PeerGynt Lobogris may be one of the most prolific artists to place his music on Jamendo. The Spanish guitarist and composer has no less than 25 online albums freely available. I have listened to most of these and found them to be well played examples of rock guitar mixed with imaginative arrangements bordering on progressive rock and new age. The most interesting ones are on the BlueMoon series of six albums and one sampler LP.

The first BlueMoon sets the stage. The tracks seems to alternate between frantic metal and progressive/new age pieces. All the tracks are well orchestrated but it is the guitar solos that really get my attention.

While the first album’s guitar work reminded me a little of Eddie Van Halen, Bluemoons II Dreams has Carlos Santana written all over it. Perhaps the best guitar solo of the series can be found on “Tongues Entwined”. Dreams is more fusion than metal and a bit exotic in feel. With tracks like the Enya-like “Enchanted Forest” and the blues drenched “I Still Have a Sigh”, this is my favorite in the series.

BlueMoon III Mystic Places is for the most part a return to metal. But even here, quieter tracks like ” Poison In Your Lips” and “Athena’s Challenges” throw subtle surprises at you.

BlueMoon IV Dreams Keeper stars out a bit mystical and is more new age than the others. You will still find some great guitar jamming on tunes like “Into the Wormhole”. For a quieter side with some Spanish influences, try “Remembering My Grandfather”.

By now you should have a good idea of what Peergynt can do, so it is probably sufficient to say BlueMoon V Forgotten Spirits and BlueMoon VI Freezone is more of the same. BlueMoon V is fairly upbeat with “The Wild Side” showing a good share of the fireworks. BlueMoon VI is the latest release and it has some nice flamenco styled playing on “The Alchemist” as well as the now usual mix of progressive and metal jams.

The length of these albums are between 21 to 48 minutes long. But if you don’t want to download every album, there is a 69 minute “Best of” compilation called BlueMoon 2007 offering some of the best tracks from Volumes I through V. For those not totally into guitar rock, it might be the best way to go.

All of these albums and much more from PeerGynt Lobogris are available from Jamendo in VBR MP3.

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Peergynt’s BlueMoon
BlueMoon II Dreams
BlueMoon III Mystic Places
BlueMoon IV Dreams Keeper
BlueMoon V Forgotten Spirits
BlueMoon VI Freezone
BlueMoon 2007 (The best of PeerGynt’s BlueMoons)

The French duo Planete Sauvage creates lush and surreal soundscapes that are securely in the realm of new age music. Their two albums are freely available on their web site.

The first album is self-titled and is a 31 minute EP of four tracks. The opening track “Cecilia” starts like a tentative dream and blossoms into a beautiful guitar-based melody. “La Saison des Puies” and “Resonances” have a similar dreamlike quality but with a middle Eastern influence. “Extension 9″ breaks from the pack with a rock tempo but has a lot of interesting twists and turns before the ten minute track concludes.

Planete Savauge II is a full length online album, clocking in at almost 42 minutes. I find it the better album if only because there is more of it. With only one of the seven tracks being under six minutes, Planete Savauge takes their time setting the mood and exploring the possibilities in their well-crafted compositions. The opening track, “Melancholia” is somewhat dark, a femme-fatale of a song. Some of the tracks combine a running dialogue such as on “The Dead Rose’s Monoloque” which I find distracting. But when the song is entirely instrumental, it is easy to get lost in the musical fog. Whether Planete Savauge is new age, ambient, down-tempo, or progressive rock is immaterial. They simply make beautiful music.

Planete Savauge is available in 320kbps MP3 while Planete Savauge II is in VBR MP3 at around 230kbps. You can also download either album in FLAC format.

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Planete Sauvage
Planete Sauvage II

Savium has just released his second album titled Phlegm Not Sentient. Like the first album, it is loosely in the metal, progressive, post-rock genres. There appears to be more experimentation and variety in this outing. I still like the guitar centered rock tracks like “Into The Light From Tyrone Eve” and “Pensive” the best but other songs such as the electro ear candy “Pheromone Queen” and a post-rock “An Offer For Comfort” exhibits other sides of this talented musician. If you like Mogwai and Tortoise you should enjoy Savium.

The album is available as separate tracks or a album zip in 192kbps MP3.

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There is little information about the band Mass of The Sun on their web site. There’s a few photos, a schedule of concerts that are all canceled, and two albums. Fortunately the two albums speak volumes. Mass of The Sun is a progressive rock / metal band with an epic sound; romantic, mysterious, and symphonic.

Their 2007 release, Rymdkupa start with a slow chant that builds into a powerful melody that holds you for twelve minutes. The title track is another long track with a slow but melodic sound and some very nice work between guitar and electric organ. It is my favorite song on the album. Mass of The Sun seems to be best at these extended numbers. Anna-Karin Blomster is the main vocalist and provides a beautiful folkish quality to the music.

The band has an unusual sound that exhibits excellent interaction between all involved. This also works to good affect on their 2006 release Palms and Minds. Again the two best tracks, the title song and “Fable”, are extended works allowing for extensive exploration. On both albums, the tracks tends to be slower to mid tempo with a symphonic sound.. The one exception is a clever little jazz number called “One Foot at a Time”. While I find Rymdkupa more enjoyable, both albums deliver good quality progressive rock in a unique style.

Palms and Minds is available in 192kbps MP3 while Rymdkupa is in 320kbps MP3.

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