Halfway through February 2024, the stream of new releases keeps flowing

Whoever’s on the lookout for amazing, soothing prog rock with Pink Floyd-esque guitar solo’s need look no more. Kristoffer Gildenlöw delivers perhaps some of his best work under his own name with “Empty”. As with all of his releases all music on the album is by his own pen, even the artwork (which facebook often tags as Sensitive Content which some people may find offensive or disturbing) is by his own hand. The album hosts a few familiar faces in the prog rock scene: on drums there’s Joris Lindner, Dirk Bruinenberg and Jeroen Molenaar, guitar solo’s by Paul Coenradie, Marcel Singor and Patrick Drabe, strings by Ben Mathot, Anne Bakker and Maaike Peterse, backing vocals by Erna auf der Haar and Jan Willem Ketelaers and even brass by Ola Sjönneby. Despite the many guests, a personal favorite guitar solo on the album is the one at the end of the wonderful musical buildup that is ‘End of their Run’ (wrongly listed as ‘End Of Their Road on Spotify’). “Empty” packs more of a punch compared to 2021’s release “Let me be a ghost”, but definitely doesn’t depart from Gildenlöw’s soothing soundscaping mastery. Part of those soothing undertones in the album is Gildenlöw’s vocal timbre, not unlike his brother Daniel on Pain of Salvation‘s “Road Salt” albums. I highly recommend giving this record a spin while winding down your day. You won’t be disappointed. Marcel

Staying a bit longer in these soothing, calmer waters before diving headfirst into brutal craziness again (see below), The Pineapple Thief’s 16th(!) studio album “It Leads To This” is out now via Kscope and despite the eerie resemblance of Bruce Soord’s timbre to that of his musical big brother of sorts (Steven Wilson), I do believe the quartet from the UK did carve out a sound quite their own, always staying in some sort of suspended, reserved melancholy, even during the few heavier bits in the second half of the album. Gavin Harrison’s tasteful playing is as smooth as ever (as if there was ever any doubt), so The Pineapple Thief surely delivers an album with a fine tuned sound of their own that you could say that it was inevitable their discography led to this. Not in a more of the same way, not in a bigger, louder, faster way, simply by honing their craft to the point. Dario

From the mastermind of Serpent Column comes a new thrilling project called Theophonos, with their new album “Ashes in the Huron River”. If you’re familiar, you’d know what to expect. And if not… well, fasten your seatbelts, because this is some pretty chaotic stuff. If you were a fan of the quickly-acclaimed new release this year from Hoplites, you’ll be pleased with this slab of black metal and mathcore. Tons of energy, anger, and technicality expressed here; project leader Maya Chun knows how to bring the goods! As usual, the drums are engaging and there’s lots of memorable guitar passages. Before you know it, the album is finished at a mere 40 minutes. Not many artists are doing this kind of thing, so if you’re new to it, I highly suggest checking it out! But be ready as it’s not the most easy-listening. Colin

Jazz-Funk Fusion goodness with a Cinematic Prog Rock twist is how I’d describe this groove-filled, expertly-played record by German instrumental trio Criterium, featuring Sebastian Sestan on keyboards, Sebastian Beer on bass guitars, and Sasha Maric on drums.

From cozily atmospheric to vibrantly cinematic to daringly experimental, the music ebbs and flows around the distinctive synth-centric sonic vision of founder and composer Sestan, but also around an authentically perceptible joy of making and performing music. And, in spite of the album’s length, which might seem daunting at first glance (until you notice the cleverly named tracks that just beckon you to press play, that is), it stays highly enjoyable and delightfully surprising throughout, not once crossing into that place of overbearingness that can – whether fairly or less-than – be associated with jazz and adjacent music. So much so that I would recommend this inspiring musical journey to jazz fans and not-as-fans alike. Alina

Abrasive but hypnotic. Electronic at times, then hushed and acoustic again. Fragile and powerful. Dark and daring. Chelsea Wolfe unites opposites and more on “She Reaches Out She Reaches Out She”, the seventh studio solo album released under her own name. A singular, unique voice with her unorthodox songwriting in today’s heavy and alternative music landscape, Wolfe expertly weaves together quite a few genres, hopping from jarring electronic beats, to cinematic tones to the beauty of a mournful lone piano accompanying her heartfelt vocal performance (‘Place in the Sun’) in a matter of a few songs (and back again) and underlines her importance as an independent artist, songwriter, composer and singer that’s not quite easily pigeon-holed into one genre, if at all, with this mesmerizing album. Of course this is not prog in the traditional, generic sense, but rather in the genuine, genre-defying one, so all the more reason to feature it here on The Progspace. Dario

Since there’s a huge overlap between the Horror and Metal communities, it seems like a great idea to bring these two beasts together, and Swedish Thrash Metallers F.K.Ü. clearly pull out all stops on this. Starting with the name – the three letters stand for “Freddy Krüger’s Underwear” – to the lovely band pics and the monikers of the current line-up, which sees Pat Splat on bass, Pete Stooaahl on guitars, Larry Lethal behind the mic, and Unspeakable Emp on drums, they play well with all kinds of stereotypes.

Lyric-wise, they absolutely nail it for me… It rarely happens that I need to laugh out loud when listening to music, but lines like for ‘The Spawning’ or ‘You are who you eat’ are just glorious hilarious – Bon appétit!

The music comes along in best, vigorous Thrash manner with headbanging and mosh-pit guarantee thanks to the fat, groovy riffs and hard-hitting rhythm section as well as the expressive, versatile vocal performance. Even though the song structures are mostly straight-forward, there’s enough variety in the compositions to keep things interesting.

“The Horror and the Metal” turned out to be a highly addictive record, with a consistent concept through all levels, and songs that can easily get stuck in my head for hours. The mix of great musicianship, catchiness, and dark humor makes the album a mind blowing, entertaining listen, also recommended for fans beyond the Horror and Thrash spectrum. F.K.Ü. deliver pure Metal Madness – And I love it! Katha

In the never ending discussion of pigeonholing releases depending on their length, Austrian multi-instrumentalist and composer Peter Royburger simply called his third offering under the moniker Devcord album 2,5. While the two previous full-lengths were clearly rooted on the heavier side of the Metal spectrum, “White Noise” is a selection of five less complex, but atmospheric songs. We’re drifting in with ‘A Dire Prophecy’ and a light, sometimes 70s Prog inspired instrumentation accompanied by wonderful vocal harmonies, latest catching my full attention with the smooth guitar solo in the middle, followed by the even more intense ‘The Visitor’. ‘World in Between’ is a mesmerizing instrumental track with piano and strings, then things get a bit cinematic with ‘The Picture and The Frame’, before ‘Dreamlife’ closes in a more straight-forward, rockin’ way. All-together, “White Noise” is a beautiful little piece, offering some rest in between all the noise around – Dive in 🙂 Katha

Want a quick fix of Tech Death? Prolific extreme metal drummer Hannes Grossman (Alkaloid, Aortha, Blotted Science, Eternity’s End, Triptykon and more…) got you covered with “Echoes of Eternity”, his new five track EP. Be it the four ‘vocal-tracks’ or the crazy instrumental ‘Humanoid Body Automation’, Hannes surely is a master of his craft in both songwriting and drum performance, as he’s proven so often already with so many bands, so fans of the genre surely know what to do. Dario

Being able to plunge headfirst back into that long awaited moment of seeing the Scottish (yes, all of them now!) Ihlo lads for the very first time at “Live at ProgPower Europe” last October – how f****** glorious! The first time performing outside of the UK for this talented bunch, they bulldozed their way through a packed hour full of modern Prog Metal highlights from their groundbreaking 2019 debut “Union” and subsequent “In Stasis” EP (premiered back in 2020 during one of our very own Online Festivals) with an astounding, neverending youthful energy without one bit neglecting the technical precision needed for this kind of music. And the best thing is: you can relive every single moment with me as they’ve put out the whole show (minus the final song that was riddled with technical difficulties) up on YouTube! I seriously can’t wait to see Ihlo live and in the flesh again (and to wrap my ears around that third album!), but until then I’ll have this recording to keep me company. Just ignore the repeated loud screams from that one particular bearded dude in the front row, I just couldn’t contain my excitement (you could say it’ overtaken me… and we’d never be the same…) 😉 Oh and don’t forget to check out the Ihlo Patreon if you’re looking for more live recordings, behind the scenes footage and a lot more fun stuff! Dario