September closes with a huge blast!

It is not every day that you discover a Chilean prog band because some of their members played ProgPower Europe as part of a Serbian one (Organized Chaos). The one I’m referring to is of course the amazing Delta and, even though guitar wizard Benjamin Lechuga left for California a while ago, they’re still going strong, if not stronger than ever. However, I went into my first spin of their new album “Gemini” with a bit of mixed feelings and anxiety and I’ll tell you exactly why: with the title track, they dared to drop one of the 5 best songs of 2024 so far as the first single of the album campaign back in July. It was love at first listen and by the time the full album was available now, I had heard it countless times already, developing even deeper feelings for it. Now would the entire album be able to live up to its staggering, breathtaking beauty? Of course it can’t. But it doesn’t have to. The rest of the songs all have their very strong own identity, showing a seasoned band (“Gemini” is their seventh album in 10 years) at the peak of their creativity, still sounding fresh and hungry, with vocalist Paula Loza and keyboarder Nicolas Quintero deserving special mentions for their amazing performances. “Delta” the album would surely deserve any ratings between 9 and 10/10, while ‘Delta’ the song is a straight 11 for me. Luckily we don’t do ratings for the mini reviews of our “RotW”-Highlights. Rest assured though, this is a fantastic progressive metal album deserving of wider acclaim and reach far beyond the band’s Latin American home countries Chile and Argentina. Oh, and while you’re in a Delta mood, don’t forget to check out their appearance of our The Progspace Online Festival, Holiday Edition 2020, which you can still watch here: https://theprogspace.com/delta-online-festival-2020 Dario

Early autumn fusion moods, the electronic edition: Youtube star Adam Neely’s Sungazer project is back with their second album full of quintuplet insanity. “Against The Fall Of Night” bridges once more the gap between all sorts of modern electronic music and ye olde jazz/fusion with jaw-dropping performances from Adam on bass and his partner in quintuplet crime Shawn Crowder on the drums, whoever programmed all the electronic madness and all guest musicians involved. A true feast for any instrumental jazz and fusion lover who doesn’t shy away from the occasional 8-bit glitching… 😉 Dario

Early autumn fusion moods, the piano edition: truth be told, I would have expected a Norwegian band behind the name Aksarven, upon further inspection though, it turns out that French self-dubbed ‘abrasive rock’ (drum and bass) duo Nevraska just inverted their band name – and added the amazing piano talents of Jorge Ribeiro. “Drifting From Nowhere” is energetic (mostly) instrumental fusion with some beautiful, calmer moments sprinkled in here and there. This week sure seems to feature a lot of so called ‘music for musicians’, and I’m all here for it, even if I’m just marveling at the insane chops on display from my hobby-musician perspective. Dario

Continuing instrumentally with “Dramua”, the fourth EP from Austrian project The Last Cell, we return to a decidedly metal sound again. It concludes an “elemental” cycle of four EPs with a fiery bang and some heavy modern shredding and riffing. The ending part of the centerpiece ‘Vulkhan’ even sounds as if TesseracT suddenly added proper guitar solos to their sound. Which they won’t, so it’s cool to have that (im)possibility explored here in this context. Curious what’s coming next from The Last Cell as this chapter is coming to an end for it, but for now, “Dramua” serves as the perfect segue from all the (instrumental) jazzy fusion stuff above to the following couple of vocal driven modern prog metal releases below. Dario

Californian modern prog metal, part one: “Anamnesis” seems to be only the second album from San Diego based Ascend the Helix, yet it’s blasting its way into my auditory canals like one of the big players. An unrelenting 66 minutes onslaught of ultra precise polyrhythmic Meshuggah-esque riffing made even more awesome by an enormous and diverse vocal effort from Mike Semesky. And if you’re thinking you’ve heard “Meshuggah with clean vocals” before (namely Tesseract again), Mike’s approach to layering those harmonies seems to be entirely different to the Daniel Tompkins method. So what we’re getting here is seemingly familiar ingredients mixed together to an exciting, energizing new cocktail. Cheers. Dario

Californian modern prog metal, part two: tapping a bit deeper into progressive death metal and deathcore influences equally, Interloper from [undefined], California, present their second album, “A Forgotten Loss”. Their 2021 full length debut “Search Party” was a lot of fun already and I remember especially the title track being an excellent example of modern prog death mixed with core influences. “A Forgotten Loss” continues that path on a top quality level and a great balance between quite proggy and more ‘mainstream’ extreme metal. Excellent stuff with or without the support of a big label. Dario

Californian modern prog metal, part three: in the first few seconds, this album fools you into believing what’s to follow might be some traditional Maiden-style heavy metal. A few seconds later, Cyborg Octopus from the San Francisco Bay Area turn up the speed, ferocity, insanity, shred and scream factor and just about everything else by 100. Just as much their tongue-in-cheek humor, or have you seen a band go from straight-up black metal to hip hop-death metal in a matter of seconds? Me neither. On tour in the states now with Archaeologist. Check out the madness on “Bottom Feeder”. Dario

Jumping from the Californian coast of the Pacific Ocean to Australia’s Gold Coast, “Inertia” is the promising debut album by a band called Gladiolus. They’re not treading as extreme waters as their slightly older – or more seasoned – Californian cousins above, yet their weapon of choice isn’t completely ‘scream-free’ melodic prog metal either. The balance-o-meter just seems to tip slightly more into the non-extreme direction here, that’s all. I do think that their current strength lies a bit more in the mellower parts, as heard in the second part of ‘Flicker’, one of two 10+ minute mini epics. But that might change with future releases that could probably channel the intent behind the heftier passages with a matching heavier, punchier production. The last four songs take an unexpected Tool-y/Wheel-esque turn though, so it remains to be seen in which direction the “Inertia” will lead Gladiolus. All in all a very promising debut nonetheless. Dario

Do you know the feeling when you’re listening to some new music and it reminds you of something you’ve heard before but you can’t quite put your finger on it yet, what it is exactly. It’s on the tip of your tongue but refuses to come out? With Canada’s The Wring’s fourth album “Nemesis” I was first at the self-titled Sun Caged album from 2003, then some sort of “When Dream and Day Unite” and Deep Purple mash-up came to mind. But then it finally clicked. It was Heaven’s Cry all along. And that’s the second time in a year (I believe) that I am drawing this highly unusual comparison here. (Can anyone help me remember what the other one was?). Be that as it may though, a Heaven’s Cry comparison can only mean good things in my book (and that relieving epiphany didn’t suddenly negate all those previous associations either). Composer and mastermind Don DeWulf decided to finally take up on long-standing bassist Reggie Hache’s offer to provide full lead vocals as well as to invite a full time drummer with Kyle Brian Abbott (as compared to the world-class, but slightly detached session-work previously), and those decisions proved absolutely fruitful for “Nemesis”, as the outcome speaks for itself. Dario

Spurred by the tragic event of the loss of their friend and fellow musician Eric Bouillette, Anne-Claire Rallo and Alexandre Lamia from French prog rockers Nine Skies launched the new musical entitiy Frant1c. Their community effort debut concept album “A Brand New World” contains a good hour of quite dark, enchanting neo prog sounds I’m sure the inclined clientele will lap up readily. And rightfully so, it’s both heartfelt and excellently produced (mixing and mastering by none other than John Mitchell). I do have to mention that Martin Wilson’s prominent lead vocals might be an acquired taste with his prevalent vibrato, that make his vocal lines seem a bit pitchy at times, but it just adds to the emotional charm in the end. Art from loss. Music in remembrance. Deeply emotional and thought-provoking. Dario

Weather Systems is the new band by Anathema’s main composer and creative mastermind Daniel Cavanagh. After the band around him and his brother Vincent split up due to covid and personal problems, things have been silent for a while, but Vincent released an EP with his new band The Radicant this year and now it is Daniel’s turn. Where The Radicant dives into experimental electronic music, Weather Systems stays true to the emotional and progressive Anathema sound.

Now the question is: does “Ocean Without A Shore” have the potential to make Anathema fans happy? Opinions about this seem mixed so far, but let there be no doubt that there is a lot of quality here. In the beginning, the album takes a fairly rocky approach with Daniel’s unique guitar sound leading the way. Towards the middle, we get into more emotional depth, with female vocals thrown into the mix, next to Daniel’s own. While Daniel is not as great as his brother, he’s a more than adequate singer and the vocal harmonies are wonderful here. Towards the end, the album takes a more experimental approach with the electronic oriented title track and African style vocalizing in the closing track. It adds diversity to a solid album, even though it also lessens the cohesion a bit.

So, what’s the verdict? While “Ocean Without A Shore” may not be as glorious as the album that Weather Systems was named after, it’s a strong debut and it’s great to hear that signature Anathema sound again after such a long time. I recommend giving it an honest chance and judging it on its own merits, as hard as that may be. Even if the album is not perfect, there is a lot to love here. Lykle

Dario thought about making a new category for this album, as it fits equally in “extreme prog” as “experimental”. German metal act Ingurgitating Oblivion released their first album in 7 years since their other well-acclaimed record “Vision Wallows in Symphonies of Light”. This newest offer titled “Ontology of Nought”, has transcended even further into abstract art in the form of music. It’s a wild and difficult listen for those not adapted to anything remotely free improvisational, but the execution of ideas here are so bizarre yet breathtaking. Lots of crazy performances across the board, including masterful drums by Lille Gruber of Defeated Sanity, Chris Zoukas of Mentally Defiled on bass, and other instrumentalists performing vibraphone, flute, and recorder. The project lineup consists of Norbert Müller who handles the production side of their music, and Florian Engelke who handles lead composition and vocals; both of whom also do guitars. It’s a really creative approach and unique structure to this project as a whole, and if you’re familiar with the likes of Sarmat, Kayo Dot, and Neptunian Maximalism, you just might be ready to take on this record. Colin

The lead singer and frontman is akin to the face of a band – so needless to say, tragically losing one is sure to crush spirits and make the surviving members question if they should go on. The Black Dahlia Murder founder and lead singer Trevor Strnad took his own life in 2022 (R.I.P.), shocking the death metal world. The band went on to reform, with the other founder Brian Eschbach switching from guitar to vocals, and former lead guitar player Ryan Knight re-joining the outfit alongside his successor Brandon Ellis to complete the line-up within the circle of legacy members.

In Eschbach’s own words, the album is “about a meteor that fucks up the whole planet, but there’s still people living.” There may be a metaphor to the band’s experience in there…

So, what does the Phoenix version of TBDM sound like? 4 years after their previous release “Verminous”, “Servitude” falls directly in line with the band’s 21-year spanning discography. Their signature blend of fast and melodic riffing, blazing classical solo guitar work, and shrieking vocals is back, sure not to disappoint fans. Eschbach’s vocals fit in a similar manner, although he does not quite have the technical span of Strnad, particularly on the lows. Nevertheless, you certainly get what you expect – to the point where one may question if they consciously focused on a direct continuation to cement their persistence.

The stylistic range of the album was revealed early with the fast-paced ‘Aftermath’ and the slower and more groove oriented ‘Mammoth’s Hand’ as first and second singles, respectively. Aside from the palate-cleansing ‘An Intermission’ as a literal, clean and mellow intermission, the album as a whole consistently falls within the boundaries defined by those first hints, forming a cohesive and entertaining package. In a clever nod to the listener, the closer ‘Utopia Black’ ends on a reprise of the intro soundscape, as if to say “How about another spin?”

“Servitude” is concise and to the point, with a runtime of 32:49 of clear-cut structured songs. It sounds fantastic, certainly in part due to the production prowess of Mark Lewis (you may recall my praise of Nile’s “The Underworld Awaits us All” last week, also by Lewis) supporting band-internal producer Ellis.

The latter’s solo work is to be mentioned especially: In tracks like ‘Transcosmic Blueprint’, he remarkably manages to draw comparison to the likes of metal guitar heroes such as Dimebag Darrel (Pantera, R.I.P.) or Marty Friedman (ex-Megadeth) with a healthy serving of blues that appears to get lots in modern playing.

In conclusion, full-blown The Black Dahlia Murder fans will be thrilled to see the band back in full, ready for a new touring cycle on the back of a strong release. For sporadic listeners, the album will likely not offer much that the previous discography since ca. “Everblack” (2013) or “Abysmal” (2015) cannot. But the consistency in the band’s output is a clear asset, and the death metal world surely is a bit better off with a The Black Dahlia Murder that has survived even this strongest and most tragic impact. Bas

Now that autumn has arrived, are you not also craving for some classic Finnish death/doom? Infirmum’s second album “From The Depths I Cried” (sic) delivers slow, symphonic gloom with a good amount of metal and just the perfect amount of extra cello both intertwined as well as carrying the main melody occasionally to satisfy and wrap-up these autumnal feelings in a blanket. And as it’s only the very beginning of autumn, there can’t be many more new albums in that vein now, right? Dario

Of course there can. Especially now that the genre fore-fathers of My Dying Bride have announced a sudden indefinite hiatus and mainman Aaron Stainthorpe is off to more upbeat gothic waters (see below), will there be anyone to take up the baton and continue where they left off? Not from Scandinavia though, neither from the UK or Ireland. Invernoir hails from the mediterranean metropolis of Rome, yet plays such a classic, almost cliched brand of death/doom you wouldn’t believe it if it weren’t for the Italian spoken word voice overs/samples. On their new album “Aimin’ For Oblivion” surefootedly knows how to navigate these clichés, or rather classic tropes of the genre with both clean and extreme vocal deliveries hitting the sweet spot on top of the epic riffing. The genre is still flourishing I’d say. Dario

What do you do when your band goes on hiatus right after releasing a new album? My Dying Bride frontman Aaron Stainthorpe found himself in this odd situation, with all tour dates canceled and an unknown future lying ahead. Luckily, he immediately took action and joined High Parasite, the band around bassist, vocalist and songwriter Tombs (Hellbound Hearts, ex-Godthrymm). Stainthorpe has firmly stated that this is not a side project, but a serious band. Considering the effective media campaign, the planned tour dates and the release of debut album “Forever We Burn”, I am inclined to believe the man. It’s all looking super professional and ambitious.

Of course, nothing will come of this when the music is not great, so does “Forever We Burn” match the high expectations? I can wholeheartedly say yes to this question! High Parasite is far from a My Dying Bride clone, focusing more on uptempo gothic metal than solemn doom, with the emphasis on catchy songwriting. When it comes to musical references, I am reminded of Moonspell, Lacrimas Profundere and Paradise Lost, the latter not being very surprising with Gregor Mackintosh producing the album and adding a handful of juicy riffs. However, “Forever We Burn” is not a trip down memory lane with its modern sound and multipronged vocal approach. On the contrary, it’s an album that stands out on its own merits, full of bangers and without a single mediocre song.

It looks like we are having a gothic metal revival in 2024 with a lot of interesting albums already released or still coming up. I wouldn’t be surprised if High Parasite will be at the forefront of the action. At least they are having a great start with this impressive debut! Lykle