Dark Matter

Track Listings

1. Blue Mass

2. Full of Stars

3. Solar Nexus

4. Ursa Minor

5. The Call

6. Dithryamb

7. Radiant Curves

Editorial Reviews
Dann Chinn, Misfit City
A cloud chamber is a device for measuring the existence of the intangible. Physicists use them - mapping out the paths that subatomic particles trace through a vapor, studying nuclear reactions and inferring the presence of other particles. There's something about that last bit I particularly like: inferring the existence of something. Something you can only detect, or believe in, by seeing how it affects something else.

Cloud Chamber (with the capitals, and with a CD out) is an improvising group allowing the convergence of several other exotic particles. These being guitarist Barry Cleveland, space-age bass guitarist Michael Manring, cellist Dan Reiter, percussionist Joe Venegoni, and Michael Masley, who coaxes sounds out of a more esoteric set of instruments - panpipes, gobek and gobeon, and the cymbalom dulcimer which he plays with his own customized "bowhammers". Having come together as part of Oakland's "Lodge" improv evenings following stints with employers as diverse as Michael Hedges, the Oakland Symphony Orchestra, Ry Cooder and Garbage (plus exploits in journalism and dance theater), Cloud Chamber's collective past suggests that what they're likely to condense together will be suckling blissfully on an inspiration of mind and music that's devoid of barriers. Or, more accurately, outside them. When listening to improvised music you're all too often shoved back on your arse by the force of several musicians protesting their individuality as forcefully as possible, and playing off each other with all the subtlety of dodgem cars. Cloud Chamber, on the other hand, have nothing to do with ego. The fivesome's music emerges as inevitably as the interplay of ocean currents, a process of continual organic movement to which the musicians respond as if they're no more than implements of a guiding force.

Product Description
Last February, the Reuters news service ran a story that asked "Is there dark matter in this galaxy?" The piece described dark matter as that which "cannot be seen by conventional means but which makes its presence known by its effects on gravity." While the existence of dark matter is a topic of heated debate amongst astrophysicists, five renowned Bay area musicians have used the abstract concept as a very real springboard for a spatial odyssey in improvisation.

Dark Matter is the title of the debut CD from that quintet. Known as Cloud Chamber, the group is comprised of guitarist Barry Cleveland, bassist Michael Manring, bowhammer cymbalom (a Hungarian hammer dulcimer) player Michael Masley, cellist Dan Reiter and percussionist Joe Venegoni. The disc is an entirely improvised, all-instrumental outing that eschews conventional musical thinking in order to pursue spontaneous and unpredictable directions.

Cloud Chamber straddles many genres, styles and moods in its free-spirited and sometimes epic-length explorations. The group incorporates elements of world music, jazz, classical, ambient, noise rock, progressive rock and even a touch of punk angst. Featuring shades of Frank Zappa, Dmitri Shostakovich, Brian Eno and late-60's Miles Davis, Dark Matter possesses an unclassifiable sound that truly embraces the idea of music without borders. From: Playing on the Moment's Edge by Anil Prasad February, 1998

Dark Matter

Dark Matter,Cloud Chamber,Supersaturated

Dark Matter

Dark Matter

Average customer rating:

IQ - 25 Year Veterans Put Out Their All Time Best Album

Two thums up for you IQ

Best progressive record in many years!

An Old Dog Learns New Tricks

Bumping up the average and I don't care

Dark Matter
IQ
Manufacturer: Inside Out U.S.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
General | Rock | Styles | Music
Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music
Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B00029RTHG
Release Date: 2004-06-29

Tracks:

Sacred Sound
Red Dust Shadow
You Never Will
.Born Brilliant
Harvest Of Souls

Album Description

Dark Matter is the new studio album from England's legendary IQ. With a career that spans nearly 25 years, IQ remains one of the biggest names in the world of Progressive Rock. Dark Matter marks a new beginning for IQ as this album will be their first US domestic release in nearly 20 years and it is their first for Inside Out Music America. As would be expected from the title, this is a dark, brooding album, bristling with attitude and aggression reminiscent of the band's early days but Dark Matter also contains moments of great melodic beauty. It is pure progressive rock in all its glory with soaring guitar melodies backed up with the classic sounds of Mellotrons, Moog and Hammond organ and offset by Peter Nicholls' ever impenetrable lyrics. The classic IQ line-up of Nicholls, Martin Orford, Mike Holmes, John Jowitt and Paul Cook remains very much intact and they are all in great form on Dark Matter.

Customer Reviews:

IQ - 25 Year Veterans Put Out Their All Time Best Album.......2007-05-31

IQ have been around now for more than 25 years, but the band just keeps getting better. "Dark Matter" ranks right up with the very best output of the band and continues their reign as one of the masters of the neo prog style. In fact after listening to this album again, I think it may very well be IQ's all time best. The first half of the album "Sacred Sound", "Red Dust Shadow", and "You Never Will" are all great. The band employs a slightly heavier sound on this one and as the title might suggest the lyrics are a bit darker than usual IQ fare. As good as the first three tracks are the real meat of the album can be found in the last two songs. "Born Brilliant" is a driving anathematic rocker. Clocking in at only 5 minutes it is short by progressive rock standards, but man does this song cook. I remember this song being performed at NEARfest 2005 (available on DVD) and the sound of the pounding beginning of this track over the massive festival sound system sent shivers up my spine. My home stereo is not quite the same level of intensity, but I can't help but crank this one up each time I pull it out. I also love the lyrics "You, like me, were raised to be a million times admired. Unlike mine, your family line, we're all born brilliant liars". Some of Peter Nichols best stuff. The final track "Harvest Of Souls" clocks in at close to 25 minutes. This may be the best individual musical work that IQ has ever done. I have to give the band credit in one area. "Dark Matter" is the first CD to be officially released in the U.S. in many years after signing to Inside Out America. For their first non-import album in such a long time it took guts to write a 25 minute epic basically about the world's perception of the United States. For me the lyrics really hit the mark, although some in this country may not agree with Nichols point of view. Musically the whole thing is brilliant as well, showing off all of IQ's strengths from soaring guitars, wall of sound keyboards and the invigorating rhythm section. I love this album and after a 25 year career think that IQ is currently at the top of their game.

Two thums up for you IQ.......2007-03-19

Very very good cd, IQ wasn't one of my favorite band in the early days.
Since the album "Ever", fourteen years ago, they have done really great prog albums and "Dark Matter" is one of the best album of the band. From the beginning to the end, this cd is full of powerful music, great transitions, good feelings and melodic instrumentation as we, prog music fans, really like. Highly recommanded. A jewel in my cd collection.

Best progressive record in many years!.......2006-07-22

Dark Matter is an album with progressive, symphonic rock with a new, fresh and dark approach mixed with the ingredients that characterizes the music of early Genesis and Yes. Beautiful harmonies, well played and harmonic guitar sounds reminding of the style of Yes' Steve Howe, a pumping melodic bass and well played drums. The keyboardist Martin Orford's playing reminds of Rick Wakeman's; in some bits I can hear resemblances from Close to the edge, in some others just the same type of playing; it's beautiful, harmonic and well played and its sounds fills the music with the sound the progressive music with a new and fresh approach. Peter Nicholl's singing is extremly good, the best I've heard from him so far; sounds like a young Peter Gabriel.

Dark Matter is a mix between the music that characterizes the early Genesis and Yes years mixed with the Promised Land era of Queensryche and the music played by Placebo. And even though I'm not a fan of the latest band mentioned I still find this music extremly good. The first four songs all have something original and fresh and differ from each other. The 25 minutes long Harvest Of Souls that has resemblances of Gates of Delirium with Yes and Supper's Ready with Genesis. It's a song with extremely beautiful music, with lovely harmonies mixed with the aggressiveness that Yes gave us with Gates Of Delirium and the spirituality of Awaken; the one you just should sit down with a cup of coffee and turn up the music and relax. It takes you on a journey through the wasting lives of war to the aftermath of this war and has give you a multidimensional lyrical approach that makes you think and interpret in the way that fits your own life. Highly recommended!

An Old Dog Learns New Tricks.......2006-05-31

To start off.....I am the old dog referred to in the title. I have been a prog rock fan since the seminal work of King Crimson, ELP, Yes, Genesis (Gabriel/Hackett era), Camel and still consider them the Masters. My music purchases typically were CDs of these classics (to replace my vinyl, well-worn record albums) and I gobbled up the recent releases of these bands or various solo projects by the band members. I was stuck in a seventies time warp.

There were few outlets to hear new and exciting prog rock so it seemed to me that the genre was dead. I was really not finding too many new prog rock bands that tripped my trigger and all still paled in comparison to the Masters. There would be an occasional band that would show some promise, such as Marillion, but with repeated listening I would tire of them.

How wrong I was......I seemed to have missed a whole host of great prog rock bands during the 80s to the present. Just recently, I discovered and enjoyed bands such as Pallas, Pendragon, Arena, Porcupine Tree and others. I thought to myself.....how in the heck did I miss this great music? However the big find for me was IQ!

IQ really pays homage to the Masters, especially capturing the essence of Genesis when it was in the golden era of Gabriel and Hackett. Dark Matter was the first IQ album I purchased (it was recommended through Amazon and I checked some songs out on Progarchives.com which sounded wonderful to me so I made the purchase). Since then I have bought several other IQ CDs and enjoy them immensely as well.

Overall, Dark Matter is my favorite. It captures the spirit of classic progressive rock. I repeatedly find myself relistening to it and do not tire of it. One reviewer had stated that the keyboards sounded like they were purchased at a Tony Bank's yard sale and that really does ring true.....more than any other neoprog band, IQ's keyboards have the feel of the seventies keyboards....I love it.

Why, despite my rave about the CD do I only give it 4 stars? My problem is that I want more instrumental work and less vocals. The vocalist is great, however, there is too much of him. What made the Masters great was their virtuosity and the long instrumental breaks....the keyboard solo of Tony Bank's on "Cinema Show," Steve Hackett's etheral guitar solo on "Firth of Fifth," etc, etc. The musicianship of IQ is great but all too often they get to a musical break and it seems like they are going to stretch out into a long instrumental but then the vocalist begins to chirp in once again. I just wish they would let it all go for a while! It is a minor criticism, but if you are an old prog rocker like myself who cut their teeth on the Masters you know exactly what I am talking about.

Yes....an old seventies era prog rocker has learned some new tricks and I am sure glad I did. I highly recommend IQ and Dark Matter in particular. There are alot of oldtimers out there like me (and young prog rock fans who are wise beyond their years) who will truly enjoy this band and their music....I eagerly anticipate their next release.

Bumping up the average and I don't care.......2006-05-28

I've listened to two other IQ albums, and this one just kicks those albums into oblivion as far as I'm concerned. "Sacred Sound" and "Harvest of Souls" are excellent epics, but it's the shorter songs that really make the punch. I have been singing "Red Dust Shadow" and "You Never Will" for the past year constantly. They're catchy, moody, and intensely emotional.

Peter Nicholls may come off at first as a Peter Gabriel-wannabe, and there's no doubt that the album follows a similar format to "Foxtrot" by Genesis. But over several listens, this album gains an identity of its own. Michael Holmes' subtle guitar work blends in nicely with the bombast of Martin Orford's keys. This album is a wonderful find and along with Porcupine Tree and the new Neal Morse-less Spock's Beard is one of the true champions of hook-worthy art rock.

Average customer rating:

The best of modern progressive...
Good times
Finally

Hooray for Dark Matter
Enemy
Manufacturer: Five Knuckle Bullet Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000BB18B8
Release Date: 2005-10-11

Tracks:

Action
Clean
Freeway
The Treatment
Locust Sky Zone
It's No Joke
Sucker
Hostile
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Target
Vacancy
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Sketch
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All Escapes Part 3

Album Description

Troy Van Leeuwen, live and studio guitar player for Queens Of The Stone Age, A Perfect Circle, and Failure, along with Eddie Nappi, bassist for Handsome, deliver a slice of hard rock heaven with this debut. Enemy effortlessly blend crushing riffs of bands like Helmet with atmospheric guitar playing that would make The Cure's Robert Smith jealous. Hard rock/pop precision at its finest.

Customer Reviews:

The best of modern progressive..........2005-11-16

Troy Van Leeuwen has been involved in some great, high profile acts such as A Perfect Circle and Queens Of The Stone Age, but he steps out on his own with "Hooray For Dark Matter," the debut album from his band ENEMY.

ENEMY steps away from the from the "created for radio" predictable mold with this adventurous yet melodic dark Rock record.

I really like the anthemic track "The Treatment" which swells so big that you think the song might explode. And the murkier "It's No Joke" paints an erie and enigmatic sonic picture. I also really like ENEMY's version of Nick Cave's "City Of Refuge."

If you're looking for something different and moody yet stunningly bold, check this record out.

Good times.......2005-11-09

Although these musicians come from great bands, and do a killer job in them; it shouldn't be the reason that sells them...Especially when the music sounds exactly like their counterparts intermingled. Bad Mannerism in Music, and sales, at its best ladies and gentlemen!

Finally.......2005-11-04

It has been 6 years since I saw ENEMY live for the first time. They opened A Perfect Circle. Finally, I got the album, and I feel that now the circle is complete. Great music & Great sound. Thank you!!

Average customer rating:

Give this one a chance to grow on you

Mei

Manufacturer: Dark Matter Distribution
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000CA6S0Y
Release Date: 2006-08-01

Customer Reviews:

Give this one a chance to grow on you.......2006-01-04

It often takes a few listens for an album to grow on me, but this one set a record. It KEPT growing on me with every listen for about a year, until it became a huge favorite. Echolyn is a prog-rock band out of Pennsylvania that over the last 15 years has gradually gone from having more chops than ideas to being the best hope for the future of prog. "Mei" is a single 50-minute album-length song, in the footsteps of "Thick As a Brick". And much as I love Tull's album, "Mei" is better. The album is full of alternating fast and slow sections, with most musical themes getting reprised somewhere along the way. The fast sections rock harder than anything Echolyn had previously recorded, though not as much as 2005's "The End Is Beautiful". William Barnes continues the great clean, crisp production he provided on 2000's "Cowboy Poems Free." Lyrically, the band's website bills "Mei" as "...a combination of Jack Kerouac's 'On the Road' and Dante Alighieri's 'Inferno'". On "Cowboy Poems", keyboardist Chris Buzby made the decision that he was going to minimize his use of synthesizers in favor of electic piano and organ, and that choice helps to give "Mei" a timeless feel. There is none of the neo-prog excess of earlier albums like "As the World", though Echolyn still loves to change time signatures. "Mei" and "Cowboy Poems Free" are the two best post-1980 progressive rock albums I've heard. By anyone. I own about a thousand albums, and "Mei" is hovering on the fringes of my all-time Top 10.

(1=poor 2=mediocre 3=pretty good 4=very good 5=phenomenal)

Average customer rating:

Submarine Silence
Submarine Silence
Manufacturer: Dark Matter Distribution
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000OPO2AA
Release Date: 2006-08-01

Average customer rating:

People can change after twenty-three years . . .
Just when I thought rock would never be like this again...

Dark Matter
John Sloman
Manufacturer: Majestic Rock
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B0000996A5
Release Date: 2005-05-09

Tracks:

Humankind
New Day
Joe Public
Room at the End of the Hallway
Rage on the New Age
Weatherman
Rose Without a Thorn
Really Don't Want to Know
Jammin' with Jesus
Dream a Dream

Album Description

2003 solo album for artist who arrived on the scene as the exciting frontman for Welsh rockers Lone Star before stints as vocalist with Uriah Heep & Gary Moore & keyboardist with UFO & Todd Rundgren. Ten tracks. Majestic Rock.

Customer Reviews:

People can change after twenty-three years . . ........2004-02-05

John Sloman, who I know mainly (only in fact) from his brief year spent as frontman of my all-time favorite band forever and ever Amen, Uriah Heep, was something of a musical anomaly. He shows up for one album, and then disappeared just as quickly. I am aware of the alleged conflicts in Heep that legends say drove him out, but I liked the guy a lot, and would have to be honest liked to hear more from him, at least one more album if not more. But we didn't get it, and Sloman vanished into obscurity (locating the work he did with different bands is difficult, as the albums seem to be out of print, but I could stand corrected). As far as I was concerned, Sloman was a one-time event, never to be heard from again once the final chorus of the bonus track "Lying" faded out on my copy of Uriah Heep's "Conquest"... never heard from again until now.
In 2003, Sloman released a solo album, recorded in his homeland of Wales, and it was thanks to the extreme kindness of my brother that I received a copy of it for Christmas (as a poor college student, I am no longer able to buy things on my own). A lot of time elapsed between 1980 and 2003... time enough, in fact, for me to be born and then grow to the age of 23 (yes, I was born the year Sloman sang for Heep!). I was anxious to hear the man again, what with his distinct voice, flambuoyant shrieks, and theatrical, pseudo-operaic vocalizations (one thing I liked about Sloman in Heep was the way he didn't sound like ANYone I'd ever listened to before... while the liner notes say that during his time as a rising star he was referred to as "the new Robert Plant" in some magazines/reviews, I honestly don't really hear it. In tone, I might concede, but certainly not as far as style goes). Well, I got Sloman back, but was he the man he used to be?
Yes, I know people change over time, and I even told myself that when I first found out about the existence of this album. Still, in spite of that, I was really expecting "Conquest Part II" with "Dark Matter", and that isn't what I got. Now, this isn't to say that I was disappointed, because I wasn't, it's just that I didn't get the album I'd sort of envisioned before hand (take THAT Descartes and all your innate ideas!). "Dark Matter" is a completely different animal, much, much more aggressive than the 1980 Heep offering, and far less up-beat (though I wouldn't describe "Conquest" as a happy album, it still had its bright spots) and much more dark and dreary ... in other words, it most certainly lives up to its title. The Sloman of "Dark Matter" isn't exactly the same Sloman of "Conquest", so if you're like me than don't let that be the reason why you buy this. But if you want a good, different, dark, and sometimes unsettling album to listen to, than give this a shot. Not having heard "Conquest" will in no way affect your enjoyment of "Dark" (though honestly, if you found your way here to the Amazon listing and know who Sloman is, you've probably heard "Conquest" already), and really having heard it will leave you with false expectations when the time comes to put this one in the player for the first time. It's really best to wipe your mind clean of what its heard before, and start fresh.

The album closes with the one song I really want to mention in particular, "Dream a Dream". Great song, especially for those last two minutes, filled with some excellent guitars, drumming, and harmony vocals (just check out those fantastic seconds where the guitars drop out, leaving us with the drums and vocals on their own!). I love it ... and best of all, we get a return to form for Sloman, who's waited till the very last song to become what he was back in his days with Heep... it's great to hear him again in this way, especially after we've warmed to and accepted him in his more current manifestation.

I heard "Dark Matter" as a "Conquest" fan, wanting to hear more. I didn't get what I expected, but I still liked this album a lot (in some ways ... track eight gives me pause once I realize what it is I've said). It's great ... whether you're a Heep fan or not, if you like good hard rock/classic heavy metal, this album is a definite must in your music collection. I'm really sorry it's so obscure ... "Dark Matter" by John Sloman definitely deserves to be heard.

Carry On Carry On (guess from whom I stole that phrase in the first place?),

Just when I thought rock would never be like this again..........2003-11-10

... I found out John Sloman's Dark Matter!

This is a true feast for '70s rock-style fans' crave for music. I was blown away right from the start! This album is driven by passion and a genuine desire to create first class rock music, not as a banal attempt to make money or to satisfy greedy music tycoons not caring about the art itself.

John Sloman's contribution to rock was huge in the late 70's and early '80s. I wish he had stayed with UFO because his un-credited keyboard playing in The Wild The Willing and The Innocent album was unique, and the potential for even greater albums was there. In Dark Matter, he plays straight-ahead rock guitar with beautiful simplicity. His voice is more mature now (and accessible to the casual listener), and the songs simply rock!

Many years have passed by since he gave us Lone Star's Firing On All Six, Uriah Heep's Conquest and vocals with Gary Moore... but certainly worth the wait. Keep on rockin' John, more music like this and you will continue growing your fan base from all over the world!
EVERY ROCK FAN SHOULD BUY THIS MASTER PIECE WITHOUT HESITATION.

Little Bit of Fire
Average customer rating:

Solid AOR from the New Monkees Member!!!

Little Bit of Fire
Tower City
Manufacturer: Dark Matter Distribution
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00000B20B
Release Date: 2006-08-01

Customer Reviews:

Solid AOR from the New Monkees Member!!!.......2007-01-12

Remember the New Monkees group that toured in the late 80's/early 90's & replaced the Monkees of old? Well if not, that is ok but the singer/guitarist Larry Saltis is also the singer for this solid AOR CD. When It All Falls Down is worth the price of this CD alone. Other noteworthy songs are Talking To Sarah, Moonlight, A Little Bit Of Fire, Surrender and Stop Running. If you like Bon Jovi, Def Leppard or Danger Danger this CD is worth the price. It is getting harder and harder to find so don't miss out.

Average customer rating:

Destiny?
Mystery
Manufacturer: Dark Matter Distribution
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00005N98C
Release Date: 1998-05-05

Tracks:

Legend
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Shadow of the Lake

Album Description

Progressive music label from CANADA

Average customer rating:

Echolyn - Early Outstanding Effort
Echolyn's weakest album, but it has its moments

Suffocating Bloom

Manufacturer: Dark Matter Distribution
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Release Date: 2006-08-01

Customer Reviews:

Echolyn - Early Outstanding Effort.......2007-02-10

When this album came out I had no idea this band existed. In fact in 1992 for all I knew progressive rock was dead and gone. It was in the late 90's when I discovered Echolyn and went back and purchased their entire back catalogue. Echolyn are still one of the most unique bands, prog or otherwise, to have emerged from the United States in the last two decades. Although the band seems to want to distance themselves from this album, I think it ranks up as one of their best. Yes, they were young and their songwriting skills may have still been developing, but holy cow what potential they had. It all shines through on this album as the band basically throw everything plus the kitchen sink at the listener to see what fits. The first half of the album consists of individual songs that are mostly of the shorter variety. Highlights include "21", "Winterthru", "Memoirs From Between", "A Little Nonsense" and "Here I Am" The band takes classic progressive rock influences, then mold them into a unique sound that is completely their own. There really is no other band out there that sounds like Echolyn. The last half of the album is the 28 plus minute "A Suite For The Everyman". This epic is a tour de force that covers just about every musical style you could mention. The "Those That Want To Buy" section of the piece would prove to be prophetic of events for the band in the not too distant future. Instrumentally the performances are flawless with each band member showcasing their skills throughout the disc. Ray Weston and Brett Kull's lyrics get a bit obtuse at times, but for the most part I like them, and find some of them quite poignant. "I feel like I'm always sawing through the branch that I'm sitting on".........indeed I can relate. Fans seemed to have mixed reactions to this disc, and the band pretty much disses it, but for me it remains one of my favorites. The album would impress Sony enough to sign the band to a major labeled contract........for a while at least.......

Echolyn's weakest album, but it has its moments.......2006-01-04

Echolyn's second album was their weakest. There are two excellent songs, the yuletide "Winterthru" and "Memoirs from Between", with it's chorus of "Set a course, up ahead, straight into heaven". A few other songs are decent, such as "A Little Nonsense", "Here I Am", and "Suffocating the Bloom". But their songwriting skills didn't fully kick in until the next album, 1995's "As the World". While most of the songs here have some catchy moments, most also have some dull moments to balance them. Out of fear of boring the listener, Echolyn threw a ton of riffs into every song to keep changing things up. The result is that instead of getting to hear the best musical ideas in a song one extra time, you have to listen to their 12th-best idea. Most of the lyrics are cheesy self-help philosophy. "One Voice" is a Van Gogh tribute that's as maudlin as Don McLean's "Vincent". The last half of the album is a multi-part "A Suite for the Everyman" that just doesn't work, whether it's the 12-tone stuff keyboardist Chris Buzby picked up in music theory class or the catchy choruses undermined by impossible lyrics like "It's branded me a stoic and that's not what I am". Start with Echolyn's later albums and come back for this one later if you become a big fan.

(1=poor 2=mediocre 3=pretty good 4=very good 5=phenomenal)