Progressive Metal

  • Anomalie - Riverchild (2024)

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    Delivering waves of crafty Post-Black Metal, today we have Austria’s Anomalie and their latest effort “Riverchild”. Keeping things simple, catchy, and polished, this release unleashes nine tracks and over 50 minutes of intense music filled with melody. Far from your traditional Post-Black/Progressive Black Metal outfit, this one-man band is hard to describe as it explores different aural palettes with a hefty foundation of Black Metal elements.

    Opening with “Mothers of Stars”, an hypnotic offering filled with crafty vocal arrangements and incisive guitars, there are certain familiar elements from the band’s previous offerings with additional polish and refinements. Slowly building up in pace, “An Unforgiving Tale”, “Perpetual Twilight”, and the funky “Heart to Beat” give a more progressive feeling, similar to Enslaved’s current period, where clean vocals deliver engaging atmospheres while the harsh ones provide contrast as the music sets different moods and tempos.

  • Iotunn - Kinship (2024)

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    If you thought that Iotunn’s debut release was impressive, wait until you hear how epic “Kinship” is. Taking their lively Progressive Melodic Metal sound to new heights, this release delivers eight highly emotional tracks that clock in at nearly 70 minutes of music. Perfectly surrounding Jón Aldará with excellent musicians and song-writers, this release is a testament on how retooling of traditional/progressive Metal elements and styles can work wonders with the right talent behind the vocals.

    Opening with the dreamy and emotive “Kingship Elegiac”, the band rapidly sets a very melancholic vibe that brilliantly fits the emotion of Jón Aldará vocals. As the distorted guitars and weeping leads come into play, this track has hooked anybody that likes melodic/melancholic music, and it is just the beginning of this 13-minute piece. The proggy nature of the band’s music keeps things dynamic and very different from your run-of-the-mill Melodic Death Metal band, focusing more on creating epic moody melodies than on headbanging passages, as “Mistalnd” powerfully delivers.

  • Amiensus - Reclamation: Part II (2024)

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    Hailing from the USA, Progressive Black Metal outfit Amiensus returns with part II of their “Reclamation” saga. Released a few months back, part I showcased the band’s excellent musicianship and creativity, and with part II, the band continues to unleash superbly crafty and engaging songs with elements from bands like Enslaved, Agalloch, alongside their distinctive vocal onslaughts.

    Opening with “Sólfarið”, we get a pretty intense track that slowly builds up to a hectic cathartic closing, instantly reminding us of the proggy-ness of Enslaved alongside the band’s diverse vocal onslaught. After making an impression with the opener, “Acquiescence” has more of an Agalloch dreamy opening that quickly expands to heavy riffs, pummeling drumming, and hellish harsh vocals. The band expertly mixes slower and dreamy passages with some pretty engaging blistering sections that weave back and forth different moods and tempos.

  • Simone Simons - Vermillion (2024)

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    Finally getting around to unleashing her ‘solo’ music, Simone Simons of Epica fame delivers one of the most bombastic and explosive Symphonic/Progressive Metal releases of 2024. Featuring ten tracks and over forty six minutes of music, this album shows the versatility of Simone’s vocals and creativity. With tracks reminding us from everything between Epic and Ayreon, this release will certainly be a hit with her fans and fans of the genre.

    Opening with the mysterious “Aeterna”, we get a very bombastic and engaging first taste into this excellent release. More than just more of the same, the tracks in this release add electronic and progressive elements to clearly delineate that this is Simone’s own project and not just an extension of Epica. Tracks like, our personal favorite, “In Love We Rust”, really showcase her vocals in a different light, with more of an Ayreon-esque edge.

  • Axamenta - Spires (2024)

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    Returning after a 10 year hiatus, Axamenta is a very unique Belgian band that combines cinematic elements with a well polished dose of Melodic Death/Black Metal. In this return EP, the band delivers a 23-minute track that is divided in seven acts, creating a very immersive and engaging experience. Recommended for fans of Fleshgod Apocalypse and Septicflesh, this release is both explosive and bombastic.

  • Evergrey - Theories of Emptiness (2024)

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    Long running Progressive/Power Metal outfit Evergrey is one of the most recognized names in the scene and with “Theories of Emptiness”, the band keeps their momentum going with eleven epic tracks. Totaling over 45 minutes of music, this release continues the band’s highly melancholic journey with well crafted songs that perfectly show the band’s excellent songwriting skills and atmospheric prowess.

    Opening with the banger, “Falling From the Sun”, we get Tom S. Englund’s signature vocals perfectly surrounded by subtle atmospherics and crafty instrumentation. We particularly love how the keyboards crafty dark vibes on songs like “Misfortune” and “To Become Someone Else”, giving the band’s sound that extra edge. However, the guitar work is also top notch, with a good amount of engaging solos and a mixture of powerful riffs with melodic passages, as heard on “Say” and “Ghost of My Hero”, our personal favorite song of the release.

  • Teramaze - Eli - A Wonderful Fall from Grace (2024)

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    Hailing from Australia, today we have Progressive Metal juggernauts “Teramaze” and their latest opus “Eli - A Wonderful Fall from Grace”. Featuring eight tracks and over 55 minutes of music, this release is highly polished and engaging, showcasing the band’s evolution over the years and abilities to craft superbly catchy and engaging tracks. While some might not like the band’s lyrical themes, the music is superb and definitely worth a listen for fans of the genre.

  • Amiensus - Reclamation: Part 1 (2024)

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    Unleashing a very interesting and crafty Progressive Black Metal release, today we have Amiensus and their moody “Reclamation: Part 1” release. Featuring eight tracks and nearly 55 minutes of highly intricate music, this album has vibes from bands like Enslaved, Agalloch, all the way to Cynic. With each track introducing an interesting mix of ideas, this release is definitely one of the most unique and enjoyable albums of 2024.

    Opening with the moody atmospherics of “Blink of the Moment'', the band sets a very Agalloch-esque vibe thanks to its engaging guitar-driven core and excellent vocal (clean and harsh) onslaughts. This dreamy atmosphere bleeds into the catchiness of “Reverie”, a more dynamic piece that features an interesting mix of Progressive elements and engaging melodic passages. The band’s ideas nicely blend different genres and elements together as the mellow “Senses Amplified” showcases.

  • Shadohm - Through Darkness Towards Enlightenment (2024)

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    Hailing from Poland, today we have a very ambitious new outfit Shadohm and their crafty/proggy Modern Metal release “Through Darkness Towards Enlightenment”. Formed by Paweł Jaroszewicz of Vader, Antigama, Batushka fame, this outfit delivers five crushing tracks, totaling 30 minutes of music, highly recommended for fans of bands like Hacride, Gojira, Architects, and Meshuggah.

    Opening with the pummeling “Through Darkness”, we get a hefty mixture of crafty drumming, engaging tempo changes, and powerful guitars. The vocals are quite fitting to the music as they switch from harsh passages to more melodic clean arrangements. For fans of Meshuggah and similar outfits, tracks like “Blurred” and “Fair Weather Friend” have a solid dose of Djenty tempo changes and layered guitars.

  • Borknagar - Fall (2024)

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    After blowing everybody away with their 2019 release “True North”, Borknagar is back stronger and even catchier than ever. The band has always distinguished themselves as one of those Folk/Viking/Black Metal with signature Progressive and melodic elements, and with “Fall”, the band takes them even further. If you like any of the band’s previous releases, this one has a bit of everything from all their stylistic changes over the years.

    Opening with the epic “Summits”, this track has all the Borknagar staples: soaring clean and harsh vocals, crafty drumming, proggy guitars, and atmospheric magic. As the first single of this release, the band fires in all cylinders and creates a very powerful and dynamic atmosphere. As you can expect the deadly combination of clean vocals from both Lars and Vortex, makes this band the equivalent of having two of the best players, of any sport, on the same team.

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