Strayed Again (Gargamel, 2006)

One of the most original ways to the 2000s prog bears the name of Gargamel, a Norwegian band mixing with care old sounds and dark atmospheres. This "Strayed Again" comes from their debut album titled "Watch for The Umbles" and is full of obscure singings à la Peter Hammill, brilliant rythms, claustrophobic passages, urban moods, experimental interplays and - last but not least - a good deal of acoustic instruments.

This debut album featured only five long songs.

Flute and cello,in particular, create intricate and unusual plots and when the track goes free jazz, here come sensitive drums and well played keyboards. So, "Strayed Again" lines up tricky instrumental sections and easier rocky riffs, quiet descriptive music and glorious walls of sound. And even Gentle Giant inspired intro and outro. Uncompromising, that's the word.

The Seventh House (IQ, 2000)

I must admit I wasn't especially fond of this song when I first listened to it, back in the year 2000. But it's been constantly growing inside my soul, so that now it is one of my favourite songs by IQ. And that's saying something! It could be because of Peter Nicholl's disarmingly sincere performance, or maybe because of the neat and convincing guitars, or even because of the keyboards short but effective solo... I really don't know, but of that I'm sure: this is a song passing on me a serene, almost supernatural sense of easiness.

"The Seventh House" was the eighth studio album by IQ (including

"Seven Stories into 98") ...and the first one of the 21st Century!

It's strange, isn't it? There's nothing in the lyrics nor in the music itself actually suggesting such a comfortable feeling, nonetheless a great number of fans and occasional listeners tell me they shared my experience. This song seems to be projected toward a higher and clearer sky. All the tempo and theme changes are so natural and so fluid that I sometimes wonder where on Earth IQ members were when they wrote this song...

The Ruins of A Glass Fortress (Gerard, 2000)

Taken from the same titled album, this mini-suite is another proof of Gerard's skills. Not only these Japanese guys are great composers, but they also offer lavish performances. Take Toshio Egawa's keyboards in this song: they're so different, original and well mixed that one could imagine a whole orchestra is involved. And also the structure of this two-part suite is a treat, with its changes, and the main theme reprises both in instrumental and sung sections.

This was the eighth studio album by Gerard.

Here I can't omit a special mention to the guest singer Jean-Luc F.Nazaki, whose suggestive voice adds an arcane mood to the track and to the trio line-up of Gerard. Of course, when the keys go on fast arpeggios in the second half of part 2, well, my prog ears celebrate... yes, the celebrate for real!

All in Good Time - part one (Glass Hammer, 2000)

Glass Hammer actually are an excellent band and many fans consider their 2000 album "Chronometree" as their best work. "All in Good Time" fills the greatest part of the CD, split in two parts, each one a suite of its own. The first one features six movements for a total duration of 23 minutes. It's a varied, symphonic, well structured epic whose recurring themes and musical solutions show a keen study of classic era prog and also a personal and never-too-serious reinterpretation of that materials. Later in their career, maybe Glass Hammer went too much Yes-oriented, but here you'll find a well balanced inspiration feeding a richly textured music.

One of the best prog albums of the early 2000s, IMHO.

The lyrics are also worth some words. It's a rare case of meta-prog , as we learn the story of Tom, an obsessive prog fan who begins to hear mysterious messages from outer space hidden into his "Close to The Edge" microgrooves. So, he listens to it more and more and even writes down those aliens' messages about a mysterious science called Chronometree. Finally, he gets a nocturnal meeting with the ETs... but unfortunately they don't spring up. So, in the second part of the suite, Tom is obviously disappointed, but - at least - his notes about Chronometree are still there. Those are ironic and clever lyrics matching with an excellent music!

Hole in The Sky (RPWL, 2000)

A  splendid trance prog track, with strong Floydian influences (and after all RPWL were a Pink Floyd cover band) and a lot of beautiful atmosphere. But there's more than this: the slow sung ballad, well performed by Yogi Lang - has an effective melody and the three parts of the song form a coherent and never tiring set. Those sections are separated in two different sections along the band's first CD "God Has Failed": the first two parts - alled "Fly" and "Crawl to You" - open the album, while part 3 - "The Promise" - stands alone as the ninth track of the record.

The album cover by Stefan Wittmann with photos by Birgit Bittermann.

The insrumental section ("Crawl to You") features a stunning Gilmour-esque electric guitar solo, but with a warmer feeling and a fully melodic touch, getting even more heartbreaking in the last section. Later in their career, RPWL will find a more original sound - you'll read something about this elsewhere in this blog - but the old dreaming and pleasant style will never bore me.

Anamnesis (White Willow, 2000)

This soft and mysterious track comes from "Sacrament", White Willow's third album. This Norwegian band knows too well how to revive folk-prog roots and melt Crimsonian dreams and Scandinavian darkness. "Anamnesis" has the sad and nostalgic taste of a fading winter day and also the smell of a fairy tale, with just a hint of wicked inside.

No, not the Addams. White Willow in a "Sacrament" booklet picture.

Sylvia Erichsen's vocals are exactly the same: sweet and devilish. But also the long instrumental final section is a wonder with its old fashioned keyboards and the winds drawing a hypnotic musical arabesque. Nine minutes of ancient lullabies along a river flowing from the natural world to an unknown otherworldly place. Out of this world, but deep inside human souls.

The Great Nothing (Spock's Beard, 2000)

This long suite (more than 27 minutes) is a peak in Spock Beard's career, IMHO and comes from one of their best albums, "V", obviously the fifth in the band's catalogue. It comprises six movements ("From Nowhere", "One Note", "Come up Breathing", "Submerged", "Missed Your Calling" and "The Great Nothing") and I couldn't say wich is the best one. All melodies are good, there's a perpetual change in arrangements, instrumentations, tempos, moods and a well structured architecture, too. The instrumental passages and the sung themes are always pleasant, but never trivial.

Spock's Beard: their line up for "V" (2000).

Music and words are by Neal Morse and we find here many of his favourite elements, such as the acoustic guitar solos and the piano bridges, but also the spiritual subject in lyrics. In short, this is the quintessential Spock Beard, including the grand walls of sound, some country rock hints and, last but not least, the choral vocal arrangements. With such a programme, those 27 minutes seem to pass in one breath. A breath of good prog, of course.