Prog & Roll is celebrating its 4rth Birthday with a special show…

  I’m writing this post to inform you that on this Sunday 2^nd of October, Prog & Roll radio show will  celebrate its 4rth birthday with a special show.

 We prepared a very jolly, powerful and kind of noisy (in parts) playlist especially for the occasion, so it would give the impression of a party in a way.

  But that’s not all. Because this show will signify the official opening of the new season, we are going to announce our plans for the show. Which elements of the main structure of Prog & Roll will remain the same, which ones will be removed, and what new things we are going to add to the show, in order to make it more enjoyable and more fun.

  Personally, I believe that it will be a very enjoyable and fun show to listen to, so try to tune in if you are in the mood for some good music and a friendly and warm atmosphere in the chatbox.

  I would like to remind you that Prog & Roll is a live radio show, and the broadcasting is mostly in English, but also Greek as well. It begins at 20.00 UK time, and its always on time!

You can listen to the show by clicking on the following link at the time and day I mentioned above:

www.justincaseradio.com 

Hope to "see" you there.

Thank you! :-)

TV Series: Narcos - Season 2 (2016 - Netflix)

                         WARNING: Spoilers Ahead!

All Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar wanted,  was to be able to spend some quiet time with his family, smoke his fine (I’m guessing) Colombian weed, and run his Cocaine business in peace.

And if he had to slaughter every living soul in his country to get these things, so be it. 

  Before I continue writing this piece, I think I should make clear that I enjoyed this show so much, that I didn’t want it to end. Because for me, ‘Narcos’ is finished. And here’s why: Although Netflix did a fantastic job with this series, I strongly believe that they messed it up totally with their plans. Because, when you have to deal with a real person and not a fictional character, there is not much you can do, since there is a historical background anyway. Everybody, even if he/she never heard of Pablo Escobar before, can make a research and learn almost everything about his life. So, when this series begun, everybody knew that is was going to end with Escobar’s death. But as it seems, there is a lot of money involved in this business…

  I finished Season 1, and I was literally counting the days for the 2^nd season to begin. But a few days before that, I learned that Netflix announced 2 more seasons for Narcos. That was it for me. It spoiled my whole appetite for the show, and that is maybe the reason I delayed to begin watching the 2^nd season so much.

  In the 1^st season we witness the rise of Pablo Escobar and we watched him “building” his empire from the late 70’s ‘till 1992. Knowing beforehand that Pablo Escobar was killed in 1993, we knew that there wasn’t much time left for him anyway. So, when I heard that there will be 2 more seasons, I understood where the whole thing is going and kind of lost my interest. Anyway…

  Season 2 picks up in 1992, after Escobar’s prison escape and only covers the last year before his murder in 1993. Because the events are taking a very dramatic turn, this season is more focused on Escobar himself. So, we are watching him fall and slowly but steadily loosing his allies, his money and his men. Near the end, he is hiding, trying to escape his fate, having after him the whole Colombian Police Force, plus some of his Rival cartels that are trying to steal a piece of his former empire. He finally meets his end on a terrace, shot by man of the Colombian Police force.

  Wagner Moura, in the role of Escobar is fantastic, especially in this 2^nd season. I am really going to miss his performance to be honest. Congratulations Mr. Moura, you did a really great job!

  Concluding this, I just want to add that I definitely recommend Narcos, to those who are interested in TV series, and are not bothered by the extreme - in some occasions - violence. Personally, I enjoyed it a lot, but I am not going to continue watching it. For me Narcos is finished here.

  In the review I wrote about season 1, I gave a solid 9.0 out of 10. I am going to give exactly the same number in season 2 as well, so my overall rating is 9.0 out of 10.0 stars. 

                                 IMDB’s rating is 8.9 out of 10.0

If you are interested, you can read the - rather detailed – review I wrote for season 1 here:

http://gfreedomathina.blogspot.gr/2016/07/tv-series-narcos-1st-season.html 

If you click on the following YT link, you will be able to watch a trailer for season 2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkOKkS7mKfY 

I hope you’ll find this post kind of useful. Thank you for reading…

PROG & ROLL Radio Show (25/9/2017). The complete playlist and more...

Hello all! :-)
Last inght's Prog & Roll radio show was the last of September, and this time we wanted to keep it simple. So, we had no interviews, no guests, no music quiz etc. Just good music and the usual warm and fun company on the chatbox. And you know what? It was lovely! Less responsibilities for us and more fun. ;-)
We had many people participating on the chatbox, and a lot more who were just listening to the music.
Once more, we divided the 2 hour show into 4 half hour parts, and on each part we played a different  style of music.
You can take a look at the whole playlist here:

1st Part: CONQUEROR: Storie di Favole / GANDALF’S FIST: Stowaway to the Mushroom Planet / KARMAKANIC: Steer by the Stars / TOM SLATTER: Mother’s been Talking to Ghosts Again / DIFFERENT LIGHT: A Life in a Day.

2nd Part: UFO: Time on my Hands / SCORPIONS: Fly People Fly / RUSH: Here Again / URIAH HEEP: Too Scared to Run / GARY MOORE: Out in the Fields.

3rd Part: FATES WARNING: Seven Stars / CALIGULA’S HORSE: Marigold / BLIND GUARDIAN: At the Edge of Time / WITHIN TEMPTATION: Ice Queen / NIGHTWISH: Sleeping Sun.

4th Part: IQ: Fading Senses / ARENA: Medusa / MARILLION: Grendel.

On next Sunday the 2nd of October Prog & Roll will celebrate its birthday, and for that reason we will prepare a special show. But more info on that later.

I would like to thank all those who tuned in last night, hoping you enjoyed the music and the show in general.

Thank you very much and have a nice week! :-)

GFreedom's Juke Box No.171

Hello all!:-)
After almost 2 months of absence, my weekly Juke Box post is back. Here, I am writting my weekly Top-5 songlist for you, together with the YT links for the songs in it, so you can have an idea.
So, for this week here are the 5 songs I chose as the best ones:
ARENA: Sirens (Pride - 1996)
NIGHTWISH: Sleeping Sun (Oceanborn - 1998)
TOM SLATTER: Mother's Been Talking to Ghosts Again (Three Rows of Teeth - 2013)
JETHRO TULL: Heavy Horses (Heavy Horses - 1978)
DIFFERENT LIGHT: Eternal Return (Parts 1-6) (The Burden of Paradise - 2016)
Here are the YT links for the songs in my list. (The ones I could find at least). Unfortunatelly I couldn't find the songs by Tom Slatter and Different Light. Enjoy the music and have a nice weekend!
Thank you. :-)
ARENA: Sirens
NIGHTWISH: Sleeping Sun
JETHRO TULL: Heavy Horses

FATES WARNING: Theories of Flight (2016)

  Before you continue reading this, I should inform you that I am not a great fan of Progressive Metal. I like some bands the normal amount, but that’s all. For that reason, don’t consider this post as a review, because it isn’t.

  Fates Warning is one of the bands that I have some of their albums in my collection, but I can’t say I listen to them frequently. [For those who might be interested, I have the following 3 albums: Perfect Symmetry (1989), Parallels (1991) and Disconnected (2000).]

  In 2016 the band released their new album Theories of Flight, which became the 4rth album that I now own by Fates Warning.

  Theories of Flight include 8 songs and has a total running time of almost 50 minutes. Most of the songs are between 4.00 and 7.00 minutes in length, with only 2 exceptions: The almost 10 minutes long songs ‘The Light and Shade of Things’ and ‘The Ghosts of Home’. The Light and Shade of Things is one of the album’s highlights in my opinion, if not THE highlight.

Further than that, the style of the album is the usual style of Fates Warning, and I believe that the fans of the band will not be disappointed. The production is good, the compositions are interesting, the sound is “tight”, the guitar riffs are great in most occasions and so on.

  Have in mind that with every new listening the album “grows” in you, so don’t be hasty in your judgment. Personally speaking, I consider Theories of Flight to be a good album, that’s totally worth your money. My favourite songs (so far) are: Seven Stars, The Light and Shade of Things and Like Stars Our Eyes Have Seen.

            I would give 3.0 out of 5.0 stars as a rating.

By clicking on the following YT link you will be able to listen to the song Seven Stars to get a first idea. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I32Uq9Aw3Qc

SIVERT HOYEM (ex-Madrugada) Live in the shadow of Acropolis...

  Sivert Hoyem is a very popular musician in Greece, and that has happened since his early days with Madrugada. He had visited Greece many times for concerts, and every time he gives his best self on stage.

  I am a fan of Madrugada since the release of their debut album 'Industrial Silence' in 1999, and I have seen Sivert on stage with Madrugada or solo over 10 times I think. (Last time I saw him playing live was a few months ago at a venue in Athens).

Here you can read my “review” for that concert: http://gfreedomathina.blogspot.gr/2016/04/sivert-hoyem-live-in-athens-2342016.html

But this time will be different.

  As far as we know, Sivert was always dreaming to play live in the ancient Herodeion Theater, that lies exactly under the Acropolis in Athens. And now his dream will come true.

For that reason, he is preparing a special show, with special guests on vocals, plus a string quartet, and as far as he stated, he is going to include in the show many songs from his days with Madrugada that he doesn't play live anymore.

  The first concert that was announced is for the 29th of September it became sold-out in almost 2 weeks. For that reason, one more date has been added, the 2nd of October.

The tickets are already on sale for the 2nd concert, so in case you are living in Athens or you are a visitor, don't miss the chance to see a wonderful concert that will take place at a really fantastic ancient theatre. 

I already bought my ticket, and to be honest, I can't wait! :-)

You can buy your ticket online here: http://www.tickethouse.gr/en/#

(On the pictures you see the concert's poster, and a picture of the ancient theater that the event will take place).

Prog & Roll radio show with a special guest on the chatbox. The complete playlist and more..

Hello all!

   Last night one more Prog & Roll radio show came online the usual hour at the usual internet radio station. As I had announced from before, we had the pleasure to have with us on the chat box the Israelian musician/composer and producer, Mr. Yossi Sassi, the former member and leader of the Israelian Ethnic Metal band Orphaned Land. Yossi has been following a solo career for some years now, and a few months ago he released his 3^rd studio album Roots and Roads.

Altogether, we spend a very pleasant 2 hours, by listening to music and chatting through the chat box. Both us and our listeners had many questions for Yossi, some serious and some fun ones. He was very cool and gentle, and I believe he really enjoyed the whole thing.

  From our behalf, we prepared a special one-hour-long part, dedicated to Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Folk/Traditional/Rock music in order to honour him, during which, we played 4 songs from his new album, together with some parts of the interview we took from him a couple of weeks ago.

  Personally speaking, I was very pleased with last night’s show. It had a good vibe and lots of fun. The playlist was including in its majority songs from artists and/or bands that we play in Prog & Roll only on special occasions.

  We also had our music quiz once more, and the winner was Kudosarian from Ireland, who proved to be very good and quick in google search. ;-) 

His prize was a digital version of the album Roots and Roads, that was an offer from our guest, and we thank him for that.

Here you can take a look at the whole playlist from last night:

Part 1: 1000MODS: 7 Flies / NIGHTSTALKER: Children of the Sun / SIVERT HOYEM: Lioness / COSMOS: Skygarden / PENDRAGON: Schizo.

Parts 2 & 3 (Ethnic & Traditional): SUBTERANNEAN MASQUERADE: Nigen / Interview with Yossi Sassi Pt. 1 / YOSSI SASSI BAND: Bird Without a Tree / Interview Pt. 2 / DEAD CAN DANCE: Rakim (Live) / MARIZA KOCH: Sto pa kai sto ksanalew / YOSSI SASSI BAND: Rizes kai Dromoi / YOSSI SASSI BAND: The Religion of Music (music quiz) / Interview Pt. 3 / MYRATH: I Want to Die / THE KORDZ: Last Call / Interview Pt. 4 / YOSSI SASSI BAND: Wings.

Part 4: JETHRO TULL: Cross-Eyed Mary / CRESSIDA: Summer Weekend of a Lifetime / JULIAN’S TREATMENT: Fourth from the Sun / GENESIS: The Musical Box.

I would like to thank all of you that you tuned in and listened to our show, and especially Yossi Sassi. I hope everybody had some nice time and enjoyed the music and the show in general.

Prog & Roll will be online again on Sunday the 25^th of September, at 20.00 UK time as usual.

Thank you very much!