Melodic Rock Band Odin's Court Releases Sixth Studio Album Turtles All The Way Down: Vol II

Progressive Rock and Metal for fans of Pink Floyd, Dream Theater, Devin Townsend, Porcupine Tree, HIM, Iron Maiden, Journey, and Queen

Baltimore, MD, USA based progressive rock and metal band Odin’s Court are excited to announce Turtles All the Way Down: Vol. II is available as of 2018 January 5 through Melodic Revolution Records!

Turtles All the Way Down: Vol II is a continuation of Odin’s Court’s 2013 concept album Turtles All the Way Down. Turtles All the Way Down explores deep issues about mankind’s understanding of the universe, the individual, and how each new discovery may challenge what we think we understand about our surroundings.

Brookins comments on the latest release: “This album takes it up a notch from where Dimetrius, Rick, and I left off with the previous album. I think Turtles II has our best material and production yet. I know artists often say these types of things when talking about a new release, but I think Gary Raub’s drum style adds a nice vibe to the sound we previously established. We also went for some ‘epic’ sounding choruses on this one with layered choirs, which are nicely supplemented by the beautiful voice of Michelle Loose Schrotz (of mid-Atlantic based band Brave). I think this album also has a big, ambient, and dense sound, but even with that big sound, we still maintain focus on ‘the song’ because that’s what it’s all about – the messages and emotions that music attempts to deliver.”

The new album features 8 tracks of melodic hard rock, prog, and metal, including an epic piece that is over 20 minutes long with full orchestration.

Track Listing:
 1. A Brief History of Time
 2. Will I See you Again?
 3. Unmoved Mover
 4. Killing Curiosity
 5. Event Horizon
 6. Infinite Regression
 7. The Burning Tides of Time
 8. My Final Journey

To purchase Odin's Court Turtles All the Way Down: Vol II:
CD Baby: bit.ly/2CMoady
MRR Bandcamp: bit.ly/2kcgskr
Odin’s Court Bandcamp: bit.ly/2zF9NSE
iTunes: apple.co/2CYC9d0
Amazon USA: amzn.to/2Axzzb6
Amazon Japan: amzn.to/2CJJlgt
Amazon UK: amzn.to/2CFKTY5

Odin's Court:
Matt Brookins – Guitar, Vocals, Keyboard, and (Studio) Bass
Rick Pierpont – Guitar & Backing Vocals
Dimetrius LaFavors – Vocals
Gary Raub – Drums, Percussion, and Backing Vocals
Jason Pierpont – (Live) Bass Guitar

Official Sites:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/odinscourtband
YouTube: www.youtube.com/odinscourt
MRR Artist Profile: http://mrrmusic.com/odins-court/

Press inquiries: 
Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com
Melodic Revolution Records, Info@melodicrevolutionrecords.com

Contemporary Instrumental/Classical Review: Vicente Avella-Rising

Release Date: April 4, 2018

Label: Pandora’s Boombox Records

Website

There are two facts about music that I am absolutely sure about. Without classical music there would be no other genres and all rock music is blues based (good music). 

So, for several years now I have been listening to all sorts of instrumental music with a new age and classical flavor. This exposure has given me a much stronger appreciation of classical music. I have always enjoyed new age back to the days when Will Ackerman’s Windham Hill label was breaking new artists.

So far, this year has been amazing. I have heard several brilliant releases already and those that are very emotionally moving and cinematic. That is where the upcoming Vicente Avella release Rising falls.

Piano is the main instrument that everything builds on. Vicente is very focused and precise with his presentation. The piano leads beautifully in every track. The tracks that have a real impact are several however I believe the title track and “Relentless” befit their titles. That is the most interesting element of instrumental like this, it does not lull you to sleep, it invigorates you, helps you to center and reflect. It is like you are the canvas and the music will then transform into the artist that paints your portrait. It is designed for each individual listener. I realize this is a point I have made several times in my reviews but I feel it so strongly. Especially when I feel so energized and inspired by the music I hear and Rising is no exception to this rule.

This is an extremely prolific release that should garner a lot of attention in the entertainment community. It seems as though the film industry has a lot of great music they can contract to use in their productions and Rising would be a superb choice.

For Vicente Avella Rising is a marvelous accomplishment and he should be very proud to release it. It is a shame there is such a wait for its debut in April. Just keep in mind that time really does fly by if you have a busy life, then before you know it Rising will be in your hands.

There is not one thing I would change about this recording so I cannot see how it could possibly be any better. Musical perfection is difficult to attain but I would have to say this is as close to perfection as it gets from a musical standpoint. Make sure you do not pass up this recording if you enjoy instrumental music with a contemporary classical new age flair and excitement.

5/5 Stars

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

January 14, 2018

Founder of:

MuzikMan Productions

MuzikMan Reviews

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Tracks:

01. Yours
02. For Always
03. Rising
04. Daybreak
05. Relentless
06. Everything
07. I’m OK
08. Turning Point
09. Looking Up At The Sky
10. Beyond
11. Turning Off The Noise

Classic Rock/Progressive Rock Review: Styx-Pieces of Eight-SACD Ltd. Numbered Ed.

Release Date: September 29, 2017

Label: Audio Fidelity

Website

Styx has always been one of my favorite bands, they still are and always will be. So, what is it like to be a lifetime fan of a band and you are still listening to their music? It holds some meaning for folks like myself. The music never sounds old or outdated and you are not expecting anything different…well sometimes it does happen. 

Consider this point, what is like for a music fan to hear the music they have been listening to for the last 30 to 40 years and suddenly it all sounds crisper, brighter, and clearer than ever before? Well, I can tell you it can be a revelatory experience to hear this music in the SACD format. 

The SACD release by Audio Fidelity last September of Pieces of Eight rocks and I heard things I have never heard before. This is what this format is intended to accomplish. I am here to tell you the job was well done (again) by Audio Fidelity. I am little late to the party but nevertheless I am reporting in to all of the respective lifetime rockers and audiophiles.

Pieces of Eight was a multiplatinum release and with good reason. The music offered radio friendly rock at the time and it was also a nod to the progressive elements of the band. The prog sounds came through loud and clear for this listener, however when I first heard it as a teenager I thought it just rocked. Which it did and still does, I just became older and more educated somewhere along the way.

Pieces of Eight is a very strong release right up there with the high echelon of prog rock releases like Grand Illusion but it rocked a bit harder. So, dare I say more metal this time around? It is there, all of it in its raging glory - rock, metal and prog. Anyone that liked to crank up the tunes can appreciate all of those genres coming together in an explosion of sound. 

That felt good to get all that off my chest and let y’all know how I really feel about this music. So, get yourself a copy before they run out again, even if you have all the other formats, you need to hear this SACD!

5/5 Stars

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

January 11, 2018

Founder of:

MuzikMan Productions

MuzikMan Reviews

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Tracks: 
01. Great White Hope
02. I'm O.K.
03. Sing for the Day
04. The Message
05. Lords of the Ring
06. Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)
07. Queen of Spades
08. Renegade
09. Pieces of Eight
10. Aku-Aku

Prog Ensemble Tautologic Releases Re:Psychle An Album of Songs About Chicago

Chicago, IL - Tautologic will release Re:Psychle, a CD of songs inspired by real-life Chicagoans. Beginning in early 2018, Re:Psychle will be available through the band's own label - Turtle Down Music (http://www.turtledown.com) - and at Tautologic's live performances. The album will also be available as a download from Bandcamp, CDBaby, iTunes, and Amazon.

Based in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, Tautologic bandleader Ethan Sellers is an alumni of the University of Chicago. Written within blocks of the University and the Obama mansion, Sellers' songs for Re:Psychle document people he has met around the Chicago area.

Addiction and mental illness color many of their stories, and the lyrics open up windows on a host of topics - veterans' issues, tension between religious belief and a secular society, addiction, conspiracy theories, materialism, mental health, celebrity culture, and the need for re-connection with nature.

Says Ethan, “Re:Psychle is a multi-layered title. It's obviously a pun on 'recycle,' which is sort of a cheeky reference to the fact that the album took so long to come out that it might seem like we were recycling old material. 'Re:' also means 'about' - and it's about 'psychle,' which is a portmanteau of 'Psych' (from the Greek for breath, spirit, or soul, with modern connotations from the field of psychology) and cycle, both in the sense of things that repeat and the mode of transportation. Indeed, two songs on the album revolve around bicycles, including 'The Choirboy,' about an acquaintance who was convicted of robbing 10 banks in 7 states, using only a bicycle as his getaway vehicle.

“In the end, 'Re:Psychle' is about problems of the spirit that keep coming back.

“My goal with these songs was not to present a parade of local oddities, but to use real people's struggles to highlight issues with wider resonance.”

U.S. and European reviewers have compared Tautologic's songs to Genesis, Gentle Giant, Beatles, and Fairport Convention - and Re:Psychle will no doubt expand upon that impressive list of comparisons. In addition to Tautologic's potent 6-piece lineup, Sellers's arrangements for strings and woodwinds add musical color. Special guests include members of Grammy award-winning chamber group Eighth Blackbird and Grammy-nominated acid jazz band Liquid Soul.

Sellers engineered the recording at his own studio space in Hyde Park (Chicago, IL), with additional tracking taking place at Rax Trax Recording in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. The album was mixed in 2006 by Grammy-nominated producer Rick Barnes at Rax Trax and mastered in 2017 by Grammy-nominated engineer Randy LeRoy at Airshow Mastering. For the 11 years in between, Sellers postponed the album's release while starting a family and weathering the Recession as a professional musician, but the band continued to perform.

Jim DeRogatis of NPR's Sound Opinions radio show calls Tautologic's music “an impressively ambitious example of virtuosic musicianship and deft arrangements navigating myriad sounds and styles without ever losing that essential melodic thread or propulsive rock drive.”

In support of the band's new release, Tautologic will play several shows before heading back into the studio. They have a follow-up that's about 80% recorded.

Sellers concludes, “We seem to be at a turning point - politically, socially, economically, culturally, and economically. The price of repeating the same mistakes (recycling them, as it were) is getting very high. People who struggle at the margins are often 'canaries in the coal mine' - they can tell us how the everyday toxicity of modern life hurts the most sensitive of us. It's up to us as a society to listen to their stories - not simply dismiss them for their foibles - and work to make a liveable world for everyone.”

Purchase direct from Turtle Down Music: http://turtledown.com
Band site: http://www.tautologic.com
Album info, lyrics, credits, back-story, videos, etc.: http://repsychle.tautologic.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tautologic
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/tautologic/playlists

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

Prog Ensemble Tautologic Releases Re:Psychle An Album of Songs About Chicago

Chicago, IL - Tautologic will release Re:Psychle, a CD of songs inspired by real-life Chicagoans. Beginning in early 2018, Re:Psychle will be available through the band's own label - Turtle Down Music (http://www.turtledown.com) - and at Tautologic's live performances. The album will also be available as a download from Bandcamp, CDBaby, iTunes, and Amazon.

Based in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, Tautologic bandleader Ethan Sellers is an alumni of the University of Chicago. Written within blocks of the University and the Obama mansion, Sellers' songs for Re:Psychle document people he has met around the Chicago area.

Addiction and mental illness color many of their stories, and the lyrics open up windows on a host of topics - veterans' issues, tension between religious belief and a secular society, addiction, conspiracy theories, materialism, mental health, celebrity culture, and the need for re-connection with nature.

Says Ethan, “Re:Psychle is a multi-layered title. It's obviously a pun on 'recycle,' which is sort of a cheeky reference to the fact that the album took so long to come out that it might seem like we were recycling old material. 'Re:' also means 'about' - and it's about 'psychle,' which is a portmanteau of 'Psych' (from the Greek for breath, spirit, or soul, with modern connotations from the field of psychology) and cycle, both in the sense of things that repeat and the mode of transportation. Indeed, two songs on the album revolve around bicycles, including 'The Choirboy,' about an acquaintance who was convicted of robbing 10 banks in 7 states, using only a bicycle as his getaway vehicle.

“In the end, 'Re:Psychle' is about problems of the spirit that keep coming back.

“My goal with these songs was not to present a parade of local oddities, but to use real people's struggles to highlight issues with wider resonance.”

U.S. and European reviewers have compared Tautologic's songs to Genesis, Gentle Giant, Beatles, and Fairport Convention - and Re:Psychle will no doubt expand upon that impressive list of comparisons. In addition to Tautologic's potent 6-piece lineup, Sellers's arrangements for strings and woodwinds add musical color. Special guests include members of Grammy award-winning chamber group Eighth Blackbird and Grammy-nominated acid jazz band Liquid Soul.

Sellers engineered the recording at his own studio space in Hyde Park (Chicago, IL), with additional tracking taking place at Rax Trax Recording in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. The album was mixed in 2006 by Grammy-nominated producer Rick Barnes at Rax Trax and mastered in 2017 by Grammy-nominated engineer Randy LeRoy at Airshow Mastering. For the 11 years in between, Sellers postponed the album's release while starting a family and weathering the Recession as a professional musician, but the band continued to perform.

Jim DeRogatis of NPR's Sound Opinions radio show calls Tautologic's music “an impressively ambitious example of virtuosic musicianship and deft arrangements navigating myriad sounds and styles without ever losing that essential melodic thread or propulsive rock drive.”

In support of the band's new release, Tautologic will play several shows before heading back into the studio. They have a follow-up that's about 80% recorded.

Sellers concludes, “We seem to be at a turning point - politically, socially, economically, culturally, and economically. The price of repeating the same mistakes (recycling them, as it were) is getting very high. People who struggle at the margins are often 'canaries in the coal mine' - they can tell us how the everyday toxicity of modern life hurts the most sensitive of us. It's up to us as a society to listen to their stories - not simply dismiss them for their foibles - and work to make a liveable world for everyone.”

Purchase direct from Turtle Down Music: http://turtledown.com
Band site: http://www.tautologic.com
Album info, lyrics, credits, back-story, videos, etc.: http://repsychle.tautologic.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tautologic
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/tautologic/playlists

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com