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The second release week of March rolls in, overwhelming in quality and quantity

Releases of the Week 10/2024 with Turbulence, Universe Effects, Midas Fall, Argovia, Orna, Nick Johnston, Apogean, Lou Kelly, Observers, Vicinity, Myrath, Before the Dawn & Ecclesia
The second release week of March rolls in, overwhelming in quality and quantity

The week around March 8, 2024 was nothing short of epic, offering 64 new releases out of which our team picked 13! highlights. Read all about the broad offering in our mini reviews below,  and find them for your listening pleasure in our weekly updated Spotify Playlist. Enjoy!

https://theprogspace.com/rotw-playlist

Turbulence - B1nary Dream

08 March, 2024 | Frontiers Records

After Dario got carried away by his enthusiasm about Lebanese Progmetal masters Turbulence and their third album (read his in depth review here), the pleasure to open this week’s highlights is up to yours truly, leaving a few thoughts about “B1nary Dream” as well. Like its predecessor “Frontal” this is a concept album dealing with psychological themes, but told from the perspective of a robot called 8b+1, who is part of an experiment for binary dreaming during which we can follow his transformation from inanimate to sentient. The lyrics can be seen within the narrative, but also in a thought-provoking, metaphorical way to reflect on ourselves and the society we live in.

There’s an incredible energy within their musical story-telling that will take us through the whole record, and so does singer Omar El Hage, who even evolved his already expressive, versatile style since their previous masterpiece. Alain Ibrahim‘s guitar virtuosity and Mood Yassin‘s keyboard wizardry are absolutely mesmerizing, making their complex, diverse compositions accessible thanks to the easiness and feeling in their performance. The songs flow so smoothly into each other that I often forget at which track I am right now, just enjoying the moment. With one foot in classical inspired Prog, with the other in modern times, Turbulence offer Prog Metal perfection in all terms, whether seen from the technical, compositional, or emotional perspective. Highly recommended to dive in! Katha

Universe Effects - The Distance EP

04 March, 2024

Continuing with the first release of a Canadian band this week, and just as with Turbulence’s “B1nary Dream”, I’ve got to say I’m absolutely in love with “The Distance” as well, the new EP from Quebec based Progressive Rock band Universe Effects. Their secret weapon apart from stellar songwriting and great vocals overall is without a doubt all the extended keyboard and guitar solos that spark jazzy, ecstatic joy all the while flowing with somnambulistic ease. In terms of heaviness I’d say their sound clearly falls on the rocky side of things rather having a proper metal punch (especially in the guitar tone), for all its intents and purposes the riffs can get a tad djenty here and there without fully submitting to the heaviness that usually comes with it. Clocking in at just short of half an hour, the final 9-minute surprises with a unique orchestral grandeur previously untouched and at the end of it all I just wish for more of everything they’ve brought to the table so far. The melodies. The orchestrations. And the solos. God, the solos! With two previous full-length albums under their belt already from 2015 and 2018 (that I still have to check out), my hopes are high that this band is in it for the long run and I simply can’t wait for them to continue their musical path and hopefully being discovered by many more Prog fans along the way. Dario

Midas Fall - Cold Waves Divide Us

08 March, 2024 | Monotreme Records

Gloomy alternative prog/post rock duo Midas Fall from Scotland just released their fifth album “Cold Waves Divide Us” and, contrary to its title, listening to it makes me feel like warm waves are embracing me. Elizabeth Heaton’s vocal delivery is absolutely enchanting and there’s parts where it’s almost like someone exchanged A.A.Williams’ crushingly doomy moods to shimmering, ethereal atmospheres instead. Or if Loreena McKennitt suddenly started a Post Rock band. Where melancholy is most comforting and even a tad uplifting and empowering. That’s where Midas Fall’s music thrives and excels. That’s where I welcome it with open arms. Dario

Orna - In This Final Hour

08 March, 2024

Weaving intricate rhythms and harmonies together to create a unique sound, Denver, Colorado based quartet Orna surely knew how to pique my interest with “In This Final Hour”, their debut release. I must admit, after the second single ‘Erase’ I was a bit concerned this affair would end up being too Tool-ish overall, but luckily that fear has proven to be unfounded upon further inspection of the album. Vocalist Jessica Worland’s dark and full timbre especially makes it a thoroughly unique listen. A little bit more clearness in the distorted rhythm guitar production-wise would elevate the overall sound in future releases, so there’s still room improvement for sure. Meanwhile this first scent-mark is certainly a very pleasant one already. Dario

Argovia - Who We Are

07 March, 2024

Originating in Venezuela but meanwhile relocated to Colombia due to the ongoing difficult situation in their home country, prog rock quartet Argovia released their second album “Who We Are” last Friday. Featuring six songs with a total of 31 minutes of proggy alternative rock sounds, this is a cool album that should definitely appeal to fans of their Dutch counterparts like Golden Caves or Lesoir as well as a wider (prog) rock audience and deserves to be heard. Dario

Nick Johnston - Child of Bliss

08 March, 2024

Wonderfully relaxing guitar music comes from our second Canadian act this week: Nick Johnston’s “Child of Bliss” starts out with a ‘In The House, In A Heartbat’-esque little intro (‘Black Widow Silk’) before giving way to 7 more smooth instrumentals that are never distracting or overbearing in their technicality, yet display the advanced skills and all around amazing musicianship of everyone involved effortlessly, not only from the man himself on guitars and keyboards, but also his guest musicians like the legendary Thomas Lang on drums. Good stuff. Dario

Apogean - Cyberstrictive

08 March, 2024 | The Artisan Era)

Your weekly fix of blackened technical death metal comes from the stable of, how could it be otherwise, from the stable of The Artisan Era: Toronto based five-piece Apogean presents their debut full length album “Cyberstrictive”, and it’s a massive one! Ferocious extreme vocals that run the full gamut from brutal death growls to some rather black-ish shrieks paint sinister pictures above a proper technical instrumental onslaught excellently balanced with shifts in pace and energy. But whether the five Canadians blast their way at full speed, crush everything with brutal slow-motion breakdowns or give way for more melodic, yet eerily atmospheric parts, they always do so in an accomplished fashion and “Cyberstrictive” really should be a no-brainer to check out by all Tech Death enthusiasts. Dario

Lou Kelly - Never Was

10 March, 2024

One big part of the fascination of “Zon”, last year’s album by The World is Quiet Here was most certainly the maniacal vocal deliverance of Lou Kelly, who’s back now with a solo album entitled “Never Was”. This is an even more chaotic affair I’d say, as he calls himself a “creator of distracting background music” and the album an “afterthought of a concept album for a band that never was”. Genre tags include, but are not limited to experimental, death metal, orchestral rock and scum pop (whatever that is), to name but a few. Make out of that what you will, to get a proper idea of the full experience that it “Never Was”, you’ll have to listen to it anyway. So I’m sure you’ll know what to do if this description so much as tickled your interest. Dario

Observers – The Age of the Machine Entities

08 March, 2024

Space-themed, Instrumental Dark Metal with a stunning cover artwork by Ryan T.Hancock will easily spark my interest, so Observers’ debut album “The Age of The Machine Entities” quickly found its way to my headphones. This new project by Australian composer and guitarist Martin Kennedy, also featuring Chris Bohm on drums, bassist Rich Gray, and some amazing guest soloists, and takes us on a Metal reimagining of the classic “2001 A Space Odyssey”. For telling this epic without words, they use a variety of styles, from Post- over Prog- and Cyber- to even some hints of Black Metal, with the overall mood being mystical and gloomy. What clearly stands out is the great guitar playing carried by dense synth soundscapes, well supported by the smooth bass lines and the diverse drumming. While the first songs are rather straight-forward and powerful, things get doomy with track Number 6, taking us towards the journey’s atmospheric climax, the 11-minutes, cinematic ‘Metaphor II’, on which we can also hear a beautiful Ney. All-together a felicitous debut, recommended for the proggy space travelers out there. Katha

Vicinity - VIII

08 March, 2024 | Target Group

Sometimes, an album needs a second chance to go with… When I started listening to Vicinity’s “VIII” a while ago, intrigued by the marvelous cover artwork of Remedy Art Design, I somehow couldn’t find access to it, even though all ingredients should have been right up my alley. But Melodic Progmetal from Norway released by Mighty Music should be worth a second try, so returning to their music with fresh ears made me feel way more comfortable with it. Everything is done right here, from the excellent playing skills over the varied song-writing to the amazing vocal range. There are strong hints of Symphony X, Threshold, Anthriel or Odd Dimension sequences, and the full drum sound reminds me of Pyramid Theorem, but there are worse things to be compared with, isn’t it? 😉 Just sometimes the different parts stumble a bit into each other before everyone is back on track, and the album feels a bit too clean for me, which might have caused the initial distance. But there’s a lot to enjoy for a Progmetal fan – Give it a spin! (or two 😉 Katha

Myrath - Karma

08 March, 2024 | earMusic

One of this week’s releases is “Karma” by Myrath, a well-established prog metal collective who found their own unique sound with their second album, “Tales of the Sands”, and continued releasing very solid records ever since. The Tunisians combine melodic prog metal with the middle eastern themes and instruments, and “Karma” is their 6th studio album, released 5 years after “Shehili”.

Myrath stayed loyal to their sound in the new release, “Karma”, which can be described as a very powerful and uplifting record. It has all the components of a very solid album: great composition and melodies, Zaher Zorgatti‘s vocals still sounds great and unique, and the keyboard parts by Kevin Codfert also stand out.

“Karma” feels like a fairytale (and no, ‘Let it go’ is not a Frozen theme cover, although I’d love to hear that) which, while a bit predictable, leaves a very pleasant feeling. Myrath didn’t go out of their comfort zone on their record, except for “Words Are Failing”, which caught me off guard with its modern prog sound, although the song introduces the guitar solo, bringing us to the Myrath we know, but I loved how fresh the song sounded.

I can see myself returning to “Karma” in the future, which is a good sign, although it has some problems. First of all, the album cover looks to be AI-generated, which is a shame because Myrath always followed a certain style in their album art, and I just don’t understand why they decided to move away from it. Also, while Zaher’s vocals are impressive, there were a few moments, particularly at high notes, where it was clear he can’t quite handle it, and it could have been left out of the record, rather than being an ear scratcher.

Overall, a very solid album and I recommend it to those who like Myrath or melodic prog metal in general. Not quite as remarkable as “Tales of the Sands”, perhaps, but enjoyable nonetheless. Alex

Before the Dawn - Archaic Flame EP

08 March, 2024

Finnish melodic death/gothic metallers Before the Dawn released an EP around the song “Archaic Flame” on the 8th of March. Closely following their June 2023 release ‘Stormbringers’ the Fins show us that they’ve got their inspirational juices flowing after the reformation of the band in 2021 and that Tuomas Saukkonen found motivation again after disbanding the band in 2013. The song ‘Archaic Flame’ is one that fits neatly in line with previous Before the Dawn releases: heavy guitar-riff driven metal, edged on by pulsating drum fills that are at times syncopated to place the accent on different beats. Layered vocals by Paava Laapotti, who performed the band’s song Deadsong live on The Voice of Finland, seamlessly alternate between the deep growls and clean vocals in the choruses. The EP is spruced up further with a surprising Bryan Adams cover, ‘Run To You’ that stays surprisingly close to the original, and a live version of ‘Dying Sun’ originally from the 2008 album ‘Soundscape of Silence’ where Laapotti proves that his clean vocals weigh up against Lars Eikind in a live setting, and that his deep growling voice will shake the foundations of any venue they play. Is it prog? Maybe not. Is it one hell of an EP that flows seamlessly within their expansive back catalogue and is worth listening to? Definitely! Marcel

Ecclesia - Ecclesia Militans

08 March, 2024 | Aural Music

In 2020 anno Domini, the French band Ecclesia first appeared in my halls with their great debut “De Ecclesiæ Universalis”. Armed with purifying fire, blessed swords, and mighty riffs, they kept everything a bit mysterious including the band member’s names, but fitting to the overall concept of 12th Century dark medieval age and the Holy Inquisition. Album number 2 is called “Ecclesia Militans”, and continues seamlessly where the 1st record left off, delivering Heavy Metal in the veins of Judas Priest or Manimal with the one or other Doom detour, but also carried by the additional, epic organ sound. While the themes are rather grim, the music (besides the opening and closing sequence) is mostly straight forward and often catchy, quickly making head and feet moving. Even though they lose a bit of their initial high energy in between, like during ‘Antecclesia’ when things get too repetitive for me, most of the album is a great, powerful listen. So if you’re already familiar with Ecclesia, this is a strong follow-up for sure, and in case you’re new to their clerical Metal party, the six-piece might tickle your Power Metal needs. Recommended to play it loud! Katha

More releases for 08 March, 2024

  • Notio - Worldview (Inverse Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Soulvapor - Inner Soul
     Bandcamp  
  • Sun God Motel - Dissolve:Reform (March 06, Caretaker Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • A Blur Within - Distance From Self
     Bandcamp  
  • The Bardic Depths - What We Really Like In Stories (March 07)
     Bandcamp  
  • Rhùn - Tozzos
     Bandcamp  
  • Cell Press - Cages
     Bandcamp  
  • Bruise Bath - Unyielding Optimism
     Bandcamp  
  • TKTWA - Eukaryotic
     Bandcamp  
  • Pantheist - Kings Must Die EP
     Bandcamp  
  • Isenordal - Requiem For Eir​ê​nê (Prophecy Productions)
     Bandcamp  
  • Merrimack - Of Grace and Gravity (Season of Mist)
     Bandcamp  
  • Discernment - To Leave
     Bandcamp  
  • Doodseskader - Year Two
     Bandcamp  
  • Deliria - Phantasm
     Bandcamp  
  • Gost - Prophecy
     Bandcamp  
  • Skeletal Remains - Fragments of the Ageless (Century Media Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Shadohm - Through Darkness Towards Enlightenment EP (Selfmadegod Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Kelevra - Oneiric
     Bandcamp  
  • Lindy-Fay Hella & Dei Farne - Islet (Bynorse Music)
     Bandcamp  
  • Misophonia - (De)void of Peace
     Bandcamp  
  • Grey Skies Fallen - Molded by Broken Hands
     Bandcamp  
  • Uncle Woe - Oblivion and Further Desaster
     Bandcamp  
  • Erich Zann Ensemble - Bieber Sessions (Label Re-Release/Physical Release?)
     Bandcamp  
  • Screen Frogs - Subterranean Wreckage Amidst Stolen Hues
     Bandcamp  
  • Ancient Teeth - Humanizer
     Bandcamp  
  • Neil Campbell - The Smoky God
     Bandcamp  
  • Wade Black's Astronomica - The Awakening (ROAR! Rock of Angels Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Chatte Royal - Mick Torres Plays Too F***ing Loud (Kapitän Platte)
     Bandcamp  
  • Locktender - Sage: I EP (I Corrupt Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Space Kitchen - What's Cookin? EP (March 04)
     Bandcamp  
  • Dead Gallery - Golden Dawn
     Bandcamp  
  • Moonoises - She-The Void
     Bandcamp  
  • Serpents Oath - Revelation (Odium Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Slimelord - Chytridiomycosis Relinquished (20 Buck Spin)
     Bandcamp  
  • Head Spin - Refractor (March 04)
     Bandcamp  
  • Kollaps - AR (Fysisk Format Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Kōya - Fragments (March 09)
     Bandcamp  
  • 9 Lagoons of Death - If It Makes You Less Sad... EP (March 07)
     Bandcamp  
  • Pestilential Shadows - Devil's Hammer (March 04)
     Bandcamp  
  • Tomato Flower - No
     Bandcamp  
  • Garden of Souls - Anam Cara
  • Stephano Viola - Astral Planimetries
  • Exhorder - Defectum Omnium (Nuclear Blast)
  • The End Machine - The Quantum Phase (Frontiers Music)
  • Floya - Yume
  • Sonata Arctica - The Clear Cold Beyond (Atomic Fire Records)
  • Judas Priest - Invincible Shield (Sony)
  • Elegy - Forbidden Fruit (2024 Remastered)
  • Shadow of Intent - Elegy: The Soundtrack
  • TDK - Nemesta (Instrumental)

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About the Author

Dario

Co-Founder of The Progspace - Dario discovered the world of Prog upon hearing "Shine on you crazy diamond" for the first time at the tender age of 12 around the turn of the millennium. Coming from a musical family and brought up with classical music, this seemed to be the logical next step. Attended the school of www.progulus.com from 2002, delving into both directions: catching up with the history of already more than 30 years of progressive music as well as always staying up to date with the newest prog sounds. He loves meeting like-minded people and enjoying live music at a concert somewhere in Europe.

Katha

Passionate metalhead and concert visitor since the 90s - While the taste has changed and broadened over the years, the mesmerizing effect of music remained. Always searching for new musical treasures, but also digging a lot through older favorites, which are clearly rooted on the proggy side of the wide metal spectrum. Happy about the chance to spread the word for our beloved music at The Progspace.

AlexK

My name is Alex, living in Ireland, originally from Russia. I enjoy playing drums and seeing live music. My music taste was formed by the classic rock bands, such as Rainbow and Uriah Heep, then power metal phase, which became a bridge to more progressive music, with bands like Royal Hunt and Pain of Salvation getting me into prog. Now I enjoy progressive and post-rock and metal, and everything somewhat progressive, melodic or even power. Always open for expanding my horizons and seeing more bands live.

Marcel

Marcel is an insurance agent with the largest insurance company in the Netherlands. Yes, even people in insurance like progressive music! He grew up on his parents’ collection of Queen, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Metallica, Scorpions and eventually made his own way into the metal scene with first a love for all things power metal. Slowly his developing tastes lead him into the progressive metal scene and now has an eclectic taste ranging from progressive rock to tech death metal.

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