The Progressive Souls Collective: Encore, Vol. II: Sonic Birth Live

I have been on a good run with albums to review recently, because this one is another winner. The Progressive Souls Collective (TPSC) seems to be just that, a collective of very talented musicians from various parts of the world rather than a traditional band, who get together when inspiration strikes, but never with exactly the same lineup and frequently with a host of guests. They have released two full-length albums of originals: Sonic Birth (2020) and Sonic Rebirth (2024) along with an album of five covers featuring songs from Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd and … Toto and Massive Attack. It’s titled Encore Vol. I: Sonic Tributes (2024). Now, they’ve given us Encore Vol. II, which is a live recording of the debut album from the Artrock Festival in Germany in 2022.

I haven’t listened to the studio album to compare it to the live recording, but the length of all the songs is roughly the same, so I assume they are fairly faithful to the studio versions. The best way I can describe the music is to compare them to Porcupine Tree from the In Absentia, Deadwing, and Fear of a Blank Planet period. It’s pretty heavy prog but retains melody. The main differences are, one, TPSC features a vocalist, Vladimir Lalic, who could easily fit into a European power metal band and sometimes sounds like he might be better suited for that type of music; and, two, TPSC seems to be pretty keen on showing off their formidable chops when the songs don’t necessarily require that. But make no mistake about it: This remains compelling material. Joining Lalic for this live recording are Florian Zepf on guitars, Gerald Peter on keyboards, Jamie Powell on bass, and Tim Korycki on drums.

I don’t know how to track down physical copies of the album, if they are available. TPSC’s Bandcamp site is very sparse, with only three snippets from Sonic Birth, the studio album. And I have done a lot of searching on the site of Metalville Records, their label, only to find links to streaming services. So, you might be out of luck if you want a CD, but by all means check it out digitally. There are also short clips online of them playing a few of the tracks if you want to see them in action.

Track Listing
1. Human Denaturation (2:10)
2. Metature (4:54)
3. Comfortable Darkness (2:23)
4. Killing True Beliefs (6:29)
5. Fractional Emotion (6:09)
6. A Formula for Happiness (6:45)
7. Inner Circle (2:05)
8. You and Me Alone (5:21)
9. Hurt (4:37)
10. Destiny Inc. (15:40)
11. Mind Treasures (1:47)
12. With Others (8:14)

Added: April 21st 2025
Reviewer: Aaron Steelman
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 135
Language: english

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