Exposé Online

The Light - On a New Horizon

Firmly rooted in the more commercial prog-rock of the late seventies, this quintet from Los Angeles have captured that nice fat sound of bands like Saga, Styx, Boston and Kansas in their heyday, a...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 1996-03-01)

The Load - Load Have Mercy

The story of The Load is a familiar one. A talented and uncompromising young band records an album's worth of material, takes it to a number of different record companies, they all say they...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 1996-03-01)

The Moor - Every Pixie Sells a Story

Well, you gotta wonder about a band that (literally) pays homage to themselves in the liner notes. Hmmm...

Okay, take a deep breath and then belt out the lowest note you possibly can. That...

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(Posted by Mike Grimes 1996-03-01)

The Third and the Mortal - Tears Laid in Earth

This new Norwegian band are already eliciting comparisons to White Willow, but that is actually a somewhat superficial comparison used for lack of a better one. The Third and the Mortal bridge the...

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(Posted by Mike Ohman 1996-03-01)

Tiemko - Clone

Sadly no longer together, Tiemko was perhaps the most consistently inventive and musicianly of the new wave of French prog on Musea. After two uneven but promising albums, the promise was at last...

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(Posted by Mike Ohman 1996-03-01)

Tiemko - Clone

Tiemko are a French trio (here with guests) who have been around since the late 80s. The present offering is their fourth album, and it's been at least several years since their last release...

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(Posted by Mike McLatchey 1996-03-01)

Tipographica - The Man Who Does Not Nod

Although this fabulous Japanese quintet made a big splash with their self-titled debut last year, that album was actually recorded in 1992. This new release, a collection of seven live performances,...  » Read more
(Posted by Dan Casey 1996-03-01)

Tipographica - The Man Who Does Not Nod

After Tipographica's amazing 1994 debut, the big question was: could these guys pull it off live? Well, here's the living proof. Actually, Tipographica has been together since around 1989, gigging...  » Read more
(Posted by Peter Thelen 1996-03-01)

Tisaris - Once Humanity...

Tisaris' debut, What's Beyond? from 1992, showed them to be a very capable band, but for the most part playing an embarrassingly commercial type of sound, hardly worthy of being...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 1996-03-01)

Trem do Futuro - Trem do Futuro

Trem do Futuro ("Future Train") is a young six-piece from Brazil that shows a lot of promise on this, their debut album. A standard four-piece of guitar / keyboards / bass / drums is...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 1996-03-01)

Trembling Strain - Anthem to Raise the Dead

Hiroyuki Shimada, a.k.a. Pneuma, now reappears in the 90s in completely different guise. He now fronts Trembling Strain,...

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(Posted by Mike Ezzo 1996-03-01)

Urban Sax - Urban Sax à Jakarta

For those unfamiliar with Urban Sax, check out the reviews of their earlier albums in issue #5 for all the background information. This four-track mini-CD (eighteen minutes total) captures a live...  » Read more
(Posted by Peter Thelen 1996-03-01)

Various Artists - 70's West Japanese Rock Scene

Apart from the Tokyo scene in the 70s, there were many progressive bands operating in the Kansai region, outside of Tokyo and in the west of Japan, in places like Osaka, Kyoto, and elsewhere....

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 1996-03-01)

Various Artists - A Saucerful of Pink

With all of these recent tribute releases, there seem to be three types of covers: those which stay true to the original (or at least attempt to), those who take the original concept and try to...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 1996-03-01)

Various Artists - Eyewitness - A Tribute to VdGG

This one made it in just under the wire, finding release in the fading days of December. The fact that (at least in the USA) Van der Graaf Generator is not the household word that, say Genesis,...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 1996-03-01)

Various Artists - Lost Years in Labyrinth

This album was just what the doctor ordered back in 1991. Finally someone saw fit to start focusing on other styles besides the symphonic rock that the eighties were glutted with. Featured here are...

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(Posted by Mike Ezzo 1996-03-01)

Various Artists - Lost Years in Labyrinth II

Unlike volume one, there is no theme governing this one other than the fact that all the groups record for Belle Antique. They have intended it as a sort of beginner's guide. All the songs are...

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(Posted by Mike Ezzo 1996-03-01)

Various Artists - Pick & Mix

Whether it's Delerium, Musea, Cuneiform, SI, Kinesis, or whatever label, a sampler CD is probably the best way to get familiar with a lot of new artists in short order. Typically, these CDs are...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 1996-03-01)

Various Artists - Progfest '94: Variety Arts Center - Los Angeles

When it finally appeared at Progfest '95, the ink was still drying on the booklet of this two-CD retrospective of the show a year before. Each of the nine featured bands (Halloween, Kalaban,...

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(Posted by Peter Thelen 1996-03-01)

Various Artists - Space Daze

This is the compilation/companion to the Cleopatra book of the same name. In my opinion, this (and the music herein) speaks for Space Rock a lot more effectively than the book, as when it comes to...

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(Posted by Mike McLatchey 1996-03-01)