New releases last two weeks: Progressive Rock

Review: Pioneering Japanese psychedelic rock Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. (AMT) were formed in 1995. Their relentless output has spawned various offshoots over the years, such as Acid Mothers Temple & the Cosmic Inferno and Acid Mothers Temple SWR, synthesising and alien cosmo-grammar in sound, one that perhaps only the most acid-casualtied tongues can interpret or speak. Now present through Rolling Heads comes their latest album for 2025: Holy Black Mountain Side comprises three psychedelic pieces, reticulating a series of recording sessions held down between 2021 and 2023, at one point reinterpreting a traditional folk song, and throughout enlisting guest bass from Taigen Kawabe of Bo Ningen. Each record comes wrapped in unique artwork by lead improvisor Kashiwagi Ten, adding an extra layer of veiled mystery to each: no two records are visually alike.

Review: After a five-year split, Atomic Rooster returned with renewed force on their sixth studio album, Atomic Rooster, pushing into heavier territory sligning au naturel with the emerging new wave of British heavy metal. Released in 1980, the album marked a sharp turn from their earlier, more progressive leanings, favouring a nude, aggressor rock sound. Guitarist and vocalist John Du Cann reworked two tracks, 'She's My Woman' and 'Where's the Show?', from his unreleased 1977 solo work The World's Not Big Enough, breathing into them second life within the Rooster framework. Though the 2005 CD reissue stirred interest with rare demos and extensive sleevenotes, it remains an "unofficial" release due to copyright issues with EMI. 'Do You Know Who's Looking for You?' later found new life via a Finnish-language cover by rock band YUP.