Unprocessed Moon Letters in a Rift: 3 releases to cool you down!

Usually, this kind of retro prog is the specialty of the Swedes or Norwegians (Magic Pie, Fatal Fusion), but Seattle’s Moon Letters are playing with conviction, class and a sense for for the slightly adventurous, that it’s really hard not to love their second album, “Thank You From The Future”. Hints of Verbal Delirium (‘Child of Tomorrow’) in the more melancholic passages take turn with more fun, upbeat parts hitting just about the right balance. Where Fatal Fusion and Verbal Delirium tend to bask in melancholia and Magic Pie is pure fun, Moon Letters do both. And that’s very cool.  Dario

Staying in the US, we have the album “Rift” from solo artist Mitch Michelle. On it, there’s a lot to discover from full on prog metal instrumentals to calmer ambient tracks. Some of the stellar melodic content gives me a certain Jim Matheos/Fates Warning vibe, but Mitch can get a bit more technical than tone master Matheos. The acoustic leads in ‘Shadow of a Tower’ remind me of the Psychotic Waltz deep cut “Dark Millenium” (which is sadly not on Spotify), and while some of the strictly ambient parts fail to really grasp me, there’s still more than enough exciting content on “Rift” that I can recommend it full-heartedly to all instrumental prog metal connoisseurs. Dario

Prog innovation? From Germany? Well yes! Apart from Hannoveran trio The Hirsch Effekt pushing the boundaries of Artcore (brand new EP coming on Aug. 26), there’s also Unprocessed with a new album, who have developed their sound further and further apart from their very djenty beginnings towards something altogether more electronic and catchy, while still retaining the most ridiculous guitar acrobatics and crazy licks. Opening track and hit single ‘Rain’ might make you think they have ditched the heaviness altogether, only to subvert expectations again with the following ‘Redwine’ and ‘The Longing’. “Gold” is the fourth studio album and it features 16 hit singles oscillating between pop, djent, rock and can be guitar heavy at times, completely electronic at others. Forward thinking with no musical boundaries to their imagination, Unprocessed are truly at the forefront of the modern prog movement combining artistic invention with accessible melodies, appealing to a wide and diverse audience. The huge North American tour they are currently playing supporting the masters of Polyphia is testament to that. Pure gold! Dario