Kansas

I confess that I have always heard about them but never really explored their music, until I decided to listen to them closely, and I must say that I was truly excited. A typically American progressive pomp-rock of great quality. The genre they play often leans towards an "exalted AOR" with a constant tendency to go a bit over the top (IMHO), but with their prog arrangements and great technique, they manage to keep the "tastelessness" in check up until Monolith. A bit less so in the subsequent albums, although I still really like "Audio-Visions" and "Vinyl Confessions," especially the latter. The latest "The Prelude Implicit" is also a great work.