CD Reviews | Progressive Rock Central.com

The album cover for Parasomnia by Dream Theater depicts a dark, decayed room with high ceilings, peeling walls, and an eerie atmosphere. A large arched window allows dim light to cast dramatic shadows across the wooden floor. In the center, two old metal-framed beds sit in disarray, with tangled sheets suggesting unrest. A ghostly woman in a flowing white nightgown hovers barefoot, arms outstretched, her face vacant.

CD Reviews

Dream Theater – “Parasomnia”

Professor Mark February 27, 2025 No Comments "Parasomnia"Cinematic Progressive Metal Dream Theater James LaBrie John Myung John Petrucci Jordan Rudess Mike Portnoy progressive metal Progressive rock symphonic rock

Something many fans of Dream Theater, never thought would have happened again, has happened. Drummer Mike Portnoy has returned to the band and the band…

Bokani Dyer - Radio Sechaba cover artwork. A photo of the artist playing a keyboard.

CD Reviews

Bokani Dyer’s Radio Sechaba Tunes Into South Africa

Kevin Baker February 25, 2025 No Comments Bokani Dyer contemporary jazz South African music world jazz

Bokani Dyer – Radio Sechaba (Brownswood Recordings, 2023) Multi-award-winning pianist and composer Bokani Dyer expands his musical vision with Radio Sechaba, a 15-track album that…

The album cover for Unity by Yosef Gutman Levitt & Itay Sher features a minimalist gradient design. The background transitions from deep blue at the top to a lighter turquoise hue towards the bottom. A small, subtle circular shape, possibly representing a moon or planet, is visible near the lower part of the cover. In the bottom right corner, a warm orange hue appears, contrasting against the cool blue tones. The typography is clean and understated, with the album title Unity centered in white uppercase letters, while the artists' names are positioned discreetly in the upper corners

CD Reviews

Sounds of Devotion: Yosef Gutman Levitt & Itay Sher Reimagine Hasidic Nigunim

Angel Romero February 24, 2025 No Comments contemporary jazz Hasidic music Itay Sher Jewish music western classical music Yosef Gutman Levitt

Yosef Gutman Levitt & Itay Sher – Unity (Soul Song Records, 2024) Bassist Yosef Gutman Levitt and guitarist Itay Sher take a contemporary, orchestral approach…

The album cover for Big Blue Sky by Doris Brendel and Lee Dunham features a desert landscape with a towering pile of guitars—both acoustic and electric—stacked atop scattered rocks and debris. Many of the instruments are painted in shades of blue. The sky is vast and bright, stretching endlessly over the barren terrain.

CD Reviews

Doris Brendel and Lee Dunham – “Big Blue Sky”

Professor Mark February 22, 2025 No Comments Big Blue Sky blues Doris Brendel and Lee Dunham - "Big Blue Sky"Sam Blue Sam Brown Sam White UK

Last year I wrote my first review for Doris Brendel and Lee Dunham. It was for their album, Pigs Might Fly. It was a fascinating…

The album cover for Beat Mirage by Mina Cho’s Grace Beat Quartet is a minimalist design. It features a dark, almost black background with jagged, cracked glass-like textures running across the image. A spectral burst of rainbow light emerges in the upper left portion. The album title, Beat Mirage, appears in bold yellow uppercase letters.

CD Reviews

Grace Under Pressure: Mina Cho & The Beat Mirage

Charlie Melville February 20, 2025 No Comments gugak Insoo Kim Korean jazz Korean music Max Ridley Mina Cho Mina Cho & Grace Beat Quartet piano world fusion world jazz Yeongjin Kim

Mina Cho & Grace Beat Quartet – Beat Mirage (International Gugak Jazz Institute, 2024) Rooted in the larger Gugak Jazz Society, a nine-piece powerhouse devoted…

The album cover for Victims of Convenience by Conveniens features a glitchy, distorted aesthetic with bold, overlapping cyan, magenta, and black silhouettes of band members. The typography is similarly fragmented, with a digital or photocopied effect.

CD Reviews

Synths, Jazz, Percussion, Chaos: Conveniens Plays by No One’s Rules

Stefan Bruno February 20, 2025 No Comments

Conveniens – Victims of Convenience (Smith&Maz Music, 2024, originally released by Convenience Records in 1986) Conveniens, an American underground band, emerged in the 1980s. They…

The album cover for Between Two Worlds by Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate features a surreal, blurred double-exposure effect of a faceless humanoid figure.

CD Reviews

Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate – “Between Two Worlds”- EP

Professor Mark February 19, 2025 No Comments "Between Two Worlds"- EP Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate – "Between Two Worlds"- EP Malcolm Galloway Mark Gatland Progressive rock symphonic rock UK

Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate, is one of the best progressive rock bands from the UK. This year they have released an EP, Between Two…

The album cover for Remnants of Light by Needlepoint features a black-and-white hand-drawn illustration with a folk-art aesthetic. A barefoot figure, dressed in loose clothing, sits on the ground surrounded by scattered leaves, resting their head on one hand in a contemplative pose. Around them, several crows gather, seemingly engaged in an interaction with the leaves. Behind them, bare trees, a stone wall, and a distant village. Above, a vast flock of birds forms a flowing pattern in the sky.

CD Reviews

A Fine Needle in the Prog Haystack

Angel Romero February 17, 2025 No Comments Canterbury Needlepoint pastoral folk Progressive rock psychedelic rock

Needlepoint – Remnants of Light (BJK Music, 2024) With Remnants of Light, their sixth album, Needlepoint continue to carve out a singular space within Norway’s…

CD Reviews New CDs and Digital releases

World’s Beyond – “Rhapsody of Life”

Professor Mark February 17, 2025 No Comments Ewoud Dekoninck Female fronted progressive metal Jakob Declercq Robbe Adriaens symphonic metal symphonic progressive metal symphonic rock Tijmen Matthys Valerie De Kempe World’s Beyond – "Rhapsody of Life"Wout Debacker

Another new metal symphonic band has been located, within a famous city in Belgium. Ghent, is the home of the famous city where the War…

The Bob Lazar Story's Vanquisher album cover features a minimalist design with a single bright red chili pepper, possibly a ghost pepper, set against a deep teal background.

CD Reviews

The Bob Lazar Story – Vanquisher: Intricate, Offbeat, and Accessible Instrumental music

Kevin Baker February 16, 2025 No Comments Progressive rock The Bob Lazar Story

The Bob Lazar Story – Vanquisher (Bad Elephant Music, 2019) Vanquisher marked the seventh album from The Bob Lazar Story, the musical collaboration between UK-born…