16 highlights this week, as diverse as they come: Release Week 41/2024

A “Requiem” is a Mass for the Dead, and, without solidifying my thesis with thorough research, I would claim that most of the big classical composers would have written

one of those. In many cases, these might be even among their most emotionally touching works, essentially grieving the loss of life, immortality, and of course, Christian motives in the (most of the times) Latin lyrics. Mozart. Brahms. Verdi. Those definitely count among the greatest choir works in all of classical music. But how does that all tie in with our leading RotW Highlight this week? Well, Leipzig based band Laudare (Latin for “to praise”) set out a “Requiem” of their own in their unique sonic realm somewhere between (avant-garde) chamber prog and post hardcore/post black metal. The result is, as you might have guessed by the placement of this Highlight, nothing short of breathtaking and astounding. Whoever might claim there’s no innovation in (prog/metal) music anymore, needs to listen to this. Or the new Oranssi Pazuzu for that matter (see below). Absolutely unique and far and wide the most daring unification of seemingly diametrically opposed genres. To say it works like a charm would be a massive understatement. This breathes innovation as much as it displays brilliance in composition and execution. And with a single stroke of genius (aka the very last chord), this masterpiece is suddenly resolving into an unexpected, endless well of hope. Quintessential. Dario

Finnish legends Oranssi Pazuzu are back with another incredible piece of experimental music that strays not too far from their sound, yet still feels fresh. “Muuntautuja” takes the formula that fans know and love of the band, and adds some more industrial metal tonality, giving more vibes reminiscent of Godflesh and a bit of Blut Aus Nord. If you are unfamiliar with the band, take what I said and mix it with some heavy psychedelic rock and black metal vocals. The result is a very avant-garde creation with repetitive grooves that pull you into its dark atmosphere. This band knows no bounds, and continues to push forward with plenty of great ideas; it’s no wonder they got such praise. This album is not a particularly easy listen, but if you are someone looking for an intriguingly evil journey, definitely give this a shot! One of my faves so far in this style, and another one of their best works. Colin

Guitar wizard, multi-instrumentalist and composer Andy Gillion is back with his third solo album, on which we can follow a knight into “Exilium” after seeing his kingdom burn. The full story is told in mighty Melodic Death Metal spiced up with a proggy twist and, new to the party, a mixed harsh / clean vocal performance featuring Andy’s strong debut behind the mic as well as the wonderful Brittney Slayes (Unleash the Archers, Ayreon). Built up on an epic background orchestration, the songs are pushed forward by the pummeling drums and various, hard-hitting bass lines. The star on the album is unsurprisingly the splendid guitar playing, again delivering the full palette from mind blowing riffs to playful, virtuosic soloing, leaving no wishes unfulfilled for shredding fans. Katha

We stay in Progressive Melodic Death Metal realms with Kozoria’s impressive debut album “The Source”. Hailing from France, the four-piece paints a romantic and dramatic universe through their tracks, where each story depicts the anxieties of human beings facing the violence of their own emotions, but still coming along with glowing hope and vitality. Musically speaking, they offer a mighty, modern sound with pushing, sometimes djenty rhythm patterns and stadium suitable choruses, yet with enough variety in their song-writing to captivate the listener over the whole record, that surely might appeal to fans of Gojira or Xaon. Crank it up! Katha

In his review of their 2020 sophomore album “Hyper Reels”, Bob wrote: “What’s on the menu here is a wide range of flavours. There’s something to suit the taste of any serious metal fan. This relatively new band has some good ideas and knows how to execute them.” This certainly still rings true for “Auxesis” as well, the brand new EP of Canadian quartet Maitreya (minus the relatively new band maybe, since they’ve been around for a while now). One thing that has changed looking at the promo texts though is that they lost the added “-core” on their advertised genre-tag, leaving them with the broad umbrella of progressive metal, which certainly makes sense since those core elements might still be present here and there, but take in no way the center of attention. On the contrary, like many other elements, they provide their part to the diverse, yet organic Maitreya sound. If their third full length album continues that trend of quality, we might just hear a lot about Maitreya everywhere very very soon. Dario

The second big surprise of this week after our top pick (Laudare) also has a very neo classical edge, albeit very very different and without metal influences whatsoever. “Stranger from Long Ago” seems like it’s the first album from Serbian composer Neacal and, thanks to a feature from Toby Driver (Kayo Dot, Ultrauphaune, Vaura etc.) on one of the tracks, got washed into my Release Radar. Where Laudare went all in on their avant-garde chamber post black metal, Neacal has perfected his subtle chamber pop with gorgeous arrangements and instrumentation and a soothing voice telling stories about – loss primarily it seems. “Loss of loved ones, loss of home, loss of the life as I knew it..”. I do love the subdued, unagitated vibe throughout, where nothing really sticks out, not even Toby Driver’s beautiful guest vocals, they just blend right in. It is a work of hushed beauty and, despite its lyrical themes, luckily not all bleak and dreary. Dario

Keeping up the flag of more traditional progressive rock this week are French newcomers of Oddleaf. As customary, the keyboards take a central role on “Where Ideal and Denial Collide”, and main composer Carina Taurer sure has her Moog, Mellotron and Hammond sounds all together as befitting a symphonic prog rock album. The nature reference of the band name strikes me as a lot closer to just how the music sounds than the heady, philosophical album title. But then again I didn’t have the time to really dive into the lyrics. That didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the synth-centered goodness present throughout the whole album though, mastered by none other than White Willow’s Jacob Holm-Lupo. Dario

Swiss/German symphonic metal band Ad Infinitum are back with their fourth album ”Abyss.” The band’s sound is gradually moving more towards Alt Metal, with vocalist Melissa Bonny introducing an increasing amount of gutturals. This may not be welcomed by fans of their earlier works but there are still plenty of elements of their symphonic side. Personally, I think it is necessary for bands to evolve, and Ad Infinitum are heading in the right direction. It is their most dynamic, progressive and modern sounding release to date. Shades of their lighter style can be found in the opening track ’My Halo’ which is catchy and melodic with just a sprinkle of growls. For their more experimental offerings you need tracks like ’Aftermath.’ Overall, the album feels more varied and diverse, and I would be so bold as to say this is their finest album so far. Bob

Envy is one of the most influential bands in the screamo genre, defining the sound of it for the years ahead. And while I am not a massive fan of post-hardcore or screams in music, I always enjoyed a few Envy tracks every now and then. So I was keen to get into “Eunoia” to see what the band has to offer. And after listening to the record a good few times, I can say it clicked with me: Beautiful post-y guitar melodies morphing into emotional screams, abrupt pauses and the beauty of Japanese language made this album a highlight for me. ‘The Night and the Void’ has been on repeat since, getting louder and more emotional as it progresses. I was told this release is weaker than their earlier work, but on its own at least it’s very solid, and a piece of work I really enjoyed. Alex

From “Dusk” – till “Dawn” obviously. Venetian conceptual Djent/Atmo-Deathcore specialists Unethical Dogma continue their tale with a second EP after they debuted in January only with “Dusk”. Nowadays, the “progressive metal” label is quickly slapped onto any metal- or deathcore with the occasional poly-rhythmic Meshuggah-riff. Unethical Dogma go the extra mile though infusing their sonic story-telling with the occasional – guitar solo! So yes, without wanting to sound too gatekeeping, I do believe they have earned their additional “progressive metal” tag. Killer stuff that definitely deserves to reach far and wide. Dario

And while we’re at it (“it” being conceptual metalcore), Norwegian posterboys Fixation have put their latest singles (and then some) together to a sort of mini-album/EP entitled “Speak in Tongues”. The prog aspect here pulls mostly from the instrumental trio also forming Navian (and they probably won’t ever top their uber-hit ‘What We Have Done’), but it’s still four huge metalcore anthems tied together by some electronic and moody intros/interludes and just music of the highest quality. Full stop. Dario

Abrasive djent/thall riffing that sounds like it’s on the brink of destroying your speakers is not something I can listen to everyday, but if you feel so inclined and are in the mood for some stuff like this, No Oath from France go you covered with their new album “Therma”. A one man project by Timothé Baqué, who seems well connected in the scene, getting props from the likes of Buster Odeholm and The Algorithm. And rightfully so. Absolutely sick sound design (trigger warning though: it can make you just as nauseous as a barrage of strobe lights) with just enough twinkling electronic flourishes on top. Dario

To diversify the eclectic variety of this week’s highlights even more, how about some stoner rock? Ok, while that is certainly the foundation of the sound Canadian quartet Sandveiss presents on their new album “Standing in the Fire”, there is definitely a lot more to it and – how could it be otherwise – especially the proggy bits and pieces in some of the riffing know exactly how to please my ears. Excellent songwriting – excellent warm and earthy production by Swedish sound expert Karl Daniel Lidén (Katatonia, The Ocean, A Swarm of the Sun etc.) – excellent album. Dario

Hear ye, hear ye! There’s a new goth band in town, and it’s called Cemetery Skyline! Featuring Dark Tranquillity‘s Mikael Stanne on vocal duties with musicians from Insomnium, Dimmu Borgir, Amorphis and Sentenced, this is what one can call a Swedish/Finnish supergroup. Taking its musical inspiration from bands like Type O Negative and The Sisters Of Mercy, Cemetery Skyline’s debut album, “Nordic Gothic” offers some slick and smooth gothic metal, full of melancholy and at the same time catchy as hell.

On top of the excellent songwriting, it’s Stanne who steals the show. Instead of his usual growls with sporadic cleans, he goes full-force on clean vocals this time , for the first time in his career. It adds a poppy aspect to the music, but also contains a sense of longing, because it wouldn’t do for a goth band to actually sound happy. The end result is a highly melodic album finding a perfect balance between darkness and light. If you’re up for occasionally unleashing your inner bat in between your proggy moments, “Nordic Gothic” has a lot to offer! Lykle

In 2009, I fell deeply in love with the incredible, otherworldly voice of Krister Linder on ‘Departer’, the last song on Katatonia’s masterpiece “Night is the New Day”. His solo albums “Across the Never” and especially “Songs from the Silents Years” opened a whole new sonic world for me with his unique brand of ethereal art pop. Now he’s back with Lucid Haze, a collaboration with Swedish electronica specialist Solar Fields, and their debut (live) album “Live at World Culture Museum” shows definitely a more ambient-oriented direction compared to the masterful, succinct songwriting on his solo works. However I will still readily lap up whatever his golden voice is gracing with its angelic presence. Dario

Ihlo’s self-released iconic debut album “Union” got a 9/10 rating when I reviewed it back in 2019 when it was released (https://theprogspace.com/ihlo-union/). Now, five years later as it sees its well deserved label re-release on vinyl with an Acle Kahney (TesseracT) remaster, I wonder what kept me from going for the 10 as I can’t find any flaw in it whatsoever. But seriously guys, give us album number 2 already! Dario

P.S.: IHLO are still on tour by the time this is published with the equally fantastic Omnerod from Belgium, being joined by Ramage Inc. (Newcastle & Edinburgh) and Rannoch (Liverpool & Birmingham) on select dates. Check them out here: https://linktr.ee/ihlo