Terra Incognita [Import]

Terra Incognita [Import]

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Ian Parry Returns with Another Monster 'symphoprogressive' Offering, Only this Time, He Brings Along Members of Rhapsody, Angra and the Rob Halford Band, Not to Mention Stephen Lill Ofvanden Plas.

Tracks:

As Flat As The Earth (Exp)
Automatic
Clear Blue Sky
Weightless
Power Down
On Cue
Immortal Blues
Cool Wooden Crosses
Still Point
Gasket
One Long Day
Aerial
Alien

Amazon.com

Critics buzzed loudly over this slide-playing American storyteller's 1991 debut Living with the Law, but there was a decidedly muted reception for 1995's sophomore effort. Here Whitley is back on course with a strong, original effort. "Automatic," one of the more conventional tunes here, is the most impressive. --Jeff Bateman

Customer Reviews:

I adore CW's music beyond all reason--.......2004-04-03

actually, I also adore CW himself beyond all reason. But this CD is terrible. I mean, it's really bad. With the exception of the spooky and powerful Clear Blue Sky and the funky and original Aerial, these songs range from the unlistenable to the merely OK. My life is no different for having heard Cool Wooden Crosses (unlike the case with, say, Dust Radio or Frontier or Scrapyard Lullaby) while Still Point is just monotonous.

As to the one song everyone seems to like: Automatic has some wonderfully intense and vivid lyrics but the music is so bone-chillingly radio-oriented that it's one of the most off-putting songs I've ever heard by any artist. Nothing wrong with radio-friendly tunes--they help sell CDs and keep artists afloat. But Automatic's music is pop-ish in a hostile way. Maybe a way to give the finger to a record company that wanted, like so many fans, just a rehash of Living with the Law? Maybe that's what this whole CD is about. Just a guess.

It's good, but not among his best.......2003-12-05

Terra Incognita is Chris Whitley's attempt at combining the folky sound of his debut Living With The Law and the dark grunge of his second album Din Of Ecstasy. While there are strong tracks here in both musical genres, what hurts this album is the songwriting which is not as stellar or consistent as his first two albums.

When this album is at its best is when it attempts to repeat the dour mood of Din Of Ecstasy through the hypnotic tracks "Gasket" and "Clear Blue Sky." The folkier tracks "As Flat As The Earth", "Weightless", and "Immortal Blues" are all very good, but not among his best work. Other strong tracks here include "On Cue" and "Cool Wooden Crosses." The rest of the tracks are okay, but don't reach the high standard of his other albums. The decent track "Automatic" is an obvious attempt at a hit single that clearly sounds out of place here. If you like his other albums, you'll like this one. Newcomers would be best to start out with either Living With The Law or Din Of Ecstasy.

a great overlooked misunderstood album.......2001-02-28

this album should have been given a chance with alternative crowd. It's what we've been waiting for. The mix of deep delta style blues blended with "what is good" about straight rock music with the honesty of good old fashioned experimental punk rawness. It is misleading at it's first hearing. I thought "rock music; blah, blah, blah..." but this album has a refreshing point of veiw. Really soulful vocals (but honest, convincing soul; not syrup), no rock twit "solo's", and feels like Robert Johnson and the spider's from mars. The album lives in the world of Tom Waits's "raindogs" but with a whole lot more "mid-range" grind. Orgainic, genuine and feels like a p-90 feeding back.

Wish I'd produced this one!.......2000-01-29

Everyone has a couple dozen CD's in his/her collection that are no-fail, play-anytime faves, and Terra Incognita is one of those standards for me. The things I love about this album have to do with continuity--the songs are felt in the seat of the pants throughout!--and Chris Whitley's sinewy snake of a voice is mesmerizing. This is an ideal summer sundown groove album.

well worth owning.......1999-08-11

I am in love with Whitley's 3 other records. This was the first one where I was not moved by every song. So it still makes it a good record! Two thirds of it are incredible, there are several tracks that don't reach me. The rest of this CD features exciting music with some more of his best songs. A must for a Whitley fan, and some day soon I hope there will be many more of them. He's long overdue for a larger spotlight.

Average customer rating:

Undiscovered Gem!

Terra Incognita
Age of Nemesis
Manufacturer: Magna Carta
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Psychogeist
Paradise Lost
Systematic Chaos
Fear of a Blank Planet
The Journey

ASIN: B000KLNLFU
Release Date: 2007-01-16

Tracks:

Tree Of Life
Meeting With The Unbelievable
The Land Of Light
The Secret
Another Existence
Inner Fire
Inferno
Someone Must Take The Blame
Forgive Me My Foolish Crime
Why?
Bleeding Moon
Plummeting Into Eternity

Album Description

The concept for "Terra Incognita" is based on a fictional story by Age Of Nemesis guitarist, Zoltan Fabian. The story is as if we would read it from a dead girl's diary. The girl has no name; she could be anyone, or no one at all... "I imagined what would happen if someone would have a chance to see things in the afterlife. The girl was visited by an angel, who took her to the `Land Of Lights'; where human souls go after their earthly lives. She had a pact with the angel: she must keep in secret all the things that she felt and saw there. When she was back in her bed again, she couldn't keep the secret and she whispered all the things to her sleeping boyfriend, she thought, she didn't break her oath in this way, because he didn't wake up. In the morning when they awoke, he told her about his 'strange dream' in which she had told him about the angel, and the hope of an afterlife. He was sure that his mission was to spread the word to all people about `The Land of Lights'. But people interpret faith in their own ways, sometimes for the worse, and all hell began breaking loose. I think everyone will find something in this story that is about the human selfishness, blind faith, the pain of helplessness, the pang of conscience...the pain if you lose someone."

Limited digipak in the USA, Weblinks for bonus video, mp3s and expanded booklet.

Customer Reviews:

Undiscovered Gem!.......2007-05-07

If you check out my other reviews, then you will find that I always give 5 stars. It isn't that I overrate everything. Rather, I can only get inspired to write about music that I really love (and I buy a lot of CDs that don't get reviewed). Terra Incogdita by Age of Nemesis is very much worth writing about. A concept album with strong vocals and excellent instrumental playing, Terra Incogdita has everything that a true fan of progressive metal is looking for. Apparently first recorded in Magyar, the lyrics were translated to English causing this version to be released after Psychogeist. Psychogeist is great, but Terra Incogdita is even better.

Age of Nemesis are from Hungary. Their guitarist, Zoltan Fabian, appears to be the brainchild behind their material, which is usually quite heavy but possesses softer moments. Fabian also is a great player with a somewhat retro distorted sound, reminiscent of Tony Iommi. This may sound a bit little strange, but his sound combines quite well with the more modern sounding keyboards, creating nice differentiation between both instruments. Vocalist, Zoltan Kiss, is very competent, handling the English lyrics very well. Being a concept album, there is a definite flow from song to song, creating a continuum of music. One high point for me is The Land of Light, which contains some nice keys and acoustic guitar which is intermittently shattered with Fabian's crunch. The other peak moment is Plummeting into Eternity, possessing a lengthy and intoxicating jam intro, super hooks and chorus, and screaming guitar and keyboard solos as an outro. Plummeting into Eternity rises to the description of magnum opus.

I love what the internet has done for music. Without it, bands like Age of Nemesis and albums like Terra Incogdita would never find their way into my CD player. Terra Incogdita - try it, you'll like it!

Average customer rating:

A dark trip back in time

Terra Incognita
Non
Manufacturer: Mute U.S.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Children of the Black Sun (Special Ed) (DVD)
In the Shadow of the Sword
God & Beast

ASIN: B0002LJTXG
Release Date: 2004-08-24

Tracks:

Solitude
Extract 4
Father's Day
Immolation Of Man
Sunset
Arka
Cruenta Voluptas
Untitled 1
A Taste Of Blood
Untitled 2
Extract 5
Extract 12
The Fountain Of Fortune

Customer Reviews:

A dark trip back in time.......2004-09-10

As the liner notes try to impress on you, NON (a.k.a. Boyd Rice) holds a very special place in the history of "noise" music. With material dating back to 1975, he certainly pre-dates all of the industrial bands that have come after. Was he an influence on these musicians? Probably not considering the limited distribution Mr. Rice's early works received. But still... he was there first.

The notes in the accompanying booklet also make you aware of the fact (if you didn't already know), that Boyd Rice did not have any musical training and cannot read music. When listening to this retrospective, one cannot help but be even more impressed with the work he has done over the years with this fact in mind... musical miracles out of nothing it would seem.

Being a retrospective, you can't help but wonder why certain tracks aren't included here, but as Boyd Rice arranged this compilation, you take it as a "new" album... what Mr. Rice wanted you to hear. By all means, whether you are new to NON or not, buy this CD. For those who are new, it makes a great introduction to some his strongest instrumental works. For those who are already familiar, again, it assembles works from the past in a new, coherent form.

Average customer rating:

A Sea of Tranquility Review Sez...

Terra Incognita
Group du Jour
Manufacturer: New Weave Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | New Age | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000M2E3DQ
Release Date: 2007-01-09

Tracks:

Twilight Torches
Down in a Hollow
Can't Tame the Jungle
Remembering Beauty
Third Hemisphere
Invisible Man
As We Fade
Hypnoteque (parts 1-3)

Album Description

Aside from two tracks on the New Weave Artists compilation - 1995's "Timecode", Terra Incognita is the first new Group Du Jour album since 1992's The Mystery Plays, and features all new material from the originators of the "Techno-Ethnic" sound.

Customer Reviews:

A Sea of Tranquility Review Sez..........2007-04-13

"Daniel Crommie's band project Group Du Jour provides us with, arguably, Oregon's answer to Steve Hackett. Whilst not sounding at all like a Hackett clone, the album does possess the same essential ethic of strong composition and variety. The album mixes ethnic influences with interesting guitar effects, short songs with plenty of good hooks and of course Daniel's ever-present flute, which is played perhaps more like Tim Weisberg than John Hackett."

- Richard Barnes

Average customer rating:

Terra Incognita: Ambient Works
Non
Manufacturer: Mute
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0002I8UI4
Release Date: 2004-08-30

Tracks:

Solitude
Extract 4
Father's Day
Immolation Of Man
Sunset
Arka
Cruenta Voluptas
Untitled 1
A Taste Of Blood
Untitled 2
Extract 5
Extract 12
The Fountain Of Fortune

Average customer rating:

Terra Incognita
Consortium Project III
Manufacturer: Century Media
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000D95X1

Album Details

Ian Parry Returns with Another Monster 'symphoprogressive' Offering, Only this Time, He Brings Along Members of Rhapsody, Angra and the Rob Halford Band, Not to Mention Stephen Lill Ofvanden Plas.