25. Psychonaut – Unfold the God Man (2018)

Genres: Post-metal, progressive metal, sludge metal (mixed vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: The Ocean, Dvne, Mastodon, Isis

The debut from a band that is now the pride of the Belgium post-metal scene, Unfold the God Man was, and remains, a game-changer for progressive post/sludge metal and atmospheric prog metal as a whole. Psychonaut provide a take on the genre that manages to simultaneously meet the primal energy of early Mastodon and the brainy sophistication of contemporary The Ocean—all while presenting us with vastly new avenues of proggy riffage. Each successive track is its own journey of compositional discovery; showcasing inventive riff writing, gradual builds and subversive explosions of distortion, unconventional chord progressions, and distinctive Phrygian scales used in the lead guitar work. These are some aspects that make Psychonaut one of a kind; curating a unique sound with the same basic equipment that any other metal band has at their disposal without playing into gimmicks. The way they make metal sound so different with such familiar tools makes the music almost seem primordial. That’s the factor that truly sets Psychonaut apart from the rest. There’s no wrong choice for favorite track on this legendary debut.

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Sabrina

24. Dimhav – The Boreal Flame (2019)

Genres: Progressive metal, power metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Symphony X, Dragonland, Seventh Wonder

How many power metal albums start with a ten-minute lyricless epic? Well, add one to the counter for The Boreal Flame. Keen-eared readers may recognize the vocals of Daniel Heiman (of Lost Horizon, Sacred Outcry, Harmony, and many others) once he finally shows up for track two, rounding out this trio with the instrumentalist Lindroth brothers. Although Dimhav stand firmly in the realm of power metal, their music carries a sharp edge occasionally bordering on death metal aesthetics, bolstered by the often frenetic rhythms of the drums and guitars. The Boreal Flame’s epic fantasy style takes root in their instrumentation, sprouting from the smattering of acoustic, sometimes folksy elements included for extra spice, like the guitar features at the beginning of “Realms of a Vagrant King” and “Chthonic Elegy.” Symphonic keyboard elements including strings and brass further evoke the medieval majesty of a faraway magical setting. Dimhav’s intricate, creative composition unfolds like the chapters of a novel, forming a plot of rising and falling actions through the steady, deliberate development of each track. Whether it’s the soaring music, the fanciful narrative, or the beautiful album art that caught your attention, The Boreal Flame harbors a special warmth for those brave enough to dive in.

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Doug

23. Bent Knee – Shiny Eyed Babies (2014)

Genres: Progressive rock, art rock, avant-garde (clean vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: The Dear Hunter, Radiohead, Joanna Newsom, King Crimson, Björk

We can think of prog rock as both a genre, a staid conformity to principles laid down by foundational bands, and as a sensibility, a commitment to the pushing of boundaries and continual compositional progression; Bent Knee are one of the groups that embody the latter definition. Shiny Eyed Babies, their sophomore album, consummately blended such a wealth of influences as to be utterly unique: one hears elements of everything from Radiohead, King Crimson, and Sleepytime Gorilla Museum to Joanna Newsom, Björk, and Jefferson Airplane. Courtney Swain’s versatile, haunting, and powerful vocals are the band’s defining feature, but Ben Levin and Jess Kion’s angular riffs, Gavin Wallace-Ailsworth’s inimitably idiosyncratic drumming, and Chris Baum’s gorgeous violin work, all held together by Vince Welch’s ambitious sound design, are equally vital components. From piano-led art-pop to dissonant avant-jazz to vicious rock madness, Shiny Eyed Babies remains Bent Knee’s most ambitious, defiant, and unique work—the cult classic’s cult classic.

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Christopher

22. Wilderun – Olden Tales & Deathly Trails (2012)

Genres: Folk metal, death metal, progressive metal (mixed vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Amorphis, Enslaved, Opeth

Wilderun’s 2012 debut offering Olden Tales & Deathly Trails was the strongest of any folk metal band since the pioneering efforts of Skyclad’s The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth and Cruachan’s Tuathna Na Gael in the ‘90s. And frankly, even outside of the folk metal genre, no American metal band has come close since, except maybe ANARCHŸ. Finally, there was a band that was doing something original, something fresh and exciting, and not just rehashing the same-old, tired, “viking” clichés every idiot living north of Zürich and wearing eyeliner, leather, and fake fur onstage had already beaten to death since ‘95. Utilising American folk music traditions and songs and combining them with progressive and death metal, Wilderun renewed my interest in the genre with fierce growls, crooning baritone vocals, and such skilful film-score-level orchestration it would make Hans Zimmer blush. Inarguably, Olden Tales remains a standout moment in folk metal. 

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Francesco

21. Altesia – Paragon Circus (2019)

Genres: Progressive metal, progressive rock (mixed vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Haken, Riverside, Opeth, Nospun

Altesia is a perfect band for fans of the 2000s traditional prog metal era when bands like Riverside and Dream Theater were still in their heyday. Whereas bands of that era either mostly dropped off the face of the Earth, left to do other genres, or just dipped in quality, Altesia have been hard at work with two stellar albums and a third on the way. On debut Paragon Circus, Altesia demonstrate brilliant, prodigious songwriting with a strong intuitive understanding of the effective progression of longer tracks as well as short, catchier tunes. Whether it’s the Opeth-style mesmerizing croons that transition into angular growls on “Hex Reverse,” the otherworldly arpeggiated synth passages that build during the climax of “Amidst the Smoke,” or the satisfying and emotional guitar solos on “Cassandra’s Prophecy,” this album has enough meat to compete with the replayability of the prog classics.

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Sabrina

20. Slice the Cake – Odyssey to the West (2016)

Genres: Progressive deathcore (mixed vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Black Crown Initiate, Rivers of Nihil, Fallujah, Vildhjarta

In terms of scope, Odyssey to the West truly is an album like no other. Combining the themes of Christianity, Joseph Campbell’s monomyth, and a healthy heaping of meta-reflection, the incessant blend of proggy deathcore and Shakespearean spoken word makes this album a true cult classic. Whether you’re banging your head as the breakdowns abound or scratching your skull at the hidden meanings beneath the album’s layers of symbolism, this is an album that always has something more to give. While tracks like “Westward Bound” and “Unending Waltz” offer quick hits of heady deathcore, the only way to experience this from the top, following the album’s pilgrim through his entire epic journey. From the bottom of the ocean to the peak of the holy mountain, Odyssey to the West will stick with you.

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Cooper

19. Arcane – Known/Learned (2015)

Genres: Progressive metal, progressive rock (clean vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Caligula’s Horse, Dream Theater, Haken

Before becoming best known as the lead singer of acclaimed Australian prog group Caligula’s Horse, Jim Grey helmed a group by the name of Arcane. While he would eventually leave it behind to focus on his bigger band full-time, they managed to hold on long enough to bestow upon us the titanic, miraculous swansong that is Known/Learned. The first disc alone is a testament to the sheer scale of compositional ambition on display, from the exquisitely paced multi-minute rising action of “Unturning” to the evolving keyboard motifs on “Instinct” to, well, pretty much everything about the 23-minute “Learned”, which is a serious contender for best prog epic of the decade. So many tracks here feature a gradually building crescendo at their heart, executed with an absolutely impeccable command over dynamics. The second disc, meanwhile, is a perfect comedown from its bombastic counterpart, focusing on soft, warm bits of heart-meltingly lovely balladry that show off the sheer beauty of Grey’s calmer register better than anything before or since. Somehow cracking two hours without a single track feeling like filler, there are few prog albums that feel as utterly complete as this one.

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music 
Write up by: Ian

18. Warforged – I: Voice (2019)

Genres: Dissonant death metal, progressive metal, black metal (harsh vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Portal, Gorguts

I: Voice is a nightmarish descent into sonic chaos, an avant-garde death metal labyrinth that remains unparalleled to this day. Its fusion of dissonant riffage and Adrian Perez’s utterly acidic vox embodies the terror of the album’s story: a cryptic, self-referential odyssey that weaves between the perspective of a lost traveler and an enigmatic, godlike observer. As jagged transitions, jazz-infused solos, and eerie acoustic interludes reinforce the album’s themes of psychological torment, motifs return only to be missing a limb and with their heads on backwards. With I: Voice, Warforged have created a nightmare made substance, a serrated spiral of sound that pulls you in and never lets go.

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music 
Write up by: Cooper

17. Anciients – Voice of the Void (2016)

Genres: Progressive death metal, sludge metal (mixed vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Mastodon, Enslaved 

“Ibex Eye”. I can basically end the writeup right here, because to this day, it’s one of my all time favorite songs. It’s the best Opeth song that Opeth never wrote and contains one of the most brutal lyrical outros I’ve ever heard. However, this writeup isn’t about this one song, it’s about a whole album full of brutal, THC-soaked riffs, fist-bumping choruses and an atmosphere that feels like walking on the harsh surface of Arrakis. Intro “Following the Voice” wastes no time getting down to its brutal riffage and infectious chorus, “Worshipper” showcases the band’s early Baroness-esque sludge side, and “Pentacle” is the perfect shorter offering that rips through its six minute runtime. If you’re a fan of getting sludgy and proggy with your death, then Voice of the Void is not to be missed! 

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music 
Write up by: Zach

16. Hands of Despair – Well of the Disquieted (2018)

Genres: Progressive death metal, progressive black metal (mixed vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Ne Obliviscaris, Enslaved, Edge of Sanity

This is it. To this day, Well of the Disquieted by Hands of Despair is still the only 10/10 I have ever given on the blog. It’s bleak, heavy, demonic, visceral, but also melodic, emotional, and deeply cathartic. Hands of Despair are masters of the harsh-soft writing that Opeth popularized and use that to deftly craft huge, labyrinthine compositions with minimal repetition that somehow still make perfect sense through their acumen for building and releasing tension. A multitude of my all-time favorite moments and especially climaxes are on this album, and though the record may not be the most immediately accessible thing out there due to its density and length, Well of the Disquieted is absolutely worth sinking your teeth into.

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Sam

15. Karma Rassa – Vesna…Snova Vesna (2018)

Genres: Progressive metal, progressive rock (clean vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Anathema, Riverside, Pain of Salvation, Radiohead, Alcest

Have you ever sampled something and been instantly transported to another dimension? Well, that’s what happened to me when I found this album on Metal-Archives while browsing for the blog back in 2018. Vesna… Snova Vesna is a gorgeous, ethereal work detailing the four seasons with poetic Russian lyrics, starting in spring (“Vesna”) and ending in spring again (“Snova Vesna”). Through floaty synths, textural and melodic guitarwork, a very forward, warm bass presence, and beautiful, lush singing, Karma Rassa craft an otherworldly atmosphere up there with the best of Alcest while simultaneously engraving their lengthy compositions with dynamic twists and turns befitting of the prog label. Whether it’s a simple lead guitar melody, a sudden saxophone solo, a dramatic percussion-driven section, or benign textural strumming with synths, every creative decision on this album just works. I still have yet to encounter another album that manages to capture such levels of ethereal beauty and melancholy in its atmosphere while also keeping this level of complexity. As far as I’m concerned, Vesna… Snova Vesna is a monumental achievement and a must-listen for any prog fan.

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Sam

14. Frost* – Falling Satellites (2016)

Genres: Neo-progressive rock, progressive rock, hard rock (clean vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Arena, Marillion, Dream Theater, Genesis, Yes, old Haken, Steven Wilson, Subsignal

Frost’s debut Milliontown has become something of a legend in progressive rock circles; Falling Satellites doesn’t receive quite as much kudos, but for me it’s their masterpiece. The group’s only album of the 2010s, Falling Satellites is a thematically cohesive smørgasbord of beautifully composed, keyboard-led, energetic progressive rock fuelled by creative soloing, pop hooks, driving riffs, and an infusion of electronica that provides some real highlight moments (“Towerblock”, “Closer to the Sun”, “Hypoventilate”). Jem Godfrey and John Mitchell are our dynamic singers and soloists, while Nathan King and Craig Blundell form the tightest rhythm section in modern prog rock. The “Sunlight” suite comprising tracks six through eleven may well be Frost’s greatest work to date, and every song has at least one moment that’ll blow you away, if not a dozen. Meditating on the radical contingency of existence, Falling Satellites is awash with bittersweet optimism, an irrepressible sense of gratitude, and chock full of callbacks and reprises. With this and four other records, Frost have proven they’re not just another prog rock group, but probably the most innovative and forward-thinking band of the genre’s last twenty years—I lost a year in this album or maybe more. 

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Christopher

13. Ostura – The Room (2018)

Genres: Progressive metal, power metal, symphonic metal (clean vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Symphony X, Ayreon, Seventh Wonder

Symphonic prog metal comes in many flavors. One of the most unique is that of Ayreon, the guest-star-studded metal opera outfit responsible for a litany of over-the-top concept albums, and rarely does any other group come close to replicating their operatic oeuvre. For Ostura, though, with their sophomore album featuring three separate vocalists and a guest guitarist credit for the man Arjen Anthony Lucassen himself, that company is not so out of reach. The Room (unlike the film of the same name) truly excels in all aspects of composition and performance, replete with incredible vocal performances and some of the most emotionally moving sections I’ve ever heard from a metal album—especially one as little known as this. While the music itself is operatic and elevated, The Room lays out a surprisingly personal and relatable narrative, offering a metaphorical look inside the turmoil of a young girl’s mind (voiced by Youmna Jreissati) as she grapples with the divided personifications of her own imagination (Elia Monsef and Michael Mills) struggling for supremacy in her internal universe.

Links: Spotify | Apple Music 
Write up by: Doug

12. Slugdge – Esoteric Malacology (2018)

Genres: Progressive death metal, technical death metal (mixed vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, The Black Dahlia Murder, Hath, Rivers of Nihil 

We’ve seen a lot of prog death get on this list, and that’s just because it’s objectively the best subgenre. However, despite the bevy of other prog death picks, none of them really sound like Slugdge. There’s something about the squirmy, slimy riffs blessed by Mollusca himself that sit atop this opus of an album. Every single guitar part slithers through section after slime-ridden section, and makes up in spades for any artificiality in the intelligently programmed drums. The clean vocals and soaring choruses on “Slave Goo World” and “The Spectral Burrows” perfectly contrast with the heavier “Salt Thrower” and outstanding closer “Limo Vincit Omnia”. Esoteric Malacology is one of those albums that I walked away from with a new favorite moment and song each listen, and all eight tracks still continue to fight each other for which is best on every fresh listen. 

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Zach

11. Seventh Wonder – The Great Escape (2010)

Genres: Progressive metal, power metal (clean vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Symphony X, Dream Theater, Kamelot, Circus Maximus

Even in a genre renowned for producing songs of above-average length, few songwriters dare approach the hallowed thirty-minute mark without splitting their composition into bite-sized pieces on the track listing. In 2010, Seventh Wonder sailed far beyond their hesitant progressive compatriots with a title track clocking in at a massive 30:22. Where one might expect such an epic piece’s pacing to drag by the end of the half-hour, “The Great Escape” flows smoothly as a sequence of individual scenes, each new story moment accompanied by equally fresh melodies. The complex structure also comes packed with compositional flexes and flourishes, including extended instrumental sections and an abundance of clever licks and beautiful themes that you would struggle to find on most entire albums, let alone individual tracks. Despite the constant changes, there’s still a clear sense of building towards some final destination, and the finale sounds all the more triumphant as a brand new theme rather than one more reprise of a tired chorus. Of course, while the behemoth closer may be the most obvious draw for The Great Escape, the rest of the outing offers no shortage of highlights. From the gorgeous piano- and synth-string-laden “King of Whitewater” to hefty breakdowns in “The Angelmaker,” Seventh Wonder perform with a heady mix of progressive precision and power metal bombast. Even moments of cheesy candor like the chorus of “Alley Cat” skate by without reproach, nestled unobtrusively among all the epic moments made real by Tommy Karevik’s marvellous voice. From a band that still hasn’t achieved massive renown, The Great Escape is an unexpected masterclass in all things prog.

Links: Spotify | Apple Music 
Write up by: Doug

10. Aquilus – Griseus (2011)

Genres: Symphonic black metal, atmospheric black metal, classical, folk (mixed vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Chopin, Agalloch, Debussy 

What more can I say about this album that I haven’t already in one of my Lost in Times? Could it be that no other artist has successfully attempted and nailed something this ambitious in the fusion of classical music, film score and black metal? Or perhaps that for weeks on end, “Loss” continuously echoed in my brain until I was practically sick of it. Griseus is a monumental achievement in songwriting. Each song is a journey in and of itself, one that yearns for eighty minutes of your attention, and one that well deserves it. If you aren’t sold by the time ‘Nihil’ turns from black metal to acoustic folk to something from a Danny Elfman score, then this album simply isn’t for you. Even more disturbing, this was all done by one incredibly talented man. Horace Rosenqvist understands music composition and classical elements like no one else in the field, and Griseus will tell you everything you need to know about his skills. 

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music 
Write up by: Zach

9. Vanden Plas – The Seraphic Clockwork (2010)

Genres: Traditional progressive metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Dream Theater when they were still good and any band remotely like it

What do you do after releasing a career-defining concept album? Clearly, you write another one that’s even grander in scope, and most importantly, just as good! The Seraphic Clockwork leans even further into the grandiose, theatrical presentation cemented on Christ 0 with its orchestration, dramatic vocal lines, and abundance of expansive compositions. Tracks like “The Final Murder” and “On My Way to Jerusalem” push Vanden Plas’s boundaries into epic territories eclipsing even previous hallmark “January Sun” in grandiosity, while “Frequency” and “Holes in the Sky” are among the punchiest the band has written to date; “Rush of Silence” manages to do both. Of course, all the classic Vanden Plas hallmarks are still there: rocking riffs, thoughtful vocal melodies that are both catchy and carry vast emotional depth, tasteful melodic guitar and keyboard solos, and a wondrous, magical atmosphere to tie it all together. The Seraphic Clockwork is a masterclass in ambitious yet grounded songwriting, cementing Vanden Plas’s place in the underground prog metal canon.

Links: Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Sam

8. Virvum – Illuminance (2016)

Genres: Technical death metal, progressive death metal (harsh vocals, mostly harsh) 
Recommended for fans of: Obscura, Fallujah, Vale of Pnath

Pewww [the craziest forty-minute collection of riffs and solos you’ll hear in your life]. In Virvum’s sole studio album, this Swiss quintet perfected technical death metal. Guitarists Nic Gruhn and Toby Koelman unleash mind-bending, interweaving guitar lines and stupidly sexy solos for forty minutes straight. Handling the low end on bass, Arran McSporran plods along almost matching the axemen in pace and notes, an impressive feat considering Gruhn and Koelman lay down more solos per minute on this thing than any band not named First Fragment or Equipoise. Don’t even get me started on the mathematical precision of Diego Morenzoni on drums: Virvum truly are the Swiss watch of metal, so mechanically precise as to be a work of art. Oh, and Illuminance is emotional and stuff, too, despite the crazy sci-fi angle, the massive bursts of cleaner trem picking giving me that sweet sweet frisson. When “Illuminance” ends (after possibly my favorite guitar solo of all time at 4:30) with its final repeated chant of “HELPLESS FINAL GLIMPSE AT A DISAPPEARING SUN,” I get shivers every time. Paced and performed perfectly, this is a debut that may never be topped again in the tech death world. It’s impossible to be this good on your first try. 

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Andy

7. Tanagra – Meridiem (2019)

Genres: Progressive metal, power metal (clean vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Symphony X, Kamelot, Seventh Wonder

We here at The Progressive Subway are nothing if not willing to beat a meme to death. Our metaphorical offices often echo with the irresistible refrain of “RAIN FEARS NO FIRE, JUST AS THE TIDE FEARS NO SHORE” which opens “Witness,” the intense and climactic final track of Meridiem. Tanagra is a powerful band in the truest sense of power metal, featuring uniquely deep vocals from (now-ex) vocalist Tom Socia alongside beefy instrumental parts, with excellent songwriting to tie it all neatly together. Although less explicit about its story than most of what we consider “concept albums,” Meridiem presents a succession of mysterious cosmic fantasy scenes (partially inspired by Steven Erikson’s Malazan series) with a level of evocative clarity that few can match. Rather than getting in your face with excessive power metal theatrics, Tanagra lay out immersive worlds in every one of their songs, from the unassuming mysticism of “Etheric Alchemy” to towering timeless majesty in “Across the Ancient Desert.” The moments that make Meridiem stand out are the ones where the music draws you into the fantasy, inviting you to imagine a dream world where these incredible scenes could become real. “Witness” is undeniably the most memorable (and memeable), but it’s the capstone of an unforgettable album that stacks one incredible track on top of another the whole way through.

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Doug

6. Alkaloid – Liquid Anatomy (2018)

Genres: Progressive death metal, technical death metal (mixed vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Obscura, Rivers of Nihil, Beyond Creation

TRANSDIFFERENTIATING CEPHALOPODS!!! The first of now several (ex-)Obscura offshoots, Alkaloid turned down the tech and turned up the prog from Diluvium-era Obscura with the help of frontman Morean, and the results speak for themselves. From Morean’s Supertramp-y cleans on catchy bangers like “Kernel Panic” to the frenetic tech explosion of “Chaos Theory and Practice,” the sci-fi inspired tracks are all masterful and span the gamut of what prog death can be. The first two-thirds of the album are tech-y prog at its finest hour, but Liquid Anatomy concludes with a nineteen-minute epic, “Rise of the Cephalopods,” and what a finale it is. Slowly building up from the start of the squiddy empire and building to them as the flying, dragon-like species they will be in the future sitting on thrones of human remains, the track is as stellar as its concept, and a fitting closer to one of the best progressive death metal albums of the decade.

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music 
Write up by: Andy

5. Xanthochroid – Of Erthe and Axen Acts I & II (2017)

Genres: Progressive black metal, symphonic metal, musical theater (mixed vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Ne Obliviscaris, Ihsahn, Opeth, LARP music 

Xanthochroid is prog-black to show your DnD friends. Of Erthe and Axen Acts I and II are exactly as grandiose and pretentious as the titles make them sound, feeling more like a stage play set to metal than a regular old album, complete with lyrical and musical reprises throughout the eighty-minute production, not to mention an entire orchestra backing it all. Xanthochroid bleeds epic fantasy imagery from the very first minute, pausing to show their folk side every so often. When the metal comes, it’s full of massive, Ne Obliviscaris-esque chords and raspy, Ihsahn-styled vocals. When they tone down the screams and double-kick drums, they evoke an atmosphere of wonder, palettes of lush forests and small tavern-inns existing on the precipice of two nations at war. And unlike most concept albums, Xanthochroid have told the equivalent of a Greek tragedy within their surprisingly fleshed out fantasy world. Of Erthe and Axen is never not overdramatic; it revels in drama. The album’s very sound puts you at the forefront of a world in dire straits, and the perspective of the two brothers who shape its events. ‘Towards Truth and Reconciliation’ is one of the best album closers out there, mostly because of its latter half, making lyrics out of every prior song’s title, truly feeling like you’re coming full circle in this epic tale. 

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Zach

4. Wilderun – Sleep at the Edge of the Earth (2015)

Genres: Progressive death metal (mixed vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Turisas, Disillusion

You got folk in my Opeth! It’s no secret that Veil of Imagination is my favorite album of all time, but Sleep at the Edge of the Earth is the album which put Wilderun on the map with triumphant, bombastic melodies in the classic Opethian style of progressive metal. Evan Berry’s rich baritone and Mikael-tinged growls are integral to the winding tracks, and boy do they wind. With an ambitious suite like “Ash Memory” and timeless epics like “The Garden of Fire,” Wilderun’s sophomore album showcases songwriting maturity most bands never achieve. With enough Turisas in the album’s DNA to satisfy both the folk fans and the high-minded prog fans, it’s great party music, too; I reckon you could raid a village or LARP with Sleep at the Edge of the Earth playing. While Wilderun have since topped the release (*wink wink*), at least in my opinion, many fans nevertheless regard this as their best, and it’s not hard to see why—most bands could only dream of a peak this high. 

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Andy

3. Native Construct – Quiet World (2015)

Genres: Progressive metal (mixed vocals, mostly clean) 
Recommended for fans of: Between the Buried and Me, Haken, The Human Abstract, Thank You Scientist

Excessively technical, excessively theatrical, excessively cheesy—Native Construct’s Quiet World revels in glorious excess at any given moment, cramming tons of ideas into each song and working many of them into motifs that stretch across its runtime in a manner not unlike Between the Buried and Me. Typically, this would be a recipe for failure, but a clever utilization of reprises and recontextualized lyrical ideas packaged in a completely reasonable fifty-minute runtime makes its scattershot compositions shockingly effective, creating something more accomplished than the sum of its parts. Though, this is not to discredit Quiet World’s parts: “The Spark of the Archon,” for example, is a powerfully cinematic track with some of my favorite progressive metal moments while “Your Familiar Face” is a pithy mixture of Queen and My Chemical Romance, acting as a nice mid-album respite from the balls-to-the-wall technical excess. Quiet World fully embodies the phrase “flash in the pan” given its almost mythical stature as a quirky masterpiece from a band who released just one album and then moved on, and it is well deserving of a place in the top three.

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music 
Write up by: Dave

2. Disillusion – The Liberation (2019)

Genres: Progressive metal, melodic death metal (mixed vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Edge of Sanity, In Mourning

For those who don’t know who Disillusion are, the band has essentially cemented itself as one of the most celebrated in the history of underground progressive metal. The Liberation is the second album, in a three part trilogy, following the simultaneously esoteric and unprecedentedly successful Back to Times of Splendor. Delivering on the expectations curated by the dreams of prog and melodeath fans, Disillusion presents us with a prominently cohesive chain of shifting rhythmic and melodic patterns in the form of distorted riffs, unique colors and textures of vocals, and mood-setting orchestral components. Being masterful songwriters, the band not only writes individual tracks that build and pay off around distinct, cohesive themes, but each of those tracks are also a significant means of creating the build and pay off of the album in its entirety. The album begins with four twisting tracks chock-full of gorgeous melodeath riffs, technical solos, and gutturals. As the album proceeds, we’re introduced to increasingly passionate lead guitars, somber and introspective croons, atmospheric acoustic passages, and heart wrenching strings and brass as the album climaxes. The Liberation narrowly missing the top spot isn’t only a testament to the album’s musical value but its wide reaching appeal for prog metal fans, it’s not too brutal to be ostracizing those averse to dissonance while also retaining all the elements authentic to the grittiness of metal.

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music 
Write up by: Sabrina

1. Wilderun – Veil of Imagination (2019)

Genres: Progressive death metal, symphonic metal (mixed vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Turisas, Persefone, Ne Obliviscaris, In Mourning 

Yes, we’ve heard from them twice before in this countdown, but they had the audacity to take the top spot, too. Are we an unrepentant coterie of groupies? Yes. Do Wilderun deserve the top spot anyway? Absolutely. On their third album, the red-socked quintet leaned even further into the cinematic orchestral sound, fully consummating grandiose atmospheres and rapturous symphonics into their ever-evolving Opethian progressive death metal style. Veil of Imagination showcases the band’s dynamic range from softer acoustic passages and orchestral breaks to monstrously intense death metal with blast beats and blistering blackened tremolo. Evan Berry’s deft blend of theatrical cleans and guttural Opethian harshes comprise one of the best vocal performances in the genre while the intricate and majestic orchestral arrangements of Dan Müller and Wayne Ingram elevate the compositions to mountainous heights. An introspective meditation on the pitfalls of neuroticism infused with literary lyrics and bookended by poetry recitations, Veil of Imagination is a chiaroscuro of harmony and chaos, of crushing death metal and orchestral levity. It’s an album to be treasured for all its elegiac beauty and cathartic brutality, and a singular accomplishment within the progressive metal underground, heralding the maturation of a band who will doubtlessly go on to be remembered as one of the greatest of their age. 

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Christopher

Our Spotify playlist contains every band in the Top 50, apart from Ad Nauseam who aren’t on Spotify, we threw in an alternative for your listening pleasure. Other than that, what’s left to say other than thank you for joining us on this journey through the underground! Please stop booing us for missing your favourite album. We’re going to go focus on our usual reviewing and not get tied up in any more projects. This does make me wonder though… what are the best underground prog albums of the 2020s so far?

The post Our Top 50 Underground Prog Albums of 2010 – 2019: Part Two appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

As far as methodology goes, our long-time metric for reviewing albums was any band with fewer than 20,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. We’ve since abandoned that threshold specifically so we can roast bands like Dream Theater, but for this post and future posts regarding “underground” bands and albums, we’ll be keeping that threshold. All of these bands had fewer than 20,000 monthly listeners at the time of voting; they might be over that threshold now. Additionally, that threshold isn’t foolproof; some unexpectedly big bands slip through the cracks, but rest assured you won’t be seeing the likes of Tool, Gojira, Opeth or Devin Townsend in this countdown.

There were countless bands we wish had made the cut but unfortunately didn’t make the top fifty. As a result, we’re starting out with honorable mentions from some of our writers who wanted to give a shout-out to their favourites that missed the bar.

Honorable Mentions

Andy: All Traps on Earth – A Drop of Light | orchestral progressive rock | Bandcamp

Dave: Gallowbraid – Ashen Eidolon | Cascadian black metal | Bandcamp

Chris: Subterranean Masquerade – Vagabond | oriental progressive folk metal | Bandcamp

Francesco: Icefish – Human Hardware | traditional progressive metal | Bandcamp

Cooper: Hath – Of Rot and Ruin | progressive death metal | Bandcamp

Doug: Darkwater – Human | symphonic traditional progressive metal | Bandcamp

Sabrina: Headspace – I Am Anonymous | traditional progressive metal | Bandcamp

Sam: Kingcrow – Eidos | atmospheric progressive metal/rock | Bandcamp

50. StarSystems – StarSystems III (2016)

Genres: Progressive metal, djent, jazz fusion (instrumental)
Recommended for fans of: Plini, Intervals, Sithu Aye, Arch Echo

I’m not sure whether the dearth of instrumental albums in this list says more about the Progressive Subway staff or about instrumental music itself. In either case, the presence of StarSystems as the only ranked instrumental entry, and in last place at that, undersells its significance. The last and longest of three debut self-titled releases which straddle the line between EP and LP, StarSystems III stands as one of the most consistently great instrumental albums I know of, featuring absolutely no misses and showcasing incredibly emotional vocal-less songwriting comparable to genre greats like Plini. To me, StarSystems III demonstrates the heights that instrumental prog reached in the last decade just as much as any of its better-known contemporaries.

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Doug

49. Southern Empire – Civilisation (2018)

Genres: Progressive metal, progressive rock (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Dream Theater, Sons of Apollo, The Flower Kings, Transatlantic

With gargantuan epics and cheesy prog metal antics, Southern Empire’s sophomore release Civilisation is simply epic in a way reminiscent of Transatlantic or Dream Theater at their gaudiest. Civilisation opens with “Goliath’s Moon,” an unreasonably catchy bop that has been a mainstay of family karaoke on road trips for half a decade. The twenty-nine minute beast “Crossroads” contains everything one could possibly hope for in such a lengthy epic: glorious reprises, face-melting solos, and tons and tons of cheesy charm. But the real highlight for me is “Cries for the Lonely,” which I would not only consider one of the best prog epics of the 2010s but also one of the best prog tracks ever. It’s beautifully bombastic, building from its overture with a huge swell which crashes into a violin solo before gritty tenor Danny Lopresto belts out the first of many verses. Even at a husky nineteen minutes, the track never loses steam. Civilisation came out my freshman year of high school, and “Cries for the Lonely” was the exact length of the drive to school, so my mom and I have heard the track a million times, and I love it more with every listen. Southern Empire shot for the stars, and they hit the moon… Goliath’s moon. 

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Andy

48. The Ruins of Beverast – Exuvia (2017)

Genres: Atmospheric black metal, experimental doom metal (mixed vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Blut Aus Nord, Decline of the I, Esoteric, Heilung

Sometimes an album has perfect cover art. Julia Schneider’s painting for Exuvia encapsulates the album, its deep purple ochre decorating the perfect shade of night for the shamanic ritual pictured. Delving into Exuvia is scary and intense, hypnotically suffocating. Alexander von Meilenwald’s solo project has never been for the faint of heart, but The Ruins of Beverast’s fifth album transcends space and time, transporting the listener back to the Middle Ages: I’m in a mead hall about to be ravaged by Grendel. From the three part opener and title track to the closing notes of “Takitum Tootem,” there’s a pulsating rhythm, a liveliness that’s impossible to escape. Exuvia is pre-industrial, back to the good old days before technology poisoned us and fighting off demons was mere entertainment. 

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Andy

47. Novembre – URSA (2016)

Genres: Gothic metal, doom metal, progressive metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Katatonia, Anathema, Tiamat

As the saying goes, beauty is rarely skin deep. If the rocky boot of Italy with its blue skies and sunny beaches evokes within you cheery, uptempo albums, just know you’re missing out on a world of depth, in which albums like Novembre’s URSA bloom like black roses. Drawing clear inspiration from the broody, melancholic death and gothic metal aspects of groups like Katatonia and Anathema, the Rome-based outfit Novembre takes these elements and creates a distinctly painterly atmosphere on URSA, where the sounds, like colours, flow into one another to create light and shadow. The progressive nature of the album lends itself to effecting changes in mood and tempo not merely throughout its runtime of over an hour, but also within songs themselves: haunting ecclesiastical chanting leading into strained, impassioned, despairing harsh vocal cries; tremolo-picking passages dissolving into reverberant minor-key arpeggios and saxophone. In a country that’s primarily known for their power metal scene, Novembre stands as the antithesis; a consummate effort to portray beauty in tenebrosity. 

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Francesco

46. Children of Nova – Impossible Landscape (2012)

Genres: Progressive rock (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Closure in Moscow, The Mars Volta, Rishloo

There’s something to be said for burning short and bright rather than slowly fading away. While their time as a band may have been tragically brief, San Diego’s Children of Nova managed to put out two excellent releases in that span, namely 2009’s unfortunately-not-eligible-for-this-list The Complexity of Light and its often-overshadowed follow-up, Impossible Landscape. While its predecessor was a wild, explosive blast of The Mars Volta-core chock-full of bongos and piercing falsetto wails, Impossible Landscape is a more mature, measured effort, with greater focus on tight songwriting and strong melodies. Frontman Teo Lopez scales back his stratospheric shrieks in favor of his powerfully melodic mid-range, working in harmony with the instrumentals rather than passing the spotlight back and forth. This approach pays off in the form of the punchy yet progressive riffs of songs like the title track and “Erratic”, and when they indulge their more sprawling instincts on closer “It’s Just a Ride”, it feels like something special. Not a bad way to go out, I’d say.

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Ian

45. Barren Earth – A Complex of Cages (2018)

Genres: Progressive death metal, melodic death metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Amorphis, Ghost

We all make fun of our glorious leader Sam for liking cheesy, theatrical music, but the truth is, so do I. A Complex of Cages is what happens when you put Opeth and Ghost in a blender, and I mean that as a compliment. Opener “The Living Fortress” is the perfect tone-setter, beginning with a bludgeoning main riff that leads into Jon Aldara’s overdramatic cleans. As much as the riffing is clearly inspired by Ghost Reveries, there’s enough 70s prog influence and epic, fist-pumping choruses to keep things interesting. Speaking of choruses, it’s hard to find a song on this album without an incredible one, with special mention to “Further Down” and “Dysphoria”, which continue to be stuck in my head long after I finish my 300th listen of this masterpiece. 

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Zach

44. The World is Quiet Here – Prologue (2018)

Genres: Metalcore, progressive metal (mixed vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Between the Buried and Me, Native Construct, Others By No One

Prologue took the prog-metal underworld by storm back in 2018, and it did so for good reason. I’d call The World is Quiet Here one of the few bands from the underground scene that manage to thrive while being so heavily influenced by a major act in the genre, rather than being held back by it. They’re absolutely taking a page (or more) from Between the Buried and Me’s style; very abrasive metalcore mixed together with unpredictable genre-fusions and a good amount of goofiness packed in. But they take this blueprint and make it their own, with their riffing far more influenced by djent, and the genre mish-mashes having a hell of a lot of western/americana/country influence to give them their own flavour. Prologue is well produced, flows excellently from track to track, provides technical chops, memorable choruses, a concept that’s easy to understand yet well written, and has a unique sense of urgency that allows it to pack all these things in one tight, fifty-minute package.

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | ‎Apple Music 
Write up by: Dylan

43. Iapetus – The Body Cosmic (2019)

Genres: Melodic death metal, progressive metal, black metal (mixed vocals, mostly harsh) 
Recommended for fans of: Ne Obliviscaris, Opeth, Persefone

Themes of space in metal have frankly been done to death, in many contexts a dour reflection on humanity’s fear of the unknown or abject loneliness. Iapetus take a more transcendent perspective on space on The Body Cosmic, as according to Iapetus, you are the cosmos reflecting upon itself, proclaiming “Where does the weight of the universe lie, if not with me?” Such statements of grandeur are accompanied by equally ambitious progressive melodeath, employing Dan Presland’s (ex-Ne Obliviscaris) unrelenting blast beats underneath melodic guitar work that reverberates through the cosmos until it decays into acoustic guitar and gentle clean vocals, all spread out over multiple ten-plus-minute pieces. The title track opens The Body Cosmic with an intensity and resplendence that most bands would close an album with, and yet Iapetus use that as a springboard to even loftier compositions, culminating in the explosive “The Star of Collapse.” The Body Cosmic makes a firm statement that we are never alone in our shared curiosity, optimism, and capacity to love, and does so with an unmatched fiery passion.

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Dave

42. Thrawsunblat – Metachthonia (2016)

Genres: Melodic black metal, folk metal (mixed vocals, mostly harsh) 
Recommended for fans of: Agalloch, Ulver, Moonsorrow, Windir, Ellende

An album replete with folk black metal brilliance and vivid animist lyricism, Metachthonia yearns for an ancient kind of self-discovery: each track paints vignettes of reconnection with the primal forces that move us as humans, whether they be our connections to the Earth, the stars, our ancestors, or other people. Joel Violette’s lyrics are rich, evocative, and truthfully life-changing: Metachthonia’s ideas help ground me to my roots when I feel lost or overwhelmed, pointing me back to the things that are important to me. All of these, well, chthonic themes are backdropped by intense and sprawling melodic black metal pieces inspired by Canadian folk music and accompanied by the virtuosic cello work of Raphael Weinroth-Browne; harsh vocals and blast beats tear across the landscape while earthy cleans and acoustic guitars force you to stop and listen to the Earth’s breath. A true standout of forward-thinking black metal expression, I can say without hesitation that Metachthonia is my favorite album of all time thanks to a mixture of supreme songwriting and lyricism that speaks to me at my core.

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Dave

41. Conjurer & Pijn – Curse These Metal Hands (2019)

Genres: Post-metal, sludge metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Baroness, Svalbard, Rolo Tomassi

As the only collaboration album to make the list, Curse These Metal Hands sits at the vast crossroads of Pijn’s aching melancholia and Conjurer’s potent ferocity. And despite each band wielding balefire with their own respective sounds, these Englishmen opted instead to create a salve to nihilism. Over the album’s four tracks, one’s life is completely and utterly affirmed, the weight upon one’s shoulders lifted, and the clouds blocking the sun parted. This is no subtle affair; these Englishmen pound optimism into you note by note, riff by riff until you too are lifted up and see the light of day. From the epic lyrical climaxes of “High Spirits” to the nursery-rhyme like motif that closes out the album on “Sunday,” this album serves one purpose. And it achieves it beautifully. 

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Cooper

40. Black Peaks – All That Divides (2018)

Genres: Alternative metal, progressive metal, post-hardcore (clean vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Deftones, Mastodon, Vheissu-era Thrice, Loathe, Moon Tooth

A bright-burning but brief legend in the UK alt metal scene, Black Peaks’ tremendous second album was sadly their last. Deftly blending indelibly British progressive post-hardcore with the sludgy dynamism of Mastodon and the heavy grooves of later Deftones, Black Peaks managed to forge a unique identity within an often homogenous genre on All That Divides. Will Gardner’s bellows, shrieks and angelic cleans were the hook, built upon intricate riffing both progressive and punchy, and a varied rhythm section which could rise to every occasion. From the punky energy of “Electric Fires” to the post-metal crescendousness of “The Midnight Sun” to the heart-wrenching refugee crisis ballad “Slow Seas”, Black Peaks pushed the UK proggy post-hardcore scene to giddy heights that yet remain unsurpassed. 

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Christopher

39. Vulkan – Mask of Air (2011)

Genres: Progressive rock, psychedelic rock (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: The Mars Volta, Rishloo, Closure in Moscow, Malina-era Leprous

Vulkan’s heavy rock sound defies description and comparison but lands somewhere between The Mars Volta, Leprous with a little less depression, and Closure in Moscow or VOLA with a little less pop. While the intervening years and two additional albums have brought them some much-deserved recognition, Vulkan spent the majority of the previous decade being criminally underrated for their clever songwriting, lively psychedelic tone, and expressive yet enigmatic lyrics. Although 2020’s Technatura seems to have finally been their breakout release, their debut Mask of Air still shows the band at their best, with numerous tracks that could easily be the highlight of a lesser album, including a final one-two punch (“Pyrrhus” into “Howling Owls (Pt. 3)”) that remains one of my all time favorite album closers.

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Doug

38. In the Silence – A Fair Dream Gone Mad (2013)

Genres: Progressive metal, progressive rock, alternative metal (clean vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Katatonia, Karnivool, Tool, Riverside

What convenient timing! For an almost Tool-worthy length of time, A Fair Dream Gone Mad has remained the one and only album by little-known California band In the Silence—but no more! With a new label deal signed last year and a pair of singles from the upcoming album released so far, now is the perfect time to dive into this melancholy prog band in anticipation. Their dark, gothic atmosphere feels most comparable to Katatonia, with mournful vocals and an atmospheric flair to the production that brings an autumnal chill to the air at any time of year. Balancing thick, syrupy distortion with occasional dashes of subtle acoustic guitar, In the Silence have mastered a very specific aesthetic, and A Fair Dream Gone Mad drips with it.

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Doug

37. Cheeto’s Magazine – Amazingous (2019)

Genres: Progressive rock, symphonic prog, neo-prog, heavy prog (strange vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: The Flower Kings, A.C.T., Genesis

Cheeto’s Magazine are not the kind of band I would usually listen to and Amazingous simply defies intuitive logic; it doesn’t make any sense to me how this album turned out so good. This is a once in a decade sort of deal—perhaps, an accidental masterpiece. Paced immaculately and written close to perfectly, Amazingous brings the listener through a sanity-melting path of muppet vocals, harsh muppet vocals, inspirational pep-talks, and achieving ultimate power through contact with eldritch forces. Cheeto’s Magazine is molded out of the progressive rock classics from the 70s and 80s while providing a contemporary twist on the genres of old, contributing sounds from the current progressive metal scene. This culminates in a super refreshing, upbeat, and playfully cohesive sound. Amazingous is deceptively friendly in its sonic presentation but there is something ungodly sinister going on underneath the surface.

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Sabrina

36. Spawn of Possession – Incurso (2012)

Genres: Technical death metal (harsh vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Necrophagist, First Fragment, Decrepit Birth

Spawn of Possession have been a tech death mainstay for decades and knew since day one what they wanted to do with their music: abrasive death metal with a whole bunch of neoclassical influence to create an epic, nigh theatrical, atmosphere that somehow co-exists with some of the heaviest melodies ever written. Despite all three of their albums following this similar structure, Incurso makes the other releases essentially redundant. This is a product that assembles everything that made their debut and sophomore releases promising and elevates it to heights that have yet to be reached again in the technical death metal scene. Incurso has some of the most complex-yet-catchy passages of music I’ve ever heard, with its neoclassical elements adding a certain wow factor that sticks the landing upon first listen and consistently elevates the experience upon revisits. It’s grandiose and larger than life, yet never struggles to keep the listener engaged in spite of its incredible complexity. If that isn’t enough to sell you on Incurso, it’s one of the few death metal albums I’d highly encourage you to listen to with a lyrics sheet, for they are some of the grimmest, darkest, yet also beautifully written lyrical passages in the genre’s history. 

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | ‎Apple Music
Write up by: Dylan

35. Bent Knee – Land Animal (2017)

Genres: Progressive rock, art rock, avant-garde (clean vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: The Dear Hunter, Radiohead, Joanna Newsom, King Crimson, Björk

Throughout their defiantly uncategorizable career, art rock darlings Bent Knee have made a name for themselves largely by striking an incredibly deft balance between the cerebral and the primal, using their fancy Berklee music degrees to alchemize raw, bleeding-edge emotions into angular, groovy indie prog tunes that expertly zigzag listener expectations. Perhaps none of their records address this balance as head-on as Land Animal, whose loose concept centers around the conflicts that arise between humanity’s breakneck technological expansion and the ancient, animalistic desires and fears that remain unchanged from millions of years ago. It’s seemingly heady stuff, yet, fittingly, it also manages to be one of the most accessible albums Bent Knee have ever made, with Courtney Swain’s keening soprano and Chris Baum’s expertly arranged strings at the heart of its unforgettably potent hooks. Offering soaring dynamic builds (“Holy Ghost”, “Time Deer”) and quietly devastating ballads (“Insides In”, “Boxes”) in equal measure, Land Animal is a record for the partially-evolved beast in all of us.

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Ian

34. Daydream XI – The Circus of the Tattered and Torn (2017)

Genres: Progressive metal, power metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Seventh Wonder, Dream Theater, Symphony X

One of my favorite tropes in prog metal is that of the concept album, and The Circus of the Tattered and Torn is a gem of an album that simply adheres to and delivers on all the tropes you could ask for in spades. Cheesy spoken word interludes? Check. An epic instrumental overture? Check. Over-indulgent songwriting? Hell yeah. Daydream XI play their asses off on this album, channeling all their theatricality, showmanship, and passion into creating banger song after banger song. They equally nail the grandiosity of power metal as they deliver on softer, emotionally vulnerable prog moments, carried as much by Tiago Masseti’s insanely charismatic vocal performance as by the sublime instrumental arrangements. One moment your face contorts to the depths of stankdom, and the next you’ll be listening to gospel and you won’t even be mad because it’s so well done. Everything you want in your classic prog metal is here, and I can’t recommend The Circus of the Tattered and Torn enough. (New album when??? :(((( )

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Sam

33. DGM – The Passage (2016)

Genres: Progressive metal, power metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Symphony X, Haken, Vision Divine

Italy’s DGM are the sunny peninsula’s answer to the USA’s Symphony X, with impressive heavy guitar work, melodic vocal lines, beautiful keyboard melodies, and a rhythm section that could teach a metronome how to keep time. The Passage brings together speedy, melodic power metal and traditional progressive metal to create massive hooky choruses and virtuosic instrumental passages that crescendo masterfully into outro sequences that maintain a breakneck pace until the very last note. Simone Mularoni’s surgical work on the six-string and Mark Basile’s inspirational vocal tone are a duo to be reckoned with, and although that seems to be a staple of progressive metal outfits in this vein, using the aforementioned Symphony X as an example—if Symphony X is a Dodge Viper, then DGM is a Ferrari 488. Both have power and speed, yes, but only one of them has the artistic sophistication of a land whose beautiful landscapes inspired the cultural revolution that was the Renaissance. The other has a MAGA shaman.

Links: Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Francesco

32. An Abstract Illusion – Illuminate the Path (2016)

Genres: Progressive death metal, atmospheric death metal (mixed vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Ne Obliviscaris, Kardashev, Insomnium 

Long before they released Woe, I knew future Subway darlings An Abstract Illusion from a random Reddit post. They already stood out from their Opethian peers by putting a heavy emphasis on atmosphere, making them more akin to someone like Mare Cognitum than the aforementioned Swedes. AAI weave shimmering aural tapestries, combining bludgeoning trem-riffs with ambient keyboard noodlings and leads, the slight black-metalisms of Saor coming through on songs like “Abode of A God” and “Drop This Planet of Dust”. “Skeletons of Light” remains a favourite for showcasing how these Swedish prog-wizards would tackle the art of the long-form prog epic, and the sixteen-minute behemoth remains a testament to writing songs that feel way shorter than they actually are. 

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music 
Write up by: Zach

31. The Reticent – On the Eve of a Goodbye (2016)

Genres: Progressive metal, death metal (mixed vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Wilderun, Perihelion Ship

The Reticent have become infamous for delivering some of the most hard-hitting, depressing, and gut-wrenching albums out there for covering topics like dementia, depression, and suicide in visceral detail. On the Eve of a Goodbye was the beginning of this trajectory. Led by Grammy-nominated music instructor, Chris Hathcock, The Reticent snake through a harrowing story about the last twenty-four hours of a girl that the narrator couldn’t save before her tragic suicide; emotional introspection and questioning observation separate intervals of masterclass Opeth-inspired death metal mediated by a dynamic, powerful production. Hathcock conjures insane growls alongside mathy, technical riffs, shifting between acoustic, somber passages and hateful distorted cacophonies. “The Confrontation” is when all hell breaks loose and the real mind-bending instrumentals take us by storm. The finale, particularly the tracks, “Funeral For a Firefly” and “The Day After” are potentially perspective-changing songs to hear in the album’s epilogue. This is one of the most depressing albums you will likely hear; I say that with the utmost praise.

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music 
Write up by: Sabrina

30. Moron Police – A Boat on the Sea (2019)

Genres: Progressive rock (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Thank You Scientist, Voyager, Haken, Bear Ghost

The sheer glow-up of Moron Police in the late 2010s needs to be studied. Sure, their early material showed musical promise beneath its forced quirkiness and sophomoric song titles, but I don’t think anyone expected a follow-up this good. A Boat on the Sea is one of the most exultantly colorful-sounding albums I’ve ever heard, with soaring, infinitely catchy choruses backed up by lush, creative musicianship that presents a delightful new bit of instrumentation at every turn. While its lyrics may have grown more serious (and more apropos than ever in recent times) in their commentary on warlike, capitalist hegemony, the prevailing mood is that of radiant, defiant joy. The world may be locked in a cycle of fascism and violence, but we can still smile and laugh at life’s absurdities with the ones we care about most.

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Ian

29. Equipoise – Demiurgus (2019)

Genres: Technical death metal (harsh vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Beyond Creation, Necrophagist, First Fragment, Inferi

Written by members of Beyond Creation, Inferi, and Greylotus and featuring members of every other tech death band on the planet, Equipoise’s Demiurgus is the definition of tech death for tech death’s sake. Solos are traded around like a toxic plague, exotic scales latching onto your skin and STANKY fretless bass worming its way into your bones. At every turn, Demiurgus hits the listener with the purest distillation of technical prowess, and yet Equipoise still manage to make the whole thing memorable in part thanks to their classical influence yet mostly thanks to the sheer ludicrousness of the whole thing. Did I mention the fretless bass is rather STANKY?

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Cooper

28. Anubis Gate – Anubis Gate (2011)

Genres: Progressive metal, power metal (clean vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Vanden Plas, Seventh Wonder, Pagan’s Mind, Circus Maximus

Anubis Gate’s self-titled marked the beginning of a new era for the band: previously fronted by producer Jacob Hansen, bassist Henrik Fevre takes on vocal duties, his down-to-earth timbre sitting in strong juxtaposition to Hansen’s cosmic, beamed-in-from-satellite vocal approach. The shedding of Hansen’s vocals and some of the more industrial electronics gave Anubis Gate the opportunity to write more straightforward power/prog and, incidentally, make their catchiest and most personal record to date in the process. Anubis Gate’s sense of groove has never been better, intertwining hefty chugging with crystal-clear soaring guitar melodics (“The Reformation Show”, “Hold Back Tomorrow”), all augmented by Fevre’s impassioned vocal performance. Replete with commanding vocal lines and energetic power metal swagger (“Desiderio Omnibus”, “Telltale Eyes”), Anubis Gate still makes room for dramatic sentimentality (“Golden Years”, “Oh My Precious Life”) and extended pieces (“World In a Dome”, “Circumstanced”) in between its more immediate moments. Anubis Gate shows that, in the right hands, a transition album can still be thoroughly engaging and eschew the growing pains associated with change entirely.

Links: Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Dave

27. iamthemorning – The Bell (2019)

Genres: progressive rock, chamber pop (clean vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Oceansize, Ludovico Einaudi, Riverside, Sigur Ros

Although I ever-so-slightly prefer Iamthemorning’s debut ~, The Bell is an easy pick for this list as the band’s proggiest record to date. For those unfamiliar with the sound, the chamber duo consists of Gleb Kolyadin on piano and Marjana Semkina singing craft magnificent whimsical songs with haunting lyricism. On The Bell, the two bring in a whole host of guest musicians to turn the humble duo into a veritable prog rock ensemble, and the results are stunning. With tracks like the epic-in-miniature-proportion “Freak Show” and banger “Salute,” Iamthemorning truly found the perfect balance between chamber music and progressive rock. Plus, these guys write such beautiful and (deceivingly) simple music that you should have no problem showing it to your non-prog friends!

Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Andy

26. Ad Nauseam – Nihil Quam Vacuitas Ordinatum Est (2015)

Genres: Dissonant death metal, technical death metal (harsh vocals) 
Recommended for fans of: Artificial Brain, Gorguts, Spawn of Possession, Ulcerate

Few albums have broken a genre with their qualities and ambitions: some that come to mind are Vektor’s Terminal Redux, Yes’ Close to the Edge, and Astor Piazzolla’s Tango: Zero Hour. These albums shifted the paradigm with their technical brilliance and progressive outlook, perfecting what had come before and setting the standard for years to come. In similar form, Ad Nauseam’s Nihil Quam Vacuitas Ordinatum Est took dissodeath to a whole new plane of existence. With completely familiar mechanisms in a framework I know and love, Ad Nauseam simply surpass their peers in every regard. NQVOE is stunningly beautiful, endlessly precise, heavy as anything, and yet sophisticated. Building their own equipment to their specifications, NQVOE is produced so you can hear each clack of the bass perfectly, each brush of the drumstick on the cymbal, and each eerie chamber instrument. This is Modern art and a perfect album for those willing to let the dissonance into their ear holes. 

Links: Bandcamp 
Write up by: Andy

Phew. There we have it, the first round of the best underground prog album of the 2010s. Any surprises? Anything you thought would be higher? Anything you’re expecting for the top 25? You’ll have to wait a little while for Part Two but we promise it’ll be worth it and that you’ll probably end up shouting at us for the things we missed out! We’ll just go ahead and sharpen the pitchforks for you, shall we? We’ll see you soon for the remaining 25 albums!

The post Our Top 50 Underground Prog Albums of 2010 – 2019: Part One appeared first on The Progressive Subway.