My mother used to hear my band's rehearsal tapes as I plaed them. Her comment was frequently, "that music is so morbid!" which was somewhat true. At the time we did King Crimson influenced songs that were a bit more heavier (in the day).

If my mother had heard Heresie I'm pretty confident she would have freaked out. This is one seriously depressing album with a no compromise approach that is astonishing some 25 years after it was recorded.

The opening song, "Faulx" is uncompromising and foreboding. Just as well as it foreshadows track two, "Jack The Ripper" which is unrelenting in it's malevolence and ending in the album's closer "Vous le Saurez en Temps Voulu" which keeps the intensity going and brings on shades of darkness seldom heard and impossible to describe with words.

The admirable thing about Univers Zero's Heresie is it's cohesive and unrelenting musical vison. It's dark and scary music that doesn't resort to cliches to take you on it's dark voyage.

I must confess that although I admire Heresie it is not an album I can listen to all the time. It is simply too intense. yet if asked to name one of my favorite discs it would make the list because much like a guilty pleasure UZ have crafted the most bleak works in all of music, this includes classical along with so called gothic bands which typically DO use the cliches.

The playing is stellar, UZ still plays chamber classical with elements of rock. The cohesive ensemble playing is impressive for an album made at a time where solos were almost manditory in rock based music. You won't find that here but you will find some incredible sounds that get under your skin. The result is an album by a band that is probably the most uncompromising and dark collection of works that you will ever hear.

Even if like me you don't play Heresie as frequently as other albums it is the one you will come to every now and then, listen, be astonished by the technique and the spirit in which the songs are written.

An amazing album.

The label description of Somnambulist says to the effect The Paranormal Humidor is a collision of Yes and Soundgarden which on a simple (and easily marketable) level is true.

This is the second album by Somnambulist, the first being more experimental in nature. On The Paranormal Humidor things are a bit, note - a bit less avant garde than their previous lineup. New lead vocalist Peter Cornell (brother of Chris) at times sounds like his brother and musically there is a good deal of intensity which makes the Soundgarden comparison reasonably fair.

Musicially Somnambulist borrows some influences in terms of progressive rock gestures. There's plenty of Mellotron, Organ and Moog to find on this album and it's played with virtuosity.
Where Somnambulist is different is it's use of darker tones, darker themes and a heavy approach that is far more intense and riveting than Progressive Metal.

This is not an album that demonstrates how fast everyone can play and how dense a sound they can get. Prog Metal acts could take a lesson from Somnambulist. The intensity is more in the hard rock meets progressive style circa 1974 rooted in the ideas started by King Crimson on it's brilliant album, Red from that period of time.

In a lot of ways Somnambulist sounds like a different route taken from their 80's Belew, Fripp, Bruford, Levin period. Here is the symphonic progressive meets hard edged rock that most of the "great" acts rarely touched.

There are many time changes and stop on a dime moods on The Paranormal Humidor. Peter Conell's vocals are great with lots of changes in feel, at times soaring, at others gruff, dark, light and often in one song. The musicians are all talented and have their moments. Thankfully the solos are not wank-fests but smart and concise.

Somnambulist is "difficult" in that their potential audiences may experience culture shock. Credit is due for Somnambulist's attempt at progressing progressive rock. For me the jury is out as to how successful the result is. At it's very least most open minded prog fans will enjoy The Paranormal Humidor.

Recording quality is excellent as is performance. Feeling the urge to experiment or maybe spice up your music collection? Start here. This band takes risks and hopefully potential listeners will too.

I've read some of the displeased comments of fans regarding Metanoia in parts because it isn't as song based as "Stupid Dream" or "Lightbulb Sun" and this is correct, there's not much structure as in the previously mentioned albums.

That is to be expected if put into perspective. On Metanoia we hear Porcupine Tree improvising and fleshing out material. To a great extent we get an inside look to the creative process that went into "Signify" as much of this music is from the recording sessions.

Fans of earlier Porcupine Tree albums, in particular "The Sky Moves Sideway" will be more interested in this album. Many of the moments from that album, it's ambience particularly on the last couple of tracks would fit well on this CD.

As a listener I have taken two approaches to Metanoia. I've listened to it as background music and unlike ambient or insipid "easy listening" these tracks melt into the background. Sometimes you stop what you are doing and the music catches you. It's easy to continue with what you did but you know there is something behind the ambience you hear. The second approach is sitting down, concentrating and listening. To some degree this is nearly impossible. Personally, I drift off when listening to Metanoia. The music is somewhat repetitive at times but there are details within the grooves and ambiences that are there for the discovering. This is an album that rewards listeners with small moments within larger amorphous structures.

For people who enjoy song based music it's probably a good idea to pass on Metanoia. For people that like improvisation this is appealing although mostly subdued. In part this is why I haven't reviewed individual songs. The music simply flows and undulates. There are dynamics in these songs but they are more about atmosphere and sonic textural explorations.

Metanoia achives the bridge between ambient and groove Eno has been trying for the last few years and does a better job of integrating the two. Great sound quality, interesting interactions between the rhythm section and the keyboard and guitar textures. My parting thought; think Pink Floyd meets ambient electronica, or what they call dark ambient this week :) Or consider this NEU! meets Pink Floyd at top form.

David Pogue writes in a clear, relaxed style with the kind of humor that makes reading a Windows XP book enjoyable. There are many screenshots and well written instructions on what to do and why you are doing it.

Windows XP Home Edition: The Missing Manual is a hands on book but can be read when you're not in front of your computer. Topics cover the standard things like setup, how to get around the new interface, included applets and networking.

If you've used a computer before and chances are good you have if you're reading this review then you'll be comfortable with the technical level and explainations in the book. Intermediate users will enjoy being able to look up areas of interest and actually there are some great tips on how to work with Windows XP Home Edition. Advanced users will want more and this is not the complete comprehensive text. That said it is one of the best.

XP was a big change from earlier consumer versions of Windows and users will pick up quite a bit of useful tips and tricks as a bonus.

What it comes down to is how you enjoy learning. If you like text heavy books this may dissapoint. If you enjoy step by step books you will get that and considerably more. This is a good balance between both styles and is an easy read. Read the example, it will give a good idea of the style of Windows XP Home Edition: The Missing Manual.

Recently I upgraded computers (Athlon XP1700+, 512mb ddr ram, nVidia 4x agp w/64mb ddr ram). I had three options, Windows 2000, XP Home or XP Pro. This was disconcerting because I use my computer primarily for audio editing and software synthesis.

This is demanding work and requires components typical users do not have. Driver issues were a concern as it took quite some time for Windows to catch up with the music creation industry.

A big negative was the idea of XP spying on me. The idea of WinXP needing to be "authenticated" bothered me quite a bit. I use other software that has copy protection that is similar and have had some unpleasant situations including downtimes.

As Win2k was not going to be supported fairly soon XP was the decision and in all ways it has proven my preconceptions wrong.

WinXP Home is stable. Coming from a Win98se system I'd grown used to crashes, the blue screen of death and a ergonomically dumb interface. XP changes all that. The expanded Start menu is more funtional that previous Windows versions. Programs may crash but when they do it is easy to terminate them. The worst that has happened is the need to reboot the computer to regain access to certain high performance peripherals. The crashes I grew to expect in Win98se just aren't here on XP.

Besides having a smarter user interface it is considerably more secure and FLAWLESS when setting up new or legacy hardware. Every program I use runs better in XP, it doesn't hurt having a decent computer but Win98se didn't fare much better on this computer than it's old sibling.

Windows help has been rewritten and is vastly supereor to previous versions. There is a wealth of configuration tips and wizards which make troubleshooting or simply finding information a snap. This friendly layer is beneath a high performance operating system that has more in common with NT or Win2000 than Win ME or older.

When I booted up for the first time I did have to spend half an hour even with XP preinstalled. But the time I spent was positive in nature as WinXP kept detecting new hardware and configuring it to run correctly. In Win ME or older versions installing hardware and software could be a painful mess. XP was informative and worked perfectly.

Beyond that it stays out of my way when working. This will require some tweaks as Win XP can be intrusive. This is probably to help new users and since these actions are defeatable it is perfectly acceptable. Win XP is as close as a PC user will get to a Mac computing experience. It insulates you from as much as it can. You have to actively seek to do the kind of tedium installing hardware like earlier Windows OS'.

You do have to register to unlock Win XP. If you have a modem or as in my case cable it will configure instantly. There are some legacy equipment that won't work with XP but the database of compatible hardware is amazing. When problems occur XP premptively informs you so you can save data. Sometimes it doesn't but lets your computer recover quickly. You will be prompted to send the error report to Microsoft but the choice is yours. These reports are used to create bug fixes and update Microsoft's online FAQs so it's worth doing.

You need at least 256mb ram to run XP comfortably. It will work with 128mb but for the extra cost it's worth getting some more memory.

I chose to have Win XP Home installed with considerable misgivings and came to like it quite a bit. This is the first Windows home OS I would recommend. In fact several friends consulted me. All chose XP Professional or Home. All of them were concerned as I was. All of them love working in it.

I have been a beta tester for some versions of Windows. The progress was impressive but this is the version where Microsoft gets it right.

I have almost every Univers Zero album and find Heatwave to be the most comprehendable to listeners used to rock based instrumentation.

Heatwave offers more guitar than we've heard from Univers Zero and almost a backbeat on the first three songs. By The Funeral Plain we creep back into the ultra gloom of classic UZ's first three albums.

I love 1313 and it's brilliant take on updated chamber goth but I love Heatwave because to almost the same degree it does the same with rock sounds, in particular synths, guitar and an actual rhythm section.

The King crimson comparisons are well stated. UZ does at times sound very similar to the Crims. But they still are far from traditional. It is almost absurd and highly ironic how fans of older UZ works can't accept change when that is what good progressive music is all about!

If you like harder edged progressive rock or angular classical music Univers Zero is a band not to miss and Heatwave is a good album to start. Other than Uzed any previous CD is also an eye opening listen. Later works are uneven but still far more interesting than most of UZ's peers.

At their worst UZ is compelling and challenging. There are no bad Univers Zero albums, just different shades on similar themes.

A lot of people are comparing Snow by Spock's Beard to 70's icons Tommy and The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. Perhaps this is fair in that Snow is a concept album and runs roughly around the same time. I agree with reviewers mentioning the similarity of plotting to Tommy and the expanse to Lamb but that isn't saying much.

Much as I appreciate Genesis and think The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway was a great double CD it's plotting was obtuse and dragged near the end of the complete work. The Who's Tommy was interesting and novel at the time but to my ears hasn't aged well.

Listening to Snow was anticlimatic. The hype has been huge and undeserved. The storyline is well meaning and sincere but bordering on trite.

What works for Snow are the new textures explored by the band. Frequently Neal Morse sounds like a tougher, more urgent Greg Lake. At times the vocals are uncomfortably close to AOR. They are extremely well sung and developed but push Spock's Beard towards the neo side of prog.

Although still relying somewhat on Genesis style arrangements Snow takes on diversity and substantially harder edged writing at times which is the album's saving grace.

There is also a strange duality to Snow. At times it sounds like a Neal Morse album with the music stylings of Spock's Beard, then there will be moments where Spock's Beard plays with an intensity that assures the listener that they are still a vital band and not Neal Morse's backing musicians.

Snow has grown on me. At first I was very much underwhelmed. It was a shock to go back to the Day For Night version of the band after V. But as noted there are dynamics that are new for the band and helps take a fairly lackluster story and push it along.

For die hard fans the album is a no brainer and quite possibly there is enough crossover material here to reel in new listeners. I think of Snow as an overall excellent album. Most critisims I've leveled are made up for by the sincerity towards the music and typical stunning performances when the Beard get down to some serious playing.

This time out there's an almost King Crimson intensity which is a nice change. There is maturity in the overall composition and execution of the material on Snow. I actually like the second CD a bit more than the first. The drama ebbs and flows more on that set of tracks.

Verdict: this could be Spock's Beard's breakthrough album. Most fans will love it and once the old [people] like me stand down about audience proclimations of "this is the best concept album ever!" the final result is a very good album that lacks sometimes lyrically and is played with a renewed vigor and lack of the occasional 'throw in all the 70's bombast' that frequents many Spock's Beard songs. There is bombast here but it is more controlled and more convincing. If there is a comparison to Genesis' Lamb it is in the maturity of songwriting and arrangements.

Oh, the production and sound is fantastic! This is a gorgeous sounding album that pulses with life. If you enjoy smartly written music and good production then join the crowd.

When electronic music was first being fused with rock music back in the late 60's through early 70's bands as diverse as NEU!, Tangerine Dream, Genesis, Yes and the various artists in what we now call progressive and electronica were often grouped together.

Even the bands themseleves tended to reference one another in their music. Somewhere along the late 70's through the early 80's progressive music was pronounced as bad by the popular style of the times (punk, new wave) while a considerable amount of the electronic artists diverged to what was then called new age or dance and techno. In the 20 some odd years things have mutated and there's 9000 techno sub-genres with new age transplanting into light jazz, the original ideas for new age mostly called ambient.

Why the history lesson? Because Porcupine Tree takes the progressive and electronic sounds and fuses them together on The Sky Moves Sideways. The title tracks ebb and flow in this combined way. There is a general spacey vibe throughout the CD that goes beyond the Pink Floyd comparisons this particular album gets tagged with.

Song wise there are several extended tracks, note, some versions of this CD have different track lists, one example is Moonloop. On the Delirium release it is 17+ minutes long compared to the 8 minute version found on C+S releases.

The general effect are several extended suites plus shorter songs like Dislocated Day that create an atmosphere that hypnotizes as easily as it invigorates based much on your mood when listening. That is one of the true signs of quality old school electronic music.

Yet it would be unfair to say this is electronic music without acknowledging the tasty guitar work, frequent moments of rock thunder and jazzy improvisation.

In this sense The Sky Moves Sideways is very much what the meaning of progressive rock used to be. Keeping up with each decades definitions gets confusing.

If you like lots of timing changes, symphonic interludes, lots of fast ensemble playing Porcupine Tree is probably not your cup of tea. If you enjoy grooves that progress and at times surprise with unexpected changes in mood and intensity, songwriting that touches lightly on pop/rock conventions and want to invest a bit of time taking it all in The Sky Moves Sideways is very much an album you will want to own.

Under The Sun's self titled CD gives a glimpse into what may end up being a great band. As several others have noted the melodies aren't always that strong yet there is something that makes UTS enjoyable to listen to.

In some ways they sound like a heavier version of The Flower Kings although FK have more memorable melodies (and perhaps at times more filler). In part there is no mistaking UTS for being a modern sounding band.

Their playing is very good and rocks hard. This Golden Voyage, Tracer and From Henceforth Now And Forever are highlights. UTS have a great sound, although not metal they are not far from it while avoiding the typical overplaying many prog metal bands display. The complexity and arrangements are strong although at times resolutions to songs seem abrupt or don't always work well.

Seeing Eye God is psychedelic and fun, probably the catchiest tune on the album.

Here's what it comes down to. Under The Sun perform and write interesting music that is a good listen. They have all the progressive rock moves down and write in a compact manner that moves things along without pondering - a flaw too many prog bands fall into. UTS has the goods, it is obvious and the reason I enjoy their music.

There is room for improvement though. The vocal melodies rarely enhance the song. Chris Shryack's vocals are very strong with great range and personality. With a little work on melodic structure Under The Sun has the ability of becoming one of the best 21st century progressive artists.

Still, this is an album well worth purchasing. Few freshman releases are this accomplished even taking into account the reservations above.

Starting with Radioactive Toy from On The Sunday Of Life on Disc A and ending with Dark Matter from the Signify CD on Disc B this excellent collection from Porcupine Tree's Delerium label works cohesively much like the Pink Floyd Echos collection did.

The difference is PT had quite a bit of EP tracks from this era of which many have been included. With a lot of bands non-album tracks are weak, not so on Stars Die. There are 11 tracks from previous album releases (out of 21) and 10 ranging from remixes/hard to find album tracks to unreleased to prior mentioned EP tracks.

The flow of Stars Die works well, much like it was designed to be a complete album which has a disparate yet similar sound. For die hard fans this may not be enough to aquire the album but it's worth mentioning that to purchase the source material for several of these songs would cost more than this album assuming you could find the EPs.

Highlights include Signify 2, a studio EP track that is similar to their live act in expanded form along with Synaesthesia. Hints of the future lie in songs like Colourflow in Mind, another EP track along with Every Home Is Wired from the Signify CD. There are classics as well including The Sky Move Sideways pt 1 and Voyage 32 pt 1.

For the uninitiated this is a good starting point although PT's albums are probably a better place to begin. For those who don't have Porcupine Tree CDs prior to Stupid Dream this is a great place to start.

Unlike many compilations the tracks here do a good job of representing the band. The booklet inside has interesting interviews, biography and comments mostly from the band about each song. There is a lot of music on these two CDs, well over 140 minutes. The only album not represented is Coma Divine, their live album. The performances on Coma Divine were excellent and showed the development of PT from a one man project to band but this is a minor quibble. This set is highly recommended.