Heard a single on the radio last night from the upcoming Mars Volta album. I never thought I’d see the day where a modern rock song, indistinguishable from progressive rock, with Spanish lyrics would be the upcoming single on an album and marketed to death on the radio, but this was extraordinary, sounding quite a bit like Deus ex Machina in the Gladium Caeli days. Very impressive. I have no idea how they guys can be so lousy live, yet continue to put out impressive studio music.
NeBeLNeST - ZePTo
ZePTo is the third NeBeLNeST album and the third album is often the point on the path where you’ve got a hang of a band, and it’s fairly apparent at this point that the musicians’ chops are what they are and there really isn’t all that much development as far as new ideas go. I saw them live several years ago where a lot of song intervals were created with a lot of synths and noise, and it seems like a direction they’ve taken up here too. It’s certainly not as consonant as the previous album, maybe a little more challenging, but I doubt fans will have much of a problem. It’ll be interesting to see how it grows as a listen.
Hero - Hero
Hero was a mid-70s Italian group creating progressive rock with a much more Germanic flavor than their contemporaries, in fact the closest they get to home is a little Campo di Marte or Il Balletto di Bronzo with the intensity. Obviously this remaster is much better sounding than previous Poor House boots, and it’s likely the sonic difference might make a major difference in one’s opinion now that everything is clear. It reminds me a little of the RRR album as well in that the compositions are the sort that will click more after multiple listens. I’ve had an 11 on this, but I can see it making a 12 with some immersion.
Also spinning the Miles Cellar Door Sessions 1970 set now that I’ve got a real box and not the copy that was leaked several years ago. I like the sort of leathery feel of the box, very 1970.