Having already delivered one of the best Progressive Rock releases of 2013, UK’s Kingbathmat was not satisfied and decided to unleash “Overcoming the Monster” six months later. Featuring six intoxicating tracks of a very enjoyable mixture of Psychedelic and Progressive sounds, the band nicely improves over their earlier release (in 2013) with a more emotive and touching release. Any fan of Yes, King Crimson, and even Porcupine Tree should worship this release immediately.

Determined distorted guitars lead the way on “Sentinel”, the opening track in this release. The band’s sound here is more Hard Rock and powerful than your average Prog outfit, however, this changes quite dramatically to a more typical Progressive style. The band’s ability to craft very simple, yet catchy sections is clearly highlighted in this very engaging track. After a few weird percussions, “Parasomnia” nicely warms up to a very Yes-like track that is filled with warm guitars and very playful keyboards. This song is one of the definite stand-outs of this release.

Delivering five tracks of balls to the wall Heavy Metal, today we have Sons of Lioth and their latest EP “Large Hadron Collider Spider”. Filled with attitude and a very retro vibe, this Belgian band rides the wave of bands like Enforcer, and can be categorized New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal, which is a deviation of NWOBHM and Sleaze Metal. In this short but sweet release you will be taken back in time with an excellent and dynamic soundtrack.

“Merry-go-round” delivers the first blow of hyper catchy retro Heavy Metal with a very sweet chorus section and a plethora of vocals that nicely keep things fresh and entertaining. The main vocalist, Kristof Van Den Bergh, is quite talented and immediately puts his signature on every track that the band presents. The riffing is very engaging and keeps things very entertaining for any old-school Heavy Metal fan. On the track “Large Hadron Collider Spider” we are treated to some awesome solos and excellent melodic structures that keep the headbanging flowing.

Finding talented musicians is pretty easy, however, finding a band with talented musicians than can actually write compelling music is a whole different story. Red Wave luckily is a three-piece that their individual skills greatly complement each other and they managed to deliver eight brilliant tracks of Progressive Rock/Metal. With a heavy and yet melodic sound, their music is quite skillfully crafted to appeal any fan of the genre and please even the most snobbish people in the scene.

The album leads away with the warm-up “Monolith” and a very funky bass guitar opening. The distorted guitars really give a certain kick to the music that many of the progressive releases we get are missing, allowing us to enjoy “Pamir” even more. The opening dreaminess of tracks like “Ikarus” is essential for the listener to really immerse themselves in the music, and Red Wave does a pretty darn good job at hooking people into their music.

With a hard-hitting heaviness filled debut release, today we have Goatess and their self-titled offering. Delivering waves of fuzzy guitars painting traditional Doom Metal landscapes, this band grooviness is enough to make them immediately standout from the rest. Svart Records surprises us again with a very energetic and refreshing release that will rattle your speakers for weeks to come.

In a similar vein to bands like Sleep and other Sludgy Doom Metal outfits, Goatess opens this release with the warm and fuzzy “Know Your Animal”. Focusing on incisive riffing and strange psychedelic elements, tracks like “Alpha Omega” sound weirdly familiar but catchy enough to enjoy more than a few times, hundreds of times to be precise. With Chritus Linderson (Saint Vitus, Count Raven) on vocals, this band has all the right ingredients to satisfy the legions of demanding fans of the genre.

Being highly shocked by the sudden disbandment of The Devil’s Blood, we received the news of Selim Lemouchi continuing doing music under a new moniker with high hopes and expectations. Under his new ‘band name’ Selim Lemouchi & His Enemies, Selim delivers this short but sweet EP featuring three songs of trippy and engaging Occult/Psychedelic Rock music. While not as explosive and catchy as The Devil’s Blood pre-breakup material, all the tracks presented here have that sense of melody and weirdness that we loved so much from TDB.

Opening with “Echaton”, we immediately feel the dark atmosphere descend upon us. The Doomy and Occult vibe in this track is quite thick and enjoyable since it reminds us a bit of Jex Thoth and her enigmatic music. This track is quite relaxing and mysterious, with very soothing guitars and hypnotic drums. “Thistle” is a track that has a familiar TDB vibe, but with a more direct and less polished approach. The vocals are quite fitting for the music and greatly enhance the experience.

Beautifully adorned by Fursy Teyssier’s dramatic cover art, today we have Sombres Forêts and their third full-length ”La Mort du Soleil”. Being a one-man band, Annatar handles all instruments in this enigmatic Black Metal release. Heavily focusing on creating lush dissonant atmospheres, for over 50 minutes this release will transport you to dark and cavernous places.

“Des Épaves” opens this release with a bleak atmosphere nicely complemented by acoustic guitars and a little taste of the madness to come as the first track bleeds into “Étrangleurs de Soleils”. This second track slowly builds up with hellish vocals and powerful guitars. All the elements in this track (and release) are very direct and emotive; the band focuses more on the raw power behind them rather overproducing them to polish them to perfection.

As one of the most surprising releases of 2013, today we have Canada’s two-man project Gris and their sophomore release “À l'Âme Enflammée, l'Äme Constellée...”. This double CD album is filled with lush Neoclassical elements perfectly incorporated into moody Black Metal. Charged with emotive sections and a very dark atmosphere, this release will sneak up on you and catch you completely off-guard.

The opening track “L’Aube”, greatly reminded us of Elend and their very dramatic instrumentation and chilling screams of desperation. “Les Forges” provides the first taste of the band’s excellent combination of classical string instruments with harsh Black Metal elements. In this 15-minute track the band goes back and forth between aggressive sections and lush instrumentation that makes the song very magical and totally unexpected.

Morten Veland and company have returned with a very powerful and engaging Sirenia release under the name of “Perils of the Deep Blue”. In this release we see the band going a bit back in time and bringing back some of the elements that made “Nine Destinies and a Downfall” one of their best releases six years ago. Featuring 11 tracks of majestic Symphonic/Gothic Metal, the band is seriously gunning for Epica’s crown in this genre.

After the lush and dramatic mood-setting opener “Ducere Me In Lucem”, the band really comes alive with the super catchy “Seven Windows Weep”. In this track we get lush choir arrangements to accompany Ailyn’s hypnotic vocals. With over the top orchestrations, this track and “My Destiny Coming To Pass” really set a very dynamic and overpowering atmosphere. The band also focuses on staying heavy, featuring powerful riffs and aggressive growls.

Featuring the return of the band’s debut release vocalist, Lawrence Mackrory, today we have Darkane’s latest opus “The Sinister Supremacy”. Keeping the Swedish Death/Thrash Metal flame alive, this release is packed with a 14 massive tracks (on the digipack version), that will have you headbanging since the opening riff. With a scene filled with band shifting to the annoying (at times) core-like screams, it is quite refreshing to have manly vocals in this release.

After the dramatic orchestral opening, the album kicks off with the pummeling album title track. Darkane immediately shows off their power with powerful melodic guitars and very fitting vocals. The band took 5 years between releases but they still deliver very effective and engaging songs. We particularly like the catchy chorus sections and mixtures of clean and harsh vocals. Other tracks that have more elaborate opening sections like “The Decline” nicely keep the album fresh and change the flow of the release very effectively.