10 more highlights out of 68 releases overall: week 21/2024!

This is easily the proggiest stuff you’ll hear all 2024! Brighton Fantasy Proggers Azure are back with a massive 1 hour 20 minute monster of an album. It’s called “Fym” and basically takes the craziness of its predecessors “Wish for Spring” (2017) and “Of Brine and Angel’s Beaks” (2021) to a whole other new level. Their prog madness knows no bounds and with the two ‘newcomers’ Alex Miles on bass and Shaz D on keyboards, it seems like the leading duo of Chris Sampson and Galen Stapley have found the right partners in crimes for such flamboyant shenanigans all around. The vocals of Chris are inspired, intense, almost intimidating in their octaves shattering intensity and Galen’s journeys across the fretboard are as long and winding as they’re surefooted (or handed?), exuding exuberance and a thirst for adventure. And all that is even before anyone had the time to dive into the expansive lyrical concept of “Fym”. As a prog and/or fantasy nerd, there’s no way around Azure in 2024! Dario

The second stop in our three destinations Prog Rock Journey of the week is the north of Sweden where we’ll find a most peculiar duo: the Reegonetti Band. While all vocals are provided by drummer Börje Reinholdsson in addition to his duties behind the kit, keyboarder Ronald Vikström provides the crucial instrumental part of the music without any strings – only keys. Yes, that’s right, you’ll hear neither guitar nor bass on this bass on “Songs from the Raven’s Nest”, their second album. But there’s not a single moment where there’s missing anything. As reference points my mind is attaching a likeness to the darker kind of prog rock from the likes of Fatal Fusion or Arena to their sound, but there’s two special songs with distinct elements that remind of two other prog rock greats. First, ‘Ghost in the Crowd’ seems like a slow version of fellow Swedes A.C.T’s ‘Torn by a Phrase’, while the morse code of IQ’s ‘Frequency’ makes a sudden reappearance in the middle of ‘The Dark (Part 2 of Into Oblivion’ it seems. And in the final epic ‘Chicxulub’ (whatever that means), there’s even a ‘fretless’ synth-bass sound that’s truly sounding as authentic as it gets. A gorgeous and addictive discovery for me with lots of synth swathes and neo prog melodies to bathe in. Dario

Ukrainian workaholic and multi-instrumentalist Antony Kalugin is back with another release of his long-lasting symphonic prog/art rock project Karfagen. “Land of Chameleons” is chock-full of beautiful, playful melodies and takes the occasional trip into jazzy fusion territory. If you’re into the music of The Flower Kings and other bands in that line and for some reason missed Karfagen all this time, “Land of Chameleons” is a good way to get into it before starting to work your way through the massive back catalogue! Matt

Fascinated by the Danish Extreme Metal scene delivering some real bangers over the recent years, it’s great to see another force rising from there – the Symphonic Black Metal sextet Lamentari. With “Ex Umbra In Lucem” they release an epic debut, skillfully melting classical and extreme music. The overall mood is gloomy, building up the story about a protagonist’s turmoil besieged by a self-invoked demon with dense atmosphere. On the “Metal side”, we have a band firing on all cylinders, yet playing with a mesmerizing virtuosity, especially within the guitar and bass solo sections. On the Symphonic side, we hear the grand orchestra with brass, woodwind and string elements (recorded at the legendary AIR Studios in London), often playing along, but also having their own moments to shine, being way more an integral part of the whole than “just” programmed background orchestration. While the listening experience is best described as mind blowing, it’s the little details and playful interludes that make it stand out by building up even more tension. The dynamic within the compositions works well in all directions, whether in loudness or tempo, perfectly supported by the detailed production. Considering this is a debut album makes things even more impressive, and will hopefully bring Lamentari to light for a bigger audience. Katha

A stellar symphonic extreme metal album rarely comes alone lately. Thy Shing Curse’s debut was quite overshadowed by another masterpiece of the legend that is Ihsahn back in February, and now the spotlight surely is on the return of US based quartet Vale of Pnath, while Danish newcomers Lamentari surely have an equally compelling and epic album on offer with their debut (see above). Vale of Pnath’s first full length in 8 years, “Between the Worlds Of Life And Death”, surely dips more than their toes into technical death metal waters in addition to the strong blackened and orchestral element and the new crew around mastermind Vance Valenzuela is relentlessly bulldozing their way through 7 killer bangers. Add to that an epic intro and an epic interlude with orchestrations by Wilderun’s Wayne Ingram, and you’ve got a strong and powerful comeback of a symphonic blackened death metal force to be reckoned with. Dario

Since Mascot Label Group are well known for their wonderful, but more traditional oriented Prog Rock & Metal roster, I was a bit surprised to learn that UK Metalcore act Defects found a home there for the release of their debut – But for good reason. “Modern Error” is a deeply cathartic album, acting as a vessel for singer Tony Maue to organize his thoughts on the trauma he had to go through with young age while being taken into care. The result is an expressive piece, channeling the raw emotions through the power of riffs, blast beats and mighty breakdowns, building up an epic soundscape that will clearly blow off roofs in a live setting. What makes a difference for me compared to other releases within the genre are the mostly clean and growled vocals with rarely used but well-placed screams, the amazing guitar solos, and the variety in their song-writing. All-together a vigorous, first offering, and kudos to Mascot for taking this powerhouse under their wings. Katha

Is there anything Mike Mills can’t do? With “X”, obviously the tenth EP in his XII in XII series, he delivers a full blown sludgy doom ride, especially with the opening masterpiece ‘Lost All Sense Of Purpose’. Toehider functions with all and any instrumentation, and with every tempo imaginable. The focus here lies on the slower side of tempos obviously. Oh, we can go even slower? Let’s do that then! I don’t think the 12 EPs will work front to back once they’re all out, but on each and every one of them so far I discover a new side of Toehider I fall in love with and wish there’d be an entire album in this style. Incredible. How does he do that? The answer might or might not be the same as the one to the eternal question ‘How Do Ghosts Work?’ Dario

Merely half a year after “Atlantica”, it’s time for “Pacifica”. Berlin based international prog metal trio Across Oceans released their second EP in a short period of time, and just like the first one it features three modern (extreme) prog bangers in between Wheel-y atmospheres and some fresh whacky death metal. With the “Pacifica” EP, they also launched their very own record label Bloodfuel Records and announced to release more music in 2024. Big plans it seems, so best of luck to them, the first prerequisite for success is already met aplenty: awesome music! Dario

After “Torments” and “Fragments” comes “Vol.3 Laments”. Belgian New Core quintet Ice Sealed Eyes continue their atmospheric djent/metalcore journey with four more smashing songs, culminating in the harrowing, cathartic ‘Inner Wings’ that oscillates between serene beauty and nastiest breakdowns. And the best thing is: this dichotomy never feels like a trope used because it’s currently ‘in’ or ‘the thing to do in the scene’. These compositions ooze emotions, sincerity and gravity. Well done. Dario

Previous week, I added two last minute french post prog albums from Matrass and Inner Landscape. It should have been three. “Précipice”, the sophomore full length from Parisienne outift Maudits is just way too good to be overlooked. Their post prog is instrumental, very proggy, dripping with atmosphere and melody, often courtesy of the added cello. And the melancholy vibes that oscillate between calm and explosive (not in a typical post rock fashion though) are just so achingly beautiful. They evoke a sense of longing and yearning, until the next storm sweeps them away. A massive genre highlight and one of the very best instrumental albums this year so far! Absolutely outstanding, a definitive must listen for any post fans out there. Dario