Not really sure how to categorize these, so I'll make one up. I really do enjoy these compilations from various progressive rock bands who contribute a song or two to a common cause. Some are thematic, others are live concerts, while several more are just a showcase event for new exposure. Musea was one of the pioneers on the thematic side of the house. I did get frustrated later on, as they would add each track as a bonus to any of the group's albums. But by the 2000s, even if they did that, I couldn't keep up anyway. At some point, I hope to gather more of these for the collection.
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Kalevala - A Finnish Progressive Rock Epic (2003)This is a massive undertaking and one of the compilations that kicked off what is known as the Colossus Projects. I think this is the second in the series, but I'm not sure. With a full three CDs to digest, I decided that I would tackle one a week, to keep it fresh. I see a lot of folks stating the third disc is the worst. Not sure if that's because of exhaustion, or a valid data driven observation. We'll see if my approach concludes with a different result.
The epic opens with Haikara, the only vintage 70s band from Finland to participate. Guessing they wanted to pay respect in that way. Haikara's first two albums are legendary prog works with a great reputation, before they switched formulas to disappointment and then disbanded for many years. They had two reunion albums under their belt by the time they recorded the 11.5 minute opus that gets the whole project off to an excellent start.The music is a harder edged style of prog, very similar to their early 70s style. Overhead is a Finnish band I'm familiar with but don't own anything by. They have six albums to their credit through 2023, though they were a rather new entity at this point. Overhead continues the driving nature of Haikara, and provide a spirited eight minute track. They're a group I'd like to explore further (hence the value of these type of projects). We move from Finland one country to the west, and enter Sweden. Simon Says has the privilege to welcome the project. They're a secret favorite for me. I say secret in that it seems the band is still widely unknown, even with deep divers of the scene. I've documented two of their albums here already. I consider them one of the few bands to emulate Genesis, but from an early 70s perspective rather than the 80s neo prog take. And that's precisely the sound they bring to Kalevala. Wonderful stuff. Sinkadus is up next, and you all know where I stand with them. The band that dared entered the world of Anglagard, and did a damn good job at it too, despite the complaints of the naysayers. And, no surprise, they deliver one more great track in the retro prog style loaded with mellotron. Don't think I'll ever tire of the genre. Next, we board a plane and fly down to Italy. The first band to greet us is Moongarden, an odd choice indeed. They are hardly representative of the Italian progressive rock scene. Their stock-in-trade is 80s styled neo prog with English vocals, sort of the opposite of Simon Says' approach. That said, I own nothing by the band and have only heard some of their music. They have nine albums up through 2023. Here they provide a 10 minute track in the patented neo prog style. Perhaps more 70s influenced than I expected. More Wind and Wuthering than Foxtrot, but pleasant all the same. And plenty of modern Pendragon too. They did well here. Il Castello di Atlante is up next and is more representative of the Italian prog renaissance. They were one of the earlier bands to participate, though their seven album recording career is a bit checkered. Ah much better, lyrics in Italian. Nice violin, acoustic guitar, and piano as well. A very good track for the group. We're now going to skip over to Wales and have a visit with Magenta. They're another band I have familiarity with but never dived right in. They have an impressive 11 albums to their credit through 2022. Renaissance anyone? It's placement is perfect here, a soothing type of progressive rock that allows one to relax and take in the beautiful sounds of the female vocals and mellotron. About halfway through they provide a nice heavy guitar break. Super track, and I should explore the band's back catalog further. You could be forgiven for thinking Submarine Silence were from the UK as well, given their use of Paul Whitehead's covers and an obvious affection for an instrumental Anthony Phillips era Genesis. I moved on from their debut CD only in that I have too much of that kind of sound already. This Moongarden side project now has five albums to their credit including this year. Sometimes I think music like this works much better in smaller doses. Submarine Silence sounds fresh here, and makes for a very nice seven minute instrumental interlude. A transatlantic flight over to San Jose, California brings us Metaphor. Yet another band playing the Genesis neo prog tradition, my familiarity with them is about the same as Moongarden. They have four albums through 2019. I'm thinking the project should have had Metaphor tackle a different chapter, only in that we're starting to get into Genesis overload by this point. That said, their contribution is very solid. All these neo prog tracks are a reminder how vibrant the initial premise of the genre held, before taking it into treacherous commercial / AOR waters in the middle 80s. Since were already in California, let's get to our second vintage 70s band: Clearlight. Though French in origin, by this point Cyrille Verdeaux had moved and rebuilt the brand (today he resides in Brazil). I was expecting a style change here, but with Cinema Show's Shaun Guerin providing the vocals, we're back in the Genesis camp. A little of that 70s Clearlight space rock would have been helpful I think. But did I enjoy the music? Yep, sure did. But it's time for a break. Be back in a week. (11/3/25)
And, as promised, it is exactly one week later and we start disc 2. We begin with a group called Orchard, who I'm entirely unfamiliar with. They're from Norway and this appears to be their only recorded work. It might also be the best song on the entire three CD compilation. I had made a short note about that in my original listen eight years ago. It's definitely not a Genesis inspired tune. The music is retro prog in nature, but doesn't necessarily sound like a 70s band. Like a more modern sounding Wobbler perhaps. Brilliant. We then go back to Italy and we're greeted by Greenwall, a band I know of, but never heard beyond this comp. Chamber inspired classical / jazz rock with female vocals in English, very much in the Renaissance camp, though very different than Magenta. A nice change of pace, though wouldn't be my style for a whole album. They also provide the longest track on the entire opus, not sure the best choice for that. A lull in the action I submit. Next up is another Italian band, this one going by Revelation. Never heard of them and it appears they've only recorded for two of these theme comps. Another group stubbornly singing in English, this time by a male. Their sound recalls early Malibran before they switched to their native Italian later in their career. And they do reintroduce us back to Genesis, musically tying the first two discs together, ever so slightly. I probably wouldn't be hankering to hear a Revelation album, if one existed, though it may prove to be excellent. We finally come back home, as it were, with Finland's Scarlet Thread, a band I have documented here on UMR. Instrumental progressive folk rock, with violin and electric guitar as the leads, is their patented brand. Scarlet Thread's sound is perfect for these type of comps, because you could place their music on any one of these albums - anywhere on them in fact - and it will provide a nice segue. And yes, segue indeed, as we now go back to Italy for another five bands in a row. First in this setup is Mad Crayon. I feel certain I heard their 1994 debut back in the day, but I have no rating appended, so clearly it made no impression. Singing in proper Italian, we are greeted with acoustic guitar, piano, and flute, all the trademarks of the classic sound from the Boot country. Haunting wordless female vocals a very nice touch. Overall a sweet track, not entirely far off the Celeste gold standard for such music. That gets us to the legendary Museo Rosenbach. You won't find a bigger booster of their comeback album Barbarica than moi, yet many complain it's not Zarathustra. What is? This recording is a decade prior to that, and the trademark synthesizer is mixed way up front. The song presented here is probably too modern for its own good, a bit stiff in fact, a problem that they managed to resolve ten years on. The polar opposite band to Museo Rosenbach would have to be Leviathan. The former debuted with one of the greatest albums of the century. The other started with one of the worst (the dreadful Heartquake). A Genesis wannabee with poor English vocals and static rhythms. The band has improved astronomically since then, as their entry here is better than Museo Rosenbach's. How the tide has changed. They're also singing, wisely, in Italian. Genesis is still front and center in their repertoire (80s neo variety), but here its execution is excellent, if not a tad overlong. And here they are, the aforementioned Malibran. They were one of the earliest proponents of the Italian prog renaissance. An unusual track for the group, it's bordering hard rock, with some fine melodic lead guitar. The flute brings us back to the familiar prog sounds of the region. A nice diversion piece for the concept. Next up is Sophia Baccini, the charismatic lead singer for Presence. She dominates the composition with her breathy style, often emulating a witch. One that can sing soprano, mind you. Seems this song should have been placed on a Halloween themed comp or something similar. Not anything like the other compositions, though that isn't necessarily a bad thing. We close disc 2 with England's Elegant Simplicity, another one of those bands with close to two dozen releases going back to the earliest days of the prog renaissance. And yet I don't think I've heard a one of them. Here we are provided with a modern styled guitar driven progressive rock instrumental. The kind we often hear from the Netherlands. Rhythmically uninteresting though the melodic instrumental work is quite good. As I said about Greenwall, probably not something I'd need to hear a whole album of, but it's placement here is welcome.
I'm really glad I'm breaking these listens to smaller bite sizes. I preferred the first disc to this one, so my premise of exhaustion may not hold up. OK, I plan to be back next Monday, and we'll get notes down for the 3rd disc, wrap up, and publish from there. (11/10/25)
And now I'll conclude both listening and reviewing the Kalevala epic. This disc opens with quite a startle, a definite sound departure from what had come before. I have seen reviews calling this track out as one of the highlights. As with Disc 2's opening, the band presented is a complete unknown past this contribution. Qadesh is the English band behind it, and presents a very progressive position, sitting between the familiar Genesis pattern but with a jazzy avant prog twist. It's also quite lyrical. A little bit of Squonk Opera can be heard here, a group I had no expectation of drawing a comparison too, especially for this project. I'd be most curious to hear a full album by this group. And they get the second longest swing of the bat for this disc and the third overall. Back to Italy with Cantina Sociale, a band who have three albums to their credit. I haven't heard them prior. Starting off with "sampled" mellotron, they go about singing in proper Italian. Sounds like classic Italian prog to me, though their albums have mixed reviews. This takes us to Sweden's Grand Stand, yet another unknown for me. They bring that big arena sound to the fore. Their overall sound is lush and welcome. A good insertion here. Next up is Germinale, a band I know very well having acquired their first three albums real time. They always seemed on the cusp of something great, but never really got there. Here they play a song in narrative Italian, recalling Pholas Dactylus, J.E.T., or similar. The 'Now Comes the Battle' statement recalls Aphrodite's Child's 666. I like the uniqueness of this track, though once again, Germinale fails to excite. Flute is a nice enhancement. Aardvark is next. This is the Finnish internet collaboration group, that I've written positively about prior. Female vocals sung in Finnish dominate, with a retro hard rock sound underneath. An excellent pivot from the traditional Genesis prog sound this comp seems to focus on. Switzerland's Thønk comes next, and I had their sole album once. I recall being disappointed with its monolithic keys-bass-drums sound. But that was a long time ago to be fair. And here we are doing the instrumental organ, bass, drums thing. Yea a whole album of this would be boring, at least for a modern group (I can accept it better as an historical artifact). But at 6:35, it's both a deviation and short enough to find its perfect placement here. Nice. Back to the home country with Groovector, whose debut I've documented enthusiastically here on UMR. Lacking both the flute and Hammond, the track comes across as a New Age interlude, dull and glossy. Misses the magic of Ultramarine. The strangely named Whobodies comes next. They do have a cdr-ep to their credit, so not a made-up-on-the-spot group (I think?). They are also the last impression from Finland (in original form). Opening up in Dave Brubeck Quartet style, with jazzy piano and walking bass, the atmospheric sax and trombone introduce themselves. They then switch into a type of jazzy prog rock, the kind Genius Hans gravitates too. Would like to hear more from these guys. Our last trip to Italy combines two Italian bands together: Randone & Tempore. Nicola Randone's group has six albums to their credit, none of which I've heard. The only Tempore I can find is a group from the 60s. I'm thinking they may be the choral group accompanying on this song. The music is classic Italian prog sung in the native language, with mellotron samples, and excellent breaks. The epic closes with France's Cafeine. I tried their one album from this era and appended a very low grade on it. My (private) review is also quite harsh. I don't remember the experience too much to be honest. But will they sound different to me on a compilation? Well, yes they do actually. I really like the guitarist's melodic style and the driving Vince Guaraldi styled piano. They were also awarded the longest track of the disc, and second overall.
Somehow, on the second pressing, they found room for a (short) bonus track on the third disc. This comes from UMR favorite Viima, a Finnish group who seemingly exists for a compilation such as this. And they don't disappoint, providing a more appropriate coda to the concept than Cafeine did.
OK, I did prefer the 3rd disc to the second, and it's very different from the Genesis packed opening disc. Sometimes I think these compilations of original material is the way to go for many progressive rock bands. A little bit goes a long way. As noted in the opener, I hope I get an opportunity to hear more of them. Breaking it up in shorter listens is the right approach - or for long journeys on the open highway.
Ownership: 2008 Musea (3xCD). Fatbox. Huge booklet filled with details. Has one short bonus track.
12/30/17 (acquired); 11/3/25-11/17/25 (review)
Kings' Boards (1990)
Recorded and released in the heyday of the Japanese progressive rock movement, Kings' Boards pulls together five ivory ticklers and pairs them with a hodgepodge of rhythm sections, for what can only be considered an instrumental progressive rock extravaganza. In many quarters, you will see this album released as the band Kings' Boards, but I don't think that's correct. It's a compilation very much in spirit to those on Musea or Colossus. That is to say, all new material recorded for the sole purpose of this one album.
The liner notes are telling if you're still unsure what you are getting into here. Instead of a favorite Playmate, each one is asked to choose a favorite keyboardist. Keith Emerson wins with two, and Tony Banks and Vangelis each got one vote. Only Motoi Sakuraba went outside the box and chose Japanese jazz pianist Kei Akagi.
As for the music, the main draw here is Naomi Miura, who was with the cutesy semi-prog band Rosalia at the time (who only managed an EP in their day). This is anything but cute, and the music has a distinct dark edge with lots of mellotron, Mini Moog, and wedgy twisted fuzzy organ. She is in fact predicting the rise of Ars Nova two years ahead of time.
The other track I quite like comes from Shigetomo Hashimoto, who was with a band called Ashule. I vaguely recall that name from back then, and RYM shows two unrated releases. If I recall correctly they were tape traded pretty heavily but never managed to release anything formally.
Of course the Motoi Sakuraba track that opens the disc is fantastic, but it was also released on his own debut Gikyokuonsou (which I've reviewed prior), and this now becomes redundant. But if you don't have that already, then you're in for a treat.
The last two tracks are good not great. Manabu Kokado is from White Fang, a band who also only managed one release (Crimson Waves). I never did hear it, but if memory serves they mixed glam metal with extended prog rock compositions - it wasn't such a bizarre concept in those days as it may sound now. The last one comes from Social Tension's Kodomo Endo, and his contribution here is a long way (unfortunately) from his Hammond fueled band.
One of the unique twists here is the mix of the rhythm sections. Mostly they were provided from members of Social Tension and White Fang, as well as the very obscure act Seilane, who I know nothing about.
Ownership: 1990 Made in Japan (CD)
1991 (acquired); 2/15/19 (review)
Enchantement is quite representative of the late 80s French progressive
scene, which is not the same thing as saying it's superb. There's a
certain New Wave charm to some of the tracks (Elohim, Pulsar, Ange), and
there's the made-up-on-the-spot group Atmosphere, who nonetheless
provide one of the album's highlights (just don't go looking for the
mythical non-existent LP).
From the original LP - Minimum
Vital, Raison de Plus, and Sombre Reptile were among the highlights.
Sadly the latter two never achieved the same level of expertise with
their somewhat futile CD efforts later on. Minimum Vital, of course,
have continued to be one of the bright lights of French progressive rock
for almost 30 years now.
Note that the CD reissue is much improved from the original LP: Two are replacements of different material (Edhels, Boffo), and two are new (Anoxie, Halloween). The latter two total over 16 minutes, so not an insignificant addition. And the Halloween track is arguably the best thing on here. I used to own the LP, but traded it out for the CD not long after release, and considering the excellent Edhels LP track is a bonus on the Still Dream CD, that made the decision easy. The CD booklet is as informative as ever about each band participating.
For me, it's all a bit of nostalgia, as I knew the guys from Musea, and was just starting my own extensive journey into the netherworld of obscure progressive rock back in the 80s.
Ownership: 1989 Musea / Baillemont (CD). Booklet with liner notes.
1988 (LP acquired); 1996; 11/21/15 (review)
8/19/16 (new entry)
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