21 Highlights? First half of March delivers as much as the whole of February!

When one of the most beautiful albums that was technically released in the previous year already, albeit only in physical format, finally gets the chance to reach even more people through a general digital release on all the streaming services, I feel like it’s my duty to let everyone know once more: listening to this album will make you experience bliss and happiness. Towards the very end, you will even have experienced a moment of pure serenity. “Right Here, Right Now”, the third album under this moniker by Dutch trio Our Oceans, encompasses everything music is about: Emotions. Transcendence. Transformation. Our corporeal bodies might be in the here and now. Music like this lets our soul exist in a higher plane though, however briefly. Non-negotiably essential. Dario

Nobody walks the fine line between huge stadium rock, a damn good party, and the actual apocalypse quite like Major Parkinson – and usually within the same song. “Chapter II: Viva the Apocalypse!” picks up where “Chapter I: Velvet Prison” left off but trades that album’s heavily 80s-pop-influenced sound for something far more unhinged. Pop moments deceive the listener early on, brass-heavy grooves like ‘Superdad’ get the whole room moving, and then passages heavier than most in their previous albums hit you before you’ve had time to recover. The tracklist escalates gracefully into full-on collapse, and the album earns every bit of its title. The two female singers, Halie and Peri Winkle, weave their very different voices alongside Jon Ivar Kollbotn‘s grand, sometimes unsettling lead, adding yet another layer of contrast to the album. It’s the usual Major Parkinson craze, cranked up several notches. I highly recommend a listen – before the actual collapse of civilization. Matthias

Germany doesn’t seem to be the current hotbed for modern Metalcore infused Prog Metal, with a few exceptions like Unprocessed or vianova definitely playing the international league in terms of innovation and quality. Monosphere from Mainz in the very middle of Germany most certainly will be another household name mentioned in this context, at the very latest with their new, third album “Amnesia”. The Progspace already was a proud premiere host for their debut album “The Puppeteer” in 2021 as well a for “Ava”, the lead single of their excellent 2023 sophomore effort “Sentience” and finally the 2024 standalone single “The Unknown Voice” that marked the beginning of a new era for the band, culminating now in the release of their third full length album, “Amnesia”. The result of a dedicated, relentless work ethic for this independent band that brilliantly showcases their ability to meld a myriad of influences from Post, Prog, Djent, Death, Core and more musical colors of the rather heavy spectrum in a unique, creative way. Heavy both musically and emotionally, “Amnesia” will manifest and cement the name Monosphere even more into the collective consciousness of music fans, rather than being forgettable as the album title suggests. Dario

Nordic Giants is always about atmosphere and cinematic feel, and “Under Celestial Alignments” is no exception. As the name suggests, there are a lot of cosmic themes in here, mostly represented by the keyboard passages. As a duo (drums and keyboards), Nordic Giants always have the two instruments at the forefront, so each track is very melody-heavy, and with rhythm section heavily present. The drums are hitting hard, and sometimes I’d love to see a bit more dynamic, however, creating compositions with only two instruments is not an easy task, and it is good that both parties share the front stage here. I am a sucker for “spacey” synths, and celestial themes generally, so I appreciated the cosmic atmosphere.

Nordic Giants is best at audiovisual experience, combining short videos with the music. I feel like with the visuals, this album can be really hypnotic, and hitting especially in the right mood. This band creates art, which needs a certain headspace, but if it hits, it hits hard. I can’t recommend enough seeing them live, and they are on tour in the UK this spring. Come and experience the show if you can! Alex

Austria-based Avantgarde Prog Metal composer Angerer quietly dropped “Palingenæon” on Bandcamp at the beginning of March. In his own words, this is “a ritual disguised as an album”, exploring “what happens when the self reincarnates incorrectly and keeps doing it anyway”. In other words, Angerer keeps reinventing himself at every corner, musically and lyrically. Hamsters? Pigeons? Grandpas? Bioluminescent regrets? A mind overflowing with imagination far beyond the usual Prog tropes. Exceptionally well produced despite its seemingly unspeakable disparagedness. Igorrr seems like some straight-forward mainstream stuff in direct comparison. Tubular Djent Bells? Go get some! Absolutely unique. Dario

Few might have argued the (The) Soft Machine could have invented Progressive Rock as such even earlier than King Crimson, little does it matter more than sixty years later though. The British quartet, now led by woodwind expert Theo Travis, has shed the “Legacy” from their band name ten years ago, even if they are the embodiment of a legacy, having no original members among their ranks anymore. But then again, there’s no original member in Opeth anymore either. Newest member Asaf Sirkis on drums is an excellent addition to the quartet. “Thirteen” is not only the band’s thirteenth studio album, it was also released on March 13 through MoonJune Records and its longest track, ‘The Longest Night’, clocks in at 13 minutes. Good omens all around and such a privilege to have these excellent musicians honouring the musical legacy of this formative Prog band with wonderful new music. Dario

What a better way to honour the legacy of Prog luminary Daevid Allen on the eleventh anniversary of his passing into another plane than with new releases by both of his legacy bands? Apart from Soft Machine (see above), whose formative beginnings he had shaped significantly, that was and is first and foremost Gong of course. Their fourth album in ten years, “Bright Spirit” sees this post-Allen incarnation that formed the direct continuation of his legacy with his blessing as creative as ever between some whimsical little ditties (‘Stars In Heaven’) and extended Psychedelic jams like the massive ten minute opener ‘Dream Of Mine’. Naturally, the latter manage to capture my imagination a bit more, that doesn’t diminish the excellency of this album one bit though. Dario

International transatlantic Trio Last Scene Alive is responsible for jazzing it up even more in this edition of Releases of the Week(s), in case Soft Machine wasn’t jazzy enough for you. As a brand new project, they’re doing it naturally in a bit more modern fashion though. On their debut album “World Class Pep Talk”, one fun modern Prog Jazz banger follows the next and even though I’m a huge fan of the electric bass guitar (especially in a Jazz environment), this cast consisting of baritone saxophone, drums and synths/fx is making it all sound so extra cool, especially with those boppy synth bass sounds. Definitely a different approach to the Norwegian Septet further below (see Pymlico review), but both releases are providing lots of smile-inducing moments, so there’s absolutely nothing left to desire. Dario

I can’t really believe that “Kintsugi” really is Jack Gardiner’s full length debut album as his name has been synonymous with excellent guitar playing for so long already. However, it’s great to see someone who has gained success already with musical ‘content’ on platforms like YouTube and Instagram committing to the ‘old school’ idea of an album. Around half the songs were already part of the “Urushi” EP that came out last November, but now there’s a whole fifty minutes full of beautiful, uplifting melodies and top-notch playing (from Jack and a whole host of excellent guest musicians) to indulge in. Soothing for the soul, musically stimulating for the brain. Dario

I remember adding the two very first Black Idol singles to our What’s Hot?! playlist in 2024, and I remember being mightily impressed by the quality at display already. With one more single released last year, the Serbian Post Metal quintet was now ready to unleash their debut EP with an added fifth epic nine nine minute song that features guest vocals by none other than Loïc Rossetti (ex-The Ocean). And once again, I can’t help but attest the quality to be absolutely stunning, this time throughout the whole duration of the entire 25 minutes of its runtime. Somewhere between a darker Haken and aforementioned The Ocean, Black Idol managed to put out a big exclamation mark already with “Woes Are Legion”, which should put them immediately on the radar of any self-respecting Prog Metal fan. Dario

A burning horse. The cover artwork of “Ordalie”, the 2023 album by Montreal-based Atmospheric Post Black Metal quartet Miserere Luminis was certainly one of the most memorable in recent years. Now they’re back with their follow-up, “Sidera”, adorned by another glowing painting by Adam Burke. And while this review should be primarily about the music contained on the album, I can’t think of a better image to give you an idea of the immersive sound Miserere Luminis is providing us here. Gaerea is currently getting all the mainstream attention for this genre, and while their approach certainly has its charm as well (more on that maybe in the next edition of Releases of the Week), “Sidera” is absolutely luminescent by and in itself and deserves your undivided attention! Dario

A blistering full-on Prog Death attack out of Perth, Western Australia is overrolling us with Xenobiotic’s third full length, “Dante”. With a punchy, brutal mix of Tech Death, Prog Death and Deathcore, is bulldozing their way through mythology and sociopolitical themes equally, not letting themselves get stopped by the most technical of rhythms and riffs. The occasional fusion solo like the one in ‘Dante II: Pariah’ or the atmospheric intro for the final epic ‘Dante III: Traitor’ slows things down for a second, but don’t get too comfortable. There’s more blastbeats to be had. Go get some! Dario

After all this high speed and brutality, it might be time to bring down the tempo a bit again and immerse oneself in the slow, atmospheric Post Rock layers of Lesotho. The Boston based trio knows how to sound massive and weightless at the same time, definitely a hallmark of this kind of Instrumental Post Rock that’s not easily achieved I find. They provide both a soundtrack for deep thoughts as well as cleaning the mind through meditation. You don’t believe me? Then go, listen to “A Flashing On Plain Glass”, and it all will make sense. Dario

Without a doubt one of the most prolific Prog Metal keyboardists these days, Vikram Shankar has kept his schedule busy lately with shows around the world as part of legendary bands like Pain of Salvation and Within Temptation and even finishing the highly anticipated sophomore album by his very own Instrumental Prog Metal Trio Lux Terminus, “Cinder”. His newest release “Lumina”, published under his very own name, takes a very different musical – and spiritual – approach though. Twelve piano solo miniatures, or maybe you can even say meditations, with the clear intent of firmly holding something pure and peaceful against the unrelenting stream of horrible things happening in our world. Even more reduced than his work with Silent Skies, the importance of this release lies in its clear intent, in its calm- and peacefulness. A quiet light for the world. Dario

An exceptionally unique brand of Prog Rock comes out of Denver, Colorado with “Beyond the Physical World” by emerging quartet Orna. The super fuzzy and raw guitar sound in the first half of the album, but starting with the cryptically titled ‘RBAY’, things clear up significantly. The deep timbre of vocalist Jessica Worland is truly one of a kind though, the only obscure references that come to mind would be Nat Rusciani (The War Yaks) and Wendelin Visser (Orpheo). Chances are sadly quite high that these names will not ring a bell for anyone reading this, so I guess you’ll have to experience it for yourself by diving “Beyond the Physical World”, at least through the music of this 46 minute curiosity. Dario

Should I really open this next highlight review with another obscure reference? Probably not the best idea, but screw it: “A Quiet World”, the second album by Vienna-based quartet Blending Borders, sounds partially like the Austrian twin sibling of New York proggers Enoch Root (new album coming hopefully this year as well). Not necessarily Progressive Rock per se (or in the traditional generic sense), this blend of rocky and proggy traditions alike with floating melodic sensibilities far away from any cheese was made popular by bands like The Dear Hunter, so the sudden appearance of a brass section midway through the album is not really a surprise anymore. Blending Borders make this style their own and nail the balance between inventive, adventurous songwriting within familiar sounds with an excellent execution that deserves to be heard. Dario

It just seems to be my fate: I have settled for 16 great releases highlighting some great records that came out in the first two weeks of March, but then comes along another album you simply can’t ignore that just blows away your 4×4 chart for the article. But then again you really can’t be mad for being flooded with great music. Floating Nest is a band based in Sweden with Spanish and German members, if I gathered that right, that’s playing some very intriguing Psychedelic Avantgarde Prog Metal on their first album “Blow Off Steam”. With that album title, you might expect something more primal and heavy, but this is very intricate and ornate compositions and arrangements. Definitely one of the more unique releases lately. Dario

Canadian solo blackgaze artist, Coffret de Bijoux, AKA Alice Simard, is out with her third release checks notes …this year?? Well, after hearing a decent chunk of her material across 2025, “lose myself in you” is one of her strongest efforts yet. Each release goes into different explorations, and this is so far her proggiest album, while also touching influences of melodic death metal. While she has written a pretty extensive amount of longer songs, this album is just two 15+ minute tracks; both of which stand out just as much as the other. The self-titled opener goes the most into that kind of Swedish melodeath sound you would find from the likes of Dark Tranquility, mixed with the grandiose atmospheres and bright synths of An Abstract Illusion and Liminal Dream. Second song “Under Fog” gets a bit more doomy, while maintaining a similar vibe, expressing those Dan Swanö influences. Quite the adventure for a short 31-minute record, and if you’re looking for something epic that goes by in the blink of an eye, I couldn’t recommend this one enough. Colin

In a world where edgy Black Metal fans complain that Black Metal has long lost its edge and everyone is feeling triggered and offended too easily by everything, but then gets triggered all too easily by the mere thought of Queer Black Metal, he has proven the point of Rosa Faenskap only all too well. “Ingenting Forblir” is the second album by this Norwegian trio and when the razorsharpness of a Black Metal Band’s riffs is only challenged by their lyrical themes, then they’ve done everything right. Raging against the patriarchy is not only the most Black Metal thing to do, but sadly still more than relevant and needed. The soundtrack for that sounds properly pissed off, but excellently executed with a unique, effective mix of styles. Who said Black Metal can’t be innovative anymore? Who said Black Metal can’t be angry anymore? It can be all that and more. Just listen to Rosa Faenskap’s “Ingenting Forblir” Dario

And now that we’re in the mood, we can stay a little longer in Norway for some more rightfully raging Post Blackgaze. Feversea’s 2025 debut album “Man Under Erasure” already left a positive impression, so does the ‘leftover’ material that is now seeing the light of day in the form of the “Wormwood in the Veins of the World” EP. Really digging their apocalyptic style and overall vibe. Feels all too real. But ah well, as long as we’re not quite there yet we can already revel in the sonic equivalent of the apocalypse. Dario

We’re staying in Norway for our final highlight of the first two March 2026 release weeks, but this Oslo-based Septet certainly doesn’t sound like they’ve got anything remotely to do with Black Metal. Pymlico delighted us with the release of some Live studio sessions they did back in 2022. While their latest studio output like last year’s “CORE” was leaning more towards a smooth, cinematic Jazz Rock/Fusion/AOR amalgam, “NO MORE, NO LESS” draws a little bit more from traditional Jazz playfulness, making for some fun 40 minutes with Pymlico Live in the studio. Dario