A Progstravaganza Special: The New Generation of Prog

August 31, 2011 by Nikola Savić  

The artwork design by Nicki Weber and Dave Mola

Tracklist

1. Haken – The Point Of No Return (11:26) – taken from Aquarius (Sensory Records, 2010)
2. Relocator – Aavishkar (10:30) – taken from Relocator (2010)
3. Effloresce – Sunset in the Snowdome (8:26) – taken from Shades of Fate (2009)
4. Exivious – Waves Of Thought (6:24) – taken from Exivious (2009)
5. Theory of Elements – In the End (6:39) – taken from Faces (2007)
6. To-Mera – Earthbound [bonus track] (7:28) – taken from Earthbound (2009)
7. Andromeda – Veil of Illumination (17:25) – taken from The Immunity Zone (Nightmare Records, 2008)

Total playing time: 68:18

Notes on “The New Generation of Prog” compilation

I’ve been listening to these sampler non-stop since I got it from Michael few days ago, just because it’s a damn good bunch of tracks which reflects that progressive music is still alive and beating strongly. Thus I couldn’t resist not to say a few words about the tracks we have presented here.

Systematically, Haken’s track is by default the natural opener and for that choosing this one to kick off the sampler is a smart move. Grandiose in every possible segment, being epic and developing all the way from beginning by its end, it’s a good representative of how progressive rock sounds in the 21st century.

Fusion metal is pretty new subgenre in a vast progressive field and if there are two bands at the moment which hold the primacy in the moment, then certainly these are Exivious and Relocator. Although structurally different this package will be a real delicacy for all gourmets. Effloresce and Theory of Elements with their understanding of progressive metal make it clear that there is brand new potential out there with tendency to progress further, and their two tracks show such indicatons. Speaking of To-Mera, they were announced to play the festival, but the decision was made to withdraw. Anyhow, including them on this sampler is a nice way to pay the tribute to one of the modern bringers of prog.

Andromeda

And finally we come to the centerpiece of this sampler, as well the headliner of the Generation Prog 2011 festival – the Swedish progressive metal heroes Andromeda. Including this monstrous slab of high prolific prog metal is, to put it simply, the best thing ever. Discussing the tracklist of the compilation with Michael, we agreed on that this song is among best prog metal pieces of the new millennium. ’nuff said. I’m blown away!