Progressive Death Metal

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    Siderean - Lost on Void's Horizon (2021)

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    Unleashing around 40 minutes of expertly crafted Death Metal, today we have Slovenia’s Siderean and their debut release “Lost on Void’s Horizon”. Mixing a core of traditional Death Metal elements with brilliant technical proficiency and some sprinkles of progressive elements thrown into the mix, this release is both crafty and powerful. Never straying too far away from their DM roots, the band nicely explores multiple influences, ultimately delivering a very unique and engaging style of their own.

    The release opens up with the thunderous “Eolith” and its fierce guitar onslaughts. Thrown into the mix are some nice mellow interludes that allow the listener to breathe and prepare for the next round of punishment. After the dreamy instrumental, “Traversing”, the band comes back with a more mellow and proggy vibe on the album title track. Having some killer Opeth/Sculptured-esque vibes, this track still grapples to its old-school DM harshness alongside playful and funky melodic passages.

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    The Beast of Nod - Multiversal (2021)

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    Mixing up Technical Death Metal with Progressive and ‘Video Game’ Metal elements, today we have a very intense and exciting band from the USA called The Beast of Nod. With comparisons to bands like Dethklok, Powerglove, and similar outfits, “Multiversal” delivers over 50 minutes of playful high-octane music that is extremely technically proficient, fun, and greatly engaging.

    Opening with the magical “Flight of the Quetzalcoatlus”, we instantly get that Proggy/Techy vibe with intricate guitars, crafty drumming and playful tempo changes. The vocal styles vary between growls and shrieks, allowing for the music to change moods and intensity quite nicely, as the jazzy “Contemporary Calamity” showcases.

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    Blighted Eye - Wretched (2020)

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    Newcomers Blighted Eye are ready to take the North American scene by storm with their very crafty debut EP “Wretched”. Unleashing over 27 minutes of high-octane, progressive/melodic Death Metal with additional influences, the band delivers four very well crafted songs that nicely balance both technical proficiency and killer songwriting chops. If you are into bands like Sculptured, you cannot afford to miss this release.

    Opening with the intense guitars of “Contempt”, this band sets a very energetic and firm pace. This track features crafty tempo changes, killer intense passages and overall excellent musicianship, showing a bit of a Tech Death Metal influence but with proggy ambitions. As “Respite” follows the intense opener, the band’s more proggy influences are heard, reminding us a bit of mid-period Opeth with some killer guitar leads added.

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    Sulphur Sun - Placodemic Heraldry (2020)

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    Hailing from Switzerland, today we have Sulphur Sun and their very interesting EP titled “Placodemic Heraldry”. Featuring a weird amalgamation of Death Metal with progresisve/technical DM elements, this release delivers a very promising 10 minute teaser for a uniquely weird band. If you like weird music that is both crafty and a bit chaotic, this is the EP for you.

    Opening with the madness inducing “The Temple of Dunkleosteus”, the band delivers intricate riffs, hellish vocal arrangements ranging from hypnotic throat singing to growls, and a very playful drum track. The band’s style is instantly hard to categorize as the song goes over multiple moods and styles. The chaos continues with the sinister “Trilobite Thief”, featuring some Satyricon-esque sounding guitars and more blistering drumming and odd tempo changes, all working in strange unison.

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    Oneiric Celephaïs - The Great Flood (2020)

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    Delivering a swift Progressive Death Metal debut EP, today we have Oneiric Celephaïs with “The Great Flood”. Hailing from Italy, this technically proficient foursome unleashes over 24 minutes of superbly crafted music, perfectly balancing brutality and craftiness. Delivering a balance between Obscura and Persephone, this release is highly recommended for fans of the genre.

    Leading with the elegant and dreamy opening of “The Eldritch Dark”, the band slowly eases the listener into their musical world. “The Aeon of Death” delivers the first doses of heaviness with perfectly weaved in onslaughts of intense riffs, a playful bass guitar line, and engaging drumming. The band’s Death Metal core is nicely complemented by the proggier guitar leads and intricate tempo changes, allowing their sound to be instantly catchy and engaging.

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    Descend - The Deviant (2020)

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    Breaking the funk of multiple weeks of non-stop Black Metal releases being reviewed, today we have an excellent Progressive/Melodic Death Metal outfit from Sweden named: Descend. Combining elements of bands like Opeth, Cynic, In Mourning, and Persefone, “The Deviant” is one hell of a cinematic experience filled with technical intricacies and superbly catchy songwriting.

    Warming up the listener with the melodic instrumental opener “Avalin”, the band nicely builds up to the proggy melodies of “Blood Moon” and its crafty tempo changes. The mixture of clean and harsh vocals is nicely balanced, and the addition of female vocals on tracks like “The Purest One” add an extra layer to the band’s excellent sound. For those looking into more experimental/free-style songs, “Lily” has a nice mixture of fast-paced sections and highly crafty instrumental interludes.

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    Vinsta - Drei Deita (2019)

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    Unleashing a truly unique release, today we have Austria’s Vinsta and their full-length release “Drei Deita”. Perfectly blending Folk elements into and engaging Progressive/Melodic Death Metal core, this band delivers a very interesting and harmonious sound. With nearly 50 minutes of music, we are treated to brilliant melodic passages, catchy riffs, and dreamy parts. Imagine a mixture of Insomnium with Opeth and the Folky edge of early Kauan.

    After the traditional instrumental intro, “Weisse Deckn” creates a very lively and ethereal atmosphere with the contrast of dreamy vocals and powerful guitars. This track also introduces the band’s folkier side with lush violins in a very dramatic melodic passage. Weaving back and forth between their two main styles, tracks like “Oafocha Loda” nicely build up the atmosphere and reach its crescendo with crushing guitars and harsh vocals.

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    Eternal Candle - The Carved Karma (2018)

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    It is not everyday that you receive a release from a band hailing from Iran. With our curiosity peaked, Eternal Candle’s debut full-length “The Carved Karma”, is one hell of a Progressive Death/Doom Metal release. Combining elements from old-school Death Metal, Doom Metal all perfectly paired with a Progressive edge, this release delivers almost one full hour of masterful music. For fans of old Opeth, Katatonia, My Dying Bride, this release will certainly resonate with you.

    Immediately after the dreamy instrumental opener, the band gets down to business with the sheer power of “The Ripped Soul”. Reminding us of Amorphis on their “Privilege of Evil” days, this track is heavy and pummeling, thanks to its powerful riffs and old-school vibe. Things quickly move into more Progressive / Katatonia-esque territories with the intricate “Sick Romance”, and even further into old-school Death/Doom influences with “A Path to Infinity”.

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    Beyond Creation - Algorythm (2018)

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    Hailing from Canada, today we have Progressive/Technical Death Metal outfit Beyond Creation and their refreshing third full-length release “Algorythm”. While some bands focus on playing faster and more complex just for the sake of it, this band focuses on crafting unique songs which perfectly blend in the technical aspect with the brutality and melody of their sound. Clocking in at over 50 minutes in this, this is one album that fans of outfits like Obscura, Hour of Penance, etc., cannot miss.

    After setting a very futuristic mood with the opener “Disenthrall”, the band jumps head first with the blistering speed of “Entre suffrage et mirage”. Featuring a playful bass guitar line and killer guitar leads, this song quickly reminds us of Obscura, but with a slighter more progressive and melodic edge. With a dreamy tone, “Surface's Echoes”, showcases the band’s versatility and focus on crafting interesting melodies rather than just pummeling through notes. Do not get us wrong, this track does feature some killer musical acrobatics and tempo changes, but they feel a lot more organic than with other bands.

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    The Odious Construct - Shrine of the Obscene (2018)

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    With big name bands like Obscura and Beyond Creation unleashing Progressive/Technical Death Metal masterpieces this year, it is quite refreshing to hear more underground bands like The Odious Construct take inspiration from them and release a killer EP of their own. With “Shrine of the Obscene” this band from Sacramento, California delivers five expertly crafted tracks that are quite atmospheric and technically proficient. For a band formed in 2015, they are certainly firing on all cylinders in this brilliant release.

    Opening with a dreamy passage on “Vortex of Self”, the band quickly sets up a hectic mood filled with subtle technical details and trippy atmospheric keyboards. As the album’s introduction to the band, this song could not be more awesome and expertly crafted. Going into “Descension”, the keyboards nicely frame the massive drumming and the cool tempo changes in this track. Keeping the intensity going thanks to crushing vocals and very well crafted guitar passages, this track certainly shows that the opener was no fluke.

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