76 releases, 11 highlights: one record number is chasing the next

Bergen, Norway #1: epic jazz rock madness returns with Seven Impale’s long awaited third opus “Summit”. Seven years after “Contrapasso”, the daring listener is treated to four gargantuan compositions, all clocking in somewhere around the 10 minute mark. It’s a long and hard way to the top, especially if you’re ‘Sisyphus’ or ‘Ikaros’. But the view from the “Summit” is quite rewarding if you make your way through the complex, odd, meandering musical pathways Seven Impale is laying out in front of us. It is neither easy listening nor straight forward, but it’s a lot of fun if you’re not afraid of dissonances and the occasional cacophonic craziness. Varied and bold, Seven Impale scale new heights with “Summit”. Will you follow them to the breezy top? Dario

Bergen, Norway #2: the first of 5 debut full length albums in our highlights this week is “Provenance” from Bergen based project Ozul. Melancholy prog of the Porcupine Tree variety is on the menu and even though the production still leaves some room for improvement on future releases, the nine songs on “Provenance” already leave a very positive scent mark, placing the name Ozul firmly on the list of very promising newcomers in the prog realm. A solo project from musician Paulo Chavarria for now, I’m really curious where the creative paths will lead Ozul next. He’s definitely got my attention. Dario

Debut album 2 out of 5 this week, “The Spiral” from Chicago based quartet Inhale Existence. Within their ranks: current Fallujah live-guitarist Sam Mooradian (whose recent solo singles you might have heard in our What’s Hot?! playlist) and Aviations/Brand of Sacrifice/Gargoyl/The Anchoret drummer James Knoerl (who is quickly becoming the busiest drummer in modern prog), so the direction is clear: we‘re heading for modern, technical prog metal with a lot of screaming, but just the right amount of melody both in the catchy vocals and the tasty guitar licks department to keep things interesting and varied. This first outing definitely shows great potential. Dario

It really seems like it has been ages since a new symphonic metal release was able to surprise and excite me. More often than not, it was just some cheesy pop metal songs with boring riffs and some lackluster orchestration put on top of it. The musically exciting stuff as far as metal with symphonic elements was concerned, was more happening in the extreme metal regions. Oryad from Tennessee finally fill that void and make me forget all those interchangeable, generic, mediocre copycats that have been occupying and oversaturating the genre for the most time. Their debut album “Sacred & Profane” knows how to impress with interesting, diverse songwriting, excellent orchestral arrangements and a captivating, demanding vocal performance by Moira Murphy, who seems to be the heart of the whole operation. The third and last single ‘Blood’ for example is building a bridge between Beethoven piano parts and dark Dimmu Borgir-like orchestrations that reach deep into Mordor.. And even though Oryad’s rendition of the ‘Wayfaring Stranger’ is more direct and clear, missing some of Ocean’s of Slumber’s mystery (you can find their haunting version on 2018’s “The Banished Heart” if you haven’t heard it yet), it’s still a great fit for the album, which should appeal to both fans of the genre and those who’ve been disillusioned with it for a while, but are still yearning for an interesting take on it. You might find just that right here with Oryad’s “Sacred & Profane”, and maybe it will even rekindle your love for the genre. Dario

Godsticks are a classic case of ‘too heavy for rock, not quite heavy enough to be fully considered metal’. Regardless of that, the Welsh quartet keeps on delivering quality stuff for well over a decade now, and their sixth studio album “This is What a Winner Looks Like” is no different. In a way, this sounds like if Queensryche took their early 2000’s “Tribe” sound and progged it up a notch. The songwriting is concise and the arrangements are dense, even though the 10 songs on “This is What a Winner Looks Like” might not be the most immediate hits, they start to reveal their magic with the third spin and now I’m really looking forward to spending more time with them. It still baffles me though, that Godsticks are not on Metal Archives while a band with an objectively much ‘lighter’ sound like Ockra (see below) is. But that’s a discussion for another day… Dario

After a little detour into acoustic territory with “Charam” last year, Polish-born, Munich-based bandleader JD is back with his Power Trio and a heavily rocking four track EP called “Ivory Tower”. Highlights include, but are not limited to the overall grooviness of the material, some rocking guitar solos and, of course, the epic Jorgen Munkeby saxophone break in ‘Scapegoat’. JD’s powerful vocals remind me a bit of Rage’s Peavy Wagner (if he was fronting a grunge band). “Are you not entertained?” asks JD in the opening track. Well, I for one feel splendidly entertained with “Ivory Tower”. Dario

Debut album 4 out of 5: “Grand Reproach” from heavy sludgy prog trio Vexing. Some subtle melodies creep into the abrasive and dissonant heaviness here and there with great effect. Get yourself a healthy dose of filthy prog sludge with Vexing out of Denver, Colorado. Dario

Debut album 5 out of 5: “Gratitude” from Sweden’s prog doom trio Ockra. Never thought I’d use the term ‘weightless’ with a doom band, but Ockra tick all the boxes of a classic prog sound, despite a certain lack of heaviness, but I don’t mind at all. The distinctive use of Mellotron makes up for it. ‘Weightless Again’? More like for the first time ever. A most curious approach to doom, but it works. Dario

Continuing with the doom (albeit a bit heavier), as Italy’s gothic doom grandmasters The Foreshadowing compiled a wonderful EP entitled “Forsaken Songs” for us, with 2 leftover songs from album sessions, a re-arrangement of a song from “Second World” (2012) and two absolutely gorgeous cover versions, as different as they might be (Talk Talk’s ‘Such a Shame’ and ‘The Rains of Castamere’ from Game of Thrones). The gravitas of Marco Benevento’s vocals, reminiscent of genre luminaries like Nick Holmes (Paradise Lost), Fernando Ribeiro (Moonspell), Jonas Renkse (Katatonia) or Mikko Kotamäki (Swallow the Sun) is carrying all the songs with ease. A must have for everyone who loves doomy ‘n’ gloomy sounds. Dario

From doom to instrumental post: following up their highly acclaimed sixth studio album (and first for their now label home Pelagic Records) “Snake Behind The Sun” in 2021, Shy, Low are back with a little three track EP called “Babylonica”. ‘The Salix’ and ‘Instinctual Estrangement’ are fully fleshed Shy, Low compositions encompassing every little detail and nuance of their sound over the course of their 8 – 9 minutes runtimes. ‘33°24_06.0_N 84°14_48.7_W’ is a little ambient interlude – and I really want to know where those coordinates would lead me. Anyone care to enlighten me? Dario

Our little bonus highlight this week comes in the form of a distantly prog related singer/songwriter EP, and it sees Delsey Hill’s Gabi Chesnet following her calling to Southern California and coming back with the wonderful “Calico” EP, released under the new moniker Gabi’s Cali Co. and written and recorded in California with legendary session guitarist, songwriter and producer Ira Ingber (Bob Dylan, Captain Beefheart, Canned Heat and many more). Culminating in the Tarantino meets Radiohead ‘Chasing Moonlight’, that also features a surprise flute solo by Oingo Boingo mainman Steve Bartek. Big names on a wonderful little EP that certainly deserves some attention from anyone who likes singer-songwriter/indie-folk. That might not be many among The Progspace readers, but those who do might just discover a beautiful gem to cherish. Dario