52 + 6 = 58 brand new releases mark a strong mid-January 2024

When was the last time that you were completely floored by an album of a band or artist you didn’t know prior to coming into contact with said album? I mean, having to pick up your jaw from the floor afterwards level floored. I can tell you easily: it was Slift’s fourth full length studio album “Ilion”, released last Friday via Sub Pob Records. Ok, I have to admit that the three singles ‘Ilion’, ‘Nimh’ and especially ‘Weaver’s Weft’ had me prepared a bit, still this counts as one of the most exciting finds for me in recent memory. The heavy psychedelic sludge trance rock of the trio from Toulouse that can touch the lofty atmosphere of their compatriots of Klone just as well as Crimsonesque harmonic lead guitar wizardry, paired with some of the most dynamic arrangements in a long time (‘Uruk’) is nothing short of sensational. All these superlatives don’t do it justice and I just can’t help it: the sonic worlds and universes, the musical cosmos that Slift is conjuring up on “Iion”, I’m completely and utterly obsessed with it. They exude an absolutely irresistible undertow, like a colourful black hole if that makes sense, with no chance of escaping it’s clutches. But I don’t mind at all. Swallow me whole and transcend my mind! Dario

Modern Progmetal/Djent #1 out of 3 for this week: Finnish trio External present their sophomore effort “Dreamscapes”, leaning heavily into melodic, sometimes electronic realms, not entirely unlike Modern Prog darlings of VOLA (‘Ghost House’), whose frontman Asger Mygind also handled the mix for this very album. Where the Danes have perfected their compact songwriting format into more and more succinct structures, the Finns are not afraid of experiments in sound (‘Limbo’) and most of all form, with the final epic ‘Hypnagogia’ evoking the likes of Leprous’ ‘The Sky Is Red’ with its massive final coda riff. Good stuff from a talented band that certainly has the potential of potentially profiting a lot from finding their very own voice on future External music. Dario

Modern Progmetal/Djent #2 out of 3: Heading from Charlotte, North Carolina, Vicarious found together nearly 10 years ago when the three members were still in high school. During the following period, while they lived far apart from each other, they managed to write music remotely, and now present their debut album, “Esoteria”, that is clearly characterized by various influences (like TesseracT, The Contortionist or Breaking Benjamin among others), but also by their ambitious, youthful playfulness. The final result might be best described as light-footed djent with some fusion impact, also offering dreamy parts as well as catchy melody lines to sing along. Even though they lose their focus every now and then over the full, 1 hour long playing time, this is still an impressive, diverse debut album, with the variety in their song-writing being best represented by the expressive ‘Clouds (Just Like Icarus)’, the wonderful, instrumental fusion piece ’52!’, as well as the mesmerizing ‘False Alarm’. But beware, this chorus could become your next earworm 😉 Katha

Modern Progmetal/Djent #3 out of 3 for this week: God Plays Dice, originally from Athens, Greece, now based in Chicago, finally dropped their debut album, “Objectiveness”. The first single, ‘Nescient’, was already released back in May 2022 and four more singles followed since, so they certainly took their time with completing the full album. Clocking in at just about 40 and a half minutes, but boasting 12 songs, they sure are on the shorter side and overall, especially in direct comparison with the two other highlighted Djent releases this week (see above), “Objectiveness” is without a doubt by far the heaviest/most brutal, without resorting too much to the Deathcore box of tricks. Still I’d expect frantic mosh pits abound if I ever saw them live, which I wouldn’t mind at all. Bouncy stuff. Dario

Ok well I’ve got one more sick release this week with some djent influences, yet the EP called “The Savant on Ketamine” by a project that goes by the unusual name I don’t do drugs, I am drugs. By far the most experimental of the four, very much befitting a project and EP with these kinds of names, a certain raw Devin Townsend variant actually might come closest to describing their sound. A kind of similar madness akin to the sound of Belgian rising Extreme Prog stars Omnerod (whose mainman Romain Jeuniaux also guest on one of the four songs) is present as well. Certainly not the worst artists to be compared with I’d say. Dario

Another debut album this week that’s made it into the Highlights! That’s 3 out of 6! Emerald City Council dives headfirst into Saxophone carried Prog Rock though after a cinematic intro graced by the inimitable voice acting of Star Trek legend Jeffrey Combs (Weyoun and Brunt on Voyager and a whole host of other characters throughout the years). The Emerald City Council is the brainchild of Brent Bristow (Professor of Music at Arkansas State University-Beebe), mainly on saxophones and keyboards, but it also boasts the talents of lead vocalist Jake Livgren (nephew of Kansas’/Proto-Kaw’s Kerry Livgren) on lead vocals and Noah Hungate (son of Toto’s David Hungate) on drums among others. Prog and Rock royalty by family association so to speak. But even without knowing the names of all involved, this should appeal to all fans of classic Prog Rock in the vein of RPWL, Neal Morse and the likes. Dario