March 31, 2023: 60 releases, 10 highlights! And April is promising to keep up a similar rate!

According to the dictionary, a “Gallimaufry” is “a confused jumble or medley of things”, a very fitting name for Poh Hock’s new EP. Best known for his work with Native Construct and Replacire, on this 4 songs plus ‘foreword’ release, the Boston based guitarist and composer/songwriter displays masterfully not only his guitar chops, but also his talents as composer, presenting seemingly jumbled and confused bits in a very concise manner. An orderly chaos so to speak. Or rather a chaotic kind of order? Anyways, co-produced by Simon Grove (Plini etc.), it sounds absolutely gorgeous and hits absolutely the right spot for adventurous classical/jazz/r’n’b/whacky prog metal, with and without vocals. The insane musical level matches that of The Resonance Project from the other US coast, so if you’ve been craving more music in that vein, you should have plenty of fun with Poh Hock’s “Gallimaufry”. Dario

Four songs, almost one hour playing time: that could only be a prog record. Or a post rock album. NevBorn’s “Alkaios · Part I · The Eagle” somehow combines the best of both worlds musically speaking, but the Swiss-based collective is on an even bigger journey conceptually. “The Eagle” is only the first part of the ambitious “Alkaios” trilogy, diving deep into the 12 labors of Heracles. “The Peacock” and “The Lion” are going to follow in the coming years. But that’s not enough, each of the songs are even accompanied by an individual artwork from different designers. An all around project of art and I’ll be sure to watch out for the other two parts, since I’m really digging the first installment already. Mastered by Cult of Luna’s Magnus Lindberg in Sweden, “Alkaios · Part I · The Eagle” comes highly recommended for fans of progressive metal and post rock/metal alike. Dario

Hailing from the basque country, Lampr3a is a guitars/chapman stick/drums trio that plays technical, complex, yet heavy instrumental music. Equal parts like a technical death metal band without vocals and modern instrumental fusion metal in the vein of Animals As Leaders, the three highly skilled musicians present eight highly engaging tracks on “ESnSE”, their full length debut. Always groovy in all the complexity and technicality, Lampr3a never lose sight of hooks, melodies and leads, even their riffing has a melodic side to it, as can be heard in ‘KOE’ right before Jorgen Munkeby’s (Shining NOR, Emperor) saxophone enters for some extra spice. Other guest musicians include the talents of Angel Vivaldi, Stephen Taranto (The Helix Nebula) and EÖL (Elffor, Numen) and those names are a perfect indicator of the level of quality we’re talking about here. An exciting new name in the instrumental prog metal game: Lampr3a! Dario

Continuing our instrumental theme for a bit with “Against All Odds”, the new EP from a new duo project that goes by the name Shizzo. Following a string of singles in 2022, this little 15 minute EP shows the stylistic range from which guitarist Aldo Smok and drummer Mau Garcia draw their influences: Plini-esque instrumental guitar prog, pop, r’n’b, hip hop, electronic music: just a lot of fun with no boundaries style wise. Naturally, this comes highly recommended to fans of the likes of Polyphia and Unprocessed as well. Dario

After having earned his spurs on guitar with different projects, YouTube and teaching, German based multi-instrumentalist and composer Martin Miller opens a new chapter by sharing an album that is called “Maze of My Mind”, and sees him also on keyboards, bass, and especially behind the mic. The conceptual idea is about the journey of becoming a different person, bettering oneself, with all its ups and downs until you eventually succeed. The music has a strong positive vibe, sometimes reminds me of bands like Journey or Toto in style, is smoothly composed throughout the whole record, but nevertheless with a great variety. Beautiful synth soundscapes, lighthearted riffs, and the diverse drumming of Sebastian Lanser (Panzerballett, Obsidious, ex-Obscura) build the basis for the songs to evolve with accessible, yet expressive melodies. I was surprised to learn it was the first time Martin took over the vocal duties, but hopefully it won’t be the last, as his performance is absolutely wonderful, coming along with a wide range and a warm, soulful tone. Considering his musical background, it’s interesting that his great guitar skills step back for the overall context, only getting some spotlight during the marvelous solo parts. With “Maze of My Mind”, Martin Miller created a mesmerizing piece of music to bring some light into the prog-loving hearts, highly recommended to check it out.  Katha

A progressive rock band from the land of the thousand lakes/the land of the thousand extreme metal bands (Finland)? Oh yes yes, they exist! This particular finnish prog rock band goes by the name Overhead and the five Finnish musicians already have five full length albums under their belt since the release of their debut album “Zumanthum” back in 2002. Now, a bit more than 20 years later, they present “Telepathic Minds”, a brand new double CD full of melodic, heavy prog rock goodness. Some shorter songs sport more of a nice forward driving hard rock energy (complete with some spicy semi-growls, which might prove to brutal for the distinguished prog purist), but as soon as vocalist Alex Keskitalo brings out his flute, or Jere Saarainen some sweet hammond sounds, the prog is on! Clocking in with a total playing time of 1 ½ hours, “Telepathic Minds” definitely has enough diversity between and within the songs (including two epics that crack the 10 minute mark, one for each CD), to keep you entertained throughout. Showing their western neighbors that there’s as much prog in the Finnish lakes as in the Swedish woods and Norwegian fjords, Overhead’s “Telepathic Minds” has got all the ingredients to earn a top spot in some 2023 Prog Rock Album of the Year lists, I’m sure. Dario

London’s progressive metal outfit Sermon exploded onto the scene seemingly out of nowhere in 2019 with their debut album, “Birth of the Marvellous”. Four years later, the duo return with their follow up album, “Of Golden Verse”. Sermon is the brainchild of the anonymous vocalist and guitarist, known only as “Him”, with the help of drummer James Stewart, formerly of Polish death metal band Vader. Together, the duo create a ritualistic album, seething with atmosphere and slow building passages, that all payoff with emotionally powerful choruses and technically impressive riffs and solos. Sermon are certainly progressive at their core, but clearly use strong influences of gothic doom within their music, most notably through the riffs and the ritualistic style of the album . The duo even use various ambient interludes in between their full length tracks to add to the overarching atmosphere. Whilst the anonymity and ritualistic nature may typically lend itself to the likes of Sleep Token or Ghost, stylistically they’re much more similar to the likes of Soen, Katatonia, and even the later works of Porcupine Tree. Of Golden Verse is not only an extremely unique progressive metal album, but it builds perfectly from their debut in terms of songwriting and musicality, and I can’t wait to hear what’s to come from the London duo in their next chapter. Sam

The members of Swedish progmetal act Vedalia already played music together for 10 years before they released their debut “Radiance” in 2017, and now offer their second record for our listening pleasure. “Cormorant” is announced as a retro-futuristic concept album, and shows a great development of the band regarding song-writing and playing skills since their last effort. The music might be best described as progressive powermetal with a modern approach, as they don’t shy away to add some melodeath, pop or symphonic elements. The vocals are a mix of clean and growled, with the latter adding a good pinch of expression to the overall sound. Even though there is the one or other length in between, most of the album has a great dynamic throughout the 10 tracks, especially during the virtuoso, instrumental parts. My favorite songs are the powerful ‘ICE-7’, ‘Current: Severance’ with its Haken and tech death vibes, and the catchy, yet proggy ‘Dreams of the Known’. All-together an amazing journey, and you’re welcome to join 🙂  Katha

Holding up the flag of pure post rock/metal this week is Montreal’s Milanku with their new album “À l’aube” (“At Dawn”), which we had the pleasure of premiering exclusively here at The Progspace one day ahead of its release. Presented in five parts between 5 and 10 minutes, “À l’aube” knows how to captivate the imagination with dreamy post-tremolos and vast arcs of tension. The sparse use of anguished screams make their impact even more harrowing, and the guest vocals of Erika Angell (Thus Owls) in the final part ‘nous sommes disparus’ (‘we disappeared’) is clearly the crowning moment of the album. Definitely a release no post rock fan should miss. Dario

Just as surprising as the original release on April 1st 2016 (which was no April Fools either), international extreme prog innovators Slice the Cake just dropped a brand new remaster of their seminal, genre defining masterpiece “Odyssey to the West”, 7 years after its original release. And as much as it hurts to be reminded, that the chances for new StC music are very, very slim, every listen of this 1 hour 17 minutes monster is a life changing experience in itself, even more so now with the new master, revealing even more nuances in every instrument, most of all in Gaia Mason’s haunting, jaw dropping vocal performance. Excuse my french, but “Odyssey to the West” is an emotional tour de force par excellence, seamlessly going from lush, atmospheric acoustic bits to insanely brutal deathcore bits (and everything in between) in a matter of seconds, and every opportunity to talk (or write) about this opus magnum is very much welcomed. There’s rarely ever an album that reaches such perfection and that is innovative in both sound design and storytelling wise at the same time. “Odyssey to the West” is one of the most important metal albums of the new millennium and the new remaster only cements this status further. Absolutely exceptional. Dario