7 Ocean - The Mysterious Race of Strange Entities ($14.99)
Note Hungary & Romania have their own page. Titles are arranged alphabetically with the latest additions highlighted in yellow.
7 Ocean - The Mysterious Race of Strange Entities ($14.99) We’ll be the first to admit that our Belarus section is a bit thin, but as a start, here is the 2008 debut CD from Belarus band 7 Ocean, a trio of experienced musicians. The music is 1970s-style keyboard-centric symphonic prog with some influence of ELP, The Nice, Rick Wakeman, Greenslade; really an amalgam of all the keyboard prog from that era, with an Eastern European flavor. The vocals are in what could be Belarusian. (All those languages with Cyrillic characters sound the same if you can’t speak any of them.) The music is relatively vocal-heavy, but as the tracks are long -- 10 tracks totaling 80-minutes -- there is ample room for instrumental and vocal passages to share the stage.
Abraxas - Live: In Memoriam ($15.99)
Abraxas - Abraxas... cykl obraca się ($15.99) After Collage and Quidam, Abraxas was the best Polish neo-progressive band of the 1990s, influenced primarily by Marillion and Genesis. This is the remastered edition of their (sort-of) self-titled 1996 debut, with two bonus tracks and a poster. It’s 71-minutes long, comes in jewel box + slipcase, and is their best album.
Centurie (1998) is their second, while 99, logically from 1999, is their third. These are the 2011 reissues, packaged in super jewel boxes. Read the DPRP reviews of Cykl obraca się, Centurie, and 99.
Live: In Memoriam (2000) was their final release, a massive 78-minute live album in a digipack with a 24-page booklet. Check for the CDs by the related bands Xenn and Svann below.
Acute Mind - Acute Mind ($15.99) This is the 2010 digipack debut for Acute Mind, a six-piece Polish prog band that first gained notoriety opening for Quidam. They toe the modern Polish prog line, meaning they don’t stray far from the Riverside and Satellite camps, their music both melancholy and symphonic. Read the DPRP reviews. Here is the video for the song Misery; other Acute Mind songs can be found nearby on YouTube.
After - No Attachments ($13.99) 
After - Endless Lunatic ($15.99)After are an excellent Polish progressive rock sextet singing in English. It was the case that most of the Polish prog bands that appeared during the 1990s were influenced by Collage, and during the early 21st century, most of the new Polish prog bands bear some resemblance to Riverside. After’s 2005 debut Endless Lunatic features guest appearances by Colin Bass (Camel), Josef Skrzek (SBB), and Jacek Zasada (Quidam). Here After kind of split the difference between Riverside and Satellite. There is a strong Pink Floyd influence, with the expected dark, melancholy moods and lush spacey textures, but updated to the modern moody aesthetic one can hear in Riverside, Porcupine Tree, and Sylvan, to name just a few. After have some heavy guitar, but they also have strong melodies and some of the symphonic qualities of Satellite. Their second CD Hideout (2008) shifts a bit toward Riverside but is essentially similar, and of very high quality.
Live at Home (2011, 79-minutes, digipack) is a live CD containing performances of the best tracks from the first two studio albums. 32-page booklet.
No Attachments (2011, digipack) is After’s third studio album, which features some cooperation with British band The Pineapple Thief. After’s guitarist Czarek Bregier explains how that came about: “While working on the new album, we wanted to change something, give it a new and different sound. We wanted someone to look at our material from a different perspective. We decided to have the album mixed and mastered at a different studio, though we had no idea where that should be. We very much liked the production of the last The Pineapple Thief album, so we decided to contact the Audiomaster studio where it had been recorded. It turned out that The Pineapple Thief’s keyboard player Steve Kitch actually worked there, and so our cooperation started in a very natural way. The band’s singer and guitarist Bruce Soord also started to work with us on those recordings, which certainly made the album’s sound richer. Mastering was handled by Steve Kitch and Mark Bowyer.”
Ako Doma - same ($16.99) Ako Doma must be the best current band in Slovakia. This is their 1999 debut, an excellent mix of instrumental prog rock and fusion. They’re a 7-piece band on this one, with sax and cello in the lineup.
Albion - Broken Hopes ($15.99) 
Polish band Albion began as a neo-prog five-piece with a female vocalist who sounds like Tracy Hitchings (Landmarq), playing music full of Marillion-isms and somewhat similar to Collage and early Quidam. Remake is a double-CD that combines 2006 remastered versions of Albion’s first two albums Survival Games (1994) and Albion (1995) with five previously-unreleased bonus tracks from 1995-97. These two albums are sung almost entirely in English. The bonus tracks are sung in Polish and are as good as the albums proper.
Albion re-emerged in 2005 with a new female vocalist and the CD Wabiąc cienie, which is sung in Polish. The music here is more compelling than the earlier albums, very close to Collage and, by extension, early Marillion, but with a more feminine, delicate character. With the beautiful female vocals, this also helps fill the void left when Quidam lost their female singer. Albion favor somber-but-beautiful, deliberately-paced tracks. There is a good balance of vocal and instrumental passages, and the vocals are lovely, so anglophone prog fans who still shy away from non-English vocals should give this one a chance. Why miss all these lyrical guitar leads over something as silly as a language barrier?
Albion continue with almost the same lineup on Broken Hopes (2007), but this one is sung in English. If Wabiąc cienie displayed Albion’s feminine side, Broken Hopes shows their masculine side. Not that there aren’t any delicate passages, but this album is noticeably more dynamic, with a greater variety of moods, tempos, and energy levels. It continues in the Collage/Satellite and early Marillion veins while adding a little Pink Floyd. This is Albion’s best album and almost a sure thing for neo-prog fans.
Al-Bird - Sodom & Gomorra ($15.99) In case your progressive rock collection is a little thin in the Central Asia section, here is a prog band from Uzbekistan. Sodom And Gomorra XXI - Progressive Symphonic Poem (2002) is an impressive instrumental rock symphony composed by Al-Bird, aka the keyboardist and guitarist Albert Khalmurzayev. He also plays in X-Religion, a trio with bassist Vitaly Menshikov (Progressor webmaster) and drummer Val Vorobiov, who are also present here. The CD contains a single 50-minute track with four movements and numerous sub-sections, none of which are indexed, so don’t stop your CD player or you may never get back to where you left off. There are myriad references and inspirations evident in the music, which varies from serious-sounding to playful to rocking hard. The listener may be reminded of Pink Floyd, ELP, Greenslade, some of the Canterbury bands, or Russian classical music, but the whole is fairly original. Read the Prog4You and DPRP reviews.
Alters - MILD ($14.99) MILD is an acronym for Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams and is the 2007 debut CD for Polish band Alters. On this CD, Alters is a quartet (click the first mp3 icon to see the instrumentation) playing outstanding progressive jazz-rock with some modern King Crimson flavoring, and probably some debt to SBB. There are low-key Floydian vocals in English, but the music is heavily instrumental and strikes a good balance between challenging/angular and structured/melodic/symphonic. Note Alters added a trumpet player to the lineup after this album was recorded.
Amarok - Metanoia ($16.99) 
No relation to the Spanish band of the same name, this is a superb Polish progressive artist. Amarok is essentially Michal Wojtas and a shifting lineup of other musicians he has recruited to realize his vision. The self-titled album is Amarok’s 2001 debut CD. There is one (female) vocal number that sounds similar to early Quidam or Karnataka, but the album is predominantly instrumental, with influences of Pink Floyd and especially Mike Oldfield, as well as several other progressive styles. We recommend this one without hesitation. 64-minutes.
Neo Way (2002) is the second Amarok CD. The first half of this CD runs through a number of light progressive and progressive pop styles, including Oldfield, Gordon Giltrap, Dire Straights, U2, and a very skillful solo piano piece. Three of these tracks have vocals courtesy of Colin Bass, the Camel singer/bassist, while the remaining tracks are instrumental. The second half of the CD is taken up by Neo Way I - VII, which is very much in the Mike Oldfield vein.
Metanoia (2004) is again quite different from the previous albums. This one is the most contemporary, using all the trappings of modern music production (loops, samples, effects). The Oldfield influence can be heard in the guitar parts but otherwise this has moved into original territory. There are warm male vocals in English that are a bit reminiscent of Steve Hogarth. The CD contains a multimedia track with a video. Amarok continues to impress -- there is a real talent at work here. The official Amarok website has additional audio samples -- to find the audio, click ALBUMS along the bottom, select an album, then click DOWNLOAD.
Amaryllis - Inquietum Est Cor ($14.99) This is the 2009 debut CD (61-minutes, digipack) by a Polish prog band with a female lead vocalist and a full-time lute player! Amaryllis play gothic progressive rock with beautiful female vocals and exquisite overdubbed vocal harmonies. The lyrics are mostly in Latin, giving the music a religious or sacred feel. There is some metal guitar, so the music overlaps to a degree with all those female-fronted gothic metal bands, but Amaryllis are much more progressive and creative. Yes, it’s yet another young band who apparently don’t realize how much more refined, intelligent, and sophisticated their music would sound without the abrasive metal guitar (playing riffs interchangeable with those on any other modern metal record) and how completely out-of-place it is. But fortunately the majority of the guitar is sustained prog-style leads and fine acoustic work, and the amazing blend of musical elements more than makes up for the brief lapses into metal. The production is crystal-clear. This is highly original music and quite astounding for a debut. “The results are melodically magical, and the quieter moments quite exquisite. If you like melodic prog rock, then you will find yourself as astonished and as pleasantly surprised as me, a complete and utter joy and delight to listen to.” [Ravenheart Music] Read the Progressive Land review and a few more reviews here.
Ananke - Malachity ($17.99) Malachity (2010) contains atmospheric modern prog with some Pink Floyd influence from former members of Abraxas and Anyway. Vocals in Polish. On the band website (2nd mp3 icon above), click MULTIMEDIA --> AUDIO.
Animations - Animations ($13.99)This is the 69-minute 2007 debut by a Polish quartet (keys, guitar, bass, drums) playing instrumental progressive rock similar to Liquid Tension Experiment and Planet X: often fast, furious and heavy, with keyboards and guitar getting equal billing. Here are mp3 excerpts from the tracks 911, The Four Symptoms, Animations, and Sonic Maze (full track).
Ankh - Bedzie Tajemnica ($14.99) 
These are the 2004 re-editions of the first three Ankh CDs, each of which now has two bonus tracks. Ankh is a Polish band featuring violin, guitar, bass and drums, plus male and (on Bedzie Tajemnica) female vocals in Polish. They released three albums during the 1990s that should be of great interest to King Crimson and Anekdoten fans and to fans of rock violin. Their sound is often dark, with the much more active violin a more than adequate replacement for Anekdoten’s Mellotron. It’s the contrast between the heavy rock of the guitar, bass & drums and the sweetness of the violin that gives them their appeal and their uniqueness. Classical and folk elements are introduced by way of the violin. Their self-titled first is from 1994, while their second Ziemia i Slonce is from 1995. Their third Bedzie Tajemnica (1998) includes a cover of 21st Century Schizoid Man (with rather hilarious accented English vocals).
Apostolis Anthimos - Miniatures ($13.99) Apostolis Anthimos is best known as the guitarist for SBB. Miniatures (2008) is Anthimos’ third solo album, on which he plays not only guitar but drums and keyboards, assisted by a bassist. Anthimos is a surprisingly capable drummer. The music is instrumental guitar-dominated fusion in the classic style, a mix of composed and improvised parts.
Anyway - Chambers ($15.99)Anyway were a Polish symphonic neo-prog quintet singing in English, featuring musicians who would later appear in Abraxas. The music was recorded in 1993-1994, though the CD was not released until 1998. This is the 2011 reissue, packaged in a super jewel box. Read the DPRP review.
Artsruni - Cruzaid ($15.99) out-of-print Progressive rock from Armenia, of all places. This is a world-class band incorporating influences mostly from Europe (Jethro Tull, Camel, Solaris, Focus) without abandoning their strong local identity. The band members are exceptional musicians, teachers at the Erevan University. As you might guess from the list of reference bands, Artsruni often use flute as the lead instrument. The instrumental tracks outnumber the vocal tracks. You would think The Live Cuts 2000-2001 is self-explanatory, but the first seven tracks sound like studio recordings -- they are studio quality and there is no crowd noise. The shift in sound when track 8 starts is obvious, and suddenly there’s an audience! Some tracks feature a chamber ensemble and others a symphony orchestra, but they are all uniformly excellent. Their first real studio album, Cruzaid (2002) is mostly instrumental, dominated by flute, telling the story of the Crusades from the Armenian perspective.
Aviva - Peer Gynt in Favour ($15.99) 
Aviva, an alias for Dmitry Lukianenko, is a Russian virtuoso pianist and multi-instrumentalist, assisted on Rokus Tonalis (2007) by a guitarist and a number of guest voices. This is a 70-minute instrumental concept album inspired by the Apocalypse of St. John. At the same time, the composer has incorporated Paul Hindemith’s polyphonic piano cycle Ludus Tonalis into this electric rock format. This is sophisticated instrumental progressive rock that comes closest to ELP, with a more modernist flavor and some more reflective moments. Emerson of course was influenced by Mussorgsky and Stravinsky, and most of the Russian keyboard-dominated progressive works show this same strong Russian classical influence. Aviva is clearly conservatory trained. Rokus Tonalis is quite an original work that extends beyond the Keith Emerson universe, symphonic rock masterfully composed and executed; rich in contrasts, majestic melodies, and luxuriant arrangements; joyfully blending vintage and modern sounds.
Aviva then decided to form a band, hence the name change to Aviva Omnibus on the 2008 CD Nutcracker in Fury. In addition to Aviva, the band includes musicians on guitar, bass, drums, and a second keyboard player who doubles on violin. Nutcracker in Fury creates a musical fantasy by rearranging, twisting, and paying tribute to Tschaikovsky’s Nutcracker. What was said about Rokus Tonalis applies here. There is the classic ELP progressive style at the core, not to mention Tschaikovsky, but it is a more contemporary work and a highly-creative one at that, with samples deftly interwoven and a little heavy guitar, almost a new paradigm for classical-rock.
Aviva tackles Grieg’s work on Peer Gynt in Favour (2010), which is more electronic sounding than the previous Aviva albums. As with Nutcracker, this isn’t an electronic or rock version of the original but rather a radical interpretation of it. Read the DPRP review.
Azazello - Wings ($14.99) Azazello is a prog band (guitars, keys, bass, drums) from the far east of Russia, five days from Moscow by train, maybe the only Siberian prog band. They play mostly prog-metal but also some progressive rock that has nothing to do with metal. The lyrics are in Russian. Upstairs (2001) is their second CD, blending hard rock and some East European folk music into symphonic progressive. The arrangements are quite complex and the level of musicianship is high.
Wings, their third, was recorded in 2002. While the album proper is quite interesting and not quite like any other prog-metal you’ve heard, the two bonus tracks are even more interesting. They were recorded with a folk choir called Divo, and the singing style of multiple female voices is not too different from the singing you can hear in Finnish and Swedish folk outfits.
Vladimir Badirov Project - Greeting from Nostradamus ($9.99) The dominant style on this 2004 album is a unique progressive world rock featuring traditional Uzbekistan sounds and high-energy drum/percussion tracks of great complexity, all blended into a modern style. There are also some jazz-rock tracks with guitar in the lead, with a nod toward Allan Holdsworth. Badirov, who was born and raised in Uzbekistan, is a drummer with considerable live and studio experience and is also a founding member of Fromuz. He blends his drums with percussion loops and samples to achieve the complex rhythms on this disc. A large number of other musicians play on the album, contributing traditional Uzbekistan instruments plus electric guitar and bass, while Badirov adds electronic textures.
Believe - World Is Round digipack ($15.99) 
Believe - Yesterday Is a Friend digipack ($13.99)Believe is the current band of Mirek Gil, guitarist and founding member of Collage. Two other ex-Collage and/or Satellite members are or have been in the band: Przemek Zawadzki (bass) and Tomek Rózycki (English-language vocals, guitars). Wlodek Tafel (drums) and Adam Milosz (keys) were in Gil’s previous band Ananke. The band is completed by female Japanese violinist Satomi. Their 2006 debut CD Hope to See Another Day blended the Collage style with that of Riverside, meaning Believe sound more contemporary than Collage, the guitar is sometimes heavier and the music more melancholy. The violin is a welcome addition as it almost always is. Note the U.S. edition of Hope to See Another Day has been deleted.
This is the digipack edition of Believe’s 2008 second CD Yesterday Is a Friend (64-minutes), which includes three bonus tracks, one of which is entitled Best Wishes for Robert Fripp, an excellent piece in the 1980s King Crimson style. Milosz has been demoted to guest, while the other five members remain, and two other guests add guitar and flute. Here Believe further develop the style of their first album, marrying elements of Satellite and Riverside, with the violin adding another dimension. The music is sensuous, atmospheric and finely detailed, easily placing Believe in the same class as Satellite or Riverside. Read a review at ProgArchives.
This is the digipack edition of Believe’s 2009 third studio CD This Bread Is Mine (64-minutes), which includes one bonus track. This album introduces new vocalist Karol Wróblewski, who also adds flute, while a cellist guests. Believe took a step backwards here. It’s by no means a bad album, but there are virtually no keyboards, so the violin saves the day. Because without the violin, it would be mostly guitar/bass/drums, and a lot of that guitar is alt-rock style. The music is gloomy and melancholy, almost without respite, and little remains of the Collage/Satellite style. But violin improves just about everything, so This Bread Is Mine is still a worthwhile album.
This is the digipack edition of Believe’s 2010 fourth studio CD World Is Round, which adds one bonus track relative to the jewel box edition. Significantly, Believe have brought in a new keyboard player, filling the vacancy that existed on their previous CD and righting just about everything that was wrong with that album. There, that wasn’t so hard, was it? While still melancholy, World Is Round is not nearly as gloomy, as there are many uplifting melodies. We thought we’d lost a good prog band for a while there, but Believe are back.
The concert captured on the Hope to See Another Day Live DVD (NTSC, all-region) was recorded in November 2007 at the Wyspański Theater in Katowice, Poland. Most of the songs are from the Hope to See Another Day album, plus one song from Yesterday Is a Friend and one from the Mr. Gil - Alone CD (Mirek Gil’s former band). The DVD also includes an interview with Mirek Gil and Tomek Rózycki, a photo gallery, and two bonus audio tracks taken from the Yesterday Is a Friend CD. Dolby Digital 5.1 surround audio.
Live at the 1st Oskar Art Rock Festival 2006 (79-minutes, digipack) should be fairly self-explanatory. Here Believe play their entire debut CD Hope to See Another Day plus a track from the first Mr Gil CD.
Check below for Mr Gil’s Skellig CD.
Cashmere - Cash-Romantic Music Machine ($15.99) There’s probably no way to convey how cool this band is, other than to say they may be our favorite band to come out of Poland. It’s safe to say there isn’t another band quite like them. Cash-Romantic Music Machine (2006, 52-minutes) is their debut. As the band says: “You can call it what you like. Call it folk or call it prog, porn-groove or lala-rock. Call it pop, we will not mind. You can even call it jazz, if you don’t know any better.” The band is built around Tylda Ciolkosz, who plays violin and sings. She is incredibly versatile as a vocalist. At times she sounds like Kate Bush at her most adventurous (The Dreaming), but that only begins to describe her vocal talents. She’s also a great violinist, as the violin is central to Cashmere’s sound. Even without the vocals, this is first-rate violin-led progressive rock that defies expectations. Some other violin-led bands, the original Ankh for one, are one-dimensional compared to Cashmere. Sometimes there is a European folk influence; there is a song or two that a progressive-minded Steeleye Span fan could get into. Sometimes the music is jazz-tinged, but most prog fans who’ve gotten beyond the basics will identify all of it as progressive rock. Czech band Stromboli were only beginning to approach this when they shutdown (insider pun there). Squonk Opera are in the ballpark. The vocals are in English save one song in Polish and one in German. For some of the songs, it doesn’t really matter what language it is. Listening to some music clips is essential here -- the first mp3 icon is to Cashmere’s site; click on DISCOGRAPHY for the mp3’s.
Collage - Moonshine/Changes (2CD, $17.99)
Collage - Basnie ($13.99)These are the 2003 remastered editions of the Collage CDs, all with bonus audio and/or video tracks. Collage was the top Polish neo-progressive band; their members went on to form the bands Satellite and Believe. At their best (Basnie and Moonshine), they were nearly the equal of IQ and Marillion. Basnie (1990) is sung in Polish, while Moonshine (1994) was their first album with English lyrics and has improved production.
Changes is a compilation of re-recorded songs written by Collage between 1985-1992 and is generally comparable to Basnie. Safe (1996) was their final album, and while it is their best-produced and best-sounding album, it lacks the spark of the earlier albums, but is still a decent neo-prog album.
The two double-CDs simply package two of the Collage CDs together in a slipcase at an attractive price. (Each counts as 2 CDs for shipping.) Check our DVDs page for Collage’s Living in the Moonlight DVD.
Cytrus - Kurza Twarz ($15.99) Cytrus was one of the most popular progressive rock bands in Poland in the 1980s. Their music was often compared to Jethro Tull or East of Eden. They had a couple radio hits and performed at most of the important Polish festivals, yet they never released an album. Kurza Twarz is their first ever release, featuring their best-known recordings for Polish radio. There are 15 tracks professionally recorded between 1980-1985, 65-minutes total. Styles behind the Iron Curtain tended to lag the west by several years, so the music here varies from early to late 1970s styles. The main aspect of Cytrus’s sound is the use of flute and violin in addition to electric guitar, bass and drums, while keyboards appear only sporadically. The tracks are arranged chronologically. The first 11 are instrumental, while the final four have vocals in Polish. The vocal tracks are the most recent and start to shift toward new wave, though still with strong progressive aspects.
Decadence - Dreams of Nekton ($14.99) Dreams of Nekton (1999) is from a Russian progressive band and quite a good one, with two accomplished guitarists, keyboards, bass, drums, and female vocals. The album is about half instrumental, and while the lyrics are printed in English in the booklet, it sure sounds like Russian on the CD. There are moments of metal guitar, but the progressive elements are high caliber and dominate to the extent that you can loathe metal and still enjoy this album. They don’t imitate anyone, even if one is reminded at times of the prog rock heavyweights. 58-minutes.
Delate - Delate ($16.99) Delate is Artur Szolc, Robert Srzednicki, and Łukasz Naumowicz. Szolc and Srzednicki were responsible for the excellent Music Inspired by Zodiac and Music Inspired by Tarot CDs. Delate’s 2006 debut CD is powerful progressive rock with vocals in Polish, more rock-oriented than the Zodiac or Tarot CDs but having much in common. There are rock guitar and symphonic keyboards up front, dark atmospheres and creative use of electronics as well as percussion. Between the Polish vocals and the uncommon melodies, this progressive rock has a Slavic character to it, a refreshing change from all the international-standard Anglo-prog. While Delate are by no means a retro band, the music does harken back to the 1970s in the sense that bands then were more likely to sing in their native language and the music more likely to have national or regional characteristics.
Artur Szolc & Robert Srzednicki - Music Inspired by Zodiac ($16.99) Music Inspired by Zodiac is a 2002 CD by a Polish duo, two members of the band Annalist, an impressive CD of instrumental progressive music with world music elements, ethnic percussion, and touches of electronics. Much of this is rock but it goes beyond that in an epic soundtrack sort of way.
Nadhir is apparently a pseudonym for Robert Srzednicki. Music Inspired by Tarot (1998) is vibrant instrumental progressive music combining Nadhir’s electric & acoustic guitars, flute, and keyboards with Szolc’s complex percussion and drums, featuring a vast array of ethnic percussion.
Diversion Voice - Underwater ($13.99)A Russian quintet of two guitars, sax/synths, bass, and drums, Diversion Voice play instrumental fusion with significant prog and psych influences, especially 21st Century Schizoid Man King Crimson. There are some Frippian guitar leads, while sax has the lead much of the time. Underwater (2011) comes in a mini-LP sleeve. The CD sleeve and booklet are 3D inside and out, and anaglyph (red-green) 3D glasses are included. You need the glasses to view the CD cover graphic here in 3D.
Er. J. Orchestra - On the Hill Again ($15.99) Er. J. Orchestra is a large ensemble from Kiev, Ukraine. Mellow Records has reissued their CD On the Hill Again, which consists of 2001 live recordings plus a few 2001 studio recordings. The sound on the live tracks is so pristine that it’s easy to forget they’re live until the audience applauds at the end. It is primarily world music with elements of rock and jazz, sometimes new age-y, instrumental save one track with English vocals (that may be the highlight of the album). The ensemble combines rock, brass, orchestral, and ethnic instruments. 62-minutes.
Eternal Wanderers - So Far and So Near ($14.99) This Moscow-based band is not your typical progressive rock band in that the nucleus of the band is two sisters: keyboardist/singer Elena Kanevskaya and guitarist Tatyana Kanevskaya. The vocals are in English. While their official start date as a band is 1997, it was only in 2006 that they added a bassist and drummer and became a rock band. Forget all your preconceptions of what a band led by two women should sound like. This is symphonic prog by musicians who clearly love the genre, but with their influences absorbed well enough that Eternal Wanderers have a unique identity.
Their first full-length album The Door to a Parallel World (2008) has already been deleted. While The Door to a Parallel World was good, So Far and So Near (2011, 64-minutes, digipack) is really good. One thing you can expect from today’s Russian bands is a connection to classical music on a par with the first-generation progressive rock bands, a much more direct connection than is common among today’s bands. Sometimes that connection is to Stravinsky and other early 20th century classical; this is where Eternal Wanderers occasionally sound like ELP. More often it’s the earlier, romantic classical style, where Renaissance and Genesis are better reference points. Eternal Wanderers added a flute player on this CD, and they sometimes play a medieval-flavored style closer to Jethro Tull. The final track And I Will Follow is very Renaissance-like and features Eternal Wanderers’ most beautiful vocal performance to date. Perhaps the most attractive thing about Eternal Wanderers and the Russian bands in general is that they are just far enough out of the western music mainstream to have a unique style, thankfully ignoring trends toward metal, pop, and conformity elsewhere in prog. Not entirely out though, as this CD was mastered by Masterdisk in New York. For those who like complex, classically-influenced prog that still has accessible melodies, this CD is manna.
Exodus - The Most Beautiful Dream Anthology 1977-1985 (5CD box, $55.99) |      |
Flight 09 - Human Nature ($12.99) The music scene is heating up in Uzbekistan. Flight 09 have existed since 1983 and are considered the dean of Uzbekistan rock bands. They’ve had two previous releases on a U.S. label. Human Nature (2004) is their third, released on the Moscow-based MALS label. Flight 09 plays a blend of hard rock and progressive rock, sometimes towards prog-metal but not overly heavy. They sing in English; the singer has a somewhat rough voice that is more suited to hard rock than prog. Rather than a prog band that plays hard and heavy, Flight 09 strike us more as a hard rock band that have dressed up their music with symphonic keyboards. The drummer bashes away in the more straightforward hard rock style, and the songs and arrangements are not particularly complex. So this is recommended more to the hard rock fan who wants some intelligence and sophistication stirred in.
From.uz - Quartus Artifactus (DVD+2CD, $13.99) 
From.uz - Overlook ($12.99) From.uz are a world-class instrumental progressive rock and fusion band from Uzbekistan, very high-energy and fairly heavy. Using the ISO code for their country (UZ), their name literally means “From Uzbekistan”. The drummer/percussionist on their first two CDs is Vladimir Badirov, who released the Greeting from Nostradamus CD on Unicorn Records in 2004. Audio Diplomacy (2007) features an NTSC, all-region DVD of a 2005 live performance, a multi-camera professional production. There is an accompanying 75-minute audio CD containing the same songs on the DVD, the two discs housed together in a jewel box. There is so little crowd noise, and the recording quality is so high, this could pass for a studio CD. Maybe it is and we’re just confused. The DVD includes two bonus tracks. Read the Sea of Tranquility reviews.
Overlook (69-minutes) is From.uz’s 2008 studio CD. There is little real jazz or fusion here, as From.uz have focused on the progressive rock side of their style. They get heavy at times, but the music is distinct from the likes of Planet X or Liquid Tension Experiment. From.uz are much artier, varied and inventive. High marks all around. Read the Sea of Tranquility reviews.
On Seventh Story (2010), From.uz continue the shift towards symphonic prog, leaving all but a little fusion behind. This may have something to do with lineup changes. While the compositional core of the band remains, drummer Badirov and the bassist have been replaced and a second keyboardist added, with grand piano being used for the first time. The music is now more rock-oriented, more symphonic and classical, and even features some vocals. There are references to King Crimson, a little Camel, proggy jams, the music jumping around between different progressive rock styles so that the album is always interesting. This is the From.uz CD with the broadest appeal so far. Be sure to read the Sea of Tranquility reviews.
Inside Seventh Story (2010) is a concert DVD (PAL, all-region) that captures the band performing an expanded version of Seventh Story before an appreciative hometown crowd at the Youth Theater of Uzbekistan in Tashkent, recorded with multiple cameras over two nights. The DVD also includes footage of the band rehearsing and preparing for their stage performance, as well as an interview with the band and their producer. The DVD is in a space-saving digipack format with artwork by renowned illustrator Ken Westphal, very attractive packaging, and yet 10t Records are being really kind with the pricing. You can purchase this DVD for less than the cost of the Seventh Story CD, and the songs here are expanded versions of the studio versions. Watch video clips (in reduced quality) from this DVD.
The 2CD+DVD combo Quartus Artifactus (2011, digisleeve) “is a newly-recorded collection of songs from all three of the band’s previous studio releases, rearranged and played in a progressive-chamber format with a less electric, more acoustic sound. The album includes a full concert DVD (NTSC, all-region) with behind the scenes supplemental material and two CDs of the individual music tracks. The sound is a gentler, friendlier From.uz but retains the intensity of the originals while bringing in some beautiful acoustic interpretations.” Filmed and recorded live in June 2009, this is not the typical unplugged sound -- there are drums and synths and plenty of energy, just the more open sound you’d expect when replacing distorted electric guitar with acoustic and 12-string. It is still very much progressive rock and fusion; it is still very much From.uz.
Fusion Point - Morning Rain ($13.99) Fusion Point are a Russian (St. Petersburg) trio of piano/bass/drums whose style you may be able to guess. Morning Rain is their 2012 debut.
Gall - Anonym ($17.99) Lukasz Gall is the singer for Millenium and Moonrise. His first solo CD Anonym (2010) is an all-star project of the current Polish prog scene, featuring musicians from Millenium, Moonrise, Albion, Loonypark, and Nemezis. Read the Background Magazine review. You can find the song In the Mirror of Dreams on YouTube.
Gargantua - Gargantua ($16.99) This is the 2003 debut by a Polish quartet playing complex and original progressive rock, roughly a combination of RIO, modern King Crimson, and Area. It is mostly instrumental, while the Polish-language vocals are half-sung and half-chanted, only adding to the music’s quirkiness. Here are mp3’s of the tracks Obiłaś mi się (Diabolus in Musica) and Slowolnosc.
Mr Gil - Light and Sound ($15.99) 
Skellig (2010) is the second solo CD for Mirek Gil, guitarist for Believe and formerly Collage, with Believe’s singer and bassist and Satellite’s drummer completing the band. Gil was perhaps challenging himself here to make a progressive rock album using only guitars. The key is to get sufficient variety and density of tone colors from guitars while keeping everything tasteful. Gil does an admirable job by overdubbing different guitar tracks and using the vocals as yet another tone color. Vocalist Karol Wroblewski sings in Polish here and sounds more comfortable than he does singing in English on Believe’s This Bread Is Mine. “Think of early Collage with much better production and without the keyboards. Instead Gil makes a complete CD using only guitars as solo and harmonic instruments (usually the acoustic guitar as the basic guide and the electric guitar for soloing and harmonies)... You may feel that some keyboard lines could add a little color here and there. But really, this a guitar genius solo album and he proves his point very well here... Forget all the grunge/alternative/pop experiments Mirek Gil was doing on his various solo projects before. This is the truly prog guitar album we all waited to hear for so long.” Read the full review at Prog Archives.
Light and Sound (2010, digipack) presents a contrasting side of Mirek Gil, light and airy, with acoustic textures dominant. Here Gil is accompanied by a cellist and a pianist both playing important roles, as well as Karol Wróblewski on vocals, here singing mostly in English. Watch the video of King of Gold.
Alone (1998) is the first solo album from Mirek Gil. It’s in a similar style to the final Collage album Safe and also features Collage’s keyboardist and bass player. This is the 2005 re-edition on Metal Mind that adds four bonus video tracks.
The Gourishankar - 2nd Hands ($14.99) This quartet (vocals, keyboards, guitars, drums) with the catchy name is a Russian symphonic prog band singing in English. 2nd Hands (2007, 71-minutes) is one fantastic progressive rock album. The CD begins and ends as a roller coaster ride, with The Gourishankar cramming in as many ideas as possible, the music seemingly changing style every eight bars, going from Genesis-style sympho-prog to prog-metal to classical-rock to electronic-prog to fusion-prog within the space of two minutes, then repeating. Just as you begin to wonder whether this band is capable of a cohesive composition, they settle down and do exactly that. A guest on violin and viola takes a track or two into symphonic Kansas territory; another musician guests on sax and flute. One thing The Gourishankar do really well is integrate electronics into their prog rock. OK, the vocals are often relatively low in the mix, conceding the upper hand to the instrumental content. Despite the occasional metal touches, this is predominantly classic-style symphonic prog, but not at all retro. It is played with great skill by very creative musicians who know what classical music is, know what real progressive rock is, and the 71-minutes flies by without the excitement ever waning. Needless to say, highly recommended.
After 2nd Hands became a best seller for them, the Unicorn label decided to re-release The Gourishankar’s 2003 first CD Close Grip. This edition adds one bonus track, a rousing cover of Gentle Giant’s For Nobody. The music is slightly more conventional than on 2nd Hands, actually sounding kind of American. The vocals are too low in the mix on this one too, so it must be a conscious decision (but then why sing at all?). It’s a very good symphonic prog album with some prog-metal, but start with 2nd Hands.
Group 309 - Dreams of Sea ($13.99) Dreams of Sea (2010, 59-minutes) is the debut for Group 309, a Russian symphonic prog quartet (keys/vocals, guitar, bass, drums) in the style of Autograph, that is, a mainstream symphonic prog style, song-oriented with vocals usually present. The composer is the keyboardist, which as usual results in more structured, classically-influenced compositions that those of the prevailing guitar-dominated modern bands, and the keyboards do more of the interesting stuff. We’re not talking neo-prog in the sense of Marillion but rather the streamlined version of classic progressive rock that began to appear in the late 1970s. If Autograph isn’t a helpful reference, then another unhelpful reference is Synkopy. Excellent production, lyrics in Russian.
Group 33 - All This World ($14.99) This is a Russian quartet (singing in Russian) that the label describes as “melodic gothic-rock with influences of Blackmore’s Night and The Gathering”. Well, maybe. They do have a female singer with a beautiful voice, but there is no renaissance music influence as in Blackmore’s Night. Group 33 is much more electronic, symphonic, and modern, and though they use a lot of acoustic guitar, it’s a different style than Ritchie Blackmore plays. As far as The Gathering goes, metal only rears its head in a couple songs, and Group 33 isn’t really all that gothic. Overall, Group 33 is more of a progressive rock band than either, and they have great songs and excellent production. Stream of Passion is probably the best reference point. Beautiful 8-panel digipack.
Hipgnosis - Relusion ($15.99) out-of-stock 
Sky Is the Limit (2006) is the debut studio CD by this Polish modern prog sextet plus guests. The band says that this CD is conceptually divided into sides 1 and 2 like a vinyl LP, with side 1 containing gentler songs with child-like female vocals and side 2 containing music with more power and a rock beat, with some male vocals. The music is heavy at times, spacey and Floydian at others. They frequently blend in creative electronic textures and samples, showing some Tangerine Dream influence as well as modern electronica. The vocals are in English except for one section of one song where one of the guys sings in Polish. It’s an excellent CD, imaginative and unpredictable.
Still Ummadelling (2007, 74-minutes, digipack) features one new studio track plus a 10 track live set recorded in 2006 that includes the tracks from Sky Is the Limit plus a few previously unreleased tracks. About a half hour of this CD then is new material. Included is Hipgnosis’ rendition of Pink Floyd’s Careful With That Axe, Eugene. Mellotron strings are used on the studio CD but are much more prominent on some of the live tracks.
Relusion (72-minutes, digipack) is the 2011 Hipgnosis studio CD. It’s so refreshing to hear a Polish band not jumping on the Riverside bandwagon and making predictable, me-too music. Hipgnosis are much more inventive and difficult to categorize. It’s all female vocals on this one, and the vocals may be in English, or it may be a made-up language loosely based on English. Marcin Kruczek (Nemezis) makes important contributions on guitar. The music blends symphonic prog, electronica, and space rock, but that only begins to describe it. It is both trance-like and high-energy, more complex than the mainstream of Polish prog. Some of the instrumental sections are close to Ozric Tentacles, but then those female vocals enter and it’s something else. There are strong Pink Floyd elements, touches of ELP and jazz too. The 22-minute instrumental Large Hadron Collider begins as cosmic electronics and builds into epic space rock. This is the most mature Hipgnosis album and may be the Polish prog album of the year, but it will probably be ignored in favor of something that sounds just like Riverside. Gorgeous artwork and packaging.
Hoggwash - The Last Horizon ($13.99) Hoggwash was the direct precursor of Sunchild. The brainchild of Welsh musician Will Mackie, he recruited Antony Kalugin, leader of the Ukrainian progressive rock band Karfagen to realize this CD. While Mackie and Kalugin have co-writing credits on all tracks, the music was recorded in the Ukraine by Kalugin with Karfagen members/collaborators and other Ukrainian musicians. And while Karfagen had been an instrumental band, Hoggwash has excellent vocals by Kalugin. The result is a beautiful melodic symphonic rock CD in the Genesis and Camel veins. Despite all the input from the Ukraine, The Last Horizon (2007) sounds so British that it serves to remind us what it is that distinguishes classic British prog from most everything else. 67-minutes of prog joy. Read reviews.
Holy Lamb - Beneath the Skin ($15.99) Beneath the Skin (2002, 59-minutes) is the third album from Latvian progressive rock band Holy Lamb, the five members joined by a number of singers and a flute player. This music is so full of ideas, with constant twists and turns, that several listens are required to absorb it all, yet it isn’t difficult to listen to, just highly inventive. This is a concept album, a “transgressive rock tale”, and the various singers take on different voices for the numerous characters in the story. (All vocals in English.) We like it a lot. Salt of the Earth (1999, 63-minutes) is their second album and is somewhat more of a neo-prog record than Beneath the Skin, sitting between classic and neo-prog, but you can hear the potential.
Dorde Ilijin - Zabranjeno Prisluskivanje ($15.99)This is the CD reissue of the solo album by the leader of the Yugoslavian band Tako, originally released in 1983, now with four bonus tracks added. The title translates to Eavesdropping Forbidden. Dorde (George) Ilijin plays various kinds of flute and keyboards. The music is in the same vein as Tako, marrying the delicate with the energetic, with a unique melodic beauty and rich arrangements. What vocals there are are buried in the mix, so this is primarily an instrumental album. One of Ilijin’s flutes, called a “blok flauta”, appears to be a recorder, adding an early music flavor to some tracks, while the standard flute gives a Jethro Tull flavor to others. While most of the music is early 1970s style progressive, with elements of Pink Floyd particularly noticeable, the bonus tracks must be of more recent vintage, though no date is given. Either that or they are well ahead of their time – the last track incorporates Gregorian chant, something which became widespread only after high quality sample libraries appeared.
Iluzjon - Silent Andromeda ($14.99) 
Warsaw-based prog band Iluzjon began as a trio on City Zen (2005), an excellent album of ambient progressive rock with occasional similarities to Peter Gabriel, overall more subdued and mesmerizing than what would follow.
On No Phantoms In (2007), Iluzjon are a quartet and seem to be centered on singer/composer/lyricist Michal Dziadosz in the same way that Porcupine Tree is centered on Steven Wilson. The vocal passages (sung in English) are full of atmosphere and ambience, while the instrumental passages are sometimes heavy and sometimes symphonic. Iluzjon are far from being Porcupine Tree copyists as their sound is distinct, but they do belong in the modern progressive camp that Porcupine Tree helped define.
Silent Andromeda (2009) is their third, and now it’s clear this band is not going to make the same album twice. There is some carryover of the style found on No Phantoms In, but here the rest of the band steps forward. There is some modern King Crimson influence now, while electronics are used to create great atmospheres. One reason for the change is new guitarist Matthew Wojcik, who is able to play in a wider range of styles. Sometimes the music has the aggressive modern sound, while at other times it’s dreamier. It’s certainly easier to describe the Polish bands who stick to the mainstream neo-prog and prog-metal styles, but while Iluzjon make reviewers’ jobs more difficult, it’s a small price to pay for a more original progressive style. This is their most mature work.
In Search For - Faith ($15.99) The concept album Faith is the 2009 debut CD by the second-greatest prog band in all of Belarus. (Check above for the band 7 Ocean, also from Belarus.) On their website, they brand themselves as ‘art rock / prog metal’, and that’s accurate as they switch between progressive rock and melodic prog metal such that you can’t simply say they are one or the other. The common attribute is that In Search For are bombastic in that Ayreon way whether playing prog or metal. The vocals are (mostly) in English, mostly male with some female vocals in support, and the band sound like they could be from just about any country. Most of it is very symphonic, with loads of keyboards and a little violin, viola, and flute. There’s a recurring bit where the protagonist in the story carries on a conversation with Mickey Mouse, though we think it’s supposed to be the voice of a computer. It sounds like Arthur Dent’s conversations with the white mice in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy radio series, only it’s supposed to be serious. Mini-LP style sleeve, 73-minutes. Apparently In Search For have a 2010 EP titled Soul Inside that you’ll run into on their MySpace page, but it sounds like it’s not as proggy as Faith.
Jelonek - Jelonek ($14.99) This is the answer to the question that had been on everyone’s minds: What happened to the violinist from Ankh? Michal Jelonek was the violinist in the Polish band Ankh on their first three studio CDs, all released during the 1990s. Ankh was all about the contrast between Jelonek’s violin and the heavy rock of the guitar, bass and drums. Ankh released one more album without Jelonek, but it wasn’t the same, as the violin was the whole attraction. This 2007 CD (digipack) is entirely instrumental and features Jelonek’s new band. Actually, Jelonek kept busy appearing in or with numerous other bands, but this CD represents the continuation of the original Ankh style with bigger and better production. Overall the sound is also heavier, prog-metal at times, but it’s really all about Jelonek’s skillful, classically-influenced violin with the rock band as the supporting cast. If like us you just love violin in a rock context, here you go.
Karfagen - Lost Symphony ($13.99) 
Ukrainian band Karfagen is the first and more instrumental band of Antony Kalugin, the rather busy man also in charge of day-to-day operations at Sunchild and Hoggwash. The 2009 double-CD The Key to Perception is billed as the definitive history to date of Karfagen: 39 tracks and a booklet providing comments on each track. This 2CD contains the entire first two Karfagen albums: Continium (2006) and The Space Between Us (2007), plus 12 tracks (~55 minutes worth) of new material and alternate versions.
Continium is an elegant and classy album of instrumental symphonic prog. Camel and Genesis sound like the strongest influences, and the standard instrumentation is augmented by flute and at times bayan (accordion), duduk (an ancient wind instrument), and wheel lira (another ancient instrument). (What do we look like, ethnomusicologists?) The bonus track is a tender song with male and female vocals in English. Keyboards have the primary role, and the emphasis throughout is on beautiful melodies and music that flows gracefully. The Space Between Us (2007, 65-minutes) is again instrumental, though there are some wordless vocals. It continues in the same general style, but even more original. Camel is a reference point only to the extent that the music is usually flowing and melodic. There is a strong classical influence, and the bayan and flute are again welcome touches. Both albums are highly recommended to sympho lovers of the 1970s persuasion. Read reviews.
Solitary Sandpiper Journey (2010, 75-minutes) has Antony Kalugin joined by a large percentage of the musicians in the Ukraine, the instrumentation including cello, flute, oboe, bassoon, viola, violin, sax, and bayan in addition to keys, acoustic & electric guitars, bass and drums. As before, the music lies roughly in Camel (The Snow Goose) and Genesis territory, but is more eclectic than that. The music is still predominantly instrumental, with Kalugin singing on one track, while female vocalist Marina Zacharova adds a Renaissance feel to a couple others. The lyrics are in English. This is a finely-crafted progressive rock album, the best Karfagen album to date; those who’ve heard the Sunchild and Hoggwash albums would expect no less. The 22-minute track Mystery that concludes this long album is a real tour-de-force. Read reviews.
Lost Symphony (2011, 63-minutes, digipack) is, in Kalugin’s words, for “all who endorse and savor instrumental art-rock from the 1970s, something like Camel, Focus, Happy the Man, and Pat Metheny”. Those references are accurate enough, though the classical instrumentation and especially the bayan (accordion) makes Lost Symphony unique. This is a remarkable work, really one of the great rock symphonies, full of warmth and humanity. Here is a 35-minute making-of video.
Kaseke - Põletus/Sõnum ($14.99) This is the CD reissue of the 1981 EP plus the 1983 LP by Estonian band Kaseke, their only output. Read the band bio. “Kaseke is considered Estonia’s finest progressive-fusion band... Their style of fusion is clean and influenced mostly by the late-seventies American fusion scene. In fact, many tracks here have a radio-friendly sound. Yet the music has a subtle complexity to it that will appeal to prog fans more than the casual jazz listener. The thing that struck me while listening to Kaseke was that the band sounded incredibly modern. I would have never guessed that most of the music came out in 1983. Even the keyboards sound like they came out of the factory around 1998. And the keyboardists (there are several that play on the album) remind me a bit of Jordan Rudess’ work on the Liquid Tension Experiment albums. The keyboard playing is not as complex of course, but the choice of notes is similar to Jordan’s. The listener will also notice the nice dual-guitar work by Ain Varts and Riho Sibul, who are known in Europe for their skills. Overall, this CD will please most progressive-fusion/jazz fans.” [Zoltan’s Progressive Rock Webpage] Also read the ProgressiveWorld.net review.
Kayanis - Where Abandoned Pelicans Die ($15.99) Kayanis is the name of a Polish musician/composer, but this 2008 CD is not exactly a solo work. It is a large-scale project combining orchestra, choir, soprano singer and rock band (synths, guitar, bass, drums) for a 75-minute, mostly-instrumental rock symphony, with the emphasis on symphony. What vocals there are are in English. This is a sophisticated romantic work, and one that demonstrates there is life in the current Polish prog scene beyond the Satellite/Riverside adherents.
Kwadrat - Polowanie na Leśniczego ($15.99) Kwadrat was one of the top Polish rock bands at the beginning of the 1980s, and in all, over 20 musicians passed through their ranks. The Metal Mind label has rescued Kwadrat from obscurity with this 18 track, 79-minute compilation. All the tracks were recorded at Polish Radio between 1979-1982. The CD is divided into three distinct styles. The first third of the CD is instrumental, keyboard-driven, 1970s-style progressive jazz-rock, on a par with any of the European jazz-rock bands of that era. The second third of the CD is semi-progressive rock with Polish vocals. The final third of the CD is instrumental symphonic progressive mixed with a little jazz-rock, again in a 70s style. The vocal material is OK, but the instrumental material makes this a superb find for fans of 1970s progressive and jazz-rock.
Landscape - Outside of Nowhere ($15.99) Outside of Nowhere (2011) is the debut for Polish band Landscape. This is typical modern prog influenced by Porcupine Tree, Riverside, and Sylvan, guitar-dominated with keyboards primarily playing filter-swept pads for texture and spaciness, vocals filtered to sound distant, as if they’re being heard over a telephone line. Landscape are more hard rock than metal, employing hard rock guitar sounds/styles that alternate with ethereal passages, dark, moody, and emotionally somewhat cold.
Lebowski - Cinematic ($13.99) It’s always helpful when the key to a new band’s style is contained in the album title, for “cinematic” is a perfect description of the brand of progressive rock played by Poland’s Lebowski on their 2010 debut. Cinematic (digipack, 67-minutes) is instrumental with bits of spoken word (dialog from classic Polish and international movies), and in one song, soaring female vocals. There is a moody, seductive, surreal, film noir ambience throughout this richly-textured music. Accordion, violin, French horn, hammered dulcimer, and duduk all make appearances, while some tracks feature enough heavy guitar to briefly bring Riverside to mind. No new music style comes out of nowhere these days, yet “cinematic prog” is an emerging style, and the one band we can think to compare Lebowski to is the German band Frequency Drift, especially in the way that piano is essential to the mood. Cinematic is, in a word, intoxicating. The booklet is bilingual Polish/English. Watch Lebowski’s YouTube videos. Read reviews at Sea of Tranquility and The Power of Metal.
Liquid Shadow - Spectrum ($15.99) This 2008 release on the Lynx label was actually recorded between 2001-2003. Liquid Shadow were a Polish band with female vocals, playing a lot of standard Dream Theater prog-metal but also some neo-prog, including ballads with more acoustic textures that come close to the refined style of Varius Manx. There are two guitarists listed; one replaced the other, which could account for the split personality of the band. The lyrics are in both Polish and English, with two instrumentals plus a video. Liquid Shadow disbanded in 2004, but could be revived. Some members went on to play or sing on Millenium albums and/or to the bands Loonypark and Nemezis. 67-minutes of audio.
Little Tragedies - Obsessed ($15.99) 
Little Tragedies - Chinese Songs Part One ($13.99)
Little Tragedies - New Faust (Cyrillic) (2CD, $15.99) 
Gennady Ilyin - The Sun of the Spirit mini-LP ($15.99)Little Tragedies is a Russian band led by composer/keyboardist/singer Gennady Ilyin. Once upon a time, progressive rock bands had first-hand knowledge of classical music, and while this has not often been the case with later generations of prog bands, it isn’t difficult to find prog bands in Eastern Europe with conservatory-trained musicians, which is the case with Ilyin.
Return (78-minutes) dates from 2003. This is an excellent album, mixing 1970s style symphonic progressive rock with some jazz-rock and contemporary classical music. The vocals are in Russian, lending the work a Slavic personality. The instrumentals especially are influenced by ELP and UK, though they are even closer to the style of Japanese bands such as Deja Vu or Social Tension, virtuosic and just slightly over-the-top.
New Faust (2006) is one of Little Tragedies’ best, a double-CD and a brilliant work that makes them the best current Russian symphonic prog band, as professional as the best bands in the world. The Russian classical influence is very strong, and the dominant influence is again ELP and their brethren, though Little Tragedies do have a guitarist. The music is keyboard-dominated and heavily instrumental, again with poetic Russian lyrics, and varies from frenetic, bombastic and virtuosic to sensitive and peaceful. In addition to the classical and ELP influence, there are elements of Genesis and Yes, but overall the music has a distinct personality. Note there are two versions of this 2CD, the difference being Cyrillic versus English text on the printed materials. The discs and disc labels are identical, and the Cyrillic booklet actually has four more pages. The English text version is out-of-print with no signs of a reprint, so the version sold here now is the Cyrillic text version. As the lyrics are in Russian and didn’t appear in the English version anyway, you’re not missing much.
It didn’t take Little Tragedies long after New Faust to release another CD, The Sixth Sense (2006, 77-minutes). It’s another excellent album of classical progressive rock. This album has less emphasis on the flashier style and includes more tracks of a more sedate and lyrical nature, emphasizing the poetic Russian lyrics. Note the current edition of the booklet is in Cyrillic throughout, while the traycard is in English and includes the song titles.
Chinese Songs Part One and Part Two, both released in 2007, are so called not because they contain any Asian music but because the lyrics are by 8th-13th century Chinese poets, sung in Russian translations but printed in English translations in the booklets. Continuing with the trend established on The Sixth Sense, more of the music on these CDs is of the serene and lyrical side of Little Tragedies, though when they do unleash their full power, it’s about as good as it gets.
Cross (62-minutes) is a studio CD released in 2008. On The Sixth Sense and the two Chinese Songs CDs, the balance had shifted to the vocal and reflective side, but with Cross, Little Tragedies put things right. Instrumental passages dominate, and the CD is full of the rip-roaring classically-influenced sympho-prog we all crave. This is a return to the style of New Faust, and Cross ranks with that album as Little Tragedies’ best. Heavyweight gatefold mini-LP sleeve with booklet containing English translations of the lyrics.
Though not released until 2009, The Paris Symphony was recorded in 1997 (with some 1996 bonus tracks), making it the earliest Little Tragedies studio work. The band at this time was a trio of keyboards, bass and drums, purely instrumental. “Sonically, this album sounds as if it belongs between New Faust and The Sixth Sense because of its heavy use of polysynths instead of Hammond organ... The heavy polysynth in The Paris Symphony keeps reminding me of Works Vol. 1-era ELP, or to a lesser extent, Eddie Jobson’s keyboard work on the first UK album or (even more) The Green Album. The compositions are excellent: rockin’, bombastic and classically-influenced at the same time, but with that Russian classical feel pervading the piece. It also reminds me quite a bit of their countrymen Aviva’s first album, though this has no prog-metal content like Aviva’s second release. The Paris Symphony is a great album... Fantastic.” [Gibraltar Encyclopedia of Progressive Rock]
Obsessed was recorded in 2009 but not released until 2011. After establishing their range with The Sixth Sense and Chinese Songs Part One and Two, Little Tragedies are with Cross and Obsessed back to the power symphonic/classical prog that is their forte. “Stylistically again closer to New Faust, they are once again celebrating their full-blown, wonderfully over-the-top and classically inspired prog rock including the quirky Russian vocals that makes all this just so unique. Anyone who knows Little Tragedies won’t need any further description of what this sounds like. To anyone else, I would just recommend listening to the sound samples. What I really like here is that despite all the pyrotechnical wizardry, there is also a fine display of composition/songwriting which is a craft that does not always stand at the center with many bands.” [ProgArchives] Read reviews of all CDs.
The Sun of the Spirit (1998) and Porcelain Pavilion (1999) are the first solo CDs by Little Tragedies’ leader, but they were originally released by Boheme Music under the name Little Tragedies. Ilyin wrote the music, plays the keyboards and sings, assisted by the guitarist and sound engineer of the Little Tragedies lineup of that time. As Ilyin says, there was still the feeling of a band, albeit studio-like, hence the decision in 1998 to use the band name. These are the 2009 reissues on the MALS label, each of which adds one bonus track and comes in a mini-LP sleeve. Because Little Tragedies’ lineup has since changed, it was decided to reissue them as Gennady Ilyin solo projects. As one should expect by now from Ilyin, these are very accomplished progressive works that cover a lot of ground, with complex arrangements and skillful playing. The music was inspired by the lyrics of the Russian poet Nikolay Gumilev. Ilyin sings in Russian (English lyrics in the booklet), but the music is heavily instrumental. There are some classical-rock workouts in the ELP and Little Tragedies styles, but for the most part, Ilyin uses this opportunity for less flash, more nuance and acoustic timbres. Certainly much of the material is classically-influenced, but Ilyin never settles for pure orchestral simulation. His use of expressive synth sounds is similar to Jozef Skrzek of SBB, and Skrzek’s early solo albums are a good reference point for some of this material.
Lizard - Spam ($13.99) 
Lizard - Noc Zywych Jaszczurow ($15.99) W Galerii Czasu is the excellent 1996 debut by this Polish progressive rock band. This updates the tradition of some of the great East European progressive bands of the 1970s and 1980s such as Modry Efekt and Synkopy. Strong vocals in Polish. This is the remastered version with three bonus live tracks. On Psychopuls (2004), Lizard is very influenced by King Crimson circa 1973-1974, even to the extent of including some David Cross-style violin. (So that’s where they took their name.) You’ll hear some Starless and you’ll hear some Red. The Polish language vocals on this album have a cold or distant quality to them, like those in 21st Century Schizoid Man, though without the distortion. Noc Zywych Jaszczurow is Lizard’s 69-minute “official bootleg” live album, recorded in Poland 1996-1997. This is the latest version, which has three bonus tracks. It features covers of King Crimson’s 21st Century Schizoid Man, Moonchild, and In the Court of the Crimson King, plus UK’s In the Dead of Night. The covers are sung in English, the originals in Polish.
Tales from Artichoke Wood (2005) is probably our favorite of Lizard’s albums. It’s a concept work revolving around three gentlemen named Vincent, Salvador, and Pablo (three guesses as to their last names), but as the lyrics are in Polish, it will be lost on most of us. The music however will only be lost on some of the young metalheads of Europe, as this is real progressive rock, sometimes heavy but not metallic. There is still some King Crimson influence but it is much less obvious than on Psychopuls, resulting in a more original work, more lyrical, flowing and symphonic, with a subtle jazz-rock influence and some delicate passages worthy of Genesis. There is as much of an influence of UK (first album) here, and Lizard’s keyboardist also doubles on violin like Eddie Jobson. Since the guitarist plays some guitar synthesizer, the synths don’t have to drop out when the violin is present.
Spam (2006) is another superb album from Lizard, though not simply a continuation of Tales from Artichoke Wood. This one returns somewhat to the sound of their earlier albums, but the writing and playing have matured. Some King Crimson influence is present, but there is more UK influence, specifically the tracks with Jobson on violin. With violin used on every track, one is also reminded of Ankh, but Lizard is more refined and complex. The lyrics are again in Polish. As on their first album, Lizard sound like the successors to Synkopy, East, and other great first-generation East European prog bands.
Loonypark - Straw Andy ($17.99) Loonypark are a Polish neo-prog and melodic rock band that includes the (female) singer and the keyboardist formerly with Liquid Shadow. (The keyboardist is also a member of Nemezis and at least one other band.) Egoist is Loonypark’s 2008 debut, on the Lynx label. The music here is in the Polish neo-prog mainstream, with both Steve Rothery-style and metal guitar, but more conservative and relaxed than most. Millenium circa Reincarnations is not a bad reference point. Singer Sabina Godula has a relatively deep voice that has a large impact on the feel of the music. Vocals in English.
The second Loonypark CD Straw Andy (2011) seems even more a vehicle for Sabina’s vocals. This is lush pop-prog in the style of Varius Manx and Nemezis.
Lost World - In Concert ($15.99) 
Lost World - Trajectories ($14.99) out-of-stock Lost World was formed in 1996 by three Moscow Conservatory students. They added a singer in time for Trajectories, their first album, released in 2003 despite what it says on the traycard. It was released on the prestigious Russian Boheme label, then deleted a few months later for no apparent reason. The band have since taken matters into their own hands, and at least one of the band members now lives in New York City. Lost World play symphonic prog with a strong classical element, using flute and violin in addition to the standard prog rock instrumentation. The way they do classical rock is unlike anyone else, and some of it is outstanding. The closest comparison might be Hungary’s After Crying, another band of conservatory-trained musicians. But Lost World show little ELP influence, which is the dominant influence in After Crying. Both bands share some King Crimson influence, and Lost World add some pastoral Genesis. Of the 14 tracks on Trajectories, only five have vocals (in Russian). Everything on the album is progressive, but Lost World cover a variety of styles, with moods ranging from dark and frenetic to gentle, romantic and pastoral. Because the pieces are generally of modest length, it never gets boring. Read the Sea of Tranquility review.
Awakening of the Elements (2006) and Sound Source (2009, 65-minutes) are all-instrumental. This is classical progressive rock of the highest order, with flute and violin featured prominently. Probably because they’re Russian, they sound unlike most of the other prog bands with heavy classical influence, so the music usually sounds quite original. Kansas, The Dixie Dregs, or Jethro Tull are fair reference points for some of the material. These guys can play and they can compose. Read the Proggnosis reviews of Awakening of the Elements and Sound Source and the Progressor reviews of Awakening of the Elements and Sound Source.
In Concert (2011) features 12 tracks recorded live in December 2009 at Moscow’s PodClub. Two tracks that appeared on the all-instrumental Awakening of the Elements are performed here with vocals.
Lunatic Soul - Impressions ($13.99) 
Lunatic Soul is the solo project of Riverside singer Mariusz Duda, who we all know has a great voice. Helpfully, the first two CDs are labeled simply “Lunatic Soul”, the idea being that together they form a double-album. The black one is the first, from 2008, while the white one is the 2010 sequel. Duda is assisted by several other musicians including Riverside’s keyboardist and friends from Quidam and Indukti. The music is beautifully textured, and the mood is much the same as Riverside (and Porcupine Tree, and all the other modern prog bands who’ve jumped on this particular bandwagon): dark, lush, melancholy and moving. It’s easy to draw parallels to the music Steven Wilson creates outside of Porcupine Tree. With the metal element of the parent band downplayed (Lunatic Soul contains no electric guitar at all), the music is more ambient, and the more refined and progressive elements are allowed more room to be heard. The second album is even more refined than the first. Duda says it’s a blend of everything he likes, in particular Dead Can Dance and Peter Gabriel on IV or Passion.
Impressions (2011, digipack) is considered to be the final part of a trilogy of Lunatic Soul albums. As Duda says: “Impressions is a collection of instrumental compositions which act as an addition to the story told on the black and white Lunatic Soul albums. These songs without lyrics, with scarce vocal parts, are more ambient in style, resembling a soundtrack to a film or a video game.” Read the Reflections of Darkness review. See below for Riverside’s CDs.
Millenium - Puzzles (2CD, $19.99) 
Millenium - Exist ($15.99)
Millenium - Interdead digipack+4 ($15.99)
Millenium - Vocanda digipack+4 ($15.99)Millenium is a Polish five-piece neo-progressive band with Polish vocals on their self-titled first album (currently out-of-print) and English vocals on everything afterwards. Their earlier material is generally in the Pendragon, Pink Floyd, and early Marillion styles, while Pink Floyd becomes the dominant influence on later albums. You can hear a bit of the influence of Collage (as you can in nearly every Polish neo-prog band).
Vocanda (2000) is their second. This is the 2007 digipack edition featuring a superior cover and four bonus tracks (all radio edits of album tracks) that take the total playing time up over 70-minutes.
Reincarnations (2002, 60-minutes) is their third, more professional than the previous two, full of accessible and melodic neo-prog. This 2CD edition combines the English and Polish language versions, so you can compare and contrast.
With their fourth album Deja Vu (2004, 48-minutes), Millenium followed the career pattern of Collage, becoming more polished and professional with each album but also more mainstream. They could pass for British on this album. This will be a bit tame for hard-core prog fans, but will appeal to fans of later Marillion or those who appreciate later Peter Gabriel and Pink Floyd. This is the 2008 digipack edition with four bonus tracks.
Interdead (2005, 61-minutes) is similar to Deja Vu, a very professional neo-prog concept album that treads a fairly mainstream path, still with a latter-day Pink Floyd influence heard on several tracks. This is the 2008 digipack edition with four bonus tracks.
Numbers and The Big Dream of Mr Sunders is Millenium’s 2006 studio album, their sixth if we counted correctly. This 58-minute concept album is Millenium’s most successful blending of the later Pink Floyd and early Marillion styles to date. The Lynx label like to repackage their CDs in various configurations, so this edition is packaged with the Three Brothers’ Epilogue CD-EP.
Three Brothers’ Epilogue (2008) is a bargain-priced 28-minute CD-EP. It includes the tracks Epilogue: Three Brothers Trilogy (15:01, new 2008 track), Dream About Aliens (8:02, 2007 full version of Talk to Aliens plus Aliens and Me), and Wake Up John! (5:04, 2007 vocal version of And the Big Dream of Mr Sunders).
Exist (2008, digipack) consists of just four long tracks spanning 53 minutes. With this CD, Millenium have shifted the balance almost entirely to the Pink Floyd side, with only vestiges of Marillion influence remaining. Millenium’s career arc has them making their best neo-prog style albums at the very beginning, getting conservative in their middle period, and emerging on the other side sounding more like a classic progressive rock band than ever. Read reviews at Prog Archives and ProgWalhalla.
Millenium had been a studio project for most of its existence, but the success of Exist prompted the band to play concerts in 2009. Back After Years: Live in Krakow 2009 is Millenium’s first live album, a double-CD digipack with a generous playing time of 138-minutes, featuring new arrangements of some of the older songs.
White Crow (2011, digipack) is a collection of rarities spanning 2003-2010 plus one new song (the title track), 11 tracks total. All the tracks were recorded by the present lineup.
The double-CD Puzzles (2011, digipack) is Millenium’s attempt at an epic concept album in the vein of Pink Floyd’s The Wall. Watch/listen to the album trailer and read the band’s description of the album there.
Mindfields - One ($15.99) This is the 2008 debut by a Polish prog band singing in English, though heavily instrumental. Mindfields expertly blend the Marillion, Pink Floyd and later Camel styles, putting them near Millenium on some tracks, closer to Satellite or Quidam on others. Their progressive rock is atmospheric and free of metal, and is up to the high standard we’re coming to expect from Polish prog bands.
Mind Portal - 1 / 1 ($13.99) Mind Portal is an instrumental quartet (guitar/keys/bass/drums) from Russia debuting in 2010 with 1/1. They play heavy, fusion-tinged prog in a style similar to Planet X and Liquid Tension Experiment, with comparable technical skills. But Mind Portal earn high marks for melody and for concise, focused compositions, avoiding most of the excesses of those other bands. They have guitar melodies similar to what Joe Satriani comes up with, but not a lot of shredding for shredding’s sake. We would have liked some small degree of Russian flavor to give the music some distinctness -- this sounds entirely American -- but we understand that some of today’s progressive rock fans prefer a music monoculture. Read reviews here.
Moonlight - Integrated in the System of Guilt ($14.99) DownWords (2005, 60-minutes) and Integrated in the System of Guilt (2006, 60-minutes) are the 10th and 11th full-length releases respectively by Polish band Moonlight. This is modern art-rock with female vocals (in English on this version of DownWords, in Polish on Integrated...). The music is characterized by the modern penchant for coldness and melancholy, contrasting passages of stark beauty with somewhat harsh passages dominated by synths and guitar. Vocalist Maja is a great asset, able to carry off the moods required by the music. Moonlight sometimes sound like the Czech band Stromboli extrapolated forward in time. The arrangements show a good deal of sophistication, and once you adjust to the eerie, dark, angst-ridden moods, the music does have a beauty all its own. Start with Integrated... Here are mp3’s from the tracks Pati and Irreversible from DownWords (the mp3’s are from the Polish-language version) and Reset from Integrated...
Moonrise - Soul’s Inner Pendulum ($15.99) The Lights of a Distant Bay (2008) is one of the standout releases on the Polish Lynx label. On this debut, Moonrise operate in the same general Satellite/Riverside territory where most of the current Polish prog bands sit. The metal guitar is not that frequent; the Riverside comparison is more for the melancholy moods. But there is an uncommon elegance to Moonrise’s music. It’s surprising to learn that it’s the work of one multi-instrumentalist/composer, Kamil Konieczniak, plus Lukasz Gall, the singer from Millenium (lyrics in English). Konieczniak adds many creative touches on keyboards, and at the same time, his guitar work is full of lyrical, almost mournful Steve Rothery type leads. Gall is an excellent singer, but Konieczniak leaves plenty of room for instrumental passages, which also sets Moonrise apart. Highly recommended to fans of neo-prog.
Soul’s Inner Pendulum (2009, 58-minutes, digipack) is their second. There is no metal here at all; it is a pure neo-prog album with more lush, sometimes spacey keyboards than just about any other contemporary neo-prog album. Moonrise is now a band with a guitarist, drummer and sax player having joined Konieczniak, and while singer Gall is listed as a guest, he is a busy guest. The sax is a nice touch, but it is only present here and there. The Marillion influence is obvious, but given Gall’s voice, the music sounds even more like Jadis. Gall could pass for an American singer, his English is so good, and his excellent vocals have much to do with the quality of this album. Soaring guitar leads over a lush keyboard foundation is a tried-and-true formula for neo-prog, and it still sounds wonderful here. Read the Background Magazine review.
Václav Neckář - Příběhy, Písně a Balady (2CD, $19.99) Václav Neckář is a famous Czech singer who has been making music since the 1960s. Some of his 1970s output was progressive, e.g., his 1977 2LP Planetárium. Between 1982-1983 he recorded three LPs entitled Příběhy, Písně a Balady 1, 2, and 3. This 2CD contains all three of these LPs in their entirety. Neckář is assisted by a number of other musicians, but the songs here all revolve around his vocals. It is vocal-heavy folk/pop/rock, not terribly commercial though as there are a lot of synths, lending symphonic and spacey touches throughout.
Nemezis - Nemezis ($15.99) This is the 2008 debut by a Polish neo-prog band whose origins date back to the mid-1990s. Though the lineup that recorded this CD has only one original member, the songs here were written 12 years earlier. Nemezis stick close to the Marillion-by-way-of-Collage formula beloved by so many of the post-1990 Polish prog bands. They have a female singer (English lyrics), so Nemezis end up closest to the Polish band Albion. Lots of lyrical guitar leads like those Steve Rothery used to play; the guitar will be the highlight for many. (The neo-prog style is so prevalent among the later Polish prog bands, one has to wonder whether these musicians have never heard Genesis or Yes. Or closer to home, SBB, Exodus and RSC!)
Oaksenham - Conquest of the Pacific ($15.99) Oaksenham are an Armenian progressive rock band immersed in English music, and their debut Conquest of the Pacific was one of the best CDs released by Musea in 2007. Oaksenham have the usual keys/guitars/bass/drums lineup with the addition of a violinist and a flute player, while guest musicians add harp, cello, oboe, bassoon, English horn, French horn, and clarinet. This amazing band play a lively, airy instrumental progressive rock with renaissance and baroque influences. The CD includes covers of Gentle Giant’s Talybont and On Reflection and a theme borrowed from Jethro Tull’s Velvet Green, and the rest of the CD continues with those influences, also Gryphon, Flairck, even Kansas when the electric guitar is present alongside violin and organ. Oaksenham restore the academic component missing from so many of today’s progressive bands.
Obiymy Doschu - Elehia ($13.99) Obiymy Doschu (Rain’s Embrace) is a six-person Ukrainian band plus guests, with male vocals in Ukrainian. Their 2009 album Elehia (Elegy) was re-released in 2011 in this MALS label edition. Obiymy Doschu blend the gloomy and melancholy Anathema/Katatonia/Riverside aesthetic with the lush strings sound of the Nordic and post-rock bands. The saturated strings are probably part Mellotron but also real violin and viola, lending a neo-classical feel. There is some metal guitar, a complete mismatch for the rest of the instrumentation of course. (A sympathetic, progressive-style guitarist would have fit much better, but they’re apparently hard to find now.) However, the violin plays some of the soaring melodies that the electric guitar might have covered. Piano, acoustic guitar, female backing vocals, bass and drums fill out the sound palette, which varies little from track to track, one reason the album flows uninterrupted, with a single mood. It is atmospheric and quite beautiful and elegant (apart from the metal guitar), if compositionally unvarying; this music is all about the bittersweet mood and the sad-but-majestic orchestral textures. Here are YouTube videos of The Dead Tree and the Wind, My Little Star, and Sunrise.
Ogród Wyobraźni - Świątynia Dumania ($15.99) Polish symphonic rock band Ogród Wyobraźni made their debut at a festival in 1980. Their career was cut short by a tragic series of events, and that’s about all we know as the liner notes are in Polish. It appears these 13 tracks spanning 72-minutes were recorded at Polish Radio between 1979-1986. The music is progressive rock sung in Polish, with elements of Genesis, Camel, Pink Floyd and others, varying from early-70s to early-80s in style but remains mostly in the 70s. Overall this could be filed next to Exodus. The music is professionally recorded except for the last track, which is tacked on as a bonus. The CD is quite good and a very pleasant surprise, another valuable document of the Polish progressive scene from the Metal Mind label.
Olive Mess - Cherdak ($15.99) Cherdak (2008, 56-minutes) is the second album by this Latvian progressive band, stylistically similar to their 2002 debut CD Gramercy. Cherdak includes four long tracks, one of which is instrumental. The music of Olive Mess sports influences of classical, baroque, renaissance and modern academic music. Relative to Gramercy, the sound has become denser. While Gramercy featured the soprano of Ilze Paegle, Cherdak features the baritone of Maris Jekabsons, who sings in the classical (opera) style. In addition to electric & classical guitars, keys, bass and drums, Olive Mess use bagpipes, baroque guitar, and archlute. The band use historical events as the subject matter for their music and three different languages for their song texts: English, Latin, and old Provencal. If Gentle Giant worked with an opera singer, it might sound like this. On second thought, it still wouldn’t be as unusual as Olive Mess.
Omni - Mermaids ($15.99) In the mid-1980s, there were two great Polish electronic bands: El Division and Omni. While the El Division LPs have yet to be issued on CD, the 1985 first album by Omni has. This is the Metal Mind re-edition, which adds three bonus tracks. Omni is a duo making melodic/rhythmic electronic music somewhere between the Tangerine Dream and Jean Michel Jarre styles, but very high-energy and very exuberant. Classical themes are blended with racing sequencers and electronic drums.
Nothing more was heard from Omni until Mermaids (2006). The core of their sound remains late-70s/early-80s Tangerine Dream. The first of the four tracks is electronic rock, as Omni add rock guitar, drums and wordless female vocals. The remaining three tracks stick mainly to electronic music, but each is quite distinct. One member adds cello at times, which is one element Omni use to elevate their music beyond ordinary EM. The 23-minute final track is a beautiful example of EM that builds from ambient/cosmic to a powerful sequencer-driven conclusion.
Openspace - Elementary Loss ($15.99)The latter-day Polish progressive rock bands have tended to cluster around a couple styles exemplified by the most successful Polish prog bands. First it was Collage (later Satellite), who were influenced by the British neo-prog bands, later Riverside, who took their cues more from Porcupine Tree. Many of the Polish prog bands don’t stray too far from these, and Openspace can be wedged into the open space between Satellite and Riverside. Most of what they do on their 2008 debut is in the Satellite style, but they add metal guitar on some tracks, bringing their music closer to Riverside. Four songs are sung in English, four in Polish, plus one instrumental. It is all very well done, and this CD is a sure bet for Satellite fans and probably Riverside fans as well.
Elementary Loss (2010) is their second, sung entirely in English.
Osada Vida - Uninvited Dreams digipack ($13.99) This is the digipack special edition of The Body Parts Party, the 2008 album by Polish progressive rock band Osada Vida, which contains two bonus tracks. It’s a concept album that uses various body parts and organs to symbolize something or other. The pancreas gets short shrift, but on balance, this is an improvement over their previous album Three Seats Behind a Triangle. As is usually the case, when Osada Vida play progressive rock, the music is quite good, and when they shift over to metal and hard rock it’s, well, metal and hard rock. There is often a spacey Pink Floyd or Eloy element to the keyboards, while at other times the keys are jazzy and classy. The keys have to bow out sometimes to make way for overly distorted guitar and bog-standard thrashing and pummeling, but if you’re a fan of modern heavy rock, this is presumably something you look forward to. While most prog-metal bands have adopted the sonic conventions of modern metal, i.e., brutally ugly, Osada Vida lean toward a grungier sound between metal and hard rock, i.e., reasonably ugly. That grunginess is only during the non-progressive bits between the progressive bits. The CD is over 73-minutes long, so there’s a full album of progressive rock in there. Read the reviews at Sea of Tranquility and Prog Archives.
This is the digipack special edition of Osada Vida’s 2009 album Uninvited Dreams, which contains three bonus tracks: two new songs and one alternate version, 79-minutes total. This is Osada Vida’s best album to date, the one you knew they could make if they chose to. They’ve reined in the metal guitar enough to tip the balance overwhelmingly to their progressive side. They still like some grit in their prog, and that’s fine; it gives Osada Vida an identifiable sound.
Pantokraator - Tormidesööjad ($14.99) Back in the bad old days of the Soviet Union, records were released on the state-owned Melodiya label, and fans in the west weren’t always aware of where the artists actually hailed from. It turned out that the majority of the Soviet progressive rock bands were really Estonian, and they were very good. But after Estonia gained independence in 1991, their progressive rock scene never recovered, economic realities having something to do with that, and little was heard out of Estonia. Until now.
Pantokraator are from Tartu, Estonia’s second city, and trace their roots to the early 1980s. They released their first album in 1990, broke up in 1992, reformed 14 years later, and now are really back with the 2009 CD Tormidesööjad (The Storm Eaters). The album opens with Metsavaht, a song of aggressive folk-rock, similar to heavy Scandinavian folk-rockers such as Hoven Droven. A great song, but not representative of the rest of the album, as it is symphonic prog the rest of the way, with a Yes influence that is sometimes heard clearly. Pantokraator have excellent male lead vocals with some female backing vocals. There are slight ethnic touches in spots that give the music a special character, as do the Estonian vocals. The Estonian language is close to Finnish, and the ethnic touches sound Scandinavian. If you’re one of those so-called prog fans who prefers all music sound like it comes from some generic Anglo-American place where everyone sings in English and there is nothing of a national or regional character, then you probably haven’t read this far. For those who prefer richer, more varied and less contrived music, this is an exciting, world-class prog rock album played by highly-skilled musicians. The CD comes in a tri-fold digipack with a 24-page booklet containing English translations of the Estonian lyrics. Here are YouTube videos of the songs Tule tule and Metsavaht. (Don’t confuse this band with the Swedish metal band spelled Pantokrator.)
Peter Pan - Days ($14.99) Peter Pan is a side project of current Satellite and former Collage member Wojtek Szadkowski. On Days (2007, digipack), they play excellent neo-prog similar to Collage and Satellite, more aggressive overall (but still not metallic). Singing would not be our first choice of career for Peter Pan’s vocalist, but plenty of instrumental action makes up it. Vocals in English.
Pinkroom - Psychosolstice ($14.99) This 2009 debut CD by Polish band Pinkroom is solidly in the Porcupine Tree and Riverside style of modern prog: dark moods, melancholy vocals (in English), some spaciness, some metal, an overriding sense of alienation. A guest cellist on two tracks is a nice addition. This style is becoming perhaps a bit too familiar by now, with quite a few young bands going down this path, but fans of the style will relish this CD as it is done as well as any. 57-minutes, digipack.
Point of View - Disillusioned ($7.99) Point of View are an excellent Polish prog-metal quintet, and like most prog-metal bands, nothing in their sound reveals their country of origin. Disillusioned is their 2007 debut. Reviewers have mentioned Fates Warning, Queensryche, and Dream Theater. Point of View have a good keyboardist, and there are times when they sound like Satellite, and times when they sound like Satellite with metal guitar overdubbed. Read the Proggnosis review.
Quidam - Alone Together ($15.99) |      |
Quorum - Klubkin’s Voyage ($14.99) This is the 79-minute 2011 debut by a Russian symphonic prog band in the vein of Kansas, Yes and Genesis, more so Kansas as their sound is more American than British. The audio was mastered at Masterdisk in New York City, and the artwork is gorgeous. More info on Quorum’s website. While there, be sure to listen to the track Klubkin’s Voyage, Part Two. Read the Prognaut review. Klubkin’s Voyage was April 2011 Record of the Month at Progressive Rock BR.
Retrospective - Stolen Thoughts ($17.99) Stolen Thoughts (2008) is the second album for the young Polish band Retrospective, their first for the Lynx label. It is dark, despairing modern prog sung in English, like a more depressed Riverside. While there is only a little actual metal, the aesthetic seems closer to the modern metal aesthetic, though there is some Pink Floyd and a little 1970s King Crimson influence. Visit Retrospective’s website for more info.
Riverside - Memories in My Head ($10.99) out-of-stock 
Riverside - Voices In My Head ($12.99) 
Out of Myself is the 2004 debut by a Polish band that have carved out a style that now seems to be a standard of sorts among the newer Polish progressive bands. Their brand of modern prog is on the dark and moody side, influenced by Porcupine Tree and Pink Floyd while blending in psychedelic and metal elements a la Opeth. Riverside have an outstanding singer in Mariusz Duda; his vocals are in excellent English. Second Life Syndrome (2005, 64-minutes) is their follow-up. No sophomore slump here, as this album is even better, a bit darker perhaps, with Riverside finding their own style even though the core styles of their debut are carried over. Yes, there are more metal elements and the tempo is often quicker than on their debut, but it would be a disservice to call this a prog-metal album. Much of the guitar work actually derives from the Steve Rothery style, and there is a Collage influence present at the music’s heart. The album has been reviewed by every metal website, but it is primarily a progressive rock work that has appeal across a broad spectrum.
This is the 2006 edition of Voices In My Head on InsideOut. It contains five studio tracks that Riverside released after Out of Myself, three live versions of tracks from Out of Myself with excellent sound, a video of one of the studio songs, lyrics and photos. The studio tracks here do not appear on their other albums, and they are weighted toward the softer, more sensuous and intimate side of Riverside’s style, presenting a side of the band not always apparent on their other albums.
Riverside’s 2007 studio album Rapid Eye Movement further develops the style established on their previous albums. The metal elements are still there, but there was promise at this juncture that Riverside were outgrowing them. The overall style is again close to Porcupine Tree, with some Hogarth-era Marillion, but Riverside are easily in the same league as both.
This is the Special Edition of Riverside’s 2009 studio CD Anno Domini High Definition, which comes in a digipack and adds a DVD (NTSC/all-region/16:9/stereo) of Riverside performing seven songs live in Amsterdam in 2008. The ‘hi-def’ here is just part of the title, as this is a standard CD and DVD. On this CD, Riverside have lost some of the elements that gave them credibility as a progressive rock band. Here they are more metallic and aggressive, and the music is considerably less lush, with dirty Hammond the primary keyboard sound. It’s similar to the direction Porcupine Tree went in circa Fear of a Blank Planet, and the two bands still have similar appeal or lack thereof. Prog-metalheads may consider this Riverside’s best album, but there are passages here where Riverside are beginning to try our patience. Read the review at Sputnik Music.
Memories in My Head (2011, 33-minutes) is a short CD to commemorate Riverside’s 10th anniversary. It’s new material consisting of three long tracks that segue into a cohesive whole. It also represents a course correction, a return to the spacier, melancholy sound of their early work. Riverside’s singer Mariusz Duda had promised this CD would be a pleasant surprise to those who felt that Riverside’s last releases lacked distinctive melodies and space. Riverside have intentionally returned to their beginning and, in a way, come full circle. Check above for Lunatic Soul, the solo project of Mariusz Duda. Check our DVDs page for Riverside’s Reality Dream DVD.
Roz Vitalis - Revelator ($13.99) From Saint Petersburg, Russia, Roz Vitalis has existed since 2001 as a studio project and since 2008 as a full-fledged instrumental progressive rock band led by keyboardist/composer Ivan Rozmainsky. On Compassionizer (2007), approximately Rozmainsky’s eighth album, he is joined by a guitarist and a clarinet player. Rozmainsky is very influenced by 20th century classical music, so though the music here has passages of beauty, overall it is dark, dissonant and complex avant-prog in the vein of Univers Zero and Art Zoyd. Because the drums are used to provide counterpoint and never simply to keep a beat, Rozmainsky is able to use high-quality samples and lose nothing. Read the Prog Archives and Sea of Tranquility reviews.
On Revelator (2011), Roz Vitalis is a five-piece band with electric & acoustic guitars, flutes, bass and drums in addition to Rozmainsky’s grand piano, Hammond and other keyboards. There are also guests on cello, viola, bassoon, trumpet and flugelhorn, giving this album a more acoustic and organic sound, still in an unclassifiable, offbeat area of avant-sympho-prog dominated by keyboards. Start here.
RSC - aka Flyrock ($15.99) 
RSC - Maraton Rockowy ($14.99) Czas Wodnika, Parakletos, and Maraton Rockowy are the 2007 limited edition remastered digipack reissues put out by Polskie Radio. RSC are a Polish symphonic prog band (singing in Polish) whose two early-1980s albums are among the best Polish progressive rock albums. The seven-piece band features violin prominently, and the music is close to early Kansas. Maraton Rockowy (1994) contains re-recorded versions of most of the tracks from RSC’s self-titled 1982 album and four from their 1983 second album Flyrock.
Czas Wodnika (1996, 71-minutes) was RSC’s first real studio album since 1983. It and Parakletos (1997, 68-minutes) are fine comeback albums, rockier than their early output but in the same general style and featuring the same violin/organ/guitar attack.
Despite having nearly the same name as their earlier album and making use of its cover art, Aka Flyrock (2008) is a new record, the third coming of RSC. This one features violin on a few tracks only. As the only legendary Polish band on the Lynx label, home of many younger Polish prog bands, it’s natural to contrast the old guys with the young guys. Aka Flyrock contains some modern elements such as loops and samples, but it is consistent with RSC’s classic prog style, with ensemble vocals in Polish that immediately distinguish it from the current generation of Polish bands. That and the symphonic keyboards that occupy their rightful place. There is also a sense of majesty here, an important component of many of the bands that defined progressive rock that is absent from most modern prog. The CD contains 64-minutes of audio plus a professional video (4:21).
Sandstone - Looking for Myself ($5.99) SALE!Looking for Myself is the 2006 debut by Sandstone, a young Polish melodic prog-metal quintet who use a lot of keyboards and are not overly heavy or metallic. They have a powerful vocalist singing in flawless English, and a bit of Riverside in their sound. Just six tracks span 55-minutes.
Satellite - Nostalgia digipack+2 ($15.99) |     |
SBB - Blue Trance digipack+2 ($15.99) |             |
Jozef Skrzek - Viator 1973-2007 (20CD box, $144.99) |      |
Space Avenue - Voices from the Other Worlds ($14.99) This is the 2006 debut CD by a Polish prog/prog-metal quintet that includes former Collage and Satellite keyboardist Krzysztof Palczewski. Some of their material is prog-metal, while some is melodic neo-prog. Vocals in English. Short CD at 37:09.
Strawberry Fields - River’s Gone Dry ($14.99) Strawberry Fields is a project of Wojtek Szadkowski, the leader of Satellite, working here with a female singer using the name Robin (really Marta Kniewska). River’s Gone Dry (2009) is their debut CD. The rest of the band is Satellite minus their singer: guitarist Sarhan Kubeisi, bassist Jarek Michalski, keyboardist Krzyś Palczewski guesting, and Szadkowski on keyboards, acoustic guitar and drums. This is Szadkowski’s chance to apply his considerable skills to a more contemporary style that incorporates all the trappings of modern music technology, and also to work with a talented female vocalist. Robin’s vocals are the focus of the music and are especially beautiful when multi-tracked. The result is a blend of the old and the new, more laid-back and atmospheric than Satellite but even more detailed, an excellent example of a prog musician making a more accessible or trendy music without compromising on quality. Read the Sea of Tranquility review. Watch the promo video. Check our DVDs page for Strawberry Fields’ Live DVD.
Sunchild - As Far as the Eye Can See ($13.99) 
Sunchild - The Invisible Line ($12.99) Antony Kalugin’s musical empire continues to expand rapidly, with four-and-a-half Karfagen CDs, the Hoggwash CD in 2007, and four Sunchild CDs. Kalugin has half the musicians in the Ukraine on the Sunchild albums, which continue to develop the style of Karfagen and Hoggwash, with vocals in English primarily by Kalugin. This is melodic symphonic prog that draws from all eras of progressive rock and establishes Kalugin as one of the top contemporary composers in the genre.
The first Sunchild CD The Gnomon (2008) is a double-CD that includes a video of the song Wonderworld and the Making of Sunchild video. Read reviews.
The Invisible Line (2009) is the second Sunchild CD. The limited 2CD edition adds a four-page booklet and bonus disc containing seven additional tracks including two written for the main album, plus a 24-minute ‘making of’ video. Four of the bonus tracks are demos, three of which are previously-unreleased tracks from earlier in Kalugin’s career. The first disc is itself over 69-minutes long. Read reviews.
As for The Wrap (2010): “Sunchild have produced a superb piece of orchestrated symphonic progressive rock, which appeals to fans of all genres of music including Camel and Marillion for two easy comparisons. I can see a huge leap forward musically for them on this release and hopefully it will be enjoyed by even more fans than his last release under the Sunchild moniker.” [Harmonic Lizard] Read the full review and others.
As Far as the Eye Can See (2011, 62-minutes) sees vocalist Olga Chernova joining the Sunchild regulars; her voice brings Kate Bush to mind. Anima Mundi’s guitarist Roberto Diaz guests on the title track. These mp3 excerpts of the tracks Stars of Cardiff Bay, Ring of Eternity, March of Fate, and As Far as the Eye Can See should fairly quickly convince prog fans that this is a must-have CD.
Sunrise Sunset Project - Sunrise Sunset ($15.99) This is the 2009 debut by a prog band from St. Petersburg, Russia, though the two founding members are named Andrew Lee-Beth and Steve Kuddins, so most likely they’re expats. The music is entrancing instrumental Floydian rock, spacey and mostly easy-going, with occasional outbursts of energy and menace. As for other similar artists, one could mention Michael Rother, Bo Hansson, and Camel. Read reviews at Sea of Tranquility, Prog-Nose, Proggnosis, and DPRP. Mini-LP style sleeve.
Svann - Granica Czerni i Bieli ($8.99) Svann is a Polish progressive rock band formed by ex-Abraxas members, with a very good female singer named Anja who apparently also sings for a gothic rock band and owns the title “The Queen of Polish Gothic Rock”. This 2003 album, whose title translates as The Boundary of Black and White, reminds us a bit of the Czech band Stromboli, but Svann are at once more progressive, more symphonic, and more contemporary. Svann play modern progressive rock, more linear and urban (as opposed to pastoral) than classic prog, but still very romantic, ambitious, and texturally rich. Gabriel-esque atmospheres and rhythms, some creative use of percussion loops, and a few heavy passages characterize their music. 64-minutes, vocals in Polish.
Tale of Diffusion - Adventures of Mandorius (The Bird) ($17.99) This excellent 2009 debut by a Polish progressive rock band is evidence that not every Polish band plays neo-prog or prog-metal. The music of Tale of Diffusion is almost entirely instrumental, influenced to some extent by 1980s King Crimson and by Pink Floyd, but that is only a departure point. The music is melodic, intricate, and flowing. There are touches of jazz, particularly when the guest jazz trumpeter appears. There are sophisticated electronic music touches that take the music into the realm of ambient-prog. The band had been in existence for six years prior, so the fact this debut is so accomplished is not so surprising. What is surprising is the music itself: unpredictable, creative, deftly balancing complexity and accessibility. 57-minutes, digipack.
T.A.O. - The Abnormal Observations ($11.99) This is the 2006 debut by a young Polish band. They mix and match many prog styles, one of which is prog-metal. When they do play metal, they achieve their apparent goal of sounding like a dime-a-dozen metal band. Fortunately the metal is only present in spots, and everything else they do is inventive and makes them quite a unique band. Some of the album is as far away from metal as possible. There are many really intricate and tasteful arrangements here and excellent musicianship. If they’d lose the metal, the album’s couple low points would be eliminated, but those are minor blemishes on a quality progressive album showing uncommon creativity. Vocals in English.
Travellers - A Journey Into the Sun Within ($13.99) Travellers is another project of Wojtek Szadkowski, known from his work in Collage, Satellite, and Strawberry Fields. Travellers features the same female singer as Strawberry Fields: Robin (aka Marta Kniewska). A Journey Into the Sun Within (2011, digipack) is their debut. Szadkowski says: “It’s a mixture of prog, ethnic music, the 80s, a large dose of magic and space, all of this crowned with Robin’s beautiful voice.” Read reviews at Prog Archives.
Turquoise - Futura ($15.99) 
Turquoise are a Polish neo-prog band who were probably originally modeled on early Quidam. Their self-titled CD 2001 debut features female vocals in Polish. Po Drugiej Stronie is their 2003 second CD, a bit heavier than their debut and with more male vocals. Futura is their 2006 third CD, which returns to all female vocals, this time in English. So Futura will be more accessible to those American prog fans who are frightened by non-English lyrics. The music is still early Marillion style neo-prog with some heavier touches.
Uistiti - Uistiti ($15.99) Uistiti is a Polish quartet of female vocals, guitar, bass/Warr guitar/Stick, and drums. Uistiti’s bassist is also Millenium’s bassist. This is Uistiti’s 2008 debut CD on the Lynx label, who had a busy 2008 with debut releases. The music is a sort of progressive alt-rock, with their singer having a large impact on their sound. Her vocals suggest Bjork or Cocteau Twins, with interesting multi-tracked harmonies that suggest Balkan or Finnish folk. There is a little heavy guitar but it is mostly ringing, low-distortion tones. There is a slight similarity to Porcupine Tree’s psychedelic pop style. It’s enjoyable enough, and good to see that not all the bands on the Lynx label have identical styles. Lyrics in Polish. (For those who still have difficulty listening to non-English lyrics, this is a band where it is easy to hear the human voice as another instrument.)
Various Artists - Polish Art-Rock Vol. 1 ($15.99) 
Various Artists - Polish Prog-Metal Vol. 1 ($14.99)Volume 1 of the Polish Art-Rock series is a beautiful package in the digibook (hardcover) format with both Polish and English text. The CD contains tracks from Abraxas, Museion, Anamor, Millenium, Lukasz Swiech, Lizard, Albion, Revolver, Framauro, Kroner Cirkus, and Quidam. The other volumes are in jewel cases. Volume 2 includes tracks from Ankh, Golem, Zywioly, Mediana, Gargantua, H.D.R.M., Pawel Ziobrowski & Friends, Bordo, and RSC, with a 20-page booklet in both English and Polish. Volume 3 includes 14 tracks by Polish progressive artists including After, Indukti, Special Experiment, Colt, and 10 other new names, with an informative 16-page booklet in both English and Polish. The quality of music presented here is very high, all progressive but covering a respectable range of styles.
Polish Prog-Metal Vol. 1 features a bilingual English/Polish booklet and one track each from Music Atelier Project, Draft, Forgotten, Sabracadabra, Mind Gate, Indukti, Liquid Shadow, Space Avenue, New Machine, and Memories Garden. 72-minutes.
Varius Manx - The New Shape ($15.99) out-of-stock Varius Manx is a very popular band in Poland, with albums on Sony/BMG and EMI and sales of over two million in Poland alone. Today they exist on the border between neo-prog and a very intelligent, progressively-arranged pop that relies heavily on their female lead singer, but they actually began as an instrumental progressive band. These are Metal Mind’s remastered reissues of their first two albums: The Beginning and The New Shape, each with two bonus tracks added. The Beginning (1990) is instrumental with some soaring wordless female vocals. It often sounds like a more progressive Andreas Vollenweider, though there is no harp. The drums are sometimes powerful but more often use an orchestral and percussive approach as opposed to straight rock drumming. The textures are very symphonic, using synths and piano, acoustic & electric guitars, with guests on violin, cello, orchestral woodwinds, and a string quartet. Beautiful, sophisticated stuff. The two bonus tracks are of their later style with female vocals, quite good in their own right.
In 1991, Varius Manx added a new drummer as well as Robert Amirian (vocals); this lineup recorded The New Shape (1993). Amirian would go on to Collage and Satellite. Robert Jansen sings in English on this album with some female backing vocals. He’s as good a singer as many bands ever have, but history shows that switching to female lead vocalists would be the right move for Varius Manx. The style here is closer to the one they ultimately settled on: more rock, less orchestral, with sax or bass clarinet occasionally added to the standard guitar/keys/bass/drums lineup. The ballads are more pop styled, but there is still a lot of sophisticated instrumental content, and overall this is an excellent album of melodic progressive rock integrated with elements of pop and smooth jazz. Check here for Varius Manx’s Ona Ma Sile DVD.
Xanadu - The Last Sunrise ($13.99) Xanadu are a Polish band, this incarnation formed in 2008. There was a Xanadu in the 1990s with the same drummer as well as another guy, Mariusz Duda. Duda went on to form Riverside and Lunatic Soul. So not surprisingly, the label compares The Last Sunrise (2011) to the first Riverside CD: ambitious, melancholy, modern progressive rock.
Xenn - Offworld ($16.99) Offworld is the 2003 debut from a prog rock quartet formed by ex-Abraxas members, playing an atmospheric and surreal-sounding progressive rock that is nevertheless powerful and rhythmic. This is very contemporary prog with English vocals, incorporating samples and loops, world music elements, with Stick used alongside bass in several songs. It is highly creative, much more so than the Abraxas CDs (which were pretty good!), and not directly comparable to anyone.
X Religion - Dances on Gobelins ($15.99) This 2003 CD is by a band from the former Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan. X Religion is a trio of the same people responsible for the 2002 Al-Bird CD (though Dances on Gobelins was recorded before Sodom & Gomorra XXI): Albert Khalmurzayev (keyboards & guitar), Valery Vorobjov (electronic drum set) and ProgressoR.net webmaster Vitaly Menshikov (bass and acoustic guitar). X Religion is an instrumental keyboard power trio, so naturally there will be some comparisons to ELP, but X Religion is more classically-influenced, heavy-handed and technical, lacking any songwriting or the emotion that Emerson routinely injects into his compositions. ELP has the more innate understanding of rock, while in X Religion you can hear stronger influences of Russian classical music. The booklet is full of beautiful, surrealist paintings by Vladimir Finkilstein, along with English-language poems whose gothic typeface and low-contrast colors will discourage most people from trying to read them. 58-minutes.