A mesmerizing live progressive metal experience that was melodic and heavy! Finnish progressive metal band Wheel is currently wrapping up The Dark Side Tour 2026, a headlining tour across North America with support from progressive hard rock band Sound&Shape. What is cool about this tour is that, in addition to playing fan favorites, they are […]
Experimental progressive metal that is incredibly gorgeous and caustically edgy, with great melody and heft! Over the years I have become more drawn to prog, which like many genres (see my last review and discussion about post metal), is just not descriptive enough to tell you what you are getting. Germany’s The Hirsch Effekt is
The Hirsch Effekt – Der Brauch – Album Review Read More »
Phenomenal post metal that is melodic, atmospheric, and full of emotion! Post metal is such an interesting subgenre. Like many subgenres, the name alone isn’t always prescriptive enough to tell you what you are getting, and even this year I have reviewed multiple releases in this specific genre that sound quite distinct from each other.
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Super cool progressive metal exploring themes of dark and light amidst myriad textures of melody and aggression! Norway’s Course of Fate was a new band for me. They have been active since the early 2000’s, with a handful of demos and an EP in 2013, but they didn’t release their first full length until 2020.
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The OGs of progressive extreme metal on the big stage! Opeth recently completed their second leg of the “Last Will and Testament” Tour, supporting their 2024 release “The Last Will and Testament,” with tour support from Katatonia. They wrapped up the tour in the Pacific Northwest, with final stops in Seattle, WA, and Vancouver, BC.
An incredible return of killer polymetric progressive metal! I love when a band’s name aligns so well with their sound. Dutch progressive metal band Textures is indeed an amalgam of textures, tantalizing your auditory senses in myriad ways. 2016 saw the release of their previous album, “Phenotype,” very well received and lauded in the prog
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The Warriors of Powerful Heavy Metal! Seattle melodic power / heavy metal Greyhawk released their latest album, “Warriors of Greyhawk” on February 13 (read my review!), and to celebrate they held an album release show on February 21 at Substation in Seattle, WA. Two other Seattle area bands supported them, Telomyras and Rope. As many
A wide variety of extreme metal bands making up a fantastic show! The Glacial Ascension Tour featured 5 bands on a short tour up the West Coast, culminating in an appearance at Day 3 of Glacial Mutilation Fest in Vancouver, BC, Canada. The penultimate stop was at Substation in Seattle, WA, on Friday, February 20,
Killer progressive black / post metal from Lithuania! If you have read my reviews, you know that lyrics are important to me and are something I often connect with when listening to an album. Even a few releases this year, such as the latest from Marianas Rest, have become even more deeply meaningful to me
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Progressive metal from Hungary incorporating symphonic, gothic, and death metal notes with a heavy dose of cinematic flair! I stumbled upon Hungary’s Meteora back in November via an Instagram ad letting me know about their at the time recently released EP, “Broken Mind.” I liked the clip I heard, and after diving in for a
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