April Fools Sale at TheRecordLabel.net (ProgRock Records) (see page 2)

[yorost]

Got my order today, Atlanta.  Were other people's Moon Safari not wrapped?  Not a big deal, looks new, but somewhat surprising.

[Dr. DTVT]

Mine were all wrapped.

[yorost]

There was a weird white material inside the case, which  I had to blow off the discs, too, very odd.  It all looks pristine in the end, though.

[Dr. DTVT]

*in AOL voice*

You got Anthrax!

[Nick]

Nick, do you already have Moon Safari?

You'll have to tell me what you think about Echoes and Manning.

I ended up getting refunded for Manning as they ran out. So far I've listened to Pyramy, Vonassi, and Echoes, and frankly Echoes has blown the other two out of the water I think.

[jingle.boy]

Purchase made;


Henning Pauly - Credit Where Credit is Due
Dec Burke - Destroy All Monsters
Roswell Six - Terra Incognita: Beyond The Horizon (CD)
Roswell Six - Terra Incognita: A Line in The Sand (CD)
Vonassi - The Battle of Ego
Prymary - The Enemy Inside
Prymary - The Tragedy Of Innocence
Odin's Court - Deathanity
Cryptic Vision - In A World

All in, $60.  Less than $7 an album.  Sweet.

Oh yeah baby!  Just showed up.  Now, where to start??

[Nick]

I'm partial to the first Roswell Six CD.

[jingle.boy]

That's the first one I popped in the CD player. 1/2 way thru, and really enjoying it!

P.s.  dr doofus?  Really?  That's the best you could come up with?

[yorost]

Sky Architect, great whim purchase!

...and I feel like a dolt for not buying Soul Secret.

[jingle.boy]

Ok, reviews now that I've made my way through my haul

Odin's Court - Dethanity
Prog Metal here, and the first half feels unstructured and chaotic.  Kinda like they are changing time and key signatures just because they can.  It just doesn't feel like the songs flow.  2nd half is better in that regard.  It's good, but this is definitely one that is going to take some time to grow on me. Two listens in, and I give it a 6/10

Henning Pauly - Credit Where Credit is Due
Not at all what I was expecting... it's a lot heavier with some very raw and grungy guitar work.  Lots of variety in the vocals, which is a little of what one would expect with Pauly.  Tons of variety in the styles he conjures up from track to track.  Two listens ... 7.5/10

Roswell Six - Terra Incognita: Beyond The Horizon
Amazing, just amazing.  Great story (how could you expect anything else with the lyrics being adapted from a Kevin Anderson novel).  Great group of vocalists and musicians.  Erik Norlander composed some great music here (gonna have to check out more of his work), not surprisingly, very in-your-face with the keyboard elements.  9.5/10

Roswell Six - Terra Incognita: A Line in the Sand
Just a notch under Beyond the Horizon.  With a wholesale change on the composition and vocalists, it's totally different from it's predecessor.  More rock (vs prog) oriented... and for those that know Pauly's work, it's got his signature all over this one.  9/10

Prymary - The Enemy Inside
Very nice.  Prog metal, feels a lot like Redemption.  And just as I feel towards Redemption's vocals and Adler, the lead vocals here aren't mind blowing, but just enough above 'good enough' that it makes the overall package great.  The Enemy Inside suite is wicked, on par with The Fullness of Time.  8.5/10

Prymary - The Tragedy of Innocence
Interesting concept album.  Great drum work, and a nice rich guitar sound.  The resemblence to Redemption is undeniable.  2nd listen was much better than the first.  8/10.

Dec Burke - Destroy All Monsters
Absolutely what I expected out of Dec.  Fantastic neo/modern-prog with a well balanced blend of keyboard, guitar and vocal melodies, varying which leads from track to track.  8.5/10

Cryptic Vision - In A World
This I totally took as a flyer, and damn glad I did.  On the lighter end of the prog scale, kinda like Pendragon - they can get heavy at times, but usually stay with a bit of a lighter flair. Gonna need the rest of their discs... not sure if I'll be able to wait until the next blowout sale in November!  9/10

Vonassi - The Battle of Ego
Took this solely on Mason's recommendation.  Maybe my expectations were to high given the other bands he's introduced me to (Threshold, Tetrafusion, Pauly's projects).  It's good, but not great ... at least not yet.  First listen was uneventful.  Second was a bit better.  Third even better ... for some reason I was expecting this to be heavier (knowing what Mason's been listening to lately).  When I absolved myself of those expectations, realizing that this is just edgy prog, I learned to like it a lot more.  More spins required for sure.  7.5/10

[jingle.boy]

Mason... time to update the thread title.  Black Friday sale starts tomorrow.

We are once again having our "Black Friday" sale, but since this is a holiday week in the US and we're closing later today, the prices will be active sometime today "wednesday" and will go through Saturday the 26th.  Unlike previous years, we aren't doing the flat $5 or $10 on items, there are items all the way down to $1, but new releases, while discounted, aren't discounted as much.  Bulk discounts and coupon codes will not be active during the sale.

[MoraWintersoul]

You'll have to tell me what you think about Echoes and Manning.

A person who's heard Echoes: they're pretty great. Relatively familiar, but fresh sounding, prog metal sort of thing, with 5 or 6 or something good vocalists. Really not what you bump into every day.

Also, now I see this post was in April. Apologies

[kirksnosehair]

Cryptic Vision - In A World
This I totally took as a flyer, and damn glad I did.  On the lighter end of the prog scale, kinda like Pendragon - they can get heavy at times, but usually stay with a bit of a lighter flair. Gonna need the rest of their discs... not sure if I'll be able to wait until the next blowout sale in November!  9/10

The others are very good as well.  They're very talented players.  The one slight problem I have is the vocalist is a bit pitchy at times and the use of pitch correction software is a little obvious in places, but overall their stuff is musically solid.

[T-ski]

for anyone like me that hasn't been to the site before, fyi....it's therecordlabel.net not .com

[jingle.boy]

Cryptic Vision - In A World
This I totally took as a flyer, and damn glad I did.  On the lighter end of the prog scale, kinda like Pendragon - they can get heavy at times, but usually stay with a bit of a lighter flair. Gonna need the rest of their discs... not sure if I'll be able to wait until the next blowout sale in November!  9/10

The others are very good as well.  They're very talented players.  The one slight problem I have is the vocalist is a bit pitchy at times and the use of pitch correction software is a little obvious in places, but overall their stuff is musically solid.

Of Infinite Possibilities is totally on my hit list for tomorrow.

[jingle.boy]

Order placed.  A couple of random choices - usually can't go wrong at this site.

Echoes - Nature | Existence
Factory of Dreams - Melotronical
Factory of Dreams - A Strange Utopia
Ian Parry - Visions
Planet P Project - 1931: Go Out Dancing Part 1
Daedalus - The Never Ending Illusion
Everwood - Without Saving
Cryptic Vision - Of Infinite Possibilities
Presto Ballet - Relic Of The Modern World
Presto Ballet - Love What You've Done To The Place

Not all were on blowout (the last three were regular price).  But $80 for 10 albums is ok by me.

[kirksnosehair]

If you come across it you'll want to complete the trilogy.


If you notice, the entire trilogy makes a sentence:


(Part I) Moments of Clarity (Part II) In a World (Part III) Of Infinite Possibilities

[jingle.boy]

Yeah, I did... and was annoyed all to hell that A) Moments of Clarity wasn't there, and B) Of Infinite Possibilities was not on sale!

Definitely want to complete it.

[kirksnosehair]

AFAIK, the CD for "Moments of Clarity" is out of print.  There are some used ones available on Amazon.com or you can get the digital version.


I actually like the first one the most. 

[jingle.boy]

AFAIK, the CD for "Moments of Clarity" is out of print.  There are some used ones available on Amazon.com or you can get the digital version.


I actually like the first one the most.

Or $7 from Amazon digital download!

[Dr. DTVT]

Most of these are random ones I haven't heard anything from, either going on chatter, based on someone's previous work, or completely blind.

Dimension Act - Manifestation of Progress
Dead Heroes Club - A Time of Shadow
Jupiter Society - First Contact - Last Warning
Sky Architect - Excavations of The Mind
Psychic for Radio - Standing Wave
Planet P Project - 1931: Go Out Dancing Part 1
Cryptic Vision - In A World

[jingle.boy]

Most of these are random ones I haven't heard anything from, either going on chatter, based on someone's previous work, or completely blind.

Dimension Act - Manifestation of Progress
Dead Heroes Club - A Time of Shadow
Jupiter Society - First Contact - Last Warning
Sky Architect - Excavations of The Mind
Psychic for Radio - Standing Wave
Planet P Project - 1931: Go Out Dancing Part 1
Cryptic Vision - In A World

If you haven't closed out your order yet, I HIGHLY recommend Ian Parry's Consortium Project IV: Children of Tomorrow.  Part 4 of a 5-album Pentalogy that is DY-NO-MITE!

[ColdFireYYZ]

Just ordered these:

AKIN - The Way Things End
Cross - Playgrounds
Dial - Synchronized
Ian Perry - Consortium Project IV: Children of Tomorrow
Jolly - Forty Six Minutes Twelve Seconds of Music
Simon Says - Tardigrade
Sky Architect - Excavations of Mind

I've been meaning to check out Jolly, Cross, Simon Says, and Sky Architect for a while and the others sounded interesting.

[TAC]

Never heard of Ian Parry before. Just watched the video to Enemy Within. That's pretty good stuff. Might just have to check this out for myself.

[Nick]

Sky Architect - Excavations of The Mind   $5.00   1   $5.00
41POINT9 - Still Looking For Answers   $5.00   1   $5.00
Psychic for Radio - Standing Wave   $8.00   1   $8.00
Ian Parry - Consortium Project IV: Children of Tomorrow   $2.00   1   $2.00
Hasse Fröberg - Future Past   $7.00   1   $7.00

Something for Jingle (Parry), a good album I have digitally (Psychic), an artist who I trust (Hasse), and two random choices.

[ytserush]

Sadly nothing for me this year.

I've begun saving for Rush 2013 (and the three Rush related CDs due out soon.)

[Nick]

Got my order in today! However I also got the new Pendragon DVD, and that takes priority for tonight.

[jingle.boy]

Got my order in today! However I also got the new Pendragon DVD, and that takes priority for tonight.

FYI, the latter half of Children of Tomorrow is better than the first half. Give it the whole album.

[ColdFireYYZ]

Got mine as well today. Working my way through the albums at the moment. I wasn't too crazy about Consortium Project IV after the first listen (seems like a grower) but I really liked Jolly and 41Point9. I'm listening to Sky Architect's Excavations of the Mind and it sounds great.

[jingle.boy]

Order placed.  A couple of random choices - usually can't go wrong at this site.

Echoes - Nature | Existence
Factory of Dreams - Melotronical
Factory of Dreams - A Strange Utopia
Ian Parry - Visions
Planet P Project - 1931: Go Out Dancing Part 1
Daedalus - The Never Ending Illusion
Everwood - Without Saving
Cryptic Vision - Of Infinite Possibilities
Presto Ballet - Relic Of The Modern World
Presto Ballet - Love What You've Done To The Place

Not all were on blowout (the last three were regular price).  But $80 for 10 albums is ok by me.

Order arrived today!  Glad it got here before xmas.  Got me some listening to do. 

Will post thoughts once I'm' thru them all.  What are everyone else's thoughts on their acquisitions?

[jingle.boy]

Quick reviews of the haul....

Echoes - Nature | Existence
Damn fine.  I'd heard a few tracks from WPaPU shows, but this exceeded my expectations in every sense.  Solid, SOLID prog-metal album.  Great use of everything... instrumentally and vocally.  9/10

Factory of Dreams - Melotronical
Factory of Dreams - A Strange Utopia
Reminds me a lot of After Forever, but not as good.  Decent vocal talent, but musically it was pretty meh.  Too much use of the high end of the operatic range for me to really enjoy it.  5/10

Ian Parry - Visions
Big fan of Parry's voice... has that gritty aspect to it like Jorn Lande and Russell Allen.  Nice Melodic-metal guitar dominated album here.  Nothing too complex, just straight up good music.  Great use of backing vocals 7/10

Planet P Project - 1931: Go Out Dancing Part 1
Not at all what I was expecting given it was part of Nick's Top 50.  Not that it was bad, just totally different.  Think I need to be in a certain mood for this kind of a album.  6.5/10

Daedalus - The Never Ending Illusion
Took this on a flyer.  Good haul.  Great keyboard elements here, started out with a little electronica opener (had me worried), but then rocked my socks of with track 2.  Reminded me a little of Beyond the Bridge - not nearly as technical or proficient, but better than your average rock-fare.  8/10

Everwood - Without Saving
Ditto on this one... total shot in the dark, and it hit the mark. Excellent prog-metal.  Creative writing, great musicianship.  8.5/10

Cryptic Vision - Of Infinite Possibilities
Great conclusion to the trilogy.  Think I like In A World better still, but this was excellent - a little edgier with more guitar moments.  8/10

Presto Ballet - Love What You've Done To The Place
Presto Ballet - Relic Of The Modern World
Dynamite neo-prog (ie, keyboard led).  Everything that I expected they would be.  Both are awesome, but I'll have to give the nod to Love What ....  better balance  Relic of... has a 20 minute title track that I'm still warming up to. Both are kinda shortish (for prog)... 45 minutes-ish.  8.5/10

[jingle.boy]

We are once again having our "Good Friday" sale, but the prices are active today "wednesday" and will go through Eater Sunday.  Unlike previous years, we aren't doing the flat $5 or $10 on items, there are items all the way down to $1, but new releases, while discounted, aren't discounted as much.  Bulk discounts and coupon codes will not be active during the sale.

If you haven't seen our new site, it is at www.therecordlabel.net and has multiple genres on top of Progressive now, with releases from Steve Morse and Lizette from the prog band Spektrum outside the ProgRock genre for example.

Oh boy!  Wonder what's there that I don't have?  Mason or Nick should change the thread title.

[Dr. DTVT]

You rang?  Done.

Now to find something I don't own on here    I'll post a quick rundown of stuff I own and recommend soon.

[jingle.boy]

The Shadow's Minion album is in the "Pop Rock" section for $4.  People should get that if they like basic, meat and potatoes rock music.

Nothing is really jumping out at me.  Sadler and Walsh solo projects maybe.  Froberg ... possibly.  Any other recommendations?  I'm hesitant to just try something for the helluva it... the last couple orders have had some duds (Ghost Circus and Factory of Dreams).  They weren't bad, but they weren't all that great either.

[Dr. DTVT]

Get the Hasse album.  41POINT9, Dimension Act, and Jupiter Project are all relatively new finds I really enjoyed.