Two instrumental albums, two prog/tech death releases: 4 highlights!

“The Outland”, the third solo album by iamthemorning-Piano maestro Gleb Kolyadin has been out since last November through his own Bandcamp already, now it finally got the big label release through Kscope that it deserves. After the eclectic and versatile mix of fusion and atmospheric prog, with guest vocals and a distinct darker edge on his self-titled solo debut and the piano solo explorations of “Water Movements”, “The Outland” features a lot of ‘band’ material again, yet without any lead vocals this time. The core trio features longtime producer and guitarist Vlad Avy as well as drum legend Gavin Harrison (King Crimson, Porcupine Tree) alongside Gleb, with a whole host of exquisite guest players bringing his musical visions to life. It feels rather short with only six songs (compared to the 13 of 2018s “Gleb Kolyadin” for example), but those 41 minutes are filled with infinite wonders and riches. With new iamthemorning material and a European tour on the horizon, I really hope his new home in the UK will provide him with the opportunities to also bring his magical solo stuff into a live setting at one point. And that is something prog fans as well as jazz/fusion nerds and contemporary classical music aficionados should be looking forward to equally. A true master of his instrument, and a master composer at that, Gleb Kolyadin’s music on “The Outland” emanates hope and joy through every pore, and we sure as hell can use some of that these days. Dario

Returning seven years after their debut album “Solipsist” is Californian tech death quartet The Zenith Passage with a real monster of an album. Over the course of 45 minutes and 45 seconds, “Datalysium” is celebrating everything that makes technical death metal so exciting: the ultra tight Staccato riffs are crushing everything and ripping your side open with surgical precision while the silky synthy lead guitar tone in the fusion parts stitches you back together time and time again. At times, the leads are so mouthwateringly gorgeous it should be illegal. At other times, the crushing brutality is relentless. Meticulously crafted with enormous attention to detail and a clinical, sterile sound as is befitting such a technical output, I am absolutely certain will cross the finish line of 2023 as one of the most important albums of the year in that particular subgenre. And even though I have no idea how they are able to reproduce this insanity live, I’d jump at the opportunity without hesitation if they ever managed to hop over to Europe. If only to have my jaw forcefully dropped to the floor for their entire set. Dario

Staying in rather extreme progressive death metal territories, albeit with more focus on atmosphere rather than technicality, UK prog death pariahs and The Progspace Online Festival veterans Rannoch are back with their third album, “Conflagrations”. The trio of Midlanders have enlisted the talents of Australian drum legend Dan Presland (ex-Ne Obliviscaris), so every blastbeat is delivered with ferocious tightness and precision. The real strength of Rannoch lies within their songwriting and knack for atmospheric build ups. The crowning jewel is without a doubt the moody 16-minute opus ‘Threnody to a Dying Star’, closing off the album in true style with the best song, combining melodic sensibilities with groove and grandeur. A worthy follow up to “Reflections Upon Darkness” and further proof that Rannoch have easily reached the upper echelons of the genre with two releases of that quality in a row. Dario

A bit too playful for post rock, perhaps not crazy and technical enough to be compared to Plini and the likes, Michael Astley-Brown aka Maebe seems to sit very comfortably between a few musical chairs on his sophomore album “Rebirth. Relive. Repeat.” Carving his own niche of instrumental guitar music, Michael has got a few musical surprises up his sleeve like the dynamic contrasts in ‘Tautology’ or the sudden riff onslaught towards the end of the otherwise rather tranquil ‘Malaise’. The closing ‘Monlith’ shows that Maebe totally feels comfortable in heavier waters as well, so it’s definitely gonna be interesting, where the musical journey will lead in the future. Cool stuff! Dario