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There's a podcast that's sure all that rocks hard is gold. And they're climbing the stairway to 11. When they get to there they know the record stores are all closed. But online they can get what they came for.

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y son.

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and music is enormous. As a director, actor, and storyteller, he helped shape generations of audiences with an extraordinary body of work. From Stand By Me and one of my all-time favorites, The Princess Bride, to When Harry Met Sally and A Few Good Men. For this show especially, This Is Spinal Tap holds a special place. It didn't just parody rock bands. It understood them. The volume, the ego, the ridiculousness, and the passion.

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These Go to Eleven became part of the language because the movie rang true. It captured something real about musicians and music culture that still resonates decades later. Spinal Tap inspired countless artists, fans, and yes, podcasts. In many ways, it's woven directly into the DNA of Stairway to Eleven, right down to our name. So tonight, we don't just mourn the loss of Rob Reiner.

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Influence and the laughter and insight his work brought into the world. His films endure, his ideas endure, and his contribution to music culture will always be turned up to 11. Why don't you just make 10 louder and make 10 be the top number and make that a little louder. These go to 11. What a shocking bit of news this past week. Yeah, so tragic and so needless and it's so unfortunate because

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After this is Spinal Tap 2, it just seemed like he was so vital. In all the different interviews and various things that were going on with the movie, it just seemed like there's no end in sight for this guy. Even though he's 78 or whatever it is, he did not seem like he was slowing down.

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That's what makes it so hard to take. You know that there was so much more that this guy was going to give to the industry and to fans and movie lovers and music lovers and everything else. That's what makes it even that much more difficult. There was clearly more left in the tank and the guy was still very active, very energetic.

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and, you know, for 78, like, still kicking ass and, you know, doing great. So, um, so it's very unfortunate. And yeah, I was, I was very saddened by the, by that news. Yeah. It gave me occasion to finally get around to watching the new movie yesterday. And, uh, I approve. Yeah, it seemed like, um, it was a, it was, it was a very good movie. Not perfect. Not, you know,

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better than the first movie by any means, but it definitely respected all the characters and respected the story and everything else. And so for me, it like, I felt like, yeah, this is good. Like it, it didn't, I mean, there were definitely funny moments and there were a lot of quotable moments in this film, the new film. But in terms of like, you know, it was satisfying. It was like, okay, this is good. You know, I felt like, yeah, this puts a bow on it.

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And I was good with it. So if I give you a half a wheel of cheese, you'll give me that guitar. That's right. People come in, they trade guitars for cheese. Yes. I don't want to, I don't want to spoiler it for anybody, but I did. I enjoyed the Paul McCartney stuff, but the Elton John was the best. I thought they were going to find some kind of redemption there in the end and then it just went south. Yeah.

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But it was quite fitting, right? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I actually thought it might turn out worse than it did. You know. Well, there was a lot of opportunity there. Like, you know, it was like a twist of fate, like on the drummer thing. Well, and not only that, but just like there were a lot of opportunities for this to be like kind of cringeworthy. And thankfully, it didn't didn't end up there. And it was, you know, I felt like it was a good idea.

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It was. Thoughts, John? Oh, you guys pretty much said everything, so there's not much to say. We used all the words. There were none left. There's nothing left to say because everyone said everything in the time that was allotted. There's nothing really to add. I didn't, hearing this story, I didn't think of him as who he was.

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I thought of him as just a person who had a tragic ending and a family issue that went to the place that you would hope it would never go to. And when I see this on the news, I see everyone talking about, oh, he was such a great this and great that. And all I can think of is, well, you know, he was just a person too. So, and I think that gets lost in it sometimes. And that's just, that's even more sad because unfortunately this happened so much. You just don't expect it to happen.

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the way it did and who it happened to, but

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there's nothing you really can say because

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it is a shock to hear that.

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To hear it from anybody that it happens to.

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It just so happens to be somebody that

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has touched us on the entertainment side.

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So to me, the more devastating story is to hear that his daughter found him.

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Yeah, I just saw that today.

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I was like, oof.

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Yeah.

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And they're going to scrutinize this and analyze it and try to figure it out. And in the end, is it going to make much difference? It's not going to change anything, unfortunately. You know? No. So it's sad from that aspect that this shit happens, unfortunately. And it happens in his case, unfortunately, in a very big way. Yeah. So, yeah, it's sad. It's too bad. All right. You hate to hear that. Yeah.

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All right, well, what brings us together today is the end of the year. And sort of like another podcast you may have heard of, we've made a list. It's not quite as long. We all made lists. Exactly. This one does not go to 11. It only goes to 10. However, with honorable mentions,

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and such, it should probably exceed that. This is the Stairway to 11, the best of 2025. TR, would you like to start us off with your number 10? All right, this is number 10, and it is Tuesday the Sky, Indoor Enthusiast, released October 24, 2025. Former Fates Warning guitarist Jim Matheos released his third album under the instrumental post-rock Tuesday,

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the sky moniker it's a mostly mellow affair but does employ volume dynamics like most other bands of the genre i

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definitely like this album better than the last which was so mellow and moody it kind of lost me songs like the last lonely lamppost are reminiscent of tangerine dream while others and parts of others like the nearest exit may be behind you and parts of does it need to be so loud and set fire to the stars sound like they could have been on matthews's other side project os

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Sigh. Very solid release, and I like this Tuesday the Sky Indoor Enthusiast as my number 10. Excellent. Yeah, I was a little surprised that that came out because there wasn't much of an announcement about it. It's good. I have a hard time listening to this stuff, though, because when he does go down the OSI route, I'm like, would it kill you to release another OSI album?

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Well, I think everybody would like that, but yeah, I don't know. I just don't see it happening, right? Yeah, it's like you can't. I mean, it's just so sad because it would be so cool for that to happen because that was just such a cool side project that, you know, was it kind of it's like nothing else he does. And it was just such a cool thing that they did that I really wish that their

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It could have been more of that, but I totally agree, John. Yeah. Yeah. But the Tuesday of the Sky, it's good. I like it better than the last one, too. The last one just fell flat. It just wasn't... Yeah, it was just kind of... It just kind of meandered a little bit. Yeah, no energy to it, and it just, yeah, I don't know. It didn't really do much for me. Yeah. Have you listened to this, George? I have not. Okay. You might like it if you...

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It could be a background album, and it would work quite well. And that's not demeaning to the album. It just kind of fits in a lot of different categories, I guess, for listing. Cool. Yeah, Mateos, I'm sure. I'd get into it in one way or another. Yeah. But more keyboard electronic driven. That works for me, too. Not as many heavy guitars. Cool. All right.

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So my number 10 is something I mentioned, I believe, last episode. And the artist is Soft Fog. That's Fog with two Fs, F-F-O-G. The album is called Focus. It's on the label Is It Jazz Records? This is basically a kind of hodgepodge of progressive rock, fusion, jazz rock, and it's all instrumental. And it has a tie back to the band.

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because they shared a couple musicians. One, unfortunately, has passed on, which is the drummer. Axel Skalsted, I think is how you say his name. I'm sure I butchered that. So if we actually have any listeners from Norway, sorry. Who died at 32, unfortunately. But it's a really good, excellent instrumental kind of prog rock album that merges in some jazz fusion. It's kind of like a... I don't want to call it a

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a hippie jam fest, but it's got a hippie jam fest quality to it when you listen. It could be blazing. They can kind of go off into different areas. But if you like the merger between prog rock and jazz, jazz fusion, jazz rock more, then you should dig this. I guess the best way to describe it is just to use the quote they use on Bandcamp. It's highly influenced by 70s underground heroes like Camel and Focus.

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That old jazz dust, this new record, which they're referring to that one, should satisfy all you 70 nostalgics with a jazz tickle out there. So I think that kind of sums up. I like when I get my jazz tickle. Yeah. And I want to thank Zach, our good friend from the band Utkiaru. He turned me on to this band, said, dude, you should check this out. You might like it. And then, you know, he says,

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I believe he said they shared members with Wizard. I turned him on to the band Wizard. So it's kind of a back and forth. It's kind of cool. Norway's got quite the little prog jazz scene going on right now. More to come on that. Yeah, I think that might be on my list too. So there might be more Norway jazz prog instrumental stuff on my list. Me too. Not. Yeah, not.

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Nope. Negative. Not gonna happen. But I will say, this is not slow saxophone kind of meandering in the background. These guys blaze. They crank it out. So they jam. Cool. Let me just queue up the crickets real quick. Okay, here we go. My number 10 is the second album by a British rock band by the name of

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Wet Leg. Oh, yeah. And the album is called Moisturizer. This is like a post-punk, new wave, power pop band. I don't know where I heard this, but I might have just been like looking at, you know, new releases and checking things out because I just do that. I'll just be like, hey, what came out? Oh, that sounds interesting. Wet Leg. That's funny. Ha ha. Let's listen to that.

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Is that the one with one of the girls kind of squatting on the cover? Yes. Okay, yeah. I've seen that. She's weird, man. She's kind of weird, but it's really cool. That seemed like it was very popular. I saw that everywhere for a little while, not only on Bandcamp, but other places, and then also, I guess they were touring, so I was seeing that come up in my

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emails from the venues saying, oh, you know, these are the acts that are coming around. And I keep seeing wet leg, wet leg, everywhere is wet leg. Interesting. I always, you know, I thought that, you know, they should go on tour with that band called Pissed Jeans. Yeah. Yeah. Too similar. Yeah. I would guess that anybody that's like much younger than us might be going, well, duh, wet leg. Except they wouldn't be talking like they were from the 80s.

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Right. But yeah, no, I mean, I don't know anybody. I don't know anybody, you know, except you guys. And so I wouldn't know if this is a thing or not, but it is a thing. It seems like it is. Yeah, I think it is. Yeah. I mean, I don't know. I couldn't tell you anything about it. I mean, I'm glad you listened to it because I never took the time, even though I kept seeing it everywhere. To me, what grabbed me was,

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It is very simplistic music. It's like a lot of drum with like a really tight bass guitar line. And new wave-ish in a way, which, you know, like new wave for a new generation kind of thing. And I mean, does it have keyboards and stuff? I don't know. I probably, yeah. But I don't recall because I spent a lot of time listening to that bass line.

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And it was just very tight and groovy. And the vocals are interesting and often sarcastic and cranky. But it was fun. And I was just like, oh, I'm going to listen to this more. And I did. And I was like, all right, it's at least number 10 good. So, yeah. Cool. Never heard of them. Not surprising.

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And that has not a judgment on you? No. Because we don't know anybody either. We don't. We're just old, okay? We're not supposed to know younger people music. That's right. And we like it. Yeah. All right. So, is it time for number nine? It is time for number nine. All right, number nine. It's Dream Theater, Parasomnia, released February 7th, 2025.

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to the band that he really needed to be back in. Despite the passage of 16 years since the last album with Mike Portnoy, this album sounds and feels like exactly what you would expect. As a longtime fan of the band, I was very excited when it was announced that Mike was coming back into the band. It was obvious, really, prior to that, after seeing him play drums for John Petrucci on his solo album live tour. The chemistry between those two is undeniable, and there were grown men weeping while we went, well, John and I,

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I watched that show. And so Parasomnia is a good dream theater album, but it sticks with their formula in recent years. I'm not opposed to longer songs, but it's hard to regularly invest the hour and 12 minutes to take all of this in and have it be memorable. So that's kind of why it's at number nine for me. Number nine. I actually like this album quite a bit compared to all their previous

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releases, although I think the last three have been pretty good, then there was a stretch where they weren't so great, or I wasn't interested in them. And I think this is one of the better ones in a long time. Definitely. So, but yeah, every album's like 70 minutes long and it's at some point you're like, oh boy. Yeah. That's it. Yeah. I kind of wish that like they'd kind of like, I don't know, just tighten it up a little and, and.

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I don't know I just feel like it might be a little more memorable and more like it might stick to your ribs a little more if you just kind of if it was just a little shorter just like they left off some more stuff or whatever I don't know it just seems like it's hard to take it all in. I mean awake and metropolis two are 70 plus minutes long and they're extremely memorable. Well that's true. I guess it just depends I mean they didn't break any new ground they kind of went back to the early

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2000s in their sound a little bit. I'm fine with that. I know some people got upset. I'm like, what do you want? They're 40 years into their career. Give me a break. You don't have to like it. That's fine. I don't know why you're expecting the next images and words 40 years in. Literally, I know one artist that's done that in their career. Bowie's the only one I know. 40 plus years into their career,

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He's got a few stinkers. I can say that as a Bowie fan. Right. Anyway. No, that's good. Okay. All right. So I forgot that there's a disclaimer with my list. So George and I will be this weekend doing the Metal Heads podcast top 25. I can say between the two lists, not one album is repeated on either list. Wow.

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Yeah. So you take from that what you want. What you don't hear here, you'll probably hear there. And what you don't hear there, you'll probably hear here. Hear here. So. Hear here. Done. So my number nine. Would have been on the mid-year, but I was on the understanding that we weren't going to go past June, even though some of us did. Otherwise, this would have been included. However, I'm glad it wasn't because then I had an album to

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to bring up new.

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Tell me you're not going there.

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For this episode.

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Sorry?

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Tell me you're not going where I think you might be going.

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Only because what you said about it not being on the other episode.

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So go ahead.

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Oh, no.

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This wouldn't have made the other episode at all.

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Okay.

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So this album is from the band Phantom Spell.

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Oh, okay.

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The album is Heather and Herth.

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It's from Wizard Tower Records.

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Yeah, it's wizard-themed.

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Hard rock.

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70s, prog, proto-metal, whatever you want to call it. They hail from Spain, which it's really just one guy, Kyle McNeil, who is also in the band Seven Sisters. I believe it's Seven Sisters, which is a kind of a power metal band from England. And not power metal, and you know, with all the gang singing, they kind of have that 90s power metal sound that's a little closer.

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to the speed metal of the late 80s and that kind of US power metal sound. Although they're not very fast, but they mourn that vein. Kind of pandemic? A little bit. I mean, it's just don't expect guys all on the stage on their monitors with their feet up and their guitars moving in sync. And don't expect any gang singing and hand clapping.

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Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, and hopping up and down, don't expect that kind of power metal. Okay, well, that's good. Yeah, I think so. But back back to Phantom Spell, it's just excellent 70s-influenced hard rock with progressive rock, so think more like Uriah Heep in Kansas. It's more in that vein. I would never... Kansas is a prog band, and they were on their early stuff, but they had some real just straight-on rocker bangers also in that. They weren't all just about keyboard.

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and floating off with fairies and shit like that in the mountains while reading nonsensical John Anderson lyrics. It wasn't like that at all. They had some oomph to them, just like Uriah Heep, same thing. So if you kind of dig that, dig the crunchy guitars and kind of swirling keyboards and synths and some kind of catchy melodies and everything, then you might dig this. So there's five tracks on the album, two really long ones over 10 minutes, and then kind of three shorter ones.

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And the two long ones, you know, they have their great instrumental sections and passages and they jam and everything. And then the short ones are succinct and to the point. And it's nice. It's 36 minutes, the album. You're in and out. And a lot happens in that 36 minutes. So it's a solid album. What's the album called again, John? Hold on a second. I lost my screen. Uh-oh. Yeah. There we go. Okay. It is called Heather and Hearth. Okay.

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Cool. Yeah. Actually, I'm familiar with this band. I didn't realize it. They did a split with... Witch Hazel. Yeah. Yeah. And I think, actually, I saw this, George, on your Bandcamp wish list, and I checked it out. And I knew about the first album because the first album has, I think, a wizard stabbing himself. Why are you stabbing yourself? Why are you stabbing yourself? Or it looks like he is. I can't remember. And I was like, oh, I got to check this out. That's kind of cool. It says prog rock. I was like, it's not much prog here.

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And of course I was in one of those moods. And then when I listened to this album after seeing it, I was like, oh, that kind of prog. So it's hard rock jammy type stuff. It's cool. Yeah. I liked. Yeah. Like the single, you know, the split that they did. Yeah. I got to check that out. That's, that sounds good. Yeah. Cool. Kind of 70s influenced artwork too, which is nice. Okay. My number nine is.

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That's right. It's a band you guys have never heard of. In fact, it's a band that didn't exist before this album. And I didn't even know about it until recently because it was not given a lot of fanfare, at least not fanfare that I was privy to. This is the band Ashes and Diamonds. And the debut album Are Forever. So Ashes and Diamonds Are Forever. This is Daniel Ashe from Bauhaus.

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and later of Love and Rockets. This is his new project. It's like neon lit post-punk with sharp melodic guitars, prowling bass lines, and a dark pop pulse. It's less Bauhaus, more Love and Rockets, but a little more noir than Love and Rockets, I would say.

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And I liked it. I was skeptical. I was like, yeah, whatever. It's kind of a dumb name. I mean, Daniel Ash, Ash, whatever. But I was pleasantly surprised. Enough so that I said, that's at least number nine good. Okay. Gave me a little vibe on the Diamonds and Rust a little bit with the title.

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Yeah. Ashes and diamonds, diamonds and rust, what have you. They're all forever. Yeah. Yeah. That way you can circle back around. It's like, oh, I'm like Bauhaus. I'm loving rockets. Oh, I'm Joan Baez. I'm Judas Priest. Oh, I'm back again. Yeah, they all, they all. I'm sure Nigel Tufnell could explain it perfectly. Yeah, exactly. I think so, because right now I'm having a hard time putting it all together. How did I end up with the six

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60-pound leather jacket.

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Yeah.

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I can barely hold it up on the stage.

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All right.

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Well, it's time for number eight.

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And John hinted at this earlier.

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And I feel like I'm stealing it from him.

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So I'm sorry, John.

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But my number eight is Agro Pelter, The Book of Hours, released July 25, 2025.

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Instrumental prog album from Norway.

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flutes, melatrons, mini-mogues, Taurus bass pedals, strings, woodwinds, a four-part suite over 30 minutes, 33 minutes in length. But as we all know, it takes more than vintage instruments and Roman numerals to make a great prog album. Luckily, the Book of Hours has some fine progressive rock songwriting and playing. This is its own thing, but you can definitely hear the influence of Genesis, Alan Parsons, Jethro Tull,

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and other 70s prog bands. And it's instrumental, so there aren't any awful lyrics to reduce the epicness of these compositions. You didn't steal anything, man. If it's on your list, it's on your list. It's on my list. Yeah, that album's awesome. It is an awesome album. I was blown away, actually. Like, I did not expect it to be as good as it was. Yeah. That might come up again later. Yeah.

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That's a really good album. And if you like any of that classic sound, prog sound, we'll stop there and we'll continue in a little bit. Okay. All right. So this is probably the album George was saying, don't go there, but I'm going there. You're going to leave me hanging on the other one, are you? Do it. What is this? Jeez. What are you, Ben Stiller?

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from Start Skin Hutch. Do it. Do it. Do it. So my number eight is a band that we interviewed on this podcast. Okay, good. Jesse Stiletto with the album, Jesse Stiletto. Are you going to leave me hanging on that one? I'm dying on that hill. It's a great album, but this was a good year. But I really like this album a lot. And it's kind of sister album with the Phantom Space

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a little bit because it has that hard rock, proto-metal, but more on the stoner side from the 70s vibe to it.

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Or the desert side.

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Yeah.

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You know, it's cool.

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It's riff, crunchy, heavy, you know, groove driven.

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Good hard rock from these mysterious dark ether, from the mysterious dark ethers of the universe.

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You know, I don't know who these guys are.

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No clue.

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Not a clue.

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They had these weird names, you know, and everything.

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They kind of, I don't know, spoke a little. Not funny, but just. I think they're like dirty space hippies, but you know. It might be, yeah. Yeah. But this is a really cool album. Great artwork, you know, and it's fitting in my mold here for what I like when it comes to this type of music, which is an album under 40 minutes. Get in, do what you got to do, get out. Don't worry, you're welcome. And it's kind of nice. I like that because it makes me enjoy the songs that are on the albums.

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to begin with, even more, because I'm not getting bogged down in anything. Don't get me wrong. I love my long songs too, but sometimes when it comes to just hard rock you want, you want to just get in and rev up the engines. And they do. They do a great job. It's, again, if you like that proto-metal meets that stoner desert rock, a little bit of psychedelic vibe, this is right in your wheelhouse. They do a great cover with Boyzor Colts' Stairway to the Stars.

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What's not to like? They go to 11 and beyond to the stars. Yeah. So now we're looking for Jesse's Stiletto squared, you know, for the second one. So, yes. But in the meantime, we got this one. So check it out. Yeah. Do that. Do what he said. All right. My number eight. Via Australia. This is Shepperton Airplane.

00:31:16.480 --> 00:31:46.340
and what I believe is their fourth album called Forecast. I found this on Bandcamp. I was just going through stuff. I was like, oh, that's a funny name, Shepperton Airplane. I was like, Jefferson Airplane, but not. It's a little punky. It has like clean guitar textures, relaxed tempos, and songs built around atmosphere, depending on where you read. It says hooks rather than aggression, but I felt it was, like I said, it had a little bit of a punk rock snarl to it.

00:31:46.540 --> 00:32:14.120
times. A little bit of attitude. I mean, it wasn't like heavy punk. It was more like an alt rock that had attitude. And it just hit the spot for me. And I was like, click, bye. You know. Those are the best albums. Exactly. I didn't realize until I was putting this list together that this was their fourth album. I need to go back and check out those first three.

00:32:17.120 --> 00:32:45.420
I don't know this band but I'm interested based on the name alone but their name reminds me of another band that we know from Finland where it just makes me feel like the name is not the name they intended but that's what they ended up with. Perihelion Airplane. Well no I mean if you remember the whole story behind how they came up with the name Perihelion Ship and it was supposed to be Shift I believe wasn't it? Yeah. I think it was. I don't know.

00:32:47.140 --> 00:33:15.980
I thought of that immediately. I was like, I wonder if that's what happened here. And if so, that's really a cool name to come up with. Yeah. What are you listening to? Yeah. That's the most famous of them all. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, but yeah, I mean, it's probably not for you guys, but of the first three that I've done, this is probably closest to

00:33:15.980 --> 00:33:16.740
And you might be like,

00:33:16.860 --> 00:33:17.160
all right.

00:33:17.270 --> 00:33:17.360
Yeah.

00:33:17.710 --> 00:33:17.820
Okay.

00:33:18.720 --> 00:33:19.320
Let me ask you this.

00:33:19.480 --> 00:33:20.820
Would it fit on the,

00:33:20.990 --> 00:33:21.080
uh,

00:33:21.240 --> 00:33:21.980
Sirius XM,

00:33:22.650 --> 00:33:22.740
uh,

00:33:22.860 --> 00:33:23.900
garage rock channel.

00:33:23.970 --> 00:33:24.700
Do you ever listen to that?

00:33:24.890 --> 00:33:25.540
I think it would.

00:33:26.540 --> 00:33:26.660
Okay.

00:33:26.900 --> 00:33:27.540
I like that channel.

00:33:27.680 --> 00:33:27.780
I mean,

00:33:27.820 --> 00:33:30.340
that plays everything across the board is,

00:33:30.520 --> 00:33:31.760
is if it fits in the garage,

00:33:32.830 --> 00:33:34.840
doesn't matter if it's punk or if it's rock or whatever.

00:33:35.820 --> 00:33:35.960
Yeah.

00:33:36.320 --> 00:33:36.480
I mean,

00:33:36.520 --> 00:33:40.260
it's not like Ramones punk and it's not like 82 punk.

00:33:40.440 --> 00:33:41.780
It's just kind of punky.

00:33:43.580 --> 00:33:43.840
Oh God.

00:33:43.950 --> 00:33:45.660
I wouldn't want anything to be blink.

00:33:45.780 --> 00:34:15.139
182 punk for me personally. No. Not my style. Decent musicians, though. I'm not going to knock the musicianship from them. Oh, no. I mean, I liked Blink, but even. But you liked the early stuff, though, didn't you? Yeah. That's what I thought. Yeah. Like when they were actually pretending to be punk, 90s punk or whatever you want to call it. And then after the third or fourth album or whatever, then they just were like, oh, we're like, what's that other band? Green Day. No, no. Green Day is fine.

00:34:15.760 --> 00:34:18.100
I mean they had some bad albums but

00:34:18.520 --> 00:34:20.280
no the fallout boy

00:34:20.800 --> 00:34:22.500
or those bands

00:34:22.560 --> 00:34:24.540
that were like we used to be kind of punk rock now we're

00:34:25.460 --> 00:34:25.600
like

00:34:26.560 --> 00:34:28.500
dance pop or something

00:34:28.560 --> 00:34:30.600
I don't know like nothing remotely like they used

00:34:30.600 --> 00:34:31.600
to be right

00:34:32.320 --> 00:34:34.419
well they all go suborbital you know

00:34:34.780 --> 00:34:35.780
they kind of

00:34:36.380 --> 00:34:38.220
blow up so fast those bands

00:34:39.040 --> 00:34:39.639
that they

00:34:40.220 --> 00:34:41.899
Panic at the Disco is another one

00:34:42.440 --> 00:34:44.399
I'm like what it's not even like

00:34:44.600 --> 00:34:45.740
rock music anymore

00:34:46.679 --> 00:35:15.720
I don't know what it is what are they doing in the studio what are they doing what are they doing in there call back to last episode uh yes all right well good george it's uh thank you you're giving us stuff that we don't even know so well the next one you'll have heard of all right you won't like it you'll have heard of it plenty for listeners to check out

00:35:15.720 --> 00:35:16.300
That's right.

00:35:18.320 --> 00:35:18.700
All right.

00:35:18.860 --> 00:35:19.920
So my number seven.

00:35:21.300 --> 00:35:23.000
It's a band we just talked about recently.

00:35:23.880 --> 00:35:30.160
And one I talked about in episode 24 when we talked about albums that were released this year.

00:35:31.120 --> 00:35:37.740
It's Witch Hazel and their album Five, Lamentations, released July 4th, 2025.

00:35:39.220 --> 00:35:42.000
It's the fifth album from this British hard rock band.

00:35:43.660 --> 00:36:12.820
Catchy, earnest songs with galloping 70s guitar tones and vibes. Check out the tracks titled I Lament or Woven and you'll get a sense of what these guys do. I kind of talked a little bit about them before, but bottom line is, you know, they don't explicitly call themselves a Christian rock band, but it's clear that they are based on their lyrical themes. And whether you're a Christian or not, the music is catchy and has a retro 70s sound and feel.

00:36:13.660 --> 00:36:43.420
Lots of tasty twin guitar harmonies. And not a lot new here, you know, when you listen to their other albums. But I like this album a lot, and it's my number seven. Coolio. I think I got some other earlier stuff. That seems to be a subgenre that has quite a following. It's not big, but there seems to be enough bands that,

00:36:43.640 --> 00:36:46.040
you like that kind of rock

00:36:46.840 --> 00:36:48.380
that there's plenty to pull from.

00:36:49.260 --> 00:36:51.020
It just seems like there's a fair number of those bands.

00:36:51.120 --> 00:36:52.840
I feel like Jay from the other podcast

00:36:53.160 --> 00:36:53.960
likes some of those bands.

00:36:55.220 --> 00:36:55.860
Some of that stuff.

00:36:56.120 --> 00:36:56.340
Yeah.

00:36:56.960 --> 00:36:58.060
Like Witchcraft and stuff.

00:36:58.640 --> 00:36:58.940
Yeah.

00:36:59.300 --> 00:36:59.540
Yeah.

00:36:59.760 --> 00:36:59.840
Right.

00:37:00.340 --> 00:37:01.280
They all kind of just fit.

00:37:02.380 --> 00:37:02.580
Go ahead.

00:37:02.580 --> 00:37:02.820
I'm sorry.

00:37:03.180 --> 00:37:04.500
No, I didn't say up until that new one.

00:37:05.320 --> 00:37:05.440
Yeah.

00:37:06.160 --> 00:37:07.180
I mean, Phantom Spell, I guess,

00:37:07.240 --> 00:37:08.720
would kind of fall in there, obviously, too.

00:37:08.860 --> 00:37:08.960
Yeah.

00:37:09.140 --> 00:37:09.720
I would agree.

00:37:09.760 --> 00:37:10.360
Same kind of vibe.

00:37:10.720 --> 00:37:10.760
Yeah.

00:37:10.760 --> 00:37:12.160
So, yeah.

00:37:12.420 --> 00:37:12.580
Cool.

00:37:13.140 --> 00:37:13.420
Awesome.

00:37:15.300 --> 00:37:43.280
All right, my number seven. I don't know if I've talked, I think I've talked about them on here before. But my number seven is the band Awkrist, and the album is Waving at the Sky from Inside Out Music, Progressive Rock. Okay, some people call them progressive metal. I don't really hear any metal in their sound. I think they're just kind of a progressive rock slash alt rock band. You know, not too alty, but maybe they get a little more streamlined.

00:37:43.360 --> 00:38:12.300
on their rock side sometimes. Kind of like a post-porcupine tree type vibe to them from Porcupine Tree's latter era. You know, they have a little bit of that. They have a little bit of opeth in their sound, but I would never say they were a prog metal band. They're a progressive rock band that have kind of a unique style to their song structures and their choruses.

00:38:12.940 --> 00:38:42.360
I dig them I like them a lot I got on board with the first album and I've been as a matter of fact I think George I sent you a message when the first album came out and I said this could be my favorite album of the year based on the one song that's been released so far and I think it was it ended up being my favorite album for all music you know so but these albums rule them all yeah exactly gotta have one every year so but it's just really good stuff I like it I think some people like the first

00:38:42.360 --> 00:39:12.340
them better. I like them both. They're both different, even though they still fit in the same wheelhouse. And it's not a long one. It's only about 45 minutes. It's cool. It's nice to hear newer bands, younger bands in this style of music because there's not many of them that have kind of followed the kind of melding of Porcupine Tree and Opeth. There's just a little bit of harsh vocals on this, but it's

00:39:12.360 --> 00:39:41.420
It's not much, but it's good. I like it. But it's not good enough to be in my top six because the ones coming up are... Six times better. Well, each one is one time better than the previous one. Yes. All right. My number seven is shipping out from Boston. Not up to. This is the 13th album from the Dropkick Murphys.

00:39:42.380 --> 00:39:46.120
the people. Oh, man. I love these guys.

00:39:48.800 --> 00:39:50.680
You know, it's Celt punk. It's

00:39:51.280 --> 00:39:56.020
it's sing-along choruses with political and working class themes.

00:39:57.680 --> 00:40:04.720
Ken Casey, the singer, was on The Daily Show recently, and I was watching that with Barb, and

00:40:06.020 --> 00:40:08.440
I explained to her, I was like, I mansplained to her.

00:40:08.640 --> 00:40:11.140
I try not to do that no but I

00:40:12.880 --> 00:40:14.760
what I explained not the music but

00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:17.080
that I've been writing a lot of

00:40:17.840 --> 00:40:18.880
song lyrics this year

00:40:20.140 --> 00:40:21.200
therapeutically and I said

00:40:21.200 --> 00:40:23.140
you know there's one band that I could

00:40:23.180 --> 00:40:25.240
get to record all these songs it

00:40:25.280 --> 00:40:27.160
would be Ken Casey and the Dropkick

00:40:27.320 --> 00:40:29.100
Murphys because they would just

00:40:29.240 --> 00:40:29.520
kill it

00:40:32.260 --> 00:40:33.240
so and she was

00:40:33.240 --> 00:40:34.440
like oh yeah okay whatever I don't care

00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:35.600
but you know

00:40:37.400 --> 00:40:38.500
at least you heard it

00:40:38.520 --> 00:40:39.640
Change a channel

00:40:40.250 --> 00:40:40.360
Yeah

00:40:40.940 --> 00:40:41.060
Yeah

00:40:44.920 --> 00:40:46.940
So it's an interesting theme so far

00:40:48.900 --> 00:40:49.780
You have

00:40:50.500 --> 00:40:52.680
All your albums so far have been kind of punky

00:40:53.620 --> 00:40:55.040
And all of yours have been kind of

00:40:55.280 --> 00:40:55.940
Punky tinged

00:40:55.980 --> 00:40:56.720
Punky vibes

00:40:56.890 --> 00:40:57.020
Yeah

00:40:57.470 --> 00:40:58.560
Isn't that funny how that works out?

00:41:00.120 --> 00:41:01.520
And it's not changing on my side

00:41:01.550 --> 00:41:01.920
Trust me

00:41:02.140 --> 00:41:03.160
Yeah we'll change here either

00:41:04.540 --> 00:41:06.560
It changes a little on my side

00:41:06.800 --> 00:41:07.080
A little bit

00:41:07.160 --> 00:41:07.400
A little

00:41:07.520 --> 00:41:08.480
Not much

00:41:08.480 --> 00:41:38.460
We'll see. Actually, I'd be, yeah. Well, let's see. There's maybe one more punky album. Everything else is different than that. Sort of. I got some, I got some interesting things coming up. Alrighty. Well, it's time for number six. And John mentioned it. And it's my number six, Jesse Stiletto. Woohoo! Nice. And their self-titled album released March 14th, 2025. This debut mixes 70s hard rock, stoner, and desert rock into a delicious stew, even

00:41:38.500 --> 00:42:08.460
and tastier than the devil's lunch. Check out our interview with the band in Stairway to 11 episode 22. I'm looking forward to what these guys do next. Not me. I think they're so done. I'm over it. I'm over it. Yeah. I'm just throwing you off the set. Yeah, right. I can't wait, actually. I, you know, that's a pretty solid debut release. I can't imagine what the next

00:42:09.200 --> 00:42:12.380
I'm really excited to see what these guys do because it's just

00:42:13.440 --> 00:42:16.640
an outstanding release and you just feel like

00:42:17.060 --> 00:42:19.700
wow what will these guys do next so

00:42:20.860 --> 00:42:24.720
I'm looking forward to that. Yeah I wouldn't kick him out of bed for eating the devil's lunch.

00:42:26.200 --> 00:42:28.640
That's right. In fact I would put him on a pedestal

00:42:28.660 --> 00:42:29.340
for that. Yeah.

00:42:31.960 --> 00:42:34.920
Depends what the lunch is. True. If it's crackers you're out of here.

00:42:36.580 --> 00:43:06.520
Peanut Butter and Jelly. If it's like a stew or something, then just don't get it on the sheets. That's right. Alrighty. All right. My number six. I made a comment earlier that none of the albums on this list are on the other list. This was one of the albums that was on the other list. It's now on this list. It opened the door for one over there, and it opened the door to fill in a spot here. So my number six is the band A through Z.

00:43:06.640 --> 00:43:36.100
with their album A2Z Squared are also known as the Alligator Zipper based on the album cover from Metal Blade Records. Now, this album is the closest thing I have to a metal album on this list because it is. It's progressive metal. It's hard rock. It's AOR. It's a U.S. band featuring Mark Zonder from Warlord X, Fate's Warning, Ray Alder, Fate's Warning singer, Philip Benone. Is that his name?

00:43:36.220 --> 00:44:06.040
Also with Warlord and Steve Vai, Nick Van Dyke from Redemption. One guitarist from DMG and another musician from Alcatraz and Warlord. Jimmy Waldo, I think is his name, and I can't pronounce. It's Simeone. Simone Mulirani. Yeah, thank you. So great mix of progressive metal, hard rock. It's catchy. There's melodic choruses. It's more rock than anything else.

00:44:06.220 --> 00:44:35.440
but it does have a tinge of prog to it not much just good solid hard rock metal the musicians are tight the songs are focused there's good song structures it's actually better than the debut album that came out a few years ago if you're a fan of fate's warning and you'll appreciate mark zonder's drumming is still outstanding even in the rock sphere and ray alder's vocals are just

00:44:35.980 --> 00:45:04.020
He sounds better now that he's sounded in the last 20 years, which is saying something. He's found his right register and his right delivery and his right amount of power that he puts into his voice is just perfect. And it fits this style of music. So A through Z. Well, you covered the alphabet. Yeah, you got it all there. Well, I mean, they did actually. Yeah.

00:45:05.440 --> 00:45:35.380
It wasn't me, but thank you. Sorry, I totally got the impression that you named the band. That totally throws off my whole, okay, I have to rethink this. Jeez. Yeah, man. Yeah, sorry. It wasn't me. All right. My number six, over on Metalhead's podcast, this was Matt's album of the month in August. I said, it's not metal enough for that. Let's have it over here. And that is Basque and The Tourney.

00:45:36.619 --> 00:46:03.780
They're a heavy rock band rooted in doom and stoner metal. It consists of long, slow-building songs with thick riffs, extended instrumental sections, and a dark, heavy tone. I thought it was just a little pretty, too. A little pretty. Kind of like Matt. A little pretty. Yeah. I never got a chance to listen to this one yet. It's good.

00:46:03.840 --> 00:46:31.620
So it fits more in the rock world is what you're saying. I thought so. And I don't think I have it on my other list. I have something that's similar to it, but I can't tell you now. Fair enough. It's BASK what? The Turning. B-A-S-K. BASK.

00:46:33.840 --> 00:47:03.780
Okay. As in, I am basking in how awesome this is. Yeah. Okay, cool. Interesting. With my niblets out. I have to check that out. Yeah, yeah, I think you'd like it. Yeah, okay. All right. Are we up to number five? I think we are. Oh, man, here we are. So, number five. My number five is Pelican Flickering Resonance, released May 16, 2021.

00:47:04.740 --> 00:47:32.860
It's the seventh album from this instrumental post-rock band from Chicago. Reunited with original guitarist Laurent Schroeder-Lebecq, the band sounds reinvigorated. I really like this addition to their discography. I've talked a little bit about this album in past episodes, so I'm not going to belabor it here, but I saw them live not too long ago, a few months, a couple months, I guess, and they were tremendous. And so, yeah,

00:47:33.420 --> 00:48:03.100
Really like this and that's my number five. Pelican flickering resonance. Nice. It's it's good album. I as I said before too I still think I like the previous album better. I think the last two albums they sound like a much better band than they did in the previous few albums. And there's a big gap in between albums or they weren't putting out as much but I like where they've gone with the last two. Yeah. Much like this album.

00:48:03.420 --> 00:48:04.140
I have no words.

00:48:06.920 --> 00:48:07.180
Yes.

00:48:07.640 --> 00:48:08.180
Go figure.

00:48:08.340 --> 00:48:09.620
It's another instrumental album.

00:48:10.520 --> 00:48:10.720
Yeah.

00:48:12.200 --> 00:48:12.400
Yeah.

00:48:12.640 --> 00:48:14.980
TR has a vendetta against speech.

00:48:17.340 --> 00:48:19.980
And the funny thing is, is I'm actually a singer.

00:48:22.900 --> 00:48:24.300
It's only good if you do it.

00:48:25.140 --> 00:48:26.060
No, I don't know.

00:48:26.760 --> 00:48:27.420
I don't really.

00:48:28.180 --> 00:48:29.500
I would like to hear you sing.

00:48:30.440 --> 00:48:30.920
You would.

00:48:31.100 --> 00:48:31.600
I would.

00:48:32.120 --> 00:48:33.060
I have some demo tapes.

00:48:33.740 --> 00:49:03.120
Yeah, send it on over, man. Maybe you can get on the podcast. No, I mean, it would just blow my mind, I think. I'd be like, huh, what do you know? Have you heard it, John? Have you heard him sing? Yeah, he's... You've seen my band. I've seen him play one time, years ago, though. It was a long time ago. Long time ago. I think you came to 2011. I think so. You came to my... I had like a party that I put on.

00:49:03.280 --> 00:49:33.240
I graduated from my master's program. I think you came up for that. Long time ago in a county far, far away. Yeah, that's right. Well then, yes, I'd like to hear that. All right. So, Tiard does not have the corner market on instrumental bands. What? He's not the only one who listens to them. All right. You know, he likes to think he is, but he doesn't. Okay. There's two of them. Yeah. So, here's my

00:49:33.280 --> 00:50:02.760
My second instrumental album. And I just got this last week. Oh. And it came as a recommendation from our good friend Ben from the Metal, Endless Metal podcast. He sent this to me. And lo and behold, wouldn't you know it, it's got a tie back to the band Soft Fog and the band Wizard. Wow. So that would only tell you that it's Norwegian. Mm-hmm. And it would tell you that there's prog and jazz in it.

00:50:03.260 --> 00:50:31.060
And that it's instrumental. So this is the artist Andre Drage. And the album is called Wolves on Drage Records. I'm assuming it's Drage and not Drage, the way the name is said. How's it spelled? D-R-A-G-E. Okay. And this is a fusion record. And the best way to describe this, I will quote them from their Bandcamp page. And I would say that this is spot on.

00:50:31.180 --> 00:51:01.140
A Fusion record inspired by Mahavishnu Orchestra, Soft Machine, and King Crimson, as well as newer heavy metal music and jazz rock bands from all around the world. This is basically controlled Mahavishnu Orchestra. Any of you ever listened to Mahavishnu Orchestra, they're incredible musicians and their albums are absolutely revered. But at times I find myself like, oh man, they're just going nuts again on this song. Because they do. They just go absolutely

00:51:01.180 --> 00:51:02.800
crazy on all their songs.

00:51:03.860 --> 00:51:06.200
And this is kind of like a controlled version,

00:51:07.040 --> 00:51:09.500
like a reined-in version of Mahavishnu.

00:51:10.740 --> 00:51:12.060
It's just great stuff.

00:51:13.040 --> 00:51:17.340
And when I go back and forth sometimes with Ben about music,

00:51:18.280 --> 00:51:19.240
and he mentioned this,

00:51:20.560 --> 00:51:22.680
and I think after the first song I bought it,

00:51:22.680 --> 00:51:24.400
I was like, there's no way I'm passing this up.

00:51:24.460 --> 00:51:25.280
This is awesome stuff.

00:51:26.100 --> 00:51:28.460
So, and I do have, I'm not,

00:51:28.500 --> 00:51:30.480
I would never consider myself a jazz fan.

00:51:30.660 --> 00:51:59.400
I would never consider myself a big fusion fan. And what I mean by that is I would never sit there and talk like I know everything about this genre. I don't. I hardly know. I barely touch in, barely dip my toes in it, but I know what I like. And I have a few bands that I like. And I'm more kind of the metal fusion side of things. I know a lot about that. So I dip my toes a little bit into just straight fusion. And this is a new band.

00:52:00.000 --> 00:52:29.940
from that weird hodgepodge music scene in Norway right now that's really kind of blown up. But this is excellent fusion from a young band. And it just, it's on fire, this album. It's really good stuff. And it would have been higher, but I literally just cut it the other day. Cool. Yeah, I can't wait to check that out. Yeah. I mean, are you a fan of Mahavishnu Orchestra? Yeah. I mean, I like, you know,

00:52:33.000 --> 00:52:59.960
Are you more of a McLaughlin fan? I saw McLaughlin a few years ago. And of course, some of the adjacent Alde Miola type stuff and Chick Corea and those guys. Return to Forever and everything. Yeah, exactly. So that's probably what I'm more familiar with. But certainly, I'm sure that this definitely

00:53:00.000 --> 00:53:29.920
I probably like this. Yeah. George, did you ever get into Mahavishnu Orchestra? No, I've tried. I'm in that boat too. I have like four or five albums. I keep trying. I'm like, I know I should like this more than I do. I'm just not smart enough. It's a little too phonetic at times. That's part of the issue. And it's too bad because musicians in that first album are like gods. They're all so good. I mean, all the musicians, all the albums are great.

00:53:30.000 --> 00:53:59.940
But those first two albums are just insane. Indeed. Are we on me then? George, number five. All righty. Cue those crickets again. I don't know, maybe you've heard of this guy. I guess he's pretty famous. His name is Jason Isbell. And the album is Foxes in the Snow. He used to sing for a band called the Drive-By Trix.

00:54:01.040 --> 00:54:02.240
Oh, okay.

00:54:02.480 --> 00:54:02.600
Yeah.

00:54:03.540 --> 00:54:04.000
I know him.

00:54:04.840 --> 00:54:06.200
And, oh yeah, how's he doing?

00:54:07.460 --> 00:54:07.560
No.

00:54:07.720 --> 00:54:08.100
He's all right.

00:54:08.360 --> 00:54:09.100
Yeah, it's not bad.

00:54:09.240 --> 00:54:09.720
Not bad.

00:54:11.580 --> 00:54:16.340
When he went solo, he had his backing band, the 400 unit that played with him.

00:54:17.160 --> 00:54:19.480
This is just Jason.

00:54:21.180 --> 00:54:29.060
It's pretty much Jason and a guitar singing songs of a personal nature.

00:54:30.420 --> 00:54:59.140
He's gone through some stuff. He knows some stuff. Okay. And this is sort of him dealing with that. And while I was familiar with him before this, particularly drive-by truckers, and I knew who he was, and I'd heard of the 400 unit, I was listening to this in the car last weekend while I was out and about with Barb. And she was like, you know, this is really pretty.

00:55:00.140 --> 00:55:29.100
And I was like, yeah, it's really soothing and relaxing. And I like ran through the album twice. By the time I got done, I was just like, yeah, it's like I got a massage in my ears. I was pretty relaxed. Wow. So I was like, yeah. So this is this was the like storm to the list kind of album and popped up to number five. So there you go. Oh. Cool. Your heart.

00:55:29.200 --> 00:55:56.760
It was soothed. Yes. Our list shall never meet. I've got kind of a relaxing choice here as well for number four. And it's All India Radio, The Unified Field. Released October 31st, 2025. Like fellow Australians ACDC, you know what you're going to get when you get one of their albums.

00:55:59.220 --> 00:56:03.040
and musically. But in terms of consistency, they are very similar.

00:56:04.000 --> 00:56:11.860
And this new album definitely brings the chill and twangy, echoey guitars that make you feel like you're traveling through space on a sofa.

00:56:13.030 --> 00:56:16.500
A very solid album in the All India Radio catalog.

00:56:18.240 --> 00:56:22.720
And I've mentioned these guys before, but I love them.

00:56:23.520 --> 00:56:27.720
It's mostly Martin Kennedy, who's the main songwriter for All India Radio.

00:56:28.440 --> 00:56:57.160
They've been around for, what, almost 25 years now? Or sometime in the mid to late 90s when they first put out their first album. So still going strong. They kind of put it down. He put it down for a little while, and then he just picked it up again and released this album, The Unified Field. And I'm glad they did because it's terrific. They're great. That's right.

00:56:58.440 --> 00:57:27.960
They have cool artwork too. Yes, they do. It's very kind of 70s sci-fi looking. Yeah. And he likes that whole aesthetic, you know, that whole Isaac Asimov style, you know, artwork and stuff from those types of books. Yeah, I love that stuff. Yeah. You could sit there and stare at that one picture for hours.

00:57:28.440 --> 00:57:58.400
as you're reading the book and you're like, when am I going to get to this part in the book? Yeah. Yeah. You're like, I want to, I want to see what this is. I want to know what this is about. This never happens. I want to know what love is. I want you to show me. Sorry. Ready? Yeah. All right. Cool. All right. My number four is a

00:57:58.440 --> 00:58:27.100
It's an album that brought me back in the fold with this artist. Cause I had kind of taken a break from some of the stuff that's being released. And I miss some albums that I kind of wish now I was part of, but there's still two that I'm not getting in bed with. Anyway, my number four is Stephen Wilson, The Overview, Fiction Records. It's his kind of sort of return to prog rock, space rock, art rock that he did with Porcupine Tree.

00:58:28.220 --> 00:58:57.520
Albeit still sounding like Stephen Wilson's solo project, or not project, solo career. Still moves forward, but it does hearken back to some of those days that I miss so much from Porcupine Tree that I wish more of the newer fans, newer fans meaning those who came with In absentia on, appreciate it more. I feel like some of them don't, but that's okay. We all like what we like. This is a great return to Semi Forum.

00:58:57.560 --> 00:59:26.880
It's a two-song album, although the digital version of the album does break it out, each song into pieces, but they're two long tracks. Objects Outlive Us, which is 23 minutes, and then the title track, The Overview, which is 18 minutes. And it's just great. I wouldn't say either song is a free-flowing song, because they're all different parts in the songs. You can actually like pieces of the songs a lot,

00:59:26.940 --> 00:59:56.860
and not maybe be as down with some other parts. But I liked the whole thing a lot. It was great to see him live. And it made me realize there was a few albums I probably should have paid attention to more when they came out. He still has a couple of his pop synth-y albums that I'm not so big on, but that's all right. This will suffice in helping me out and skipping those other ones. But no, it's good stuff. And parts of the overview are,

00:59:56.940 --> 01:00:26.760
some of the best stuff I've heard all year from any artist I like a lot. So it's great. I hope he continues to do more stuff like this. He doesn't have to do this again, but I would like to see him delve into this a little more in the future. But who knows? He's a guy who doesn't necessarily repeat himself. He kind of ventures. He stays in the same lane, but he kind of veers off a little bit and it comes back into it. So. Cool. Yeah. Yeah. I'm with you there,

01:00:26.960 --> 01:00:55.680
obviously and you may hear about this album later on yeah it was hard to to four i was like really but these my next three i i absolutely love number four what you call yourself a steven wilson fan every album's number one before it comes on man jeez get with the program you see hair on my feet do i look like a hobbit

01:00:56.940 --> 01:01:26.920
Well, I wasn't going to sign anything, but... Wow. Could use a trim. All right, George. All right, my number four. Apologies to Daniel Ashe, but his Bauhaus, former Bauhaus co-conspirator Peter Murphy takes number four with his album Silver Shade. He continues his atmospheric rock style with Moody Vocals layered production in

01:01:26.940 --> 01:01:56.020
dark themes. I just can't get out of the line of fire of this thing, man. It's just so good. It's good. I like it. Yeah. Yeah. See, I'm bringing you back into the fold now. I hadn't listened to Peter Murphy in a while and he sent that to me and I was like, oh, this is pretty cool. I kind of dig it. Excellent. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's about all I got to say about that one, really.

01:01:56.440 --> 01:02:25.680
I've talked about it on here a bunch of other times. So if you didn't listen to it then, you're probably going to listen to it now. So I don't know about that because there's bands that I haven't listened to ever. And then I'm now like 25 years later, I'm like, oh man, what have I been doing with myself? I'm really into this band now. So I really mean it's time you should listen to it. This time I really like them. All right. I think it's getting real now.

01:02:26.020 --> 01:02:27.040
It is getting real

01:02:27.280 --> 01:02:27.620
because we're

01:02:27.760 --> 01:02:28.520
yeah this is number

01:02:28.630 --> 01:02:28.740
three

01:02:30.020 --> 01:02:30.640
all right number

01:02:30.800 --> 01:02:31.060
three

01:02:31.900 --> 01:02:32.620
you may have

01:02:32.680 --> 01:02:33.360
heard this recently

01:02:34.080 --> 01:02:34.560
it's Stephen

01:02:34.840 --> 01:02:35.180
Wilson the

01:02:35.340 --> 01:02:35.600
overview

01:02:36.290 --> 01:02:36.800
released March

01:02:37.040 --> 01:02:37.800
14th 2025

01:02:38.620 --> 01:02:39.340
sooner than I

01:02:39.500 --> 01:02:39.640
thought

01:02:40.300 --> 01:02:41.180
well I consider

01:02:41.340 --> 01:02:42.220
myself a big

01:02:42.400 --> 01:02:43.360
porcupine tree fan

01:02:43.390 --> 01:02:44.100
I can't say I've

01:02:44.220 --> 01:02:44.880
loved everything that

01:02:45.000 --> 01:02:45.660
Stephen Wilson has

01:02:45.800 --> 01:02:46.520
released in a solo

01:02:46.700 --> 01:02:46.920
capacity

01:02:47.460 --> 01:02:48.460
but at least one more

01:02:48.580 --> 01:02:48.840
than John

01:02:49.440 --> 01:02:50.380
yes but the

01:02:50.980 --> 01:02:51.840
but the overview is

01:02:51.940 --> 01:02:52.680
some of his best work

01:02:52.900 --> 01:02:53.620
and has echoes of

01:02:53.760 --> 01:02:54.380
songwriting that

01:02:54.500 --> 01:02:55.100
sounds like it could

01:02:55.180 --> 01:02:56.000
be at home

01:02:56.000 --> 01:03:25.980
on a porcupine tree album. As John said, two songs over 18 minutes in length, each are progressive yet very modern tracks that blend a number of styles that are still firmly in the rock genre. Wilson played them both live on his last tour with a video made for each of the songs projected behind the band. It was a very cool multimedia performance that I enjoyed, and I think John did too, even though we didn't see him in the same location. And I agree, John, there were a couple of songs that were

01:03:26.000 --> 01:03:55.980
A couple of songs like from Harmony Codex and there was another album of his where I was kind of surprised at how good it sounded because I just did not even give it a chance and you know the problem is his output has been so varied and he kind of channels different genres in these different albums and you don't know what you're going to get you don't know what's

01:03:56.000 --> 01:04:25.980
You don't know what it is until it comes out. And I just haven't taken the chance on his stuff for the most part. I mean, when I heard this album was coming out, it was clear like, oh, yeah, it's a progressive thing and it's two songs. And, you know, it's like, OK, I think I know what this is going to be about. But his other albums, when they come out, you just don't know. And, you know, sometimes he tries to be like a pop thing and then he tries to do this other thing.

01:04:26.020 --> 01:04:55.980
stuff and it doesn't land well for me all the time and so i just kind of didn't listen to some of those albums and i kind of regret it because when he played songs off harmony codex and there was one more album i can't remember the name of it canada race uh yes right there was there were some good tracks off of that that i thought wow yeah that's pretty good um so yeah i do kind of regret not checking those out so i definitely will kind of go back

01:04:56.000 --> 01:05:25.840
and see what they're about. Nice. Yes. I felt the same way. I think maybe I had to see them live to appreciate them more just because I got a little dismayed by some of the other stuff. Oh my. I like most of his solo career minus those two albums. I don't even know what they're called. You've erased them from your memory. Well, yeah, Future Bites is one of them. Yeah, that's one of them. Yeah, I don't like that one.

01:05:26.820 --> 01:05:54.720
Not a fan. I mean, that's fine. I mean, you can't like everything from an artist. And I would never tell an artist not to go the direction they want to go. Right. Exactly. They got to go do that. And sometimes they have to do that to get to the place where you really want them to be, you know? Yeah. And, you know, they have to experiment. So it's like, okay, I don't need to go along for the whole ride. Right. Call me when you get there. Exactly. Or when you come back. Yeah, that's right.

01:05:56.000 --> 01:06:24.880
All right. So my number three. And these three I love a lot. I mean, more than, you know, number four. So my number three is from another longtime artist that I like their main band a lot. And I've seen them a fair number of times. But I also like his solo output too. And there's sort of a parallel porcupine tree.

01:06:26.980 --> 01:06:54.980
They don't sound like them, but they kind of been lumped with them unduly, I think, because they have a whole different sound. But this artist is Lunatic Soul, and the album is The World Under Unsun, which is Marius Duda's side project. He is the bassist and composer and singer, main composer from the band Riverside, which I'm a huge Riverside fan. I know TR likes Riverside too.

01:06:55.040 --> 01:07:24.920
I've seen them a number of times. They're an incredible band to see live. Really good stuff. But this is his side project. And this is his kind of prog rock, more art rock, more kind of folky, progressive folk, I guess you can call it. It's electronic. I wouldn't call it avant-garde because it doesn't get weird, but he goes places he would never go with the band Riverside, which is a prog rock kind of prog metal band. There's no electric guitars.

01:07:25.040 --> 01:07:55.020
on any of his albums. Albeit one song on this album. He does have some electric guitar. But generally, there's no electric guitar in any of the albums. And it just is his way of kind of channeling out other aspects of his musical journey that he likes to go through. And he's really big on tying his albums together. Like all the Riverside albums are tied together somehow, or they're in groups of three. This is his eighth album with Lunatic Soul. And it marks the final

01:07:55.040 --> 01:08:24.540
chapter and a cohesive story across eight albums entitled The Circle of Life and Death. So yes, it's a lot. But this is a great album. It's got a lot of atmosphere. There's some prog rock on it, but there's plenty of art rock. So I would think kind of like this is more like Peter Gabriel's arc when he was away as he's been away from Genesis. If you think about it, he could get a little proggy, but he's more art rock in his sound.

01:08:24.600 --> 01:08:53.900
And he'll go places that he never would have gone to in Genesis. I'm not saying that Lunatic Soul sounds anything like Peter Gabriel, not even remotely close. But it's the same kind of arc or the same kind of veering off from the original path. Just great stuff. It's a double album, so it's long. It's an hour and a half. And I listen to each album as each disc as separate. So I'll listen to the first one and I'll take a break and I'll go back and then listen to the second one. Because it is long.

01:08:54.600 --> 01:09:24.520
A Lot of Music, but it's so good. And he just has a unique style of vocals, and he has a unique way of hitting those emotional notes that kind of, if you are affected by emotional music, then you might like some of this. So it's one of my favorites from his catalog. So my number three, Lunatic Soul, The World Under Unsun. It's kind of a strange story. Okay, cool. Yeah, I need to check that out, because honestly,

01:09:27.000 --> 01:09:54.580
I have not I don't think I've listened to a lot of lunatic soul at all really and I kind of feel like I should because I like Riverside I like him so yeah thanks for the push because I mean for that to be your number three and it's got to be pretty good yeah I mean his that this music's way more introspective and Riverside

01:09:54.640 --> 01:10:24.440
pretty damn introspective. Right. And this is even more so. I think so. Cool. Yep. My number three is nothing new. It was on my last list. Paralyzed, Rumble and Roar. Paralyzed is a hard rock band focused on straightforward, high energy rock and row. I cannot go high. Rumble and Roar emphasizes loud guitars, driving rhythms,

01:10:24.600 --> 01:10:26.340
and a raw production style.

01:10:28.380 --> 01:10:29.460
It's just rock and roll, baby.

01:10:31.360 --> 01:10:35.500
I still have to get back to this, because I remember when you bought all that music.

01:10:36.140 --> 01:10:36.900
Yeah, I just...

01:10:37.260 --> 01:10:39.060
I like to just buy an entire catalog.

01:10:43.080 --> 01:10:43.180
Yeah.

01:10:43.380 --> 01:10:45.400
What, they have like five albums, four albums?

01:10:45.460 --> 01:10:46.200
Four, I think, yeah.

01:10:46.580 --> 01:10:46.700
Four?

01:10:47.800 --> 01:10:48.500
I have to check it out.

01:10:48.510 --> 01:10:49.100
I like the name.

01:10:49.340 --> 01:10:50.540
I mean, it's kind of a cool rock name.

01:10:50.980 --> 01:10:51.240
Yeah.

01:10:51.530 --> 01:10:51.620
Yeah.

01:10:52.400 --> 01:10:54.040
And the album title says it all.

01:10:54.200 --> 01:11:22.660
Rumble and Roar. Yeah. So. Cool. Nice. Okay. This is it. It's getting close. This is number two. And John mentioned it already. A to Z. A to Z squared or A to Z2. Released June 6, 2025. This is my favorite band of Fates Warning alumni. And I didn't think I could say that about a band that doesn't have Jim Matheus in it.

01:11:24.180 --> 01:11:54.160
second album and they upped the ante on the guitars on this one by replacing original guitarist jupe walters with two redemption alumni nick van dyke and simone mularoni nothing against walters he did an excellent job on the first album which rocked initially i thought this album rocked harder but after listening to the first album again i realized that it was more just a matter of tone the guitars are a little more forward in the mix and the tones have a little more edge

01:11:54.180 --> 01:11:54.740
on this one.

01:11:55.580 --> 01:11:56.960
Raised vocals sound,

01:11:57.080 --> 01:11:57.780
as John said,

01:11:57.880 --> 01:11:58.680
sound inspired.

01:11:59.140 --> 01:11:59.620
And of course,

01:11:59.920 --> 01:12:01.800
Mark Zonder's drumming is killer.

01:12:03.500 --> 01:12:03.940
Of course.

01:12:05.000 --> 01:12:05.280
Yes.

01:12:05.760 --> 01:12:06.620
We'd expect nothing less.

01:12:07.620 --> 01:12:07.700
Yeah.

01:12:07.840 --> 01:12:07.980
Yeah.

01:12:08.140 --> 01:12:09.020
As if it would suck.

01:12:09.540 --> 01:12:09.620
Yeah,

01:12:10.620 --> 01:12:10.840
exactly.

01:12:11.060 --> 01:12:11.600
As if.

01:12:12.800 --> 01:12:13.160
Honestly,

01:12:13.220 --> 01:12:13.360
I,

01:12:13.500 --> 01:12:14.840
I'm kind of surprised.

01:12:15.200 --> 01:12:15.700
Like I said,

01:12:15.740 --> 01:12:15.840
that,

01:12:16.180 --> 01:12:16.480
you know,

01:12:17.960 --> 01:12:18.380
that this,

01:12:19.160 --> 01:12:19.320
like,

01:12:19.940 --> 01:12:20.360
I don't know.

01:12:21.000 --> 01:12:24.140
I've been disappointed with what Jim Matheus has done since

01:12:24.160 --> 01:12:54.120
Fates warning other than the Tuesday the Sky stuff. I mean, like his rock stuff just hasn't hit the mark for me. And I'm surprised. Like I fully expected that there would be something that he would put out that I would really be excited about. And I mean, from a in a rock kind of, you know, Tuesday the Sky is kind of is more mellow. But I mean, like from a rock perspective. And it just it hasn't been there. And I'm I don't know. I just feel like

01:12:54.140 --> 01:13:24.060
I don't know if he's saving it up or what's going on, but I feel like I can't believe that well is dry. I mean, there's got to be stuff that's going to come out of him that's going to rock. I just don't, I just, I don't know. I'm waiting for it. Or he just doesn't want to play it, really. Yeah, maybe. I don't know. But I was not big on, oh, is it Kings of Mercia? Yeah. I was kind of disappointed by that. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah.

01:13:24.160 --> 01:13:25.880
That didn't do much

01:13:28.180 --> 01:13:29.680
And the first A to Z album

01:13:30.110 --> 01:13:30.820
I thought was okay

01:13:31.010 --> 01:13:31.740
I thought it was decent

01:13:31.900 --> 01:13:33.040
I like this one much better

01:13:33.270 --> 01:13:34.060
To be honest with you

01:13:34.680 --> 01:13:35.740
Well, you know, it's funny

01:13:35.880 --> 01:13:36.540
Because I actually

01:13:36.640 --> 01:13:37.700
I went back and listened

01:13:37.740 --> 01:13:38.280
To that first one

01:13:38.310 --> 01:13:38.720
And I was like

01:13:39.020 --> 01:13:40.500
Man, this is actually really good

01:13:40.640 --> 01:13:41.460
Like, I just

01:13:41.700 --> 01:13:42.320
I don't know

01:13:42.380 --> 01:13:43.420
I think I kind of

01:13:44.280 --> 01:13:44.680
I don't know

01:13:44.700 --> 01:13:45.800
When I first listened to it

01:13:45.800 --> 01:13:46.960
I just kind of dismissed it

01:13:47.060 --> 01:13:47.360
Or whatever

01:13:47.620 --> 01:13:47.920
But like

01:13:48.580 --> 01:13:49.860
After listening to it again

01:13:50.000 --> 01:13:50.620
I thought

01:13:50.720 --> 01:13:52.660
This is a pretty rockin' album

01:13:52.860 --> 01:13:54.120
Like, that first album

01:13:54.120 --> 01:13:55.100
They rock pretty good.

01:13:55.900 --> 01:14:01.600
But I think when you listen to this one, it just, I don't know, they just seem locked in a lot more.

01:14:01.980 --> 01:14:16.240
And there's a lot more, there seems to be a lot more kind of edgy guitar sounds and more like soloing because you've got two guys that are really competent guitarists.

01:14:16.300 --> 01:14:19.740
Like the other guy was super competent as well.

01:14:19.900 --> 01:14:20.840
But like, I don't know,

01:14:21.010 --> 01:14:24.420
it just seems like there's another level to this album

01:14:24.960 --> 01:14:27.100
in terms of the guitar work

01:14:28.560 --> 01:14:30.780
that wasn't present on the first album.

01:14:31.920 --> 01:14:33.800
Definitely a good rocking first album,

01:14:34.120 --> 01:14:37.960
but like this one kind of did kind of up it a little bit.

01:14:38.880 --> 01:14:40.120
Yeah, I agree.

01:14:42.700 --> 01:14:43.040
All right.

01:14:43.080 --> 01:14:43.300
All right.

01:14:44.050 --> 01:14:45.600
So my number two,

01:14:46.750 --> 01:14:48.100
also an instrumental album,

01:14:48.960 --> 01:15:18.860
And it has been mentioned. And that is Agrippelter, The Book of Hours from Laser's Edge. Like T.R. mentioned, a progressive rock, symphonic rock album that pays homage to the 70s sound, but it's a modern sounding version of that. It's a project from a guy named K. Olson. And yes, it lends itself to that genesis. I have Camel, King Crimson, all those classic composers are in there.

01:15:19.180 --> 01:15:47.680
And it's a little bit of work because it's not just a straightforward kind of jam fest. There's a lot of atmosphere and kind of slow ethereal moments that build into some great stuff. And the album features a great cast, specifically like Jonas Reingold, bass player for Steve Hackett, The Flower Kings, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, gazillion other bands in Sweden.

01:15:48.960 --> 01:16:16.460
Matthias Olsen from Engelgard and White Willow, which are huge prog bands that kind of were part of the renaissance of prog in the 90s. You know, and then there's even, I believe it's the drummer from the band Umfeld, which is also a Norwegian kind of prog metal band that I don't think they're doing anything anymore. There's only two albums out from them, and it's been a while since they released them, like six or seven years.

01:16:17.780 --> 01:16:43.180
So just really good stuff. If you love keyboards, and I'm using keyboards as the umbrella term for all the different types that he plays, with some nice bass and guitar work, then you'll dig this. It's good. Coolio. All right, my number two is not something you're going to like.

01:16:47.780 --> 01:17:17.700
The Fourth Album from Viagra Boys. It's called Viagra A Boys. And they're a Swedish post-punk band. And with confrontational and satirical approach. Features aggressive bass lines, spoken style vocals, and songs that critique modern culture. Apparently, I get all my music from The Daily Show because that's where I came across.

01:17:17.780 --> 01:17:18.460
these guys.

01:17:19.200 --> 01:17:19.680
Uh.

01:17:20.760 --> 01:17:22.740
On rare occasion they have bands on.

01:17:23.600 --> 01:17:24.240
And uh.

01:17:24.800 --> 01:17:26.140
This happened to be one of those occasions.

01:17:26.440 --> 01:17:28.100
And I was like Viagra Boys.

01:17:28.260 --> 01:17:29.420
That's a really stupid name.

01:17:30.840 --> 01:17:31.140
And.

01:17:31.500 --> 01:17:33.860
Does it take an hour for the music to take effect?

01:17:34.800 --> 01:17:35.280
Exactly.

01:17:36.580 --> 01:17:37.060
It's like.

01:17:37.420 --> 01:17:38.600
It doesn't hit me until I get home.

01:17:38.640 --> 01:17:38.960
And I'm like.

01:17:39.140 --> 01:17:39.260
Oh.

01:17:39.840 --> 01:17:40.540
Oh wow.

01:17:41.660 --> 01:17:43.560
Oh now it's really kicking in here.

01:17:43.900 --> 01:17:45.160
I'm pretty excited after listening.

01:17:49.880 --> 01:18:14.060
Yeah, I saw them on there, and I was like, that's interesting. I haven't seen too many bands on here. And they played the song Pyramid of Health, which is, I guess, like the single from the album or whatever. And it's freaking bizarre music. It's post-punk, but it's definitely got like a punk attitude.

01:18:14.740 --> 01:18:44.360
The singer is like all tattooed up and he's American. The band is Swedish. I think Swedish or Norwegian. Let me look. I think they're Swedish. Yeah, Swedish. But he lives in Stockholm with the band. I don't know if he went out there to live with the band or I don't think so. I think it just worked out that way. But anyway, Tim, he reminds me of Pete Davidson. Okay. Like if Pete Davidson like did a punk band.

01:18:44.740 --> 01:19:14.540
and was just like spewing random crap that you're just like, what is he smoking? That is Viagra Boys. And it's just so bizarre that I love it. I spoke about this on Metal Heads to annoy people. And now I'm here to annoy more people. Mission accomplished. Yes. Nobody should listen to this. You won't like it. Well, at least not for the first hour.

01:19:14.740 --> 01:19:43.300
Yeah. I like it. Nobody else does. Once it kicks in, though. Oh, boy. Yeah. Yep. Oh, my. I mean, number two. Come on. Yeah. All right. In an hour, they might be number one. They might be. Look out. I don't know what to do here. All right. Is it time for number one? It is time. All right. My number one. And you've heard me talk about these guys before.

01:19:44.760 --> 01:20:13.180
It's Howling Giant! Crucible and Ruin. Released October 31st, 2025. Howling Giant continues their upward trajectory with their newest album. Adding guitarist Adrian Zambrano to their band was a great move. He's super talented and adds so much texture and riffage. But each of the guys in this band brings their own massive talents to the table, crafting catchy, heavy, rocking songs.

01:20:13.280 --> 01:20:41.780
and they play them with such ebullience, it's hard not to like them. See these guys live when you get the chance. They bring a powerful, energetic performance with smiles on their faces. I love these guys. Howling Giant, Crucible and Rune, my number one. Yeah, it's a pretty good album. I still haven't listened to it yet. What? I haven't had time. But I know it. It's sitting there. It's ready to be listened to.

01:20:43.300 --> 01:21:11.300
They figured this would be on your list somewhere. Yep. I love them. I can't cross-pollinate. Okay. Did you turn into a bee suddenly? Yeah. Wait a minute. I don't see your wings in your yellow and black jackets. He's doing a little wiggle dance over there. Sorry, I'm a Viagra boy. That's not a stinger.

01:21:13.860 --> 01:21:14.940
Those aren't pillows.

01:21:18.900 --> 01:21:20.880
Playing streets and automobiles. It's that time of year.

01:21:21.600 --> 01:21:22.060
That's right.

01:21:23.340 --> 01:21:24.640
I like who I am.

01:21:25.640 --> 01:21:26.520
Oh, gosh.

01:21:27.460 --> 01:21:29.300
There's a John Candy documentary. Have you seen it?

01:21:29.820 --> 01:21:30.220
It's awesome.

01:21:30.540 --> 01:21:31.340
I haven't seen it yet.

01:21:31.580 --> 01:21:32.020
I have not.

01:21:32.460 --> 01:21:32.860
No, it's good.

01:21:33.520 --> 01:21:33.660
Yeah.

01:21:34.340 --> 01:21:40.260
And I believe some of the footage early on, like not much, like 45 seconds or something

01:21:41.199 --> 01:22:09.760
was taken from some footage that a person in Maryland had in their basement for years. We saw the story on the news locally here. And some home, I don't know how they got it. There's somehow the brother of the guy who now has it had some connection to John Candy and some of those comedians at that time. So it's kind of cool to see that that footage was included.

01:22:10.820 --> 01:22:39.400
Awesome. No, I really want to see it. Yeah. Yeah, it's good. So, all right. So my number one, and this is not Prague at all. What? Exactly. But. Johnny, you feel it okay? You turned off your guidance system. It's okay. He's using the force. You're all clear, kid. Now tell us this album. Let's get out of here. All right. So my number one, and this might be my favorite album.

01:22:39.820 --> 01:23:08.380
for all genres for the year. And that is The Outernet. You've never heard of them, but it's The Outernet, The Light and the Fury. It's a self-released album of fusion, jazz fusion from Australia. It's a debut release. This is some killer stuff. If you like jazz fusion, then this is, but this is upbeat. It's rocking. It's not, again, like this slow, like, you know,

01:23:11.960 --> 01:23:38.420
So the main composer, Phil, it's either Tursio or Tursio, whatever. Piano player, keyboardist. He's a composer, producer from Melbourne, Australia. He's composed music for TV. He did, I guess, some work for the 2000 Summer Olympics. He's got quite the background of people he's played with, but he's played with somebody that I have been a fan of since

01:23:38.460 --> 01:23:39.520
the late 90s.

01:23:41.380 --> 01:23:44.520
If there wasn't Neil Peart, there'd be this guy who's my favorite drummer.

01:23:44.880 --> 01:23:46.280
He's worked with Virgil Donati.

01:23:47.300 --> 01:23:56.120
And he is part of the On The Verge album, Serious Young Insects, that came out in 1999, which is one of the early albums that really got me into Metal Fusion.

01:23:56.880 --> 01:23:59.400
Which there's never been anything called Metal Fusion.

01:24:00.080 --> 01:24:06.580
It actually was named by Derek Sherinian, former keyboardist from Dream Theater, who plays this type of music too,

01:24:06.620 --> 01:24:36.500
who has ties to Virgil Donati. Well, this guy, Phil Tersio, if I ever say his name, played on that album back in 1999. So if you're familiar with On the Verge, Serious Young Insects, then this would be right in your wheelhouse if you like that. It's upbeat. It's just the musicianship is off the charts good. And again, I would never claim to be a big fusion fan, but this is the kind of fusion that I like.

01:24:36.640 --> 01:25:04.900
a lot. And this album just, I'm going to bring the word back. I sometimes bring it back once in a while to describe an album. This album smokes. Yeah. Smoking. And one thing that's nice about the album too, is there's a song off of the Sirius Young Insects album in 1999 called Running From the Aliens. He reprises that into three parts on this album some 26 years later. So it's kind of cool. Oh, wow. So, yeah. Interesting.

01:25:06.640 --> 01:25:08.800
I guess I'll have to check that out too

01:25:10.040 --> 01:25:11.700
yeah if you like that kind of music

01:25:12.040 --> 01:25:13.820
you know if that's not your style then you might not dig it

01:25:13.900 --> 01:25:15.080
but I think it's

01:25:15.980 --> 01:25:17.680
I'll listen to that if you listen to Viagra Boys

01:25:20.620 --> 01:25:21.820
what is wrong with you

01:25:22.240 --> 01:25:22.880
I'm really excited

01:25:26.260 --> 01:25:27.260
you don't understand

01:25:28.720 --> 01:25:29.640
oh my god

01:25:31.220 --> 01:25:33.660
I gotta go put on some pop music to calm down

01:25:36.120 --> 01:26:01.880
All right, my number one coming out of completely out of right field. You've never heard of this band ever in the last 20 minutes or so. And that's Jesse Stiletto. Oh, yeah. What? That's weird. Number one. That's weird. Yeah. With a bullet, baby. Yes. Yeah. Nice. Good representation.

01:26:03.680 --> 01:26:04.280
on the podcast.

01:26:05.830 --> 01:26:05.960
Yeah.

01:26:06.320 --> 01:26:08.240
We had this weird band on.

01:26:08.590 --> 01:26:09.040
Oh, yeah.

01:26:09.920 --> 01:26:10.900
That's strange names.

01:26:11.240 --> 01:26:11.400
Yeah.

01:26:11.420 --> 01:26:12.320
They were cool.

01:26:13.040 --> 01:26:14.160
Something about the Danube.

01:26:18.620 --> 01:26:18.880
Nice.

01:26:21.400 --> 01:26:21.560
Wow.

01:26:21.720 --> 01:26:23.920
So that ended up being on all of our lists.

01:26:24.460 --> 01:26:24.560
Yeah.

01:26:24.560 --> 01:26:27.540
That's the only thing that transcended.

01:26:28.520 --> 01:26:28.720
Yeah.

01:26:30.860 --> 01:26:31.620
Made it on everything.

01:26:32.140 --> 01:26:32.240
Yep.

01:26:32.460 --> 01:26:32.560
Yeah.

01:26:33.260 --> 01:26:33.320
Yeah.

01:26:35.220 --> 01:27:03.080
Wow. Cool. This took a lot less time than I thought it would. Well, we still have a plenty to go. I've got, you know, a bunch of stuff here. True, true. So do I. Yeah. But, uh, yeah. We're just going to run through our list each. Yeah. However you want to do it. You know, it's not like we're running out of time or anything. So do whatever you want to do. All right. Well, so I had a separate section here.

01:27:03.480 --> 01:27:33.400
I have two more sections to go. And one of them's called live albums and soundtracks. And the other is called honorable mentions. It's weird. I have the same thing. What? Not in that order, but yeah. Okay. So, so in my live albums and soundtracks category, I captured a few live albums and soundtracks that came out this year. And one of them is Riverside.

01:27:33.620 --> 01:28:03.260
Live ID, released January 24, 2025. Polish Prog Rockers released this two-disc live recording from their 2024 show in Warsaw. It's an excellent performance and recording. Highly recommend it. We've talked about it before. The next one is King Buffalo, Live at Freak Valley, Volume 2, released March 21, 2025. It's an August 2023 recording, released on vinyl,

01:28:04.180 --> 01:28:33.440
King Buffalo have a cool groove drenched in fuzz and stoner vibes and this is a good representation of what you get at one of their live shows I just saw them recently when they played with all them witches on December 12th in Philadelphia and they're outstanding if you get the chance to see King Buffalo live if you like the band at all you got to go see them because they're terrific the next one is Sergeant Thunderhoof

01:28:33.460 --> 01:29:03.340
Avon Calling and released March 20, 2025, this August 2024 recording of this excellent British band. They've been classified as everything from doom to stoner to psychedelic to metal to hard rock. They're all of that. It's a great raw live performance. Dan Flitcroft's vocals sound every bit as good as the studio releases. So Sergeant Thunderhoof, Avon Calling. Next one is David Gilmore.

01:29:03.460 --> 01:29:32.780
Live at the Circus Maximus released October 17, 2025. I saw this concert film in IMAX and the performance and recording were outstanding. Gilmore still knows how to put on an incredible show with great musicians backing him up, including his daughter Romani, who sings beautifully. So if you haven't checked out David Gilmore Live at the Circus Maximus, you need to. We talked about this earlier, Spinal Tap 2, The End Continues, the soundtrack.

01:29:33.480 --> 01:30:03.240
Released September 11, 2025. I enjoyed the new Spinal Tap movie and felt like they honored the band and the characters for the most part. But the soundtrack is not nearly as solid as the soundtrack from the original film by any means. I'm glad they put something out. I guess it's, I guess, and it's cool that they have Paul McCartney and Elton John doing tracks with them, but the other songs are only good for a chuckle. And then my final one on this list is Nine Inch Nails, Tron,

01:30:03.460 --> 01:30:32.780
Ares soundtrack. Yeah. Released September 19th, 2025. I liked what Daft Punk did for the Tron Legacy soundtrack. They set the bar pretty high, so I was hopeful that Nine Inch Nails would deliver the goods on this one. Thankfully, they did. The music really complements the film and brings the right vibe with nods to both of the previous Tron soundtracks. While many of the songs have a background feel and gain strength with the film as a visual, tracks like In It,

01:30:33.360 --> 01:31:02.120
As Alive As You Need Me To Be, Infiltrator, What Have You Done, and Who Wants To Live Forever, Stand Well On Their Own. How can you call a song who wants to live forever and it not be queen? Ask Nine Inch Nails. I was like very disappointed when I was like, what? You can't name a song that and it's not queen. They did. John Dreisner can do whatever he wants, I guess. That's right.

01:31:03.200 --> 01:31:32.800
So those are my live albums and soundtracks for 2025. Right on. Yeah. So in my honorable mention section, my first honorable mention is Lux Terminus by Cinder. And this was released April 18th, 2025. Mostly instrumental, proggy, jazzy rock outing from this band led by keyboardist Vikram Shankar. I saw them at Prog Power with John.

01:31:33.180 --> 01:31:36.800
this year and liked their performance and picked up this album while I was there.

01:31:37.860 --> 01:31:42.020
There's a fresh air quality to this album, a kind of brightness and uplifting energy.

01:31:42.750 --> 01:31:45.540
But there's heaviness too in songs like The Devil's Eyes.

01:31:46.560 --> 01:31:50.420
All the performers are talented and deliver a solid album.

01:31:51.170 --> 01:31:52.080
So I like that one.

01:31:52.980 --> 01:32:00.160
The next one on my honorable mentions list is Amorphous Borderland, released September 24, 2025.

01:32:01.800 --> 01:32:29.160
Amorphosis' output is fairly consistent, for good or bad. Some would say that they've become formulaic now for quite a few albums. But if you like the formula, then you'll probably be okay with that. There isn't anything new on this album, but I still like it. And I'll always go to see them live. The next one is Elder, a Liminality Dream State Return EP, released September 2, 2025.

01:32:31.900 --> 01:33:01.780
band Elder put out this two-song EP consisting of music that they developed from ideas that didn't get onto their two previous records. It's really good stuff, but I didn't include it on my main list since it's just a two-track EP. Next one is Michael Schenker Group Don't Sell Your Soul, released October 3rd, 2025. As a Michael Schenker fan, it pains me to say that this did not make the cut for me. I was excited to hear Swedish singer and former

01:33:01.800 --> 01:33:31.780
Skid Row vocalist Eric Gronewall on this, but the songs kind of sounded generic to me, and there wasn't anything that really grabbed me from this album other than maybe the track called The Chosen. Don't get me wrong, this album rocks, and Shanker's playing is on point, and Gronewall sounds good, but I think I was expecting more. Robin McCauley did a couple of guest vocals on the album, and I actually like the songs he sang more. As usual on Shanker's albums, the lyrics are not great, so the

01:33:31.800 --> 01:34:00.060
songs sometimes get diminished by them. Despite all this, I will always go see, go get whatever Shanker puts out. I can't help myself. And I'll always go see him live, which I did a couple of months ago on his My Years in UFO tour, which was outstanding. And my final honorable mention, Steve Morse Band, Triangulation, released November 14, 2025.

01:34:01.360 --> 01:34:31.260
I haven't had enough time with this album since it just came out recently, but it's definitely high-quality output from this instrumental guitarist and his band. I've been a Steve Morse fan for many years through his various output with the Dixie Dregs, soloist Steve Morse, and with the Steve Morse Band. Admittedly, I didn't pursue the Kansas, Deep Purple, or Flying Colors albums he was involved with. I probably need to give those a more careful listen. But this album, with longtime bass player Dave LaRue,

01:34:31.360 --> 01:35:00.420
and drummer Van Romijn is a nice collection of instrumental songs that run the gamut of rock, funk, jazz, and prog, some driving, some laid back. He has guest guitarist Eric Johnson and John Petrucci sit in for one song each, adding their own flavors. If you like Steve Morse, you'll like this album. So that's my wrap-up of everything else. Right on. Nice.

01:35:01.360 --> 01:35:28.680
All right. So I also have honorable mentions and honorable mention live albums, but I'm going to do the opposite order. I'm going to do honorable mentions first, then I'll do my live albums. Oh. So not too many on the honorable mention side, but my first one is a band called Evron. The album's called Shells. They're a German prog rock, neo-prog band. First album from them since 2007.

01:35:29.660 --> 01:35:58.860
And I've always been a fan of this band. It's very emotional, very to-the-heart kind of music. It's very well done. It's classy. And it was nice to hear them playing again. I just didn't give this one enough spins to get it under my top 10. And I can pretty much assure you if I listened to it more, something would get knocked out. It just didn't get the time. But it's a really good album. And it's really nice to see them back again after so long.

01:35:59.700 --> 01:36:28.880
The Second One Was On My Top 10 List That Got Knocked Off The Other Day Got Knocked Off By The Andre Drage Album This One Is IQ Dominion They're Progressive Rock Neoprog Band From The UK It's A Band That I've Always Known About And I Had One Live Album From For Years And I Just Never Got Into Them And Then Finally Would Dance That Said I'm Gonna Listen To This Album And I Was Like Where Have I Been Damn It

01:36:28.900 --> 01:36:57.620
You know, and I'm a big fan of them. So it's a good album. I don't dislike any of their albums. I have everything but two albums. They have their two clunkers in their collection, too, from the late 80s, and I'm a fan of what I heard. But everything is always solid. You know what you're getting when you get from them. I hear some fans think this is great, and some fans think it's more of the same. And I think there's a little bit of truth to both of those statements. It's a good album.

01:36:58.380 --> 01:37:28.040
It's not a great album. I like it a lot. It was on my list. Just kind of got bumped at the end. Next one, TR mentioned Lux Terminus and the album Cinder. Like he said, instrumental, prog rock. There's not much metal, but it does get heavy. It's jazzy. It's bright. It's clean. It's uplifting music. Their keyboardist, the main guy, is quite the musician. He's playing with everybody right now, all around the world, it seems like.

01:37:28.380 --> 01:37:56.620
And I imagine his name will be more and more involved with a lot of different... I believe he's with Redemption now. And he's also a permanent member of Within Temptation. And he's from Cleveland. So very cool. Next one is another band I just got into for the first time in 20 years because I heard the new album. And I was like, wow, I guess I'll pick everything up. And I don't do that too often because I get catalog fatigue real fast.

01:37:58.380 --> 01:38:27.160
I'm like, that's a lot of work. And I'll walk sometimes. This one I didn't because it was only six albums. The band is called Magic Pie and the album is called Maestro. They're prog rock, symphonic prog band from Norway. They've got a lot of hard rock leanings. They can even dip into the deep purple waters a little bit, which is kind of nice if you like that stuff. Good stuff. It's quality stuff. I would say they're closest to the Flower Kings.

01:38:27.800 --> 01:38:57.220
But unlike the Flower Kings, their albums are not two 80-minute CDs that come out. This album, new ones, it's long, but it's just a single CD. And so I'd have to spend all day listening to it. And my last one, Tierra also mentioned in his top 10 list, that's Tuesday the Sky Indoor Enthusiast Jim Otheo Side Project. I like it, just not enough to put it on my top 10 list.

01:38:57.940 --> 01:39:26.320
All right, so I have two honorable mention live albums. T.R. already mentioned Riverside Live ID from the Identity Tour. It's the show from Poland. Got to see them on this tour, and they were great. I've been a fan since day one when I was at Prague Power in 2003, and I said to Ken Golden at Laser's Edge, hey, what's good that's new that came out? Because I've been buying from Ken since the late 90s. He said, you should check this band out.

01:39:26.420 --> 01:39:56.300
Of course, I didn't realize he was releasing that, and it was Riverside. And I had been a fan since that day when I first heard him. And this is a great live. All their live albums are good, but this is another great live album from that tour. And my last one is kind of like a tribute band, although two of the members in the band were actually part of the band that they're paying tribute to. And that is the band Beat, B-E-A-T.

01:39:56.400 --> 01:40:24.880
The Album Neon Heat Disease Live in Los Angeles. Beat is basically the newest version of King Crimson without it being King Crimson. Two of the members, Adrian Ballou and Tony Levin, were both members of King Crimson for years. And they paid homage to the 80s output of King Crimson from the album's Discipline Beat and Three of a Perfect Pair. And they recruited two musicians to replace Robert Fripp.

01:40:25.780 --> 01:40:54.120
And Bill Bruford, they, two little guys. Nobody's heard of him before. Sort of big, you know, might be good at their instruments. Steve Vai on guitar. And a guy called Danny Carey on drums. He's in Tool. So, and it is just, it's so good, this live album. The live show was amazing.

01:40:55.780 --> 01:41:24.800
seen in years. And I saw the show with TR and his good buddy. And we sat basically in row what four? Yeah. Right in front 11, man. Right in front of 10 11. It couldn't have been any better. I mean, that what a show that was. Oh my gosh. Both of like all of us were just going bananas because it was just such a cool show. And to be that close, you scored awesome tickets. That was so good. Yeah. You know, and I was a huge fan of this period of King Crimson.

01:41:24.800 --> 01:41:26.700
and was for the longest time. And I've

01:41:27.080 --> 01:41:28.820
since, and I was

01:41:28.820 --> 01:41:30.800
a fan back in the mid-80s

01:41:30.940 --> 01:41:33.000
when I got into this part of King Crimson,

01:41:33.020 --> 01:41:34.520
but I never ventured to the other stuff.

01:41:35.140 --> 01:41:36.560
And over the years, I've slowly

01:41:36.820 --> 01:41:37.960
gotten into the whole catalog.

01:41:38.180 --> 01:41:39.620
And now, I mean, I love everything now.

01:41:40.400 --> 01:41:41.720
But there's a special place,

01:41:42.340 --> 01:41:43.680
especially for the album Discipline,

01:41:44.240 --> 01:41:45.740
which I think is one of the best

01:41:46.100 --> 01:41:47.040
prog rock albums ever.

01:41:48.840 --> 01:41:49.980
Albeit new wave-ish,

01:41:50.480 --> 01:41:52.760
it'd sound, but very cool.

01:41:53.300 --> 01:41:54.040
Well, that's what I got.

01:41:54.340 --> 01:42:24.280
Clearly there was a lot of hunger for that period too because I don't think other than a couple of songs, King Crimson typically didn't play a lot of that material live. So to get a full dose of a lot of that. They toured those albums. They toured them. Oh, they did. But what I'm saying is in more recent times, they haven't played a lot of those songs other than like, you know, Thala Hung Genji and some of these Elephant Walkers.

01:42:24.320 --> 01:42:25.120
and some of that stuff.

01:42:26.740 --> 01:42:28.620
They played frame by frame a lot.

01:42:30.540 --> 01:42:30.900
They have.

01:42:31.040 --> 01:42:33.040
They played Indiscipline, I believe, a lot.

01:42:33.140 --> 01:42:37.040
It just, their catalog is so big and they improvised so much,

01:42:37.460 --> 01:42:38.580
or they did so much live,

01:42:39.540 --> 01:42:42.340
that it was all over the place when they wanted to play stuff.

01:42:42.500 --> 01:42:43.380
So, yeah.

01:42:44.940 --> 01:42:45.980
Well, the tour did well.

01:42:46.480 --> 01:42:47.600
Sold out most shows.

01:42:48.140 --> 01:42:48.260
Right.

01:42:48.660 --> 01:42:48.760
Yeah.

01:42:49.040 --> 01:42:51.760
I think they're now taking it overseas, if I'm not mistaken.

01:42:53.320 --> 01:42:53.420
So.

01:42:55.240 --> 01:43:21.180
All right, then. All right, George. I've got a few. First off, a few that fell off the back of my mid-year list. Taj Mahal and Keb Moe, Room on the Porch. A couple of blues legends. Yeah. Knocking it out of the park. Garbage, Let Them. Let All That We Imagine Be the Light. Lady Gaga, Mayhem.

01:43:23.420 --> 01:43:51.980
Jeff Tweedy's Twilight Override. I cannot speak. Twilight Override. Triple album. The Wilco guy. And I think I mentioned it on here previously that I wanted to listen to it. And yeah, yeah, it's good. Franz Ferdinand, The Human Fear. That's out of right field. Creeper, Sanguivore 2, Mistress of Death.

01:43:52.300 --> 01:44:21.300
Sounds like it ought to be on Metalheads, but it's goth. Okay. Goth rock. Sounds scary. Yeah. Yeah, it's interesting. If the singer were better, this could have been really high on my list. This was another like, oh, I like that song. I'm going to go buy their whole catalog. And then I was like, oh, wow. The music's really good. The backup singers on this album are amazing.

01:44:21.420 --> 01:44:51.380
The lead vocalist is kind of lame though. And thus my love for instrumental music. Yeah. And lastly, an artist that I came to know about in 1997 and have not listened to since, though he has apparently put out fairly not steady albums, but not

01:44:53.440 --> 01:45:21.100
And so after 28 years, I finally listened to another album. Eagle Eye Cherry. His Desireless album from 1997, which was a pretty big deal, Save Tonight and stuff like that. I really loved that album, kind of just like a singer-songwriter, folky, acoustic thing. Maybe not folky, but acoustic. And I really dug that when it came out 28 years ago.

01:45:22.620 --> 01:45:51.220
And I don't know why, but I just happened to see that this came out. And I was like, oh, that guy's still around. What's he been doing? And the album's called Become a Light. And it's not even on Wikipedia as yet. But it's not bad. It's not bad. So you should probably go and see what he's been doing in between those two albums. There might be some more good stuff in there, George. There might be. So we'll have to find out. Nice.

01:45:51.400 --> 01:46:21.380
That is what I've got. Wow. Well, that's quite a year in, boys. Yeah. Yeah. It does tell me one thing about rock music. What's that? There's not a lot of it anymore. Well. Like there used to be. Not like it was when I was a young lad. That's right. Because we are more kind of pigeonholed into the things that we like, but there's not

01:46:21.420 --> 01:46:22.180
I mean,

01:46:22.360 --> 01:46:22.460
I mean,

01:46:23.140 --> 01:46:25.040
it's just the fact in the eighties,

01:46:25.120 --> 01:46:29.100
there was just rock bands everywhere and they were huge.

01:46:29.460 --> 01:46:30.060
They were big.

01:46:30.600 --> 01:46:30.700
Right.

01:46:30.820 --> 01:46:31.060
You know,

01:46:31.160 --> 01:46:32.400
you like most of them,

01:46:32.480 --> 01:46:33.320
but you didn't like everything.

01:46:33.580 --> 01:46:34.680
But now I feel like there's not,

01:46:35.700 --> 01:46:36.760
there's not a lot of good,

01:46:37.200 --> 01:46:37.600
popular,

01:46:38.340 --> 01:46:40.400
good rock bands like that,

01:46:40.800 --> 01:46:40.900
that,

01:46:40.900 --> 01:46:41.500
that like,

01:46:42.500 --> 01:46:46.220
and I've been thinking about this a lot because it's,

01:46:47.460 --> 01:46:51.380
when you think back to like the seventies and all the bands that were

01:46:51.380 --> 01:47:20.700
kind of popular back then. There was a pretty broad variety, and the genres weren't so binned like they are now, where you could have a festival with bands that we can't even imagine going together today. But when you look at some of the bands that they put together, like for Texas Jam,

01:47:21.380 --> 01:47:51.360
of these other things that were going on back then where you had a pretty broad variety of rock music coming together and everybody just kind of accepted it. It wasn't like, oh, well, we can't listen to that or this is like, what are you talking about? Well, how can this band be with these guys on the bill? And I don't know. It just seems like everything's more kind of

01:47:51.400 --> 01:48:20.220
pop oriented today and or, you know, there's elements of rap and pop that are much more popular than any kind of rock music would be. And inconceivable. Well, I mean, I get it to some degree, you know, pretty much after the 80s, like once rap stepped in, there was no going back. And, and, you know, it really kind of changed the landscape.

01:48:21.400 --> 01:48:45.700
And now you've got a lot more in terms of pop that is really exploding where you see artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter and all these people that, you know, while I'm sure they're very good, like I just don't have any, I don't know, predilection to listen to that.

01:48:45.960 --> 01:49:15.800
And so, yeah, I mean, it's just a different time. And while, like, in the 70s, like, really good rock bands were just very popular and everybody knew who they were and everybody, like, went to see them and they were on the radio and everybody was aware of them. And now, like, rock bands that we, that, you know, when I think about us in this,

01:49:17.340 --> 01:49:45.900
the bands that we like are kind of obscure bands or bands that like not a lot of people know. And so we're kind of on the fringe now. Like we're just kind of like, you know, whenever people ask me, oh, who'd you see this year? What kind of bands did you go to? Like they don't know. I start listing the people that I went to see or talking about it. They're like, I've never heard of that. I don't know who that is.

01:50:13.120 --> 01:50:15.920
Das ist.

01:50:15.940 --> 01:50:45.180
are just kind of unknown or by and large kind of like niche or kind of, I don't know, completely obscured by other acts. It's, I don't know, it's just really kind of disappointing to me a little bit. Like a complete unknown. Yeah. Well, we're not going to waste any time going into the reasons why that is because,

01:50:46.480 --> 01:51:14.920
It's just the way things are now when it comes to consuming music and how you do it and how it's presented and who makes all the money. That's a whole other bag of diatribes to go through. Oh, yeah. That could be a whole episode of us just ranting like old men. It's passionate fans, I think, more than old men. Yes, I agree. You're right. And no,

01:51:15.960 --> 01:51:44.820
People who are Taylor Swift fans are not passionate fans because they're passionate for the now, in the now, but where will they be 30 years from now? Will they be that same person? I don't know. I kind of think that they'll be there. I believe that this, even though we don't see what the big pull or the draw is, it resonates with these people and these young kids or the people that grew up with it, I think it's going to stick with them.

01:51:44.860 --> 01:52:14.840
I think it's the stuff that like just like in our youth these bands that you know our parents looked at like what are these guys you know who are the these people yeah but the consumption was different though for us I agree we don't have it handed to us on a plate it's not consumed by singles you know and it's not big backed by big money and insurance companies on these tours that charge well rushes

01:52:14.860 --> 01:52:44.800
right now, but, you know, just that doesn't exist anymore. And I just don't see that type of consumption continuing when people want it. Everyone wants it on their phone immediately. They don't want to work to have to get it. That's not old man screaming at the sky. That's just a fact. That's just the way it is. So. Well, that's true. And, and yeah, that's, and there's a certain aspect of that, that, you know, you can't, it's hard to describe that.

01:52:44.860 --> 01:53:14.240
to someone who didn't live through it. You know what I mean? Like, if, if, when you think about like what we, how we grew up and the albums and getting like being excited to get the album and then having like an actual record album and pulling out the sleeve and looking at the lyrics and like getting absorbed in that and just, you know, sitting and looking at the album cover, like you talked about it earlier, that looking at that album cover and just absorbing it and listening and,

01:53:14.880 --> 01:53:44.600
just completely trying to commune with what was being presented by that artist. I don't know that that's happening as much. Not. I don't know. It's not. Yeah. Not now with AI, it's even worse. So. Damn kids. Yeah. Well, I just feel bad for them because I feel like they're not getting. Well, it's not even kids though, George. I think it's actually adults to consume that way now.

01:53:44.880 --> 01:54:14.800
because it's easy. Oh, wow. Spotify's great. No, it sucks. It's not good for musicians. And say what we want. Is it Gene Simmons who's actually railing against Spotify right now? I can't remember. I think so, yeah. I mean, you could say what you want about him, but it's going to take a lot more people like him to come out to say that this model doesn't work. It's not fair. Exactly, right. What? Anyway.

01:54:15.780 --> 01:54:44.820
If Taylor Swift couldn't take out Spotify, nobody can. Yeah. No, but if more people say, yeah, you know what? Not, well, no, because she makes so much money still on Spotify because she's getting millions of listens for every song. Sure. You know, but, you know, she's got 12 writers for a single song, 10 writers, you know, and then a band that's, you know, one dude's writing all the music for the band and they're not getting screwed.

01:54:44.900 --> 01:54:51.940
because they don't have 4 million listens this past month for their song to get their 10 bucks.

01:54:55.320 --> 01:54:57.500
Next time on Rants from the Porch.

01:54:58.300 --> 01:54:58.620
Yeah.

01:55:00.300 --> 01:55:00.900
I'm just playing.

01:55:01.540 --> 01:55:01.840
Just playing.

01:55:02.300 --> 01:55:02.960
That's a fact.

01:55:03.100 --> 01:55:04.960
I mean, the book industry is going through it too.

01:55:06.000 --> 01:55:06.080
Yeah.

01:55:07.760 --> 01:55:09.180
It's, yeah, I know.

01:55:09.280 --> 01:55:14.740
I mean, it's easy to fall into this category, but like, I just, you know,

01:55:14.780 --> 01:55:44.600
It's hard not to. When you grew up with what we did, it's really hard to feel like what's happening now in popular music is just disappointing. Thankfully, we just talked about 10 albums each from what we've listened to that we really liked and that we got stoked about. So the music is out there and there are bands that we like.

01:55:44.800 --> 01:56:14.760
And there's stuff that's happening. But I would almost guarantee you 90% of what we just talked about is relatively unknown to the major populace. Sure. I've been dealing with that for decades. I'm used to it. Oh, yeah. I mean, I am too. Yeah. I mean, the only big rock music that's big is probably indie rock right now. That's been big for a while, but it's just not something I

01:56:16.380 --> 01:56:43.720
because some of it's decent, but then other parts of it are just, they kind of, they're toothless for me personally, you know? But anyway, you know? Maybe, maybe we'll be surprised coming up. I mean, there was one, what was that Led Zeppelin clone that everyone was all excited about? Yeah. Well, that's been a few years now, but. Yeah. I forget what they were called. Yeah.

01:56:44.820 --> 01:57:14.760
They're like, dude, it's this. Van Fleet or whatever. Yeah, yeah, right. Greta Van Fleet. Yeah. I mean, they pretty much sounded like Led Zeppelin. Well, that's exactly right. And so, you know, it's like you're hoping that something comes along that just upends the industry, kind of like Nirvana did, where it's like, wow, look at this talent and these guys that, you know, don't sound like anybody before them or

01:57:14.760 --> 01:57:43.840
I've completely changed the landscape of music. And I just, I'm not sure I see that happening at all. And I'm hopeful that it will. But, you know, when you think about the last time that that happened, which was Nirvana, I mean, can you guys name anybody since Nirvana that changed the musical landscape to such a degree that it just completely upended everything?

01:57:47.140 --> 01:58:14.480
That's been 30, how many years? 30 years? 33? 4? 5 years? I think they get a lot of credit, but the credit should be spread more because there were a number of bands coming out of that scene at the same time. Oh yeah, I agree. They got the MTV push, but... Sure, yeah. No, but I mean, you know, like that... But the point I'm making is there's no scenes like that anymore. Yeah. That was probably the last scene that... I mean, and I'm not referring... I'm not including hip-hop,

01:58:14.780 --> 01:58:44.080
that's mainstream. And there's plenty of hip hop scenes. There's the East Coast versus West Coast. There's Atlanta. I know all that stuff. Mumble rap. But that's already big. That's corporate music now. Because there's a lot of money back in that. There's no lower level scenes anymore for music. There just isn't. For any style. Unless you're from Norway and you like Prague and jazz. That's about it.

01:58:44.780 --> 01:59:14.280
And you've arrived at the right place if you're listening to us. We got you covered. Yeah, we got it covered right here. Anyway, no more. I don't need to go anymore into that. Yeah. Well, look, let me, I just do, speaking of our listeners, I want to give a shout out to Derek in Ireland, who was very kind when I recently went over there to give me some pointers and places to go and things to see and make sure that, you know, I enjoyed my trip.

01:59:14.780 --> 01:59:42.080
I made contact with him while I was over there and it was great to talk with him. And so I'm very pleased that we have listeners all over the world and especially thankful for Derek and the input that he gave me for my trip. So thanks, Derek, and appreciate you listening to this podcast. And contrary to what seems to be his belief, he does have an open invitation to come on with us.

01:59:44.780 --> 02:00:14.660
I've told him that many times and he never takes me up on it. So whenever you're ready, bud. Get your butt on here. Yeah. Well, we'll have to figure out a good time that works because he's, what, five hours ahead of us? Well, yeah, the time difference can be challenging. But we can work with that. We've done it before. I know we have. Metalheads has anyway. It's not that bad unless he goes to bed early. Yeah, split the difference. We start early. He stays up late.

02:00:14.780 --> 02:00:44.140
You know, it'll work. Yeah, we can do that. I could start early. Well, we'll have to do it on the weekend then. Yeah, true. Well, I don't know. Yeah, it's not like you guys have jobs or anything. Well, if you're home during the day, George, you could do it. We could do that. We'll figure it out. Yeah, we'll make it happen. Just give us a ring ding. As long as it doesn't cut into my premiership time, you know, at three o'clock in the afternoon, I'm good. Yeah. Or my Champions League.

02:00:47.580 --> 02:01:14.720
All right. Well, let's put this year to bed. Yeah. And you olden parts, too. I'm ready to put this year to bed real fast. Yeah. Yeah. I'm done with this year. Yeah. But I'm grateful for you guys, and I'm really glad that, you know, we've been at this now quite a while, and this is our 28th episode, which is pretty amazing to me.

02:01:16.940 --> 02:01:44.700
And I'm glad to have two buddies that I really enjoy talking about rock music about. So thanks, you guys. I appreciate, like, this is kind of our, you know, last episode of the year. So I just want to say thanks. Love you guys. And thanks to our listeners who, you know, are there. We have some very avid listeners out there that, at least certainly my friends,

02:01:44.780 --> 02:02:14.160
that listen always have comments about our choices and our witty banter. So I'm grateful for them too. So thanks everybody. Thank you. Thank you guys. I'm going to thank you, but I'm only going to give you thank you unless you participate. You need to participate on our posts. Give us your list. Yeah, we need to give out some participation trophies. Yeah, seriously.

02:02:15.560 --> 02:02:44.040
And if we don't Facebook, well, you'll get that little message. Hey, you're like a avid person on top fan, top fan. Seriously. If you do like the podcast and you have comments, whether they be positive or negative, probably a lot of negative ones directed. So, uh, poster, even if it's just one album, let us know what your favorite albums were from this year. Doesn't even matter what genre it's for or subgenre it's from. Who cares? Yeah.

02:02:44.780 --> 02:03:13.500
Definitely, I'd be interested to see what people are listening to. I love lists, whether I agree with them or not. Plus, I'm not going to lie to you. This is so stupid. It helps the algorithm, man. Not that we care about that stuff because we don't. But it would be nice for other people to see it. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Cool. Let's put this thing to bed. All right. Happy holidays, guys. Stay safe.

02:03:15.940 --> 02:03:18.360
Rock on. Peace. See ya.