Tag: ritual

ritual - the story of mr. bodg
Vinyl

Ritual: The Story of Mr. Bodg, Pt. 1 (2024)

Hey, a progressive rock album that didn’t originate from Norway! But it seems I can’t escape the goodness coming out of Scandinavia because Ritual hail from Sweden, and The Story of Mr. Bodg, Pt.1 has been stewing and percolating for a while: it’s the band’s first album in 17 years, and the first half of an ambitious concept cycle. I came across the band due to the cross pollination of vocalist and guitarist Patrik Lundström sharing vocal duties for Kaipa, another Swedish prog juggernaut I got into this year. But Ritual has a very different, unique sound and style that’s not like any other band I’ve come across, and their knack for vocal melodies, folk arrangements, and lyrical fun made this a joyous blast from beginning to end.

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Playlists

(Un)Focused Definition Ep. 16: Into the Prog Machine, 2024 Edition

A quick one, because it’s 6am as I write this on the day it’s supposed to go live, and I have to leave to take my son on a college visit in an hour. I’m also 7 reviews into my Hooptober marathon, so if you want to read about all sorts of horror films you can check that out over at Cinema Dual. In the meantime, ‘et get into some of the new prog that’s been keeping me afloat in 2024, shall we?

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Playlists

(Un)Focused Definition Ep. 11: Back in the Acquisition Saddle Again

I’m back on vacation, this time disease-free and making the most of it on the sandy beaches of Jamaica, so album analysis and the final arc of Flower King records will wait until I’m home next week. I thought about another playlist of recent listening but, uh…it’s almost exclusively been the last few Deep Purple records. After initially being lukewarm on their new album =1, the first to feature Simon McBride on guitar, I fell hard for it and subsequently fell even harder for the last few with Steve Morse. You don’t want an hour of that, believe me (maybe you do).

Good thing I’ve been on a rampage lately with new music. Sure, it’s mainly progressive rock, jazz, fusion and – yeah – Deep Purple, but at least it’s not ALL Deep Purple, right? Right?

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