Tuesday, March 21, 2023

2020's Best Prog Epics and Mesmerics

These are my favorite songs of over nine minutes in length from 2020 studio releases:

Masterpieces:
1. "Contes lunaires" (22:14) - ARNAUD BUKWALD - (44/45) = 9.77
2. "Stage 4: The Dream" (11:47) - THE RETICENT - (24/25) = 9.60
3. "Am Ende Der Welt" (Side A) (24:18) -WESERBERGLAND - (48/50) = 9.6 
4. "#1" (10:38) - TOM DONCOURT & MATTIAS OLSSON - (19/20) = 9.5
5. "Calypso" (10:57) - KARFAGEN - (19/20) = 9.5 
6. "Am Ende Der Welt" (Side B) (18:20) - WESERBERGLAND - (38/40) = 9.5
7. "The Depths of Time" (12:35) - THE BARDIC DEPTHS - (23.5/25) = 94.0
8. "The End and The Beginning" (9:09) - ONCE AND FUTURE BAND - (18.75/20) = 93.75 
9. "America Undefined" (13:22) - PAT METHENY - (28/30) = 9.333
10. "Stage 5: The Nightmare" (12:14) - THE RETICENT - (23.25/25) = 9.30
11. "The Life of the Honeybee and Other Moments of Clarity" (12:38) - ABEL GANZ - (23.25/25) = 9.30
12. "Till dig ännu en gång" (9:10) - NEON HEART - (18.5/20) = 9.25
13. "Hounds" (10:10) - GREEN CARNATION - (18.5/20) = 9.25
14. "Zaini di elio" (12:38) - LOGOS - (23/25) = 9.2
15. "Stage 1: His Name Is Henry" (9:46) - THE RETICENT - (18.25/20) = 9.125
16. "Dynamogeny" (11:51) - ARNAUD BUKWALD - (22.75/25) = 9.1
17. "Beyond the Exosphere" (17:48) - PYRAMID THEOREM - (32/35) = 9.143
18. "Hamilton Big Boys" (10:41) - THE LIGHT IN THE OCEAN - (18.25/20) = 9.125 
19. "Silent Genesis" (10:24) - PURE REASON REVOLUTION - (18.25/20) = 9.125
20. "N.O.X." (42:38) - MOTORPSYCHO - (82/90) = 9.111
21. "Vacuo senso" (13:30) - LA MASCHERA DI CERA - (27.25/30) = 9.083



Other Very Good Songs:
"Pleonasm" - FREN - (22.5/25) = 9.0
"O curioso caso de Mademoiselle X" - MOURA - (27/30) = 9.0
"Legacies" - THE BARDIC DEPTHS - (18/20) = 9.0
"Immortal" - LEGACY PILOTS - (18/20) = 9.0 
"Punto di Non Ritorno" - INNER PROSPEKT - (18/20) = 9.0
"Fables for Robots, Part 2" - MR. ROBOT - (36/40) = 9.0
"My Dark Reflections on Life and Death" - GREEN CARNATION - (27/30) = 9.0
"Lizard" - TIME STRUCTURE - (18/20) = 9.0
"Paesaggi di insonnia" - LOGOS - (18/20) = 9.0
"Turni" - OTEME - (18/20) = 9.0
"Sector 85" - BENJAMIN'S KITE - (44.75/50) = 8.95
"Möa Orgata" - DAI KAHT - (22.25/25) = 8.9
"Into the Blank" - HAMMOCK - (40/45) = 8.889
"The Earth (Hari Ketiga, Act One)" - DWIKI DHARMAWAN - (/60)
"Zöbehr Daï" - DAI KAHT - (17.75/20) = 8.875
"The Noble Shirker" - ZOPP - (17.75/20) = 8.875
"Stage 6: The Oubliette" (10:38)  - THE RETICENT - (17.75/20) = 8.875
"Leap of Faith" - JOHN HOLDEN - (17.75/20) = 8.875
"Waterfall" - IOEARTH - (17.75/20) = 8.875
"Why" - TIME STRUCTURE - (17.75/20) = 8.875
"Take to the Sky" (10:14) - TELERGY - (17.75/20) = 8.875
"Take a Closer Look" - OSIRIS - (17.75/20) = 8.875
"Barnard's Loop" - BENJAMIN'S KITE - (17.75/10) = 8.875 
"Tomita" - JAGA JAZZIST - (26.5/30) = 8.833
"By the Banks" - WOBBLER - (26.5/30) = 8.833 
"Birds of Passage" (Part 2) - KARFAGEN - (35.33/40) = 8.833
"Il tempo millenario" - LA MASCHERA DI CERA - (35.25/40) = 8.8125
"Merry Macabre" - WOBBLER - (35.25/40) = 8.8125
"Anamnensis" (12:24) - LUCID PLANET (22/25) = 8.80
"Echos of Silence, Pt. 2: The Answer" (9:35) - SUBMARINE SILENCE - (17.5/20) - 8.75
"The Emanation of the Giant Albion" - VESPERO - (35/40) = 8.75
"Jurassic | Cretaceous" (13:24) - THE OCEAN-  (26.25/30) = 8.75
"The Land of the Fools" - INNER PROSPEKT - (26.25/30) = 8.75
"Infantry" (9:24) - TELERGY - (17.5/20) = 8.75
"A Cornucopia of Riches" - FRENCH TV - (17.5/20) = 8.75
"Organic Hard Drive" (9:38) - LUCID PLANET (17.5/20) = 8.75
"Golden Age" - ESPRIT D'ESCALIER - (17.5/20) = 8.75
"Punto di non ritorno" - INNER PROSPEKT - (17.5/20) = 8.75
"Crimson Lights and Dark Waters" - SCARLET HOLLOW - (17.5/20) = 8.75
"Colours Out of Space" - PIXIE NINJA - (17.5/20) = 8.75 
"Sadako e le mille gru di carta" - LOGOS - (35/40) = 8.75
"Undone" (10:26) - SUBMARINE SILENCE - (17.5/20) = 8.75
"City of the Sun" - BUILT FOR THE FUTURE - (17.5/20) = 8.75
"Satellite" - DARK LIGHT - (17.5/20) = 8.75
"Valles Marineris" - RICK WAKEMAN - (17.5/20) = 8.75
"Seven Billion Tiny Sparks" - ESP PROJECT - (17.5/20) = 8.75
"Leng Plateau" - PIXIE NINJA - (17.5/20) = 8.75
"Noggy Pop" - ORANGE CLOCKS - (52.25/60) = 8.709
"Soon But Not Today" - PATTERN-SEEKING ANIMALS - (21.75/25) = 8.7
"When Are Wars Won?/Surely All I Need" - FRAGILE - (21.75/25) = 8.7


Also considered:
"Sapien" - GAZPACHO (26/30) = 8.667 
"Lifeboat" - PATTERN-SEEKING ANIMALS - (30.25/35) = 8.642
"Transition II" - LUNATIC SOUL - (47.5/55) = 8.636
"Il cherchio del commando" - LA MASCHERA DI CERA - (17.25/20) = 8.625
"Moondust" - ANTONY KALUGIN - (34.5/40) = 8.625
"Rise" - GALIA SOCIAL - (17.25/20) = 8.625
"Bela" - MAGENTA - (17.25/20) = 8.625
"Hutchinson Cipher" - PIXIE NINJA - (17.25/20) = 8.625
"Mandarine" - SLEEPING PANDORA - (17.25/20) = 8.625
"Space Cowboy" - GAZPACHO - (34.5/40) = 8.625
"Falling Structures" - TIME STRUCTURE - (17.25/20) = 8.625
"One Light Retreating" - ELDER - (17.25/20) = 8.625
"Old Worlds and Kingdoms/Too Late in the Day" - FRAGILE - (17.25/20) = 8.625
"In Procession" - ELDER - (17.25/20) = 8.625
"Runaway Strain" (9:14) - SUBMARINE STRAIN - (17.25/20) = 8.625
"No Return" - JOHN DEMARKAS - (17.25/20) = 8.625
"The Departing" - MOLITOTH - (17.25/20) = 8.625
"Poppies in a Field" TOM DONCOURT & MATTIAS OLSSON - (21.5/25) = 8.60 
"Brave New World" - BUILT FOR THE FUTURE - (21.5/25) = 8.6
"Georgia" (12:27) - TELERGY - (21.5/25) = 8.6
"Listen" - THE PRODIGAL SOUNDS - (21.5/25) = 8.6
"Line of Sight" - BUILT FOR THE FUTURE - (21.5/25) = 8.6
"The Land of Fools" - INNER PROSPEKT - (25.75/30) = 8.583
"Sepia and White" - ABEL GANZ - (25.75/30) = 8.583
"The Rain" - IOEARTH - (30/35) = 8.571
"Levitation" (9:45) - KARFAGEN - (17/20) = 8.5
"Safe at Home" - ECHOREC - (17/20) = 8.5
"Prosthetic Cuban" - ØRESUND SPACE COLLECTIVE - (34/40) = 8.5
"Celebrity" - I AM THE MANIC WHALE-  (34/40) = 8.5
"The Echo of a Distant Past" - DROWNING STEPS - (17/20) = 8.5
"Terra Nullus" - TRAVIS ORBIN-  (17/20) = 8.5
"Hahima" - NEON HEART - (17/20) = 8.5
"Futari Kiri" - ÁNGEL ONTALVA & VESPERO (17/20) = 8.50
"Second Birth" (10:56) - SAMSARA BLUES EXPERIMENT (17/20) = 8.5
"Il cherchio del comando" - LA MASCHERA DI CERA (17/20) = 8.50
"Hearing the Call" - LEEABRAHAM (21.25/25) = 8.50
"France" - DYBLE LONGDON (17/20) = 8.50 
"Birds of Passage" (Part 1) - KARFAGEN - (38/45) = 8.444
"Omicron Pt. 1" (22:24) - BREIDABLIK (38/45) = 8.44
"Floating High" - SLEEPING PANDORA - (29.5/35) = 8.429

"The Yellow Ship" (13:07) - SANGUINE HUM - (21/25) = 8.4
"Urizen" - VESPERO - (21/25) = 8.4
"Ark" - HATS OFF GENTLEMEN IT'S ADEQUATE - (21/25) = 8.4
"Phantasmagoria" (12:58) - KARFAGEN - (21/25) = 8.4 
"Halcyon" - ELDER - (21/25) = 8.4
"The Climb" - TASKAHA - (21/25) = 8.4
"Messiah Complex" - HAKEN - (33.5/40) = 8.375
"Century Rain" - HATS OFF GENTLEMEN IT'S ADEQUATE - (16.75/20) = 8.375
"Omens" - ELDER - (16.75/20) = 8.375
"Surge" - FREN - (16.75/20) = 8.375
"As Bruxus" - QAMAR - (16.75/20) = 8.375
"Embers" - ELDER - (16.75/20) = 8.375
"Heaven in Your Eyes" - ARABS IN ASPIC - (29.25/35) = 8.357
"Distant Land" - BUILT FOR THE FUTURE - (25/30) = 8.333
"Destructio" - ARS DE ER - (25/30) = 8.333
"Madi" - HAMMOCK - (25/30) = 8.333
"Fables for Robots, Part 1" - MR. ROBOT - (33.25/40) = 8.3125
"Purple Hearts Corner" (12:29) - THE C SIDES PROJECT - (20.75/25) = 8.3
"Marshmallow" - ANTONY KALUGIN - (33/40) = 8.25
"Touching Moon" - SLEEPING PANDORA - (20.5/25) = 8.25
"Indecisively" - MAGIK SATURN  -(16.5/20) = 8.25
"The Trial" - RICK MILLER - (16.5/20) = 8.25
"Correct to the Core" - RICK MILLER - (16.5/20) = 8.25
"Tears" - SLEEPING PANDORA - (16.5/20) = 8.25
"Bridge Toward Home" - TURNING VIRTUE - (16.5/20) = 8.25 
"The Lamb Returns" - ECHOREC - (28.5/35) = 8.143
"Engine Down" (10:57) - THE C SIDES PROJECT - (16.25/20) = 8.125 
"Celebrity" (18:55) - I AM THE MANIC WHALE - (32/40) = 8.0 
"Raytracing" - SLEEPING PANDORA - (16/20) = 8.0
"Sapien" - GAZPACHO - (24/30) = 8.0 
"New Life" - GABRIEL - (16/20) = 8.0
"QSO" - YURI GAGARIN - (16/20) = 8.0
"The Dome" - SLEEPING PANDORA - (24/30) = 8.0
"Gravitas" - DC SOUND COLLECTIVE - (16/20) = 8.0
"Le Voleur" (11:47) - OBSKYR - (20/25) = 8.0
"Born to Be King" - INFINITE WISDOM - (15.75/20) = 7.875
"Free as a Bird" - GABRIEL - (27.5/35) = 7.857
"Lost in Africa" - ØRESUND SPACE COLLECTIVE - (27.5/35) = 7.857
"Heiroglyphic Smell" - ØRESUND SPACE COLLECTIVE - (23.25/30) = 7.833
"Space Cowboy" - GAZPACHO (31/40) = 7.750 
"Le chaud et le froid" - JEAN-PIERRE LOUVETON - (15.5/20) = 7.75
"The Shrine" - JAGA JAZZIST - (15.5/20) = 7.75
"The Invisible Worm" - HEAVY MOON - (15.5/20) = 7.75
"Le Voleur" - ABSKYR - (19.25/25) = 7.7
"Bremen" (10:39) - THE C SIDES PROJECT - (15.25/20) = 7.625
"The Memory Chamber" (12:01) - KLAUS MORLOCK - (19/25) = 7.6
"Lost Mileage" - ØRESUND SPACE COLLECTIVE - (22.5/30) = 7.5
"Oneiron" (13:36) - YURI GAGARIN - (22.5/30) = 7.5
"Into Clouds" (12:07) - THE C SIDES PROJECT - (18/25) = 7.2
"TOWER 9" - SCALADEI - (25.5/35) = 7.1


Not-Yet Reviewed:
"AP Alchemy" (9:22) - ISOBAR (/20)
"I woke up and forgot what happend..." (17:04) - BLESSED ARE THE HEARTS THAT BEND (/35) =
"The Odessa Steps Sequence (9:44) - FRENCH TV
"Look at the Bears! Look at the Bears! Look at the Bears! (9:20) - FRENCH TV
"The Math of Creation" - SANDRO CUZZETTO (/20) = 
"Reach for the Moon" - MAGENTA (/20) = 
"The Rose" - MAGENTA (20) = 
"Masters of Illusion" - MAGENTA (/30) = 
"Idols in the Flesh" - KARDA ESTRA (.) =
"Omicron Pt. 2" (20:46) - BREIDABLIK (/40) = 
"On the Way" (9:37) - LUCID PLANET (/20) = 
"Face the Sun" (11:48) - LUCID PLANET (/25) = 
"Zenith" (9:55) - LUCID PLANET (/20) = 


Great But Too Short (less than nine minutes):
"Tharmas" - VESPERO
"Luvah" - VESPERO
"LOS" - VESPERO
"Triassic" - THE OCEAN
"The Minstrel" - GRUMBLEWOOD
"Nessie" - UBI MAIOR
"Who Really Are We?" - PENDRAGON
"Ghosts & Typhoons" - PURE REASON REVOLUTION
"Partial encode" - ELECTRIC ORANGE
"Automaton" - SANGUINE HUM


*Bold print denotes songs that have risen into my pantheon of All-time favorite "epics."









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