In August 2025, Riffstone announced themselves to the prog rock world, a new collaboration between two chaps well known and loved in our little community, Colin Powell and Dave Allen.

Come October 2026, and we have their fifth new album, a productivity rate I have referred to in sheer reverence before.

Twelve songs dealing with those well-known star signs, and all presented in the now familiar sumptuous physical packaging. Incidentally, for those of you not familiar with the astrological signs of the Zodiac, the tracks follow the proper numerical sequence from Aries (first) to Pisces (last), which does not correlate with the calendar year January to December – see? You learn something new all the time on this website – you don’t get that on Sea of Tranquility!

So, off we go with Aries, born of the ember, the spark, and the flame, ruled by Mars, the planet of might. There is a lovely pastoral feel to proceedings as we start, before the riffs pick up, and the bass guitar of Powell you hear is as good as any practising that instrument in the modern scene, taking its cue directly from Squire in its use as lead melodic instrument, the vocals straining at the leash at the close. The synths create a swirl of mystery, a musical highlight of the year.

Taurus is born of the fertile earth, ruled by fair Venus. The vocals introducing this are spoken before the bass guitar gets things grooving along at a fair old pace, and the track has some nice complexity in the guitar and bass riffs, whilst the Hammond provides a soaring counterpoint. A very catchy track.

Gemini, the twin within the flame, ruled by Mercury. Colin & Dave have a deep appreciation of the history of progressive rock, and the pastoral opening here is in the finest traditions of the Englishness of classic prog. You are transported back in time, to a place where bucolic scenes intermingle with the sense of a country lost forever, so very similar to Genesis albums such as Nursery Cryme & SEBTP. I have embedded the track at the foot of this review for you. Pure prog, and full of goodness.

Cancer is born of the shifting tides, ruled by the Moon. This track is lively, with the interplay between the guitars and synths playful, and this, if you close your eyes, has you imagining you are amongst the stars of the constellations themselves.

Leo is the King of Stars, and this track is suitably majestic, with synths and voice hitting the heights initially, before being challenged by a massive guitar solo. It is a lovely melodic piece of music, and it is embedded at the foot of this review for you. A prog highlight of 2026.

Virgo is born of the fertile harvest field and ruled by Mercury. The piano is lush on this at start and close, and it has the feel of an ambient progressive piece led by a beautifully melodic bass guitar contrasted with an electric guitar which shines out from the speakers, filling the room with warmth.

Libra holds up the scales of time, balance of the heart. It is led by bass with synths, organ, and electric guitar providing the overlay. The choral voices are majestic and well produced.

Scorpio was born beneath the autumn sky, and this is a heavier affair, the riffs crashing out, the solos taking us back to classic rock days of yore, a Hammond putting on its finest Lord cloak. A fine rock track, with even the final “rise” exhuming the ghost of Gillan past!

Sagittarius is born of a distant spark, ruled by the capo Dei Capi, Jupiter. Musically, this track opens promising some electronica, but quickly settles down into a more pastoral scenario, recalling classics of the lighter end of the prog spectrum nicely, lush orchestration abounding, the acoustic guitar and bass interplay rich. It is also embedded at the foot of this review.

Capricorn is my star sign, born of the mountain, ruled by old, cold Saturn. In keeping with this, the feel of it is wintry, contemplative, best listened to snuggled under the blanket, allowing the clever synths, mellotron and guitar riffs to creep up on you and warm the cockles. From halfway through, you are in early 1970’s heaven, the closing guitar solo a wonderful paeon to symphonic denouements of the ages.

Aquarius rides on the waves of change, and by this time, the listener should be in the most relaxed pose possible, and allow a melodic bass guitar, lush acoustic guitar, expressive guitar solo, and voice to transport one to that peaceful place no doubt promised by astrologers the world over by doing this, that, or the other. I need no such entreaties by charlatans – all I need is music such as this. Yes, it is taken directly from the classic playbook of a certain positively named band, but when it is done so well, who could possibly complain, and certainly that outfit have not sounded this good for far too long. The closing words I believe do carry more than a nod to the classic ITV programme of the same name which brought the ideals of the “age of” to millions of British households.

We close with Pisces, drifting on an endless sea, guided by Neptune. It is a thoughtful song to close, talking as it does of life returning after death, night followed by dawn.

Riffstone are the finest modern practitioners of that spectrum of progressive rock which has as its core the classic accessible music those of a certain age grew up with but do so in a manner which marks them out as unique, not an easy trick to pull off. There is a reason we love them, and this album is as good an example as any.

Purchase at https://riffstone.bandcamp.com/album/zodiac

The entire digital discography is available for a mere £33.

Personnel:

Dave Allen (Spirergy – Hoylake, Wirral)

Colin Powell (A Multitude of One, Nova Cascade – Salford, Greater Manchester)