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Tuesday, September 7, 2010 |
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Each year the popular Gagliarchives radio program conducts a comphrensive poll to determine the 100 Best Albums of the Year as voted by the prog rock community. Below are the Top 10 Albums of 2007. Be sure to tune in Saturdays at 10:00pm ET. |
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Porcupine Tree Fear of a Blank Planet |
Always a bride’s maid, and yet, never a bride. That’s been the story of one of the greatest bands of the modern progressive rock era. Well, at least in the top 100 voting over the last decade I should say. In 2005, Deadwing finished #2 behind The Mars Volta’s Francis The Mute despite being our audiences most requested disc. In 2002, In Absentia was #2 in the top 100 to many fans disappointment. Fear Of A Blank Planet may be, without a doubt, the quintessential album of their dynamic catalog. The album features Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson, King Crimson guitarist and focal point, Robert Fripp, Dave Stewart, (that’s right, THE Dave Stewart…he did the string arrangements) and Jon Wesley who has been a small piece of many bands and artists in the current era’s top tier. The album reflects ultimately on how screwed up our kids are today. It goes in passionate detail how more or less, instead of talking to our children, or letting them feel their emotions, we are quick to buy video games and slam pills and medication into their system to make them zombies. The concept of the album was inspired by Brett Easton Ellis' novel Lunar Park which is told from the perspective of a father, but cleverly, the album is mostly from his son's point of view. It’s been noted that many of the lyrics for Fear of a Blank Planet are lifted directly from the novel, particularly "My Ashes", which is a homage to the last chapter, in which the ashes of a cremated father are scattered and cover the memories of his life. The album was a huge success on our weekly top 20, being the #1 disc for 30 weeks, and success globally by peaking at #3 on the billboard internet charts, and charting in the top 20 in many European countries. This disc clearly deserved being #1 in 2007. Steven and the gang have done it perfectly on this one, and caught the true essence of what Porcupine Tree is supposed to be. |
Within Temptation The Heart of Everything |
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This album was a tricky one with our audience. Seeing that we started airing the album in March, with the US release date not until July, the buzz was amazing. I started fearing fans would be waiting outside the studio for a copy with billy clubs to take me out. For 7 straight weeks, The Heart Of Everything was clearly our most requested disc. And as I said, it wasn’t even available in the US! The Heart Of Everything’s main theme instills the question, “What is most important to you?” The album touches on all the styles that have made Within Temptation so great over the years. Back in 2004 with the release of The Silent Force, the strings were a bit too much in the forefront, which isn’t a bad thing; it just took away from the sheer power that we know they can unleash. Within Temptation has reached full maturity on this with so many different levels of depth. The sonics are amazing as well. At times, this disc is radio friendly with tracks like What Have You Done Now? with guest vocalist Keith Caputo, and The Howling, another accessible track that still is undeniably Within Temptation. This album, combined with the U.S. tour brought them to a larger audience which in turn, makes for a big contribution to their being a finalist in the top 10. Stay beautiful Sharon. |
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Symphony X Paradise Lost |
It took almost two years after the initial tease that the gang were ‘pulling it together’ to record and finish the new album. Paradise Lost was worth the wait. Some people are calling it the best progressive metal album of the year and I can’t disagree. Based loosely around the epic poem from John Milton, Paradise Lost has a darker feel without losing the powerful classical influence over the material. Only this time it’s not as obvious. After hitting #1 on the Heatseeker’s chart and breaking into Billboard, Paradise Lost became the most anticipated progressive metal album of 2007. The album from beginning to end features all the perfect qualities of Symphony X only increased in power in its technicality, melody, and most of all, its composition. Romeo is god like and does things I have never heard in this kind of intensity. Allen is just a beast vocally, and the rhythm section of Rullo and Lepond mesmerize you into wanting to reach for an Ativan. Pinella is the icing on the cake as his keyboards are just as powerful as each song takes you on a non stop roller coaster ride. Paradise Lost was our most requested progressive metal album of 2007, and just on our weekly top 20 alone, was the most requested in the genre. This album was THE album of the summer. This album is in your face for the entire hour, and KEEPS you listening. Paradise Lost is a masterpiece, and one of the best progressive metal releases of this decade. |
Dream Theater Systematic Chaos |
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Don’t let the title deceive you. Dream Theater has found the perfect balance on this new offering. They have done an excellent job of melding their progressive metal tendencies, heavy rock, and radio accessibility on their 9th album. Systematic Chaos takes the best features of the previous two offerings and puts them together on this juggernaut of an album. The power of their instrumentation, the darker lyrics, and the sonic production of the recording will make progressive metal fans drool. Speaking of fans, a limited amount of 50 had the honor of providing chants on the tracks Prophets of War, and the second part of In the Presence of Enemies. Even their contemporaries had their hands on this in haunting cameo appearances; Corey Taylor, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Jon Anderson, Steve Hogarth, Chris Jericho, Steven Wilson, David Ellefson, Mikael Åkerfeldt, Daniel Gildenlow and Neal Morse all voicing apologies and guilt in the song Repentance which deals with the harrowing struggles of alcoholism which has been prevalent since the Awake disc. It harkened me to Pain Of Salvation’s album Be and the voice mail messages to god. The beauty of this album is that the heavy and dark sound served them well on this. LaBrie has some really great moments within his range and the distortion put on his vocals at times was poignant. Portnoy is still a beast, and Rudess, Myung, and Petrucci are unstoppable. This album is one of the tops of a year where progressive metal seemed to be the taste of the year to our listeners. |
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Rush Snakes & Arrows |
Album number 18 may be one of their greatest of their catalog. Rush returned in 2007 with Snakes And Arrows, a title inspired by the game Chutes And Ladders. In comparison to their last studio album, Vapor Trails, this one is extremely bold and possibly the best material they have done in years. The album faired well on the Billboard charts and was #1 on the internet charts as well. The album was put together in the traditional Rush fashion with Lee and Lifeson in Toronto putting together the music while Neil Peart did the lyrics in California, and worked on the actual album at times through returning to the homeland, and the internet. Finally, not one, not two, but three instrumental tracks! Malignant Narcissism, Hope, and The Main Monkey Business will bring back memories of old, the latter being the first instrumental track on a Rush album since Test For Echo in 1996, and the longest since the classic piece La Villa Strangiato. Malignant Narcissism is also nominated for the 2008 Grammys for Best Rock Instrumental! That being said, these guys are incredibly tight (no, really?) and Velvet Revolver/Foo Fighters producer Nick Raskulinecz gave this album a pair of balls bigger than Neil’s drum kit. Don’t tread lightly over Neil’s lyrics. They are powerful. They do something that most vocal songs in any genre don’t do anymore…they make you think! Centered around the tests of life, youth, crisis, happiness and sadness, Snakes And Arrows even sold this DJ who nearly gave up after Hold Your Fire. Geddy sounds awesome on fretless and vocally, Alex still kicks butt, and Neil, well, do I need to elaborate? The album is a journey that rides the true progressive rock formula with dynamics, power, and attention to subtleties and acoustics. Bravo Rush…you are back! |
Anekdoten A Time of Day |
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Did I mention how great Sweden is when it comes to prog rock? Well, one of the forerunners of the current scene, I should say a decade plus, returned in 2007 with the much anticipated release titled A Time Of Day. Back when Gravity was released a few years back, many fans were disappointed. Most felt the band had turned the corner and were trying to become more accessible, even radio friendly. Well, A Time Of Day should help change that perception. Locking themselves away for the last 3 years, the band wrote one of their strongest albums to date reeking and dripping in mellotrons and emotions. A Time Of Day refines Anekdoten yet again without losing the intensity, dynamics, and passion that we have heard on the previous 4. There are still the consistent sounds of post rock, goth, and metal, but undeniably, album number 5 is still Anekdoten. The new offering even features a flute! Jan and Niklas are powerful in tracks like King Of Oblivion and Great Unknown, while Anna shines on Violin and Mellotron and brings them to the forefront. The consensus with many of our listeners was they finally returned to their old sound that was prevalent to just prior to From Within. This DJ slightly disagrees because Anekdoten in their 16 year history just keeps moving forward. Appreciating their chronology or not, Anekdoten continues to progress. This album is a treat because the melodies are a bit stronger, and the foundation has shown through in their songs. Anekdoten aren’t kids anymore. Their maturity glistens in not just the final product, but the physical product in a nice digipak. My only fault with them is that it will probably be 4 years till we see another recording. Even with that shortcoming, I still love them. Oh, and Anna too. Have you ever seen her eyes up close? |
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Riverside Rapid Eye Movement |
After 2 years, the wait was over. The third and final part of the Reality Dream trilogy closes out with bang in this properly titled Rapid Eye Movement. The disc is powerful, hands down. Its murkiness is just as prevalent on this as the previous two, even more so. The disc is broken into 2 parts (Tracks 1-5, and 6-9). Although the band has been often compared to Porcupine Tree and Pink Floyd even, they are undoubtedly one of the big buzzes in the genre in the last few years. Second Life Syndrome, their previous release, was still getting requests and airplay up until the release of this one, which unfortunately had been leaked to the net in the summer. It didn’t deter fans from buying the disc as this album was clearly one of the big sellers of year. This cohesive, thought provoking album touches on some of our worst fears. Let’s be realistic, it’s not a happy album. But if you are familiar with their work, (I mean, you must be under a rock the last 4 years to not know who they are…) this just adds to the list of a wide range of emotions that will haunt any listener just based on the lyrics alone. Riverside is garnering just as much attention if not more than their contemporary in Poland, Satellite. If you are down and out, I wouldn’t recommend putting this album on. And that is not a put down by any stretch of the mind. What this album emulates is powerful; evocative melodies, great guitar work, driven showmanship, and from beginning to end, a great package. Poor man’s Porcupine Tree? You be the judge. |
The Flower Kings The Sum of No Evil |
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For the first time in 13 years, The Flower Kings return to the top 10 of the top 100. The new disc from the consistent Swedish band shows a bit more passion and resolve than its previous few, and a bit more in dynamics amidst its production. Upon several listens, I could almost hear moments of Retropolis and The Flower King popping up from time to time. Encased in Ed Unitsky's detailed and impressive artwork, this album features a harder symphonic progressive rock sound than its predecessors. Dare I say this album is a bit darker than the previous few as well? Well, maybe not so dark, but it does have it’s moments that caught my ears. As always, the lineup is fresh and professional. The interplay between mainstayers Stolt and Bodin are top notch, and as always, the sound is big. The vibe I was getting from most of our listeners on this was that they felt the Flower Kings weren’t just ‘going through the motions’ on this and that they made a point to make this one of their most durable progressive rock albums in their catalog. Tracks like One More Time, Trading My Soul, The Sum Of No Evil, and the epic Love Is The Only Answer show The Flower Kings are indeed progressing. My personal favorite on this disc is the spacey, quirky, and avant garde piece titled Flight 999 Brimstone Air. It’s a bit uncharacteristic of them to feature what seems like a drum solo interlaced with trippy, Allen-esque laughing in the background. Another thing, It was nice to see that the fundamentalist progressive rock fans that are finicky (and I mean that only in the nicest way) gave their nod of approval in 2007 of their latest offering. |
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Black Bonzo Sounds of the Apocalypse |
Ahhh…Sweden, Sweden, Sweden. Every year the country has some of the greatest progressive rock talent in the world in one genre form or another. This time, a band that hardly had as much response in our world on their debut a few years back, catapulted into our regular weekly top 20 with ease and consistency, making fans of heavy keyboard/guitar driven rock, smile. This time, their sophomore release shows maturity in sound production, composition, and intensity. There are many different flavors and influences on this…Uriah Heep, Gracious, Deep Purple but even with those, Black Bonzo is still its own style. From the thrilling opener ‘Thorns Upon A Crown’, to the 14 minute opus and closing title cut, Black Bonzo takes you on a roller coaster of powerful Mellotron, Hammond organ, and Mini-Moog. Those who love analog will have a deeper appreciation than most. The album rides that thin line between, progressive rock and metal without losing their identity. Some say it’s a crossover album, but after repeated listens, this excellent Swedish band did what most bands only proclaim. They show how prog rock should be played in this modern era. It’s not totally retro, it’s not totally derivative, yet it’s not totally new. Sound Of The Apocalypse is a treat from beginning to end that was totally worthy of being in the top 10 in votes, and makes us eager to hear what the follow up may sound like. Ah….Sweden. |
CIRCA CIRCA |
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When our radio program came to our current radio station back in 1994, there was an artist and project that was getting serious buzz on our new station leading to airplay on 3 other programs not even associated with progressive rock. It was World Trade’s Euphoria. The excitement was more around the fact the Chris Squire made a cameo on two tracks. But, the more I listened, the more I enjoyed the progressive pop flavor of Billy Sherwood’s compositions. As time would go by, Billy would release collaborative works with Squire under the banner of Conspiracy, solo conceptual projects, and ultimately, an integral part of the new era of Yes. By the latter part of this decade, Billy pulled together a gang for the new Circa project including Yes drummer Alan White, keyboardist Tony Kaye from the original/90125 Yes, guitarist Jimmy Haun, who was featured on the Union album from 1991, and of course Billy on bass and vocal duties. Although the disc rode the theme of a modern Yes style sound, it showed the strength of Billy’s mainstream progressive rock tracks even despite music fans’ difficulties in finding better availability through a variety of vendor outlets to purchase it. But those that did get the disc showed infinite love for it. For fans of a modern prog edge that pays homage to a symphonic sound without losing its accessibility, Circa is for you. |
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Other Years: 2007 | 2006 | 2005 |
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