7 instrumental highlights, 10 with vocals! All unique in their own way!

Montreal/Stockholm-based Prog Metal trio Voidchaser have been on a meteoric rise over the past two years. No wonder, given their addictive mix of super catchy early 2000s Prog Metal melodies paired with a modern production and the crunch of the 2010s school of Caligula’s Horse, Haken and the likes – an approach they’ve even refined further on their second full length album, “Interstellar I”. With a steep jump in quality from 2024 debut EP “Odyssey” to their first album “Solace” that came out later that year, main songwriters Chad Bernatchez and Jici Lord-Gauthier – powered by an ever-energetic drum performance by our very own Colin MacAndrew (Ashbreather, Fleshvessel, Anna Pest, Abriction…) – made it clear that the killer 2025 EP “Trust” was far more than a mere stopgap on the way to “Interstellar I”, but a key milestone in the band’s evolution. Now, with said sophomore full-length, the trio enters a new era, both in terms of sheer top-tier quality musically, but also conceptually. By the time the last chorus of the first single and opening track ‘Welcome to Terra Corp’ hits, I’m absolutely convinced that Voidchaser are indeed a modern incarnation of the legendary Shadow Gallery. That perfect blend of infectious hooks and Progressive complexity, with just enough heaviness to keep things punchy without alienating the melodic crowd, stands in a league of its own and firmly establishes Voidchaser as one of the hottest Progressive Metal bands on an international level! Dario

Five years after their highly acclaimed sophomore record, “Silence from Signals”, British Alternative Prog Rock project The Paradox Twin is back with the surprise drop of their third album, “A Romance of Many Dimensions”. It finds me in a bit of a pickle, as for one, there is no follow-up to ‘Wake Vortex’, but on the other hand, that song was (and still is) of such an unparalleled perfection that it was almost impossible to recreate or even top to begin with. Secondly, some nods to Katatonia (‘Null the System’, ‘UI’), Porcupine Tree (the long track ‘My Main Function’) – and a bit surprisingly, also a certain late 90’s Deftones hit that suddenly makes me want to scream ‘shove it shove it shove it’ uncontrollably – are so close to the original. But interestingly enough, what bothered me immensely on Avkrvst’s debut for example, here it simply works. Those familiar riffs are just embedded so seamlessly into these new songs and signature The Paradox Twin sound that I can’t even be mad or anything. Everything just sounds so incredibly gorgeous, no matter who’s singing, Mastermind Danny Sorell or second vocalist Sarah Bayley. The balance between melancholic introspection and dark progginess has even reached new heights within a crystal clear and warm John Mitchell production. So I’m afraid I won’t be able to help it and come back to this quite a lot. What do you think about ‘homages’ like that, sounding so very close to their obvious influences? Dario

When Norwegian grandmasters of melancholy Green Carnation returned in 2020 with their comeback album “Leaves of Yesteryear”, it was immediately clear that they meant business again. And that they were in it for the long run. Now we have plenty of proof with “A Dark Poem, Part II: Sanguis”, dropping a mere six months after “Part I: The Shores of Melancholia”. As far as the more metal side of their sound is concerned, a slower, prodding mid-tempo has always been their go-to mode, as proven once again on bangers like the hammond-driven opener ‘Sanguis’ or the catchy ‘Sweet to the Point of Bitter’, that could have easily landed on “Leaves of Yesteryear” with its anthemic hook-lines. ‘I Am Time’ sports an absolutely memorable guitar lead, while ‘Loneliness Untold, Loneliness Unfold’ and the final ‘Lunar Tale’ dig into the somber acoustic side the Norwegians also have been prone to since seemingly forever (“The Acoustic Verses”). I hope the wait for Part III will be equally short, and that the Green Carnation in this stellar form will stay with us for a long time to come. Dario

UK Math Proggers Poly-Math are back with another box of wonders, namely their new album “Something Deeply Hidden”. Hosting the premiere of this release was an absolute no-brainer for me, as I had completely and utterly fallen in love with their hypnotic craziness at Radar Festival in the Summer of 2022 already. Somewhere in between the odd danciness of Gösta Berlings Saga (‘No Such Thing As Now’/’Chronostesia’) and the angular Math Metal of 90’s King Crimson (‘Terror Management Theory’), “Something Deeply Hidden” sets the gold standard for instrumental albums in 2026 at a staggering level. The expressions ‘jaw-dropping’ and ‘awe-inspiring’ merely scratch the cover of my infatuation with the complex perfection (or rather perfect complexity?) of this masterpiece. Safe to say that I’ll be praying for some more live dates in its support so I might be able to marvel in its amazingness on stage. I doubt you’ll find tighter grooves anywhere else. Dario

Continuing the Instrumental theme for a bit, Matten’s “The Tower” certainly knows how to impress as well, albeit with slightly different ingredients. The debut album from this Barcelona based trio might cite heavyweights Amenra, Animals As Leaders and Gojira as influences, but in this case, a certain Cinematic Jazz aspect is very prominent here. Naturally, the band draws their appeal from the tension between these lush, jazzy atmospheres and the crushing heaviness of the aforementioned idols. The outcome is as accomplished as it sounds unique. This kind of stuff should go well down a treat for the Euroblast/Radar/TechFest crowd without copying the established mainstays of that circuit. Dario

This may sound like a heretical question, but is it possible to develop a whole dark modern prog metal EP with a single Madonna-cover as the starting point? Finnish project Rioghan answers this question with a resounding yes! The well known titular track of the “Frozen” EP works wonderfully in Rioghan’s sound universe, and the subsequent four additional chapters show their very own compositional prowess that they have honed, cultivated and carefully developed across two albums and several EPs and singles. The well-timed inclusion of those nasty syncopated Leprous-bends in the epic, final ‘Sky’ is just the icing on this delicious cake. A vital voice in modern prog, Rioghan keeps going from strength to strength here, which should finally result in a wider recognition outside their Finnish home-country. Dario

Circling back to some more guitar music of the instrumental orientation, we have a rather generic Progressive Metal affair with “Theories of Imperfection”, the second solo album of Greek virtuoso Gus Drax, known for his work with Sunburst and more. Calling it generic is in no way meant in a derogatory fashion, rather stating that the sound is quite a bit less experimental than the one heard on the two other Instrumental albums reviewed above (Poly-Math and Matten). The melodic sensibility of a 90’s John Petrucci and a bona fide shred attack don’t have to be mutually exclusive. High velocity rides like ‘Sombrero Attack’ with its orchestration and storytelling-like melodic intent also remind me of the fairly underrated Jason Kui. So in the end, this take on the more generic side of Instrumental Prog Metal turns out to be absolutely essential in composition, performance, and top notch production. One of the best offers in this kind of subgenre for a long time for sure, despite its title that might suggest otherwise. Dario

At the next stop on the instrumental journey of this Releases of the Week(s) edition, we dive into the epic Post Rock/Metal compositions of Belgian project We Stood Like Kings. Their newest album, “Pinocchio”, might come across as rhythmically quite repetitive here and there (yet always too heavy for that Kraut-feel), but the classically inspired piano harmonies elevate the whole affair far above their peers. A genius double-strike like ‘Raven’/’Poor Idiot’ almost feels like Beethoven on a dark Post Metal trip. Not too far apart if you think about it. A completely unique, yet absolutely mesmerizing approach to this kind of music. And a one of a kind inversion of their previous modus operandi (composing music to classic silent movies): this time, the music was composed first in order for animated live visuals to come to life. The current tour dates don’t indicate a stop nearby for me, but I’ll certainly jump at the chance of witnessing this work of audio-visual art live! Dario

Claiming that a band has reinvented a genre, that’s nothing new to read in a press blurb. There’s some merit at least with UK-based quartet HeKz from what I’m hearing on their extensive new double album “Quisma”. At least insofar that they don’t take the usual approach to what we’ve come to know as the sound of Progressive Metal since let’s say, “Images & Words”. A direct clash of Progressive Rock songwriting (those classic recurring Violin motifs) and pure Heavy Metal is definitely something I haven’t heard before, at least not executed in such sincerity and full realisation of this vision. With 97 minutes playing time, it does feel a bit long, especially in the middle of the first half, but there’s still some gems hidden on Disc 2 like the second epic ‘Overlord’, don’t you dare miss out on them. Conceptually, I’m getting huge Ayreon vibes (thanks to the computer voice), completing this feeling of deliberately going against the current Djent trend in Prog Metal. So this is a fun and refreshing diversion from the usual fare. Well done. Dario

Archspire’s search for a new Spencer (I mean drummer) might have just been the most televised new band member auditions in heavy music since Dream Theater were looking for a new Mike. In the end, Inferi were one Spencer short, but that didn’t stop them from launching a killer new album on the same day as the Tech Death overlords. As always, the horror vibes and orchestrations that are as epic as they are evil permeate their take on the genre and set them apart from their peers. “Heaven Wept” is another reassurance of dominance in my ears, even though it didn’t quite reach the impact of its predecessor “Vile Genesis” for me personally yet. One thing is certain though: They have already snatched the title of most hilarious music video of the year this time with ‘Rapture of Dead Light’.  Sorry Archspire. Dario

In 2023, I got to sit with Archspire’s Dean Lamb (guitar) and chat about where they’ll take the band after their last album, “Bleed the Future” from 2021. They had just fully established themselves atop the pinnacle to tech death. Since then, Archspire has gone independent, crowdfunding the album, and changed drummers in a highly internet-publicized process (with every drumming paragon vying for the high-profile slot). Fast-forward to the present, we now have the result in our hands.

Of course, it is extremely fast and produced to the max. The band is firing on all cylinders, most evident in the closing title track ‘Too Fast to Die”. New drummer Spencer Moore (ex-Inferi, among others) is filling his namesake predecessor Spencer Prewett ably, continuing the characteristic machine-gun blastbeats at mind-blowing tempos. Machine-gun is also the first thing coming to mind with vocalist Oliver Rae Aleron – including an acapella serving to start ‘Carrion Ladder’ in an impressive manner. But to limit a description of “Too Fast to Die” to the extremes would be cutting the album short. Archspire is also quite proficient in serving epic and memorable hook melodies and grooving slams, making the most frenzied sections accessible in context. Going beyond on a visual level, the hilarious content and music videos accompanying the music are quite entertaining as well. Tech Death as a genre may be quite saturated these days – when the reigning champs have an album to serve, it still warrants a spin or five. Bas

After an album heavily relying on ‘bang only’ (see Bas’ Archspire review above), it’s time to take the existential take on modern extreme prog by French quintet No Terror in the Bang, who masterfully show their ability to apply that bang just as well as the anticipation of it on their newest EP, simply called “Existence”. As Bob aptly stated in his full review of “Existence”, No Terror in the Bang were able to turn more than a few heads with their performance at ProgPower Europe 2024, and that was not only caused by the flying hair of vocalist Sofia Bortoluzzi. Her range of vocal style is nothing short of breathtaking, and she nails each one with jaw-dropping precision. And the frequent changes between screams, cleans and seemingly anything in between, is not just used as a gimmick. It is embedded perfectly in the cinematic storytelling songwriting wise. A powerful statement from a massively talented band that deserves to go far and wide! Dario

Seattle based quartet Witch Ripper is brewing their very own raw cocktail of Sludgy Prog Metal with a fair dose of Stoner and Heavy Metal vibes thrown in on their third full length album “Through the Hourglass”. The dosage of sludgy rawness, proggy quirkiness with anthemic hooks atop is excellently balanced, as shown exemplary in my favorite of the seven rippers on the album, ‘The Clock Queen’. If you’ve been longing for a fix of Mastodon-like fun, Witch Ripper absolutely got you covered and then some with “Through the Hourglass”. Dario

The mills of doom grind slowly. “IMMOBILISM” marks the second full length album of Italian Post Doom dealers ORGAN, eleven years after the release of their debut, “Tetro”. Unbeknownst to me until now, the Venetian quartet has managed to cultivate a droning, menacing sound that becomes more and more hypnotic, the further we progress into “IMMOBILISM”. Halfway into ‘Confessor’, it feels like the massive gates of an underground cathedral open up slowly. Or is it the great halls of Khazad-Dûm? In any case, even though no organs (read that as you will) were (ab)used in the making of this album (as far as I know), the guitar arrangements more than make up for it. A fitting and worthy conclusion of our excellent Instrumental (studio) run (coming to a desperate, dissonant crawl here) in this Releases of the Week(s) edition. Dario

Montréal sludge/death metal group Øbelisk released their sophomore (mini)-album on my birthday, and what a treat this is! I’ve been following these guys since catching their opening set for Trenchlung, and they blew me away. I spoke with their drummer Time Keeper VII about influences, and he mentioned that prog would soon be thrown into their sound. Now that I got to hear this new record “CALL TO OBLIVION“, the prog influences are undeniable. How refreshing it is to hear more metal bands with a crust punk background want to experiment with progressive metal in their songwriting. It’s gotta be said, the way the genres blend here is really nice. Some of the songs even get a little black metal at times as well. There’s lots to discover with this awesome outlet that Øbelisk have forged here, and I can’t wait for what’s to come further down the line! Colin

A dreamlike coda of our impressive instrumental run in this Releases of the Week(s) episode if you will, “Written Memories”, the new live-in-studio-EP by French quintet Bird Without A Song managed to capture my imagination with its calm beauty instantly. Their dreamy Post Rock with fluid, jazzy undertones is pure and soul-soothing. Close your eyes and drift away. Dario

Ok, here is another last-minute addition coda to wake you up again: “Live at Studio West” is the new EP by San Diego trio Tardigrade Collective. Nothing like some proper abrasive Jazz Metal to stimulate the mind and senses. Go get some! Dario