Thursday, March 23, 2023

2022's Best Prog Epics and Mesmerics

These are my favorite songs of over nine minutes in length from 2022 studio releases:

Masterpieces:
1. "432 Bars" (14:18) - STRANGE POP - (29.5/30) = 9.833
2. "Hypertension" (15:00) - KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD - (29.5/30) = 9.833
3. "Chariots of the Sun (22:22) - To Phaeton on the Occasion of the Sunrise (theme from an imagined movie)" - MOTORPSYCHO - (44/45) = 9.778
4. "Raum" (14:54) - TANGERINE DREAM - (29/30) = 9.667
5. "Time in Your Face" (10:27) - GREEN ASPHALT - (19.25/20) = 9.625
6. "Until My Wings Turn to Ashes" (9:22) - JAMBINAI - (19.25/20) = 9.625
7. "Iron Lung" (9:05) - KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD - (19.25/20) = 9.625
8. "Sacrae Symphonia No. 1" (39:48) - WESERBERGLAND - (75/80) = 9.5
9. "Fall of the Watcher" (9:12) - RETURNED TO THE EARTH - (19/20) = 9.5
10. "Der Hauch des Lebens (Parts 1-5)" (27:07) - KLAUS SCHULZE - (52/55) = 9.455
11. "Emnalóc (12:22) - ROLAND BÜHLMANN - (23.5/25) = 9.4
12. "I Have Little to No Memories of These Memories" (47:48) - TOEHIDER - (89/95) = 9.368
13. "Endtime" (9:03) - HAVEN OF ECHOES - (18.75/20) = 9.375
14. "Achilles" (10:48) - JOHN HOLDEN - (18.667/20) = 9.33
15. "Summer Queen" (15:52) - JONAS LINDBERG & THE OTHER SIDE - (28/30) = 9.33
16.  "Part Cloud" (10:32) - HANNAH PEEL & PARAORCHESTRA - (18.66/20) = 9.33
17. "Polarchoral" (14:05) - GRICE - (28/30) = 9.33
18 "The Horror" (16:21) - RANESTRANE - (28/30) = 9.33
19. "Catastasis" (10:50) - ELDER - (18.5/20) = 9.25
20. "Sierra Leone" (10:54) - MARILLION - (18.5/20) = 9.25
21. "Change" (13:03) - KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD - (23/25) = 9.20
22. "You Have It All" (14:25) - LOBATE SCARP (27.5/30) = 9.1667 
23. "Seth (Parts 1-7)" (31:47) KLAUS SCHLUZE - (59.5/65) = 91.54
24. "Die Before You Wake" (19:33) - BEN CRAVEN - (36.5/40) = 9.125
25. "The Machinery" (10:44) - INNER PROSPEKT - (18.25/20) = 9.125
26. "Be Hard on Yourself" (9:28) - MARILLION - (18.25/20) = 9.125 
27. "Tra Cielo e Terra" (9:04) - ALIANTE - (18.25/20) = 9.125
28. "For Yesterday" (9:14) - BIRTH - (18.25/20) = 9.125 
29. "Alda" (20:52) - BREIDABLIK - (36.5/40) = 9.125


Other Great Songs:
"In 256 Zeichen" (19:07) - TANGERINE DREAM - (36/40) = 9.0
"The Mountain" (16:40) - NEIL CAMPBELL - (27/30) = 9.0
"Refuse" (10:55) - BUBBLEMATH - (18.0/20) = 9.0
"Land of Gold" (13:20) - KARFAGEN (27/30) = 9.0
"Hell's Itch" (13:27) KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD - (27/30) = 9.0 
"Peace Patrol" (10:00) - VON HERTZEN BROTHERS - (18/20) = 9.0
"Oceans of Time" (11:37) - JONAS LINDBERG & THE OTHER SIDE - (18/20) = 9.0
"The Watcher" (9:03) - VERBAL DELIRIUM - (18/20) = 9.0
"Starseeds" (9:17) - ED WYNNE - (18/20) = 9.0 
"Ascent" (9:11) - iNFiNiEN - (18/20) = 9.0
"Alarm Bells" (10:26) - GRICE - (18/20) = 9.0
"Naked Sky" (10:26) - ONSÉGAN ENSEMBLE - (18/20) = 9.0
"Labyrinth 66 Part 1 & 2" (13:07) - DAAL - (22.5/25) = 9.0
"Il Mondo di Fronte" (9:24) - ALIANTE - (18/20) = 9.0
"The Watcher" (9:03) - VERBAL DELIRIUM - (18/20) = 9.0
"Coalescence" (9:47) - ELDER - (18/20) = 9.0
"Assailen" (9:22) - ROLAND BÜHLMANN - (18/25) = 9.0
"Basketball Shoes" (12:37) - BLACK COUNTRY; NEW ROAD - (22/25) = 8.88
"The Lady Tied to the Lamp Post" (20:52) - THE TANGENT - (35.5/40) = 8.875
"Ice V" (10:15) - KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD - (17.75.20) = 8.875
"Napalm" (20:12) - RANESTRANE - (35.5/40) = 8.875
"Dark Matter" (11:16) - ARKITEKTURE - (17.75/20) = 8.875
"Special Waste" (10:03) - 
INNER PROSPEKT 
- (17.75/20) = 8.875
"Endless Return" (9:54) - ELDER - (17.75/20) = 8.875
"Yndrun" (9:50) - ROLAND BÜHLMANN - (17.75/20) = 8.875 
"Everything" (10:13) - BUBBLEMATH (17.75/20) = 8.875
"Liminal Veil" (9:07) - DREADNAUGHT - (17.75/20) = 8.875
"Merged in Dreams - Ne Plus Ultra" (14:43) - ELDER - (26.5/30) = 8.833
"Reaper Man" (9:20) - GHOST TOAST (17.667/20) = 8.833
"Neon Eye Cage" (9:30) - VERBAL DELIRIUM - (17.667/20) = 8.833
"Godzilla" (43:00) - AUDIO'M - (35/45) = 8.824
"Mona Lisa / Azrael" (12:15) - MOTORPSYCHO - (22/25) = 8.80
"Miles from Nowhere" (25:33) - JONAS LINDBERG & THE OTHER SIDE - (44/50) = 8.80
"Let Them In" (12:15) - HAVEN OF ECHOES - (22/25) = 8.80
"The Changes" (17:06) - THE TANGENT - (30.75/35) = 8.7857
"Flowing Through the Change" (17:24) - LOBATE SCARP - (30.75/35) = 8.7857
"Blue Forest" (9:06) - VON HERTZEN BROTHERS - (17.5/20) = 8.75 
"Moments of Life" (10:28) - PHOENIX AGAIN - (17.5/20) = 8.75
"Time Has a Way" (13:15) - PATTERN-SEEKING ANIMALS - (26.25/30) = 8.75
"Finial" (11:01) - IN-DREAMVIEW - (17.5/20) = 8.75
"Impetus" (9:17) - ARKITEKTURE -  (17.5/20) = 8.75
"Eden Cries" (10:37) RANESTRANE - (17.5/20) = 8.75
"Seen the Sun" (11:41) - ED WYNNE  - (17.5/20) = 8.75 
"Amnis Flows Aeternum" (19:11) - BEN CRAVEN - (35/40) = 8.75
"Rithnál" (10:45) - ROLAND BÜHLMANN - (17.5/20) = 8.75 
"The Decay" (11:12) - ARKITEKTURE - (17.5/20) = 8.75
"Romantik" (9:31) - FREN - (17.5/20) = 8.75
"Sessapinae" (9:57) - IKARUS - (17.5/20) = 8.75
"Overture" (10:39) - NEIL CAMPBELL - (17.5/20) = 8.75
"The Dripping Tap" (18:17) - KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD - (35/40) = 8.75
"Over and Out" (21:50) - COLLAGE - (39.25/45) = 8.722 
"Chasing Time" (12:18) - GHOST TOAST - (21.25/25) = 8.70


Also Considered:
"Care" (15:20) - MARILLION - (26/30) = 8.667
"A Needle Tree" (15:23) - KARCIUS - (26/30) = 8.667
"Widdershins" (13:32) - GANDALF'S FIST - (26/30) = 8.667
"Journey Through the Spiral Mind Part 1" (14:10) - DAAL - (26/30) = 8.667
"Omega Lights" (10:05) - GALAHAD - (17.25/20) = 8.667
"Scream Sideways" (10:10) - PURE REASON REVOLUTION - (17.25/20) = 8.625
"Building Heaven" (11:34) - JOHN HOLDEN - (17.25/20) = 8.625
"Snow Globes" - BLACK COUNTRY; NEW ROAD - (17.25/20) = 8.625 
"Osiris (Parts 1-4)" (18:28) - KLAUS SCHLUZE - (34.25/40) = 8.5625
"The GPS Vultures" (17:01) - THE TANGENT - (30.25/35) = 8.643
"Wiosna" (10:26) - FREN - (17.25/20) = 8.625
"Cave" (19:45) - GANDALF'S FIST - (34/40) = 8.5
"The Dripping Tap" (18:17) - KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD - (34/40) = 8.5
"Home Trip" (9:10) - ALIANTE - (17/20) = 8.5
"Land of Green (Part 1)" (11:00) - KARFAGEN - (17/20) = 8.5
"All the Pretty Days" (11:40) - FREN - (17/20) = 8.5
"The Steppe Nomad Space Program" (9:14) - REGAL WORM - (17/20) = 8.5
"The Last Great Adventurer" (10:35) - GALAHAD - (17/20) = 8.5
"Kramatorsk" - COMPASSIONIZER - (25/30) = 8.333
"The Land Before Timeland" (15:00) - KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD - (25/30) = 8.33
"The Ladder" (13:46) - KARCIUS - (24.5/30) = 8.1667
"Paperwings" (13:52) - OAK - (24.5/30) = 8.1667
"Painting Wings" (9:22) - DAAL - (16.25/20) = 8.125
"Chun Li" (9:44) - SOFT FFOG - (15.5/20) = 7.75 
"Ephemeral Arkitecture" (9:22) - JAVIER MIRANDA - (15.5/20) = 7.75
"Turque" (24:23) - FREN (38.5/20) = 7.75
"Cartimandua" (9:10) - ALIANTE - (15.5/20) = 7.75


As yet unreviewed:
"Dhalism" (9:28) - SOFT FFOG Soft Ffog - (/20) = 
"Surface Tension" (17:57) - BUBBLEMATH Turf Ascension - (/35) = 
"Decrypted" (9:57) - BUBBLEMATH  Turf Ascension (/20) = 


Great but too short:
"Prayer for the Dying" (8:55) - ARKITEKTURE - (19.75/20) = 9.875
"Worlds Break" (8:30) - DREADNAUGHT - (19.5/20) = 9.75
"Obelisk" (8:34) - IN-DREAMVIEW - (18.25/20) = 9.125
"Faery Revolution" (8:52) - SILENT TEMPLE - (18.25/20) = 9.125
"Big Beef" (8:32) - THE LIGHT IN THE OCEAN - (18/20) = 9.0
"The Purpose" (8:37) - ELDER - (18/20) = 9.0


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

1 comment:

  1. Hails Drew, this is the director of Silent Temple. I'm honored to find "Faery Revolution" on this masterpiece list! Perhaps we'll release a proper 20 minute epic on our next album! Curious if you've heard our 2020 release as well? https://silenttemple.bandcamp.com/album/marvelers-of-creation
    Cheers! -Troll (Amos)

    ReplyDelete