Debut albums, tech death, melodic prog, cosmic doom & one acoustic EP: 7 Highlights!

As The Ocean are about to leave their paleontological era behind with the upcoming closing chapter “Holocene”, there’s already another Berlin-based band to take over the baton. Ok that’s not entirely true, since Dark Side Bright Side’s self-titled debut full length is conceptually divided into two parts (no, not a dark side and a bright side though), with the second part diving into philosophical and psychological musings about death, grief and loss. With the help of VOLA’s Adam Janzi on drums, the duo consisting of Marco Gennaro and Enrico Tiberi managed to produce an intriguing first glimpse into their creative universe, showing a lot of promise with those 8 songs (plus 1 interlude). Definitely a name to be watched. Dario

Showing a lot of promise as well is our first French entry for this week’s Highlights. Élements is a young french band, emerged from mainman William Desprez’ solo project (“Phases”, 2020). Focusing on form and (vocal) arrangements in their compositions, the sound of the six songs (plus Intro & Outro) on “Nouvelle Ère” seems to be heavily influenced by the genre defining Norwegians of Leprous, while still retaining a uniqueness about it, most of all, but not only, because of the French lyrics. Atmospheric and full of almost ethereal ambiances and emotions, Eléments certainly deserve that spot on this week’s highlights with their debut album, “Nouvelle Ère”. Dario

Chicago quartet Rezn seems to find “Solace” in pursuing exercises in slowness and I’m here for it all the way. Floating in cosmic vastness that’s both endless and weightless as well as crushing underneath a monolithic weight. A sound and feel that seem- and effortlessly seems to combine these seemingly paradoxical qualities. But they pull it off with astute attention to detail in the massive soundscapes. A monumental achievement and a must listen for fans of the more psychedelic stoner and doom sounds. Dario

Over the past months, some outstanding French releases found their way to my ears, and Bordeaux-based technical death metal goliaths GOROD make no exception here, who now add album Number 7 to an already impressive discography. “The Orb” was released on March 8 and offers nine mind-blowing, diverse songs.

While the opening track ‘Chrematheism’ is still difficult to crack for me, but it surely might please fans of extreme death metal, they caught me with the following ‘We Are The Sun Gods’ and this wonderful instrumental interlude. From now on they lean more into a proggy direction, even though the overall sound is still brutal. The rhythmic side of their sound comes along hard-hitting, incredibly fast, but nevertheless groovy and varied, the guitars wander smoothly between devastating riffs and marvelous, virtuoso solos. By weaving in different elements like 80s inspired synth soundscapes, mesmerizing, calmer parts, or a gloomy waltz, they show a welcomed creativity in their songwriting and created a highly sophisticated, yet accessible piece of music.

It actually took several spins until “The Orb” fully clicked with me, but it was absolutely worth it to let it grow – What a blast! Katha

A totally unexpected return after 22 years: New York heavy prog (metal) outfit Ice Age is back with a killer third album entitled “Waves of Loss and Power”. With their debut album “The Great Divide” (1999) and sophomore effort “Liberation” (2001) counting amongst the most important releases of the classic Magna Carta era, this reunion means most welcome news for anyone enjoying the classic melodic prog metal sound of the 1990’s and early 2000’s, and “Waves of Loss and Power” delivers just that in spades. With a modern, yet faithful sound, mixed and mastered by prog audio legend Rich Mouser, any old school fans will rejoice to sink their teeth, or rather ears into this one hour plus feast of progressive rock/metal goodness. Dario

Cranking up speed and brutality a notch for this next Highlight would be an understatement: Demon King’s second EP “Vesania” is here and takes no prisoners, just as their 2021 debut EP “The Final Tyranny”. A proper The Artisan Era project, the trio with (ex-)members of bands like Inferi, Equipoise, The Faceless or Fallujah are all seasoned pro’s in the realm of technical death metal and fans of the genre are most likely familiar with their names and bands as well as their insane chops. 27 minutes 13 seconds of tech death bliss with the proper horror atmosphere to go along with it. The Artisan Era heart, what do you want more? Dario

For all those who might have missed “Nera”, the excellent album by French modern extreme proggers Atlantis Chronicles: their equally excellent new acoustic EP “Hybris” could act as a welcome reminder to check out their fully plugged stuff as well. Presenting metal songs in acoustic arrangements always reveals the core of the songs as well as putting focus on the melodies that might get a bit lost in all the heaviness otherwise. “Hybris” works well in presenting these songs in this different light and might just lure in more fans into the world of the Atlantis Chronicles. Dario