MACHINES DREAM: Black Science (2017)

  I discovered Machines Dream recently and I was very surprised by the quality of their music. They are Canadians, and their discography consists of 4 albums so far.

In 2017 the band released their latest work, named as Black Science, which can be found in digital or physical (CD) version.

     Black Science is dark; dark and wonderful…

  The lyrics of the album are focused on the 20^th Century, and especially to the  2 great wars; WW1 and WW2. As for heir sound, is solid, powerful, heavy and dark. (I will probably use the word 'dark' a lot in this piece).

The strong Pink Floyd influences (among other bands) can be found everywhere, but that is not a problem at all.

  The album opens with the short intro Armistice Day, followed by Weimar, which is the album’s longest track and one of the highlights without a doubt.

After I listened to Weimar for the first time, I stopped listening to the rest of the album, and listened to it twice before deciding to continue. Yes, it's that good!

The Cannons Cry which comes next, is a more powerful tune, but also dark and heavy.

Then, Heavy Water enters, which – if I’m not mistaken - is about the efforts both sides did in order to create first the A-Bomb. Another excellent tune!

Airfield on Sunwick is the album’s 5^th song, a melancholic but lighter tune, very beautiful as well.

The 6^th track is the title song, which points out some of the worst things that humanity did during the 20^th Century, further than the 2 great wars. Another highlight here.

As I was reaching towards the end, I discovered the first song I didn’t like, which is UXB. It is not bad, but is nowhere near the previous ones.

The last song is Noise to Signal which is the second song I didn’t like so much. Again, it’s not bad, but nothing special either. (But it is better than UXB, especially during its 2^nd part).

  So, to sum up, Black Science is a really good album, not very easy to listen to, and certainly not so enjoyable or fun. It is heavy, dark, serious, melancholic, and… great!

It is a really interesting, not to say unique release.

Highly recommended, but you must consider the things I wrote above. Also, have in mind that it will take some time and a few listens in order to really appreciate it.

If you think that the things you just read sounds interesting, then go for it! You will not regret it.

                           4 solid stars from me

 If you click on the following YT link, you will be able to listen to Heavy Water.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tw656baIV2o 

DRIFTING SUN: Twilight (September 1st, 2017)

Hello all!
  I am writing this piece in order to inform you about the forthcoming release from the very good English Neo-Prog band Drifting Sun.

  The band's new album is Twilight, and it is going to be released on the 1st of September. It is the band's 5th studio album, which is including Mathieu Spaeter on guitars, who joined Drifitng Sun as a replacement of Dan Storey.
 I already have in my music library the digital version of Twilight, and I listen to it every day. (In the meantime, I am also waiting for the psysical copy to arrive).
  In comparison with the band's two previous albums (Trip the Life Fantastic and Safe Asylum), I really think that, this is their best work so far. It is more "mature" than Trip the Life Fantastic, and less dark than Safe Asylum. 
  I am not going to write a review here, because the album is not officially released yet. I will write one though, in the following weeks.
  So, in case you are interested, you can pre-order the album (the digital or the physical version) from many online shops, but I would recommend Drifting Sun's Bandcamp page, or their official site.
Here's a few links to take a look if you are interested: https://driftingsun.bandcamp.com/
http://www.driftingsun.co.uk/shop/
 I really believe that this band deserves more attention, and Twilight is a very good starting point.
Thank you!

BIG BIG TRAIN: The Second Brighter Star (2017)

   The Second Brighter Star is the 11^th studio album of the English Prog Rock band Big Big Train, that followed the release of their  previous album Grimspound, with only two months difference. Grimspound was released at the end April, and “Brighter Star” at the end of June.

   That was a little unexpected, and caught many people (including me), by surprise.

  As far as I understood (and read), in “Brighter Star” the band decided to include songs that were not included in their two previous albums, together with a few older songs that have been rearranged. The original versions of those songs can be found in Folklore and Grimspound.

  In the review I wrote about Folklore, I mentioned that after the release of the two excellent albums English Electric Pt.1 & 2, the band went a step back with Folklore. Grimspound that followed, was a good album, better than Folklore in my opinion, but I’m afraid I can’t say the same for this last one.

  The Second Brighter Star is not a bad album, but nothing special either. Yes, the usual melodic and melancholic style of Big Big Train is present once more, but the compositions as less inspired and less interesting. (Always in my opinion). The sound is rich, including many instruments and the production is very good, but that’s not enough I’m afraid.

  The best moments here are: The Second Bright Star (the album’s opening track), followed by the very interesting rearranged versions of London Plane and Brooklands.

  This is an album that I could recommend to the fans of Big Big Train, who I can guess that bought it alredy. As for those who are not fans of BBT, you can try it of course, but I do not recommend it. Better try English Electric Pt.1 & 2, and Grimspound.

       I’m afraid I cannot give more than 3.0 out of 5.0 stars.

Here's an event you souldn't miss... (Athens 22/9/2017)

  On Friday the 22nd of September, a special event will take place at the wonderful Herodion ancient theatre in Athens, Greece.
  The Philarmonic orchestra of Prague and the Symphonic orchestra of Athens, will present a Rock concert played in a "symphonic" way. The setlist will be including songs from very famous bands, like Queen, Led Zeppelin, Scorpions, Deep Purple and others. With them, many musicians will appear on the stage as guests, including the drummer of Frank Zappa (F. Honig), and Steve Harley, the leader of Cockney Rebel, among others.
  The ticket prices begin from 28€, which in my opinion is a very good price for this event.
So, if you are living or visiting Athens, this is something that you shouldn't miss!