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Progressive Rock CD Reviews
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Nick D' Virgilio - Karma
Review by Gary Hill
Nick D' Virgilio, the drummer best known for his work with Spock's Beard, but he also served as the drummer on part of Genesis' single post Phil Collins disc.
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D'arcana - As Worlds They Rise and Fall
Review by Gary Hill
California band D' Arcana seem to be stuck in the past - the 1970's to be more specific. In the case of a prog rock band, that's a great thing. T
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D'arcana - D'Arcana
Review by Gary Hill
There are those amongst us who will tell you that a song isn't progressive rock unless it's (insert number) minutes long. Well, to all you, I challenge you to listen to this CD.
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Paul D’Adamo - Tell Me Something
Review by G. W. Hill

There are quite a few Phil Collins and Genesis covers on this disc.


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Daedalus Spirit Orchestra - Ampulla Magnifying
Review by Gary Hill

This French outfit has an intriguing sound.


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Daedalus Spirit Orchestra - Tabula Rasa
Review by G. W. Hill

The mix of sounds on this album is pretty awesome.


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Dakrya - Crime Scene
Review by Gary Hill

This is one of the most intriguing CDs to come into the Music Street Journal mailbox in quite a while.


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Dangerous Odds - The Best of Dangerous Odds, Vol. 2
Review by Vivian Lee
Dangerous Odds are Al Jewer (flute, woodwind synthesizer, sax, bass), Art Durkee (Chapman stick), Tom Hamer (drums), Diedre Buckley (viola), Ron Ellis (poet), Larry Giles (poetry, voice). Guests include Biff Blumfumgangne, and Ross Nielsen with Heather Figi, Kristina Hord, Blain Kennedy, Rick Murphy listed as special guests.
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Dark Chocolate - Unwrapped
Review by Gary Hill

Perhaps Dark Chocolate’s greatest claim to fame is that the group features Kim Stone who is well-known for providing bass for Spyro Gyra and Rippingtons.


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Dark Suns - Grave Human Genuine
Review by Gary Hill
Those who want to avoid metal in their prog will probably treat this one like the plague. They’ll be missing out of course.
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Dave Corp - The Sweet Life
Review by Gary Hill
This CD is a cool one. It combines jazz and prog rock stylings into a blend that’s not entirely new, but yet not really like anything else out there.
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Alan Davey - Human on the Outside
Review by Gary Hill
Alan Davey’s latest solo disc shows a lot of Hawkwind-like sounds. That’s natural as Davey played bass, provided keys and some vocals along with writing a lot of the music for Hawkwind for a good many years.


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Alan Davey - Four Track Mind Volume 1
Review by Gary Hill
These recordings from former Hawkwind bassist, singer, keyboardist and songwriter are all essentially home recordings done on a 4-track recorder. They are items he’s had sitting around for a long time and has chosen to put together on a series of discs and release.
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Alan Davey - Captured Rotation
Review by Gary Hill
This solo album from former Hawkwind bassist Alan Davey has been out of print for a while. It’s been known to fetch some outrageous amounts of cash on internet auction sites
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Alan Davey - Four-Track Mind Volume 2
Review by Gary Hill
A new disc of tracks that Alan Davey (best known for his work in Hawkwind) produced on a four track in his home. These were really not intended for release as they are, but the thing is, there’s no reason they couldn’t have been.
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Alan Davey - Bedouin
Review by Bruce Stringer
For those unaware, Bedouin is Alan Davey's outlet for material that is otherwise unsuited to Hawkwind, yet - ironically, is very Hawkwind-like. The songs are very bass driven and tend toward the Middle-Eastern influence that Hawkwind were known for with songs like Assassins of Allah (re-invented when Alan joined Hawkwind in the mid-80's).
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Days Before Tomorrow - The Sky Is Falling
Review by Gary Hill
I like this band. I’m not sure how comfortable I am putting them into progressive rock, but they do call themselves that – and honestly they are close.

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Days Between Stations - Days Between Stations
Review by Gary Hill
This is really an intriguing album. Days Between Stations have created a unique sound that certainly exists within the realms of progressive rock.
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Elton Dean Mark Hewins - Bar Torque
Review by Josh Turner
The album is a live rendition with an excellent production and two talented musicians. Much in the vein of John Coltrane jazz by way of Elton's sax along with a flair of Canterbury.
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The Dear Hunter - The Color Spectrum
Review by Mark Johnson

This Providence, Rhode Island based band is made up of Casey Crescenzo (vocals, piano, guitar, arrangements, and direction),  Nick Crescenzo (drums, percussion, and vocals) and Maxwell Tousseau (guitar and vocals).


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December People - Sounds Like Christmas
Review by Gary Hill
To get you in the spirit of the holiday, The December People have released a fresh collection of progressive rock takes on Christmas music. Feeling out of sorts for not knowing who the December People are?
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December People - Rattle & Humbug
Review by Gary Hill

Robert Berry and company are back with a new release of holiday music.


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Deep 6 Holiday - Awake at the Funeral
Review by Gary Hill
This group has a unique sound. At times they seem close to groups like Dream Theater.
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Deep Purple - Now What?!
Review by G. W. Hill

I definitely would not put every Deep Purple album in progressive rock. This one, though, certainly qualifies.


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Deep Purple - Now What?! (Special Edition CD+DVD)
Review by Larry Toering

To make it back after seven years culminating into eight for a studio album at this stage in the Deep Purple legacy was a big risk, but one I find to be smaller than the last time the name went eight years in existence without an album, which was 1976 to 1984.


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Rod DeGeorge - Cosmic Playground
Review by Grant Hill
Rod DeGeorge is probably a new name for most MSJ readers. But, if you love to hear guitar in the tradition of Steve Vai or Joe Satriani, to cite a couple of artists in his style of playing, I think you may want to check out Rod's new release, Cosmic Playground, available at http://cdbaby.com/cd/roddegeorge .
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Shaun DeGraff - Grey Area
Review by Gary Hill

I originally had this one set to go into the non-prog category, but on further listening I think that in many ways it’s not far from a lot of modern song oriented progressive rock.


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Degree Absolute - Degree Absolute
Review by Greg Olma
I am amazed by the sheer number of great bands that still come out with quality CDs. Sure, there is a lot of trash coming out, but mixed in there is a lot of quality music.
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Delain - Lucidity
Review by Gary Hill
A lot of times I’m not blown away by all the bonus tracks on discs. Many times I think that less is more. That’s not the case here.

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Delivery - Fools Meeting
Review by Gary Hill
Featuring members of such bands as Camel, Gong and Soft Machine in musical performances that predate those bands, this disc shows the talent of a very early progressive rock band. Delivery was rooted as heavily in the hippie psychedelia as they were in what was to become prog, but they certainly showed plenty of prog muscle.
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Deluge Grander - August in the Urals
Review by Bill Knispel
August in the Urals is the debut release from Deluge Grander, a new progressive rock band from Baltimore, Maryland. The group formed from the ashes of Cerebus Effect as an avenue for Dan Britton and Patrick Gaffney to develop and record new material that Britton had been composing.
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Delusion Squared - Delusion Squared
Review by Gary Hill

This is an interesting album. It’s got a very retro progressive rock sound to it, yet it feels fresh and modern.


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Delusion Squared - Delusion Squared II
Review by G. W. Hill

The debut Delusion Squared disc was strong, but this surpasses it.


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Demetra Sine Die - A Quiet Land of Fear
Review by G. W. Hill

In a lot of ways this calls to mind a proggier Tool.


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Demians - Building An Empire
Review by Gary Hill
This the debut disc from French band Demians. It is a killer CD.
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Joe Deninzon - Adventures in the Stratospheerius
Review by Gary Hill
Released under the name of Joe Deninzon, this album is by the same group who also record under the band name Stratospheerius. That group is composed of Deninzon, Scott Chasolen, Grisha Alexiev, Rufus Philpot, DJ Big Wiz, and guitarist Alex Skolnick (Attention Deficit, Testament).
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Joe Deninzon - Live Wires
Review by Gary Hill
Violinist Deninzon and his band create a unique form of fusion laden progressive rock. As with most jazz oriented music, one can truly only really experience it when it is performed live, and as this disc shows, the band are really hot in that venue.
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Joe Deninzon - Trio – Exuberance
Review by Gary Hill

I like anything Joe Deninzon is involved with.


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Destroy All Monsters - Live in Tokyo & Osaka
Review by Gary Hill

With a band called “Destroy All Monsters” and a CD cover like that, what do you expect? - certainly not “pretty” music. Well, don’t worry, that’s not what you get. 


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Deus Ex Machina - Imparis
Review by Gary Hill
I’ve heard of this group for a while, but this is the first time I’ve ever actually heard them. They are pretty incredible.

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Lee Dewyze - Slumberland
Review by Gary Hill

Perhaps this disc is more pop rock and singer/songwriter than it is progressive rock.


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DFA - Work In Progress Live
Review by Steve Alspach
One of the criticisms of fusion jazz was that it was little more than a forum for players to show off their ability to play 256th notes as fast as possible.
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Al Di Meola - Diabolic Inventions and Seduction for Solo Guitar, Vol. 1: Music of Astor Piazzolla
Review by Gary Hill
In my opinion Al Di Meola is one of the greatest guitarists of all time. He may not have the name recognition of Carlos Santana or Eric Clapton, at least in terms of the general music audience, but he’s at least as good at his trade as either one of those guys.


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Al Di Meola - Electric Anthology
Review by Gary Hill

I’ve always been a big fan of the work of Al Di Meola. The man has a great skill at combining Latin sounds, rock and jazz into a powerful musical landscape.


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Diablo Swing Orchestra - Sing-Along Songs for the Damned & Delirious
Review by Gary Hill
Those who follow my reviews carefully will know that I love music that combines unusual sounds to create something unique.
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District 97 - Hybrid Child
Review by Gary Hill

Progressive rock is alive and well and living in Chicago, Illinois because that’s the home base for District 97.


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The Divine Baze Orchestra - Once We Were Born...
Review by Gary Hill
Quantum physicists should pay a lot of attention to Sweden. It seems that the European nation is in the midst of a time warp that has it set firmly in the 1970’s rather than the 21st century like the rest of us.
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Divinity Destroyed - Eden In Ashes
Review by Gary Hill
These guys are one of the few bands out there truly capable of bridging the gap between prog metal and prog. I would definitely put them into the neo-prog category, although there is plenty of reason to consider them metal, too.
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Dixie Dregs - What If
Review by Steve Alspach
What If was the second album by the Dixie Dregs, released in 1978. The band left Capricorn after one album and signed to Polydor (which may have been a good move - those who had never heard the band would not be blamed if they thought that this band from Miami, signed to Capricorn, would be another southern-fried boogie band).

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Dixie Dregs - Night Of The Living Dregs
Review by Larry Toering

This is a half studio, half live recording, and one of the best Dixie Dregs outings from which to choose.


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Dixie Dregs - California Screamin'
Review by Larry Toering

If I were to be asked if I thought this were among the best Dixie Dregs to be released over the years, I would have to reach for my soapbox and say “no,” for several reasons.


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Dixie Dregs - Dregs Of The Earth
Review by Larry Toering

In 1980 this music was not an abundant commodity, and that is why it remains one of my favorite prog albums of all time.


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Djam Karet - Recollection Harvest
Review by Gary Hill
Djam Karet have worked hard to create their own unique brand of guitar dominated instrumental prog. They have been at it for twenty years now, and with their latest, Recollection Harvest, they are working to challenge themselves, their listeners and all preconceived notions about the band's sound.
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Djam Karet - Live at NEARfest 2001
Review by Gary Hill
Djam Karet's particular form of progressive rock is very guitar dominated, and is really about instrumentals that showcase atmospheric themes, soaring guitar patterns and intricate song structures.
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Djam Karet - Ascension
Review by Gary Hill
Djam Karet really is an intriguing band. The group have a way of producing material that is entertaining and catchy, while still spacey and even weird a lot of the time.
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Djam Karet - A Night For Baku
Review by Gary Hill
This is arguably the strongest album Djam Karet has ever done, and they are a band with a history of producing strong discs! The group doesn't wander far from its tried and true method of creating instrumental guitar dominated prog that is both atmospheric and dynamic.
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Djam Karet - Reflections From The Firepool
Review by Gary Hill
Another Djam Karet CD being reissued on the Cuneiform label, this one is a great album, still firmly in the band's trademark style. Honestly, when you pick up a new album by this group, you pretty much know what you are getting. In this case, that is not a bad thing.
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Djam Karet - New Dark Age
Review by Gary Hill
The newest release from Djam Karet, this one continues their tradition of rather unusual guitar driven progressive rock instrumentals. It features some jams that are quite entertaining and interesting and would be a good introduction to band for first time listeners while still pleasing their longtime fans.
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Djam Karet - Live at Orion
Review by Gary Hill
Combining elements of King Crimson, Rush, Zappa, Steve Vai and others as diverse as the Allman Brothers, this album is a very strong guitar dominated instrumental prog work. The disc does not come across as blind noodling, as some of this genre does.
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Djam Karet - Burning the Hard City
Review by Gary Hill
Fans of guitar dominated instrumental prog rejoice. Burning the Hard City by Djam Karet has been reissued. This band pulls off progressive rock changes and metallic power all the while blending it with very listenable grooves.
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Djam Karet - Suspension and Displacement
Review by Gary Hill
Pink Floyd is a big influence on this album, as are King Crimson and Hawkwind. The album was recorded at the same time as Burning the Hard City, but is much more sedate than that album.
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Djam Karet - The Ritual Continues
Review by Gary Hill
This album is an early release by Djam Karet, but still shows plenty of signs of the band that they are today. This group is one of the few who can create entire albums of instrumental music that are satisfying and feel complete.
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Djam Karet - The Heavy Soul Sessions
Review by Scott Montgomery

The latest (and much anticipated) Djam Karet release is another smashing success for this stalwart California prog powerhouse.  


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Djinn - Last Wish
Review by Gary Hill

When you’ve got an album with both Alan Davey and Bridget Wishart as the main contributors, comparisons to Hawkwind are obvious.


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Sifu Stephen Doe - Playing With Time
Review by Gary Hill
Fans of guitar oriented instrumental rock with visions of fusion and prog should really enjoy this independent release. Doe has a guitar skill and sound that puts him alongside the greats in the field.
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The Dolly Rocker Movement - Our Days Mind The Tyme
Review by Bruce Stringer

Although very little has been heard of them in their native country, Dolly Rocker Movement have obviously got the right stuff with Danish label Bad Afro Records picking them up for their 3rd outing, Our Days Mind The Tyme.


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Dominici - 03 A Trilogy Part 3
Review by G. W. Hill
Charlie Dominici is probably best known for his work in Dream Theater on their debut CD. While I’ve always like James LaBrie, for me, Dominici is the “real” Dream Theater vocalist and LaBrie the replacement.
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Troy Donockley - Messages: A collection of music 1998-2001
Review by G. W. Hill

Well, with a compilation like this, one might not anticipate a lot of consistency and cohesiveness.


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Troy Donockley and Dave Bainbridge - from silence
Review by Gary Hill
This CD from Donockley (best known for his work with Clannad) and Bainbridge (Iona) is an intriguing and unusual one for several reasons. First, all the material is improvised and recorded in one take with no overdubs.
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Doubt - Never Pet a Burning Dog
Review by Gary Hill

RIO and fusion are the primary motivators here. Most of the album is instrumental, but there are two songs with vocals.


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Doubt - Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love
Review by G. W. Hill

With some real rock and almost metal on display at times, this is hard-edged progressive rock.


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Downes Braide Association - Pictures of You
Review by G. W. Hill

The “Downes” of this collaboration is Geoff Downes.


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Martina Downey - Sign Post
Review by G. W. Hill

Martina Downey has produced an intriguing album with Sign Post.


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Dr. Hasbeen - Signs
Review by Gary Hill
I have to admit, I’ve always wanted to be in Hawkwind – seriously. If I could play in any band out there, it would be Hawkwind.
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Dragon Tears - Turn On Tune In F*** Off!!
Review by Bruce Stringer
With Bad Afro Records continuing to release some of Europe’s coolest modern-retro psychedelia, it comes as no surprise that Dragon Tears further pushes the boundaries with a new take on the Peace and Love banter.
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Terry Draper - Aria 52: A Five Year Mission
Review by Gary Hill
Terry Draper is probably best known for his work in Klaatu. After that band broke up he left music for a while, but eventually resurfaced, recording several albums.
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Dreadnaught - American Standard
Review by Gary Hill
So, you think that everything that can be done has been done in progressive rock? Well, prepare to drop that thought. Dreadnaught is here to prove that there is something new going on, and they prove it with style.
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Dream Aria - In The Wake
Review by Gary Hill
I'm always impressed with music that pushes aside barriers and combines styles of music that are not normally heard together. Well, this album certainly does both of those things
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Dream Aria - Transcend
Review by G. W. Hill
When I reviewed this group’s last disc I was impressed. It was a strong album. The thing is, this new one blows that one completely out of the water.
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Dream Aria - Fallen Angel
Review by Gary Hill

The latest album from Dream Aria, this seems more polished and professional than their previous entries.


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Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos
Review by Bill Knispel
Dream Theater really needs no introduction. As perhaps the foremost and best-known proponent of progressive metal, they have forged a more than 20-year career.
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Dream Theater - Greatest Hit (...and 21 other pretty cool songs)
Review by Gary Hill
You know, a band with one real hit might be bitter. From the humorous title of this set, it seems like that’s not the case with Dream Theater.
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Dream Theater - The Dark Side of the Moon
Review by Bill Knispel
As a way of providing something different and special to their fans, Dream Theater began a series of cover shows in 2002. Whenever the band were scheduled to perform two nights in the same venue/city, they would dedicate part of their second show to a performance of a classic album, covered in its entirety.
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Dream Theater - Score: 20th Anniversary World Tour Live with The Octavarium Orchestra
Review by Bill Knispel
Dream Theater closed their 2006 20th Anniversary tour with a sold out show at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Joined onstage by a specially assembled orchestra, the band performed two sets.
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Dream Theater - Master Of Puppets
Review by Greg Olma
From the beginning, Dream Theater always gave the fans something special. When they go out on tour, if they have a 2 night stay at any venue, the second night becomes “cover” night.
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Dream Theater - The Number Of The Beast
Review by Greg Olma
Dream Theater has never been a band that does things without giving 110% effort and value. To beat the bootleggers, Dream Theater has created its own label to release live shows along with studio demos and assorted material otherwise unavailable to the public.
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Dream Theater - Octavarium
Review by Steve Alspach
For years I tried. Honest, I tried.
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Dream Theater - Train of Thought
Review by Josh Turner
When I heard Dream Theater was releasing another album, this immediately piqued my interest. Dream Theater had been my gateway into the Progressive Metal genre.
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Dream Theater - Images And Words
Review by Gary Hill
Images and Words marked the debut of lead singer James LaBrie to the DT fold and his performance here showed him to be a powerhouse of talent. This disc is arguably the most metallic in the DT catalog, certainly fueling the prog versus metal debate in progressive rock circles.
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Dream Theater - Falling Into Infinity
Review by Gary Hill
There are those who feel that Dream Theater is not a progressive rock band. However, this album contains many factors indigenous to progressive rock.
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Dream Theater - Once In A Livetime
Review by Sean Faust
For the past 9 years, progressive virtuosos Dream Theater (currently Mike Portnoy, John Petrucci, John Myung, James LaBrie and Derek Sherinian) have been blessing the music world with their highly textured (and sometimes ethereal) music and thought-provoking lyrics.
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Dream Theater - Scenes From A Memory
Review by Vivian Lee
Since 1985, the five-man outfit named Dream Theater has offered progressive rock fans thoughtful and emotional music that makes them marvel and ask, how do they do that? DT's brand of prog vividly shows eclectic, hard-to-place influences, which include jazz, neo-classical, and ethnic music forms.
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Dream Theater - Made in Japan
Review by Rick Damigella
There are only a handful of bands with the boldness, chutzpah and talent to record and release a series of official live bootlegs where they cover another well known band’s album.
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Dream Theater - When Dream and Day Unite
Review by Gary Hill
This was the debut disc from Dream Theater and the first album from them I ever had.
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Dream Theater - A Change of Seasons
Review by Gary Hill

This is an intriguing disc from Dream Theater. It consists of one awesome 20 minute plus epic that’s a pure roller coaster ride and a series of cover tunes recorded live.


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Dream Theater - Uncovered 2003-2005
Review by Greg Olma

Dream Theater continues to release great CDs through their Ytsejam Records label.  They have released live discs and demos but this one is kind of odd as it is a compilation of songs from different sources.  


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Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn of Events
Review by Dan Fredrickson

Fans of Dream Theater will be very happy with this CD; it has everything that their fans would hope to hear.   


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Glen Drover - Metalusion
Review by Gary Hill

Glen Drover is perhaps best known for his work with Megadeth and King Diamond along with his band Eidolon.


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Druckfarben - Druckfarben
Review by G. W. Hill

This is quite an intriguing set of music. At times it sits quite close to fusion.


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Drumbo - City of Refuge
Review by Gary Hill

Musically probably half of this disc would not qualify as progressive rock. So, why do I have it listed here?


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Dymaxion Vehicle - Redesign: Fun in Strobes
Review by G. W. Hill

As one might guess from the title, this album is made up of remixes.


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