Match! February 11, 2020

In 2020, Pain of Salvation have already shattered expectations with the release of their latest studio album "Panther", but Swedish progressive metal/rock innovators are not finished yet: celebrating the 20th anniversary of its original release, the third Pain Of Salvation album is resurrected in a completely remixed and remastered form as "The Perfect Element, Pt. I (Anniversary Mix 2020)".
Here, the group effectively melds strong compositions with pertinent injections of technical proficiency and shrewdly crafted rhythmic developments. However, in most instances, the musicians infuse raucous heavy metal type licks with '70s-style progressive rock, as they perhaps intimate the best of both idioms via resplendent imagery, driving beats, and crunching guitars along with a penchant for fabricating memorable melodies…

New Wave of British Heavy Metal band Demon were known for their shocking and elaborate performances (quite unique, considering the no-fuss, stripped-down philosophy characteristic of the movement), but never sounded as extreme as their name might suggest. Instead, they forged a mainstream hard rock/metal style, which, though it didn't stand out from the pack, has managed to keep them in business for several decades. Singer Dave Hill and guitarist Mal Spooner had already cut their teeth with various amateur acts in their native Staffordshire, England, by the time they decided to join forces and found Demon midway through 1980.

Collecting nearly four decades of material in one stylish package, Depeche Mode delivers their most comprehensive studio collection to date with the MODE box set. A whopping 18 discs' worth of music, MODE charts the band's evolution from their debut studio recording (the pulsing synth-pop "Photographic" from the 1981 Some Bizzare Album compilation) all the way to an electronic-washed cover of David Bowie's "Heroes" recorded live during their Spirit era…

New Wave of British Heavy Metal band Demon were known for their shocking and elaborate performances (quite unique, considering the no-fuss, stripped-down philosophy characteristic of the movement), but never sounded as extreme as their name might suggest. Instead, they forged a mainstream hard rock/metal style, which, though it didn't stand out from the pack, has managed to keep them in business for several decades. Singer Dave Hill and guitarist Mal Spooner had already cut their teeth with various amateur acts in their native Staffordshire, England, by the time they decided to join forces and found Demon midway through 1980.

Joe Satriani, one of the most prolific and well-respected guitar players of our time, is back with another amazing album called Shapeshifting. It is hard to believe that this is his 18th album…

A good first effort by a band very much in Yes' orbit – as when "Elliptical Seasons" shows Lutrell's uncanny mastery of Anderson's vocal style – this debut also shows the less complex electric timbre and thinner production that typified American progressive rock by such practicioners as Kansas. The album leads off with the wonderfully sprawling song that broke them on local radio in the hometown of Champaign, the ten-minute Moogs and Merlin epic, "Lady of the Lake." The closing instrumental, "Nova," also gives the band's very tight rhythm section a chance to shine, with Tassler opening the piece with a brief but effective solo. Though later releases would show the band was capable of better work, it's a decent enough debut and an interesting curio for fans of American progressive rock.