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A whole big band, Norwegian folk prog double package, 9-string basses and more!

Releases of the Week 18/2023 with Highlights: Monika Roscher Bigband, Marekvist, Lumsk, Shayan Javadi, Vvon Dogma, Countless Skies & Ola Englund
A whole big band, Norwegian folk prog double package, 9-string basses and more!

May 2023 started with 70 releases, and we handpicked 7 highlights for you: the Monika Roscher Bigband from Munich with her third album, Marekvist from Kristiansand, Norway, with their sophomore effort “Varde”, the return of the Trondheim horde Lumsk, Shayan Javadi from Texas with friends from all around the world, Vvon Dogma I from Canada, Countless Skies from the UK & finally Ola Englund from Coffee-Youtube. Or Sweden. Dive in. Subscribe. https://theprogspace.com/rotw-playlist

Monika Roscher Bigband - Witchy Activities And The Maple Death

05 May, 2023 | Zenna Records
MonikaRoscherBigband_WitchyActivitiesAndTheMapleDeath

Alright, this album features easily the biggest ensemble musicians of all the 2023 highlights so far. Up to 20 people make up the Monika Roscher Bigband, and their new, third album “Witchy Activities And The Maple Death” is lighting up a true firework of exciting, exuberant music. Vast, expansive brass arrangements, trumpet, trombone, flute, saxophone, piano, drum, double bass, guitar and baritone clarinet (!) solos. A wild genre mix that ranges from classic big band jazz (obviously) to electronica, art-pop and mathy and/or psychedelic post-prog sounds. Massive, relentless, witchy grooves. A sneaky nod to the March of Death in ‘The Leading Expert of Loneliness’. And a haunting Sophie Hunger-esque finale in motionless seas of stars (‘Unbewegte Sternenmeere’). I really want to know what’s going on in ‘The Woods’ where the Moon Is Melting and the Sleepy Spirits dance… Some witchy activities I guess. Where can I sign up? Dario

Marekvist - Varde

06 May, 2023 | Come Alive Records
Marekvist_Varde

Dark Norwegian Folk Prog #1: Instilled with a deep love for Norwegian Folk from a young age not many know about, the fusion of these particular, wonderful sounds with heavy prog vibes is a prospect that had my mouth watering – or rather my ears dying to hear. Marekvist from Kristiansand nailed this heavenly marriage to perfection on their second album “Varde”. For those not familiar with Norwegian folk music, rest assured, it’s nothing like anything you will see on TV in Germany for example, what they like to call “Volksmusik”. It’s naturally proggy and with light melancholy vibes,  and the closest thing to it a proghead might have heard before could be the intro to Opeth’s ‘Folklore’ (sic!). Even though that’s Swedish. So it’s similar, but different. With a quite smooth and groovy double drum/percussion attack feat. frequent Ihsahn collaborator Tobias Øymo Solbakk on one of the drumkits and an expressive vocal delivery from Live-Andrea Gjessen Rasch in her Norwegian mother-tongue, “Varde” ticks all the right boxes for me and I can’t wait to 1.) check out their first album “Solrenning”, 2.) hopefully catch them live soon and 3.) discover more, new Marekvist music in the hopefully not so distant future. Dario

https://youtu.be/8qkb1seSdHY

Lumsk - Fremmede Toner

05 May, 2023 | Dark Essence Records
Lumsk_FremmedeToner

Dark Norwegian Folk Prog #2: a tad heavier, a tad darker, a tad folkier, a tad proggier, Lumsk from Trondheim are celebrating their comeback 16 years after their third album “Det vilde kor” with a real monster of an album. “Fremmede Toner”, that’s 6 songs based on a collection of poems by André Bjerke, or rather his translations of famous poems by the likes of Goethe, Nietzsche, Swinburne and more… and then again 6 different songs based on the original poems. An intriguing concept to start with, put into music to stunning effect. It is spellbinding, breathtaking, masterful storytelling with an air of grandeur, gravitas and sincerity only befitting for the old masters. It is with great pleasure and delight that I dive into these six stories time and again, all told in two different musical/linguistic angles each, like revisiting a compendium of the feverishly emotional short stories from Stefan Zweig, which always feels both familiar yet exciting and fresh. These strange, foreign sounds (“Fremmede Toner”), with lots of familiar sounds like mellotron and hammond thrown in there for good measure, are a true revelation to be cherished! Dario

https://youtu.be/PnugNzqaUUk

Shayan Javadi - Shawn Javadi

05 May, 2023 | self-released
ShayanJavadi_ShawnJavadi

Eclectic instrumental world prog? A solo album by a guitarist that starts right off the bat with a five minute Tigran Hamasyan-esque piano djent monster with barely any guitar sounds in sight? Well, on Shayan Javadi’s debut album “Shawn Javadi”, which has been streaming ready in its entirety for quite some time on Bandcamp, yet the release date says May 05, the composition itself always dictates when which instrument gets to shine. Not entirely dissimilar to Clément Belio’s music, who actually mixed, mastered and co-arranged the album. More illustrious names appearing with guest contributions are bassist Jacob Umansky, drummer Yogev Gabay (Distorted Harmony, Hago) and keyboard prodigy Rohan Sharma (RO1, I Built The Sky) and more. Having so many insanely talented players on your debut album creates a certain expectation of course, but Shayan Javadi from Dallas, Texas steps up to the challenge and delivers 9 compositions that manage to find an excellent the balance between complexity and virtuosity, but also a distinct catchiness and and often (middle) eastern tinged grooves. I have no information about Javadi’s background whatsoever (or about a full digital album release on the streaming services), just found his music by pure chance through his collaborators, probably either Clément Belio or Rohan Sharma posting about it. It could be another top notch Berklee product just like Hago for example. But in the end it doesn’t matter, as the music speaks for itself and should appeal to everyone who loves complex instrumental music. Massive props to pianist Alan Hankers as well for absolutely shredding through the piano centered pieces like the album opener ‘Persimmon Tree’, ‘Virtuous Contr[a]ct’, or ‘Jungle Bird’. Dario

Vvon Dogma I - The Kvlt of Glitch

05 May, 2023 | self-released
VvonDogmaI_TheKvltOfGlitch

Industrial, electronic, complex prog metal comes from the twisted mind of Frederick Filiatrault aka ChaotH, Canadian 9-string bass player and composer, best known for his work with Unexpect. A consistent use of vocoder vocals is bringing the Cynic vibes galore of course, but where the legendary, enigmatic Paul Masvidal-led troupe almost abandoned the metal factor almost completely at one point, ChaotH embraces heavy orderly chaos with his solo project Vvon Dogma I, that’s finally back now with a first full length effort after the 2017 “Communion EP”. Idiomatically called “The Kvlt of Glitch”, this little monster marries the heavy with the proggy and complex, the metal with glitchy electronics – and succeeds in building a contemporary electronic extreme avantgarde metal sound for the second decade of the 21st century. Futuristic and trippy. Dario

Countless Skies - Resonance Live from the Studio

05 May, 2023 | Willowtip Records
CountlessSkies_Resonance

For their new record, which is called “Resonance” and came out via Willowtip Records, UK based melodic death metal band Countless Skies started a different approach and played five of their songs live in the studio, also having cellist Arianna Mahsayeh with them. Each track got new, unique parts, written for this recording, and by changing the arrangements a bit towards the cello, their sound gets a different direction without losing its core, but gaining a beautiful depth. They picked the powerful ‘Daybreak’, followed by the mighty ‘Summit’ and ‘Glow’, which works perfectly as climax in the middle, clocking in with 20 minutes and impressively showing the magic this band has to offer. There are long instrumental parts that come across mesmerizingly, and are skillfully played by all musicians involved. The growls add a strong, harsh element to the music, building a great contrast to the marvelous, clean vocals. ‘Wanderer’ is next, taken from their album “New Dawn” (2016), before they close this live set in a wonderful way with ‘Tempest’. Fans of Countless Skies’ previous releases are surely gonna enjoy this offering, but hopefully it will also open their work to new listeners. Check it out! Katha

Ola Englund - The Chug Project, Vol.1

30 April, 2023 | self-released
OlaEnglund_TheChugProjectVol1

Swedish musician and producer Ola Englund is best known for his work as guitarist of melodic death metal bands Feared and The Haunted (as well as former member of Six Feet Under, Scarpoint, Sorcerer among others), but also for successfully running a YouTube channel with metal related content. For his series “Sunday With Ola”, he challenges himself to write a new riff every episode – But what to do with all of these ideas afterwards? Putting them together to full songs and releasing them into the wild clearly sounds like a good idea. The result is called “The Chug Project, Vol. 1”, contains 12 rather short tracks, and is a powerful celebration of modern guitar shredding! While the names might appear a bit weird, the shown musicianship is absolutely serious, and should appeal to fans of up-tempo, guitar-driven, instrumental music. My highlights? ‘Forever Old’, ‘Smlp’, and ‘The Mothership’. You’re in for a shred fest? Here we go \m/ Katha

More releases for 05 May, 2023

  • Neolia - Neolia
     Bandcamp  
  • Herod - Iconoclast (May 05, Pelagic Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • a.P.A.t.T. - We (Dur Et Doux Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • In Fear - All Is. All Shall Be. (Year Of The Rat Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Dave Lombardo - Rites of Percussion (Ipecac Recordings)
     Bandcamp  
  • Sproingg - Hirnkäse
     Bandcamp  
  • Steve Hogarth/Richard Barbieri - Waiting To Be Born EP
     Bandcamp  
  • Adrian Benegas - Arcanum (Reaper Entertainment)
  • Vintersea - Woven Into Ashes (M-Theory Audio)
     Bandcamp  
  • Ocean’s Edge - The Voyager (May 01)
     Bandcamp  
  • Krallice - Porous Resonance Abyss
     Bandcamp  
  • Velaraas - Pantheon (May 01)
     Bandcamp  
  • Mr. Biffo - The Rite of Spring
     Bandcamp  
  • DieHumane - The Grotesque
     Bandcamp  
  • Nightmarer - Deformity Adrift (Total Dissonance Worship)
     Bandcamp  
  • Ultra Zook - Auvergnication
     Bandcamp  
  • The Dreamist - Neophyte (May 01)
     Bandcamp  
  • Bike - Arte Bruta
     Bandcamp  
  • Erei Cross - The Widow and the Others (Klonosphere)
     Bandcamp  
  • Stagnant Waters - Black Fields // Battle Tactics of General Nonsense EP (May 01)
     Bandcamp  
  • 5th Season - 5th Season (Eclipse Music)
     Bandcamp  
  • Multiple Pieces - Felony Ridden
     Bandcamp  
  • The Pioneer - Exile
     Bandcamp  
  • Bloodstarved - Fleshwound
  • StartTheMonkey - Urban Psyche (Electric Talon Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Finality - Technocracy
     Bandcamp  
  • Omnikoloss - Wandering Through Concrete Valleys
     Bandcamp  
  • Pessimista / Kaatayra - Split (May 02)
     Bandcamp  
  • Kanaan - Downpour (Jansen Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Trevor’s Head - A View From Below (APF Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Fauns - Surcease EP
     Bandcamp  
  • Dead Sea Apes - Rewilding
     Bandcamp  
  • Smokey Mirror - Smokey Mirror (Rise Above Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Blood Ceremony - The Old Ways Remain (Rise Above Records)
  • SQÜRL - Silver Haze
     Bandcamp  
  • Aphonic Threnody - When Death Comes Again
     Bandcamp  
  • Aramid - Bound (May 6)
     Bandcamp  
  • They Watch Us From the Moon - Cosmic Chronicles, Act I: The Ascension (New Heavy Sounds)
     Bandcamp  
  • Cathari - In God’s Infinite Silence (May 01)
  • Dirk Serries - The Fluctuation of Being
     Bandcamp  
  • Hyeena - Freedom From The Default (Innerstrength Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Puppet Cell - Freaks & Heathens (May 04)
     Bandcamp  
  • Sliknita - The Prawn Variant
     Bandcamp  
  • Low Hums - Destinations
     Bandcamp  
  • Intercourse - Halo Castration Institute
     Bandcamp  
  • Ugly - Autograph (Satanik Royalty Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Sunburster - Trudging to Extinction EP (Knife Hits)
     Bandcamp  
  • Apex Ten - Aashray
     Bandcamp  
  • Earth Burial - Earth Burial EP
     Bandcamp  
  • Anti Ritual - Green Terrorism EP (Indisciplinarian)
     Bandcamp  
  • Nadir - Extinction Rituals
     Bandcamp  
  • I Am Your God - SINister
  • Statues - Black Arcs Rising (Lovely Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Jeromes Dream - The Gray in Between
     Bandcamp  
  • Severed Angel (May 02, Sliptrick Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Unearth - The Wretched; the Ruinous
  • Draconian Reign - Tragedy Eternal EP (Seek & Strike)
     Bandcamp  
  • hopscotchbattlescars - sick of you
     Bandcamp  
  • Riparian - Age of Splendour
     Bandcamp  
  • Burning Witches - The Dark Tower (Napalm Records)
     Bandcamp  
  • Sovereign Council - World on Fire EP
     Bandcamp  
  • Crown Lands - Live At White Sands
  • Franck Carducci - The Answer Live

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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.

Colin

Colin is a progressive metal drummer who currently plays with Ashbreather and Vicarious Reality. His introduction to prog was through his father with the likes of Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, and Rush back in 2007. As the years went by, he would eventually work on his taste to get into more extreme forms of prog, and now adores bands like Opeth, Persefone, Atheist, BTBAM, Serpent Column, Slugdge, and countless others.

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