p,progressive rock and hard/heavy rock from Iran

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Oriental Silence : 3-track EP (IR,2005)****

Professional progressive rock band from Teheran with an influence from Clapton & other great 70's rock guitarist groups, like some of the earliest hard rock & perhaps psych. This band creates immediately the right warm mood. The voice arrangements on the first track make the sound even richer & deeper. Second instrumental track has some metal fuzz bass guitar and other great guitar arrangements, with a beautiful guitar sound. Third instrumental is again progressive rock with some hard rock/heavy metal influence, with even more electric guitar improvisations/arrangements. Highly recommended !! Splendid ! PS. Their name in Farsi/Persian is Sokoote-e Shargh.

Audio : "27"(or here), "Dernier Homue"(or here), "Contradiction's Outcry" (or here) ;

Video (live in Iran) : "Seconds of Fall", "Handmade Hollow", "Untill we meet again" , "Home"

Homepage (with video & audio and downloadable 3-track EP ) : http://www.orientalsilence.com

Contact : amirali@orientalsilence.com

Article : www.iranian.com/BruceBahmani/2005/December/Music/index.html

& http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/08/12/1029113894426.html

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Explode : Temptation (IR,2005)**°

"Explode is a Persian rock/metal band. we're jamming together and work on heavy and thrash metal songs since 1999. All in all we've started as a cover band, with wide range of influences from Death/Thrash Metal bands like Megadeth, Death, Slayer, Sepultura, Metallica or Classic heavy Metal bands like Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath to more progressive genres with more Rock feels like Pink Floyd, Dream Theater and Joe Satriani."

This Tehran band now released a home studio recorded demo album.

While the group has an interesting mix of interest in styles, I’m glad we can hear this in some of their guitar arrangements. The main guitarist Mohammad surely proved he learned to play some instrumentals (just hear him play the Bach tunes or hear the group play some Megadeth/Dream Theatre interpretations). The forced rough voice is a bit less convincing, especially on “Earthquake” or “Third Slave”. The group could sound better I think with an extra second vocalist or some extra vocal arrangements, or with some extra effect on the voice. “Death Jungle” has only a few vocal arrangements, which improves what the group has in its core. When singing softer, like in the beginning of the more progressive “Holy Saviour” I like the vocals best. I think elsewhere they might have been influenced by a group like Metallica, which in some way still suits this particular track.

Audio demo : "Intro", "Earthquake", "Death Jungle", "Third Slave", "Holy Saviour", "Last Soldier"

More audio : "Soheil's New Heavy Riffs and Ideas", "Mohamad - Bach , Toccata Fugue In D minor",

"Mohamad - Bach , Int. Dminor"

Homepage : http://www.explode-band.com

Info : http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?...

Persian review : http://wahm.blogfa.com/post-2.aspx

& (with audio) http://www.cafe-tehran.com/AlbumInfo.asp?id=75

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Shidi : Gemini (IR,2000)***'

Masih Mohaghegh, also known as Shidi, started his career playing in two Iranian cover rock bands during the 70's, called 'Scorpio' & 'Mummies'. At the stage of the foundation of Mummies he was only 14, with two of his older Brothers (Farokh on Drums and Shahrokh on Bass guitar) and Farshid on rhythm guitar. They began to play in dance clubs, night clubs concerts and too many other places almost every night, till 1976 when the two brothers left Iran for Europe (Germany and England}. Then Shidi joined Scorpio, a band that already was working for about two years and because their guitar player left Iran for Italy he replaced him. They worked together until early 1978 when the band collapsed. Masih still worked with other musicians and singers untill the Revolution. These bands were two of the best available professional bands on that time and he performed with them as a Singer and Guitar player. But nothing was ever recorded. After the revolution progressive rock was taboo. So Masih searched for another way of expressing a universal feeling in his music. He studied 'Tar' and 'Setar' at the “Center for the preservation and dissemination of Persian music”. There he did extensive research in the field of classical Persian music, looking for a renewed foundation of his musical ideas. From 1992 until 2000 he used computers and electronic instrumentation for this musical collection by the name of “Gemini”.

This project used "both contemporary and traditional rhythms and instruments" with the intention of "providing a new approach to a traditional art form". Masih played tar, setar, computer programing and synthesizers. Guest musicians are Reza Abaee on three tracks playing kamancheh and ghejak, Pedram Derakhshani with santur on one track and Kamran Khashe, keyboards on another track.

A few tracks tend to be an interpretation of Persian classical music with contemporary elements, like a reconsideration of old music, with the inclusion of a computer programmed control, with some use of atmospheric electronic passages, and with combinations of old instruments with a kind of softrock programming. Here the very rhythmic “Third Tone” might be my favourite example. This expression ranges to even more contemporary expressions so that make the music (also because of the use of electric bass and drums) become like a soft progressive rock expression. Here the last track, “Nava” I think for this direction is a favourite example. In total the album is really enjoyable, because it’s a good example that keeps intact an instrumental Persian music feeling while at the same time the progressive softrock and electronic music touches add to this, a very individual and personalised mood and expression.

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Shidi : A true lover is proved (IR,2003)****

The second album by Shidi is very different compared to his first instrumental album. This is basically a singer-songwriter album which has an even more “universal” style. Stylistically, just roughly taken, this could as well be an expression from the best days of English pop/rock/singersongwriter music, or from any other country expressing something similar (like Bülent from Turkey, or from some of the more expressive new songwriters from Korea I’ve heard, or from just anywhere else). All texts are based upon the great Persian poems, like Rumi, Sohrab Sepehri and Farrokh Yazdi. The liner notes say “In these days of global tension, the songs are an attempt to introduce some of the pre-occupations and complexities of Iranian culture to a wider audience. Listeners are invited to accompany the composer on his search to understand the universal concepts of love, friendship and the meaning of live.” “Shidi has spent forty years playing and studying both traditional and contemporary music. This is an album combining the best of both genres.” The poetry is translated into English for foreign listeners. Some songs are in English, others are in Farsi. The album is professionally recorded and combines traditional instruments (tar and setar mostly, with one track using tonbak, santour, kamancheh, ghejak and nay) with modern instruments (drums, acoustic and electric guitar and some keyboards). In combination the arrangements are just perfect, and very subtle, mostly acoustic, and they express a recognisable singer-songwriter style for a world interest. The arrangements are truly wonderful. Just listen to the splendid female and male harmony vocals on “Where’s the friend’s home” combined with beautiful acoustic guitar. Any of these kinds of arrangements should definitely interest lovers of the best progressive, but also acid folk driven singer-songwriters. “Loneliness (part1)” has a beautiful moody ambient electric guitar passage, while part 2 has a Persian folk body, mixed with electric bass and drums played in a rather progressive way. “Vain Shadows” have a complete orchestration arrangement, which fit perfectly to the warm voice of Shidi and his acoustic guitar & setar playing. Also “My living” has some similar arrangements with melancholic expressions, besides a wider emotional expressiveness and richness which ranges to expressive rock and adds some additional electric guitar. The last, title track is a great, slightly rhythmic conclusion again combined with old and new instruments and very beautiful song expression. This is a recommended album which deserves international attention.

The album is described by The Iranian as "Imagine mixing Simon and Garfunkel and Faramarz Aslani." Personally I found it hard to pick out a real comparison with some singer, and I think a real pick would limit the true essence. I hope my descriptions give at least some idea of what to expect.

Audio : "Khaaneye Doost Kojaast", "Doing Kindness", "Vain Shadows", "Asheghi Peydaast"

Info : http://www.shidi.ir/index.asp?status=discography

Homepage : http://www.shidi.ir & (with audio) : http://www.myspace.com/shidifreinds

Navaaye Homayoon/private

Farzad Golpayegani : One (IR,rec.2002,pub.2004)****'

Farzad is a graphic designer with a deep interest in music. This album he describes himself as an Instrumental Fusion-Metal album, but I personally want to say his music style goes way beyond this description. As a guitarist and composer, here he definitely sets out an intelligent, conscious and crafted vision on guitar driven instrumental music. He has a great technical ability in playing the 7 string Electric Guitar, he uses eastern tunings for Acoustic Guitar, mixes easily different Persian styles from flamenco-like or Persian classical origin with metal and progressive rock.

The recordings are built up around two guitars mostly (both electric or electric with acoustic), electric bass, drums and some Persian percussion. The percussion is not played live but is composed and played by computer programming in a way that it is hardly noticeable, especially the rock and Persian percussion.

But also on the metal passages the compositions are just perfect as they are. While a part of the tracks uses metal as first fundament, this is mixed in the same composition with progressive rock, heavy metal or even has acoustic guitar to it. A few tracks focus more on the Persian fusion, always with tremendous guitar, from Persian acoustic to thoughtful heavy metal solo’s.

The album is so interesting it will be hard to choose highlights for airplay. Recommended !!

The album did not get permission to be released in 2002, but is now available on line in MP3 since 2004.

For live concerts this is the group who performs : Farzad Golpayegani : 7 string electric guitar & acoustic guitar, Behrang Bashash : bass guitar, Mahyar Vosoughi : electric guitar, keyboards, Mahyar Pour Hesabi : drums, Reza Shafeghati : setar, Amir Djadid-Al-Eslam : tombak, daf.

Audio : "33"(-the first, darker heavy metal driven track, mixed with a more progressive rock passage-),

"7" (-a wonderful track in more eastern tunings, with Persian percussion and electric bass-)

Homepage : http://www.farzadonline.com

More Info : http://www.vampire-magazine.com/bands/farzad_golpayegani/info/...

& http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=34154

Info on this release : http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?...

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Farzad Golpayegani : Two (IR,rec.2004,2005,unreleased)****°

The second album by Farzad mostly has a progressive heavy metal foundation, but here are added even more ideas and talent in the mix, like a symphonic rock element, or classical music and some bluespsych.

On a couple of tracks the blend of metal, progressive rock and Persian elements, expressed in a mix of acoustic with electric guitars is more than brilliant and rather unique. If this wasn’t enough, a few tracks have additional keyboards which give the compositions even more contrast, depth and content and make the expression even more complete. “21” in this way has symphonic rock capacities within a heavy metal context. On “20” the piano has a truly adapted classical music aspect. Then we also hear an expressive Bach-like tune on organ mixed with some heavy metal guitar, with also some cello added. “19” is progressive/symphonic metal with incredibly fast keyboards and guitars and some modern mixing ideas. “31” is symphonic with a baroque piano and very fast heavy metal electric guitar and bass. “18” used some blues theme mixed with a complex heavy metal composition. Also “10” used some blues riffs, but is again progressive metal, mixed with bluesppsych. “38” surprises once more because of tiny percussive ideas and eastern tuning acoustic guitar mixed with some incredible heavy metal, and some modern mixing.

The album surprises all the way. It is really a shame that such a truly incredible, must-have album couldn’t get any official release yet in Iran. I think it surely deserves the world’s recognition, in the metal as well as the progressive rock milieu.

Last track, “43” is a perfect conclusion, and an example of a blend of all different guitar approaches, starting with progressive Persian guitar rock, with some original rather experimental percussion, acoustic guitars, fuzz guitar and heavy metal guitar.

I must make the same remark as with the first album : it is really hard to take out highlights from the album, because all tracks show some brilliance.

The album surprised me much, even after having heard the first album just before this. I’m sure Farzad’s third album, which is nearly finished, and which is supposed to have a few 20 minute tracks will be as much rewarding.

Audio : "30" (-a wonderful track fusing/blending a great variety of styles just perfectly-), "38" (-another brilliant and perfect blend of acoustic guitar in eastern tuning mixed with heavy and dark metal, with some tiny percussive ideas and a brilliant modern production-).

Homepage : http://www.farzadonline.com

Info on this release : http://www.metal-archives.com/release.php?id=108464

Article and interview : http://www.zirzamin.se/iranian_guitar/farzad_gholpayegani.html

This release is now available through http://www.clear-spot.nl/catalog/view.php?item_id=273761