Anima (anima Dominum) Discography [3 Studio Albums] (1992 1999)

Swedish band Änglagård is part of a whole breed of young progressive rockers who have cut their teeth on King Crimson's Red. Like the other Crimson Swedes, Anekdoten, Änglagård crams angular hooks and start/stop tempos into every moment they can spare. Writing lengthy symphonic pieces, the band sound like many big '70s acts but always play with a very tough sound. Meaty bass and scorched guitar tones duel it out with organ, mellotron, and hyperactive drumming, while folky Swedish singing and flute occasionally break the tension.

Tisaris, which means the bridge to quintessence is a progressive rock quintet (vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass and drums) from Brazil. Superb Progressive productions in the spirit of the Seventies, alterning long suites structured in several parts ("What's Beyond"), instrumental tracks and some short pieces in concept albums taken from an opera. Expressive vocals, inventive guitar and keyboards solos and rich and cast spelling compositions compose these excellent releases…

The North London group Komputer began its career in the late '90s as an electro-pop act modeled largely after Kraftwerk but changed its style considerably in subsequent years, moving toward a more original sound. Comprised of Simon Leonard and David Baker, Komputer actually began as a trio, also featuring Jane Brereton, and debuted on Mute Records in 1996 with a self-titled, four-song EP led by "Valentina Tereshkova," a future single for the group. A year later, in October 1997, Mute released The World of Tomorrow, Komputer's first full-length album. Seemingly a literal homage to Kraftwerk, characterized largely by analog synths and vocoderized singing, the album spawned three singles - "Looking Down on London," "Valentina," and "Terminus" - that Mute released individually with accompanying remixes over the course of 1997 and 1998…

Shadow Gallery is a progressive metal/rock band, which formed in Pennsylvania (USA) in the 1980's. Their name is taken from the graphic novel V for Vendetta by Alan Moore. They have a reputation among fans for complex song structures and virtuoso musicianship and have been compared to contemporaries Dream Theater and Queensrÿche. Vocalist Mike Baker, only 45 years old, passed away on October 29, 2008 of a heart attack. Several members of Shadow Gallery have made their contribution to other projects like MullMuzzler, Ayreon, Explorers Club and Star One.
The band released their first album in 1992, with copies being sold in Europe and Japan aswell. In late 1993, the band recruited a new musician to their course - keyboardist and guitarist Gary Wehrkamp, and in 1994, added another virtuoso to their palette, drummer Kevin Soffera…

Chaos Code were originally a Baltimore, Maryland-based band that formed in 1997. The band's music ranges from symphonic to heavy rock to jazz/fusion, and is characterized by strident brass, and biting, sometimes apocalyptic lyrics. Finest Prog in 70's style, well balanced between soft lyrical and heavy rocking parts. Heavy use of mellotron and flute provide a base of 70's-inspired symphonic sound into which the band infuses 80's-influenced post-punk lyrical and percussion sensibilities, and mystic multi-part epics with a decidedly modern tone. The sound spans many moods and can be compared at times to King Crimson, early Salem Hill, and mid-career Jethro Tull at times.

From the start (with their 1997 studio album) it was obvious that the band decided to keep alive the spirit of the 70s, with a relatively strong Yes, Camel and Marillion influence, but a unique touch that only Brazilian bands can provide, the album was well received in the States but became really accepted in Continental Europe and specially in Japan, where they became some sort of minor icons.
With the same formation plus two guests (Marco Aurêh - flute on "O Dom de Voar" and Fernando Sierpe - vocals on "Discover"), the band releases their second album called "The Dawn After the Storm" (1999), and this time they hit the nail right in the head. If their debut was solid, this time they surpassed the expectations and gave us one of the best Brazilian albums full of lush keyboards and fresh ideas…

Not exactly a staple in the progressive world, Italy's Fancyfluid attempted to make their mark by being a hybrid of 80's style neo with Italian symph prog from the 70's bands like Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso and PFM. In 1990 the band debuted with Weak Waving. Attempts to sound fresh fell flat despite the use of violin, flute and sax. Fancyfluid failed to capture an international audience, but maybe that was due to the heavily accented vocals of singer Fabrizio Goria. Fancyfluid's 1992 sophomore conceptual effort, King's Journey, actually showed some promise and they even recruited Banco's Rodolfo Maltese to play guitar and trumpet. 1995 gave us The Sheltering Sea, which by all accounts was a cohesive effort that proved that the band had finally gelled. The album features lively, complex and sophisticated music with delicate touches of acoustic guitar, holding true the 70's Italian symphonic prog tradition…

Both passionate collectors of ancient and ethnic instruments, husband and wife Walter and Laura Maioli got together in 1973 with sax player Caniele Cavallanti, guitarist Antonio Cerantola and percussionist Lino Vaccina to form Aktuala (which means 'actually' in Esperanto). This is a furiously eclectic band whose Arabian, African and Indian themes are built around trance-inducing repetition. Apart from Oregon, they were one of the first to craft a coherent, gimmick-free hybrid of improvisional jazz with a pan-cultural approach to ethnic music, although theirs is much more loosely conceived than that of Oregon. They released three albums between 1973 and 1976 and then broke up. Walter Maioli is today recognized among Italy's foremost experts in prehistoric music-making.

Sithonia are another early Italian styled band with modern equipement who do a job better than usual. The roots of this music lay in the English progressive rock 1970/74 and in the Italian rock of the same years with elements of traditional music, Italian folk songs and jazz atmosphere. Their music is definitely influenced by the 70's Genesis and probably some of their Italian predecessors like PFM. The result is a personal sound marked by simple touching melodies and swift changes heavy or symphonic. The musicianship is very good and full of the dynamics and surprises that characterizes Italian music.

Finisterre are an Italian progressive rock band that formed in Genoa in April 1993. Their music is an eclectic mix of styles and they have spawned a significant number of offshoots. The original line-up consisted of Fabio Zuffanti (bass, vocals), Stefano Marelli (guitars, vocals), Boris Valle (keyboards), Marco Cavani (drums) and Sergio Grace (flute). They released their self-titled debut album, widely regarded as a classic of modern Italian symphonic progressive music, in January 1995. Cavani and Grace subsequently quit the band during 1995. Along with their replacements, Francesca Biagini (flute) and Marcelo Mazzocchi (drums), Finisterre produced their second and arguably best album ''In Limine'' (1996). This is a radical and diverse work comprised of classical, jazz, folk, avant-garde and even electronic influences…