📬 Here's the first single from the upcoming Archspire album 🔥
(If it isn't available for you use a VPN and connect from somewhere like New Zealand, nothing illegal about that.)
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📬 Archspire announce new album "Bleed the Future" to be released on October 29 🔥
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💽 Syncatto – A Place to Breathe (2021)
🗂 Genre: Instrumental Progressive Metal
🔂 Recommended tracks: Let Us Dance, Split, Red Velvet
🌐 For fans of: Artificial Language, Polyphia, Plini, Myth of I
🔗 Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube
Genuinely sinister, haunting, threatening and at the same time quite, beautiful.
- 𝑳𝒐𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝑾𝒂𝒓
Voices are the band that rose from Akercocke’s ashes. The musical parallels with Akercocke are clear, but Voices have managed to create a sickening identity all of their own.
The death metal influences are subtler, rarely giving us the opportunity to headbang to old-school riffs as Akercocke did, instead we are exposed primarily to dissonant, experimental black metal, with grim psychedelic wanderings. The compositions are sculpted to provide visceral accompaniment to the evolution of the storyline [which tells the story of a man going insane], so while the songs aren’t conventionally structured, each has a unique identity.
- 𝑨𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒚 𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑮𝒖𝒚
📊 Ratings:
𝑨𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒚 𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑮𝒖𝒚: 9/10
𝑳𝒐𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝑺𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅: 9/10
𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑻𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆: 9/10
📬 Dream Theater announce new album, "A View From The Top Of The World"
The progressive metal titans' 15th studio record is due out on October 22 via InsideOutMusic/Sony Music.
Here's the tracklist:
1. The Alien (9:32)
2. Answering The Call (7:35)
3. Invisible Monster (6:31)
4. Sleeping Giant (10:05)
5. Transcending Time (6:25)
6. Awaken The Master (9:47)
7. A View From The Top Of The World (20:24)
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💽 Subterranean Masquerade - Mountain Fever (2021)
🗂 Genre: Progressive Folk Rock/Metal
🔂 Recommended tracks: They're all really solid
🌐 For fans of: Orphaned Land, The Dear Hunter, Devin Townsend (kinda)
🔗 Official Website | Spotify | YouTube
📬 New albums announced by Diskord, The Omnific, Sleep Token and Diablo Swing Orchestra.
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👍 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙨:
Massen (previously known as Massenhinrichtung, German for “Mass Execution”) is a Belarussian band that play folky black metal. The core of their sound lies in melodic black metal, and they amplify it with a folky violin and progressive song structures. This is a record that immediately rams its best qualities in your face, that being the extremely intense, emotionally swelling lead work. I was flabbergasted by how incredibly hard it resonated with me emotionally. It’s backed by also very intense black metal instrumentation. After the already gorgeous crescendo of the introduction song, the drums come blasting out of the gate, the riffs are nasty, and the harsh vocals (done by multiple members) are extremely beefy for black metal. Paired with absolutely gorgeous violin play that’s just an instant recipe for success with me. And then they also do female clean vocals in the chorus! I’m in love.
- 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑺𝒖𝒃𝒘𝒂𝒚
👎 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙨:
If I have one criticism it’s about the mixing. The violin and vocals (particularly backing vocals) are often swallowed up in the mix, or drowned out by the wall of sound.
- 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑨𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕
📊 Ratings:
𝑩𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍: 9.5/10
𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑻𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆: 9.25/10
𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑻𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔: 9/10
𝑫𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒌: 8.6/10
𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍: 8.5/10
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑺𝒖𝒃𝒘𝒂𝒚: 8/10
𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍.𝒅𝒆: 7/10
💽 Fractal Universe – The Impassable Horizon (2021)
🗂 Genre: Progressive Death Metal
🔂 Recommended tracks: Autopoiesis, A Clockwork Expectation, Withering Snowdrops
🌐 For fans of: Alkaloid, Rivers of Nihil, Gorod, Textures
🔗 Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube
📬 Earthside Sign with Music Theories Recordings / Mascot Label Group, Announce Comeback Single ‘All We Knew And Ever Loved’, out August 19
Speaking of the new song, the band's keyboardist Frank Sacramone said: "The goal was to be as brute force as possible—to use the most powerful combination of instruments to create a very ambitious aural rendition of humanity fighting itself and sinking."
[Dudes had 6 years for making this so let's hope it's as good as he's describing it]
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Rivers of Nihil, Archspire, Shadow of Intent, Inferi, Obscura, First Fragment... and now The Zenith Passage. (You remember them, right?)
This is going to be a legendary year for tech death.
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The most interesting instrumental album of the year.
📊 8/10
- 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑺𝒖𝒃𝒘𝒂𝒚
A glorious collision of flamenco, djent and progressive guitar insanity that brings a truly fresh and innovative approach to the progressive genre.
📊 8.5/10
- 𝑺𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒄 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔
Just when I thought I was getting bored of the genre, Syncatto found a way pull me back in. This refreshing take on instrumental progressive metal masterfully blends Latin and neo-classical influences to create something unlike you’ve heard before. A Place to Breathe is as catchy as it is technical, exotic as it is familiar, and audacious as it is clever.
- 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑰𝒔 𝑵𝒐𝒊𝒔𝒆
💽 Voices - London (2014)
🗂 Genre: Progressive Blackened Death Metal
🔂 Recommended tracks: This is a concept album that must be experienced as a whole
🌐 For fans of: Akercocke, Blut Aus Nord, Anaal Nathrakh, (Early) Opeth
🔗 Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube
🔸 #Masterpiece
A brilliant collection of songs that are refreshingly adventurous.
- 𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑾𝒂𝒏𝒊
Undoubtedly one of the most enjoyable and plain fun listens of the year.
- 𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘𝒔
Subterranean Masquerade is an eclectic bunch, mixing Middle-Eastern style folk metal with carefully applied psychedelic and symphonic elements, raised on a progressive foundation. It’s musically fairly light and highly melodic, but it’s not afraid to incorporate some heavier riffs and growls.
- 𝑨𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒚 𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑮𝒖𝒚
📊 Ratings:
𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑻𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆: 10/10 🔥
𝑺𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒄 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔: 9.5/10
𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑾𝒂𝒏𝒊: 9.5/10
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑺𝒖𝒃𝒘𝒂𝒚: 9/10
𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘𝒔: 8.3/10
𝑨𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒚 𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑮𝒖𝒚: 8/10
𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒈 𝑹𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒔: 8/10
𝑺𝒑𝒖𝒕𝒏𝒊𝒌 𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒄: 8/10
📬 BTBAM dropped new single Revolution in Limbo (and it rules!)
Those filthy low growls around 5 minutes in are performed by Blake Richardson!
Based on these first two tracks "Colors II" is gonna be sick. 🔥
#Stay_Prog
🔗 Official Website | Spotify | YouTube
📬 Apparently the upcoming Dream Theater album is going to feature a 20 minute epic.
A fairly possible guess for the title of the song is "A View from the Top of the World" which would be a really cool title!
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💽 Massen - Contraesthetic (2021)
🗂 Genre: Proggy Folk/Black Metal
🔂 Recommended tracks: Cold Clouds, Contraesthetic
🌐 For fans of: Arkona, Ne Obliviscaris, Havukruunu, Moonsorrow
🔗 Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube
Complex, heavy, multi-faceted, and intelligent.
- 𝑴𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍
The Impassable Horizon offers continuously impressive and captivating juxtapositions between Fractal Universe’s monstrous and mellow personas. Every aspect—the instrumentation, the stylistic variety, the songwriting, the singing, the production, etc.—shows growth and care, making it seem like something the quartet were clearly building toward all along. It’s not revolutionary, but it is immensely refined, adventurous, and enjoyable.
- 𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑰𝒏𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏
📊 Ratings:
𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑺𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝑴𝒂𝒈: 10/10 🔥
𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝑵𝒐𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒈: 10/10 🔥
𝑴𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍: 9.2/10
𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑬𝒑𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒄: 9/10
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒈 𝑺𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆: 9/10
𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑰𝒏𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏: 8.5/10
𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉: 8/10
𝑰𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑻𝑽: 7/10
📬 BTBAM release an extremely fun animated music video for their lastet single "Fix the Error"
Speaking of the video, the band's frontman Tommy Rogers said:
“We have finally taken our first steps into the world of animation, and it’s a sight to see! As children of the 80’s and 90’s we wanted to encapsulate that feeling we had growing up watching the wacky world of cartoons in that era. It’s uneasy, unsettling, and somehow very fun! Let’s celebrate!”
_____________________________
The rapid fade to black at the end makes me think that they are planning to make a video for the whole album, which is going to be legendary.
#Stay_Prog
👍 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙨:
Alustrium are a band that know how to play, and adherents of technical wizardry will find much to become absorbed in across these 10 tracks. However, the band’s technical skill is kept in check by their songwriting; progressive structure and a firm grasp of melody mean that these songs have a lot more to offer than pure technical workouts. The band’s technicality may underpin everything, but it’s not the driving force here. Operating from a surprisingly emotive base, Alustrium deliver music that covers a range of areas, from brutal aggression, to colourful melody, to rich atmosphere, and more.
- 𝑾𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒃𝒐𝒙 𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍
👎 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙨:
The strongest criticism of the album is that it is longer than it needs to be. An album that is an hour long needs to have one of two things: an extremely pervasive atmosphere that requires that length to build, or a myriad of interesting ideas spread out across the tracks. While the tracks are not extremely similar, they do start to blur together around minute 40, and the atmosphere is not captivating enough to remain enticing. Another excuse for length could be overall originality, but sound of this album is highly reminiscent of bands like Rivers of Nihil and Black Crown Initiate.
- 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑺𝒖𝒃𝒘𝒂𝒚
📝 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙩:
Modern prog death fans will find a lot to love in Alustrium’s latest release. Granted, some of the hyperboles, and some of the extremely early AOTY [Album of The Year] remarks are certainly overstated.
- 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑺𝒖𝒃𝒘𝒂𝒚
📊 Ratings:
𝑨𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒚 𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑮𝒖𝒚: 7/10
𝑨 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑳𝒊𝒇𝒆: 9.5/10
𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝑹𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒄: 8.5/10
𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑬𝒑𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒄: 6/10
𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑵𝒐𝒊𝒔𝒆: 8/10
𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑼𝒕𝒐𝒑𝒊𝒂: 10/10 🔥
𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝑵𝒐𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒈: 10/10 🔥
𝑹𝑻𝑴𝑩 𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒄: 8.5/10
𝑺𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝑹𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒕: 7/10
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑺𝒖𝒃𝒘𝒂𝒚: 7/10
