Triumvirat's second LP, 1974's Illusions on a Double Dimple, is a prog-rock masterwork, incorporating operatic choirs and bursts of pop levity into two seamless, side-spanning epics. But what they lacked in originality they made up for with mind-boggling chops. Propelled by Jürgen Fritz's keyboard arsenal of grand piano, Hammond organ and Moog synth, the band were clearly versed in the science of Brain Salad Surgery. This German trio is often branded as a clone of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, which is an unfair, if understandable, dismissal. Triumvirat, ‘Illusions on a Double Dimple’ (1974)."It's a crazy flamenco prog-rock folk record! They had tap dancing on the record and castanets too! Everyone I've played it to has been blown away by it." R.R. "It's amazing," Opeth frontman Mikael Akerfeldt told Metal Hammer in 2012. Even as Fandangos in Space has faded into obscurity, it has reached a new generation of musicians. After releasing two more albums (and opening for Santana and Jethro Tull), Carmen folded in 1975. In a glammy yelp, the frontman sang tales of bullfights and gypsies, as the music blended Mellotron, rock rhythms, and zapateado footwork into a cosmic headfuck (produced by David Bowie collaborator Tony Visconti). But London-based Carmen made that synthesis feel revolutionary on their debut LP, chasing the vision of Los Angeles singer-guitarist David Allen (who was assisted by his sister and keyboardist Angela Allen). R.R.įlamenco prog: a pretty ridiculous idea, even for 1973. Yet they never achieved more than a faithful regional following, despite a glowing Rolling Stone review: "Like the first albums of Steely Dan, 10cc, and the Tubes, Crack the Sky's debut introduces a group whose vision of mid-'70s ennui is original, humorous and polished." Bolstered by the fans they do have, Crack the Sky have kept at it: Their 15th studio album, Ostrich, was released in 2012. Led by singer-mastermind John Palumbo, the band expertly navigated chunky hard-rock riffs ("Hold On"), barbed art pop ("Surf City"), fusion funk (the wicked breakdown in "She's a Dancer") and long-form balladry ("Sea Epic"). Case in point: West Virginia wise-asses Crack the Sky, who created an outright classic with their kaleidoscopic debut. R.R.Īmerican rockers aren't known for their prog ambitions, and the bands that did push the boundaries usually slipped through the commercial cracks. "There is a timeless quality about that record," Hawkins told The Music Express in 2014. Opener "Phasors on Stun" became a minor AM radio hit, driven by a yearning hook from frontman-bassist-keyboardist Cameron Hawkins, and the band has released several more albums over the years, but FM never managed to reach their debut’s deep-cosmos magic. Jeff Plewman, who performed onstage with his face entirely obscured by surgical bandages. Still, Black Noise was one of late-era prog’s most original albums – a hypnotic blend of symphonic synthesizer effects and glossy New Wave melodies, plus an exotic whirl of electric mandolin and violin from Nash the Slash, a.k.a. Superficially, Toronto-based FM had a lot working against them: Aside from Rush, Canada was never a prog hotbed, and the band released its debut album in 1977, as many of the genre's originators were fading. But maybe that just makes Ruins more prog than prog. Some have tagged Hyderomastgroningem unlistenable and undoubtedly it could drive most fans of King Crimson or Yes batty. The most obvious influence on Ruins' ringleader Yoshida Tatsuya is Magma's iconoclastic Christian Vander - like Vander, Yoshida even created his own language for the band - but there are also traces of experimental freaker Frank Zappa and avant-jazz terrorizer John Zorn (who released the album on his Tzadik label). The band's fifth album is especially fascinating, as Ruins inject snippets of vocal melody, droning doom, punk tempos, and meticulous Crimson-esque prog into their rapidly morphing songs. R.R.īeaming down from the far reaches of the prog-rock galaxy, this Japanese drums and bass duo slam together mathematically improbable meters and dissonant blasts of rhythm with nonsense wails or demonic growls. Their debut is the band at its most dynamic, highlighted by intricate instrumental interplay as far-out as the song titles ("Stumpy Meets the Firecracker in Stencil Forest," "Knee Bitten Nymphs in Limbo"). It’s way above my head” yet he still signed them to Arista. After a showcase, Clive Davis reportedly told the band, "Wow. Formed in a James Madison University dorm room, Washington, D.C.-based Happy the Man recorded three venerated, mostly instrumental prog albums in the late 1970s, striking a seductive middle ground between sax-driven jazz-fusion lunacy (circa Zappa's One Size Fits All) and synth-heavy meditative twittering.
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