Style: Progressive Metal, Folk Metal, Symphonic Metal, Black Metal (Mixed vocals) Recommended for fans of: Enslaved, Moonsorrow, Borknagar, Wilderun Review by: Christopher Country: Germany Release date: 8 September, 2023 Early in life I was exposed to classical pieces like Rossini’s “William Tell Overture”, Dvořák’s Symphony No.9 (“From the New World”), and Holst’s The Planets, and ever since I entered the world of progressive metal, I’ve gravitated towards the bands that capture a similar sense of the symphonic sublime. Hailing from Germany and singing in their native tongue, Finsterforst ha ..read more

Style: progressive metal, melodic black metal (mixed vocals) Recommended for fans of: Ne Obliviscaris, Dissection, Moonsorrow Review by: Zach Country: Belarus Release date: 25 August, 2023 [EDITOR’S NOTE: now that it’s December and releases become less frequent, we’re going to start with covering cool things that slipped past us. As much as we want to be, we are not nearly omnipotent. This is the first review of many in an attempt to make up for that.] The coveted seal of Hyperfixation Album is not to be taken lightly. This is something I love so much, I’m willing to not only order it on viny ..read more

Style: progressive metal, power metal (clean vocals) Recommended for fans of: Dream Theater, Symphony X, Evergrey Review by: Sam Country: Italy Release date: 17 November, 2023 Ah, DGM, one of the most consistent bands to have come out of the 2000s prog-power scene. Unlike many of their peers, they didn’t spontaneously combust once the 2010s rolled around (looking at you, Pagan’s Mind, Circus Maximus) but kept on releasing high quality music. In fact, due to increased production values and polish of their compositions, I would argue that they became even better. Hence I was quite surprised to ..read more

Style: Progressive Metal, Groove Metal (Mixed vocals) Recommended for fans of: Strapping Young Lad, Gojira, early Devin Townsend Review by: Christopher Country: Ukraine Release date: 30 November, 2023 Without wanting to get too cynically McLuhanesque, in the age of social media a war is only as important as its entertainment value. The full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which began in February 2022, brought an onslaught of militarised horror to global media, and outpourings of support and solidarity with the Ukrainian people. And then, after a while, we forgot. We have a new war to go ..read more

Style: prog black metal, melodic black metal, atmospheric black metal, folk black metal (harsh vocals) Recommended for fans of: Wolves in the Throne Room, Mare Cognitum Review by: Andy Country: Brazil Release date: 17 November 2023 Just when I thought Caio Lemos was moving uncomfortably far away from metal, he releases Vestígios, possibly his most effective foray into (mostly) pure black metal yet. What haven’t I said about Lemos and his various projects (Kaatayra, Bríi, Vauruvã, Bakt, Rasha, and now Vestígio)? For four years straight, he has, like clockwork, released an experimental black me ..read more

Style: Simulacra (vocals) Recommended for fans of: an aural lobotomy Review by: Zach Country: Australia Release date: 3 November, 2023 I am a shitty reviewer. Why, you may ask? This isn’t me saying “woe is me, why can’t I be more critical like Andy,” this is me outright stating a fact. I would rather present you all with an album that I thoroughly enjoyed or grab a mediocre one with a silver lining than outright tear something apart critically. As a musician, at the end of the day, I know how difficult it is to write an album,especially something at the caliber of progressive metal. We can’t ..read more

Style: Progressive/Technical Death Metal (harsh vocals) Recommended for fans of: The Faceless, Obscura Review by: Zach Country: Australia Release date: 10 November, 2023 The Ritual Aura were a band that, in my opinion, never quite got it. Debut Laniakea was a short, sweet, techy affair that left me hopeful for their future career, and Taether was the nearly 80-minute monster that dashed those hopes. Both albums featured some insane guitar work by L. Dalek, the brains behind the band, but the structure and pacing held them back. 2019’s Velothi saw them heading in a much proggier, tighter direc ..read more

Style: Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal (clean vocals) Recommended for fans of: Ayreon, Star One, Threshold Review by: Doug Country: France Release date: 20 October, 2023 “Cheesy” always feels like a term intentionally designed to create conflict. Calling out the cases where artistry’s ambition exceeds its means, such a descriptor renders discussion impossible, as it only has meaning relative to some other (usually nebulous) thing that the critic finds sufficiently humble in its execution. All that being said, it’s hard to find a better word for the breathless, intensely eager tone prevale ..read more

Style: traditional progressive metal (clean vocals) Recommended for fans of: Dream Theater, Symphony X, Threshold Review by: Sam Country: United Kingdom Release date: 27 October, 2023 I still clearly remember Sky Empire’s debut The Dark Tower. Despite being released five years ago, the sheer absurdity of it is firmly implanted in my memory. Plenty of bands write solo sections like Dream Theater yet only few manage to match the New Yorker’s “wow” factor, let alone outdo them: Sky Empire did just that. Among other ridiculousness, The Dark Tower had a ten minute long solo section in a twenty min ..read more

Style: Post Rock, Progressive Rock, Trip Hop, Experimental, Avant-pop, Electronica (Clean vocals) Recommended for fans of: Steven Wilson’s art rock/trip-hop/electronica focused albums, Massive Attack, Bjork, Portishead, Anna von Hausswolff  Review by: Christopher Country: Germany Release date: 30 October, 2023 We try to keep our readers on their toes. It can’t all be masturbatory Nospūn noodling solo spam and The World is Quiet Here style Frankensteinian riffs stitched together to create an affront to god. You can’t keep listening to the same six bands, we have to push you out of your co ..read more