Our Releases of the Week(s) series returns with 25 June Highlights

With influences ranging from Classical music to Technical and Progressive Metal, Portuguese trio Phase Transition are “In Search of Being” with their marvelous debut album, which saw the light of day on June 6th. The cover artwork is as colorful and diverse as their music, yet a strong unit. The band knows how to flawlessly melt stylistical elements to express different moods, taking us through broad musical and emotional fields. Some synth layers here, djenty parts there, growls and spoken words in between, all built on powerful riffs and complex rhythm patterns, topped with great solos. On the other side, the songs are carried by the remarkable, expressive voice of singer Sofia Beco, who also plays the violin, laying marvelous melodies over the complex basis. Clearly a highlight within this year’s proggy summer releases. Katha

There’s few Metal bands that develop a heavier sound over the years. And Fallujah isn’t one of them either. Just like their peers Rivers of Nihil (to name just one), they have to deal with the backlash of the oldschool fanbase who’d like them to stay as extreme and brutal as they once started out. Luckily for us, they didn’t! With Archaeologist mainman Kyle Schaefer fully integrated in the songwriting and recording process now with his incredibly versatile vocal prowess, “Xenotaph” turned out one hell of a magnificent Melodic Tech Death gem anyone could ever wish for. Add to that the addition of guitar sidekick Sam Mooradian to mastermind Scott Scarstairs’ genius, not to mention the far more than solid rhythm section of Evan Brewer (bass) and Kevin Alexander (drums), and you have yourself the arguably best Fallujah record to date. Take it or leave it. Dario

Putting aside all the drama around co-founding member Anders Nyström’s exit from Sweden’s foremost purveyors of melancholic gloom Katatonia and disregarding a lot of negative comments from longtime (oldschool) fans, I can safely say that “Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State”, Katatonia’s 14th (?) full length album, is an excellent extension of their already extensive (and exquisite) discography. Ever since their 2006 genre-defining “The Great Cold Distance”, Jonas Renkse has refined his very own vision to such a perfection, that after a flawless four album run (including “Night is the New Day”, “Dead End Kings” & “The Fall of Hearts”), the latest two, “City Burials” & “Sky Void of Stars”, fell a bit flat and calculated in parts (while simultaneously shining even brighter and gloomier in other parts). “Nightmares…” feels like a summary of the previous 19 years as well as a new start. ‘The Light Which I Bleed’ could be the direct descendant of ‘Onward Into Battle’ with its quirky bass groove (only wish the doomy outro riff would last way longer). ‘Lilac’ sees them as their most electronic so far. Best of both worlds in one. Melancholia to wrap yourself in like a warm blanket of comfort. You’re missing out if you’ve written off Katatonia already due to the recent line-up changes. Dario

Now that was a most peculiar experience: I loved “This Dark Earth” on the first spin, felt annoyed by the second and had great fun with the third. Funny how your mood can affect your listening experience. Or maybe it was just that I was robbed of the final epic ‘Dawn of the Winterbird’  due to time restraints on my commute. Be that as it may, the quirky prog rock of Seattle based quintet Moon Letters can get a bit chaotic at times, but never as much as to descend into math-y or even avantgarde abysses. ‘Silver Dream’ is  straight up Rick & Morty prog though (you’ll know what I mean right away!). Lead single ‘In the Catacombs’ is giving me slight Fatal Fusion vibes though – albeit a bit more upbeat and less sombre. In any case, cool stuff that should be on the radar of every Prog Rocker. Dario

Ever heard the awesome sounds of sitar and fretless bass together? Dutch guitarist, bassist and sitarist Barend Tromp (whose name might be familiar to Prog Metal connoisseurs for his collaborations with Sun Caged) definitely lands the World Fusion surprise of June 2025 with his newest album “Odd Time Concepts”. No matter how odd these time concepts might be, the songs seem to be endlessly grooving, topped with tasteful and elegant fusion melodies. Funky tapping, a Trey Gunn Warr guitar solo that could replace a whole trumpet section on steroids, a ‘Baritone War’ that could be straight out of Art Against Agony’s songbook, King Crimson master of rhythmic madness Pat Mastelotto chiming in on ‘Thirteen’, these “Odd Time Concepts” are full of surprises and indeed – and most welcome ones. The best avantgarde jazz fusion releases are the ones that manage to bring a huge smile to my face and this one does it with ease. Highly recommended if you like any of the aforementioned artists or just want to challenge your brain while nodding away. Dario

Back in June 2023, I voiced my frustrations on Avkrvst’s excellent, albeit quite unoriginal debut, “The Approbation”, in a little rant posing as a highlight. Now, two years later, the Norwegian quintet is back with their sophomore effort “Waving at the Sky” and that surely raises the question: have they been able to emancipate themselves from their big idols (namely Opeth and Steven Wilson)? The answer to that question after several spins could be a reluctant yes. But despite the still everpresent similarities sound-wise, the material at hand finally sounds confidently enough like Avkrvst that I might be willing to forgive the blatant copying on “The Approbation”. The wonderfully warm analogue synth sounds especially deserve a mention and “Waving at the Sky” a listen. Dario

From Norway to Sweden: the Gösta Berlings Saga continues with “Forever Now”, and the Stockholm based quintet adds a new thrilling chapter to their career of 21 years. Their signature blend of Scandinavian synth quirkiness paired with sometimes Kraut-y repeating rhythm patterns is so breathtakingly unique that it’s always pure joy and wonder to explore a new GBS album. “Forever Now” is no different, but different enough to everything that came before to be able to surprise and bedazzle. I could listen to this forever now and never grow tired of it. Without the shadow of a doubt one of the most important instrumental releases of the year. Dario

From Sweden to Finland: “Nocturne” is Hexvessel’s seventh exploration of occult nature mysticism through music somewhere in the comfortable middle of Black Metal, Psychedelic Folk and Doom. I’ve been under the spell of Hexvessel since 2023’s “Polar Veil”, which is not that long, I know. But better late than never as they say. Hints of early Black Metal Opeth in some acoustic parts might lure in the Extreme Prog crowd as well. However, Hexvessel breathe Finnish winter forest spirits with every pore of their being, invoking a singular, absolutely magical atmosphere throughout. Goosebumps guaranteed – and not only because of the thoughts of snow-covered Finnish forests in winter. Dario

From Finland back to Norway: “Andvake” is the debut album from Afargang, a new Folk Metal project initiated by seasoned Fiddler Olav L. Mjelva. Already having an impressive list of features under his belt from Lodestar Trio to Wardruna, Gåte and the soundtrack of The Rings of Power and much more, Olav has put together all of his experience to create a compelling Folk Metal album with “Andvake”, hard hitting yet full of that special nordic atmosphere. An excellent accomplishment all around and a quintessentially Norwegian metal album that fits right up there with the greats like Enslaved and Borknagar. Only leaves the wish that Afargang will become a real band with live concerts and more music to come. Dario

Hopping back to Finland once more to wrap up this Scandinavian quintuple for good, we have Tampere based Progressive Post Death Metal quartet Sargassus finally delivering their debut full length “Vitruvian Rays”. Almost two years after first gaining my attention with their third EP “King of the Sun”, this 44 minute monster landed in June already and has definitely not garnered enough attention since then. Songwriting craft, performances and most importantly, atmospheres and emotions are spot on and for that, Sargassus definitely deserves to be heard by a larger audience. Dario

If you think, former Gorgoroth front figure and infamous Vice-interviewee Gaahl would still be hunting solely Black Metal sound ideals with Gaahls WYRD, you’d be gravely mistaken. (The only graven thing here is Gaahl’s deep, resounding voice.) “Braiding the Stories” is the second full length release under that moniker and comes as a direct follow up to the enchanting, enthralling 2021 EP “The Humming Mountain”. Oscillating between Nordic bleakness and mysticism, ritualistic forest and mountain sounds, sparse recollections of a classic heavy metal sound and haunting avantgarde sprinkles, it is a compelling compendium of (braided?) stories. An open invitation to the fireplace. Take a seat! Dario

The rareness of progressing from heavy to mellow over the course of a band’s history is one thing (see Fallujah mini review above). The same can be said about a song. Usually there’s a slow development starting from a mellow intro towards a crushing climax. But I guess these rules don’t apply to you either if your band basically invented the subgenre of Funeral Doom Metal. For their latest “Funereal EP”, the Norwegians not only borrowed the towering powers of Iotunn/Hamferð/Barren Earth vocal giant of Jón Aldará, they also start out with Hamferð like Funeral Doom sounds, only to work their way towards more melodic passages. That’s not to say the sound becomes lighter or less oppressive over the 18 minutes runtime of the EP’s centerpiece where Jón’s vocals shine as bright as they reach deep, ‘Gamalt Ijót’. This is cathartic, depressive soundscapes to die for (no pun intended), as it’s both reassuring in your personal pain, but also relieving in its understanding. Kudos to Funeral for writing such a compelling piece of music, but can we please have Jón Aldará sing on more albums? I simply can not get enough of his soulcrushing timbre! Dario

Following in a similar vein, German Instrumental Post Metal outfit A Ghost in Rags manage to create an equally deep effect completely without vocals on their second album, “Solfatara”. And that’s on the 14 minute title track alone. But the best part about the whole thing: there’s still four more songs to come! Naturally, as in all instrumental Doom bands, the sludgey stoner vibe and sound is strong to keep things heavy as hell. Named after fascinating geological places like the ‘Lut’ desert in Iran, the ‘Sargasso’ sea next to the Bermuda Triangle or the ‘Plaine Morte’ glacier in Switzerland, the five compositions are masterfully built no matter if they run for less than five minutes or more than ten. Add to that a compelling live experience together with Berlin based Post Metal trio rýr that I was able to witness not too long ago here in Munich’s Backstage Club, A Ghost in Rags have definitely won over a new fan. Dario

For the first five years that came after their self-announced last album “Long Day Good Night, fans of Progressive Metal fathers Fates Warning really didn’t have any reason to complain about the lack of new Fates Warning related music. A second Ray Alder solo album, a new Alder/Matheos collab with the darker, mellower, moodier but still excellent North Sea Echoes. More instrumental Matheos-beauty from Tuesday the Sky. Two Melodic Rock albums from Jim Matheos with FM vocalist Steve Overland behind the mic under the Kings of Mercia moniker. Not to forget the post-Warning Ray Alder/Mark Zonder collab A-Z, now a full-fledged band with a line-up truly worthy of the supergroup label, is already back for seconds with “A2Z²”. The balance between hooky, accessible 80’s vibes (sometimes bordering on the cheesy side of things) and the rasp and darkness innate to only Ray Alder’s timbre works perfectly, even though I have to admit that, to keep my attention, a third album would need a lot more of that prog-factor that’s only a sidenote in the A-Z repertoire. Time will tell what all those excellent (ex-)Fates’ musicians will be up to next. For now, fans of “Destiny’s Alarm”, Redemption, DGM and the likes can rejoice in the streamlined compositions of “A2Z²”. Dario

Dwelling in not too dissimilar atmospheric waters, at least as far as the melancholy aspect is concerned, is Berlin based international Post Prog Metal project Thræds. Just swap the 80’s cheese of A-Z with some weighty Post Metal and you might get a rough idea what their debut album “Impermanence” might be about. As always though: if you really want to know how it sounds, you’ll have to check it out for yourself. You might just find a solid effort with lots of potential! Dario

Risen from the ashes of Daydream XI is mainman Tiago Masseti’s new solo outfit, Masseti. The debut effort under this new moniker features eight powerful Metal anthems with proggy “Odds and Ends” that are neither completely Power Metal nor Prog Metal through and through. Rooted in a more traditional Metal sound than most of the modern Prog Metal bands, this results ironically in something particularly fresh that I don’t come across often in new releases these days it seems. Old school (Prog) Metal fans should definitely lend an ear! Dario

In the jazz corner of this “RotW”-Edition we have “Quadra Spherium”, the new album by London based (fretless) bassist and guitarist Antoine Fafard. After two exquisite explorations of chamber ensemble fusion together with Gavin Harrison on “Chemical Reactions” (2025) and “Perpetual Mutations” (2024), this newest trio collaboration with tenor saxophonist Jean-Pierre Zanella and music legend Gary Husband on drums sees the Canadian born composer tread more traditional Jazz/Fusion waters again, the outcome however is just as exciting with jaw dropping performances all around, first and foremost by the mastermind himself in his triple role on basses, guitars and responsible for the compositions. But it’s a sheer joy to listen to saxophone and drums locked in tightly and winding their way around bubbly bass lines, as insanely precise as they are free flowing in their musicality. A must hear for Jazz/Fusion aficionados. Dario

“Trollringen”, the new album by Norwegian guitarist Anders Buaas, is a peculiar and curious thing. I really can’t decide if I like the instrumental pieces better or the simple, but heartfelt vocal songs. The title track featuring Mythopoeic Mind’s Steinar Børve on lead soprano saxophone has a timeless feel to it. So do ‘Best I Can Be’, ‘The Balance of Being One’ or ‘As I Draw My Last Breath’, but in a completely different way somehow that I can hardly pin down. Laughing Stock melancholia vibes might be the best I can describe it. Interspersed with some more whimsical sounds and melodies, “Trollringen” turned out to be an intriguing, unique album in any case. Dario

Taking one of the most frequent complaints from our readers seriously, it is clear that this article suffers from a serious lack of classic Progressive Rock. Luckily, the Dutch are here for the rescue, more precisely The Foundation project of keyboardist Ron Lammers with its second album, “Relations”. The Genesis genes runs strong in these eight compositions with lots of synths, Taurus pedals, Rickenbacker bass, Hackett-esque lead guitar and some additional violin and flute sprinkles. All in all not the most original, but still quite solid and enjoyable and most of all – handmade, at least as far as the music is concerned (unlike the AI album cover). Dario

What did I write about blatantly ripping off Opeth earlier in this First-half-of-June wrap up? Well, that didn’t age well I guess, as the ‘Master’s Apprentices’ main riff that makes a repeated appearance on The Biscuit Merchant’s ‘Victorious’ doesn’t keep it from being the best song on “Tempora”. There’s some solid conceptual Prog Death with a sci-fi feel to be found on there, albeit I’ve got to admit that there’s still some parts that I don’t dig as much, but there’s definitely enough good stuff to warrant an inclusion in the highlights here and a follow to check out future releases. Dario

Dark Matter Secret do play some sort of Sci-Fi Progressive Death Metal as well, albeit of the instrumental variant. Production-wise they do sport a certain raw feel, at least being signed to The Artisan Era one would expect a more polished/sterile sound. The compositions are as adventurous in a Prog Rock manner as, let’s say Haken in glorious “Visions” times though. A fun and unexpected ingredient that spices up the Instrumental Tech Death to make for a unique listen. Dario

Continuing the undying legacy of Death with original compositions is US based quintet Gruesome. “Silent Echoes” is their third full length album and with Exhumer, ex-Malevolent Creation and Possessed members amongst their ranks (who have also toured with Death-tribute bands like Left to Die and Death to All), this stuff is absolutely legit and yields sick performances all around. Any old school Death Metal fans should definitely risk a listen. Songs like ‘Shards’ even remind me of the much revered but unjustly widely forgotten Armageddon masterpiece “Crossing the Rubicon”. Wicked. Dario

Why are Norwegians so damn good at Deathjazz? I’ve really got no clue, but “Hard Anger”, the third album by Agabas slaps as hard as their TikTok numbers are skyrocketing for some weird reason. Avatar fans won’t know what hit them when they open for Sweden’s Metal Circus on their Scandinavian dates later this year, if their live show is as chaotic as their compositions. Which I have no doubt about. Dario 

Wrapping up this wrap up of the first half of June 2025 with two Post Metal releases. The first one is “Rêverie”, the debut album from Cagliari, Sardinia based quartet Lera and was released on June 06 via Subsound Records. It takes us on a wonderful, atmospheric journey throughout its 40 minute runtime with a lot of attention to the finest details within the dreamlike ambience. No wonder they called it “Rêverie”. Dario

A bit more on the proggy side of Post Metal is French collective Erebe and with their sophomore EP “Duolithe”, following up their debut album 2022 debut album “Aeon”, they’ve crafted almost 19 minutes of intriguing compositions breathing Progressive, Electronic and Folk influences alike within their solid Post Metal framework. Definitely worth keeping Erebe on your radar to see where their second full length album will lead them. Dario