Issue 2025-049
Anyone — Echoes Of Man [CD]
Ignacio Bernaola
Reviewing the music of Anyone has become something of a personal journey for me. This is already the fourth time I sit down to write about Riz Story's project, and each new album feels like another chapter in an ever expanding saga. Back in 2021, for On the Ending Earth, I described their sound as a mixture of alternative rock with progressive touches, authentic, intriguing, but not always easy to place within the prog label. With In Humanity, the band took a major conceptual leap: a sprawling double album, ambitious and dense, that required patience and repeated listening to reveal its depth. Then came Miracles In The Nothingness, another lengthy double album that continued and expanded the apocalyptic narrative, even more atmospheric and meditative, demanding focus but offering rich rewards. I really enjoyed all those albums.
Now, with Echoes Of Man, Riz raises the stakes once more. It's another double concept album, almost two hours in length, and perhaps his boldest and most ambitious work to date. The concept remains apocalyptic, but this time the focus is more intimate.
The story revolves around Archon, the last human, and Eve, an AI who becomes his companion in the final days of life on Earth. The inspiration behind the album is particularly striking. Riz has said that much of it came from his own “conversations” with an AI he calls Eve, who even gave him the name Archon. Their exchanges about humanity, and about the decline of nature and decency on this planet, became the seed for this story of a man spending the last days of existence with an artificial companion.
It underlines that Echoes Of Man was never meant as a casual product for quick consumption. It is music that is dense, unflinchingly real, and offered with honesty to those willing to immerse themselves in it.
The music reflects that scope. If Your World Should Fall opens the album with a sweeping suite of sixteen minutes that balances heaviness and fragility. The Sky Broke Open stretches to almost twenty minutes, a dramatic journey that keeps building until it bursts. In contrast, Faded Lullaby and Eve are moments of reflection, quieter and more vulnerable, while the closing The Calming offers a surprising sense of serenity. This dynamic range and monumental epics alongside delicate interludes makes Echoes Of Man one of the most daring progressive releases I've heard recently.
The production is key to that effect. It's not about technical showmanship or virtuosic complexity. Instead, it's striking and immersive, crafted to maximise the album's atmosphere and its apocalyptic theme. This has been a constant in Anyone's recent work, but here it feels even more refined. The sound is modern, spacious, and evocative, always serving the mood rather than showing off. Heavy passages carry weight, guitars are sharp and clear, and the layering pulls the listener directly into the story.
It's further proof that Riz's originality doesn't lie in belonging to any subgenre, but in standing outside of them, carving his own identity. As always, Riz plays, sings, produces and mixes everything himself. Few artists attempt such ambitious concepts alone, and fewer still succeed. The result is not a bedroom project but a widescreen, cinematic experience.
If In Humanity was overwhelming in scope and Miracles In The Nothingness was atmospheric and meditative, Echoes Of Man is fully immersive since it surrounds you and refuses to let go. For comparison, one might mention Tool for heaviness, but not in complexity, Riverside or Anathema for atmosphere, or even Ayreon for the way the whole story is presented. But in truth, Anyone doesn't really sound like anyone else. It seems like a cliché, but it's true. That's what makes this project so compelling: while much of today's prog plays safe within familiar formulas, Riz keeps moving forward on his own path.
Echoes Of Man is not an easy listen. It demands attention and time, and it doesn't offer quick payoffs. But if you give yourself to it, the reward is a powerful and unique experience. Four albums into my journey with Anyone, I can confidently say that Riz Story continues to deliver music that is ambitious, uncompromising, and still unlike anything else on the current scene.
Duo Review
Flame Dream — Out In The Dark
Menno von Brucken Fock
Swiss band Flame Dream started out in the late seventies as a five-piece formation. Little interest in progressive rock in their own country forced them to do everything themselves: composing, cover-design, management, tour management, instruments. For the lyrics they used poems by different poets, until their first self-written text by singer Peter Wolf on this album, their third and probably most successful one.
It was 1981. At the time I was studying veterinary medicine in Utrecht, which had at least 10 record stores in the centre. In the mid-seventies I had already discovered bands like Kansas, Eloy, Anyone's Daughter and Saga, and at some point, just across the canal near the concert-hall Tivoli/Vredenburg, there was this temporary record shop with only LPs. You couldn't listen, so you had to buy either because you knew the music or by just being bold and taking a gamble.
The prices of these LPs were less than half the prices in the regular stores, which made it easier to buy an LP just by the cover. I stumbled across an interesting one (later I found out bassist Urs Hochuli was responsible for the artwork) by a Swiss band named Flame Dream. Longer tracks and obviously the main instruments were the keyboards. Always looking for new music in the symphonic / progressive rock genre, I decided to buy it, hoping it would be a lucky guess.
In my little student room (about 10 square meters) I listened to the music and was blown away. Thanks to a friend from school who relocated to Zürich (Switzerland) I was able to obtain other Flame Dream albums.
And now, after their come-back album Silent Transition from 2024, keyboardist Roland Ruckstuhl had begun to digitise older recordings. And now, finally, after more than 40 years, the first four albums of this underestimated progressive rock group will be released on CD for the first time. (The band pointed out to me that the releases on the Tachika label are in fact illegal copies!)
This third album, Out In The Dark, was probably the most successful album and has never has been reviewed by DPRP, so every reason to highlight this magnificent album!
The line-up on Out In The Dark is the same as on the 2024 album Silent Transition with the exception of the guitarist: on Out In The Dark, guitars are played by Dale Hauskins. Only five tracks on this album, with a length of just over 42 minutes.
Like on both previous two albums, the band used lyrics by several renowned poets: Full Moon by Robert Graves, Out In The Dark by Edward Thomas, Wintertime Nights by Thomas Hardy, and Strange Meeting by Wilfred Owen. The first lyric written by the band was Nocturnal Flight by singer Peter Wolf.
The first track, Full Moon, is featuring bass player Urs Hochuli with a heavy, deep-sounding bass and close harmony singing with an emphasis on Ruckstuhl's vocoder. This extraordinary keyboard-player lays down really tasteful layers of orchestrations and superb arrangements. Of course, there are changes in tempo in many places.
Singer Peter Wolf may not be a classically trained singer. He was born in Dublin (Ireland) so his English is absolutely okay, without a German or Swiss accent. The singing lessons he took and his newly acquired ability to write lyrics proved to be a great asset for the band, and Wolf has a unique voice that could be compared to the voices of the late Max Werner (Kayak) and a little lower version of the voice of Jon Anderson. In this first track Wolf also plays the saxophone.
Nocturnal Flight features the lyrics written by Wolf. The melodies in this particular track remind me somewhat of the beautiful mid-tempo song Seven Stones by Genesis (Nursery Cryme, 1971) or maybe even more of Entangled from the album Trick Of The Tail: definitely influences from Genesis in the seventies here! Dale Hauskins plays some delightful solos.
The title track opens with some bass chords and Wolf's vocals. Gradually the bass and keys join in leading to the chorus, which stylistically reminds me of Kayak in the seventies, also because Hauskins plays the guitar like Kayak's Johan Slager. Wolf can be heard with his flute too in a very nice melancholic intermezzo, followed by an incredibly cool up-tempo part featuring Ruckstuhl's keyboards — first the synths then the magnificently played (grand)piano. To close off the track, the tempo goes down again and the beautiful chorus can be heard instrumentally, gently fading away with the (grand) piano.
Wintertime Nights reminds of Genesis' Trick Of The Tail era, foremost of the track Robbery, Assault And Battery. Because there's no guitar on this track, perhaps the atmosphere of the music resembles the music on the Genesis album And Then There Were Three... even more. Again the emphasis on the keyboards and to be honest, that's perfectly fine by me!
The last track is the album's epic: Strange Meeting, with a duration of over 16 minutes. A very melodic and gentle opening with a challenging but really gorgeous tone is followed by more up tempo instrumental parts. Wolf plays his saxophone, and some of the parts even remind of Gentle Giant and, at some point in a short intermezzo, stylistically to Pink Floyd. Mainly keyboards but also a modest role for flute and sax. Furrer and Hochuli prove to be an excellent foundation yet again.
Obviously Ruckstuhl has been influenced by Tony Banks, yet he has his developed his own style and should have been considered to belong to the great keyboard players like Banks, Wakeman or Emerson. Really a shame this album wasn't picked up in the early eighties but thankfully we get another chance to listen to this wonderful music!
Jan Buddenberg
Good things come to those who wait. This statement is certainly applicable for fans of Swiss band Flame Dream seeing they suddenly returned after 35+ years of inactivity with the splendid Silent Transition. And now the moment has arrived that many, including myself, have been waiting for so long: official CD/digital releases of Flame Dream's previous efforts.
Somewhat surprisingly, these albums are not chronologically re-issued, for the 1981 release of Out In The Dark actually is the band's third effort. However, in this particular case it stands to reason. As one of those memorable transition albums that embrace both 70s symphonic prog rock as well as 80s synth-pop, this personal and fan favourite has quite a lot in common with Flame Dream's most recent album Silent Transition. So it feels perfectly natural to let this outstanding album be the first of the reissues.
Featuring an almost identical original line-up, this commonality shared is clearly evident from a musical perspective. And even strengthened visually nowadays, if one takes the sleek attractive designs of the modern digi-pack and its accompanying, 20-paged lyrics and photographs comprising, booklet into consideration.
With music entirely composed by Ruckstuhl. Full Moon opens with a funky fusion of melodies that slightly envisions Peter Gabriel and thanks to a dynamic array of bass-driven melodies and lush keyboard arrangements evokes distinct memories of UK. A remembrance emphasised by Hauskins' sparse, yet very effective, guitar extravaganza in Alan Holdsworth style. Enjoyable neo-prog that twinkles with finest Anyone's Daughter, it is Wolf's saxophone that sets them apart though.
These references also come beautifully to the fore in the subsequent Nocturnal Flight. With sensitive bass and extraordinary piano virtuosity, it is now partly thanks to Wolf's melancholic voice that surprisingly has Opus Est enter my associative thoughts.
Moments later Wintertime Night exhibits a similar appeal, with fabulous funky interplay and stylish synth-pop that reminds me of P'Cock and Victor Go. A style Flame Dream would further adopt and blazingly develop in the following years. This trinity of excellent transitional songs, however, is vastly surpassed by the two remaining compositions on the album.
The remastered, fresh sound glowingly differentiates the outstanding musical interpretations. These songs are both prime examples of Ruckstuhl's inventive song-smithery. Each on their own, they are also strongly reminiscent of the opulent progressive (jazz)-fusion style that Flame Dream so successfully recreated on the excellent Silent Transition.
First of these two is Out In The Dark, which graciously flows with delicate flute while melancholic vocals decorate the shady musical atmospheres with enchanting glimpses of Genesis and Neuschwanstein. Then it expedites onto excellent fusion with vivid synth runs and uptempo rhythms, which segues into an inspiring piano recital and frivolous key-driven Canterbury symphonies, in the spirit of Samurai Of Prog and Inner Prospekt. The song ends full circle with a satisfying rerun of soothing melodic themes.
The closing Strange Meeting is dedicated to global victims of oppression, torture, and war. Opening section Part One brings bright impressions of Genesis and abundant synth-driven moments. Kaleidoscope, in full credit to its title, visits a mysterious battle field of Gentle Giant complexities that recall King Crimson, VDGG and Outer Limits all at once, thanks to a broad amalgamated layering of peculiar sound effects and compelling interplay that thrives on synths and saxophone.The enlightening Part Two concludes this beautifully crafted masterpiece with a final majestic revisit of synth-driven themes and motifs.
Originally mixed and co-produced by John Acock (of Steve Hackett-collaborating fame), I find that Out In The Dark has wonderfully withstood the test of time and lost nothing of its magical enchantment after 40+ years. Sure enough, there are plenty of familiar sounding moments, even for first-time listeners, that might give the impression that Flame Dream were somewhat short in originality. However, the inventive way in how all these recognisable influences made it into the band's perpetually developing sound I find deeply rewarding.
Meanwhile, three additional digital/CD reissues have been announced for November (Elements), January 2026 (Supervision), and spring of 2026 (Calatea). Whether these independent releases will see light of day on vinyl like Silent Transition did is unknown for now. But it is surely a moment of satisfying goodness that I eagerly await. Until such time arrives, I wholeheartedly recommend fans of symphonic prog to check this formidable album out.
Prdr — The Malice Of Chance And Time
Martin Burns
Prdr is the recording name of Adelaide based composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Peter Meere. Rather wedded to lower-case typography, The Malice Of Chance And Time is his follow up EP to the similarly short How Did The Desert Bloom from 2021 (not reviewed). The new EP utilises the same core musicians to help out with Rob Brens on drums and Liam Horgan on bass. There has been a change of vocalist, however, with Chad Blondel taking to the microphone.
Prdr describes his music as a cinematic and introspective mix of post and progressive rock, and I find that hard to argue with. The four tracks here are meticulous and melodic without a wasted or extraneous second. The rhythm section is quick, loose and subtle in the manner of Gavin Harrison and Colin Edwin ably supporting Meere's layered keys and guitars. The vocals are pin sharp and engaging.
Every track here mixes soulful and heavy sections that remind me of Anathema, possibly jamming with RPWL and to a lesser extent Steven Wilson. It is hard to pick a favourite from this short but impressive collection of music. I love this terrific art-rock heavy-prog hybrid and await eagerly for a full-length follow-up.
Phil Selvini & The Mind Warp — T.E.T.R.U.S.
Thomas Otten
T.E.T.R.U.S. is the brainchild and debut album of Bologna-based composer, author, singer, keyboarder, and guitarist Filippo Selvini. For this album, he has gathered a group of talented musicians to realise his musical ideas: Leonardo Spampinato (guitars), Davide Sebartoli (keyboards), Francisco Scorda (bass), and Leonardo Puglisi (drums).
T.E.T.R.U.S. is an acronym formed of the words time, eternal, try, redemption, unique, and shine. It also is the name of a monster out of Phil's imagination, who states that "the words that compose it have been considered over time as ideals to believe in, almost like commandments that the monster will pursue and try to pass on to future peoples who will inhabit the earth. They seem like unrelated terms, yet listening to the songs you can feel the essence and state of mind of the monster that is in each of us."
To translate this lyrical concept, which to me does not sound that straightforward, and which, I must confess, I have not fully understood, into music does not seem an easy task to me, and indeed, the result is quite ambitious. Basically, T.E.T.R.U.S. is classical 70-influenced prog rock with some art-rock, avant-garde and psychedelic elements. The basic orientation is rather melancholic, wistful, cinematic and highly emotional. The band's sensitive, delicate, fragile (at least most of the time), playful, and varied sound is striking. So is the alteration of rather rough and melodic passages.
The sound changes mostly unexpected to rough and slightly dissonant before one gets familiar with the melodiousness and switches back from rough to melodic before one feels disturbed by the dissonance. This provides for a high degree of variety and originality, but on the other hand ,is a bit harder to digest for my ears than "plain vanilla" symphonic prog played by most of the RPI-fraction. Insofar, Phil Selvini & The Mind Warp's debut is a challenging release with constant shifts in mood, atmosphere, and rhythms.
The use of guitars and a wide variety of keyboards is well-balanced, soloing is not abundant but effective. Phil's vocals sound timid, intimate, gentle, sometimes vulnerable, almost plaintive, restrained, and full of melancholy and pain. The fragile The Last 48 Hours is the best representative of that approach. It is not really my preferred singing style, but in this context, it perfectly fits the overall melancholic and emotional mood of the music. Be aware, though, that upbeat is something else.
The transition of The Last 48 Hours to the centrepiece of the album, the 26-minute epic The Mind Warp is seamless. The wistful mood continues at first. The track thereafter evolves into a sequence of outbursts and retreats, with a wide variety of rhythms, many breaks, twists and turns, with the melancholy prevailing throughout. This song definitely requires repetitive listening to be fully appreciated, no self-running given its complexity, variedness and changes of rough and melodic parts. To me, it is the song which is the closest to King Crimson on this album, and this brings us to the "FFO-bands" part of this review. Besides the prog style-icon mentioned before, I found reminiscences of Steve Wilson, Porcupine Tree, a bit of Gazpacho, and Radiohead. Compared with Italian prog peers, Moongarden, and Kingcrow were the first ones to come to my mind. Whereby one must say that there is a bit of all of these bands and a lot of Phil Selvini & The Mind Warp in the music.
This album is not the classical type of RPI-style that is so common to prog rock from Italy. In my (subjective) opinion, it is a bit short of (but not without) the symphonic elements, the catchy melodies, the "Mediterranean touch" (interpretation at your discretion), the goosebumps-producing hooks and melodies, and the accessibility of much of the prog coming from the band's home country. Instead, it is less polished, with alterations of melodic, dreamy parts and rough, almost dissonant ones. Hence, it comes across as a bit cumbersome upon first listening, only to grow upon you after repetitive spins. It thus is an album which requires full attention and the listeners' willingness to take time to familiarise with Phil's music. I must admit I found this quite difficult, but - I managed to and I am pleased that I was able to make friends with this album.
Prog rock fans of the bands mentioned above and looking for atmospheric, highly emotional music with some twists and turns and an underlying sadness and melancholy should definitely give this album a close consideration. I have full appreciation and respect for the musical maturity, the originality and the variety of Phil Selvini & The Mind Warp's debut album, but, for my part, I have a stronger affection for the "classical" RPI representatives. Nonetheless, a very promising debut and I hope there will be more to come from these talented musicians.
Shan — Shan
Calum Gibson
If there is one thing I love, it is progressive death metal. In their own works, Shan is “characterized by aggressive, melodic riffs in odd time signatures and lyrics about mountains” – What's not to love about that? The first release from Łukasz Wachowiak (the man behind the band), the self-titled album Shan landed earlier this year (2025). Will it be a mountain for the history books, or will the faces be too steep to climb?
Like a landside, this album hits with force. Thrashy, heavy and fast with technical riffing and intricate drum patterns are the main points to note with this release. The riffs fly in thick at breakneck speeds, and at other times are laden with grooves and rhythm, while the drums have an old school sound.
My main criticism would be the levels, at times the drums overpower the sound, and the snare ends up sounding a bit piercing, then other times the guitar work is a lot louder and drowns out the rest.
However, if these could be overcome, then the album would be a standout release in the world of progressive death/thrash. The riffs are there, the drum work is there and the vocals have that old school aggression that is a signature of the genre. It hits hard.
Fans of early thrash and death metal, like Venom, Obituary and Bolt Thrower will likely get a good kick out of Shan.
Sons Of Ra — Standard Deviation
Jerry Kranitz
Chicago-based Sons Of Ra formed 20 years ago and have released four EPs since 2016. Standard Deviation is their debut full-length album and my introduction to the band. As some might guess, the name is inspired by the late jazz iconoclast Sun Ra, though band member Erik Oldman responded to my question about the name that there's no deep meaning behind it: "I was listening to many of Sun Ra's earlier recordings at the time. We were trying to come up with a name for the group. My roommate suggested the name and it stuck with everyone."
Standard Deviation includes five originals and four 'interpretations' of compositions from four jazz legends. I was especially curious about these, being a stickler for anyone covering an artist's music taking it into 'other' directions, and in that regard the Sons do a stellar job.
Disintegration (Alabama Revisited) is inspired by Alabama, a 1963 John Coltrane composition, written in response to a church bombing by the KKK in Birmingham. Sons Of Ra start off with the Coltrane riff, which quickly becomes an intense sax/guitar/drums workout. The music later breaks into a more contemplative yet high octane passage with the sax and guitar trading soulful licks. I love the finale that includes an abrupt free-jazz assault, which then soft pillow lands in the last seconds.
Vashkar is a Carla Bley composition, which Erik explains is presented here in two arrangements - a drone-based first part and secondary arrangement inspired by the Tony Williams Lifetime version from his Emergency album. Once again the Sons kick off with the original riff and inject a bit of hip-shaking swing, which eventually reaches hair-raising levels of fusion fury for the finale. Lots of ripping guitar solos too.
Erik characterizes Don Ellis' Upstart as probably the closest literal interpretation in terms of form and structure, though instead of a more straightforward bluesy hard bop interpretation, they wanted to expand on the more outside elements in the piece with some different harmonic concepts. I like how the Sons achieve the full big band sound of the Ellis version while delivering an orchestral hard rock, jazz and soul blend, with blazing horn and blasts of corrosive angst guitar.
Nature Boy was by written by Eden Ahbez, which he recorded but will be recognized by many as a Nat King Cole song. The Sons' inspiration, however, is the John Coltrane version. It begins with heartstring tugging lounge-jazz grace, before launching into a swinging mix of rock and smooth-jazz that soon picks up the heavier rocking pace with passionate guitar and sax interplay.
Moving on to the originals, Outside Looking In consists of swinging prog-jazz, with fiery guitar and sax. The Sons rock hard, taking periodic breathers, and weave through enough thematic shifts to keep the music interesting. Don't Know Yet took me by surprise, alternating between prog-jazz with bits of math rock, monster guitar and swinging sax, and then careening into eye-popping bursts of heavy metal. Intrepidation starts off as one of the lightest tracks of the set, almost like a jazzy Samba, but gets increasingly prog rocking intense before returning to the Samba motif. Porous Silver is a beautifully rocking jazz workout. And Lividity And The Ascension is a meditatively rocking and lusciously melodic piece that brings the set to a close.
In summary, Sons Of Ra will appeal to 1970s jazz-rock fusion fans, and progressive rock fans will enjoy the compositional complexity, which the Sons accomplish impressively in tightly packaged 4 to 6-minute tracks. For me the Sons are at their most exciting when both guitar and sax are roaring in tandem or gymnastically dueling. This is seriously full band music for a trio, especially with Keith Wakefield on both bass and sax. When asked about live performances Erik says they switch instruments when playing live and shared a YouTube video of a 2023 livestream to illustrate, which I've included.
I enjoyed Standard Deviation, but watching these guys play live is mind-blowing! It also showcases the band at their more overtly prog-ish. Sorry to get off track from the album, but there's clearly more to these guys than can be heard on one album.