Issue 2025-064

Flying Circus — The Eternal Moment

Jan Buddenberg

Way back in 2010, when Flying Circus released their Back and Forth album, the band celebrated their 20th anniversary. While this already commendable achievement slowly sinks in, I have to confess that it took me another 14 years before I finally got acquainted with them. This happened when they played their "Doppeldeckertour" together with Chandelier at Kontakt Erfttal, Neuss, on the 9th of November 2024. A moment in time I'll never forget thanks to the surprising musical pairing, Grobschnitt's Wie Der Wind cover by Chandelier, and the concluding version of Carpet Crawlers (Genesis) performed by Flying Circus alongside three members of Chandelier.

While Chandelier mainly operates within the neo-progressive genre, Flying Circus offers an energetic amalgamation of 70s inspired hard rock, progressive rock and retro-classic rock, which is why I didn't fully connect to Flying Circus' music on the night itself. This is, however, a completely different affair for the exciting The Eternal Moment that conceptually addresses challenging questions about the human condition; meaning, time, and impermanence. This outstanding album resonates with my unbridled love for classic 70s (prog)-rock that meets the likes of Deep Purple, Pavlov's Dog, The Flock, Led Zeppelin, Gentle Giant, Kansas, and Queen.

Recorded at the famous Dieter Dierks studios with members Michael Dorp (lead-, backing vocals), Rüdiger Blömer (keyboards, violin), Roger Weitz (bass, mandolin), Michael Rick (guitar, vocals), and Ande Roderigo (drums, percussion, vocals) all playing at once just like in those treasured times of old. The magnificent opener A Talk With The Dead manages to grab full attention, thanks to a grand imposing opening sequence. In a compelling combination of epic guitar and spooky church organ, this makes the horrors of the Addams Family come alive. A delightful flowing array of playful jazzy arrangements shortly reminds me of the Italian Caravaggio, surprising twists and meticulous chemistry spurred on by violin outbursts start to spiritedly speak with fiery Kansas meets Flock phrasings.

Green follows colourful suit with pop structures and uplifting melodies that showcase subtle arrangements and unbridled surprising creativity. Touching some jazz and groovy melodic guitar-driven rock, complemented by frivolous moments of piano and Moog, recalls both Queen and Damian Wilson solo efforts. The latter is also coming into view in the melodic hard-rock composition A Sweet Thing Called Desire, thanks to a resemblance that Dorp's strong voice shares. The song is too bluesy for progressive rock and too progressive for blues.

Over the next three songs, they throw in all sorts of musical surprises. Pilikua Akahai, Hawaiian words that Google directly translates to "Gentle Giant", results in a beautiful classical-inspired instrumental that recalls the stunning musicality of Gentle Giant. The highly animated What Remains yields temperamental hard rock formulated with fiercely rocking violin, shredding guitar, and fast "Down The Road" rolling melodies inthe finest Kansas tradition. Dorp's voice has a Dio qualitu here. The quiet and peaceful And You Rest gives way to melancholic emotional romantics of violin and wonderful classical guitar that should find no problem being aired on Classic FM, BBC Radio 3, and other radio stations playing classical music.

After this astonishing intermission, Flying Circus are back to business. The sound Movie Moments is strongly influenced by Led Zeppelin and displays a beautiful build-up to increasingly complex layers. Moments of scenic suspense and reassuring relief are beautifully complementing each other. A foray includes psychedelic elements and slow-sliding melodies, underscored by excellent bluesy guitar licks. The stunning The Time Machine is arranged with epic grandeur of classic rock, and masterful interplay elevated by a magnificent vocal performance, that rounds off the concept full circle. Outstanding progressive complex structures and moody developments gradually shift from breezy brightness to ominous darkness as the haunting church organ returns. And there is the bonus track The Dancing Stone, only to be found on the artfully packaged CD, that expands playing time with six minutes of formidable steamy prog-rock crafted with rich keyboard arrangements, and groovy dynamics. Next to Led Zeppelin, at selected times ot also brings Yes to mind.

To conclude, if Flying Circus is a band you've never heard of before, then The Eternal Moment definitely is the perfect moment to become acquainted. Consistently high in terms of adventurous songsmithery and performance, in some parts even impressively exquisite (The Time Machine!), this recommended album offers plenty of pleasant listening for 70s-loving progressive rock enthusiasts.

At the moment of writing, Flying Circus have a Facebook promo campaign going that for a limited time gives newbies outside Germany the opportunity to discover the band through their On Tour live-album for just a small fee to cover shipping. Any donation is welcomed, obviously. They have even opened up a secret gateway that grants step-by-step access to 10 free songs in high quality (WAV, MP3, FLAC), digital artwork and lyrics, and some special insights. Seize the moment, sign up, Google translate, and thank me later!

Hadal Sherpa — Void Weaver

Jerry van Kooten

I usually do a little research when reviewing an album, and I've never been saddened by doing so until now. The main man of the band Hadal Sherpa, guitarist Vesa Pasanen, passed away two months after the release of this album. Except for some unreleased material that might find its way to the public later, this will be the last Hadal Sherpa album ever. I just got to know them, but the album got to me so much I actually feel sad. The only thing I can do is tell you what this album and this band is about.

Hadal Sharpa play instrumental psychedelic prog. Well, there are some vocals, but they are wordless. The compositions are important, with not too much jamming. On record that is, I don't know what the band sounded like when on stage. Most of the tracks probably originated from jams, but sound like they were constructed carefully after that.

The first two tracks have a vibe that reminds me of Hawkwind's Hassan-I-Sahba, not the least because of the eastern-sounding melodies. The middle-Eastern flavour is present throughout the album, but these first two tracks take the largest part.

Farum Azul is my favourite track here. Every song is strong, but on this one, all the things I like in space rock are coming together. The groovy first half, the dreamy flute, the heavy break into the second half where the keyboards take over the flute to make it all sound epic. Excellently entertaining!

The longest track shows some jamming, but the melodic part of the composition is never left completely. It's a lot of variation on a theme. The multi-layered tracks prove to be a great aural experience for prog fans as well.

For a psychedelic album, the mix and production are surprisingly clear. No distortion on the overall sound, the individual instruments are audible everywhere. It's mostly the arrangements that make the sound as full as you would need for a good spacy session.

This is Hadal Sherpa's second album, 8 years after their eponymous debut . Vesa Pasanen was more active than just Hadal Sherpa, and for his musical styles going into different directions, he used different band names — very useful. Summon the Giant sound a bit more dreamy and spacey. Foliohattu is a more electronic kind of space-rock. He also produced albums by other bands, mostly on the electronic side.

It's sad when good musicians pass away. Let's see if there is anything in the vault, and keep on listening to what is out there.

Led Bib — Hotel Pupik

Owen Davies

A cluster of instruments menacingly prowls and proclaims that the music is unusual, challenging, progressive and unique. They identify themselves boldly with haunting saxophone blasts, a prominent drum kit full of rhythmic mystery, and the low-end gravitas of a buoyant bass line.

Led Bib are certainly in residence at Hotel Pupik.

Individually and in unison, the players combine to bellow out an invitation to linger awhile. Their hotel is a place that has no thought for "quiet please", "residents only", or "do not disturb" signs. Instead, a well-lit neon sign lights up its interesting pathways and corridors. It simply says "'welcome; hope you appreciate the music and enjoy your stay'".

At Hotel Pupik, Led Bib endeavour to fashion a stimulating experience by ensuring listeners are left guessing and feeling engaged. They successfully do this with a combination of passages that offer fleeting moments of reflection. These introspective tints contrast with longer interludes of lung-bursting saxophone-led exuberance and invention. Reedy strident interjections overlay several of the slower paced tunes.

Consequently, Led Bib offer guests a chance to experience a colourful concoction and varied range of intriguing sounds. The canvas they visualise is modern, abstract even; yet it rewards close attention. It cleverly draws the senses towards it.

The album begins with an insistent drum beat and the sound of an expansively puffed low-toned sax. It breaks the silence like a resonant fog horn penetrating the dense grey mist and squally sea of an Autumnal morning. As the tune develops it balances a fine line between the avant squeals of free-influenced jazz and something that has a recognisable form. In this respect, Iron Ore is arguably one of the more structured pieces on the album.

In many ways, it is this balance between form/structure and Avant and what is improvised and what is composed and what is discordant and what is melodic that makes this album so fascinating and ultimately so utterly rewarding. This tension and balance is particularly apparent in the album's title track. Its length enables many of these facets and seemingly diverse attributes to be successfully explored.

The title of the tune Dawn Chorus might conjure up images of Wrens and Robins warbling in sunlit harmony and melodic unison. However, Led Bib's take on this is rather different.

Although field sounds of birds can be discerned, the saxes, drums and the full-bodied bass create an unsettling ambience. The sound that calls out as the dawn sun peeps over the horizon inspires the imagination to visualise a stonking group of larger billed bird's with a deep-throat honking call.

Several of the tunes such as, Transient Weaving and Pure O emerge and evolve slowly. Transient Weaving has a recurring motif underpinned by some fine kit work. Pure O concludes with a squealing sax section and the rich sounds of a slow-paced bass.

A Tin Teardrop has many different phases and is probably my favourite piece. The tension between melody and dissonance is finely balanced. I particularly enjoyed how its muscular parts resolved into a gentler and more melodic piece with memory capturing qualities.

The last piece of the release has an appropriate title and is a fine way to conclude this fascinating album.

As the experience ended and I left the hotel, I could not help but notice the sign at the gates which read "Till Next Time, visit again soon". I certainly will, and next time I might even bring a friend!

Squeaky Feet — Overview Effect

Mark Hughes

Being quite the fan of so-called "jam bands", I was surprised never to have come across Squeaky Feet, a band formed in 2019 by a trio of Berklee College of Music alumni, although the origins go back three years earlier. Kevin D'Angelo (drums), Colin Shore (guitars, vocals) and Greg King (guitars) ended up sharing a house in Massachusetts after graduation began jamming together and forming a musical rapport. The trio relocated to Denver, although not simultaneously, where they eventually teamed up with Jimmy Finnegan (bass) and Brian Keller (keyboards, saxophone, flute) setting off on their first tour and quickly self-releasing a three-track EP in 2020. A debut album followed in 2023 containing re-recorded albeit essentially similar versions of two of the tracks from the EP which either show a strong faith in their material or a slow rate of original composition.

Although two albums in six years is hardly a rapid work rate for a full-time band that has minimal international recognition, it is in the live arena where the band have made their mark. Unbelievably, they have approximately 150 live concerts on their bandcamp page dating from January 2020 up to October 2025 which will no doubt increase after the forthcoming November and December dates. What is more, they all seem to be available on a "name your price" basis.

A quick perusal at some of these concerts shows that the reason for so many concerts being available for purchase is because the level of improvisation at each show is immense. Tracks routinely break the 10- and 20-minute barrier with some lasting up to half an hour. A quick look at the track listing of this new album shows that only twice do the core songs approach or breach the 10-minute barrier, which was also the case on their debut album Cause For Alarm. So in that respect, the studio albums may not be the best representation of the draw of the band.

This is often the case with jam bands: the granddaddy of them all, The Grateful Dead are notorious for releasing studio albums that are pale imitations of what the group delivered on stage, and indeed some that can rightly be considered to be pretty lame.

However, there is nothing lame about Overview Effect which takes its name from the phenomena that astronauts experience on viewing the earth from space. The group take their studio recordings very seriously and are happy to polarise people into those who prefer the more succinct and structured approach of their albums to the wilder more anything goes approach to their live shows, or vice versa, although obviously want everyone to be able to enjoy both aspects equally.

There is only one instrumental on the new album, the nine-minute Tooth And Nail and it bears the most resemblance to an improvised piece yet maintaining a strong prog edge with some scorching guitar work in the middle. There is something rather Umphrey's McGee-like in Common Ground which makes it particularly endearing to me, particularly as it is a wonderful piece of writing and performance. There are a lot of lyrical segments to the album and Shore has a likeable and relatively strong voice which is sometimes perhaps not as prominent as it could be, the epic title track being a case in point.

However, it is this song that will no doubt draw the attention of prog aficionados, and they will not be disappointed. It is a heavy track, D'Angelo's kid thundering makes me tired just listening to it, goodness knows how he manages to survive full on concerts. There are a lot of guitars, but there are also moments of relief and release. The repeated refrain of "everything returns to nothing" may not be the most upbeat of messages but entirely suits the song.

Seriously, I would have bought this album on the strength of the title track alone. The fact that the other 39 minutes are just as enjoyable with plenty of highlights and variety is just a bonus. Well worth checking out as I will be, all 150 concerts worth!!

Barend Tromp — Odd Time Concepts

Jerry Kranitz

Barend Tromp is a Dutch multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, sitar (he studied in India) and synths, but his primary instrument is bass. He even authored a two-volume instructional series, 'Next Level Slap Bass'. Scrolling Barend's Facebook page I saw some videos he posted of him playing bass leads that I otherwise would have assumed was guitar. Odd Time Concepts, released on Trey Gunn's 7D Media label, is Barend's third album and my introduction to his music. The title refers to each of the album's tracks exploring a unique time signature (how do you like that Progheads!). Barend plays fretted and fretless basses, fretted and fretless guitars, sitar and synths. Pat Mastelotto (King Crimson, Stick Men) is one of four drummers on the album, and Trey Gunn contributes Warr guitar to one track.

After a brief hypnotic bass intro, opening track Sitharsis launches into a rocking raga that alternates between sitar, trippy jazz guitar licks, and what I believe can be referred to as Barend's signature slap bass. Sitar has such a beautifully distinctive sound, and I don't believe I've heard one played in this kind of grooving prog-jazz context. I love how the music flows seamlessly despite the multiple thematic shifts. It's compositionally complex, yet nothing shifts abruptly.

Imagine a funkier, jazzier King Crimson, and you might get something like Gamelan Sepuluh. We've got guitar blasts that remind me of Andy Summers or Fripp-styled guitar passages, and varied layers of bass. It sounds like a 5 or 6 piece ensemble yet other than the drums this is all Barend. Life Path features spacey jazz guitar or bass against a lightly metallic rocking foundation. Barend injects multiple leads into the mix, with a lyrical style that makes it a luscious cauldron of instrumental proficiency, melody and sound.

The appropriately titled Heavy Slap is another fusion of funk, jazz and King Crimson, with guitar or bass that includes low-end slap, soaring leads, and an acidic edge. Madhuvanti is busily introspective, with an electronic feel to the bass and drum groove, a brief metallic sequence, and subtly fiery guitar/bass interplay. Trey Gunn contributes Warr guitar to this track, but I couldn't distinguish it from Barend's parts. There really are that many components.

Baritone War is the most intense track yet, being part jazz, part symphonic, a bit math rock, and has an ambient yet hard rocking quality. It constantly shifts while retaining the flow that characterizes the set as a whole. Chromatron (Parts 1-3) consists of prog-jazz with kinetic rhythms and a space-ambient aura. Thirteen is a total prog-funk-jazz fest with intricately lyrical leads. I love the tribal grooves and blend of jazz-fusion and King Crimson on Access To The Sixth Dimension. Pandrah Ka Yantra is a heavy prog-jazz-funk rocker with a caustic edge. There's even what sounds like a jazz-sitar bit. And Chromatron (Parts 4-5) is a short head-spinning finale that wraps up the set.

In summary, what held my attention most on this album was the multiple bass and guitar components that all interact to create a compositionally intricate yet seamlessly flowing set. Listeners can groove along and enjoy the album on its surface merits or give it a dedicated headphones spin and marvel at the creatively executed combination of composition and instrumental proficiency. If the idea of a 70s jazz-fusion and funk brand of King Crimson gets your attention, then check out Barend Tromp.

Zabrahana — Whales Dream In Purple

Martin Burns

From Thessaloniki, Zabrahana (styled relentlessly in lower-case) have released Whales Dream In Purple, their first EP. Their motto is "Embrace the Enigma", and as such no information is available on the band other than they formed in 2023. Zabrahana appear, from performance photos, to be a four piece (vocals, guitar, drums and bass). From the evidence of this release, they are a female fronted progressive rock band with a metal edge. They name a number of influences including Porcupine Tree, Karnivool, Pain Of Salvation, Opeth, Riverside and Leprous and more classic acts as well. All of which they have absorbed and now produce their own kind of prog-metal with some symphonic metal twists and turns.

The production, arrangements, songs and musicianship are engaging with strong vocals, sung throughout in very lightly accented English. The lyrical content takes a sly look at the darker side of humanity.

With each of these four relatively, in prog terms, short songs have a lot going on in them. The opener Water has sprite riffs and breathless vocals as it barrels on with a restless energetic bass and drums. There is a break for a short slide guitar solo as the volume drops and the power returns. Zabrahana pack a lot into four and a half minutes. Snakes immediately forces its way out of the speakers, and when the vocals join the riffs change into huge chords, later there is a short guitar solo under these large chords.

A short keyboard section introduces Perfect with fast, tapping percussion and more splendid riffs. The final track Whales has some clever and subtle drumming, at first blisteringly heavy out of the gate then later employing just the range of toms and then moving onto the snare drum. Plenty of dynamic and tempo changes amidst the fine singing and heavy riffing.

Zebrahana's Whales Dream In Purple EP is a tight, arresting release, and they have set the bar high for any follow-up. Embrace the enigma indeed.