Progressive Metal

  • Emerged – Letting Go of Certainties (2015)

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    Formed by Tom Palms of Phlebotomized fame, this Dutch outfit delivers a nice five-song EP bridging genres between Progressive Metal, Heavy Metal, Stoner Rock, and some Doom. It is hard to standout these days, but the band’s music makes this quite effortless for Emerged. With a knack for epic melodies and super catchy song structures with a certain 90’s Metal feeling to them, this band is set to take the scene by surprise.

    With every song being quite different and a thing to individually explore, the band leads off with the melancholic “Dark Corner of my Mind”. In this track the band delivers a mid-tempo Proggy track with heavy riffs and some quite retro speedups. As we head into “Don’t Speak”, we have a livelier atmosphere with some chugging riffs and a certain old-school Psychedelic/Stoner vibe. Heavy Metal meets Prog Rock is the theme for the super catchy “Get a Life”, a song we can picture having vocals both by Dio and James LaBrie.

  • Rise of Avernus - Dramatis Personæ (2015)

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    With the popularity of Gothic/Symphonic Metal, hundreds of bands appeared in the scene and flooded our inbox with tons of sub-par releases. Luckily for us, Rise of Avernus does not conform with the masses and on their latest EP “Dramatis Personæ”, the band manages to have their own unique interesting of Progressive Gothic/Doom Metal. Imagining Septic Flesh meets Epica, this band delivers both intricate heavy music and some nice orchestrations to adorn things.

    Opening with “In the Absence of Will”, we get the traditional symphonic orchestrations mixed with some interesting riffs and tempo changes. The drumming is quite solid and the overall feel of the track is heavier than symphonic… what a relief. Things get a bit more complex and engaging with the brilliant “Path to Shekinah”, a song that features some heavy passages and engaging vocal arrangements (both growls and male clean vocals).

  • Enslaved – In Times (2015)

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    Constantly evolving and maturing over the last 10 years, Enslaved returns with another mesmerizing release with “In Times”. Further developing their Progressive Black Metal sound, the band delivers 53 minutes of impeccable music that will strengthen the band’s legacy and please all Metal fans. If you think the bar was set too high with “RIITIIR”, it has not been obliterated by this new release.

    Opening with a blistering onslaught in the first minute of “Thurisaz Dreaming”, the band masterfully turns the tides around and delivers an elegant piece that perfectly blends aggressive passages with the band’s signature proggy/jazzy melodic passages. Arve Isdal and Ivar Bjørnson do a great job in combining different guitar styles to create intricate song structures for the tracks in this release. With almost everybody pitching in on vocals (Grutle, Ivar, and Herbrand Larsen), the mood majestically changes without always needing elaborate tempo changes like on “Building With Fire”.

  • Oceans of Night – Midnight Rising (2014)

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    The USA Progressive Metal scene has been growing in the last few years, and surprisingly besides the premiere bands, there are many newcomers (or smaller bands) filled with quality like Oceans of Night. As the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Scott Mosher, “Midnight Rising” marks the third full-length release of the band and greatly shows improvement over their previous albums. Coming in at nearly one hour of music, this release combines early 90’s Progressive Metal elements with the futuristic vibe of Dol Ammad and Ayreon.

    Opening with the atmospheric “The Haunted Mind”, the band seamlessly transitions into the Heavy/Power Metal elements of “Midnight Rising”. In this last track, Scott Oliva shines through the expertly crafted riffing and percussions. Breaking up the flow, the highly atmospheric “Critical Mass / The Breathless Sleep” nicely changes the pace of things before the epic “The Burning Sky”. As one of our favorite tracks in this release, the instrumental passages and guitar solos are just amazing in this one (there is a guest solo in this track by Chris Rifkin).

  • Deconstructing Sequence – Access Code (2014)

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    Hailing from the UK, today we have one of the most interesting bands we heard in 2013 return with their EP titled “Access Code”. The Deconstructing Sequence this time around delivers 16 minutes of music in two superbly written tracks that will only make you crave a full release from the band even more. The band’s progressive sound paired with their futuristic atmospheric elements makes them standout immediately.

    Opening with “A Habitable World is Found”, DS makes you believe things will be going a more ‘traditional’ way with the Death Metal-ish opening as they deliver growls, crushing riffs and powerful drums. This nicely changes as time goes by into their trippy atmospheric passages with multiple vocal styles and very proggy sounding synths. The track nicely culminates with spoken vocal sections and the nicely cascading musical elements as a backdrop.

  • NovaReign – Reign of the Infinite Sun (2014)

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    Hailing from the USA, where we do not have a lot of Power/Progressive Metal bands, today we have Power/Progressive Metal California outfit NovaReign and their first demo release. With “Reign of the Infinite Sun”, the band delivers four very promising tracks that with a little more work could be outstanding.

    Opening with the exciting “Call on the Storm”, the band showcases excellent musicianship and technical proficiency. The thing that brings down the experience is the not-there-yet vocals of David Marquez. While his range has potential, it still needs to be definitely worked on. As the epic riffs, tight drumming, and proficient guitar work continues on tracks like “Crimson Shield” and “Beyond the Cold”, we also noticed that for a demo in 2014, the production is a bit flat. A better job when mixing should do the trick and elevate the band’s sound.

  • Desdinova - Defying Gravity (2014)

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    Hailing from Eastern France, today we have Sci-Fi influenced Desdinova and their debut full-length titled “Defying Gravity”. Featuring an intense mix of Thrash Metal with Progressive elements, this is one release that brings memories from bands like old Metallica to more recent Progressive Metal releases. Crafting a unique style is hard, but Desdinova gives us a very promising showing of their ambitious music.

    The band starts off with very Metallica-esque songs with “Solanum” and “The Valley”. Things shift a bit more into playful territory with “The Valley”, before going very progressive with the soothing “Seven”. In just four songs the band quickly shows their range of abilities by crafting some ultra-catchy tunes that help Desdinova construct their own musical style. Filled with solid drumming and very charismatic vocals, this release has tons of elements to be discovered by the listeners. Going a bit more mainstream with “Sunbreaker”, the band keeps surprising us with their wide range of styles; however everything returns to their traditional Thrash roots in “Rules of Engagement”.

  • Sabaton – Heroes (2014)

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    Marking the return of the most epic band in the Metal universe, today we have Sabaton and their latest release “Heroes”. As the first Swedish Metal band to achieve platinum sales (in Sweden) with their previous release “Carolus Rex”, the band lives up to the expectations with ten excellent songs in this release. Characterized by their intensity and their very lively songs about war and history, Sabaton is one of those bands that immediately lights up a room with their unique music.

    Jumping immediately with the intoxicating “Night Witches”, the band continues the certain heroic vibe they transmit with their music. Joakim Brodén’s charismatic vocals are perfectly crafted for such intense music filled with quality arrangements and brilliant tempo changes. With Joakim and Pär Sundström being the only remaining original members of the band, the new guys are perfectly incorporated into the Sabaton ethos and you can instantly appreciate it on songs like “No Bullets Fly”, “Smoking Snakes” and the dramatic “Inmate 4859” – one of our favorites in this release.

  • Sahg - Delusions of Grandeur (2014)

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    Finally arriving to North America through Metal Blade, today we have Sahg and their fourth full-length release “Delusions of Grandeur”. In this brilliant Progressive/Psychedelic Rock/Metal album, we have this Norwegian band delivering over 45-minutes of mellow retro music. Filled with crafty passages and lush vocals, this is one very detailed release that you need to hear more than a few times to fully enjoy it.

    The album leads off with the grandeur of “Slip Off the Edge of the Universe”, a track that reminds us of the magic behind acts like Magnum and Spock’s Beard. The guitars are perfectly layered and allowing the vocals to shine through the psychedelic keyboards. As the album progresses we have songs filled with intricate details (“Blizzardborne”) and more direct blistering solos like on “Firechild”. All these elements give Sahg a very authentic retro prog sound.

  • Aenaon – Extance (2014)

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    Delivering their most high-octane release to date, Aenaon returns with the punishing “Extance”. Hailing from Greece, this band has managed to push the boundaries of Black Metal with their previous efforts and this one is no different. Mixing Avant-garde/Jazzy elements into a well-structured Progressive Black Metal core, this release sees the band further refining their craft into near perfection through the 11 songs presented here.

    The band’s incisive riffing and commanding vocals are immediately felt with the intro “The First Art” blending into “Deathtrip Chronicle”. Excelling in creating killer guitar melodies, Aenaon has managed to further refine their sound since “Cendres et Sang”. The tempo changes and vocal arrangements are other factors that make the band’s music instantly be recognized. The Avant-garde weirdness we love form the band starts to shine with the upbeat “Grau Diva” and its intricate arrangements.

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