Reports from the (progressive metal) underground: October 2019 - The Progressive Subway

Another day, another week, another year, another DECADE, but most importantly, ANOTHER HUGELY OVERSIZED LIST OF ALBUMS for you to indulge yourself in. But seriously, a medium happy new year to you! Why medium? Why not just great? Because fuck you that’s why. Just kidding. The phrase “Happy new year!” just pisses me off (in most cases). It’s about as meaningful as the mandatory “How are you? – Good!” interaction with someone you haven’t seen in a while. There’s some exceptions, but usually it doesn’t mean much of anything. That’s why I, specifically for you, went out of my way to put EFFORT and THOUGHT into my message. Saying “medium happy new year!” gives pretty much the same meaning as “happy new year!” since it’s just the average of all “Happy new year!” wishes. Someone can say that and secretly hate you because it’s tradition just as much as someone can come with genuinely good intentions. So here am I, with medium good intentions. Also I wish you a little above medium good wishes for the decade! See? I do care. For example, if 9 of your upcoming 20s years will be medium good and one fantastic, you’ll have fulfilled my wishes. However if all turn out to be great, then fuck off and die we can’t have actual positivity in here. OK never mind. I should stop here. This makes no sense whatsoever. Let’s get onto October reviews.

There’s a couple of things to discuss this time. First of all we changed from capitalizing genres to not capitalizing genres because on second though it looked kinda akward. Second of all, we have a new reviewer poler10. It’s weird. Back when I started this I could more or less handle everything by myself. Then eventually Dylan and Jonah came in and we barely missed any albums, or at least, I thought we did. We reviewed 4-5 each and it was fine. Just before this edition, we had seven (!) reviewers, but somehow, we kept missing like 5+ albums each edition. It makes absolutely no sense to me, but yeah, it happened anyway. Hence we felt the need to acquire a new reviewer. So, enter poler10.

I’d also like to announce that we have a YouTube channel now (hotlink). Here we will upload our favorite songs we find on this blog (provided the artist in question gives us permission to do so). We wanted to reach out to other platforms and felt this was a good way to give people a more accessible way of getting to know several artists’ music. So if that sounds interesting to you, subscribe to our channel, SMASH that like button on our videos and share them if you want to.

So now time for my (second) ramble. Remember my mild rant from last time about how the cool kids didn’t write enough 20+ minute songs? Well, I felt the need to make up for that by sharing some cool 20+ minute songs from more underground prog metal bands (not necessarily things we have featured). Here’s a list:

– Daydream XI – The Grand Disguise (prog power)
– Maestrick – Lake of Emotions (prog power)
– The Tea Club – Creature (heavy prog rock)
– Need – Hegaiamas (prog metal)
– In Human Form – Canonical Detritus (prog black)
– Azure – Redtail (prog rock)
– Veni Domine – The Chronicle of the Seven Seals (prog doom, 1992. Actually this is one of the first 20+ minute metal songs ever made, go listen to it ya doofus)
– Odd Logic – Boundary Division (prog metal)
– Vielikan – The Final Confrontation with the Soul Harvester in the Heart of the Black Marsh (prog groove/death)
– Lascaille’s Shroud – The Tiger’s Daughter (prog death)

I hope you’ll find anything satisfying in this list as there surely is to me. But anyway, we’re getting off topic from the main post. Let’s dive into the reviews!

But first, and I always dread this part, practical information:

We have a Spotify playlist with recommended songs, and, for the first time since our album of the year list, we have a spreadsheet with all relevant information on the albums featured. If you don’t want to read the whole thing, go there. And now the usual yada yada:

What is this place? We use Metal-Archives’ advanced search engine to find all progressive/post/avantgarde metal (and some weird stoner as well if there’s any) releases in a month, then we select the best/most grabbing ones and write a (small) review on them. We go chronological through the months. We take releases from outside of metal-archives too, but that is generally limited to requests and recommendations from other prog fans as the other sites’ search engines aren’t as precise nor is their database as thorough as Metal-Archives. You can read more about us on our About page, which also includes some history. Do you want your band reviewed? Or do you want to send us a recommendation? Send an email to theprogressivesubway@gmail.com, send a PM to me (/u/genderlessperson) on Reddit or hit me up on Discord (sam1oq/genderlessperson). Just make sure it’s from this year for a month we haven’t covered yet. You can find us on social media at the following accounts: on Facebook we go by @theprogressivesubway and on Instagram we’re called @progsubway.

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Crocodile – Howling Mad Black Music Under Hot Stars (US-TE)
Style: Prog Rock ‘n Roll (clean vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | RYM page
Review by: SharkTRS

A common trope in prog songwriting is taking as many elements as possible and cramming them into one track. Crocodile take this approach and flip it on its head, writing their songs with a focus on just one or two elements, and then fleshing them out as much as possible. Sometimes this works really well, and other times it doesn’t.

I’ll begin with the good. This record feels incredibly fresh in the current prog scene. It has the long song structures and odd time signatures typical of prog, yes, but it also adds in stank face-inducing blues licks and funk grooves, though less of the latter than the former. It also, as said earlier, takes a different approach to prog songwriting than most. The average song on this album begins with a riff or a lick played on the guitar, leading into the verse. During the verse, the band flips it in several different ways (under different drum grooves, over other riffs, on a different instrument) before going into the chorus, then back into this again, into a solo, then verse, chorus, verse, end. In a vacuum, this works quite well. Crocodile have an uncanny ability to flip a riff a dozen times while keeping it fresh.

However, each track on this album isn’t in a vacuum. There are seven of them, and none deviate from this song structure. Early on this isn’t too much of an issue, but going to track 4 and beyond it starts to take its toll. I want to like this album more, but it’s basically the same song seven times in a row, where each song consists of the same thing or two over and over again. On top of this, the riffs that Crocodile decides to build songs upon tend to be okay, but not great. At the same time, many of the ways they change up their riffs sound better than the actual riffs themselves. Many of the funk grooves in particular I could listen to for ages. 

In the future, I am confident that Crocodile will make an incredible album. They have the chops for it, but they need to learn to write better songs. As such, I see myself returning to a few songs on this album, but I can’t imagine I’d listen to it in full again.

Recommended tracks: pick one at random, they are all basically the same
Recommended for fans of: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Haken, Chuck Berry
Final verdict: 5.5/10

Narwhale – Heart of the Corpse​-​Whale (Spain)
Style: Sludge/Metalcore/Traditional (mixed vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Metal-Archives page
Review by: Jonah

Every time I review an album I have mixed feelings about for this blog, I have an incredibly difficult time figuring out exactly how to score it. With bad or good album it’s easy, you just dock or add points and go on about how bad/good it was for a few paragraphs. But albums in the middle? Then things get tricky. So here goes my best attempt at putting to words why the latest from Spanish band Narwhale has me so damn confused.

I have no god damn idea what genre to classify this album as. Those of you who read my review of The Offering two months ago might think I see this as a good thing, as that band managed to fuse a literal shit ton of genres into something new and exciting. In the case of Narwhale though, it unfortunately leaves me more confused than excited. There are moments that feel Sludgey, there are moments that really give off that classic Heavy Metal vibe, and then suddenly bursts into an early BTBAM metalcore riff structure. I can’t get a feel for it at all, and it’s honestly pretty upsetting to me, because some of these performances are damn good. The guitar work is technical and well composed, the solos feel purposeful and the riffs are nice and thick. The bass is groovy and adds a real layer of funk to some of the songs, and the drumming, while not blowing me away, fills out the rhythms nicely. The one facet of the music that really leaves me wanting a bit is the vocals. The vocalist shifts constantly between Thrashy shouts, Sludge growls, and occasional Heavy Metal crooning, but the usage of these various vocal styles feels consistently just slightly off to me. The shouts don’t feel aggressive enough, the crooning isn’t melodic enough, and the growls don’t have that much meat to them. I think a lot of this will simply be improved with time as the band goes on and the vocalist continues to improve, and I think some added attention to the vocal production might thicken things up, but at the moment it’s just not working for me.

I don’t believe I’ll find myself returning to Narwhale soon, or possibly at all, but this is by no means a bad album. I think there are moments of greatness and moments of pure confusion, and I really do think that this band has the potential to turn into something badass if they keep making music, and I look forward to seeing what their next album sounds like.

Recommended tracks: Glaucus, Sargasso Sea, Path of the Whales
Recommended for fans of: Mastodon, Dream Theater, Between the Buried and Me
Final verdict: 5/10

Arjuna’s Eye – Amalgam (Ireland)
Style: Groove/Metalcore (mixed vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Metal-Archives page
Review by: Tyler

I was prepared to not like this band. I really was. The beginning snare drum roll brought back some flashbacks from getting my audio technology degree where I had heard similar intros that were done terribly (no fault on our Irish friends here, I’ve just been hurt before). While my hopes for this album were in no way high on first impressions, as I listened, I found a good amount to admire about the album. This is not a flawless album by any stretch, there is a quality in it that to me feels very honest, like they are a band because they have to be, not just because it seemed like a fun thing to do. I’ll explain.

To be blunt, I am typically not a huge fan of the sound that the band is going for. Groove metal doesn’t do much of anything for me. It’s very chuggy, a little too funky at times, whatever it is, it’s not for me. And while Amalgam didn’t convert me, there are definitely things that I liked quite a bit. The band has really nailed the sound of their choruses. Songs like An Mactire Ban and Romulus and Remus have huge, soaring walls of sound that sound like they belong in entirely different songs. The choruses on the whole album are so good, and the verses suck up and get really dry sounding with the chugging and slappiness, that it sounds like two different bands performing them.   

The performances are quite good for the most part, I loved the bass and drum tone a lot. The guitar tone often sounded like it was missing body that the verses could have really used. The tone was fine, but the reason why the verses don’t sound as good as the choruses is because it sounds like they were recorded in a basement, while the choruses sound like they were recorded in a studio. There is a huge difference in the depth of sound on almost every song. There is almost no reverb or general sound of space in the verses at all. What ties the whole album together is the vocalist. Every step of the way, the vocals are driving the band and keeping it from potential sinkage. The screams are guttural and sincere, the cleans are soaring where they show up. I could just tell he was really meaning what he was putting out there, easily the best part of the album.

While I don’t think Amalgam will convert anyone who isn’t already a fan of the genre, there are some things definitely worth checking out and appreciating. The album doesn’t sound fantastic by any stretch, and to be totally honest a lot of the riffs are pretty generic, but it’s the way that things are performed that kept my attention throughout. With a better production, this one would have been a much better experience, but still one worth while.

Recommended tracks: Romulus and Remus, An Mactire Ban
Recommended for fans of: Tool, Neurosis(?), Periphery(…?), these are all over the place
Final verdict: 6/10

District 97 – Screens (US-IL)
Style: Prog-Jazz (clean vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | RYM page
Review by: BaylorYou

One of the tropes you hear all the time with progressive music is, “I didn’t like it much the first time I listened to it”. I believe this happens a lot within the genre, because there is always a lot to unpack and some compositions might be jarring with the first listen. For me, Screens fell into this trope, but for a slightly different reason. 

When I first listened to Screens, I was enjoying it fine, but something just wasn’t clicking. I couldn’t figure out what it was. After finishing the album the first time, I was starting to do some research for the review. That was when I stumbled upon some of the live performances of songs from Screens. Boom, that’s when it clicked. Screens is a performance. When I went back and listened to the album a second time, it was on another level. District 97 released a recording of a performance (metaphorically speaking), where most other bands perform their recordings. 

Getting into the specifics of the album, District 97 is a female fronted prog-jazz band, and Screens can be groovy at times while being completely dissonant other times. I think my favorite songs off the album were Bread & Yarn, Shapeshifter, and Ghost Girl. My favorite off the album is probably Bread & Yarn.It starts off very “simple” compositionally in the beginning, but sounds so nice. As the song progresses, it gets more and more progressive. By the end of the song, there is one of (if not the most) dissonant guitar solos I’ve ever heard… but it works. Shapeshifter is a close second to Bread & Yarn and features some very awesome proggy-riffing. 

District 97is a very talented group of musicians that is slightly familiar sonically, but very experimental in terms of delivery. All in all, Screens won’t be for everyone, but if you enjoy jazzy-prog and jazzy-female vocals, definitely give this album a listen. If it doesn’t click, I encourage you to listen to a few of their live performances and try again.

Recommended tracks: Bread & Yarn, Shapeshifter, and Ghost Girl
Recommended for fans of: Shob, Umpfel
Final verdict: 8/10

Aeons – A Tragic End (Isle of Man)
Style: Death/Metalcore (mixed vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Metal-Archives page
Review by: Dylan

Now this was a surprise. Aeons is a progressive metalcore band, who decided to take on a more mature approach to the genre, and pulled it off superbly. 

What this means is that they grabbed the progressive metalcore formula, added layers of melody, made the clean vocals mature, the harshes more death metal oriented, and based the songs around harsh/clean/harsh structures somewhat like Opeth. What this mashup results in is a very original album. Yet they aren’t afraid to pull of the genre tropes. And they do so competently.

This all makes this 68 minute journey a pleasant one with plenty of relistening and revisiting opportunities. Aside from a couple segments where the vocals got a bit…. Rappy, every other performance and mixing related aspect of this album I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend to check out. And this band is from The Isle of Man of all places.

Recommended tracks: A Tragic End, Strange Aeons
Recommended for fans of: Veil of Maya, Monuments, After the Burial
Final verdict: 8/10

Cyneris – Tidal Locking (Italy)
Style: Heavy Prog/Traditional (clean vocals)
Related links: Spotify | Facebook | Metal-Archives page
Review by: Dylan

Tidal Locking is basically heavy prog with lots of oriental elements and the occasional BAGPIPE! 

…Perfect 5/7.

Just kidding… but it is a pretty interesting listen. Heavily effected vocals accompanied by unusual eastern inspired melodies, with plenty of instrument variety thrown around. At it’s relatively short 44 minute length, it’s no bad that this album may not offer much more. Every track follows the same idea, but the instrument variety keeps things fresh and make it a very easily digestible listen.

In fact it’s also so so easy to digest, that it sometimes has that “goes through one ear, goes out through the other” problem that many many MANY prog albums have unless you obsess with them and give them over 15 listens. But just because a song or two may have fell under your radar while listening to an album, doesn’t make the album low quality per se. 

This is an interesting album that incorporates new melodies and instrument into progressive rock, but misses on being an instant memorable classic. Overall, a good experience.

Recommended tracks: Earthbeat, Space Outlaw
Recommended for fans of: Dream Theater, Pain of Salvation (?), Haken (??)
Final verdict: 7/10

Juggernaut – Neuroteque (Italy)
Style: Post (instrumental)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Review by: SharkTRS

Some find instrumental music boring due to the lack of vocals. “It’s just not as interesting,” they say. In prog instrumentals especially, this tends to be an issue. Ever since Animals as Leaders came onto the scene, it seems like half the instrumental prog bands on the planet have aped their style. As such, it’s incredibly refreshing to see a band absolutely nail instrumental prog in a style wholly their own. Enter Juggernaut.

Listening to Neuroteque, one gets the feeling that anything can happen at any time. All throughout, Juggernaut demonstrate their ability to weave through several disparate styles and make them all work coherently, being able to go from ethereally light to bone-crushingly heavy in an instant. Reading this, one may expect that the album would sound janky as a result, but Neuroteque is an incredibly fluid listen throughout, despite diving through genres as disparate as post-hardcore, jazz, and Middle Eastern music.

All of this works due to the incredible competence demonstrated by every member of the band. I’ll begin with the bassist. I’ve heard the phrase “the bass is fat” thrown around frequently in rock and metal circles, but that doesn’t even begin to cover how massive this dude’s tone is. The bass isn’t just fat, it’s obese. Coupled with the drummer’s absurd chops, Juggernaut’s rhythm section truly fits the band name. The guitarists understand this, and often step back, allowing the bassist and drummer to go as hard as they want while they support them. When they take center stage, though, they justify every second. The two of them nail everything from atmospheric intro sections, Refused-sounding palm-muted riffage, post-rock buildups, and absolutely massive metal riffs that blow even the most hardcore doom metal fans off their feet.

This isn’t an album to miss. Make sure to give Neuroteque a spin if this review has even remotely intrigued you.

Recommended tracks: Limina, Charade
Recommended for fans of: Tool, The Mars Volta, Poly-Math
Final verdict: 8/10

Silent Call – Windows (Sweden)
Style: Power (clean vocals)
Related links: Spotify | Facebook | Twitter | Metal-Archives page
Review by: Poler10

Name a more iconic duo: Sweden and power metal. Windows from Stockholm’s Silent Call is the group’s fourth studio album and the first to feature Göran Nyström on vocals. Going into this album, I knew nothing about the band or their sound besides “power.” With only this in mind, thankfully I was not disappointed. 

The opening track begins with a very synth-driven, orchestral riff which immediately feels grandiose. When Nyström’s vocals kick in, the instrumentation briefly switches to a somber, piano-focused sound before the metal kicks back in. One thing that immediately stood out to me is the versatility of Nyström’s voice. He effortlessly swaps between a low baritone and a higher tenor depending on what the mood of the instrumentation calls for. During higher energy, riff-centric passages, he sings as an impassioned tenor, adding a good amount of vibrato; during slower passages, he sings as a baritone, adding to the somber feel of the passage.

Another key aspect of the sound is the omnipresence of synths. Almost Amaranthe-esque at times, the synth tone adds a futuristic feel, while never too campy or cheesy. As far as traditional metal instrumentation goes, there’s not much to note here. The riffs are solid and the solos are shreddy. Nothing stood out to me as exceptional or out of the ordinary but at the same time, there’s nothing to hate. It’s power metal through and through. However, the songs start to blend together as the album progresses (this is a common trend with power metal). Since their core sound is pleasant, the homogeneity doesn’t detract from my enjoyment of this album.

Overall, this is a really solid release and any fan of power metal should enjoy this one thoroughly. Maybe I’ll even go back and listen to their earlier releases at some point. 

Recommended tracks: Shifting Shape, Shedding Skin, Damnation
Recommended for fans of: Anubis Gate, Circus Maximus, Amaranthe
Final verdict: 7/10

Singularity – Place of Chains (US-AZ)
Style: Symphonic Tech Death (hars vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Metal-Archives page
Review by: Tyler

Oh boy, do I love a good symphony. I played in one for a little while. I love the orchestration, the drastic changes from the quiet solos to huge bombastic fanfares. It definitely made me a little pretentious for lack of a better word. I cannot stand software strings, horns, woodwinds, etc. Once you get the real thing, it’s hard to go back. You have to do a lot to them to make them sound halfway decent, otherwise it comes off as mediocre. I got on this tangent because Place of Chains if filled these software sounds; it is a massive part of each song, which means there needs to be a lot of care put into making everything sound cohesive and blend well. And, while it’s not perfect, they did a lot of things right. This is pretty rad.

What makes the album so good is that if you took the symphonic parts out of it, it still sounds really good. The album is produced quite well. Nothing sounds like it overtakes anything else, and everything sounds BIG for once. Usually with a mix this busy, there is a tendency to squash everything in order to make room for it all, but on this album, every sound has depth, a place to call its. It’s so refreshing to hear a properly made album that’s this jam packed. It doesn’t hurt that all of the performances by the band themselves are wonderfully executed. The vocals a visceral and commanding, the guitars riffs are smart and melodic. The drums and bass are like a conductor for the whole ensemble, demanding that everything keep up with their tempo, pulling the best out of everyone, software included.

Let’s talk about the symphony in room for a second. While I said before this album would be just fine on it’s own without all of the frills, the orchestral parts make this bad boy pop. Typically what you hear on symphonic death metal albums, is the band and orchestral elements playing separately, they each have their own parts and do their best to stay out of each others hair. What Singularity was smart enough to do (and maybe I’m just ignorant on the symphonic death metal genre) is to have the orchestra double up on the band parts in a lot of spots. The absolute best example is on Desmoterion. The piano plays along with the bass. The strings play along with the guitar leads along with a harpsichord that infests this album (in a great way). My biggest criticism of this album is that when the band takes a step back to give the symphony parts a time to shine, that’s where you can hear ones and zeros pretty clearly. It can’t be helped, that’s just the nature of software, guys. I get it.

I said before that I’m pretty ignorant in the realm of symphonic death metal. For all I know everything here could be par for the course, and I’m gushing over pretty standard stuff. There’s not a lot here that’s overtly ‘prog’ but I would say a band going through the extra effort to essentially compose an accompanying symphony for their death metal album is pretty big brain stuff we can all get behind. This was cool and symphonies can be just as metal as Schecters. Listen to some Debussy sometime folks, it’s pretty good.

Recommended tracks: Victory or Death, Desmoterion, As Dark as this Nefarious Night
Recommended for fans of: Dimmu Borgir (are they cool? I don’t know), The Black Dahlia Murder, Rivers of Nihil
Final verdict: 8.5~9/10

Astral Experience – Inflexión (Spain)
Style: Power (clean, Spanish vocals)
Related links: Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Review by: Dylan

I believe that I’m the only one on this blog that isn’t a fan of making long reviews. Even for marvelously put together pieces of music, I find it so tedious to be talking about a single album for over four paragraphs. And when a band is really good, but also straightforward with it’s ideas and execution, I believe that one paragraph is more than enough.

Astral Experience play prog power. And they play it in a non bullshit kinda way. Everything prog power 101 is here: flashy guitars, epic vocals, ballads, cheese, long-ass tunes. You name it, they got it. It’s well put together, fun to listen to, easy to digest, and an overall pleasant experience. The vocalist is no god, but Spanish lyrics give him just the right amount of flair for him to be distinguishable. If you want more good prog power, go and give this album a listen. If you come in expecting anything more, stay away.

Recommended tracks: Eterna Juventud, Grita, Alma de Hielo Pt. II
Recommended for fans of: Lost in Thought, modern Symphony X, Pagan’s Mind, DGM
Final verdict: 7/10

Pi – Transmutation Circles (France)
Style: Instrudjental/Death
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | RYM page
Review by: Dylan

When I approach instrudjental I don’t feel like I’m gonna be challenged. For how many reasons I enjoy the genre, one of the things that I usually rely on is that the albums are gonna be… “complexly straightforward” if that makes any sense. Pi….. is not that, in fact, it’s just really fucking weird.

The sound on offer here is really dissonant, strange, and experimental. There seems to be hardly any pleasant melodies, as if the album was a constant barrage of “??” Instead of “??!!??!!” It’s all questions with no answers. So it’s super tough and challenging to listen to this album. An average mix accompanies all of this, if the album wasn’t already hard enough to listen to.

To add another layer of complexity, each song is somewhat interconnected so you can’t even catch a break on that aspect. With all this being said, do I like the album? No. But I don’t think it’s objectively bad, but this is an album aimed at a very niche audience. If you’re intrigued… give this a spin and tell me how you feel about it. I’m just confused.

Recommended tracks: all or nothing
Recommended for fans of: dissonant djent?
Final verdict: 2π/10

Ad Nemori – Akrateia (Germany)
Style: Atmospheric Death (mixed vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Metal-Archives page
Review by: Jonah

I can’t recall the last time I listened to a band that I would classify as atmospheric death metal (which is what Metal-Archives tags this band as). It’s just not a combination of genres that I really see often. Post and atmospheric metal tends to lean more towards sludge or black metal if it’s going to get heavy, and death metal tends to either get super melodic or super dense. Rarely does a band successfully incorporate true atmospheric elements into death metal for anything other than occasional breaks. So the question is, does Ad Nemori manage to make this a cohesive package, or is this just melodeath masquerading as something new and exciting?

Kind of both, it depends on the song. When this fusion works, it’s incredibly cool. There are passages throughout the album where a barrage of death metal suddenly calms into a post-y section full of atmospheric tremolo picking and synths, and honestly I absolutely adore these passages. Sometimes though, the atmospheric elements feel more like an afterthought than a true part of the package. I think I would more comfortably consider this melodeath, or possibly even death/doom, with atmospheric breaks than a truly atmospheric death metal album, but regardless, let’s get to the point here: It’s pretty dang good.

The performances here are quite strong across the board. The vocals are thick, full and really damn aggressive at times, with the occasional clean break. The guitar work varies from somewhat standard riffing to some killer lead work and solos. The bass is pleasantly present in the heavier moments, but it is the drumming does a fantastic job of really filling out the low end and some of the fills are just absolutely delicious. Standing out to me in particular is Kenosis, which is a truly fantastic song that has amazing dynamic shifts and some truly humongous harsh vocals. If you try out any song on this album, let it be that one.

This is a fucking good album. Is it perfect? No, I think it’s a tad samey and some of the death metal comes out feeling a bit too standard, but I really really enjoyed my listen. This band has some chops, and I can’t wait to hear more from them.

Recommended tracks: Tellurian Doom, Kenosis, Above the Tide
Recommended for fans of: Dimmu Borgir, Be’Lakor, Insomnium
Final verdict: 7/10

Mantra – Medium (France)
Style: Alternative (clean vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Review by: SharkTRS

Medium is a unique album. Not in sound, but in its construction. It consists of two long songs, and when both tracks are played at the same time, they form a cohesive whole.

One might guess that for an album like this, each side on its own would feel weak compared to the combination of both. While both sides at once is for sure the optimal way to listen to Medium, the individual tracks are still incredibly solid on their own. Understandably, they’re generally similar to one another, but stand in stark contrast to each other at times, too. If they weren’t playable over each other, I’d still have just about the same opinion on this album. The gimmick is cool, but it works because it’s a combination of two good songs.

But how does the album actually sound? I hear Gojira influences in the vocals at times, and the grooves occasionally sound djenty, but I can pretty easily sum up this album’s sound in one word. Tool. If you like Tool, chances are you’ll like this album, and vice versa. I have to give Mantra credit. They do a pretty great Tool impression on this album while mixing in a few elements of their own, but I wouldn’t say that they’ve come into their own yet. This album is good, but if they bring in more influences from outside the Toolosphere, it could’ve been great. I’m for sure keeping an eye on these guys, though.

Recommended tracks: it’s two tracks, just listen to it
Recommended for fans of: Tool, Karnivool, Rishloo
Final verdict: 6.5/10

Ray Alder – What the Water Wants (US-CA)
Style: Hard Rock (clean vocals)
Related links: Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | RYM page
Review by: Sam

I’m a huge fan of Fates Warning. I recently even reached 1000 scrobbles (registered song listens) of them on Last.fm. This is a solo project of their singer Ray Alder, so inevitably I had to be the one to review it, as lucky for me, it was in our range.

Essentially this is Hard Rock with some prog metal touches. It’s meant to showcase Ray’s vocal abilities. Speaking through the Fates Warning lens, this is has the aesthetics and sound of, say Theories of Flight, while musically it’s closer to Parallels and Inside Out. If you’re familiar with those albums this album will sound very familiar, but has enough qualities to distinguish itself. The music is remarkably more straightforward than Fates’ material. The prog is even more subtle and the songs are even more chorus-driven, making for a real song-by-song experience, which is also how I’ll be analysing this record from here.

There are many distinct styles for the songs. You have the heavy bangers like Shine or Wait (both of which are great cuts), the sincere ballads like The Road, the more moody, atmospheric cuts like Under Dark Skies and straightforward rockers like the lead single Crown of Thorns. It’s a very diverse bunch, and each does a good job at highlighting the different facets of Ray’s voice. But above all, what shines through to me – and this should come as no surprise to other Fates fans reading this – is the sincerity of his delivery. Whether he’s going full power, doing a gentle melody or everything else that comes in between, he always brings an honesty to the emotions portrayed that cannot be understated. He may not be as good as Daniel Gildenlow technically, but the profoundness is always there. It’s the voice of a person that has nothing to hide and says directly what they feels. 

I should mention the instrumental side of this project. As I mentioned it’s not overtly technical, but that’s also not the point. I love the guitar playing especially. I’m not sure who does what (it’s a duo), but they make some great atmospheric effects. Idk what the musical term is, but it’s kinda black metal-y in tone. Furthermore their riffs hit hard and the solos are pretty damn beautiful and tasteful. The rhythm section also takes some heavy inspiration from the Mark Zonder-Joey Vera duo [Fates Warning 1989-2004 Ed.], which is always a good thing in my book. The playing is varied and both the drums and bass sound massive in the mix (without eating up space from the other things happening). Just a good, effective performance all-around.

So we arrive at the conclusion. Overall, I’d say this album is nothing groundbreaking in the grand scheme of things, but it’s just very solid, proper songwriting. And in a landscape where artists’ ambitions often outshine their capabilities, that’s hugely appreciated. If you were disappointed in the latest Alter Bridge album like I was, but you’re still looking for some good hard rock, or if you’re just a Fates Warning fan in general, definitely check out this album. A worthy addition to the catalogue.

Recommended tracks: Lost, Under Dark Skies, Wait
Recommended for fans of: post-No Exit Fates Warning, Alter Bridge/Tremonti, Subsignal/Sieges Even
Final verdict: 8/10

Valcata – Valcata (US-NY)
Style: Symphonic/Rock Opera (clean vocals)
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Review by: Matt

I hate musicals – haaaaaate them. Apparently, this is an opinion that creates friction with other people, but I can’t stand the story coming to a grinding halt every ten minutes so characters can unnaturally tell everyone their feelings. (“You can’t just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!”) I say this because Valcata gives me the same phony vibe, without the benefit of decent composition.

This is like Ayreon mixed with The Nightman Cometh, a painfully awkward attempt at a multi-singer rock opera. All the interesting instrumentation and textures are stripped away, leaving limp guitar parts that do nothing, and maybe one keyboard pad or something most of the time. Instrumentally, it’s boring, and weird that a writer who’s using the Hungarian scale and stuff can think up such amateur-sounding guitars. 

Valcata sports eight singers who don’t particularly stand out from each other, except for an extreme opera bass and soprano that supply a lot of the album’s hilarity by being completely out of place. The only person I know is Mary Zimmer, who is awesome, but I couldn’t pick her out of the crowd here. The singers themselves are fine, but the vocal lines sound so insincere and fit the music underneath so little, it’s surreal. The different vocalists don’t complement each other, rather, the rapid fire changes between them are jarring. They cram syllables into places they don’t belong in order to deliver lines like “I am unaffected by technology!” If you thought Ayreon lyrics were bad… Jesus Christ.

My reviewer colleague told me this was going to be rough, and I thought “but the album cover though!” Nah, he was right. It’s pure cheese, and not the fancy stuff of similar albums… Like, government welfare cheese. Give it a listen for the novelty.

Recommended tracks: Might as well start at the beginning.
Recommended for fans of: Ayreon, Therion
Final verdict: 2/10

Vinsta – Drei Deita (Austria)
Style: Extreme/Atmospheric Death (mixed, German vocals)
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Review by: Sam

You know I’m really starting to repeat myself. Time and time again I hear a band sounds like Opeth and I think “yes let’s review it! Maybe I’ll get another Hands of Despair!” But then I listen to it, and it indeed sounds like Opeth, and I just inevitably get disappointed. Enter Vinsta. 

I feel kind of bad for this band, as I’ve just ran out of things to say about these type of bands. Just saying “it sounds like Opeth” ad infinitum is such lazy writing, but lord, I just don’t know what else to say. Maybe it’s because I don’t listen to Opeth all that much anymore myself, so I’ve created some sort of boogeyman in my head of “the Opeth” that I lump all these bands into, I don’t know. I guess it’s similar to how others tend to dump nearly every prog power act with a keyboard into the label of “Dream Theater clone”, or how almost every heavy metal band just “sounds like Iron Maiden” to others. With the latter two I have little problem, but when it comes to Opeth, somehow, my similarity tolerance is extremely low. Though let me try to write some things at least:

What we have here is an atmospheric progressive melodic death metal band with some folk on the side. I know it’s a mouthful, but that’s exactly what it is. Nearly everything that can be said about Vinsta is conveyed in those tags, along with the fact that, yes, it sounds like Opeth, and the vocals are in German (supposedly it’s a very specific Austrian accent, but I don’t speak German so idk). What more can I say? They have a quite ice-y atmosphere that works pretty well. The songwriting is certainly competent and the instrumental performances are good. The singing is very Akerfeldt-inspired and he does so well, and the growls are pretty demonic gutturals. It’s clearly produced and hence the record sounds great. In short it has all the ingredients for a good record.

If you are a fan of this style I definitely recommend you check it out as it’s a very competent record, but for me personally, I just couldn’t give a damn. I know one thing for sure though, and that’s that going 2020, I will stop reviewing these Opeth-type of bands. That’s my new years resolution. Sorry Vinsta for this trash-tier review, you didn’t deserve this. Fate is cruel sometimes I guess.

Recommended tracks: Oafocha Loda, Raunocht, Fiachtn
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Insomnium
Final verdict: 7/10

Tamam Shod – Yek (Poland)
Style: Stoner Doom (mixed vocals)
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Review by: Jonah

I’ve been pretty tired of stoner and sludge variations recently. It seems like more often than not every band in this umbrella uses the same fuzzy riffs, the same unimpressive vocals, and the same god damn songwriting tendencies, to the point that I really struggle to tell it all apart. There are obviously shining examples of the genre that break this mold though, and none come to mind more than YOB. I love YOB to death, I love their obtuse, sprawling songs, I love their abrasive and unconventional vocals, and I love how abnormal their music is to the genre. I was expecting to be underwhelmed by yet another bog standard stoner/sludge album when I came into the latest by Tamam Shod, but I was very pleasantly surprised to find it leaning much more in the YOB direction, albeit a good bit faster, with hints of Pallbearer and some prog rock to carry things along.

There is a lot of atmosphere in these tracks, and they really capitalize on the sprawling length by making some really cool soundscapes in which to play. The riffs aren’t the most unique, and the vocals sound like most stoner/traditional doom vocalists these days (with some added roars that are pretty damn massive), but the bass and lead guitar work is pretty damn awesome. The melodic leads fly around the riffs, weaving intricate webs of melody and beauty, while the bass provides some of the funkiest, thickest low-end I’ve heard in a doom band in a hot minute. The faster sections almost felt like Rush to me instead of doom, and it was really quite refreshing. The drumming is relatively standard (and the drum production leaves a good bit to be desired), but it serves well enough to carry along the rest of the killer performances.

This is a tremendously good album. The production is a bit rough, and the drums could be more exciting, but it hits some truly tremendous notes and leaves me wanting more. This is filling a specific niche of doom for me that Pallbearer and YOB fill, and I desperately want more of it. For right now though, give this bad boy a spin. It’s pretty dang good.

Recommended tracks: Gardens, Nova, Uranus
Recommended for fans of: YOB, Pallbearer, Rush
Final verdict: 8/10

Striatum – Unoneness (Canada)
Style: Experimental (mixed vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook
Review by: BaylorYou

I chose to review this album because of the “Experimental” tag, and I love avant-garde and experimental music, and oh boy, Unoneness is definitely experimental. The album itself is structured very strangely. The beginning of the album is very avant-garde and almost Igorrr like, then the album proceeds to remind me of epic fantasy scores, electronic elements, Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Radiohead, and other bands/genres. There is even a rapper featured on the last track! Unoneness is strange to say the least, but it’s still somehow cohesive. 

The first track I’d like to highlight is Just Pure Garbage. This track… is not pure garbage, unless you’re throwing out gold. When the vocals kick in, it almost sounds like Layne Staley over the top of a strange industrial/electronic groove. Just Pure Garbage flows very well, and is very sonically unique. The next song I will highlight is Karuna. This track is one hell of a journey, and it’s placement in the album is perfect. When you are getting used to the tone of the previous songs, this twelve-minute curveball is thrown in. This track is grungy, progressive, heavy, and atmospheric. Seriously, this song is awesome. There are a few other songs that are noteworthy like Stockholm Syndrome and Tube Box, or Not Tube Box, but there isn’t a track on here that isn’t ambitious.

In summary, this is a very refreshing album and I enjoyed it quite a bit, and I will be coming back to listen to it again. Personally, if this album was able to maintain the highlights that I enjoyed, it would be hard to not give this album close to a 9/10. There are some songs off the album that I wasn’t a huge fan of, but I can still respect the ambition. Unoneness by Striatum falls in between that “highly-recommended” and “recommended” spot for me, because it is very experimental and is all over the place sonically. 

Recommended tracks: Just Pure Garbage, Karuna, Stockholm Syndrome, Tube Box or Not Tube Box?
Recommended for fans of: Igorrr, Alice In Chains, Nine Inch Nails, Hardcore Anal Hydrogen
Final verdict: 8/10

Pripyat Escape – Antimateria (Spain)
Style: Melodeath (mixed vocals)
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Review by: Poler10

What do you get when you cross Amaranthe and Scar Symmetry? You get Antimateriaby Barcelonian quintet Pripyat Escape. As you might have surmised from the band name, Antimateria appears to be a concept album about the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster and the subsequent fallout and panic at the nearby city of Pripyat. The lyrics are vague enough that I don’t know for sure whether this is true but each track follows the same lyrical theme so that I can safely guess this. I think it’s a really cool concept for an album.

As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, the music has a strong, synthy techno vibe. It’s a good thing I like Amaranthe because this is my second album this week to remind me of them. Employing primarily harsh vocals with the occasional clean passage, the singer, Carlos, has some pretty great harshes, with some not as great cleans. They suit the tracks well for what they are. One thing each track has in common is the very synth-driven riffage, which I haven’t quite decided whether I like it or not. The riffs themselves are pretty inventive most of the time, but they end up being too repetitive for their own good. I will say that the guitar tone is super clear while still feeling heavy enough for this to be called a melodeath album. 

I love me a good synth tone, and these guys knocked it out of the park on that regard. Since the synth is so prominent, I am so glad that it sounds great and meshes well with the guitar tone. Especially on passages that are synth-only, it stands out well and is memorable. Additionally, Pripyat Escape changes up the tempo somewhat from song to song, which does a great job of keeping each song sounding fresh despite having the same core formula. New tracks actually feel new instead of just a rehash of the previous track. They even throw in moments here in there that make them deserving of the “prog” label. A Plague is the standout track for me here; it is a great showcase of every aspect of their core sound. 

Admittedly, I am not the best authority on this brand of melodeath but from what I have heard, Antimateria sits up there among the best of what I’ve tried. Aside from the less-than-stellar cleans, Pripyat Escape has a winner here and I’m excited for what they do in the future.

Recommended tracks: In Time, Sirius, A Plague.
Recommended for fans of: Scar Symmetry, Amaranthe, Soilwork
Final verdict: 8.6/10

Lowcaster – Flames Arise (US-CA)
Style: Doom (clean vocals)
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Review by: Jonah (it’s Doom duhhh)

Those of us who drink deep of doom metal ocean often crave two particular things. First, big vocals. Doom with weak vocals is both unsatisfying and just downright wrong. How can you pummel your listeners into depressed submission unless your vocals sound like either a viking warlord or the most badass coal miner known to man? Trick question, you can’t. Second, doom ain’t doom without The Riff. It doesn’t matter which riff, it doesn’t matter when, but if you’re a fan of doom you know, when The Riff hits you just get goosebumps. That shit blows you away, it knocks your socks off, and it leaves you begging your doom daddy to hit you harder. Enter Lowcaster, and boy howdy you doom fans better say yes please and bend over because these boys have it in spades.

Riffs and big boy vocals are found aplenty on this album. Drawing very clearly from the Black Sabbath side of the genre, Lowcaster has managed to take the tired old husk that is traditional style doom and make it spicy again with some extra prog rock flavoring and general songwriting panache. The bass is a bit quiet but definitely helps thicken things out, the drumming is spicy and technical, and oh man the guitar leads. Doom isn’t a genre commonly known for delicious lead guitar work and ripping solos but these boys manage to both make it work and make it shine. The atmosphere is somber when needed and aggressive when not, and everything really works together pretty god damn well.

I can’t necessarily say the album is perfect, because I’d love to see just a hint more originality in here. But I think Lowcaster has the potential to go the way of Pallbearer and make a really exciting, proggy version of traditional doom that I can absolutely not wait to hear more of. Give this one a listen, even if you’re not a doom fan. Who knows, it might convert you to one of us depraved, riff-craving bastards.

Recommended tracks: Honestly all of them
Recommended for fans of: Black Sabbath, Pallbearer, Trouble
Final verdict: 8/10

North of South – The Dogma & The Outside (Spain)
Style: Latin/Fusion (mixed vocals)
Related links: Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | RYM page
Review by: Poler10

The Dogma & The Outsider, an EP by Spanish progressive metal/latin jazz fusion(?) band North of South, is the shortest of my three releases this month, but also the most complex and dense. Within the first two minutes of the opening track, we have a guitar solo, a unique riff, and a call-and-response section between harsh vocals and clean vocals. There’s a wide array of instruments on display throughout this release, and even some guest appearances from Kobi Farhi (Orphaned Land), Anna Murphy (Cellar Darling, ex Eluveitie) and Zuberoa Aznárez (Diabulus in Música). With all this talent, there’s bound to be gold here, right?

Well, aside from some issues I have with the production and vocals, this is largely true! Every track has a somewhat different style but they all work really well. For example, We Refused to Hear Them (It’s Our Song) kicks off with a strong, power metal-esque riff and drum pattern. It then transitions into a nice vocal line sung by Anna Murphy. I’m not the biggest fan of the main male singer (your mileage may vary) but his voice isn’t offputting and is pleasant enough to not detract much from the rest of the music. Fortunately, his harshes are much easier to listen to and I wish they made more of an appearance. 

There were several moments throughout the EP where I wish there was either more, less, or something else going on. I also wish their self-proclaimed latin/fusion influence showed itself more often. Most of the time, the songs on this sound more like a cookie-cutter prog metal album than the prog/latin/fusion release they claim it to be. 

The final two tracks on this release are covers – Hyperballad originally by Björk and Englishman in New York originally by Sting – I won’t comment on these because I haven’t heard the originals but they sound good for what they are.

Overall, despite the strong technical prowess on display throughout and several high-profile guest vocalists, this release largely failed to find a place in my “hey I like this” cache I keep in my brain. It’s objectively good but there wasn’t nearly enough that stood out to me. They’ve got a great foundation and a great theme, but could use more work before it truly becomes excellent. 

Recommended tracks: We Refused To Hear Them (It’s Our Song), On Unexpected Shores
Recommended for fans of: Uhhhhhh Dream Theater but with latin influence? I don’t know
Final verdict: 5.5/10

Noveria – Aequilibrium (Italy)
Style: Power/Modern (clean vocals)
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Review by: Matt

Noveria are an Italian band proficient in every skill except coming up with song titles. Blind? Broken? Come on, man… Anyway, Aequilibrium is a much better album than it superficially appears, with virtuosity and an ear for big hooks that will force you to remember it.

Waves opens with a killer riff salad before getting down to business. The rhythm guitars alternate between sounding like Arch Enemy, later Symphony X, and a bit of metalcore throughout the album, and they know how to write a great heavy riff with logical transitions. Speaking of Symphony X, Francesco Corigliano is often a dead ringer for the voice of Russell Allen – one of the higher compliments I can think of – and he’s more interested in singing notes than Russell is these days, to boot. He’s tasked with doling out colossal earworm choruses, which are everything they need to be. It’s almost too much – so transparently written for catchiness, like a Killswitch Engage song, but it helps that the surrounding music has some decent depth to it. This isn’t purely a chorus band, though that is the most notable feature.

Very little here falls flat – Noveria avoid the typical mid-album slump through sheer energy. Losing You might be a bit cloying and fillerish, and the last track depends on your tolerance for power ballads. The occasional bro chug parts narrowly avoid being dumb due to their clever placement in the songs. I guess the main complaint I could level at Aequilibrium is that it’s nothing new, “only” a collection of catchy songs, but hey. It’s done really, really well, and has sweet keyboard solos. I heartily endorse this product and/or service.

Recommended tracks: Waves, A Long Journey
Recommended for fans of: Symphony X, SOMETHING
Final verdict: 8/10

Horizon’s End – Skeleton Keys (Greece)
Style: Power (clean vocals)
Related links: Spotify | Facebook | Metal-Archives page
Review by: Matt

Having a review schedule changes your perception of music – I feel like I would enjoy Skeleton Keys more if I weren’t listening to so many other similar albums. The band members are all pretty swell, and any given ten-second clip from this will most likely sound good, but it was still a bit of a challenge to get through.

The thing is that, while there’s plenty going on in the individual moments, structurally these songs are a slog. There are huge instrumental deserts between the oases of vocals. The compositions during these parts aren’t bad at all, but they don’t quite have the force of will to carry a whole song and tend to wear you down after awhile. Most of us are probably familiar with this arrangement, but it gets dicey when every song is the same format, and the writing lacks some of the finesse needed to keep the ship on course. On top of that, 74 minutes is far longer than most metal albums need to be – you could easily cut 30 off of that and have a stronger album, plus material for the next one.

The backbones of the songs are still solid. Singer Vasilios Topalides has a voice on the smooth side, but also turns out to be pretty versatile. In his more high and aggressive moments, he sounds a little like Ian Parry (Elegy.) The end shriek on Forming Fantasies has instantly made me a fan, and I wish he was woven into the songs more rather than sort of existing alongside them. Some of the vocal lines are stronger than others though, writing-wise. The verses on Be have noticeably more punch than the other songs, for instance. As far as the instrumentals, everyone’s good, and I like that the keyboards have more of a human touch than most modern metal bands. I think some stronger standalone riffs would’ve helped prop up the instrumental sections, rather than mostly being a big tapestry of harmonies, sequencer parts, etc. It’s all impressive, but… there’s so much of it.

Skeleton Keys definitely has its moments – largely the first proper song and the long(er) closer, for me. It took a conscious effort not to tune out in between, despite the torrent of notes being played, and I listened three or four times. I’d say the album is ultimately good, but I don’t know if “just” another competent prog band does it for me at this point without amazing writing or some distinguishing feature.

Recommended tracks: Forming Fantasies, Be
Recommended for fans of: Dream Theater… You know.
Final verdict: 6/10

Ok Goodnight – Limbo (US-MA)
Style: Jazzy prog with some sugar (clean vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | RYM page
Review by: Tyler

HEY. How are you? Happy New Year! It can be a stressful time of year, I get it. That’s why I have Limbo to share with you, it is easily the safest album you will hear all day (if you haven’t heard it yet that is). That’s far from a bad thing, it’s actually pretty refreshing to find an album in our dumb little genre that’s, overall, pretty accessible. Great musicianship, sugary sweet vocals, and just enough edge to hang with the cool kids.

There is a lot to like about the album, right from the album art it sort of sets the tone of the next 40 minutes. The illustration has a very anime feel to it, and it’s very appropriate because every single song sounds like an anime intro or outro (some quick research also revealed that the vocalist has actually sang on some anime intros, so no surprises there). The quick guitar leads and abundance of piano add to that sentiment the whole way through, starting right from the intro Astray and the real first banger Think Again, which as one idea, are probably the best songs on the album. The catchy lead the guitar does throughout gets trapped in your head and the chuggy verses mixed with soaring and theatrical vocals pair very nicely together. 

Another standout track is the instrumental Meridian, which despite it’s very obvious Plini influences, is the most adventurous track on here, with the end getting legitimately heavy with breakdowns and dissonant chords and a dour mood that carries over to Rapture. The next instrumental Height Shift is way more up in terms of mood, with it’s very jazzy drumming and noodling guitar leads. Aside from these things, the album has a very one note feel. You know what the guitar is going to sound like. The vocals are always going to be big and breathy. Right from the first song, you know what you are going to get.

All of these things are really great, and they are impressive, well produced, but throughout the whole thing, everything felt so comfortable; there was no risk at all. Like the band had defined for themselves what they were, but it in a box and vowed never to leave. That bit at the end of Meridian felt like the band had cut loose a little bit and realized that exploring a bit with the sound can actually work out. This album jams for sure, but if only they had gone extended even further than they did, it would slam.

Recommended tracks: Meridian, Rapture
Recommended for fans of: Haken, Plini, the pretty parts of Rolo Tomassi
Final verdict: 7/10