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A broad sum-up for the last March and first April release week

Releases of the Week 13 & 14/2024 with Vlyes, Amarok, Reach, Vorga, Jason Blake feat. Raphael Weinroth-Browne, Barrus, Concrete Age, Kello Gonzalez & Lockeheart
A broad sum-up for the last March and first April release week

Did you miss us? After a little Easter-Break, here’s our round-up from the last two Release Weeks (March 29 and April 05) with an eclectic mix ranging from progressive rock (Vlyes, Amarok & Reach) to cosmic black metal (Vorga), experimental/ambient alternative prog (Barrus) and even industrial prog (Lockeheart) to name but a few…

Don’t forget to subscribe to our weekly updated Spotify playlist where we feature all the highlights: https://theprogspace.com/rotw-playlist

Vlyes - Why

05 April, 2024 | Progressive Promotion Records

Just recently, I was reminded of the brilliance of Sylvan, one of Germany’s premier Prog Rock bands, when I saw them live again in Munich after quite some years. It’s been even longer since guitarist Kay Söhl was a part of Sylvan, that was even before I got to see them for the first time. Kay was a founding member and integral part of the band throughout all their classic albums (“Artificial Paradise” and “Posthumous Silence” included) until his departure from the band some 18 years ago or so. Now, he’s finally back with a new project called Vlyes and a captivating debut album, “Why”. That being said, anyone who’s expecting some marvelous emotional prog rock – would be entirely right. In addition to Kay’s captivating guitar and bass work (and songwriting, I’d assume), we have Jens Lueck (aka Single Celled Organism) providing a stellar drums and keyboards backbone, with Volker Oster’s rather dark timbre giving the songs the final, heartfelt touch. ‘The Abandon’, one of two long tracks on the album, even gives me unexpected, yet very welcome mid-era Depeche Mode vibes after a “Division Bell” worthy ‘Calm Down’. With Marco Glühmann’s solo debut around the corner and new Sylvan material on the horizon, 2024 is shaping up to become an extraordinarily stellar year for fans of this particular, wonderful brand of progressive rock straight out of Hamburg, which is always welcome even in the deepest south of Germany. Dario

Amarok - Hope

29 March, 2024

Distinctively more psychedelic than imagined (for whatever reason), longstanding Polish prog rock band Amarok returns with their seventh album, “Hope”. Conjuring up a quite mesmerizing atmosphere, the quartet distills their influences to a signature Amarok sound. Just like with the aforementioned Vlyes, the ever-present Pink Floyd, my first love, looms large over everything, without overshadowing the whole thing though. And with a completely different outcome to “Why”. And even though Amarok’s debut album was released the very same year as Poland’s most popular prog band was founded, when it comes to some of the heavier proggy riffs (‘Trail’), I can’t help but to think of Riverside. Despite their name, Amarok are neither strict Mike Oldfield worshippers nor playing odes to a certain VW car. Instead, you’ll find some very good psychedelic, electronic prog rock here. Dario

Reach - Prophecy

29 March, 2024

Now that we’re deep within prog rock territory clearly inspired by some distinct influences, we can as well fast forward a little bit to the turning of the century when a certain UK trio called Muse revolutionized radio friendly rock by infusing proggy and classical craziness. Or was it the other way round? In any case, the music by Swedish trio Reach can definitely be seen (or heard) in the tradition of Muse and while it’s not quite as revolutionary, their second album “Prophecy” is definitely a fun trip through ten exceptionally catchy songs (plus bonus christmas song in Swedish). And I’m counting on it to be even more fun when they’ll be bringing all this to the live stages in May. Can’t wait! Dario

Vorga - Beyond the Palest Star

29 March, 2024 | Transcending Obscurity Records

Out of all the metal subgenres, black metal was probably the last/latest one I got into, preferably with a prefix like ‘atmospheric’ or ‘avantgarde’. ‘Cosmic’ works a treat as well, especially if it’s a nice epic treat like “Beyond the Palest Star”, the second album from German cosmic black metal entity Vorga. The vastness of space and its connection to the human condition and collective consciousness of humankind:  that’s more or less the area in which we’re floating – both musically and lyrically I’d guess. Whether the music informs the lyrical content here or vice versa is irrelevant, as they function excellently as a unity. Dario

Jason Blake feat. Raphael Weinroth-Browne - Candles Burn EP

05 April, 2024 | 7D Media
JasonBlake_CandlesBurning

We at The Progspace can’t take credit for bringing Warr-guitarist Jason Blake and Canadian Cellist Raphael Weinroth-Browne together, as their joint EP „Candles Burn“ had already been in the making when both got nominated for a The Progspace Award 2023 at the beginning of the year. We can however take credit for premiering the artistic video for the single ‚Rift and Reckoning‘, and now that the full three-track EP is out, we can‘t recommend it enough to all those seeking an qintrospective fusion of the Warr-guitar‘s progressive rock roots and the pensive, melancholy contemporary chamber music vibes Raphael‘s Cello brings. An intriguing meeting of two extraordinary instrumentalists. Dario

Barrus - The Kids

02 April, 2024

Very dark, very alternative stuff comes from Poland with “The Kids” by Barrus, the solo project of musician and composer Rafał Lipka. The scope of the emotional depth is as vast as the eclecticism of some compositional choices, which makes for quite a disturbing listen in some places. A clear emphasis on conveying dark atmospheres over coherent ‘traditional’ song structures and production choices is evident. Definitely a unique journey that I can only compare to something like Storm Corrosion yet sounds nothing like it if that makes any sense at all. Dario

Concrete Age - Motherland

04 April, 2024

While the addition “Folk” to a genre tag normally  would push an album downwards on my never ending “need to listen” list, the cover artwork of Concrete Age’s new album introduced a certain seriousness to the offering and woke my interest. Originally hailing from Caucasus, now living in the UK, “Motherland” is the 9th record by the four-piece around main-composer Ilia Morozov, and a musical love-letter to their origins, catching nature’s wildness in a marvelous way. The traditional instruments and chants used here add a melancholic beauty to the rather rough Death Metal compositions, with the traditional rhythm patterns and sounds bringing in something special. Yet the Metal approach is really strong on this one, coming along with powerful, harsh vocals, pushing blast beats, and furious guitar solos. All-together a well-balanced melting pot of styles, and a great listen. Katha

Kello Gonzalez - Above the Great Beyond Below

01 January, 1970
KelloGonzalez_AboveTheGreatBeyondBelow

Kello Gonzalez, beard brother and bassist of The Progspace Online Festival alumni/Mexican fusion trio Parazit, presents his first solo album, “Above the Great Beyond Below”. 10 hard hitting instrumental fusion rockers that differ quite a lot from the djenty style of his main band. Enough variety to keep up the entertainment factor throughout. Fun stuff. Dario

Lockeheart - All of Us Divine

05 April, 2024 | House of Ygra
Lockeheart_AllOfUsDivine

An industrial metal album on The Progspace? I guess there’s a first for everything, but “All of Us Divine”, the second offering from Germany-based, Vietnam-born musical entity Lockeheart is extremely heavy hitting with little to no guitars at all, without sounding overbearingly electronic interestingly enough. A multifaceted vocal performance and various guest solo spots with instruments as diverse as saxophone and bass to a sitar all add their parts to the rich variety of the compositions. The gorgeous cover artwork by Moya Illustrations rounds off an intriguing and exciting overall experience. Dario

More releases for 05 April, 2024

  • The Dark Atom - Duality
     Bandcamp  
  • Austere - Beneath the Threshold (Lupus Lounge/Prophecy Productions)
     Bandcamp  
  • Waidelotte - Celestial Shrine (March 29, Debemur Morti Productions)
     Bandcamp  
  • Vnder A Crvmbling Moon - II: A g i n g F o r m l e s s
     Bandcamp  
  • Lo Moon - I Wish You More Than Luck
     Bandcamp  
  • Present - This is NOT the End (Cuneiform Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Alber Jupiter - Puis Vient La Nuit (Foudrage)
     Bandcamp  
  • Sirkus - Bleibende Schäden EP
     Bandcamp  
  • Locrian - End Terrain
     Bandcamp  
  • Protosequence - Bestiary (Lacerated Enemy Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • The Monolith Deathcult - The Demon Who Makes Trophies Of Men
     Bandcamp  
  • Sundog - The Happy Few
     Bandcamp  
  • Nitritono - Cecità (My Kingdom Music)
     Bandcamp  
  • Greyhawk - Thunderheart (Fighter Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Suicide Season - Life, but in reverse...
     Bandcamp  
  • Ischemic - Condemned to the Breaking Wheel
     Bandcamp  
  • Sinthetik Sentinez - Aeon of the Machine
     Bandcamp  
  • Ingested - The Tide of Death and Fractured Dreams 
     Bandcamp  
  • Once Upon the End - Archive 200 EP
     Bandcamp  
  • Orecus - Dreadnought
     Bandcamp  
  • ERRA - Cure (UNFD)
     Bandcamp  
  • Dialith - Alter EP
     Bandcamp  
  • Noel Husser - Beyond EP
     Bandcamp  
  • Symakya - Project 11 (Wormholedeath Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Aristarchos - Martyr of Star and Fire
     Bandcamp  
  • Belore - Eastern Tales
     Bandcamp  
  • Bilwis - Hameln
     Bandcamp  
  • Funeral Leech - The Illusion of Time (Carbonized Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Jet Engine Dragons - Ronin
     Bandcamp  
  • The Dredge - Torches (Apollon Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Hardraw - Abyss of Mankind (Pitch Black Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Crippled Fingers - Through the Pain
     Bandcamp  
  • Level the Compound - One of Us
     Bandcamp  
  • Ironside - The Viking Saga
     Bandcamp  
  • Jake Weber - Defying Gravity
     Bandcamp  
  • Red Sun - From Sunset to Dawn (Subsounds Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Hawkwind - Stories From Time And Space
     Bandcamp  
  • Acid Mammoth - Supersonic Megafauna Collision (Heavy Psych Sounds)
     Bandcamp  
  • Melkor - Udkraxsha (Pharmafabrik Recordings)
     Bandcamp  
  • Siriun - Psychonaut (March 26)
     Bandcamp  
  • Mumbles - In the Pocket of Big Sad
     Bandcamp  
  • Mind's Mirrors - Forever is not Nearly Long Enough
     Bandcamp  
  • Keith McCoy - Dawn of the Machine EP
     Bandcamp  
  • Vigil - ...And The Void Stared Back (Argonauta Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Frank Never Dies - Red Moon Rising (Argonauta Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • The Vulcan Itch - Rise of the Fallen
     Bandcamp  
  • The Magogas - 48 Moons (Go Down Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Shadow Limb - Reclaim
     Bandcamp  
  • Venomous Echoes - Split Formations and Infinite Mania
     Bandcamp  
  • Vrsa - Saltwater Circadian (March 30)
     Bandcamp  
  • Kólga - Black Tides (Otitis Media Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Saturday Night Satan - All Things Black (Made of Stone Recordings)
     Bandcamp  
  • Givre - Le Clo​î​tre
     Bandcamp  
  • Ulterror - Transcendant Origins (Inverse Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • The Absence - Self-titled
     Bandcamp  
  • Carrion Vael - Cannibals Anonymous (Unique Leader Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Asterean - Sovereign (Mar 26)
     Bandcamp  
  • Malphas - Portal
     Bandcamp  
  • Words of Farewell - Stories to Forget EP
     Bandcamp  
  • Ren Marabou and the Berserkers - Helgafjell
     Bandcamp  
  • Rage - Afterlifelines (Steamhammer/SPV)
     Bandcamp  
  • Wytch Hazel / Phantom Spell - Ride On / Palanti​́​ri Split EP
     Bandcamp  
  • Confirmation Bias - Century Mornings
     Bandcamp  
  • Glenn Victor - Time Flies By Faster
     Bandcamp  
  • Ruinforge - Mist & Myth
     Bandcamp  
  • Rachel Z - Sensual
     Bandcamp  
  • Univertigo - Bons baisers du Void
     Bandcamp  
  • Disconnect in Progress - Symbiotic Integrations
     Bandcamp  
  • Arwassa - Chaos EP
     Bandcamp  
  • Manasseh - Tunneling to Paradiso (I, Voidhanger Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Coffin Storm - Arcana Rising (Peaceville Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Frail Body - Artificial Bouquet
     Bandcamp  
  • Samsara & The Demiurge - Trudging
  • ANA - The Art of Letting Go (Eclipse Records)
  • Venues - Transience
  • Fatal Fire - Arson (March 28, MDD Records)
  • Ivory Tower - Heavy Rain (Massacre Records)
  • The Quill - Wheel of Illusion
  • Rob Moore - Rob Moore's Guitar Destruction (Lion Music)
  • Ash Ravens - Pieces of Me EP
  • Peachy - Pool Dog Party EP
  • The Night Wilds - All That Should Have Been (April 01, Gravel Road Records)
  • White Dog - Double Dog Dare (Rise Above Records)
  • Skywalker - All News Is Bad News
  • Alphawolf - Half Living Things (Sharptone Records)
  • Ugly (UK) - Twice Around The Sun EP
  • Pádarigín Ní Uallacháin - Seven Daughters of the Sea
  • Yob - Demo
     Bandcamp  
  • Temperance - Hermitage - Daruma's Eyes Pt. 2 - Orchestral Edition (Napalm Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Moonspell - Anno Satanæ (1993 Remastered)
     Bandcamp  
  • The Holy Family - Live Burning, Burning Live
     Bandcamp  
  • Archivers - Live at Là Là
     Bandcamp  
  • GoGo Penguin - From the North - GoGo Penguin Live in Manchester
  • Deep Purple - Montreux '71 (Live at the Casino/Montreux / 1971)
  • Gentle Giant - The Missing Piece (Steven Wilson Remix) (Chrysalis Records)

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About the Author

Dario

Co-Founder of The Progspace - Dario discovered the world of Prog upon hearing "Shine on you crazy diamond" for the first time at the tender age of 12 around the turn of the millennium. Coming from a musical family and brought up with classical music, this seemed to be the logical next step. Attended the school of www.progulus.com from 2002, delving into both directions: catching up with the history of already more than 30 years of progressive music as well as always staying up to date with the newest prog sounds. He loves meeting like-minded people and enjoying live music at a concert somewhere in Europe.

Katha

Passionate metalhead and concert visitor since the 90s - While the taste has changed and broadened over the years, the mesmerizing effect of music remained. Always searching for new musical treasures, but also digging a lot through older favorites, which are clearly rooted on the proggy side of the wide metal spectrum. Happy about the chance to spread the word for our beloved music at The Progspace.

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