New Kino---Excellent! New Spock's Beard and Enchant studio#8?

[jjmannford]

Still waiting on my LaL DVD. Don't buy from Overstock. They charge you immediately and lie about the actual shipping date

I just listened to the entire new CD from Kino in the Rogue's Gallery on the Dividing Line (Frans typically plays an Enchant tune every week). Really diggin it a lot. Poppy, Proggy, and Rocky all at the same time. Frans has an archive of the show, so you can downloaded it and check it out. The songs really have those hooks that reel you in like our Enchant buddies do.

Anybody heard the new SB Octane? I heard a few tracks and I am enjoy it also. Not to the level of Kino, but it is solid. SB's new direction is more my speed...more rocky, song oriented material with prog flashes. Symphonic prog really isnt my my thing as much. Get a little bored.

Ed, Doug, Ted, Sean, and Bill when can we expect another stellar studio work??

Happy Valentine's Day,
Jim

 

[The Stormbringer]

I saw Kino's second live gig on German television (Rockpalast, for the Germans here) about a week ago. Good stuff, would probably please any fan of Enchant... besides, Trewavas is a superb bassist.
"Holding On" is a cool tune... built very straight, but the way the theme evolves and erupts one last time after the instrumental section is very good.

 

[jjmannford]

I can't stop listening Kino!!! It is one of the best poppy, proggy, hard rock disc I have ever heard. I really think a lot of Enchant fans will dig it a lot. Its not out until the end of Feb, but you can hear the entire CD if you download the archive file at Fran's Rogues Gallery:

http://thedividingline.com/rg.html

The most recent show is only up until Thursday, so get it quick. Finally I found something to listen to other than LaL. Its truly amazing how I never get tired of LaL.

 

[Petrucci914]

I just finished listening to SB's Octane and I have to say it was a huge disappointment. It may grow on me because the first time I listen to an album I tend to dislike it. Songs are just really short, with not much substance. Track 2 and 9 seemed really nice but I don't know, I just came out of it very very confused! The "epic" didn't really seem like an epic. It's pretty bad when you have to look at the track to realize it is an epic. I'm also listening to Neal Morse's One and so far it is just amazing!

 

[Petrucci914]

lol, I take it all back! Octane is brilliant! I have to say it is my favorite Spocks Beard album. It would have been better without "Surfing down the avalanche." I really do not like albums when I first listen to them. I almost have to get in sync with the feel of it first.

 

[mgirishfan]

Hmmm....finally got some good listens in to Octane over the last few days...and it seems I have some mixed feelings about it. First though, I 'll go back to Feel Euphoria. That was quite a different disc from SB in a lot of ways - the most notable of course was the absence of Neal. And while I don't think FE was exactly stellar, it did have it's moments (Ghosts of Autumn in particular) and overall it seemed to say to me - "OK, this is the NEW SB, Neal's GONE, here's what we we are doing NOW!" The more listens, the more I liked it! So I was quite curious about Octane....

Anyway, overall I think Octane is quite decent --- not great, not bad. It's quite different from FE, and I know that has made a lot of people happy. To me, though, I find myself listening to more of Neal-era-type CD, only without Neal. With the current lineup it just doesn't work as well.

I for one (and LOL, I may be the ONLY one) for rather see SB go off in the FE direction again. Oh well!

Cheers!

 

[InteractiveUrinalCommunicator]

I just listened to that Rogue's Gallery show. How We Live (Hogarth's old band) is incredible!

 

[slowhand]

Hmmm....finally got some good listens in to Octane over the last few days...and it seems I have some mixed feelings about it. First though, I 'll go back to Feel Euphoria. That was quite a different disc from SB in a lot of ways - the most notable of course was the absence of Neal. And while I don't think FE was exactly stellar, it did have it's moments (Ghosts of Autumn in particular) and overall it seemed to say to me - "OK, this is the NEW SB, Neal's GONE, here's what we we are doing NOW!" The more listens, the more I liked it! So I was quite curious about Octane....

Anyway, overall I think Octane is quite decent --- not great, not bad. It's quite different from FE, and I know that has made a lot of people happy. To me, though, I find myself listening to more of Neal-era-type CD, only without Neal. With the current lineup it just doesn't work as well.

I for one (and LOL, I may be the ONLY one) for rather see SB go off in the FE direction again. Oh well!

Cheers!

Well exactly these were my first thoughts, too.
The Disc then had a nice slumber under a bunch of another actual CDs like Riverside, Masterplan... just two days ago I took the second chance. And it was lots better because my way of approaching the sound has changed. The new Spock's Beard, and little of that you could hear an FE already, are more an AOR-Stadion-Band in the most positive sense.

I'm an old progger but I've to confess that the new songs and sounds fit perfectly. Now the metamorphosis is done, FE just was a state of searching the way. A state I didn't like very well, the best songs there for me have been "omnapoteia" (or so.. ), "the bottom line" and "Feel euphoria".

After all I think that they do the right thing, because they're creating something new. If you mention the last (nevertheless good) SB CDs, there haven't been any new ideas or sounds, even Neal does with his band nearly the same he did as a Beard. I know the band from the very beginning, so for example I was glad about some new songs like "I'm the guy" from the "snow"-Album (that, by the way, for me is a really great one; nevertheless I like best "The light").
So, in conclusion, we have the old Spock's Beard in personam Neal himself and a new band called "Spock's Beard"!

Just my 2cents.

 

[Petrucci914]

I personally think that Neal is just a monster and is a prog-instrumentalist in the purest form. Lyrically he wasn't that great. I think the band is better off without him because now they actually get to show their real talent instead of being told what to do again (Neal is the Billy Corgan of Prog). I liked "The Ghost of Autumn", "Bottom line", and "A guy Named Sid" on FE but other than that it was a weird transition phase.

I do have to say that I'm digging this new cd a lot. I love Nick's vocals because they are so pure. Neal's were always hoarse but nonetheless had their own style. I think the new stuff is more classic rock with a twist of Prog. I don't really care for "surfing down the avalanche" because I find some of their high-energy rock stuff annoying. Their atmospheric and melodic stuff is just awesome. I wish Ryo would have been a bit more prevalent, though.

So, the bottom line is (no pun intended) I think it is the best cd I've heard within the last year and