We say goodbye to April with 12 highlights – while already knee-deep in May madness…

When Disillusion released their debut album “Back To Times Of Splendor” 20 years ago, it made a massive impression. The album received critical acclaim for its innovative nature, seamlessly blending progressive metal with melodic death metal in a completely unique way. The future looked bright for Disillusion! Unfortunately, the band’s rapid rise was halted severely by their second album “Gloria”, which was too experimental, too inconsistent and too much of a style change to be successful. Shortly after, Disillusion split up to never be heard from again.

However, there was a new sign of life from the band around mastermind Andy Schmidt in 2016, after which two more albums were released in the progressive death metal style of the debut, shaking off the experiments that brought Disillusion down. Now we find ourselves in 2024, with the band celebrating the 20-year anniversary of their impressive debut. This celebration takes place on tour with a special “Back To Times Of Splendor” set of shows, and a reissue of the album. The songs have been remastered by renowned engineer Tony Lindgren, the songs of the EP “The Porter” have been added and there are two additional live tracks to top things off.

Does the remastering do anything for the album? I believe it has slightly enhanced the sound quality, but not by much. Regardless, every song on the album still stands strong, from the massive opening riff of ‘And The Mirror Cracked’ through the epic title track and culminating in the adventurous ‘The Sleep Of Restless Hours’. Lush atmospheres go hand in hand with ferocious power, making the album feel like a rollercoaster ride that just wants you to buy another ticket. It’s a true progressive death metal classic and close to absolute perfection. The songs of “The Porter” are not that great, but it’s interesting to hear Disillusion shaping their sound on their very first release. The live versions of ‘And The Mirror Cracked’ and ‘Alone I Stand In Fires’ are of good quality, as a nice little extra.

If you have somehow missed “Back To Times Of Splendor”, this reissue is a great way to introduce you to the amazing talent of Disillusion. If you already have it, maybe one of the special vinyl versions might interest you. Otherwise, I don’t see it adding much value to the original release, but I do want to congratulate the band on the anniversary of one of the most impressive debuts in the history of metal music. Lykle

Don’t miss out on their tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of this seminal masterpiece if you’ve got the chance: https://disillusion.de/tour

Some albums hit differently. Softly, tenderly, like a warm embrace. “Kimiyo”, the collaboration of Canadian musician and composer Alex Henry Foster with vocalist/lyricist Momoka Tobari. “Kimiyo” is a journey to the spiritual heart of Japan, it seems, far away from the constant stress of modern technology. It is an introspective journey of self-discovery, reflection, and it is about finding hope and strength from within during dark times of doubt and despair. If you’re looking for a peaceful moment or two full of beauty and wonder, “Kimiyo” is the place to go. Dario

No, Sonder is not a TesseracT cover band. The Ottawa-based Canadian five-piece does play progressive metal as well though. Their first sign of life is “Primordial Rule”, a double album even. “Dawn”, the first part, is starting off strong with a great instrumental song (yes, a fully fledged song, not only a mere little intro), you’d never guess that Sonder actually counts multiple capable lead vocalists among their ranks. Keyboarder Evan Haydon-Selkirk (Aphelion) and bassist Jack Kuzmyk take turns and/or harmonize throughout the plenty vocal centered bits of  both albums. “Dawn” is a bit shorter than the second part “Dusk” (see below), but there’s still plenty going on in the 35 minutes of runtime. And once you’re through, I’d recommend to immediately cue…

… “Dusk”, the 45 minute companion, that just keeps on giving that juicy, dramatic prog metal goodness. An unexpected Zeal & Ardor vibe in ‘Hysteria’ is just one of the many surprises Sonder’s got up their sleeves that make “Primordial Rule” a varied and entertaining listen from start to finish. The production on both albums is still a little rough around the edges, so that’s definitely something to improve on for coming releases, but if the apparent songwriting talent is any indication, we’re in for some more top notch prog metal, whenever there’s gonna be more Sonder-stuff! Dario

“Lost Media” is the third album from Polish one-man progressive rock project Glass Island. But despite their geographical origin, the vibes prevalent here are persistently more light-hearted melancholia of middle-era Porcupine Tree rather than Riverside’s heavy psychedelic leanings. The final ten minute epic ‘Stay Under Cover’ even combines RPWL-esque sweet melodies with increasing Crimson-esque dissonances. Wonderful. Recommended to all progressive rock lovers despite the unfortunate AI cover artwork. Dario

Staying a bit longer in lighter prog rock realms, this little single/EP from Dublin-based five piece KÎND immediately caught my ears. “Philosopher’s Wish” is a captivating composition from start to finish (and what an amazing finish it is!), and the expressive, emotive lead vocals shine on top of its ethereal companion piece ‘Within’. Big downside though: the whole thing is way too short with not even 10 and a half minutes. So I really hope to hear more from them soon! Dario

Let’s get heavy again! Churning out the heaviest riffs between ancient Greece and “Atlantis” like there’s no tomorrow, the enigmatic four-piece Thumos is back at it with a monstrous, gargantuan 30 minutes EP featuring 3 cinematic 20 minute bangers of top notch instrumental post prog metal. Five EPs and 3 full-lengths since their inception in 2021 shows that they mean business and are here to stay. But I don’t mind high frequency output like that at all, if the quality is as consistently high as with Thumos’ latest releases. Bring ‘em on! Dario

Even heavier things than that are to be found in Salt Lake City, in the form of “Death Is Not The End” for example, the debut album by a band called Glossa. For their sludgy doom metal to become something special, they invited the total opposite kinds of crushing, namely black metal and drone, to form an even more crushing new whole out of those components to great effect. There’s a sense of death, decay and horror looming in Glossa’s music, but remember, “Death Is Not The End”! Dario

A fine example of some excellent folk-infused, progressive melodic black metal is “Reclamation: Part 1”, the fifth full length album from Minnesotan five-piece Amiensus. In his full review of their previous release “Abreaction”, Andrei Dan concluded “It’s an advanced and refined piece of art on all levels of analysis and I strongly recommend checking it out.” Given some more time to let the experience sink in a bit deeper and also give it a few more spins, I might come to a similar conclusion about “Reclamation: Part I”. For now, I can only say that the first impression evoked similar feelings as described in Andrei Dan’s review of “Abreaction”. What feelings are you feeling while listening to it? And most importantly: when is Part 2 coming? Dario

Applying a distinctively rawer approach to their black metal is dutch band Dystopia, but like on their tow previous records, the additional touch of producer/guitarist Thomas Cochrane’s frequent brass attacks with trumpet and trombone tones elevates the music to a whole new level and adds a unique element to the mysteriously titled “De Verboden Diepte I: Veldslag op de Rand van de Wereld” (“The Forbidden Deep I: Battle on the Edge of the World”). The manic clean vocal delivery on ‘Eerste Enkelen, Toen Honderden, Toe Duizenden’ (“First a few, then hundreds, then thousands’) reminds me of Dodheimsgard, a legendary band I just discovered last year with their masterpiece “Black Medium Current”, so I’m totally fine with getting some more avant-garde black metal stuff in that kind of vein. Apocalyptic. Dario

One of the most hyped UK rock bands Maruja are back with their sophomore EP, “Connla’s Well”, and the hype is absolutely deserved! Continuing their trend of fusing post-rock, art punk, jazz-rock, and post-hardcore, which isn’t too far from what was found on their debut EP “Knocknarea”, they push further into noise rock. The abrasive free improv introduction definitely sets the tone right for the release, yet varies enough that it’s pretty accessible for first-timers of this style. The soothing, jazzy atmospheres laid across the record gives for an engaging experience all around, and it’s done beautifully. The post-punk vocals add a nice touch that has an almost hip-hop feel to the flow and delivery, and it sounds great on top of the intricate instrumentals without being too busy. It’s gotta be said that the performances are very impressive as well, with lots of energy conveyed. Massively recommended to listen to both EP’s together, as they’re both masterfully crafted. Sit, relax, and enjoy! Colin

Right in time to hype up the European fans for their return to European stages, Australia’s premiere prog powerhouse (or rather powerhorse), Caligula’s Horse unexpectedly dropped this little Audiotree session to whet our appetites. Starting May 14th in Hamburg, the Brisbane four-piece will be on a trek through Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, France and England together with The Hirsch Effekt and Four Stroke Baron. Don’t miss out and get your tickets here: https://caligulashorse.com/tour/ As one YouTube commenter aptly put: Best horse on a tree I’ve ever seen! Dario