16 Highlights from the first half of April 2025

The French masters of Philosophical Melodic Progressive Technical Death Metal, or Fractal Universe for short, are back with their fifth full length release, “The Great Filters”. And what was quite obvious already with their 2019 sophomore effort “Rhizomes of Insanity”, once more manifests itself in jaw-dropping fashion: there are few bands out there who can match the Nancy based five-piece when it comes to that perfect mix of technical prog madness, bouncy riffs galore and sultry sax awesomeness. 45 minutes of absolute perfection, culminating in a Judgement Day that is ‘Dissecting the Real’. So there’s only one logical conclusion: immediately dive deep into this masterpiece of an album and check out Evelina’s in depth review while you’re at it: https://theprogspace.com/fractal-universe-the-great-filters/ Dario

The magic of their 2022 breakthrough album “Close” still in the back of my mind, I was excited to learn about a new Messa album and live dates. On their way to Roadburn, they stopped in Munich for a little warm-up gig about halfway there. (Check out our gallery here: Messa live in Munich 2025)  With the songs from “The Spin” being played live for the very first time there, there was seemingly even more magic in the air than on your average Messa gig I felt. On the other hand I can’t really imagine a Messa mass without that special chemistry in the air. Vocalist Sara and guitarist Alberto front and center make those new songs a feast for the auditory senses once more, and give those expertly crafted compositions a truly shining finish. Messa is Psychedelic. Messa is Doom. Messa is Blues. Messa is Prog. Messa is Black Metal. Messa is Jazz. Messa is Gothic. Messa is Post Punk. Messa is Dark Wave. Messa is Ambient. Messa is not a mess. Messa is mesmerizing. Messa is simply Messa. And I wouldn’t want it any other way. Absolutely spellbinding. Dario

Perhaps one of the biggest surprises lately with their fresh and unique take on math-y Prog: Italian quintet Benthos and their Inside Out Music label debut “From Nothing”. With Keli (Agent Fresco)-like hyperactive drums as the driving foundation, the nine tracks (plus intro ‘It Begins’, interlude ‘Recompose’ and outro ‘It Ends’) unfold like a colorful bouquet of flowers, overflowing with creativity and flamboyance in a triangle between Post Hardcore, Mathcore and Progressive Metal that’s brimming with electricity. It’s a small miracle that the five-piece from Milan make it all sound so effortless and coherent. Benthos is a rising star about to stir up the Prog scene big time. Kudos to the Inside Out scouts for this brave signing, you might have just struck gold with this one! Dario

Simply calling them the “Chilean TesseracT “ somehow feels quite accurate but also falling short of the vast variety of their sound at once: Intrascendence from Santiago de Chile released their impressive self-titled debut album on April 7, and upon the first notes of the opener ‘Believing to See’, they struck a chord with me. Their djenty Cinematic Progressive Metal also reminded me of the immensely underrated Australian outfit Breaking Orbit and their 2015 masterpiece “Transcendence” (coincidence?) who are long overdue with a follow-up release. The stunning artwork by Camilo Valdés captures the cosmic yet introspective essence visually in breathtaking fashion. Definitely a band to watch out for. Dario

I have waited very eagerly for the release of Tómarúm’s sophomore release to finally arrive, while singer/guitarist Kyle Walburn had been telling me about it since their debut drop in 2022, which was my album of the year. “Beyond Obsidian Euphoria” is a continuation from that debut album, sharing the deep emotions expressed like previously, but with a switch around of being more focused musically in the technical death metal realms, as opposed to the melodic black metal approach on “Ash in Realms of Stone Icons”. It’s not a dramatic shift though; it feels natural, since both albums do share elements of the two subgenres in their own way, while also balancing the progressive metal songwriting they have been identified with using, compared to the likes of Ne Obliviscaris and An Abstract Illusion. While a little more polished this time around, it gives purpose to the astounding performances of the band as a whole, because it is impressively precise! As for the quality of the compositions, it doesn’t fall flat at all. I may still have a soft spot for the debut album at this moment, but this follow-up is a necessary one, and it absolutely delivers. Colin

Rarely has the cover artwork and especially the title of an album been so accurate as it’s the case with Samtar’s new album “The Bog of Cosmic Delusions”. I don’t know how or why, but there’s a certain sultry, swampy quality oozing out of every pore of the music evoking images of mysterious bogs and forests, just like the one you can see on the cover artwork. Central figure, wizard and mastermind Sam dominates the songs with his crooning, compelling vocal performance, making this Heavy Prog Rock effort really stand out. Dario

With a mix of original compositions and cover versions of handpicked songs from jazz legends like John Coltrane or Carla Bley, Chicago based Prog/Jazz Fusion trio Sons of Ra finally presents their debut full length after no less than four EPs. Following the excellent release of their latest EP “Tropic of Cancer”, “Standard Deviation” surely provides ample musical relief for Prog- and Jazzheads alike. Dario

Just about 2 ½ years after their last, excellent album “Diversum”, Norwegian Gothic/Prog/Black/Pagan Metal quintet In The Woods… is back with another collection of songs, “Otra”. Leaning more into their Gothic side this time, some of the outcome (like parts of ‘Let Me Sing’) relies a bit too much on that basic 4/4 groove for my taste. Elsewhere, I’m finding myself very much vibing with and dreaming away to that special melancholy atmosphere they manage to evoke throughout. So if you need something to tide you over until the next Green Carnation album, this might just do the trick. Dario

Radioactive Chernobyl themed Brutal Tech Death? One might think this very specific topic could exhaust itself with one album. Five albums later, Cytotoxin is still going strong, almost positively glowing though. The quintet from Chemnitz has perfected their formula of a very tasty balance of pummeling brutality and razor-sharp technical precision, blasting through nine brand new wrecking ball bull(over)dozer hymns on “Biographyte”. If you’re able to see them live and spot vocalist Grimo with a road sign of a roundabout – you’ll know what to do. Dario

Even though they’re hailing from the complete opposite part of Sweden, Gothenburg-based five-piece Limbo seem to have studied the music of their country mates Meshuggah quite a bit (or should I say, extensively?). Seven years after their self-titled debut and 5 years after the standalone single ‘A Thousand Windows’ that we premiered here on The Progspace (present here as well in a remastered version), my memory deceived me into somehow thinking Limbo had some clean vocals interspersed with the vicious streaming attack. On “Elicit”, they quickly disperse any of these false notions though: Progressive Death Djent all the way through. Welcome back! Dario

Holy Possum! The relatively tame opener ‘What We’re In For…’ doesn’t prepare you at all for what is awaiting you on the rest of “Southern Progress”, the new album from Nashville based crazyheads Flummox. But then again, nothing really could. Especially the closing double ‘FLUMINDALË/Coyote Gospel’ is as unhinged as it gets. Still no idea how Flummox sounds? Right, I haven’t thrown around any genre descriptors or comparisons yet. But with a band as genre-defying as Flummox, meaning: they practically invented the word, it would be either completely futile, or exceed the tiny scope of this mini review, and explosively so. A wild ride that needs to be experienced to be believed. Dario

Snooze with their latest release “I know how you will die” probably will not be able to put you to sleep. The band calls themselves “Meshuggah in major” and while it’s a mad statement, I can see some similarities, with mindblowing polyrhythms and sudden dark turns. What starts as a happy math rock song, might out of the blue do a 180 and shout in your face. Was I confused listening to it? Of course. Did I have fun? Definitely. This album ambitiously tries to keep my attention, while being technically complex, and it definitely succeeds at that. Alex

With a band name like Soliloquium, an album title like “Famine” and a website simply called https://deathdoom.com/ signs clearly point to: this is not gonna be a happy affair. Diligently churning out albums in a bi-annual cycle since their 2016 debut “An Empty Frame” (except for the three year gap between the previous effort, 2022’s “Soulsearching”, and the brand new album in question here), Soliloquium delivers an album that completely indulges without fault in the purest realms melancholic Death Doom and should be lapped up more than willingly by fans of the genre. Dario

Berlin based instrumental Post/Sludge Metal trio rýr combines crushing heaviness with ethereal ambience on their new, third album “dislodged”. Shoulders, knees, elbows might become dislodged under the massive weight of the riffs, only to be healed again by the fragile beauty of the atmospheric ambient tones peeking through here and there. A colossal experience. Dario

Blood Abscission are new to my radar, and are quite new in general to the music scene, releasing their sophomore full-length album titled “I I”. As a follow-up to their debut release in 2023, which was a stellar offering, they manage to up the game with a near-perfect array of songs. What you’ll find on this record is some emotional, yet brooding and aggressive atmospheric black metal, with production that presents itself as something that would fit with your “trve kvlt” fanbase, and for those who are looking for something that presents the overall talents of the band. In other words; it’s raw yet punchy, and sounds great. The atmospheres presented on here lean towards beauty over darkness, but there are definitely darker passages that make this album varied in feel. The performances are well done, and I unfortunately can’t credit any individuals for how they play, as the project itself is anonymous. While not too technically proficient, the songwriting is engaging enough to help those not as adapted to the genre to find new ways of appreciating black metal. If you don’t get tired of blast beats and fast double bass playing, I invite you to get lost in the art of sonic passions expressed through painful screams. Colin

When even Uncle Einar (Solberg/Leprous) is mightily impressed by the sheer amount of talent present at such a young age: Ihsahn and Starofash’s 17 year old son Angell Solberg Tveitan single-handedly slays through the four tracks of his debut demo EP “Veiled by Woe”, composed and performed entirely by himself. The ingredients are well-curated from the finest of Black, Death and Progressive Metal (no wonder given his family background, poured into already scarily accomplished songwriting and executed with jaw-dropping precision. Please excuse the superlatives, but the more I listen to it, the more impressed I am by it. Seriously can’t wait to watch Angell taking the next steps in his career! Dario