As with many, this was my first introduction to Ayreon. Into The Electric Castle (ITEC) is an excellent introduction to Progressive Metal and concept albums respectively.

As a progressive metal taster the album presents a fine example as it not only incorporates the diverse ranges musically of the genre, but helps to introduce people to many other players within the genre via the varied and exciting cast used by mastermind Lucassen.

The album opens, excluding the mostly narrative "Welcome To The New Dimension", with two epics "Isis and Osiris" and "Amazing Flight", both of which are ceaselessly entertaining. Although the rest of the songs are considerably shorter, excluding "Garden of Emotions" that proves a magnificent opener for disc two, I never seem to notice as they all flow so well with each other that my ears tend to ingest it as one.

This is another positive feature of the Ayreon output: Lucassen manages to write such compelling narrative, although I do not rate ITEC as his most accomplished story telling, that whether you feel the work is a masterpiece or mediocre I would say it is possible to be made to stay put just to hear the resolution of the story.

The album is such a mish-mash, but not in a bad way, of styles that it is hard to say what sort of listener would appreciate this most. The album chops and changes between crushing metal to trippy-eclectic rock, to mellow acoustic, to varying electro-genres and everywhere in between.

This isn't my favourite of the Ayreon albums, but is brilliant nonetheless. My problems with it are that maybe it tries to encompass a few too many styles and therefore struggles to retain a solid, singular, feel to the album; some may find this a strong point. Either way this album is an excellent edition for metal fans and well worth trying.

Since last year Riverside has steadily become one of my favourite bands. Having been into progressive music, but not having anyone within my friends group that also liked the genre finding new bands is somewhat of a chore and also somewhat of a satisfying experience when it pays off.

In the case of Riverside, finding this band and experiencing their music for the first time was extremely satisfying. I can say that there is not a single Riverside song that I do not like......... mostly.

Out Of Myself is a fantastic debut that sounds polished and matured. Should I be forced to pick a weak point it would be "OK", there's something about the song that loses my interest and ruins the end of the album for me.

Bad point aside, the rest of the album is excellent. Every song is crafted and played with such technicality that I'm in awe every time I listen. Particularly demonstrative of this are the first two songs in the "Reality Dream" suite.

Two favourites of mine from the album are "Loose Heart" and "In Two Minds" (although I prefer the live versions on "Voices In My Head") these are both powerful, emotional tracks that make for prime examples of the progressive metal genre.

Within this setup Mariusz Duda provides outstanding vocals that range from soaring melodic style to powerful growls (although not too intense). Piotr Grudzinski on guitar and Jacek Melnicki on keyboards are extremely talented musicians and play invaluable roles in the overall sound. However it is of my personal opinion that Piotr Kozieradzki on drums heads the technically crushing tour de force that makes this band stand out.

What also puts this band above the rest is that, from this fantastic start, Riverside have continued to deliver improved quality output with every release since.

For some reason I have decided to review the Pain of Salvation (PoS) discography in reverse.

In my opinion to review the works of a band such as PoS you must, to some extent, try and refrain from referencing their previous releases. My point here is that as PoS are a band that consistently and intentionally alter their style with each release, it is unfair to say that "X is better than Y" etc. So whilst you can say that you do not like one of their albums, it is my opinion, that another of their releases cannot be used as a benchmark.

With Road Salt One we are introduced to the first part of two of the Road Salt duology/dilogy. This album feels like it is, without detracting from the music and talent, a 'barebones' recording from the band.

The overall sound of this album is that of a 70's blues-y release, the guitars are mellow and the drums are succinct. At times, especially within "Sleeping Under The Stars", the album has a very Eastern-European feel to it.

I would say that I was misled with the "Linoleum" EP. The title track from that release does not particularly, I think, sound like the rest of the album at all. Having said that, I love the album.

In most cases it sounds to me as though Daniel Gildenlow's voice leads the way and shapes the song, whilst the [other] instruments weave and fluctuate around him. I have seen elsewhere Gildenlow mention that they were trying to create the "jam session" sound and I believe that shines through in all the songs.

Whilst this album doesn't contain many sounds similar to previous PoS releases: there are no real solos to speak of, the songs are at a much slower pace, and is generally much less "heavy"; it is in that sense uniquely a PoS release. There is no escaping the diversity and fluctuation that is inherent within there style, not only this but the wide vocal range and emotion of Gildenlow's voice is very distinctive.

Listening to this album you will not be provided with the complexity of PoS's other works, the songs are short (on average) and do not have as many phases as you may have come to expect. But it is a whole-band experience for the entirety of each song and just because their are not as many passages within each song does not mean the talent of each member goes unnoticed.

You will have to go into this album open-minded and, should you have a diverse enough range of tastes, will be pleasantly surprised at yet another turn down another road in the PoS journey.

Coheed and Cambria are one of my all time favourite bands, so whilst I will try not to be biased there may appear moments of favouritism!

Second Stage Turbine Blade (SSTB) as their first release is still fairly accomplished. The album does not contain the clear and finished production that the rest of their releases enjoys (to the point that I would be interested in hearing a re-recording of the album as much as I hate the needless reproduction of back catalogues) and at times, I personally feel, this can detract from the listening experience as it can sound dated and untidy.

However the music itself, audio qualms aside, is very good and I really enjoy this album. Coheed's albums are instantly recognisable by their opening 'segues' (as good a term as any for the ~1 minute instrumentals). Their music is characterised by vibrant and speedy riffs that compliment the lyrical hooks. The bass and drums for Coheed present a strong, groovy backbone for the diverse guitar playing and eclectic vocals of front man Claudio Sanchez.

As mentioned in previous reviews, whilst the bands later albums give us a more metal and mature sound, SSTB is the youthful pop/punk/emo output for Coheed. That is not to say that the album is under-developed or out of character for the band, it is simply clear that they still on the way to developing a final sound. The album contains all the usual things that make Coheed great and is a good introduction for people as they can, in my opinion, only move upwards from this release.

SSTB does contain a number of Coheed's classics and live favourites, "Time Consumer", "Everything Evil", "Neverender" and the album is fitting with the concept/story theme that defines the journey through their albums.

While I wouldn't say it is essential to a collection (I would be adverse to describing any of Coheed's albums as essential, as it is the entirety of their catalogue to date as one continuous piece that I would describe as essential) it is definitely an excellent debut that's worth trying.