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Each year the popular Gagliarchives radio program conducts a comphrensive poll to determine the 100 Best Albums of the Year as voted by the prog rock community. Below are the Top 10 Albums of 2005. Be sure to tune in Saturdays at 10:00pm ET. |
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The Mars Volta Frances the Mute |
Aggressive, manic, frantic, anxious, and emotionally exhausting. This is the best way to describe the second studio album by The Mars Volta. Our #1 voted CD, Frances the Mute, is a powerhouse of music that emulates all of the classic rock elements from the past with a touch of modern insanity. Band leaders Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala have stated that they don't want The Mars Volta to be labeled as Progressive Rock. The irony is that 40% of their fans ARE progressive rock fans that couldn't get enough after the release of the 2003 debut, De-Loused in the Comatorium. The other half of their fans, which are young, are keen enough to realize that they have that "thing" the older bands excelled at. Intensity, non conforming, and always willing to try something different in an epic way. When this first came out and I listened closely, I kept asking myself, "What is it with these guys?" It hit me. This had to be the same reaction that Yes fans, who loved Fragile, had to feel when Close to the Edge came out. "What the hell is this madness?" Frances the Mute was inspired by a stranger's diary allegedly found by late bandmate Jeremy Ward. The lyrics are spellbinding, and feature a small amount in Spanish. This album is genius in the fact it goes from spacey, to jazzy, to AOR, to psychedelic. In 20 years, this will be looked at as a classic. This band is incredibly accessible for those willing to step into the unknown. Just be sure to have Xanax around after you are done. Despite its greatness, you will need it. |
Porcupine Tree Deadwing |
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Back in 1994, we had received a cassette from a friend of mine in London. "You have to hear this tape. This project will be the next sensations in our genre!" By 1995, Voyage 34 became a local listener favorite. Unfortunately back then, listeners had to order Porcupine Tree's music as an import. As the world of the internet grew, so did the popularity of this band. Finally in 2002, the mainstream U.S. were given In Abstentia. Since then, Porcupine Tree is one of the bands in the genre that "made it". Signing a deal with Lava/Atlantic havepropelled them into a world of new fans as well. Deadwing became an instant hit on our program and was #1 in our weekly top 20 for 19 out 20 weeks, only to be dethroned once by the new Van Der Graaf Generator CD. This marked the first time since King Crimson's Thrak in 1995 did a CD hold the top spot in our weekly top 20 for that long. Porcupine Tree toured with Yes, Robert Fripp, and Opeth. Even Neil Peart of Rush has mentioned his fandom of Porcupine Tree. Deadwing features cameos from Adrian Belew and Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt. What else can be said? They are living proof that progressive rock can make it. |
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Wobbler Hinterland |
They say that any publicity is good publicity. This band and album was without a doubt one of the most anticipated releases from a new band of 2005. The funny thing is, before this was even released, all the nay sayers were already criticizing this album. When we world-premiered Wobbler-s Hinterland, we had so many people listening online at both z889.com and Aural Moon that there was actually an overload on the server. I received a phone call from Jaffa our tech engineer at the station. "Are you doing human sacrifice up there or something? All of our ports are jammed!" Even the hardest critics of new progressive rock were actually making the effort to tune in. That's right, even the reluctant were willing to give it a chance. Wobbler was like an underdog football team that kept winning despite what all the sports analysts were saying. And to add insult to injury, Wobbler was the highlight of NEARfest 2005. Wobbler's brilliant debut, Hinterland, has familiar tones of the progrock gods such as Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Gentle Giant, Änglagård and Anekdoten. But the pieces speak for themselves including an exceptional transfer from studio to stage. Hinterland features tracks in double digits minute wise, and features Lars Fredrik Froislie of White Willow. A fine recording that gets an A+ from this DJ. This disc will be a favorite for die hard progressive rock fans for many years to come! |
NIL Nil Novo Sub Sole |
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Oh boy. What a gem this is. This was my personal favorite of the new releases in 2005. Hailing from France, Nil surprised everyone with this release despite the rave reviews on their previous disc Quarante Jours Sur Le Sinai. I would say this is a nearly perfect album. Excellent bass work, haunting Mellotron and organ interplay, intricate and hypnotic Chapman Stick and guitar, intermittent flute and female vocals that would make your hair stand on end. The only minus to the band is that all of their vocals are sung in French. Is that really a minus? I don't think so, but to many of our listeners it was. This is a band that would look great at a major festival event down the road. Comparisons are made to White Willow and Carpe Diem, but I get more reminders of NeBeLNeST and Ange in some ways. At any rate, this is one of the finest bands I have heard in a long time and kudos to the Unicorn Records label. What a thrill this was. A masterpiece! |
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Miriodor Parade/Live at NEARfest |
Miriodor comes in at #5 in our top 100 poll of 2005. This is was an excellent release and adored by many music reviewers both far and wide. The barometric test came by late summer as it was one of the highest rated albums on http://www.gnosis2000.net and other progrock e-zines. This double CD is a treat for Miriodor fans, and for those who are completely unfamiliar with them. I say this because you have two ways to look at them with this release. The much anticipated Parade CD, which is their new studio album of the package, seems livelier and bolder (if that's the word) than their Mekano album, which charted at #8 in our top 100 in 2001. From the first to the last cut, Parade is a roller coaster ride of adventurous and quirky instrumental music that only Miriodor can make. Seriously, who can you compare these guys too? Parade also features guest performer Lars Hollmer of Samla Mammas Manna. The second disc features the band's enigmatic performance at NEARfest 2002, which I witnessed (including the year before at The Conduit in Trenton) which jettisoned me 150% deeper into exploring these French Canadian wonders and their back catalog. |
Opeth Ghost Reveries |
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After their powerful death metal releases of Still Life and Blackwater Park, Opeth's sound was transformed when Porcupine Tree's center point Steven Wilson came into the production side of their next two albums. This could have gone one of two ways. Either a complete disaster with alienation from their older fans, or keep their older fans and open the door for prog-rock fans unfamiliar with their sound to ponder, "Whoa, who the hell are these guys?!" It was definitely the latter. As a matter of fact, when we first featured Opeth's Deliverance in 2003, no one knew who they were, and we were asked how we could play a band so reputably heavy. But by the time Damnation followed in '04, listeners fell in love with these Swedish metal icons. We always had to stress that Damnation was a totally different sound from their first few albums. But with their new release of Ghost Reveries, the two sides to Opeth are present stronger than ever. Mikael Åkerfeldt combines both his growling and subtle vocals while Opeth's music darts back and forth from acoustic to guitar crunching without trailing behind their original sound. Ghost Reveries will please fans of both Progressive Metal and old school Death Metal. |
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Van der Graaf Generator Present |
Well this was a no brainer as the poll votes were being counted. Armageddon must be near because not only did these icons reunite and release a long awaited recording, it was a double CD! Disc One features some great structured pieces including the listener favorite, "Every Bloody Emperor," while Disc Two features extreme freeform jazz improvs with David, Peter, Guy, and Hugh shining even more brilliantly. This is definitely a Generator album, but an album that is unlike any they have done before. Even the band stated that they had discovered new musical elements amidst the writing and playing that they never felt before as a group. Peter Hammill sounds great as ever on this, despite having some heart problems in late 2003. Kudos to production on the album as well... the only drawback is that EMI places software on the disc that installs itself on your computer upon listening. Stick to your CD player unit instead. |
Indukti S.U.S.A.R. |
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We featured Part Two of our spotlight on The Laser's Edge label at the end of May. Ken gave us the opportunity to feature his forthcoming release in Polish project Indukti. The album S.U.S.A.R. is very hard to classify. This disc is very, very heavy at times but I would not classify this as metal. Sonically this debut is mesmerizing, intricate and full of changes. Although there are strong psychedelic moments, Indukti has more similarities to Tool in some ways but truly has a sound all of their own. This disc also features Riverside vocalist Mariusz Duda who doesn't fail to impress on this release as well. What keeps me listening to this album is the powerful guitar work and the spacey violin. S.U.S.A.R. is a must have for 2006. |
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Riverside Second Life Syndrome |
The #9 CD in our top 100 was a shocker. Well, not really. What made it shocking was that in the time frame it was released, just a few weeks before our annual poll was launched, our radio station phone requests for this disc were off the hook. Crossing over into other shows as well... The buzz was real. Emails were pouring in two weeks before I had the disc in my hand requesting to hear the sophomore release Second Life Syndrome from Polish band Riverside. You may remember Riverside was brought to the music world's attention in late '03 and early '04 as Ken Golden of The Laser's Edge re-released their first album Out of Myself and took them from obscurity and into the worldwide audience. This new disc, their first on the Inside Out label, is even darker and more intense than the debut. Like the debut, the crescendos are there, but this one shows more emotion and futility, even during the subtle parts. I will tell you this, if you recently had a relationship end in a bad way, and you are an emotionally faint hearted person, this may not be the disc to pop on. But then again for others, this might be the one to help you cope, heal and move on. Reviewers always point to Pink Floyd as Riverside's influence. I disagree. I would point more towards Anathema, and Porcupine Tree. The disc is haunting enough to make you wonder, "Jeez, who gets this hurt to write like this?" Not only has this disc made the top 10 in the top 100 of 2005, but has been #1 in our weekly top 20 in requests for weeks in 2006. |
Dream Theater Octavarium |
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Our #10 CD is from a band that graced our playlists in their early phases over a decade ago. They return in 2005 with a disc that has all the components for a mainstream album without losing or compromising their classic progressive metal charm. Keyboardist Jordan Rudess proves to be the perfect fit yet again on this album like the previous, adding his power and dexterity in very slight, yet clever ways. Bassist John Myung, drummer Mike Portnoy and guitarist John Petrucci are once again the powerful foundation that makes Dream Theater the best known progressive metal band in the world. Once again, vocalist James LaBrie is timeless as ever. Octavarium makes this DJ smile because of the title track alone, the 24-minute masterpiece which proves yet again, that Dream Theater, after over a decade, haven't lost their power, skill, and integrity to be accessible yet satisfying to their original fans. Octavarium is a winner. |
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Other Years: 2007 | 2006 | 2005 |
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