From exuberant to depressive, from delicate to brutal: 20 Highlights for the first part of June!

Once adjusted to their unique potpourri of styles, my ears can’t get enough of Ok Goodnight and their newest, third album “stop/go” that was released on June 12. A similar feeling to what happened when I discovered their previous work, “The Fox and the Bird”. The way this talented Boston-based quartet manages to make everything feel exuberant and ecstatic yet somehow effortless and laid back at the same time is simply phenomenal. A modern, alternative take on all things Prog (and not), a much needed live-cell therapy for a genre frequently proclaimed dead. A huge month-long North American tour with special guests Lux Terminus, Snooze and The Anchoret (and support from Eve who will also guest on lead guitar) will start on Oct. 28 in Boston and I simply can’t wait to finally catch Ok Goodnight live on their next European run. Dario

From the exuberant and ecstatic to the somber and depressive. London based singer/songwriter A.A. Williams has been not only a solid purveyor of doom and gloom with her music for quite some years. Even more so, her musical takes on deep and heavy feelings proved time and again to be some of the most profound sonic explorations in recent memory. Four years after the masterpiece that was “As The Moon Rests”, A.A. Williams is back with “Solstice”. And no matter how ‘straight’ her music might be (for a website specialized in Prog music anyways), it always finds its way straight into my black heart. I feel understood and comforted. With so many emotions crushing down on you, be it while listening to a studio version or even better, immersing yourself in the sounds during a live show, it might be hard sometimes to hold it together. So in a way, this kind of music holds the power to crush you. Only to pick you up again in a single sweep and nurse you back to strength. Dario

An unexpected but welcome surprise was “Hollow Drift”, the second album from US Proggers Artificial Silence. Eight years after their acclaimed debut album “Negative Space”, the trio from Tacoma, Washington explores a wide, eclectic array of contemporary prog sounds, including delicate strings and with ‘The Shadow’ even one of the most intriguing and unique a cappella arrangements I’ve heard in a while. The titular epic that makes up almost the entire second half of the album, starts off with some alternative vibes that leave me a bit indifferent, but soon finds its way drifting back to exciting, quirky, diverse waters. Welcome back! Dario

Once again a similar shift in gear, from fun and quirky to dirgy and doomy. “Dreams & Limitations” is also a sophomore effort that took some time, in this case Sleeping Pulse had 12 years since their debut “Under the Same Sky”. The international duo comprised of Mick Moss (Antimatter) and his wonderful voice as well as Portuguese composer Luís Fazendeiro used their time wisely apparently, as the outcome is absolutely beautiful. Somewhere between Doom, Post and Prog, they’ve carved a cozy niche for themselves and their melancholy sounds. Autumn vibes in this year’s summer heat. Feels good in the shade. Dario

I’m pretty sure, the one by Artificial Astronaut is the single-most Spotify bio with the biggest understatement ever: “Modern Rock from Modern Dads”. On their newest EP entitled “When The Familiar Ends”, the Pandemic-child from Colorado is blasting through six most excellent Alternative Prog Rock bangers that don’t need to hide behind more well known established contemporaries of the genre like Pure Reason Revolution or Porcupine Tree. If anything, they show a mature and unmissable talent for absolutely succinct songwriting. Catchy and engaging, these dads have done exceptionally well putting together familiar sounds in a new fashion on “When The Familiar Ends”. Dario

1 ½ years after the release of their debut album “Ein Abdruck vom Messer im Herzen”, Berlin based Instrumental Prog Metal Avantgardists Tonnen von Hall are back with five reworks of songs from that album – and the illustrious names of guest musicians should already make clear where this is headed sonically: Jan Zehrfeld (Panzerballett), Sally Gates (Titan to Tachyons) and Jørgen Munkeby (Shining NOR). “Donnermesser”? More like “Donnerwetter”! (A German expression of amazement). Dario

About 45 minutes of tasty Instrumental Prog/Fusion Metal comes out of Hungary from drummer Oliver Zisko and his new album, “PLAN(e)T-based”. Back in April, we premiered the single ‘Fake 5’ on The Progspace, and now I’m very happy to report that the full album is able to hold that staggering level of complexity and accomplishedness. But this is not only an album for drummers. World-class bassists like Robin Zielhorst (ex-Cynic, Exivious, Our Oceans) or Anthony Crawford (Allan Holdsworth, Virgil Donati) leave their mark as well as top notch guitarists. Only Derek Sherinian’s x-hundredth solo with the same lead sound feels a bit unnecessary and redundant, I must admit. Elsewhere, ‘Metacognitive’ states are in reach. Dario

It’s a bold move for a new djenty Extreme Prog band to call their very first single ‘Bleed’. But with “Merge Conflict”, their first full length album, Amsterdam based newcomers Demichron fulfill that promise with ease. Some faint hints of The Ocean and Haken in the more melodic parts, but other than that, it’s a full-on assault on your neck muscles. One that doesn’t feel like a debut album at all. Well done! Dario

Bulgarian Post Prog Folk Doom? A band called Smallman? That does ring a bell, as I vividly remember their 2016 performance at ProgPower Europe. Truth be told, it was not anyone’s cup of tea back then, but I for one enjoyed their hypnotising show. And even if I enjoyed it very much, I must admit that I didn’t follow their next steps very closely. Then again, there hasn’t been anything apart from two standalone singles in 2019 and 2021. But now they’re back in full force with their fourth full length album “Отвъд” (“Beyond”), twelve years after “Envision”. And their sound hasn’t lost a bit of its primal power. If anything, it has gotten even doomier than before. About the only environment I can stand a bagpipe sound in my metal, the whole album is drenched in pure atmosphere channeled from nature and spheres beyond alike. The crowning achievement in Smallman’s discography so far and well worth the wait. A vital and intriguingly unique voice in underground metal that deserves to be heard! Dario

In the last few years, the French trio SLIFT have established themselves as one of the most recognizable names to emerge from Toulouse’s underground scene. With their 4th full-length album, “Fantasia”, they already have a discernible sound, but also leave enough room for further experimentation. While it can be considered a bit more condensed than its predecessor “Ilion”, this record is a fantastic ride. The runtime of the tracks is shorter, but each of them still carries that immersive psych rock feeling that seem to bend and stretch time. The band blends sludge, psychedelic, prog and even a bit of punk really well. You get some trance-inducing melodies, followed up by dynamic, loud, expressive moments and even some catchy refrains.   While the listener can melt in the fizzy, familiar sounding riffs, some of the vocal attacks bring you back to reality quickly. As if in an emotional, almost desperate attempt, the vocalist Jean Fossat is pleading for unity and peace. This album seems to carry more direct messages, focusing on societal issues like xenophobia, apathy and lack of unity. What keeps the balance between the real and the magical is the sci-fi city narrative that is created. The band draws inspiration from the author Jorge Luis Borges, as the title of ‘Orbis Tertius’ shows. For me, “Fantasia” is not a work of escapism or hyperbolic doomsday scenarios. It’s honest and upfront, simple in its message, but imaginative and engaging in its delivery. Evelina

Before we dive into all sorts of brutality and heaviness, let’s relax for a moment with “The Pendulum Effect” Canadian Instrumental trio Big Space. Recorded completely live in the studio with no overdubs, the trio’s second album captures the essence of their lively interplay somewhere between jazzy instrumental rock and relaxed posty bits excellently. Dario

After giving this modern Progressive Death Metal outfit’s 2023 release “Labyrinth” a closer look, their latest full-length “Black Galactic” caught my attention. They’re back with the expected, rhythmically chugging – meets – ethereally deep spacy synth flavors in a focused and hard-hitting package. As the discovery days of “Djent” are quite far in the past, and this style is not running on novelty anymore, I’m glad to hear Dissentient avoiding the path of “even more” and focusing on proper quality. There’s a reasonable sense of organics in the production (respective to the genre, of course), the heaviness is coming from a clearly recognizable pattern not requiring a math degree, and the tasteful songwriting makes a full run-through listen of the album enjoyable. Most of the material is focused and concise in feel and vibe, “Black Galactic” nicely lays out a heavy pathway to prime the listener’s ears for a highly dynamic finale: The 11 minute closer ‘Integration’ rewards the attentive listener with a proper space opera. Bas

Probably the biggest left-field surprise of all the highlights in this edition was Maneating Orchid from Bangalore, India with their new album “Cold Logic”. Somehow Avantgarde Mathcore and Voivodian Cyber Tech Thrash at the same time, they blast through elevenn mostly very short miniature panopticons as if there was no tomorrow. I don’t think ever enjoying an album as much with as many songs clocking in at less than three minutes. A glorious, dissonant, cyber-apocalyptic feast for inclined ears. Dario

Completing this triplet of extremities is “Hermetic Transmutation”, the newest beast from Connecticut, USA based quintet Xenosis. If you need more brutal death metal in your insane extreme prog, then they’ve got you covered and then some. It is a brutal gift that keeps on giving, not compromising on brutality, nor on neckbreaking complexity. A perfect, chaotic balance that throws you off the expected path more than once during this intense “Hermetic Transmutation”. Dario

Up until the very last moment I was unsure whether to include “Circadian Promise” in these highlights of the first half of June or not. Too plenty seemed the generic Melodic Death Metal bits for this particular reviewer’s ears. But something kept dragging me back to it, and that was just everything else that was not mid-tempo guitar melodies with some growling on top. And those parts revealed themselves little by little to be way bigger than whatever it is that can’t seem to hold my interest for long. Add to that my amazement that Fires In The Distance actually shared a release gig with above-mentioned Xenosis, and suddenly I found myself unable to omit this epic release from the highlights. I finally came to the conclusion: absolutely no doubt about it: this album belongs right here among the best of June 2026! Dario

From the whimsical to the epic, somewhere between RPWL, a mellow Ayreon and the rich Folk Prog heritage of their native UK (insert a tiny hint of Blind Guardian there as well, but I don’t know where exactly): British Prog Rockers of Gandalf’s Fist went all in with their newest release, a full on 45 minute suite of epic Progressive Music called “The Lamplighter Suite”. Just like Green Carnation’s “Light of Day, Day of Darkness”, this one is categorized as a “Single” by Spotify, but nothing could be further from the truth. This is the full package, the complete deal. An album’s worth of Progressive Rock music with lots of themes and intricacies to discover over multiple spins, as it should be. Dario

From Shoegazey delicacy to outright rocking: Swedish Post Rock duo Oh Hiroshima presented their sixth album “And The Dead Tree Gives No Shelter” back in June via (where else?), Pelagic Records of course. Its playfulness and emotional warmth is very endearing and inviting, and even though I’m usually not the biggest fan of this kind of classic or pure Post Rock (what else could a band with that kind of band name and album title play, really?), especially with those distinct Indie/Alternative leanings, but found myself enjoying this quite a bit when in the mood for something more relaxing. Dario

Even more built on fragile, delicate guitar sounds and even bigger of a household name in the realms of Post Rock: Mono of Japan. They are already at the their 13th album with “Snowdrop”, and slight detours from their celestial, ethereal, orchestral Post Rock sound like the Mellotron-drenched first half of ‘Winter Daphne’ suit them just as well as the home turf sound that they’ve pretty much perfected. A welcome and inevitable feast for lovers of the genre. Dario

Being neither well-versed in Voivod nor orchestral music, this album came into my listening rotation as a bit of an odd-ball. Resisting the obvious comparison to Metallica’s “S&M”, I dove into “Symphonique” with as much of an open mind as possible. Quite striking, the role of the orchestra is very prominent here. The resulting soundscape is barely recognizable from a plain Metal-band expectation; it’s an entirely different thing. As the extensive ‘The End of Dormancy’ evolves into a full-on adaptation of Holst’s ‘Mars, the Bringer of War” (yet another connection to Metallica via ‘Am I Evil?’?), I was surprised to find myself enjoying this unusual sonic territory. If you’re feeling in a rut on your standard Rock-band fare and a grandiose production sounds like an interesting change-up, give “Symphonique” a try! Bas

Almost a year ago, it was time again for the bi-annual pilgrimage of all Ayreonauts to Tilburg in the Netherlands, this time for “30th Anniversary – An Amazing Flight Through Time”, a best of program from all of Arjen Anthony Lucassen’s extensive discography cut in two: the first half with deep cuts that were never played live before, and the second half filled to the brim with fan-favorites. As always, a full review of all the highlights of this massive 2 ½ hours undertaking would easily take up the length of a novel. So I’ll just mention three: Wudstik, Heather Findlay & Dino Jelusick. Everything else is a given in the Ayreon universe for all the spoiled Ayreonauts. Naturally, with over 200 songs to choose from, the risk of Arjen & Joost not exclusively picking your very own absolute favorites for live treatment and making some questionable choices along the way (‘Day Six: Childhood’ and ‘Into the Black Hole’ mutilated). But as I just said, we’re just spoiled rotten in any case with the insane amount of talent on stage – and the consistency of an exceptional discography. The icing on the cake as always: the a cappella finale with 12 world-class singers (ok, 11 plus Arjen 😉 ) – and you simply want them to go on forever. Remember? If you weren’t there or want to re-live it: put in your BluRay or hop over to YouTube. And be strong now, as we just learned that the bi-annual gap between Ayreon live fixes is going to be broken next year. But fret not, rejoice: a brand new Ayreon album is in the works. A worthy cause for celebration with this Amazing Flight Through Time or any other Lucassen album of your choice. Dario