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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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