Nine years ago, Cameron Pikó (he who is Montresor) released Entelechy. That set of instrumentals leaned hard into guitar prog, leavened with a solid sprinkling of math rock, jazz and other conceptual forms.

Montresor Autopoiesis (self-released)

This time around, Pikó says that he is paying tribute to the short lived Rock in Opposition movement of the late 70s, which fused prog ideas with classical instrumentation. And so his fluid guitar and bass lines are paired with clarinet, oboe and more. Not so much Zappa and the NSO, but rather Fripp and a baroque ensemble.

The prog lines and thought processes haven't changed. The instrumentation and arrangements have. This is still challenging fare aimed at those who like to pick at their music. But the sound he has achieved here is quite arresting. The links between modern composition and large swaths of rock are shown to be pretty tight here.

So what is this? Pikó's description is spot on, though his musical thought patterns have changed as much as his presentation. These could be noodly, raucous prog anthems. This version of Montresor kicks them out as conceptual, fraught examinations of the world itself. Quite a fascinating jaunt.

Jon Worley