Best albums after 10 year plus layoff

[Yanks2014]

Over the past few years we've had bands put out some outstanding material despite not recording together for over 10 years. Two bands in particular, Anglagard after 18 years, and Discipline after 14 years. Not an easy feat, to make great music after so much time away, and not have it sound like just a rehash or an imitation of their past work. Actual vibrant, essential music for fans of both groups IMHO. I'm sure there are other examples. For me, Pallas is another, with 12 years between "The Wedge" and "Beat the Drum". I like that BTD is far better than the Wedge, a very solid album. More impressive to me is the albums that followed BTD were even better. Beyond these three, I'm stumped to name another. Kenso came close with an 8 year gap between "Yume No Oka" and "Esoptron". Echolyn went 7 years between "The End is Beautiful" and the window pane album.

[Progatron]

Well I love both the Änglagård and Discipline albums you mention (as I love all albums by both bands). I'm interested in this topic but as this night has unfolded, the wine consumption has reached Olympic levels so I would need to see a list of albums recorded after a 10 year layoff in order to comment. I liked that Echolyn album as well (although it arrived with the flimsy digipak case damaged and that's for some reason always the first thing I think of when recalling that album - stupid, I know), but that band, as long as I've listened to them now, has never topped As The World. Never been wild about Pallas, despite loving most of their contemporaries in that genre. The Cross And The Crucible is okay.

Anyway, I still find it a tad surreal on occasion to consider that there even was another Änglagård album. It was SO long ago that I had to accept that they were no more (in 1994, I was 21. I'm going on 41 now). That band absolutely floored me and left me strewn across the bed like a post-first-coital teenaged boy. To think that I would have to wait until I was this strange, married adult with grey beard hairs for another one, well.... practically Twilight Zone-ish.

[JKL2000]

Kate Bush - Aerial (12 years)

[Rangershockey7]

Starcastle, Song of Times. A great if rather somber comeback. I like it more song for song than any of their original 4 albums

[NogbadTheBad]

Univers Zero took 13 years off after Heatwave, of their four most recent album Clivages is probably my favorite.
King Crimson took 11 years off after Three Of A Perfect Pair, been a bunch of good albums by the Thrak - TPTB band, The Power To Believe is probably my favorite
VDGG took 28 (!!) years off from '77 to '05, a like a Grounding In Numbers of the recent ones.
Comus took 38 (!!) years off from '74 to '12, though it wasn't a great album, pretty interesting but not great.
Magma took 15 years off between '89 & '04, all three new albums are pretty excellent.

[Yanks2014]

Starcastle, Song of Times. A great if rather somber comeback. I like it more song for song than any of their original 4 albums

Forgot about that one. See, that is the reason for this thread! I do like "Song of Times", but I absolutely hate the title track, and deleted it out of iTunes. Solid album, though I still prefer the first two. Better than Citadel, which I never liked. I've never heard Reel to Reel, though I'm familiar with the frightening album cover.

Happy the Man is another, as I quite like "The Muse Awakens". Definitely better then the unfinished "3rd Better Late...".

Dixie Dregs went 12 years between "Industry Standard" and "Full Circle". Is Full Circle as good as classic DD? No, but I still enjoy it a lot.

[Progatron]

VDGG took 28 (!!) years off from '77 to '05, a like a Grounding In Numbers of the recent ones.

How I forgot that one is beyond me. I remember when I met Steve Hackett (and hang on, Brother John), asking him if he had heard the 'new' VDGG album Present, and he hadn't. The reformation of VDGG was by far the most amazingly improbable thing I could have imagined at that time in the prog world. And yet - it did happen. And I should have said that in my first post. But the wine, the wine.

[Oreb]

I liked that Echolyn album as well (although it arrived with the flimsy digipak case damaged and that's for some reason always the first thing I think of when recalling that album

Unfortunately I'm in the same boat. Added to that, it was a pre-order, signed, and the band never bothered to reply to my e-mail re the damage. Great album, lousy way to treat people.

[jowallan lid]

My Bloody Valentine -M.B.V (22 years) Not prog, but definitely progressive rock.

[Oreb]

Re the topic: My prize goes to Scott Walker, three times.

Gold medal - Tilt (11 years after Climate of Hunter)

Silver - The Drift - (11 years after Tilt)

Bronze - Climate of Hunter (10 years after We Had It All)

Three brilliant albums over 30 years. Must be a record.

[ronmac]

Deep Purple MkII with "Perfect Strangers." What was that, 11 years? Gillan quite in July of '73.

[emperorken]

Sebastian Hardie went 36 years between releases, 1976-2012. Their 2012 album "Blueprint" is excellent.

I was also going to say Solaris went 15 years between "The Martian Chronicles" and Nostradamus", but I'm not sure they didn't release anything in between.

Also, Skeem has a new album out now after 12 years, but I haven't heard it yet.

[Yanks2014]

Univers Zero took 13 years off after Heatwave, of their four most recent album Clivages is probably my favorite.
King Crimson took 11 years off after Three Of A Perfect Pair, been a bunch of good albums by the Thrak - TPTB band, The Power To Believe is probably my favorite

Duh! Don't know how I forgot this. And strange as it may sound, Thrak was the very first Crimson album I bought, though I knew most of the music from Discipline and most of ITCOTCK.

Deep Purple is a good call too.

[MJBrady]

Happy The Man - 1978 - Crafty Hands
Happy The Man - 2004 - The Muse Awakens

Hands - 1980 - Palm Mystery
Hands - 2002 - 25 Winters

Lift - 1974 - The Caverns of your Brain
Lift - 2001 - The Moment Of Hearing

Cathedral - 1978 - Stained Glass Stories
Cathedral - 2007 - The Bridge

Pentwater - 1978 - Out Of The Abyss
Pentwater - 2007 - Ab Dul

The Muffins - 185 - 1980
The Muffins - Chronometers - 1993

Cartoon - 1983 - Music From Left Field (USA)
Cartoon - 1994 - Sortie

Mastermind - 2000 - Angels of the Apocalypse
Mastermind - 2010 - Insomnia

Syzygy - 1993 - Cosmos and Chaos (as Witsend)
Syzygy - 2003 - The Allegory of Light

Kaipa - 1982 - Nattdjurstid
Kaipa - 2002 - Notes From The Past

Dice - 1978 - s/t
Dice - 1992 - The Four Riders Of The Apocalypse

Trettioåriga kriget - 1981 - Kriget
Trettioåriga kriget - 2004 - Elden Av År

Sebastian Hardie - 1976 - Windchase
Sebastian Hardie - 2012 - Blueprint

[mogrooves]

Slapp Happy ~ Ca Va

[elliottnow]

Carcass - Surgical Steel.

[Prehensile Pencil]

BUDGIE (24 years)

[Prehensile Pencil]

MJBrady: Just for clarity's sake, the Muffins and Cartoon discs you mentioned are re-issues.

[Guess Who]

Comedy Of Errors - back into action after more than 20 years of hiatus. Both 'Disobey' and 'Fanfare And Fantasy' are fantastic albums.

[Facelift]

My favorite is probably Steely Dan's Two Against Nature. I think that was about 20 years off, too.

[JIF]

Yes-Fly From Here, Van Halen-A Different Kind Of Truth, and Black Sabbath-13.

[Frumious B]

David Bowie-The Next Day

[Progatron]

Comedy Of Errors - back into action after more than 20 years of hiatus. Both 'Disobey' and 'Fanfare And Fantasy' are fantastic albums.

Totally agree. I love them both and can't wait for the next one, which is said to contain a 30-min. epic! They are at the top of the "neo-prog" heap for me at the moment. Good call!

[Birdy]

Jade Warrior--Now (15 years). Also, the new Roy Harper "Man & Myth" is getting rave reviews everywhere although I haven't heard it yet.

[yoyiceu]

Trettioariga Kriget has produced three albums since 2004's Elden Av Ar, which represented their comeback since 1981's Kriget. Their three later albums -and it seems there's another on the way- easily equal or even surpasses their best work from the Seventies.