Progressive Metal

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Neal Morse – Testimony 2 – Live in Los Angeles (2011)

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    After being lost in the post-office oblivion for a few months, today we received a promo package containing the DVD portion of this 3CD/2DVD package that has been highly coveted by prog fans since it came out in November. Featuring around 3 hours of live material, Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Randy George, Eric Brenton, Rick Altizer, Mark Leniger, Nathan Girard and Nathan Brenton play some very intricate and exciting progressive music that has a very natural and free-flowing nature that only the best in the scene can achieve.

    As a first thing to notice is that there is quite a lot of ‘praise and Jesus-stuff’ in this release to the point of being a bit annoying, but the music makes it quite bearable and when not focusing on the lyrics everything played in this release  is excellent. Every since 2002 Neal has focused more on the spiritual side of things and this is very prevalent through the release. Nothing wrong with this and we are not against it, but we don’t really like it rubbed that much on our faces, especially on top of fantastic music.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Fallen Divine - The Binding Cycle (2011)

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    As 2011 winds down and big labels are saving their ‘big’ releases of the opening of 2012, it is very nice to hear fantastic self-released albums like Fallen Divine’s “The Binding Cycle”. Hailing from Norway, this band is ready to conquer the Metal world with crazy-fast guitars, demonic vocals, crafty drumming, and very intricate and skillful compositions. We are very surprised this band has not been picked up by any label yet.

    Immediately showing of their skills with “Dissension”, the band quickly delivers waves of powerful riffs, aggressive vocals and a pounding bass guitar line. The drumming keeps all things together in a very tight manner and nicely changes tempos several times during the song. The atmospheric keyboards give this already awesome track a bit more of flair and epicness. The ethereal atmospheric passage is nicely adorned by great guitar work and a pulsating bass guitar section. Pretty much this is the band’s formula for success and they greatly present it in different shapes through this release.

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    Woburn House – Sleep Summer Storm (2011)

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    After getting a quadrillion Sludge releases that all sound the same, it is quite refreshing to listen to Woburn House’s “Sleep Summer Storm”. In their third full-length release, the band delivers eight tracks of very interesting sounding music that mixes Progressive and Atmospheric elements with a hefty Doom-ier Sludge, something that we can’t really say we have heard before.

    Opening with “Willow”, the band delivers heavy riffs and a nice paced tempo that allows the mood of the song (and album) to nicely set it. The drowsy vocals are excellent for this type of music and greatly add to the overall atmosphere of the release. In faster pace and with a more bizarre atmosphere, “Shifter” shows that the band can shake things up a bit and still achieve the same interesting sound. The guitar work is very well crafted and the tempo set by the drumming is just perfect for this kind of music. For more Progressive/Post-Metal-ish guitars, “Rain Keeps Falling Down” has a hefty dose of them.

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    Cynic – Carbon-Based Anatomy (2011)

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    Cynic, one of Metal’s most acclaimed provides us with a little insight into what to expect in their next full-length release. Constantly changing and incorporating new things into their music, the band has done away with the harsh vocals, they have added more ethnic chants and sounds, and keep experimenting with other genres such as Jazz Fusion and some Shoegaze. All of these ‘different’ elements will keep the forward thinking Metal listeners attention and appeal to some hipster non-metal fans as well.

    Featuring 25 minutes of music divided in six tracks, this EP is very nicely arranged to flow naturally. The opening atmospheric track is pretty interesting leading to “Carbon-Based Anatomy”, a very emotionally charged and trippy track that has Cynic written all over it. The combination of interesting drum patterns with proggy guitars and clean vocals is excellently executed and works wonders. There are indeed some ‘heavy’ sections, but the overall construction of this track is what makes Cynic a truly different and unique band.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Dark Suns – Orange (2011)

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    In this 2011 we have been treated to excellent Progressive album so far: Leprous “Bilateral”, White Willow’s “Terminal Twilight” and Dream Theater’s “A Dramatic Turn of Events”, however Dark Suns latest opus “Orange” comes just in time to find its spot between these gems in our top progressive album’s list of the year. After somewhat consolidating their change to Dark Progressive Metal/Rock in their last release “Grave Human Genuine”, the band comes back with a very cohesive and interesting sounding album with “Orange”.

    Featuring all the elements of Progressive music we all have grown to love but with a dark and sinister twist, “Orange” delivers 10 tracks of excellently composed tracks that will demand your attention since the first minutes of this release. Opening with the very psychedelic “Toy”, the band quickly delivers crazy keyboards and very effective guitar riffs. The overall atmosphere of this song is very retro and magical. The vocals are excellent since they fit the music just perfectly.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Haken – Visions (2011)

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    Riding on the success of their impressive 2010 release “Aquarius”, Haken returns with yet another excellent Progressive Metal release with “Visions”, this clearly shows that their debut album was not a fluke and that the band means business. For over 71 minutes of brilliantly composed music, the band makes it clear that they are ready to take a protagonist role in the crowded Progressive Metal scene.

    With a very Dream Theater-like approach, Haken opens this release with the instrumental “Premonition”. In this track you can hear brilliant keyboards and the futuristic edge that made “Aquarius” such an appealing release last year. After the soothing effect of the opening track, the 13 minute “Nocturnal Conspiracy” delivers the first appearance of Ross Jennings, the band’s charismatic vocalist. His pipes are very emotional and never as whiny as other singers such as James LaBrie. This track features a few sections that remind us of Ayreon and Star One in terms of the music, but Haken still manages to pull away with their own characteristic sound.

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    Leprous – Bilateral (2011)

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    Having been introduced to Leprous because they are the ‘live band’ of ex-Emperor Ihsahn’s solo project, the band never ceases to amaze me with their very intricate and well crafted release. “Bilateral” marks the band’s latest and third release and it is very impressive, good enough to be the best Progressive Metal album of 2011.

    Featuring ten expertly composed songs, the band draws influences from 70’s prog and delivers a very dynamic and multi-textured album that will impress any prog listener. Particularly the synth and guitars create a very pleasant atmosphere that eases the listener through each track. The soaring vocals of Einar Solberg mixed with the backing ones create a multi-leveled attack that is as effective as any of the big-name bands of the genre.

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    Myrath – Tales of Sands (2011)

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    When we add albums to our review queue we usually add a few and spin them one after the other, in the case of Myrath’s “Tales of Sands”, we haven’t been able to stop listening consecutively to this excellent release. Featuring 11 tracks (45 minutes) of excellent Progressive Metal with oriental/middle-eastern influences unlike you ever heard before (maybe a bit like the newer Orphaned Land stuff but way better), this album will surely blow you away.

    In our endless search for unique sounding music, Myrath has instantly written their name in our very selective list. The band manages not only to produce a good Progressive Metal album, but also to fuse their own oriental influences very nicely into the overall scheme of things and create a very fresh and dynamic sound. Being a combination of their two previous releases, which we immediately went and found to make a more informed review, “Tales of Sands” shows great maturity in the band’s songwriting skills.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    MaYaN – Quarterpast (2011)

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    MaYaN is Epica’s mastermind Mark Jansen latest creation and with this band he expects to fulfill other creative needs he has outside of Epica. This band in paper has a very impressive line-up since for the CD recording we had Jeroen Paul Thesseling on bass guitar, Frank Schiphorst and Isaac Delahaye on guitars as well as many guest appearances by Simon Simons, Floor Jansen and Henning Basse.

    If you are expecting another Epica / (early) After Forever album, please stay away from this release since Quarterpast is considerably different to what you have heard before. This release is more focused on progressive Death Metal sections with some symphonic elements, tons of diverse vocal lines, and some orchestral elements (very few). We also want to warn the listener that this release is definitely a grower, since it needs more than your average number of listens to fully be digested due to the richness of the music.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Týr - The Lay of Thrym (2011)

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    The Progressive Viking Metal kings mark their return with “The Lay of Thrym”, and as we can hear it is a pretty convincing one indeed. Two years have passed since “By the Light of the Northern Star”, and with this new album the band picks-up exactly where they left of and continue their onslaught with very well crafted Viking epics.

    If you are not a stranger to Týr’s older works, you will definitely love “The Lay of Thrym”, however, if you are new to the band, this will be a very good introduction into the magical sound behind this very talented band. In the 10 tracks presented in this release, we are treated to very intricate guitar work, catchy clean vocals, and full songs that grab your attention and keep it for the duration of the release.

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