The end of June and the whole month of July bore a couple of excellent releases you shouldn’t miss!

Almost 50 years after their self-titled debut album, Swedish prog rock legends Kaipa around keyboard maestro Hans Lundin present their 15th album, “Sommargryningsljus” (“Summer Dawn Light”). The line-up of the studio-only band remained stable from 2022’s “Urskog” and the “new” drummer Darby Todd sounds even more at home with his incredible chops among such an illustrious group of musicians. Trying to ‘sell’ Kaipa to a friend a couple of days I said something along the lines of “It’s like a cross between Spock’s Beard, The Flower Kings, Ritual (Sweden) and some sick guitar noodling courtesy of Per Nilsson (Scar Symmetry, ex-Meshuggah live) thrown in for good measure, and even more folky recorder and violin parts”. This has been true ever since their 2002 reunion after a 20 year hiatus, and they’re not stopping now delivering on all those fronts simultaneously. Kaipa has always been the perfect summer music for me, and mastermind Hans Lundin confirmed that in the interview I had the honor of conducting when the previous album “Urskog” came out in 2022 by saying: “when winter comes I still have that feeling inside of me from the summer, and I transfer it into music…” (read the full interview here). Once more, Kaipa has delivered the perfect prog summer album. Maybe my favorite Kaipa album in 10 years (since “Sattyg”). “So welcome on board the train, we’re proud you’re our guest, take a seat, just forget that you’re caught in the spider’s web…” – (Just close your eyes and enjoy the beautiful music, don’t pay attention to the terribly kitschy AI artwork). Dario

On July 2nd, it was time for Isle of Man’s hottest Progmetal export Aeons to unleash their highly anticipated, third album, “The Ghost Of What We Knew”. Lyrically inspired by myths and real events, they take us to the Wild West (“Noose”), ancient Greece (“Thanatos”), to the Aztecs (“Collapse”), or dive with us into current and personal topics (like “Home”,  “Blood”, “Circles” and “Machines”). Music-wise, Aeons just throw in what feels right for them to tell the respective story, melting Death Metal growls with three-part vocal harmonies, Black Metal with Symphonic elements, acoustic guitars with mighty breakdowns, spacey synth with blast beats… and I absolutely love it, as their kind of genre bending comes along with an implicit easiness that gives the songs a huge dynamic and great variety. All five band members skillfully play on this colorful genre palette and add their pieces to the flow, from the tight drumming over the smooth bass lines and mind blowing riffs to the vigorous vocals, exactly knowing when to push and when to step back a bit.  And then, there are these special moments when the guitars lift off… There’s something in their tone and playing that totally resonates with me, making me all ears. Katha

Are you craving some fresh music in the vein of mid-era pre-”Watershed” Opeth just like me? Well, forget the fact that we might actually get some more of it very soon from the OGs themselves for a second if you can. Piah Mater’s third full length wonder might come as a huge surprise for those unfamiliar with that name so far (like me), but it offers a plethora of wonderfully familiar sounds and strange harmonies you’d only expect from the one and only big O. What sets “Under the Shadow of a Foreign Sun” apart from recent (excellent) copycats like Avkrvst though you might ask? Well, their songwriting for one is as adventurous as it gets without losing coherence, with a penchant for breathtakingly gorgeous arrangements featuring lots of guest musicians on strings, flutes, saxophones (do I have to mention a certain Jørgen Munkeby?) and the most beautiful vocal melodies and harmonies. Add to that the fact that they just hit the perfect balance between the (death) metal and prog/jazz/fusion/folk aspects, the duo from Rio de Janeiro just drove home the most exciting surprise of the month by a mile. And that final unison riff is just pure prog ecstasy! Dario

It has been almost eight years since I wrote my very first black metal review. Granted, it was a very proggy psychedelic black metal album. Hail Spirit Noir’s “Mayhem In Blue” surely knew how to capture my imagination. That was the third album by the Greek quartet from Thessaloniki, and now at their sixth, they present polished perfection with “Fossil Gardens”. Usually, polished might not be the first adjective that might come to mind in the context of black metal. But Hail Spirit Noir’s psychedelic concoction leans heavily into gothic territory with an impeccable clean vocal delivery by Dimitris Dimitrakopoulos, even reaching DHG-levels of awesomeness in the 10 minute, aptly titled centerpiece, ‘The Road to Awe’. I’m not a genre expert by any means, but this got to be a genre classic for sure. Dario

EPs have a way of staying undeservedly under the radar… So here’s a triple of them for you that I think should fly way over it. Let’s start with US Proggers Ethos and their new offering, “An Eye For An Eye”, that came out on June 25th, and brought a band to my attention that absolutely deserves a closer listen. Consisting of 5 tracks, the highlight for me is ‘Holy Water’, showcasing perfectly what this band has in store. While the opening riffs is rough and heavy, the following melody is mesmerizing, the respective vocal performance by singer Austen Earp absolutely marvelous in its expression and range. The band skillfully wanders through proggy fields, sometimes harsh and dissonant, delivering sophisticated chord progressions and rhythm patterns, then again beautiful and accessible with rather classical motifs and virtuosic solo parts. All-together a great find! Katha

We head over to Canada and take a closer listen at Atavistia’s new EP “Inane Ducam (I will lead into nothingness)”. To make a long story short: these five tracks won’t lead us into nothingness, but into Symphonic Black Metal epicness. Huge background orchestration, furious guitar work, pummeling drums… they got them all. While the vocals are mostly in harsh Black Metal style, there are plenty of melodies within the instrumental parts, and some clean sung passages bring in a good variety. Having been familiar with their previous, already amazing work, I think this piece is a good step forward for them, and a great addition to their back catalog. Katha

We cross the Atlantic for EP Number 3. The Belgian band AxamentA goes really proggy with their new opus, releasing one epic, 23 minutes song divided into 7 acts to tell an incredibly dense, well-crafted narrative. The used ingredients would also work for a film-score, so the prefix “cinematic” is absolutely fitting. Staying within the movie scenery, I actually don’t want to spoil too much right now, but if you like captivating, musical story-telling, “Spires” might be right up your alley. Enjoy! Katha

“Three Dead Fingers is a Metal band from Västerås, Sweden. Est. 2015” says their Facebook account. “At the time of the release of their first full length, the band members were between 13 and 15 years old.” and “Genre: Thrash Metal” says Metal Archives. “Turbulent Rock n’ Roll from outer space.” their Instagram page. Their new EP “For The Next Species, Pt. 1” is my first encounter with their music after they already released two full length albums unbeknownst to me in 2019 and 2021 respectively. If a splendid mix of Gojira and Tool equals Thrash Metal Rock’n’Roll from outer space, then so be it. It’s turbulent alright, the inventive songwriting keeping things fresh and the earthy production the whole thing grounded. Dario

Barely a moment to breathe on “Techinflux”, the second album from New York based modern prog metal collective Ever Forthright that finally dropped 13 years after their self-titled debut. I have no idea what they did in the meantime nor did I have the time to retrospectively check out said debut yet. All I can tell you is that this energetic 1 hour and 1 minute flies by with a plethora of fun ideas all over the board from the nastiest djent riffing to the most gorgeous jazz tangents here and there. The fact they also didn’t forget the catchy hook lines on the way drives this home as a genuine modern prog highlight of the year. Welcome back! Dario

Easily the best chamber fusion album of the month comes from bass and drum experts Antoine Fafard & Gavin Harrison in the form of “Perpetual Motions”. Four years after their first, equally excellent collaboration “Chemical Reactions”, the duo is back, this time with nine equally adept international instrumentalists gracing the nine songs with breathtakingly beautiful contributions on instruments like violin, cello, oboe, saxophone or even marimba/vibraphone and handpans. Bass master Antoine Fafard’s amazing contributions on the classical guitar deserve a special mention as well. To say this turned out to be an instrumental highlight of the highest order ‘as expected’ would be wrong though, as it’s not ‘merely’ a continuation of the ‘drums and bass meets chamber orchestra’ sound of “Chemical Reactions”, but rather a brand new and different approach to instrumental fusion awesomeness. Absolutely outstanding. Dario 

“I May Be Some Time” is a second album of a young 3-piece post rock band called Many Moons. This album is all about the melody: piano plays an important part in the composition. Sometimes the album explodes into quite heavy riffs (‘Uncharted Waters’), and sometimes changes to almost trap beats (‘Intruders in a Strange World’), it always kept me guessing what comes next. Relatively short (35 minutes), it doesn’t overstay its welcome and uses this time telling an emotional story, while also keeping away from the post-rock tropes of self-repeating.  A good indication of any album is: “does it make me want to come back to it?” In this case, the answer is yes. It doesn’t drag, doesn’t get boring and has a lot of interesting ideas going on. So I can recommend it to the fans of instrumental and post-rock music. Alex

Black metal turned experimental electronica act – that description might fit a few Norwegian genre-defying trailblazers. Always a bit under the radar and in the shadows of bigger acts from their own country that underwent a similar metamorphosis, Trondheim-based project Manes is now back with an excellent trip hop metal EP called “Pathei Mathos” and I must admit, I haven’t heard such a distinct late 90’s/early 00’s The Gathering vibe in a hot moment or two. Nostalgic futurism. Ancient Greece goes space via Norway. That feels cool, artsy and hip at the same time. Dario

A wonderful slab of melodic prog metal goodness came from Australia these last weeks with “Push”, the very first EP by Melbourne based band that goes by the name of Paeon. Preserving (or resurrecting?) the best that late-90s/early-00s melodic prog metal sound had to offer, if these 3 songs (plus interlude) are any indication of what this quartet has to offer, we’ll be in for an even bigger treat and are witnessing the birth of a force to be reckoned with that will do their part to keep this genre alive! Dario

Sometimes, a certain solo-album mania seems to take hold within prog bands without affecting the momentum of the main band, as seen with Haken or Sylvan lately. Now it’s the turn of longstanding Finnish legends Amorphis and after Tomi Koivusaari’s Bjørkø last december, it’s now time for bass player Olli Pekka-Laine to reveal the debut album of his solo project, Octoploid. Overall, the music on “Beyond the Aeons” is a tad more folky and prog rock-y and less melodic death-y compared to the standard Amorphis fare, as reflected in the flamboyant logo and artwork. This is absolutely excellent stuff and I wouldn’t mind at all to see and hear more from Octoploid in the future. Dario

Many symphonic death metal bands have set out to prove that a proper orchestration doesn’t have to diminish the brutality of a death metal record. So have Violence System from Georgia, Atlanta as well it seems, and with quite the success I might add if their current EP “Chronophobia” is any indication. Brutal stuff with a nice and full bodied symphonic edge throughout the entire runtime of 20-something minutes. Enough variety to keep things fresh. Well done. Dario

“Unperson” is the second full length album Los Angeles based guitarist Wes Thrailkill is releasing under his own name after 2018’s “Everything That Is You”. Chase Bryant and Aliyar Kinik, who both guested on the debut album title track are now the rhythm section for the whole album. An album that’s once again a feast for anyone who loves music that is instrumental and proggy but features a plethora of other influences from the jazz/fusion side as well as from metal & rock riffing all the way to synth layers and electronic side alleys. Insane shredding meets smooth riding. Like a missing link between VAI and Plini. The bar is insanely high for crazy instrumental guitar music, but Thrailkill rides with the best of them. Dario

Technically, “Terra Expolitum” by ZaKrahe, an instrumental progressive rock project around composer and guitarist Zachary Krahe based from Erie, Pennsylvania, could be put roughly in the same category as the album from Thrailkill highlighted above. That would be quite misleading though as the outcome sounds entirely different. “Terra Expolitum” focuses entirely on positive vibes, soothing and cleansing, a breath of fresh air. A wonderful little gem. Dario

I really don’t understand this album. All I know is that it is coming from a unique place of magic, unearthing deep truths “From Low Beams of Hope”. The four songs have an impeccable flow and don’t rely on standard post rock crescendo tropes at all. At times it’s like being swept away by an undertow. At others you’re going to ask yourself where the journey will lead us. Only one way to find out: listen! Dario

This American screamo band known as State Faults have been on my list for quite some time, and I don’t know why I never got around to them yet. But let me tell you; this was the best place for a progger like me to start. What an absolutely epic journey this is! This concept album titled “Children of the Moon” plays with elements of mathcore and progressive post-rock/metal, and the execution is stellar. One thing that pulls me in lately with post-hardcore type of bands is how expressive the musicians are in their playing, and you definitely feel it in every note here. It’s such a powerful release, and if you’ve been looking for more places to dig into the genre, this is highly recommended. Easily an album of the year contender! Colin

Hands down the weirdest EP of them all this month: “Ursus” by the international synth doom collective Circle of Sighs. However, there’s neither a lot of synth nor a lot of doom left here. They went down a completely unhinged road on this concept piece about a bear that ingests ayahuasca and melds consciousness with a trans-dimensional being, as befitting for this kind of story, in a fever dream of free jazz grind and more. Absolutely bonkers. Dario

On July 12, German melodic prog masters of Sylvan blessed us with a wonderful live document called “Back to Live”, filmed and recorded at the legendary Boerderij in Zoetermeer (NL), featuring choice cuts from about half of their 10 albums and more than 2 decades spanning discography. Highlights include, but are not limited to, the “X-Rayed” epic ‘Given – Used – Forgotten’, the “Force of Gravity” banger ‘King Porn’ with arguably the heaviest Sylvan riff ever and of course as always anything from the 2006 masterpiece “Posthumous Silence”. A perfect treat to tide us over until the next studio album. Hopefully not long now… Dario

A bittersweet farewell gift to their fans: Australian YouTube sensation Twelve Foot Ninja calls it quits and says goodbye with an acoustic album called “Mutant Dreams and Face Transplants: An Acoustic Experience“. Definitely a prime example of “oh damn I just got into this cool band – oh wait nevermind they just disbanded, bummer.” Be sure to order the album from their website though, no matter if you choose a digital or physical format, to get more acoustic awesomeness than the mere teasers on streaming services. Bye Bye 12FN. Until we meet again? Dario