Big melodies, crushing instruments, enrapturing progressive metal! UK prog metallers Ihlo released their sophomore album, “Legacy,” in August, 6 years after their very well-received debut “Union” (which also received a handsome remastering treatment in 2024). Imagine the big melodies and synth infused atmosphere of Vola melded with the melodic and crushing instrumental genius of Wheel, […]
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Progressive thrash legends make their long awaited return! It seems like a lot of bands the past couple of years released albums after quite a wait following their previous release. I thought Crimson Shadows and Ancient Bards were going to hold the distinction of longest gap, but Coroner easily takes the prize with their first
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Amazing atmospheric progressive death metal with blackened edges! As connected as I think I am sometimes, I am constantly amazed at not only the number of bands that fly under the radar, but also the number of bands that I just don’t know about. Two months ago, I had never even heard of Sweden’s An
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Killer dystopian progressive melodeath from Italy! There are times when I hear about a band, add it to my “to be listened” list, and then accidentally forget about it. This is the case with Italy’s Obsidian Fall, who released their debut album, “Elegy from a Dying World,” back in March. I recently rediscovered it on
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HEAVY gothic symphonic metal with cinematic flair! I rarely review EPs, but this one smacked me so hard that I had to! Meteroa hails from Hungary and recently released this 4-song EP, “Broken Mind.” This is heavy symphonic gothic metal with wonderful orchestration and a heavy helping of death metal. Crushing guitars, intense drums, killer
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Progressive metal with 90’s rock sensibility and a Björk vocal delivery that works amazingly well! Have you ever listened to a band for the first time, not really knowing what to expect based on the description, and a couple songs in wonder why you are just now discovering this band? I just had this happen
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Crushing, melodic, and emotional progressive metal! Italian band Beriedir released their first EP in 2015, and they released their third full length, “Liminal Spaces,” earlier this year. I am admittedly not familiar with any material prior to this album, though my understanding is that they had a much heavier power metal influence in their earlier
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Pre-Hispanic instruments & Aztec lore bombastically melded with brutal death metal! The ehecachichtli, more commonly known as the Aztec death whistle, is utterly creepy. Shaped like skulls, they were apparently used during sacrificial rituals and emitted atmospheric wind-like sounds. Larger modern reproductions make a higher pitched shrieking sound (which may not be true to the
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Speedy melodic symphonic power metal with progressive fabric! I love discovering new bands, particularly smaller bands that should be more known. Such is the case with Madison, Wisconsin, symphonic power metal band Queen of Dreams, who released their latest full length, “Subnivium,” back in January of this year. Melodic, powerful, heavy, technical, and with some
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Fabulous progressive metal that is cinematic, technical and melodic! Halloween was a great day for metal releases this year, with two I reviewed already in contention for my annual top 20. This album will be the third from that release day, and it is in similar company. Danish progressive metal band Defecto released their new
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