#8 – Spock’s Beard – Tides of Time
The opening track from Spock’s Beard’s 12th album, The Oblivion Particle is powerful, melodic, and everything that is a perfect Spock’s Beard song.
#7 – Nad Sylvan – Long Slow Crash Landing
The Steve Hackett band vocalist is joined by Hackett on this epic ballad that features Sylvan’s excellent vocals, Hackett’s soulful guitar solo and a horn melody that plays on repeat in your brain.
#6 – Between the Buried and Me – Memory Palace
Multiple changes, melodic passages and vocal harmonies with limited scream vocals from a band that is willing to take risks.
#5 – Riverside – Caterpillar and the Barbed Wire
A perfect example of the ever-expanding musical boundaries for Riverside from their latest album. The instrumental ending on this track is one of the best musical moments this year.
Next Page: #4 – #1
I haven’t heard Falling for Forever yet, but Neal Morse Band’s Alive Again is the best prog epic I’ve heard from him. I like The Call, but that’s my favorite song from him of the whole catalog (again, Falling for Forever aside, since I haven’t heard it yet).