated and extravagant structures. The arrangements tend to vary over the duration of a song, although many tracks share a common template in the alternation between soft, sparsely arranged verses and heavier, fuller choruses. After a while, this approach becomes slightly repetitive, which is why a song like “Field of Sinners”, with its upbeat tempo and weird James Bond movie soundtrack vibes, feels so fresh and welcome. Arguably, more injections of diversity in the songwriting and arrangements would have done good to this record, which at over 60 minutes of length tends to plod ever so slightly as it enters the second half.

Despite these misgivings, I’d lie if I said that I have not been spinning The Theory of Molecular Inheritance madly since I got hold of the CD. With its utterly addictive melodies, this is one of those albums that naturally call for repeated listens, not only as a way to fully appreciate its content, but also for the pure pleasure of listening over and over again to a great set of tunes, performed excellently and sung by a phenomenal frontman.

[Originally written for The Metal Observer]

PORCUPINE TREE Closure/Continuation

Album · 2022 · Metal Related
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siLLy puPPy
While it may have been assumed that PORCUPINE TREE called it quits after the lackluster response to their 2009 album “The Incident” and the robust solo career of Steven Wilson (and other projects) that launched soon thereafter, it was indeed the case that Wilson, Gavin Harrison and Richard Barbieri had been planning the next chapter of PORCUPINE TREE all along only kept the project under lock and key leaving the fans to wonder if such a thing would ever materialize. Everyone had to wait until 2022 some 13 years later but finally it has become a reality that PT has indeed decided to carry on by releasing the band’s 11th studio album with the rather clumsy title CLOSURE / CONTINUATION.

Unfortunately bassist Colin Edwin didn’t participate in this reunion so the band carried on as a trio with Wilson picking up the bass part as well as handing guitars, vocals, mixing and role as band leader. Despite Wilson projecting his new dedication to his solo career, Blackfield, No-Man, Bass Communion, God and Storm Corrosion (does the guy ever sleep?), PORCUPINE TREE had been working behind the scenes on this album for the last decade whenever everyone had a free moment. The results of all this behind the scenes resulted in a rather standard PORCUPINE TREE affair that sounds as if the band never went away and that the ensuing 13 years were a mere two or three.

The band launched the single “Harridan” early as far back as December 2021 and whetted the appetite for rapid PT fans in hopes of another “In Absentia,” “Deadwing” or “Fear of a Blank Planet.” The hype was heavy but when the album finally was released in June 2022 the enthusiasm sort of fizzled out with complaints about the lack of growth that was deemed necessary to launch PT into the next chapter and well let’s face it, the fact CLOSURE / CONTINUATION sounds more like the solo material of Wilson than PT at their peak. The album features the typical rockers and ballads all in atmospheric space prog form however the crossover metal aspects of the band’s early 2000’s have been tamped down considerably and replaced by some of the electronic wizardry of Wilson’s solo efforts.

“Harridan” was an excellent teaser single with jittery firm bass groove that offers everything a PORCUPINE TREE fan could hope for. Lengthy prog workouts that revolve around Wilson’s subdued vocal style accompanied by just enough rock heft to craft the proper contrast, the song featured strong hooks and was instantly likable with only the occasional complaints of overtly too complex for its own good keeping it from greatness. Actually it was those very complexities that made it more attractive as PT has been decidedly and often too accessible for its own good at least for the tastes of true prog stalwarts who love the entire arsenal of proggy tricks and trinkets to be implemented. The fans would have to sample a series of singles before the actual release with “Of The New Day” and “Herd Culling” pacifying the fans before the actual album hit the scene.

CLOSURE / CONTINUATION features seven tracks with the deluxe edition featuring three extra. In all honesty i can see why many feel let down by this album as it sounds like business as usual without any significant developments in the band’s overall sound. The extra layers of complexity make it a bit more alienating and more difficult to get into upon first listen unlike past glories. The hype raised expectations and the album sort of hums along just like any old PT album of the 21st century. The usual suspects of mopey ambient drenched slow parts followed by heavier rocking upbeat moments is by now the PT playbook. There just aren’t enough surprises or magic moments to be found on this one but at the same time this one is much more engaging than the nadir of the band’s career “The Incident.”

I think it’s agreed that CLOSURE / CONTINUATION will probably not go down as anyone’s favorite PT album but after several attentive listens i’m actually quite enthralled with this album and its subtle intricacies. Perhaps it’s the sappiness of the second track “Of The New Day” that derails the momentum early on for many (as it did me at first) but beginning with “Rat’s Return” this album is successful in delivering ample doses of everything PT is known for and in good form. Certainly no instantly sing-along songs here with repetitive motifs but this is by no means as inaccessible as anything in the rock in opposition camp. This is simply PT stretching its boundaries and putting its feelers out as to ascertain a new path to forge in the 2020’s. Personally i’m loving this album even if i agree that it doesn’t live up to the hype or compare with the greatest albums of the past. After all even a weaker PT album is light years ahead of what many lesser bands can conjure up. BTW the three bonus tracks are excellent and actually better than some of the material on the official album.

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NEAL MORSE Morsefest! 5015

Movie · 2017 · Metal Related
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adg211288
Morsefest! 2015 is a live release by US musician Neal Morse. Morsefest! shows are without a doubt the most special Neal Morse shows that a fan could attend – a two day event with a different Neal Morse set each night. Morsefest! 2015 was released on either a 2x blu-ray or 4 x CD/2x DVD package in 2017. Strictly speaking it is The Neal Morse Band playing on the release – Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Randy George, Eric Gillette & Bill Hubauer – but Morsefest! 2015 was released under just Neal Morse's name likely due to the event's focus on his albums ? (2005) and Sola Scriptura (2007).

While the focus is indeed on those albums, with ? played in full on night one and Sola Scriptura in full on night two, the set is varied with various extra tracks. The Neal Morse Band had released their debut album The Grand Experiment earlier in 2015 and that album also gets a fair airing across the two nights, particularly in the first half of night one with The Call, the title track and the limited edition bonus track New Jerusalem gets played, while Waterfall was featured on night two complete with some instrument changes for various band members. Three Spock's Beard songs are also brought out, Go the Way You Go on night one and At the End of the Day and Wind at My Back on night two, the latter two featuring Nick D'Virgilio first on drums then co-lead vocals. An edited version of Transatlantic's near eighty minute whole album epic The Whirlwind closes the second night, with further guest vocals by D'Virgilio and guitar by Phil Keaggy, who also makes an appearance on night one and was the support act for the event. Finally the band brings to the live stage for the first time a lesser known Neal Morse epic called A Whole Nother Trip, which appeared on his first solo album while still a member of Spock's Beard amongst what was otherwise a bunch of pop songs. There is also a cover of the song MacArthur Park, originally released by Richard Harris, which has been given the prog treatment by Bill Hubauer on challenge from Mike Portnoy. Neal Morse hates the song apparently and always swore he'd never cover it, but there you go. Hubauer sings lead on it.

The main draw to the Morsefest! 2015 live release is of course the full performance of two of Neal Morse's best known albums. ? is basically one long song in and of itself and is treated like the crowning piece of what Morse describes as a night of epics – a fair description when the shortest song is about seven and a half minutes long. For me personally the performance of Sola Scriptura is the key focal point of the two night show though. That's my personal favourite Neal Morse album, not to mention the one that really got me into his music. It's also one of his heaviest and most metal works which along with various parts of The Neal Morse Band's music gives a metallic edge to those otherwise symphonic progressive rock fuelled double concert.

Morsefest! 2015 is one heck of a show if you're into progressive rock. The scope is tremendous not just through the double show but each night's set is over two hours a pop as well. The amount of musicians on stage at one time goes far beyond the core band – far too many to recite in a review. Suffice to say there's a lot of people involved to pull this off. The sound and picture quality of the blu-ray release is excellent and you certainly get a lot of music for your money. The only fault with the set is that one listed bonus feature called Prog Jeopardy is completely missing from the release. Not sure what the story is there, perhaps it was planned and had to be cut for some reason and they forget to change the inserts before going to the press, who knows? But you weren't buying this for the bonus features anyway right?

There are several of the Morsefest shows released by the time of writing this review in September 2020 so which one holds the most appeal to each fan will of course be different. 2015 was a no brainer for me due to my particular love of Sola Scriptura. Someone else may think 2014's focus on Testimony (2003) and One (2004) or 2017's Testimony 2 (2011) and The Similitude of a Dream (2016) to be better options for them. Regardless any Neal Morse fan owns it to themselves to pick up at least one of these releases for his most special and exclusive concerts.

PORCUPINE TREE Arriving Somewhere...

Movie · 2006 · Metal Related
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Warthur
Focusing on the more metal-oriented material from Deadwing and In Absentia - though notably steering it back in a more rock-oriented direction in order to allow this material to sit a little more comfortably beside the "indie prog rock" stylings of Stupid Dream, Lightbulb Sun and Recordings (picks from all of which surface here). Fans of their earlier psychedelic and space rock styles might be disappointed that those aren't represented, but on the plus side there's a liberal sprinkling of rarities here such as the glorious Buying New Soul as well as Revenant, So-Called Friend and Mother and Child Divided, those three songs having only appeared on various special editions of Deadwing. Not the definitive Porcupine Tree live experience, but a pretty decent one nonetheless.

RIVERSIDE Reality Dream

Movie · 2009 · Metal Related
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progshine
My polish girlfriend gave me this DVD on my anniversary in May, I really didn't know what to expect of the band live cause I only knew their studio recordings. Like I always do, I watched the bonus DVD first, I like to see backstage footage, interviews and extras much more than the proper live presentations on most of the time (maybe the only exception is Live At Wembley by QUEEN).

The first DVD is the show itself, and it's a very good recording, both audio and video, and seeing them live male me wonder how good is Mariusz Duda, cause as a bass player myself, I know how hard is to play some lines while you sing, Mariusz dows a fantastic work live, as the whole band.

I think it's a great buy for any prog rock fan, this polish band deserves more light on our '70's' world.

NEAL MORSE Live Momentum

Movie · 2013 · Metal Related
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Kev Rowland
One of the disadvantages of living at the end of the world is that these days I get most of my promos as downloads, which generally isn’t too much of a pain but here I find myself reviewing a DVD set where I haven’t actually seen the DVDs! Okay, so this has been released as a double DVD (more than 4 hours), along with a triple CD set and it is the latter that I am reviewing. This recording took place on October 11th, 2012 at The High Line Ballroom, New York, and captures the band in incredible form. I have no idea how many live recordings of Neal there are in my collection, from duetting with NDV through Spock’s Beard and Transatlantic and of course his solo work, but there are one or two. I have seen him in concert with SB as well as on the ‘Testimony’ tour and have had the privilege of interviewing him a few times as well, so I guess you can say that I am a fan.

I greatly respect the way that he decided to stand up for what he believed in (even though I don’t share those beliefs), although I still regret that SB never had the chance to tour ‘Snow’ which is easily their finest work. I have never given anything that he has been involved with a bad review, and there is no reason at all to start now as this triple CD set (2 hours 45 minutes) is as close to perfection as one could hope to hear. When it came to choosing the musicians to form the band he brought in close friends Mike Portnoy and Randy George and then used YouTube for the audition process! He ought to do that more often, as during “Sing It High” he gets it right when he says that the guys are “Sick”. Adson Sodré (guitar, vocals), Eric Gillette (guitar, keyboards, percussion, vocals) and Bill Hubauer (keyboards, violin, sax, vocals) do a stunning job. Mind you, it’s handy when you have three multi-instrumentalists in a band as it does mean that you can spread the wings. Vocally they are all in fine voice as well, just listen to “Author Of Confusion” to see what I mean.

Both Adson and Eric really riff and shred as the need requires, and this is probably the heaviest that Neal has ever sounded as he works his way through material from throughout his career: this is much more than just a live rendition of the latest album. The suites from ‘Testimony’ and ‘?’ work incredibly well and it is the longer sections that really allow Neal and the guys to shine. There are four songs more than twenty minutes long and one more than thirty!

But, for me one of the major highlights sees Neal taking a back seat, literally. One of my favourite live albums that feature Neal is ‘One Night in New York City’ by Yellow Matter Custard. This was a band put together by Mike Portnoy to play Beatles’ numbers, and the line-up was completed by Neal, Paul Gilbert and Matt Bissonette. The whole purpose of that band was to provide a new take on classic numbers and have fun at the same time. Well, on “Crazy Horses” Neal takes over on drums while Mike becomes the frontman, and everyone has an absolute blast. Mike says that when he first heard the song when he was five years old that it was the heaviest song that he had ever heard, and the band certainly do it justice. I defy you to listen to this and not smile throughout. There are some people who don’t enjoy what Neal does, and feel that he hasn’t dramatically changed since he left SB, but I sincerely hope he keeps going in this vein for the rest of his very long career as I love it.

So there you have it, a five star review for a DVD set that I haven’t even seen. But to me they are just an added bonus as this triple CD set is just mindblowing. www.insideout.de

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