If you have read enough of my reviews, you know I have an extra soft spot for extreme progressive metal. There has been a lot of goodness in this genre to come out the past couple years, including favorites like the return of Anciients, An Abstract Illusion, In Vain, and Iotunn, just to name a few. Finnish progressive death metal band Denominate just released their third full length, their first in 6 years, “Restoration,” carving out their own extreme progressive niche early in 2026. There are only 6 songs, but with a run time of just over 46 minutes, each song serves as a nice opus comprising the larger metal journey. The band delivers plenty of aggression while also blending in atmosphere and melody. The softer sections, with their deft post rock vibes, remind of Opeth and Anciients as well as more true post rock bands like The End of the Ocean and Sadness, and they do a great job breaking up the more aggressive sections in cohesive ways. The band knows how to unleash an all out death metal assault with plenty of aggression and technicality, but I feel like where Denominate really excels is in the song composition. Each song has latitude to breathe and grow each branch before putting out another green shoot, building atmosphere and immersing you in the developing melody before pulling the rug out from underneath your feet, thrashing you every which way, and then relaxing before proceeding down a different branch and doing it again. You will not find standard verse/chorus progressions, making each song its own unique adventure. The vocals are mostly growls, though you do get occasional cleans to complement, many times in a harsh / clean harmonic approach that pack their own form of aggression. The guitars almost never truly let loose, and though there is the occasional solo, they are more laid back, with a heavy emphasis on a progressive post rock cadence. I do love hearing two very distinct guitar parts throughout that intentionally complement each other, again tapping into the progressive and post rock influences. The drumming is also quite good and can blastbeat when called upon, but even the drumming is more deft than you might typically expect, with plenty of technical fills and rhythms. This overall blend gives Denominate’s brand of progressive death metal a different feel, differentiating the heavy moments more starkly than I am used to in the genre, something that is appreciated.

“The Loathe Process” reveals its prog roots out of the gate, throwing varied rhythms at you while it bludgeons you with brutal vocals and a wall of sound. The first quieter section feels almost like a funky post rock jam, with some nice bass work amidst the guitar picking, before reprising the initial riff. It takes a little over 2 minutes before you get the first amount of true speed, making it clear that Denominate can still pummel your skull and knock you back. I truly love the balance as well as how the song layers progress together and build. The long guitar lead driven section in the middle mixes in more traditional metal soloing and indie rock melodic sensibility, giving me Explosions in the Sky doing death metal vibes. I also enjoy the polyrhythmic dichotomy pitting competing slower and faster rhythms against each other. These seven and half minutes comprise a great opening track and set the stage for what is to come.

“Husk” begins ominously, building atmosphere (and I swear I hear a bald eagle calling in the background at one point!), before settling into a sludgy death doom vibe with the ever present post rock overtones and some nice bass. A little over 2 minutes in, it briefly cranks things up and takes on a blackened death metal feel, then meanders amongst tech death and sludge. In addition to the standard growls, you also get raspy cleans together with growls that present a choral quality with an extreme feel, making those sections sound grandiose. This is definitely one of the slower songs on the album, but it still packs plenty of punch.

“Of Passing” brings more melodeath elements to the mix, but much like the recent output of fellow Finns Amorphis, this song just feels like heavy dark prog metal, melancholic yet big and powerful. The dueling guitars really shine throughout, complementing each other well with the higher picked parts versus the lower strummed parts. The clean vocals are much more prevalent here, with an almost sinister vibe to them that may make you want to sing along. This song does a great job utilizing musical mechanics to set mood and envelope you in its atmosphere.

“Liminal” utilizes a variety of deft melodic and polyrhythmic guitar progressions to keep things moving along, giving a sense of complexity amidst the simplicity of the lines themselves. This helps to create an immersive aura that slowly builds, spanning tempo and dynamics changes as the song progresses. For the first time in several songs, you get pulverized with blastbeats, with an overture of post rock “tremolo delay” picking to further the growing atmosphere. The brief crushing section transitions into a cool acoustic section that settles the mood and immerses you even further, taking its time with various layers before smashing you broadside one final time to close things out.

“The Cistern” is nearly 9 minutes, and it is great example of how to blend indie rock and death metal elements together in a cohesive fashion without being in a rush. The song spends most of its first 5 minutes laid back and delivering luscious melodies, with brief forays that are drum-driven heavy rather than guitar-driven heavy. Even the minimal vocals in this section are emotive, biasing toward clean and a raspy complement rather than growls. You get a stronger build in the final minute of this section, before the band lets loose and opens up a can of death metal, progressive and technical in its fabric, bringing in some new elements while also reprising some of the earlier passages in heavier fashion. I love the patience Denominate displays throughout, willing to take their time and allow the song to breathe and build organically, resulting in something that is fabulous. And just as you think the song is ending, they pummel your auditory senses with crushing drums and tremolo picking to close things down.

The album ends with the title track, the longest song, though just barely longer than “The Cistern.” Much like the previous track, it does a fabulous job blending the various elements together, but it comes out of the gate heavier. The guitars are definitely doing heavier lifting here, with bolder leadwork and solos as they continue to complement and play off each other (check out the YouTube video embedded below to see what I am talking about!). The middle softer section allows the bass to shine a bit more, and the dueling guitar melody works so well and is a nice shift from the previous heavier section. This affords a short opportunity to breathe before being thrown back into the fray. I mentioned in the intro that the guitars don’t really let loose, but if there is one song they do, it is here. The second solo is slick, supported by some lower register fretwork, with plenty of atmospheric lead before and after. The song ends in ethereal fashion, with an atmospheric choir over orchestration.

I was happy to discover Denominate, and “Restoration” brings some familiarity and also something different to the growing field of great extreme progressive metal releases. They also get bonus points for a killer band logo and album cover. Now I just need to figure out how to see them live! And in the meantime, you definitely need to give this album a listen.