REVIEWS
* THE RITE OF PASSAGE
“...masterful guitar work, intense percussion, and various time signature changes...tinged with sounds of Yes and Dream Theater.” -Christine Holz & Lisa Makita, Music News Network (USA)///
“...a step ahead on the growth curve...they obviously have talent...This album deliberately pushes all the right buttons, including a three-part, 13-minute epic, “The Traveler”, which provides some tasty classically inspired keyboard/guitar lines and creative arranging.” -John Collinge, Progression Magazine (USA)///
“Pangaea creates a unique sound all their own...great guitar riffs and vocals, not to mention awesome drums.” -Christy Jones & Landis Foitik, Music News (USA)///
“One concludes from this tranquil oasis that makes one want to get up, that this is one of the best quality of FM prog. You surprisingly find yourself humming the songs. It makes one think of the epic premier album by Asia. This is very successful. One is pleased to listen with a lot of pleasure to this album with no pretensions, but with a lot of charm.” -Dr. Prog, Prog-Resiste (Belgium)///
“...a lot of cool stuff on it...touches of Rush...I do like the orchestration, the intelligent lyrics, the polyphony, and the different moods that are created throughout the CD...definitely a talented band.” -Adam Saunders, The Progress Report (USA)///
“Songs such as ‘Time Syndrome’, ‘Trilogy’, ‘September Park’, (and) ‘Beggar’s Hand’ are absolutely brilliant!” -Artur Chachlowski, Art Rock (Poland)///
“...modern, tight, and very polished, balanced by the use of old keyboards like Hammond organ and Moog synths...beautiful, sparkling piano play, strong and flowing guitar, and nice musical ideas...a lot of variety in their compositions and the solos are great! In the long ‘Trilogy-The Traveler’, the neo-prog feel on the album is the strongest; there is a strong guitar and synthesizer duet in ‘Theme & Fugue’. This is a great album by a promising band, scouting the borders between old and new progrock.” -Erik Neutemboom, Background (the Netherlands) ///
* WELCOME TO THE THEATRE...
“I think Welcome to the Theatre is a great step forward...the music is very mature and sounds fresh and interesting.” -Artur Chachlowski, Art Rock (Poland)///
“They build instrumental sections with a good ear for space and dynamics (‘Crimson’), and craft catchy choruses (‘Dark Room’ and ‘Autumn Monsoon’)...viscerally satisfying.” -Larry Nai, Progression (USA)///
“...high octane all the way...This is a well crafted album. Pangaea are proficient musicians, the result is a very polished CD. Well-crafted songs...versatile arrangements, meter changes, memorable melodies, and intriguing harmonic qualities...can be listened to on many levels. If you have time to get to the heart of what Pangaea are doing, you are richly rewarded.” -Frank Blades, Alternate View (USA)///
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* A TIME AND A PLACE
Reviewed by: John "Bo Bo" Bollenberg, October 2003 Recorded during July and August ’99 and following the releases The Rite Of Passage and Welcome To The Theatre, this new Pangaea album was engineered, mixed and produced by Robert Berry, who also joins the band on bass and backing vocals. His expertise is immediately heard once the great "Something Happened Yesterday" hits your speakers. Especially the chorus is an ingenious piece of work, delivering the kind of accessibility that is just about acceptable from the prog audience, including the fierce guitar solo from Darrell Masingale. Another great aspect of Pangaea's music is their sense for vocal harmonies. A nice example of this can be heard during the acoustic simplicity of "Oasis," one of three parts that makes up "The Journey." "Oasis Of Seclusion" and "Tierra Del Fuego" even contain some World Trade references, not in the least because of the roaring bass. Really outstanding material with "Tierra Del Fuego" even winking at Rush! With "Hollow Life" Pangaea is aiming for the Yes sound during their Big Generator period, yet with the addition of Rick Wakeman. Indeed Corey Schenck’s synths towards the end sound almost like vintage Wakeman. A serious step aside from the "normal" prog idiom has to be "The Panther," which is based around a tribal rhythm; for sure a song that has to give a big impact when performed live as each musician can join in on percussion. When the band was asked to contribute to the Pink Floyd tribute set Signs Of Life, as issued by Eclipsed, they decided to tackle "Time." Although it is a credible attempt, I’m not sure why they put it on this album. And if they decided to put it on, why not right at the very end as a bonus track? As it is, it is now situated somewhere in the middle, which has you think it is part of the album’s concept. "November Sky" could well have been called "December Sky" because to me it contains kind of a Christmas atmosphere. "Human Condition" is made up out of two separate compositions, of which the first, "One Man," is pure Rush, whilst the second part, "Anthem," is enough to enthuse the biggest stadium! With A Time And A Place Pangaea have grown in maturity, both where writing skills is concerned as well as performance. They are sure ready to play with "the big boys" now, as I don’t see any difference in their output and that of their contemporaries. For sure Robert Berry has done a great job, but you can be the best producer in the world, if the material is no good then there’s little he can adjust. All’s in the right place here and it’s about time these guys get some media coverage and attention because they really sound awesome!///
Review by Mind Dawn Online Music Service Coming from Houston (Texas), PANGAEA could well be the new revelation of American neo Progressive rock. This quartet clearly means it. The proofs are their true personality (Comparisons with other bands don't come to mind easily), their technical level and a remarkable instrumental cohesion, as well as the hiring of famous Robert BERRY (Former member of THREE and indispensable member of label Magna Carta for many years: a name synonym of quality !) for their first self-produced album ("The Rite Of Passage") in 1996. This gives then a powerful sound and a flawless production, something constant in this band's complete discography. Issued two years later on the Angular label, "Welcome To The Theatre" reaffirms their style and prepares for the apotheosis "A Time And A Place" (2003). Again created by the brothers Corey and Andy SCHENCK (Accompanied by the ever-present Robert BERRY), this gem of precision fills the listener of enthusiasm for their themes, both immediately catchy and complex in their developments. Their music goes without problems from typically neo Progressive sequences to pure moments of ambient bliss (Something the great PINK FLOYD probably wouldn't have objected to), a touch of heavy-metal here, some blazing percussions there: the listener won't have the possibility to be bored more than half a second. A bonus: the object itself includes a cover with very elaborate graphics. The pleasure of the eyes associated to the pleasure of the ears !///
Review by VM: May 5, 2003 Conclusion. On their third album, Pangaea plays like a very experienced band capable performing a high-quality Progressive Rock. I can highly recommend this album not only to all the lovers of Classic Symphonic Art-Rock, but also those into Symphonic Space Rock in general and such hallmark bands of the genre as Pink Floyd and especially Eloy in particular.
History
1996: In February the brothers Schenck, Andi (drums) and Corey (keyboards/guitar) founded PANGAEA with Ron Poulsen (bass) and Darrell Masingale (vocals/guitar) in Houston, Texas. For the next five months the band focused on writing and rehearsing original material. The music was a mix of the classic music of the past and cutting edge ideas of the new generation. Memorable melodies, solid rhythms, and rich harmonies are some of the features in their music. After writing over thirty songs they selected ten of the strongest for the first CD. The band recorded their debut, The Rite of Passage, with producer/musician Robert Berry (of 3 and GTR) at Soundtek Studios in Campbell, California during July and released to it to positive reviews worldwide the following winter. The band sold thousands of copies worldwide without the support of a label and managed to find radio play on college, Internet, and European stations. The songs “Time Syndrome”, “The Winds”, “September Park”, “Father”, “Hollow Dweller”, “A Gift”, “Lonely is a Place” and “Beggar’s Hand” hit the airwaves in Canada, England, Poland, Germany, France, Sweden, Israel, and the Netherlands.///
1998: In the summer, PANGAEA recorded the follow up, Welcome to the Theatre... and released it early the next year through Angular Records of Germany. Again, various radio formats played many of the songs. Two tracks from the album were released on compilation CDs in Europe (“Autumn Monsoon“ and “The Hobo, The Dog, & The Moon“), which led to a European tour invitation. Andi’s track “The White Shaman”, which was inspired on his trip of Native American historical sites, was distributed as a single through the Rock Art Foundation of the Pecos River Valley in Texas. In 1998 the group was on the cover of the Pink Floyd art-rock magazine Eclipsed in Europe. PANGAEA was also featured and interviewed in other magazines worldwide such as Subterranea in Chile, Empire, in Germany and Metal Hammer in both Germany and Poland. The experimental track “The Nightmare” received a “DJ mix” in Greece and hit the club circuit in 1999. Other notable songs were "The Fall of Rome" and "Dark Room" which also received airplay in Europe, Asia, South America, and North America.///
2001-03: At the turn of the century PANGAEA completed writing music for their third CD, A Time & A Place. Just before recording began Poulsen left the band temporarily. The album features session musicians Steve Osborn (vocals) and Maurice Bettaglio and Robert Berry sharing bass duties. The group also recorded a compelling rendition of the Pink Floyd classic “Time” for a tribute album entitled Signs of Life. "Something Happened Yesterday", "November Sky", "Myth", and "The Human Condition" were the 'radio songs' this time around. Later that year Pangaea began performing live with singer Kirk Eller and guitarist Scott Draughon joining the Schencks and Masingale. In the summer of 2002, Poulsen returned on bass. A Time & A Place was released in 2003. The quintet established themselves as a meticulous live band with songs that showcase the individual members' instrumental and vocal skills. Performances in Texas, Oklahoma, Los Angeles, San Jose, and Nashville have proven successful for the group.///
2004-2006: Pangaea went on hiatus while the members were working on various projects. Osborn went on to do solo work, Poulsen was working as a session player in Tulsa. The Schenck brothers and Masingale formed the rock band The Reckoning which included bassist Rico Schenck (youngest brother to Corey and Andi). in Houston///
2006: Their version of Pink Floyd’s “Time” was selected for another tribute project to be released in Europe late in 2006.///
2009: Recently, Pangaea has opened the lines of communication toward the possibility of future concerts and a new album. According to Corey Schenck the band may began working again in June with the definitive lineup of the Schenck brothers, Osborn, Poulsen, and Masingale.
Pangaea’s CD catalogue is available through the band and online sources in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and France.
Yellow Shoes in Italy have released a new Vegetable Man volume. We are glad to have our Vegetable Elephant Man (as AirwavesJoxfield) included on this one! You can listen to the track at the profile www.myspace.com/airwavesjoxfield
wud up? just letting you know we are playing a show at scout bar on saturday, december 26. its gonna be a blast. hope you can make out. hit us back.. thanks
Hope you are having a HAPPY MONDAY ... blah ... If you are a FREE or NON member of TourZag.com we are offering your first month for free if you sign up !!!! yay us !!! www.tourzag.com
Hey we (tourzag.com) are trying to make our service better, which in return will benefit ALL BANDS !!! If you are in a band can you mozey on over to our little survey and take 1 minute (it took me 30 seconds) to fill it out ? http://tourzag.com/survey.php Thanks in advance !!! The TourZag.com team http://tourzag.com/survey.php
Don't miss Rush of Fools with most played singles on Christian radio in 07 and 08 AND
The Access Nashville has said The Access is the best thing to come along in years! With A live show described as amazing! One great night of music, ministry and worship! Bring your friends and family!
SAVE The Date SUNDAY Sept. 27th. 7:00pm.....Doors open at 6:00pm. Maranatha Church 12319 Hwy 146 N. Baytown, TX. Concert to benefit Food Band and Love, Inc. www.myspace.com/theaccessband
Hi Pangaea
Welcome to the CIRCA: family of friends, please stop by the CIRCA: page and have a listen to clips from the new "CIRCA: HQ" CD as well as the debut "CIRCA: CD". We also have 4 youtube clips for preview of our "CIRCA: LIVE DVD", including excerpts from our YES Medly called "The Chronological Journey" a 40 minute non-stop epic musical adventure through time featuring cuts from every YES record EVER !! www. youtube. com/circahq
We are releasing all things CIRCA: ourselves independently, in other words you won't find it on Amazon or CD Baby etc... it's ONLY available through our on line store www. CIRCAHQ. com
Hey, we're playing at Crazy Frogs (formally Acadia Bar) on 1960.. Sat. March 28th. Its our first show on the north side in over a year. This will be our last show before we kick off our US tour. Please try to make it out. Its only $7bux and we've got a bunch of new songs to play. Hit us back if you need more details.
you coming out to Mardi Gras this weekend? we're playing Saengerfest Park (22nd and Strand) @ 2:30pm this saturday.. come spend Valentines day in Galveston..
Hey what's up? Just dropping by to say HI! If you haven't been to our page lately, swing by and check it out. Comment back and let us know what song you like best and how you've been doing!
Pleased to virtually make your acquaintance! Thank you for joining my circle of cyber friends, for excepting the add and for sharing your Awesome Music with me. Good Sound and Vibes! Enjoyed listening, Thanks. ~K E E P ~ O N ~ P R O G I N’~!! Take care my friends, God bless you and yours. Have yourselves an inspiring week.
Hi guys, thanks for the add. Nice songs and nice sound. Greetings from Italy,
William -------------------------------- I'm working on the new GARDEN WALL studio album (the seventh one). In the meantime our label has released, after some years of various troubles, "Aliena(c)tion", which consists of some unreleased material from 2000 plus some later live recordings. You can hear some samples on Mellow Records and Garden Wall Myspace pages. Cheers, William
Corey and Andi you guys are my heroes! Corey you have always had such beautiful, flowing hair...Andi, a lack of. But hey, look on the bright side, at least you can get facial hair now!
Hey Pangaea
Two new Song Samples from our forthcoming CD “RETROSPECTIVE” are online. Please feel free to comment…. Have a nice weekend!
SILENT MEMORIAL progressive rock/metal from Switzerland
Online Now!
We are glad to have our Vegetable Elephant Man (as AirwavesJoxfield) included on this one!
You can listen to the track at the profile
www.myspace.com/airwavesjoxfield
HAPPY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR !!