24 Highlights for the first half of May 2025

There is something about You Win Again Gravity, a Progressive Metalcore band from the UK, that stood out to me, and their new release, the first part of, what I’m assuming, a series of concept albums, “Don’t Leave Me Here Pt. 1” is no exception.

At the first glance, the release has all signs of your typical (Progressive) Metalcore album: complex riffs (the intro section in ‘Dreadbound’ is a good example), great melodic clean vocals with hooks and occasional shout, but somehow this stays in my memory, and I am always critical about this kind of music sounding the same to my ear. This Part 1 is a story about fear, dread and loneliness, which is connected by short instrumental, almost post-rocky, interludes which is a great touch. The words “Don’t leave me here” echo throughout the album, giving it a feeling of anxiety but also hope. Overall I really enjoyed the vocal melodies and overall poetic feel of this album, as the lyrics are very well written and contribute a lot to the storytelling, not to mention the amazing artwork. I’m excited to hear what Part 2 will bring, and you might like it too, especially if you enjoy the proggier side of Metalcore. Alex

My first encounters with the beautiful timbre of Netherlands based vocalist Adel Saflou was his work with Dutch Prog Rockers Perfect Storm and Canadian Prog Rock/Metal project Derev. Even though I absolutely loved his performances there, I never got round to checking out his very own personal project, Ambrotype. But I’m very glad I rectified that mistake now with their new release, “The Colours of Darkness II”. Having a roughly similar structure to Part I with three eight minute songs and one epic twice that length, I am happy Adel decided to release this one not as singles, but as one full album. The musical and lyrical content is fittingly dark for such a title, no wonder as he apparently set out “that enriches the world’s understanding of traumatism(…)”. Haunting acoustic passages lead seamlessly into the occasional outburst of pure anger. The closest comparison would be mid-era Steven Wilson vibes with less focus on virtuosity and technicality, but instead a full on submission to dreamlike atmospheres and floating stream-of-consciousness compositions. Now I have no idea if this is all Adel Saflou here or if he got a band of accomplished musicians to back him up, as there are no credits on Bandcamp. But it’s a fantastic album for the darker hours that deserves your undivided attention. Dario

The Greek heavy music scene is at it again and throws the next future heavyweight at us: Progressive Groove Metal quartet Herta. And there’s a good reason they chose this specific subgenre to describe their music. ‘Control’, the ferocious opener of their debut album “Crossing the Illusion”, already bulldozes everything down with technical precision and groove somewhere in between Gojira and Meshuggah. The subsequent ‘Eyes of Sorrow’ sees them flirting with bouncy Djent riffs juxtaposed with brief Dream Theater-esque technicalities before turning to pure epicness. This high energy doesn’t let down over (almost)  the whole distance though and they keep things varied and interesting as well, including the (granted, very different) borrowed sonic colours from guest vocalists Sakis Tolis (Rotting Christ) and George Prokopiou (Poem, Mother of Millions). A hell of a debut that should drop like a bomb on the inclined fans of the aforementioned bands and beyond. Dario

The ‘for fans of’ category for this album is easily written, but also easily as long as this mini-review. Alongside Fabio Caldeira on vocals, Maestrick brought in some hired guns for this album: none other than Roy Khan (Conception, ex-Kamelot), Jim Grey (Caligula’s Horse) and Tom Englund (Evergrey). The guys in Maestrick manage to grab inspiration from all the aforementioned singers and their respective bands, and mould it into a Tim Burton-esque, cinematic symphonic prog metal album that will top their praised 2018 release “Espresso Della Vita: Solare”. But the inspirations obviously don’t stop there. This album has a lot to process: from Haken-like flourishes in ‘Upside Down’, oomph in the form of heavy hitting guitars and even some screams/growls in ‘Boo!’, to carnavales-que vibes in ‘Ghost Casino’ where Maestrick takes us on a trip that wouldn’t be amiss on a Diablo Swing Orchestra album. They sandwich the epic 12-minute song ‘The Root’ between two lovely and melancholic ballads. After which the Brazilians hit us with back-to-back bangers: starting with the wonderful ‘Agbara’, which has Jim Grey singing in Brazilian Portuguese alongside Brasilian all-female ensemble Baque Mulher, followed by ‘Lunar Vortex’ which has Roy Khan return to his Kamelot style of singing from around the “Karma” and “The Black Halo” albums. Just when you think Maestrick is done they top off the album with an amazingly catchy poppy song, ‘Ethereal’, the tune of which will be stuck in your head for days. And they follow it up with one last prog epic ‘The Last Station (I A.M. Leaving)’ clocking in at 1 second shy of 18 minutes in length. In a world where many bands consider 40-45 minutes long enough to be considered an album, ‘Espresso Della Vita: Lunare’ manages to captivate for the full 1 hour and 18 minutes. For some reason the quartet (recently joined for live shows by 5th member and keyboardist Charles Soulz) hasn’t hit the radar of many proggers yet though. I feel this should and will change with “Espresso Della Vita: Lunare“. Marcel

Before we make our way up to Norway to explore a couple of diverse Prog releases from there, we make a stop in Leipzig, Germany, for Welcome Inside The Brain and their Progressive Rock of the very Psychedelic ilk. Initially I was supposed to see the release concert for their newest output, “Re:creation” in their hometown. But unfortunately I had to cancel my trip as I had fallen sick. What I remember from the show I was lucky enough to witness pretty much a year ago though is a mesmerizing, mysterious pull they managed to evoke, not lastly thanks to the theatrical delivery of their front-person and organs to bathe in. A feeling they managed to capture onto the record, so I’ll just listen to “Re:creation” over and over again until the next opportunity to see them live arises. Dario

Norwegian Prog Rock in May, Analogue Keyboard Edition: Wobbler Synth-Master Lars Fredrik Frøislie is back with his second solo album, only two years after his 2023 pandemic-borne solo debut “Fire Fortellinger”. “Gamle Mester” not only pays homage to the old masters of Progressive Rock, but also from art, literature, and mythology. It is a pure joy to listen to Lars on numerous keyboard instruments, drums and vocals (again with lyrics), returning bassman Nikolai Hængsle (Elephant9, Needlepoint) and flautist Ketil Einarsen (Weserbergland, White Willow) and their adventurous, colourful music.

A band that fills a one hour show with only three songs can clearly be considered as “Prog”, so seeing Magic Pie opening their 6th album, called “Maestro“, with an 18 1/2 minutes epic is no surprise either. Any guesses which song they’ll choose for their next live performance? But kidding aside, ‘Opus Imperfectus Pt.1 – The missing chord’ is far away from being imperfect, but beautiful, fully matured Progressive Rock, so is the rest of the record. Sound-wise, they draw from the fullest of what the genre has to offer, melted together skill- and playfully for your proggy listening needs. Enjoy! Katha

Jumping from the “Hard Rock” Edition of Norwegian Progressive Rock (see Katha’s mini review of Magic Pie’s “Maestro” above), directly into the “Folk Punk” Edition with “Hva nå”, the second album from Oslo based sextet MÍO. Two years after the equally energetic debut “Ingen tid a miste”, Dionisia Fjelldalen’s vocals might have become even more expressive, like an angry punk version of Meer’s Johanne Kippersund Nesdal, constantly on the edge (yet always razorsharp on point), while Maja Hveding Styffe’s contributions on (Hardanger) fiddle are as centrals as ever for MÍO’s overall sound. What Now? you might ask? Listen to “Hva nå” of course! Dario

Alright, now it’s time for Norwegian Prog in May, the Instrumental Fusion Prog Edition! “Core” is the eighth studio album by Norwegian collective Pymlico, but the first with a stable line-up in-between two subsequent records. It might just be the missing link between Lux Terminus and jazzy AOR à la Toto, so the balance between virtuosity and accessibility is just splendid. Smooth and catchy, but neither banal nor boring, “Core” is a perfect example of music that can work as pleasant background music (only in low volumes though), full on party grooves and  instrumental/harmonical/rhythmical craziness to be dissected by the inclined music nerd. I highly recommend to just enjoy it though. Equal parts anthemic and playful, this is a lot of fun! Dario

Törzs is a Post Rock band from Hungary, and they are able to put so much elegance and grace into one chord (just listen to the very first one on this album), so much aching beauty in simplicity. With sonic similarities to their Pelagic Labelmates A Swarm of the Sun (just without vocals), it’s pretty clear that Prog nerds who need lots of notes might find this delivery a tad boring, but all those susceptible to this kind of beauty will find no way around “Menedèk” this year. Dario 

Croatian Avantgarde outfit Grinded Grin is seemingly becoming more and more a true musical chameleon, as I absolutely loved the craziness of their 2023 effort “Fledge”, but then struggled to grasp the direction mainman and composer Aleksandar Vrhovec took with 2024’s “Charlatan” for a reason I was not able to pinpoint at all (maybe it was too crazy for my ears after all?). Colour me puzzled though, when I discovered that Grinded Grin’s 2025 effort “Celestial Veil” starts off with a full blown ballad! Subtle drums come in after a little intro to the second song (played by original The Mars Volta Drummer Blake Fleming even), but throughout the whole album, the instrumental part of the music stays in the background as canvas for vocalist Fe Malefiz to enfold her enchanting melodies. Fretless bass and Fender Rhodes instead of full on Avantgarde Metal Madness so to say! A touch of Messa maybe (minus the Doom and Black Metal parts in the equation), this approach works wonderfully, no matter if it’s gonna stay a one off in this style or not. Dario

Soothing, healing music is something absolutely wonderful and essential to lift your spirits when you’re sick in bed and can’t take the aggressive onslaught of (Extreme) Metal for the moment. Zokasso’s debut album “Dawn” came just at the right time into my inbox, not entirely denying some of their more metal influences, but embedding everything into a tender atmosphere for a smooth listening experience. One that heals soul and body. Thank you. Dario

To find more soul-soothing, body-healing music, we must travel back to Norway. At least that’s where bandleader and pianist Jan Gunnar Hoff and bassist Per Mathisen come from. Together with French guitarist Nguyen Le and drum legend Gary Husband they take us on a dreamy “Voyage” of twelve masterful Jazz pieces, including a surprising take on Samuel Barber’s ‘Adagio for Strings’. Most strikingly (in an absolutely non-piercing way) is Nguyen Le’s incredibly smooth tone and one more reason they were able to convince me to include the album in our highlights was certainly Per Mathisen’s fretless mastery, to be witnessed in full bloom in his improvisation over said well known ‘Adagio for Strings’ theme. (Not to mention Gary Husband’s performance that’s just as flaw- as it’s effortless, but I guess that goes without saying.) It’s been a moment I think since we featured a full blown Jazz release, but I just couldn’t leave this one out. Usually I would expect a release like this on a label like ACT or, even more so, ECM, but either way, I’m just happy this got washed into my Release Radar thanks to Gary Husband. Dario

Staying in Jazz territories for the moment, but sailing all the way to the other side of the world, to the Coast of Australia. Now, with any release coming out of the Art As Catharsis label house, a certain quality is guaranteed, and “Ember” is no exception. WIth two albums where the main melody lies within the guitar for the most part, here, the Jazz instrument aka saxophone is taking over (making that musical bridge to Norway’s Pymlico in addition to the slightly similar cover artwork concept). A worthy completion of our little Jazz block in this Releases of the Week(s) edition. Dario

Now that’s a curiosity: ‘Virtual Avenue’, the first song on Moonsoon’s debut album “East of Asteroid”, totally sounds like a proper melange of ‘Cymbeline’-era Pink Floyd and upbeat A-HA synth melodies. The rest of the album does stay more in those Pink Floyd/RPWL realms though with lush synths all over, kind of a British version of Lars Fredrik Frøislie, which is ironic, because Moonsoon are Norwegians as well. Be that as it may, fans of that particular kind of British Prog will lap up this album readily. And the Moog-parts in ‘Rays of Cosmic Ember’ are simply to die for. Dario

After so much softer Prog Rock stuff, it’s finally time for something more extreme, don’t you think? So let’s dive into Labyrinthus Stellarum’s “Rift in Reality”, shall we? Ok, after the initial little shock of a relatively happy, folky opener, the true cosmic journey starts with track 2 in my opinion and the way the oftentimes almost bubbly synths weave together with the strong lead guitars just sounds exceptionally unique to these ears. This being only (or already?) their third album, the two young brothers from Odessa (Ukraine) display an astonishing maturity for their age throughout the whole album journey and one can only hope that circumstances turn to the better rather sooner than later (i.e. Russia/Putin’s warmachine stopping their attack on Ukraine!) in order for Labyrinthus Stellarum to be able to present their stellar cosmic craft to hungry live audiences around Europe! Dario

Now that was a close call (with the new albums by Escarnium, Jade & A Flock Named Murder also in the race), but in the end I had no choice but to give the last last-minute spot before finally publishing this monster of a First-half-of-May 2025 round-up to San Francisco Brutal Tech Death squad Ominous Ruin and their second full length epos “Requiem”. For one, you can’t really go wrong with a Willowtip Records release. And secondly, they just hit that sweet spot between pummeling brutality and blistering technicality. Oh, and a bass solo = instant win! Very nice. Dario

With a Black Metal basis, French based international band Khôra applies delicious, generous chunks of Symphonic, Progressive and Death Metal elements to the brew on their second album, “Ananke”. Released on French label Les Acteurs de L’Ombre Productions (where else, really?), the massive orchestrations and virtuosic guitar solos and leads are sure to catch my undivided attention, with the occasional anthemic melodic vocals à la Borknagar or Dødheimsgard providing the icing on the cake of an excellent album. Dario

Enigmatic Finnish Extreme Metal outfit AÝAR was able to surprise me with their debut EP “Noáidi” almost to the date one year ago. Now, they are back “The Ritual: Born of Fire”, and once again, they know how to capture me with sudden breakouts from their usual stomping, Industrial rhythm, opening up huge pits of nothingness. This time even in the midsong, starting for real with the central ‘From the Ashes’. Luckily, they continue once again in that direction with the rest of the EP, so my verdict is the same as for “Noáidi”: the moment they run the risk of getting annoying with their repetitive stomps, they know exactly how to subvert expectations and leave me in awe. Dario

Bob’s Corner #1 –  Bob’s conclusive thoughts about Connor Kaminski & Keyan’s debut collab album “Kinetic”: “It will be interesting to see if this project continues and eventually makes it to the live environment. I am sure it would be welcome at certain festivals. It is worth keeping an eye (or ear) out for these guys. Either as this collaboration or as their individual projects. These three tracks are a great introduction to this talented pair but after a few plays it’s not enough. I find myself wanting more, and hopefully it won’t be too long before more arrives.” Check out his full review here: Connor Kaminski & Keyan – Kinetic Full Review. Bob

​​Bob’s Corner #2 – Bob writes about Joviac’s new album “Autofiction Pt. 1 – Shards”: “This band have an ambition, which is to push their brand of progressive rock/metal into the big leagues. I think they have what it takes to achieve that, although there is some serious competition out there. Hopefully this album will get them a little closer to their aspirations. Another band to watch out for, me thinks. Could that be in the form of ‘Autofiction Pt. 2’ perhaps?” Check out his full review here: Joviac – Autofiction Pt. 1 – Shards Full Review. Bob

Bob’s Corner #3 – Bob’s conclusion about Edensong’s new album “Our Road To Dust”: “This is 40+ minutes well spent, gems like this don’t appear too often, and you need to seek them out. This band has been around for over 20 years and there have been multiple band members come and go. So, with just 3 albums and 1 EP during that time, I’m not expecting anything else from them anytime soon. This latest album will have to do for now, and that’s just fine by me.” Check out his full review here: Edensong – Our Road To Dust Full Review. Bob

With their first live document, 2018’s “L+1VE”, mainly focusing on their then still fresh fourth breakthrough album “Affinity” from 2016 and choice cuts from their early heydays, it was only logical that UK Prog starlets Haken would record one of their recent “An Evening with”’s to release as their second full blown live album. “Liveforms” naturally captured the full playthrough of the lads’ most recent stroke of genius, 2023’s “Fauna”, plus ‘Crystallized’ and a full second set with selected highlights from their entire discography! Almost 3 hours of music, and some of the best Prog to be released over the last 15 years at that! They’re in the form of their lives (pun intended), and it is an immense joy and honour to have been able to watch their continuous rise to Prog stardom ever since “Aquarius” – and I’m ready to witness them reaching even bigger stars (or stages). The sky is the limit. Dario

The music of Canadian composer and lyricist Alex Henry Foster is a bit of an enigma. Not really Post Rock, nor Prog Rock. Sometimes lumped into one of these two genres. Sometimes explicitly not. Sometimes, there’s some unnerving noisy element to his music that I find really hard to endure to be honest, but then again this kind of music is not intended to make you feel good. It’s very much cathartic in its deepest nature and even though I’ve never had the chance to catch a live show so far, I have the feeling that “A Nightfall Ritual, Live in Cologne, July 27, 2024” is getting as close as it gets to convey that special feeling I’ve heard so much about. Dario