10 Highlights, 62 Releases in total: that’s the Release Week 38/2024

When, out of the ashes of German prog rockers Frequency Drift, arose Haven of Echoes two years ago, the collaboration of Frequency Drift mastermind Andreas Hack with Spires front-man Paul Sadler was certainly a very surprising pairing. The outcome in the form of their debut album “The Indifference of the Stars” was as thrilling as it was beautiful, and “Memento Vivere”, the sophomore effort by this new entity called Haven of Echoes, seems to have only reduced the number of tracks compared to the the debut. Everything else, from the average song length to the sheer quality, cinematic scope and, according to our reviewer, also the amount of guitar solos, seems to have at least doubled. No wonder did he award a full 10/10 to it with his full review that you can still check out here: https://theprogspace.com/haven-of-echoes-memento-vivere/ But even more urgent, you should check out “Memento Vivere” right now, as it might just be the most important prog release of the month of September. Dario

Hailing out of Tel Aviv, Israel, Obsidian Tide made waves (pun fully intended) last year with their sophomore full-length release “The Grand Crescendo”. It was prominently featured on several of The Progspace editors’ album of the year lists. Founder, guitarist and clean vocalist Oz Avneya is back, presenting his first solo record “Road to I”. 8 years in the making, this ambitious work is exploring a wide stylistic range in all musical facets. Check out our recent interview with Oz for first-hand insights into the album, from his own perspective: https://theprogspace.com/avneya/

In his own words, Avneya’s intention was clear: “Grotesque and pure at the same time – that contrast is something I really wanted to explore!” His signature clean singing and dynamic compositions are back, alternating between melancholic clean sections and heavy riffing. However, vocal contrasting is taken to the extreme with several features of vocalist Zed Destructive (Winterhorde), whose shrieking and abrasive gutturals in the heavy sections serve as a proverbial night to the more sublime mellow sections’ day. Additionally, songs featuring the soprano vocals by Imbal Brill serve up a sonic surprise. The back-and-forth between Brill and Zed on ‘Proxima B’ is characteristic for the album as a whole. After an album’s worth of exploration into contrasts, harshness and calmness, light and dark, hope and despair, the closer ‘Ima Sheli’ hits hard on an emotional level. Dedicated to Avneya’s late mother, this rawly produced acoustic guitar piece, accompanying a lamenting voice, reveals a genuine pain of loss. Fans of classic Prog Metal virtues are sure to find their acoustic tastebuds tickled with “Road to I”! Bas

While I won’t be diving into the whole Nuclear Blast/Atomic Fire/Reigning Phoenix story here, I’d still consider the relatively newly emerged Reigning Phoenix music as a big player in the metal scene. As such, most of the label’s roster certainly has certain mainstream qualities to appeal to a wide variety of metal fans. To my big surprise though, British act Crimson Veil is nothing like that at all. Their debut album is entitled “Hex”, and that is a pretty accurate description of what happens during the  55 minutes and 50 seconds of its runtime. There’s a mysterious aura surrounding the band’s visual appearance, somewhere in between ritualistic pagan shamans and cabaret noir (or bizarre), while the music oscillates between the experimental, almost avant-garde and the ethereal sublime. Captivating my imagination from the very first synth notes of the opening title track, I’m drawn into their world like an invisible thread is pulling me in and with each song unfolding its very own persuasive charm, I’m all the more amazed and ecstatic about the surprise discovery of such an adventurous, audacious musical journey. This is as crazy and as experimental as it gets on the Reigning Phoenix roster I’d guess – and then some. And I’m all here for it! Very fascinating. Dario

UK based heavy alternative proggers Giant Walker had no ‘Time to Waste’ after their strong 2022 debut “All In Good Time”, so they’re back already with a sophomore effort called “Silhouettes”. Do they still have the nastiest grooves this side of the Karnivool and Deftones rivers? Rest assured: they certainly do. And I’m seeing Giant Walker making big strides with these “Silhouettes”. You like heavy prog rock, but aren’t the biggest grunge fan? Don’t worry, there’s enough killer, slightly off-kilter and thus energetically exciting groovy riffage for you. You like grunge but not prog (what the hell are you doing on this page?): don’t be afraid, “Silhouettes” is catchy enough in a rough, grungy way that the intricate rhythms are barely noticeable. Confused now? Don’t be. At the end of the day, “Silhouettes” is just a damn good, powerful record for anyone who likes heavy guitar music. Dario

With song titles like ‘Out of Myself’ and ‘Deadhead’ one might think the self-titled debut album from Argentinian prog metal outfit Atheris is an album full of cover versions and new renditions of songs by established artists like Riverside or Devin Townsend. That is not the case. Washed into my Spotify Release Radar thanks to a nice little feature from Haken’s Richard Henshall on the aforementioned ‘Deadhead’, I was happy to discover the fresh prog metal sound of Atheris. Stellar piano work and wonderful vocal arrangements made this stand out immediately and should establish Atheris as a new name in the prog metal circuit to watch out for! Dario

Only vaguely familiar with the band name until now, I am very happy to have made the acquaintance of Hungarian proggers At Night I Fly by way of “collision/fusion/division”, their second full length album after 2019’s “Mirror Maze”. What strikes me most about their highly melodic progressive metal is a distinct neo prog vibe in the more epic sections where the keyboards take over a central role. The wonderfully pronounced bass adds another wonderful flavor to the lush mix. And with a song like ‘Chains’, they’re suddenly closer to Arena than to Threshold sonically, without losing that melodic metal edge completely though. And the Dutch prog uncle Arjen Anthony Lucassen (Ayreon, Star One) seems to stop by as godfather for that one low-tuned, slowed-down version of the main riff. Good stuff for the inclined melodic prog metal/rock fan. Dario

Speaking of Ayreon: Jermaine van der Boegt aka Wudstik (Forallweknow) is not only a part of the Ayreon Universe, but also the new singer for long standing Dutch prog rockers of Dilemma. Just like At Night I Fly, they walk that fine line between melodic prog metal heaviness and lush (neo) prog synth epicness. Maybe leaning a bit more into the latter, with long proggy instrumental interludes, not entirely unlike drummer Colin Leijenaar’s ex bandmate/employer Neal Morse is prone to do. But with a bit of a heavier edge, if you catch my drift… For a bit mellower Dutch prog tones, just read on below. Dario

Dutch art rock quintet Lesoir present their sixth album “Push Back The Horizon”. I have no idea why it needs to be pushed back, poor horizon. I like to look over it from time to time, or even widen it. Lesoir’s music however falls into rather familiar territories, which doesn’t have to be a bad thing and still offers enough variety. Whether they’re going on slightly cinematic tangents (‘You Are The World’), visit darker corners (‘The Drawer’) or take the often wrongfully chided 90’s Pink Floyd side on a psychedelic instrumental spin (‘Aeon’), they always do so in a very delicate manner and with a subtle groove. Slightly slidy guitar moments evoke a laid-back version of the new Leprous sound that finally features more Robin Ognedal guitar magic, here provided by Ingo Daassen, I’m assuming. Elsewhere some heavier bits suit them just as well (‘What Do You Want From Me’). All in all, ‘Push Back The Horizon’ is a quality offering for the distinguished art rock/pop fan. On tour now with Pure Reason Revolution, check the dates on their website and don’t miss out. Dario

A week without some extreme highlights? That cannot be. Luckily there’s “Every Limb of the Flood” to the rescue, the debut offering of a new extreme metal supergroup called Dreamless Veil. With members from bands like Inter Arma, Psycroptic and Artificial Brain, this was bound to be quality stuff, yet the bleak dissonant blackened atmosphere was not really something I expected in such a strong manifestation. It is scratching my newly found itch for that kind of musical extreme expertly though. Luckily, there’s been another debut release from a band with a similarly sounding name that also dabbles in similar sonic territories for more itch scratching. Read on below. Dario

The Dreamless Veil umm, unveils the Deathless Void. Or something like that. Emerging from the Dutch underground black metal scene, the Amsterdam based quartet is clearly rooted much more in classic black metal without the strong dissonant death metal feel of Dreamless Veil. So, just one week after I’ve declared Firtan’s new opus “Ethos” the most important black metal album of the year, along comes another heavy contender, rivaling for the throne. “The Voluptuous Fire of Sin” is oozing with melody and atmosphere without sacrificing the tiniest bit of fierce rage and brutality. And hitting that exact balance might just be its biggest strength. Is 2024 shaping up to be a momentous year for black metal? Or am I just now fully embracing the genre’s bountiful riches to the fullest? Either way, this is an exemplary ice cold black metal frenzy, absolutely befitting the genre. Dario