Cover art by Courtney Trowbridge
Logo design by Garret Ross

Style: Thrash Metal, Progressive Metal (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Trivium, Orbit Culture, Sylosis
Country: USA (California)
Release date: 25 April 2025

Modern thrash metal is always hit or miss, and for good reason; the genre has been around nearly as long as metal itself has existed as a broader style of music. One could (and many do!) argue that all of the good ideas have already been taken, and that anything released after some arbitrary point in the 90’s is derivative slop. This does not stop bands from trying their hand at the style though, often introducing outside influence in an attempt to spice things up. Wisdom & Fools are one such group, a California based progressive thrash metal duo who describes Prophecy on their bandcamp page as “36 minutes of breathtaking modern thrash.” Well, I quite like many a modern progressive thrash metal album, and my respiratory rhythm has been far too stable for far too long if you ask me. Maybe a debut by some young blood in the scene is just what I need in lieu of an asthma flare up. Can Prophecy match the thrilling exhilaration of a particularly intense coughing fit? The short answer is no. The long answer is contained within Prophecy’s 36 minutes of undercooked thrash metal writing.

Within the first minute and a half of its runtime, Prophecy already comes across as disjointed and half-baked. Starting with the aptly named “Escaping Eden,” titled—I assume—after the track making whatever I was doing just before hitting play seem like paradise in comparison. A mid tempo 16th note tremolo awkwardly kicks things off, stumbling towards one of the most boring thrash riffs I’ve heard in a long while, and culminating in what I think is supposed to be a chorus but could also just be a bad metalcore breakdown. On a cursory listen, the fumbled songwriting may be redeemed somewhat by the proficient and at times even impressive performances, but they fail to bring any real staying power.

Wisdom & Fools’ guitar and vocal duties are handled by Philip Vargas, who is equally competent at both, and whose riffs are often mirrored by bandmate John Ramirez’s bass rumblings. The two have good chemistry, though the lack of a live drummer ends up dragging both of them down. Vargas’ vocal performance sounds like a mix between Ihsahn and New American Gospel-era Randy Blythe (Lamb of God); it’s a surprisingly versatile timbre, but the performance ends up being disappointingly monotone as Vargas never seems to take full advantage of his range. Both members seem to have handled production duties, and they’ve done a decent job at it, though it is quite loud and similarly exacerbated by the programmed drums. 

As “Escaping Eden” plods along, revealing Wisdom & Fools’ performative quirks, it also betrays their so-called “progressive” take on thrash metal, which boils down to phrases having extra beats tacked on at the end. Sure, it works the first few times, but eventually you come to expect it, and the “progressive” elements become stale and predictable. “Children of Disgrace” is somehow even more lacking in the songwriting department. Stilted thrash riffs trudge ahead and culminate in another chorus that misses the mark, except the chorus here is much worse; the intro riff comes back, but boringly simplified for some reason, and the band completely drops out at the apex of the phrase, killing all momentum only for the vocalist to rasp out the title of the song as if it were made by a 2000s hip-hop producer. “The Devil in a House of God” continues the trend of questionable choruses, this time with a riff that is lifted straight out of Celtic Frost’s “Into the Crypts of Rays,” which just confuses me more than anything. The ending of the song, though, is the first moment on Prophecy that made my ears perk up, because Wisdom & Fools stops playing riffs for a moment and focuses on an ostinato melody in the lead guitar with descending power chords providing a nice harmonic context. It turns out Wisdom & Fools actually have a knack for simple yet effective melodic development, and moments like this pop up periodically over the rest of Prophecy’s runtime, though they are not quite enough to salvage the banal thrash writing they accompany. 

The title track has the most potential as a thrash metal song proper, housing some of the better actual riffs on Prophecy, but is once again dragged down by the programmed drums. Prophecy’s drum parts are stilted and awkward, settling into beats that are impossible to get used to despite their repetition. One gets the sense that these drum parts were not written by a drummer, and most of the problems with Prophecy could be dampened or straight up solved by just getting a live drummer and a bit more of an intimate production. The back half of Prophecy is thankfully better than the front, but this is because Wisdom & Fools seem to forget that they are supposed to be a thrash metal band, and start writing metalcore songs that just kind of flirt with thrash metal techniques. Really, Prophecy sounds like a metalcore outfit who set out with the intention to write a raging thrash metal record, but ran out of steam halfway through and resorted back to writing metalcore. “Divinity” through “Perpetuals” is a decent run of songs when compared to the rest of the lot, and proves that Wisdom & Fools strengths lie in their melodic sensibilities, not awkward thrash riffs. Unfortunately, this streak doesn’t last, and Prophecy ends leaving a sour taste in my mouth with the unnecessary, derivative, and aptly named “Husk”. 

At the end of the day, Wisdom & Fools lack the bite that is required of this style of music, and even the occasional inspired lead guitar line isn’t enough to save them. The thrash riffs are mediocre, and the programmed drums drag the entire experience down even further. As it stands, Prophecy is an underdeveloped debut with lots of room to grow, though I’m worried that, in this case, dredging through the mud in search of pearls may not be a worthwhile endeavor. 

Recommended tracks: Prophecy, Divinity, Thorns
You may also like: Death Mex, Arsena, Venus
Final verdict: 3.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Metal-Archives page

Label: Okända Öden Records – Bandcamp

Wisdom & Fools is:
– John Ramirez – Bass, Production
– Philip Vargas – Guitars, Vocals, Production

The post Review: Wisdom & Fools – Prophecy appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Thrash metal, progressive metal, black metal (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Vektor, Coroner, Hellripper, Warbringer
Country: Netherlands
Release date: 7 March 2025

After splitting an EP with progressive thrash legends Vektor, Cryptosis burst onto the scene in 2021 with its debut full-length effort, Bionic Swarm.¹ The album unleashed thirty-seven minutes of balls-to-the-wall, technical thrash. There were some hints of the band’s status as relative neophytes—Bionic Swarm felt a little one-speed, lacking versatility in composition and staying within a narrow sonic range—but on the whole, Cryptosis had wrought a distinctive sound and positioned itself among the genre’s upper echelon. 

Having enjoyed the debut and believing that its sound still had plenty of room to develop, I made a mental note to keep an eye out for the band’s next release. I then totally missed a 2023 EP,² confirming that mental notes are useless, and stumbled upon Cryptosis again recently after news of Celestial Death, the band’s sophomore LP. My personal wishlist for the release (perhaps not a fair thing to impose) centered on expanded songwriting: I wanted rhythmic variety, more texture or atmosphere, and further exploration in song structure—essentially, some compositional meat on those tech-thrash bones. Although the debut was rock solid, I felt Cryptosis was capable of something more epic. Would Celestial Death avoid the dreaded sophomore slump and deliver?

After an obligatory opening minute of instrumental ambiance,³ Cryptosis launches into “Faceless Matter” with the same frenetic style as the last album—except within about thirty seconds it’s apparent that the band has turned the volume up on the mellotron and synth and leaned heavily into atmospherics. The sound is overtly blackened, with some combination of synth, mellotron, and choral effects featured prominently, even taking a lead role in the verse. Minutes later, the band slows things down in a short bridge, followed by a melodic guitar lead soaring over thrashy drumming. Everything is recognizably Cryptosis, but the sound is larger and more dynamic than before—it seems the wishes on my list are being granted.

Celestial Death’s biggest evolution comes in how heavily black metal is woven throughout. “Static Horizon” and “The Silent Call” are just as black as they are thrash, featuring brooding atmospheric passages and biting tremolo riffs—and “Absent Presence” might not be categorizable as thrash at all, with sections drenched in something bordering on ambient black metal. Meanwhile, much of “Ascending,” a standout track, wouldn’t be too out of place on a middle-era Enslaved record, and an instrumental track closes the album with a melodic-black feel. This massive infusion of black metal only hinted at in Bionic Swarm is executed well and broadens Celestial Death’s sonic scope tremendously. 

But fans of Cryptosis’s brand of thrash fear not: you can put on that old sleeveless band tee and battle jacket. “Reign of Infinite” and “In Between Realities” bring as much energy as the debut album, as does the especially techy “Cryptosphere.” And there’s no shortage of fiery riffing amidst the darker, synth and mellotron-led passages—even if the guitars rely more on tremolos this time around. The bass continues to punch with sharp licks, the raspy vocals continue to growl through expectedly sci-fi lyrics, and the drums continue to rip. The drumming on “Ascending” is particularly slick, quickly trading off between the hi-hat and ride in a way that complements the guitar’s melodic tremolo picking and delivering nasty fills every few bars. While Celestial Death is more atmospheric and better-paced than its predecessor, it’s still an incredibly aggressive record.

Celestial Death, however, doesn’t quite have the matching shift in production to fit Cryptosis’s stylistic expansion. Like Bionic Swarm, every instrument is loud and pushed toward the front, a technique that better fits the rawer debut. To be sure, Celestial Death still sounds clear and powerful; it can be just a little loud and overwhelming in sections where each instrument is playing full bore. Otherwise, there’s not much to nit-pick here—the album might not offer anything truly transcendent, and like much thrash, the vocals can be a tad repetitive in tone and delivery, particularly during choruses (“Cryptosphere” as an example). A touch of vocal variety would have helped expand the band’s sound that extra bit further. 

In the four years intervening between Cryptosis’s rookie and sophomore efforts, the band has matured, channeling its exuberance into a product with greater compositional and sonic depth. Many feel that modern thrash lacks intrigue, and Celestial Death injects the genre with a blackened tech variety that’s robust enough to rise above most of the scene. And still, I’d bet on Cryptosis continuing on an upward trajectory and delivering something even more ambitious next release. Rather than leave it to a mental note, I’ll write it down this time: Cryptosis is one to continue to watch.

Recommended tracks: Ascending, Reign of Infinite, In Between Realities
You may also like: Demoniac, Paranorm, VENUS
Final verdict: 7.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: Century Media Records – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website

Cryptosis is:
– Frank te Riet (bass, mellotron, synthesizers, backing vocals)
– Marco Prij (drums)
– Laurens Houvast (vocals, guitars, spoken words)

1. Although Bionic Swarm was Cryptosis’s debut LP, the same three members had released two albums without much fanfare as a self-described old-school thrash act named Distillator. After drifting away from typical thrash and honing its own style, the band changed its name and, shortly after signing with Century Media Records, released Bionic Swarm as the first full-length album of a new band.  ︎
2. After listening to this EP recently, it turns out I didn’t miss too much: two new tracks, and two live ones. The first new track, “The Silent Call,” did signal the band’s heavier shift into black metal discussed below, and a version of it appears on the new album. ︎
3. Every thrash or tech album I’ve reviewed in the last couple of months—those by Exuvial, Synaptic, HARP, and now Cryptosis—has begun this way, as do too many others. It’s not an offensive way to start an album and provides something to walk out to at live performances, but in my opinion it rarely adds any value and has become trite. In my world as a corporate schlub, it’s the equivalent of an email that begins with the phrase: “I hope this email finds you well.” ︎

The post Review: Cryptosis – Celestial Death appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Progressive metal, heavy metal, thrash metal (mixed vocals, mostly clean)
Recommended for fans of: Megadeth, Metallica, Testament, Haken, Between the Buried and Me
Country: United Kingdom
Release date: 14 March 2025

When prog metal nerds gather and chat about music, an inevitable topic is how each got into the genre. Two particular paths seem to be the most common: from the prog rock side, beginning with Rush, Pink Floyd, Yes, et al. (thank your parents for that); or from the metal side, beginning with Maiden, Priest, Metallica, Megadeth, and all the usual suspects. Dream Theater tend to be the point at which the two paths intersect—and, these days, perhaps Haken too. 

My path to progressive metal follows the latter group. At age twelve, Rust in Peace and The Number of the Beast pulled me away from mainstream alternative rock and set me on the course that eventually led here, writing about obscure prog albums that a relative few will ever hear. I have a tremendous amount of reverence for the metal classics, and twenty-one years later there’s still a big spot in my rotation for the old school. So, I was more than a little excited when Charlie Griffiths, guitarist of Haken fame, announced that his sophomore solo album, Gods of Pangaea, would be a love letter to the classic metal bands responsible for my plunge into heavier music.  

Let’s get a bit of housekeeping out of the way—Griffiths’ first solo album, Tiktaalika, was released under the moniker Charlie Griffiths. This time, Gods of Pangaea is released under the moniker Tiktaalika. (Thanks, Charlie, for choosing the most confusing possible way to release this one.) Tiktaalika, the album, featured a roster of vocalists who traded duties depending on the track. If Haken plays progressive metal, Griffiths’ solo debut was progressive metal—heavier, but not eschewing progressive songwriting or moving away completely from Haken’s wackiness.¹ Now, Griffiths has stripped things back another layer with Gods of Pangaea, releasing an album that pays tribute to late ‘80s and early ‘90s metal and the art of the riff. The vocals are again split among a few powerhouses, most of whom also appeared on the debut:

• Daniël de Jongh (Textures): “Tyrannicide,” “Gods of Pangaea,” “Give up the Ghost”
• Rody Walker (Protest the Hero): “Fault Lines”
• Tommy Rogers (Between the Buried and Me): “Lost Continent”
• Vladimir Lalić (Organised Chaos, David Maxim Micic): “Mesozoic Mantras”
• Vladimir Lalić and Neil Purdy (Luna’s Call): “The Forbidden Zone”

On bass is Conner Green (Haken), and Darby Todd (currently touring with Devin Townsend) is behind the kit. On paper, this all adds up to a dream album for me. But in practice, could this all-star roster capture the magic of heavy metal’s golden era?

Gods of Pangaea may be influenced by a dozen metal bands, ranging from Metallica to Mercyful Fate, but Megadeth are the most noticeable—the riffing is tight, sharp, and often more technical than you’d expect from the old school. Opener “Tyrannicide” has a verse that bites and a ripping instrumental bridge and solo, channeling the energy and instrumental prowess that catapulted Megadeth into the Big Four. Indeed, the track’s intro might well have come directly from Rust in Peace. The choruses in “Fault Lines” and the title track, meanwhile, bring the more melodic parts of Countdown to Extinction to mind. Slowing things down slightly, “The Forbidden Zone” leans further into groove with its chugging verse and stomping chorus, and opts for a modern feel as Lalić trades his cleans with Purdy’s harshes. Although a common, overtly “metal” thread connects the songs, they’re all different in feel, helped along by the rotating vocal cast. And each track has at least a few components that any fan of traditional metal will have fun attributing back to one of the classic bands.

In his respective tracks, Daniël de Jongh’s versatile vocals extend from Mustaine-esque cleans to ballsier harshes. Lalić’s vocals, on the other hand, have a power-metal feel, with an expressive tone and operatic flourishes that sit pleasantly on top of both the heavier riffs in “The Forbidden Zone” and the melodic, proggier ones in “Mesozoic Mantras.” Really harkening back to the early days of metal, Lalić’s twenty-second wail at the end of the latter track is something to behold. Rody Walker may turn in the most enjoyable performance of all with “Fault Lines,” adding his own melodic take on thrashy vocals resembling those of Joey Belladonna (Anthrax) and then capping off the track with some climactic, throaty yelling. And, of course, Tommy Rogers sounds as good as we’ve come to expect, his trademark vocals putting an exclamation point on closing track “Lost Continent.” Gods of Pangaea does have some vocal stumbling points: most obvious is the repetitive, mundane chorus of “Give up the Ghost” that cements it as the album’s weakest track, and a close second is the verse of “The Forbidden Zone” that plods vocally and lyrically without much inspiration.² But on the whole, Griffiths’ roster of vocalists keeps the album fresh and dynamic without losing a cohesive flow from track to track. 

Despite Gods of Pangaea being a tribute to the classic metal sound, Griffiths couldn’t help but indulge his progressive background—Tiktaalika are a bunch of prog musicians, after all. “Mesozoic Mantras” begins with a winding two minutes of primarily acoustic guitars, some complex drum chops and rhythmic variance, a bit of play with the meter, and even short, soft vocal accents in the Haken style—reminiscent of “Earthlings” or any Haken track in that vein. “Lost Continent” loses the classic metal plot completely and is straight-up modern progressive metal, sounding quite a lot like Between the Buried and Me, and not just because Tommy Rogers is providing the vocals. As one of the album’s best tracks, I can’t complain. Less successfully, the title track spans nearly nine minutes due to a collection of middle passages that wander longer than they hold interest. In general, all the songs are a little more complicated in structure, and the riffs and drumming are a little more technical, than you’d get from late ‘80s and early ‘90s metal. The progressive elements peppered—or at times dumped—into the album are well done, and the result is an album for prog metal fans who appreciate the old school more than one for classic metal fans who appreciate prog.

Paying tribute to the past is tough work: it requires capturing a resonant aura of authenticity while also injecting enough originality to avoid the label “rip off.” And, transparently, describing why something does or doesn’t feel authentic is also tough and often overly subjective. Nevertheless, to me, Gods of Pangaea succeeds in the “originality” part of the balance but not in its authenticity—even despite its sick, Ed Repka-inspired cover art.³ Griffiths’ ideas are carried out and connected with surgical precision. The riffs throw a barrage of notes at you, and the drums seem to follow each one until a spotless transition takes you into the next section. The album lacks those huge, sustained chords that give so many classic tracks character (pick any prime-era Metallica song); there’s very little of the simple drumming and totally stripped-back rhythms that let riffs and vocals shine and provide older metal its loose, flowing feel (think Anthrax’s Among the Living); and the album’s pristine production is devoid of the old school grit crucial to the era’s aesthetic. These things are hardly criticisms of a prog album. In fact, they’re things prog albums actively seek to avoid. But having approached Gods of Pangaea with its context in mind, I felt some slight disappointment in terms of authenticity—and then I remembered that, whatever his intent, Griffiths still delivered a solid record.

Ultimately, Gods of Pangaea is modern progressive metal that gives a nod to the classics. The album has no shortage of strong riffs, catchy choruses, or impressive performances—vocally and from each instrumentalist. The tracks are dynamic enough to remain engaging, and the energy stays high throughout. Maybe Gods of Pangaea doesn’t capture the magic of heavy metal’s golden era—it doesn’t bring me back to high school, blasting Screaming for Vengeance while driving my beat-up pickup truck through the hills of Los Angeles—but we can still chalk it up as another win for Griffiths.

Recommended tracks: Tyrannicide, Fault Lines, Lost Continent
You may also like: Paradox, Crimson Glory, and Wolf (Swe) if you’re a fan of this album’s classic influences
Final verdict: 7/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: Inside Out Music – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website

Tiktaalika is:
– Charlie Griffiths (guitars)
– Darby Todd (drums)
– Conner Green (bass)

1. Here at The Subway, Tiktaalika garnered a double review, scoring a rare 9/10 in both. I didn’t quite share the same level of enthusiasm, but I’ll say it was undeniably a very strong album. ︎
2. “I am Triassic, I’m Jurassic. Always adapting and counterattacking. I am voracious, I am Cretaceous…” doesn’t quite do it for me. But hey, repetitive choruses and bumbling verses are practically staples of classic metal. ︎
3. The album artwork, done by Dan Goldsworthy, is directly inspired by Ed Repka—the artist responsible for the covers of Death’s early work, Peace Sells, Rust in Peace, and so many other iconic albums of the era. Goldsworthy and Griffiths share a love for Repka’s work, and they felt his style captured what Gods of Pangaea aimed to be. ︎

The post Review: Tiktaalika – Gods of Pangaea appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: thrash metal (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Power Trip, Revocation, Pantera, Heathen, Prong
Country: France
Release date: 6 February 2025

If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? Pretend, through some sort of magic, dietary considerations were removed and the choice fell solely on preference. The answer is such an easy one: it’s coffee ice cream. I love that stuff. Eating nothing but coffee ice cream without a care in the world, remorselessly inhaling it while friends and family watch in envy (or probably absolute disgust) is the dream, right? French thrash metal band HARP seeks to answer this question in its latest LP, The Distance Within.

Okay, as far as I can tell, The Distance Within has nothing to do with the frosty confection. But it does involve another massive indulgence of mine: thrashy mid-paced riffs. Don’t even bother leaving your lowest string, I don’t care—the caveman part of my brain ignites regardless. Just give me a basic rolling thrash riff with some decent production behind it and I’ll grab my white high tops, bullet belt, and a case of PBR and mosh along all day. Or so I thought until HARP dropped an album that, essentially, is a 53-minute-long mid-paced thrash riff. It turns out my tolerance is about 15 minutes. The remaining 38 minutes are akin to a merciless force-feeding, boding terribly for my ice cream fantasy were it ever to become a reality.

Ridiculous metaphor aside, The Distance Within is built entirely upon riffs, with each one played at nearly the same tempo and landing somewhere in a very narrow range between thrash and groove. The occasional guitar lead or bit of texture will appear over the riffing, and the bass or drums might toss in a rare fill beneath, but that’s about it. To HARP’s credit, the production is heavy—think Revocation rather than a thinner ‘80s sound. The guitar tone is about as good as it gets for this style, a resonant bass pulses with enough force to really drive the bottom end, and the drums are crisp and hit hard; meanwhile, gruff vocals serve as a siren’s call to finish your beer and get back in the pit. Everything adds up to an aural assault that’s quite addicting. This is why I spent a few full tracks mentally careening around the circle pit before finally stopping to ask, ‘Wait, am I still listening to the album’s first riff?’ 

Following a minute of ambiance, the band launches into “Exile,” the album’s most complete track. “Exile” is a mid-paced thrash cut, sure, but it includes some double bass and shifts in rhythm, a punchy breakdown with droning synth behind it, clever bass, and a guitar solo—more than can be said about the other tracks. The song stands on its own as an excellent single and is enough to get you hyped for what’s to come. Onward, however, the album quickly descends into coffee-ice-cream-flavored monotony, bottoming out at “Memory Architect,” an 11-minute track that ends basically where it starts and goes nowhere in between. Distinguishing the songs from one another is difficult, much less the parts within each song, and the individual performances—particularly the drums, played by the band’s guitarist—aren’t quite inspired enough to hold the listener’s ear. HARP does end this 53-minute test of endurance with some bite in the lively “To See Dreams Die,” but by this point I’m no longer in the pit and instead standing at the back of the venue, staring on with an empty gaze. 

The most frustrating thing about The Distance Within is that HARP demonstrates so much potential. The mix is fantastic, and many of the riffs are well-written and eminently enjoyable in moderation—the outros in “Memory Architect” and “Heart in Hands,” for example, are slick but repeated into oblivion. The band even teases more dynamic songwriting chops in its single sonic excursion “(A Distance Within),” offering a soulful interlude of clean guitars and a tasteful bass performance. Alas, any shining moments are buried by the album’s repetition and general lack of diversity. HARP has laid a strong foundation and left it bare. 

Although The Distance Within might have missed the mark for me, I sincerely hope HARP returns soon with a more dynamic release, preferably aided by a full-time drummer. The band cooks up a sound that truly hits the spot but then piles it on well beyond what even the most gluttonous of us can handle. As the saying goes, variety is the spice of life, food and riffs alike; or maybe ‘everything in moderation’ is the better cliché. Whatever the case may be, I’ve had my fill until the next LP is served.

Recommended tracks: Exile, To See Dreams Die
You may also like: Cryptosis, Death Mex, Sleep
Final verdict: 4/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: Independent

HARP is:
– Guillaume Timotei (guitars and drums)
– Romain Delatour (vocals and bass)

The post Review: HARP – The Distance Within appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Technical Death Metal, Thrash Metal, Progressive Death Metal (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: At The Gates, Cannibal Corpse, Carcass, Ne Obliviscaris, Thank You Scientist
Country: New Jersey, United States
Release date: 10 January 2025

Horns sound in the distance.

The first rays of the early morning sun stream through the crenels of the battlements as your feet slide through the verdant grass, wet with dew. The winter air is crisp and cool as you approach, your breath forming wispy clouds that float to the heavens.

One horn calls out, much closer now.

You read “Dei gratia”—”by the grace of God”—emblazoned on the crest affixed to the imposing wall, above the portico of crimson and gold, and you thank God that you have arrived safely at this place. Suddenly, you feel as though you’re being watched. The outline of a dark, stout creature enters your peripheral vision. It slowly glides toward you.

“Ey! Get tha fuck out tha road!”

A middle-aged man with male-pattern baldness, wearing a mustard-stained tank top, gestures at you out the driver’s side window of his Honda CR-V. You awkwardly shuffle up onto the sidewalk.

“Fuckin jabron.” He spits and his tires squeal as he drives out of the Medieval Times parking lot.

Lyndhurst, New Jersey is where you find yourself on this winter morning, and it’s where Slaughtersun found themselves not too long ago, recording their debut EP Black Marrow.

Just as a replica 11th century castle in urban New Jersey may seem out of place, less than ten miles as the crow flies from the Empire State Building, an electric violin may not be the first instrument you associate with technical death metal. But in just 24 brutal minutes, Black Marrow shows that, dei gratia, Slaughtersun can use whatever instruments they want to shred your face off.

A side project of two of the members of progressive rock / jazz fusion group Thank You Scientist, as well as the vocalist of Cranial Damage and the drummer from Tombstoner, Slaughtersun play a progressive-leaning form of technical death metal, captured in this first collection of work, Black Marrow. This EP is composed of six tracks: a mood-setting introduction, a live recording at the end, and four full-length songs in the middle. These four core tracks are arranged chronologically, in the order in which they were released as singles. As Black Marrow progresses, and we move forward in time, nearly every element of the band’s sound matures and improves.

The vocals, for example, have some awkward moments on “Fall of the Firmament”, trying to shove too many syllables into certain phrases and at times poorly enunciating: “we must return to the dark” ends up sounding more like “we must return to the dork” (a scream, rather than a growl, might have helped make that wide vowel sound). As Black Marrow progresses, there are fewer (if any) of these slips, and the vocals also gain much more presence on the low end of the register, which is missing in earlier tracks.

The bass and violin really develop over these twenty minutes, as well: on “Fall of the Firmament”, the strings are mostly in lockstep with each other rhythmically as well as with the drums, save for an ascending bass riff, a fifteen-second violin solo, and the more freeform outro. But by the second track, more fills and longer phrases are already making their way onto the album. On the last track, “Black Marrow”, we can hear long, complex, walking basslines and prominent violin riffs that should be enough to entice any Thank You Scientist fan to check out this band.

The complexity of the arrangements is the aspect of this album which has most obviously improved from beginning to end. The first two tracks have a nearly identical verse-chorus arrangement, mainly in 4/4, with a downtempo bridge. By the second half of the album, odd time signatures (5/8, 6/8, 7/8, 10/8, and 12/8) and more complex song structures move this band from solidly “technical death metal” territory into “progressive death metal”. As that transition has happened chronologically, presumably we can expect more progressive work from this band in the future.

Finally, the drums are rock-solid throughout, impeccably scaffolding every song. The drummer never misses an opportunity for a fill, providing just the right amount of texture, perfectly balancing the skins and the cymbals. The double (triple?) bass pedalling on “Black Marrow” is surgical in its precision, but pummelling, like an avalanche triggered by a howitzer. Seriously impressive work.

Musicians often—but not always—show growth from one album to the next, exploring new lyrical ideas, new song structures, and new instrumentation. Much less often do you hear such growth within the runtime of a single EP. Slaughtersun have poured a foundation of solid thrash / death metal and begun to layer progressive rock sensibilities on top. If these four tracks are any indication of their trajectory, their first LP should be a seriously impressive work of progressive death metal. I’m eagerly anticipating it.

Recommended tracks: Black Marrow, Ready Cell Awaits
You may also like: Cranial Damage, Demilich, Gorguts
Final verdict: 7.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: Frost Gauntlet Music Publishing – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website

Slaughtersun is:
– Justin Hillman (vocals)
– Ben Karas (violin)
– Cody McCorry (bass)
– Jason Quinones (drums)

The post Review: Slaughtersun – Black Marrow appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Thrash metal, progressive metal (mixed vocals; primarily harsh)
Recommended for fans of: Coroner, Vektor, Annihilator
Review by: Francesco
Country: USA
Release date: 28 November 2024

Anarchÿ is a thrash duo from St. Louis, Missouri, releasing their third full-length in as many years, Xenötech and the Cosmic Anarchÿ. This sci-fi concept album details the efforts of an ambassador of humanity to a technologically-advanced extraterrestrial race as they try and unify all existence. Neat. Their last works have been exceptional examples of a rather eclectic style of thrash metal, and Xenötech doesn’t stray too far from the mould they’ve created but it does incorporate certain elements that this reviewer might call… experimental. They don’t always land. I would say that Xenötech and the Cosmic Anarchÿ starts off strong then begins to stumble off a ledge somewhere in the middle and catches its footing for the second half – but for the most part, the album is another release that the two guys can pat themselves on the back for. 

Overall, the album is chock-full of pretty well balls-to-the-wall thrash terrorizers: the classic Anarchÿ compositional style we’ve come to love over the last few releases has its foundation firmly cemented on this album as well. They’ve developed a recognizable style that often features half-time melodic measures that introduce leitmotifs, then lead into a more traditional double-time section with highly complicated riffing that leads back into the previously introduced motifs. I’m a sucker for call-and-answer musical themes, so anytime Anarchÿ injects a melody line that comes back later, oftentimes more furious, it never fails to bring me great joy. Still, as I stated earlier, there are some moments of questionable merit on this release.

At certain points in the middle of Xenötech, Anarchÿ decide to experiment with particular elements that tend to interrupt the flow a little bit (or a lot bit) and leave me scratching my head or reaching for the fast-forward button. I know it’s progressive metal, but certainly not every idea is a good one, and congruence is important, lest it all devolve into, well… anarchy. On “Vivisection / Salvation” a soft female vocal accompanies the moody acoustic guitar intro, then is brought back at the end in kind of a half-time, marching polka feel – a jarring inclusion that really took me out of the track. There is a passage in “A.M.F.” that introduces a very-aggressively-MIDI string quartet playing in mutating time signatures. I wonder if the sound was a deliberate choice, considering the plethora of available VSTs (software instrument plugins) that might be able to produce a better, more realistic reproduction of the strings. And in “Extraterrestrial Collaboration” they inject a drum and bass-style breakbeat to transition into the latter-half of the track, and then end the track with a longer breakbeat section. It’s all very subversive, but I don’t know if I’d call it progressive.

Nevertheless, there are plenty of redeeming qualities on this album, and some classic Anarchÿ moments that really stand out. I particularly enjoyed the second half of “The Gallery of Quantum Carrion”; the way they transition out of the solo into three separate and distinct movements including an acoustic guitar break and a harmonized twin-guitar lead that fades into a beautiful, Romantic piano piece demonstrates perfectly well the duo’s meticulously-honed technical ability and compositional skill. Another standout moment for me was the neoclassical-inspired “Entangled / Enlightened” that samples from Chopin’s “Marche Funèbre” and some others. And I feel I’d be remiss without mentioning the 12-minute album closer “I Am the Universe,” which contains some of the most melodic riffing on the whole release; possibly the catchiest refrains; a very moody, Ravi Shankar-y, pensive middle-section with clean female vocals, and more Chopin worship. 

Xenötech and the Cosmic Anarchÿ is more of what I’ve come to love from Anarchÿ, with some minor pitfalls that did somewhat curb my enjoyment of the release, but that didn’t detract too much from the overall experience. I probably wouldn’t go back-to-front on this one again, but there are certainly moments I’m eager to revisit, riffs I’d love to learn, and likely some “A-ha!” musical references that I feel I’m on the verge of divining. Another worthwhile listen from the St. Louis duo. One small request for the team: I’d love to see Bouzikov make a return for the next cover art.

Recommended tracks: Nelson’s Cosmos of Thought, Entangled / Enlightened, The Gallery of Quantum Carrion
You may also like: VENUS, Quasarborn, Vexovoid
Final verdict: 8/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: Independent

Anarchÿ is:
– Fionn McAuliffe (vocals, bass, breakbeats)
– Reese Tiller (guitars, bass, keyboards, sitar)

The post Review: Anarchÿ – Xenötech and the Cosmic Anarchÿ appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Hi guys! It’s truly an honor to be speaking with such legends of prog! To get us started, how did you experience the 80s metal scene at large as a young band playing at the same time as Slayer, Celtic Frost, Venom, and Death? I figure that you have better insight than anybody! What are some of your favorite memories from the olden days of metal?

Jason: Our young minds were overblown with excitement, as we somehow got the call for the opening slots for a lot of the up and coming groundbreaking bands. Celtic Frost, Voivod, Trouble, King Diamond, Anthrax and more. We were having a blast. We just did our thing and then loaded out and enjoyed witnessing bands that rose to staggering heights throughout the years. Fun times for sure.

Ron: I remember lots of gigs with WatchTower, Helstar and S. A. Slayer. I was in S. A. Slayer at this time. We had the infamous Slayer vs. Slayer gig in San Antonio. That was probably the highlight for me.

Doug: For sure, some of our mid-1980s shows in Texas at long-gone but iconic venues like the Ritz in Austin and the Cameo in San Antonio are great memories. Going back to the beginning, we had a blast playing local parties, with a mix of some of our very early original songs and a lot of cover tunes by Rush, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Saxon, Raven and all of the incredible bands from that era.

I’ve seen you refer to your vocals as “pissed off Geddy Lee” before: were Rush a big influence on you, and, if so, what’s your favorite Rush album? Which other progressive bands inspired you to break the boundaries of metal at that point in 1984/85?

Jason: I love the first six records by Rush; 2112 might be my “go to” Rush record, but the things they were doing that were even just a bit more ‘rock n roll’ I still enjoy to this day. By the time they reached Moving Pictures, another great record that jumped the line between prog metal and radio friendly rock, I was already starting to get into weirder and heavier metal. By the time 1983 came, it was more about Euro metal and, above all, Bay Area thrash. The new wave of British Heavy metal encouraged me to stick to the rock n roll vibe in my voice, but also to go beyond and try things. Venom and then Raven, with guttural punk throaty stuff and then super high twisted screeching, I tried to mix. 

Ron: Rush is my favorite band of all time. Just like Jason, the first albums all the way up to Moving Pictures. Signals had a bit too much keyboards, so that’s when I drifted off. My favorite Rush albums are 2112, All The World’s A Stage, A Farewell To Kings and Hemispheres. Rush was also the band that introduced me to writing music with Morse Code (“YYZ”) which led to writing with all the alphabet, phone numbers, names, street addresses, etc… and later all 12 notes (12-tone). So that all pretty much destroyed my way of musically thinking LOL. I also listened to Al Di Meola quite a bit.

Doug: Rush was definitely the biggest influence for me. I remember listening to A Farewell to Kings for the first time and it was life-changing, pretty much what made me start playing. The period between All The World’s A Stage through Exit…Stage Left was just unmatched, an incredible band at the top of their game. I’d probably choose Hemispheres as my all-time favorite album. Some other progressive bands like King Crimson, UK, and the Bill Bruford solo albums with Jeff Berlin were also influential.

I have also seen critics hate your “pissed off Geddy Lee” vocals. Have any creative insults been directed at Watchtower? And are there any creative compliments that have stayed with you?

Jason: The “insults” were rather expected. I was barely singing at that early point, it took a bit to figure out how to do what I was trying to do with any real power. So, then to get spit at for how crazy I wanted my vocals to be with the crazy riffs I was writing melodies over, I took it with a grain of salt. I still listen to John from Raven and lots of old Geddy Lee. It’s wild how those guys just took what Plant, and Halford and Ian Gillan and the like, to a crazy psychotic new level. So, if I got thrown out, maybe they dealt with some haters, too.Ron: That all goes with the territory. Do something that’s not too common and you get crucified for it. Since I love Geddy’s voice, anybody who says Jason sounds like a pissed off Geddy, I’d take that as a compliment. I remember the first time I heard Jason’s vocals on the Energetic Disassembly songs, I pictured this demented looking gigantic rat with humongous balls screaming his ass off while holding a microphone. And yes, that’s a compliment. I remember some magazine reviews of WatchTower mentioned that we couldn’t write songs, that it was just a bunch of notes. I guess since we didn’t have common structures for songs, they had a hard time grabbing on to something.

Doug: It definitely seemed to be a “love it or hate it” thing. There are a couple of one-star reviews of Control and Resistance on Amazon that are pretty funny. I think one of them said something like, with that album progressive metal had hit an evolutionary dead-end like a two-headed fish, LOL.

WatchTower’s influence has been instrumental to the formation of the progressive metal world, inspiring big names such as Dream Theater, Symphony X, Cynic, Atheist, and Devin Townsend and continuing to inspire new bands. How does it feel to look upon an entire genre and hear your influence on its development?

Jason: That part of the story is, was, completely unexpected. Discovered early by a few folks, Chuck Schuldiner, Gene Hoglan, Tom Warrior and Mike Portnoy, who are some of my heroes who truly have helped create and keep alive the ideas of keeping heavy music/ loud rock music from becoming stagnant, they all carry or carried the flag for us. Mind blown again. We were just kids.

Ron: It’s really cool for me when I see so many kids on youtube playing songs that I’ve written and/or recorded, whether it’s songs by WatchTower, Blotted Science, Spastic Ink or solo material. I also totally dig it when a younger band comes to town and I sometimes end up on their guest list and I get to hang out with these kids.

Doug: It’s not at all anything we could have expected when we were writing those songs! 

Where’d the band name come from? It’s snappy and memorable.

Jason: I believe Doug came up with that, if memory serves me correct. I love it. There is the idea of an observation post, and the reports cannot always be good. Usually the lyrics and music were all together attempts to destroy mediocrity. It also had the message that art should be fun and wild and not just a painting of some fruit in a bowl.

Doug: I saw the word watchtower in a book at school, and it just kind of stuck in my head, and when we needed a name it just fell into place. It’s a little unusual but it goes along with the idea that even in the early days we observed and wrote about things going on in the world.

Do you prefer hyper-technical music in your daily listening as a contrast to what you perform yourself, and/or do you prefer playing it? Who do you all listen to regularly?

Jason: I listen to everything, and then again, I listen to nothing. Music is a life for me that never ends. So, after working on music, teaching music, or mixing, etc, I do not want to hear much. I have to change gears often. So, to be truthful, I listen to lots of classic rock. Maybe yacht rock.

Ron: Same here. I listen to all sorts of things. Since I teach guitar, I have to learn and play all different kinds of music. Some of the newer/current guitarists and bands are doing some really creative things, I just wish there was more focus on bands rather than all of these individual accolades, especially with guitarists. I recently saw Entheos live and they blew my socks off.

Doug: I’m all over the place with the music I listen to. There are good songwriters and good musicians in every genre and it just depends on whatever mood I’m in. Sometimes it’s stuff I grew up with like Rush, sometimes it’s newer bands like Knower.

Being in and out of a band for decades I’m sure you’ve accumulated a handful of stories from the studio and on the road: any favorites?

Jason: Well, stories, I don’t know where to start, or how interesting they would be, and another way to say that would be, wait for my book!  I have learned about how to perform, record and write and teach music, from all of my experiences. Getting to work with some of the people I looked up to growing up, has been a cool trip and an honor.

Ron: That’s a loaded question but I guess a highlight (lowlight) for me was on the WatchTower European tour in ’90 we had a few gigs where we played in our underwear. The gig in Rotterdam is online. Another lowlight was my knee going out of place twice at my 3^rd WatchTower gig.  

Doug: A particular show that stands out for me was a show we played in Dortmund, Germany as we were finishing up recording Control and Resistance in Berlin. It seemed like everyone we met had driven a long distance to see us, mostly only knowing our music from the tape-trading scene. It was really mind-blowing to us that anyone even knew who we were, just some random band from Texas that had never been overseas before.

You guys have been a band for quite a while, and prog metal’s fanbase is more diverse than it’s ever been thanks to the internet. How do you view prog metal’s developments over the years—from Dream Theater to djent to whatever Polyphia’s doing, the genre has undoubtedly diversified. How do you view the development of progressive metal and of music in general?

Jason: Honestly, I feel a bit out of touch. Polyphia is incredible, and the fact that they came from something…what was that? I feel that the most barbaric thrash, or the sludgiest dirge metal, comes from something else. When it was created by a small group of players coming together to make noises that fit together so well is freaky and beautiful. So, It has to be my honest answer, that mind bending specifics of the genre, of what mean progressive, I am at a loss these days. Meaning, I just cannot keep up with the proggers!

Ron: Well, it’s definitely changing. I guess that would happen over a number of decades. Again, due to the internet I think there’s too much individualism happening. Some of these top players on the net aren’t even in bands, and that’s what it used to be all about.

Doug: Like Jason, I’m probably a little out of touch with all the latest hot prog bands, but I know I’ve heard some pretty crazy and impressive music over the years. There are some phenomenal young musicians and bands in the scene.

This one’s for Ron, but I’m curious what his musical background is to perform how he did in 1989 on Control and Resistance and then a few years later on legendary releases with Spastic Ink and Blotted Science. I’d also love to hear from the man himself if he can elaborate on how he has such a unique style in metal: any song with Ron is instantly recognizable. What’s the secret behind the tone? I also know he builds his own guitars: does he view himself as a tinkerer of a guitarist? What’s your process with regards to building your own instruments? 

Ron: Most of the stuff that I’ve written over the past few decades has been focused around writing with 12 note systems. I even have a few apps out that set up rows and progressions using all 12 notes and create backing tracks. I’m writing a book right now on my 12-note technique writing, hopefully done by the end of the year. As far as building my own guitars, I just got tired of playing the same shaped guitars that too many players play, and came up with my own design and specs. Would be cool to have my own line of guitars one of these days, but no sign of that as of yet.  

You all were not only the most technical and progressive metal ever at the point of your debut, and you were also mostly teenagers! Did Watchtower have aspirations/expectations on being career musicians or was your success a surprise?

Jason: It is [not] always easy to recall our plan, because I do not remember having one at all. Speaking for myself, I was so happy to just play loud music with people I adored, who were as happy as I was just rehearsing the same songs over and over. It did not even matter if it was a cover song, or an older original piece, or something we had just come up with. Just to be creating sound, creating something from nothing, by banging on wood and wire, was and still is, the attraction.

Ron: I think I’ve always wanted to be a career musician, but more of an artist who creates releases based on concepts, and evolving from album to album. That’s mostly due to Rush, who with every album went in a different direction. Spastic Ink was set up to have more albums based on the ‘Ink Complete’ and ‘Ink Compatible’ concept. Blotted Science was also set up with ‘The Machinations Of Dementia’ and ‘The Animation Of Entomology’. Too bad both projects lasted only two albums. I had so many more ideas for concepts that just never happened.

Doug: Honestly, I don’t think we thought super far ahead as teenagers, but it just seemed like something we’d keep doing since it was such a big part of our lives.  

Rick: I can’t say I ever really had a plan, beyond playing more gigs and keeping the momentum going as much as possible. Being a “path of least resistance” (pun intended) kind of person, and without any specific goals for the band or for myself musically, I never really had any big dreams. Just plugging away and enjoying the experience was enough. As I got older I realized that I wasn’t driven to become a career musician, being more of a dabbler than a serious student of the art.

How early did each of you pick up your chosen instruments given your abundant skill at such an early age?

Jason: I got my first bass guitar at age 12. As early as age 9, I was figuring out some scales on an old stand up piano. I never applied much of my discovery, until much later. I am still discovering. 

Ron: My first instrument was piano, which I took up in 2^nd grade. I switched to guitar a few years later when some football friends said that guitar was a much cooler instrument. My mom was kinda pissed about it, but she did get me a Les Paul and a practice amp. I had a few guitar lessons playing ‘Old Grey Goose’ and ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’,  but dropped them and started figuring out KISS songs.

Doug: My first instrument was violin which I played for a couple of years in middle school orchestra, but I wasn’t really serious about it. I started playing guitar around 8^th or 9^th grade and just jammed with other kids in my neighborhood. I knew Rick from those circles. When we met Billy [Billy White, guitarist from 1982-86], the original plan was to have Billy and me switching off between guitar and bass. But once I started learning a few bass lines, I immediately gravitated towards that instrument and realized my musical brain was more suited to bass, so Billy became our full-time guitarist, LOL. 

Rick: I joined my 6th grade school band as a means to get out of class one day, and when the band director asked each of us what instrument we wanted to play, I didn’t have a clue, so I blurted out “drums”. Turned out I kinda had a knack for it, so I kept going with it throughout middle and high school. It wasn’t until I heard “Cygnus X-1” when I was a freshman in high school that I really got excited about playing drums. It was the early Peart influence that set the initial direction of my style.

For Rick and Doug, how did your approach to songwriting changed between Energetic Disassembly and Control and Resistance? And then—probably more substantially—how did your songwriting develop over the decades? When you look back at the first two albums, is there anything you wish you’d done differently (we wouldn’t change a thing!)?

Doug: Some of the songs that ended up on Control and Resistance were written even before we recorded Energetic Disassembly, but the batch of songs on Energetic were from a slightly earlier period of our songwriting and seemed to fit together. There were a lot of songs from before the Energetic era that didn’t make the cut and were only recorded as demos or not at all. Many were part of our live setlist after we wrote them but eventually dropped off for newer songs that we liked more. When Ron joined the band, he was driving up to Austin from San Antonio so we had to be a little more efficient with writing, although there was quite a bit of bouncing ideas off each other. Probably the thing I would go back and change if a time machine existed would be the sound production on both records.

Rick: On Energetic, for me it was about playing fast and aggressive all the time, with lots of Peart style fills. That evolved somewhat as we continued writing for Control. I became less interested in just slamming out fast stuff, and more interested in writing and playing parts that had unique interplay with the rest of the instruments as well as leaving more space. In hindsight I wish that I had been more discriminating in the studio on both recordings. I really dislike recording so if it was half-ass decent I’d let it go just so I could move on to the next song. I guess you could say I’m an imperfectionist. 

There seems to be some discrepancy with the release date of Energetic Disassembly, and it’s important, not only because we’re nerds about cataloging release dates, but also because there’s a friendly rivalry between you and Fates Warning over having the “first” ever prog metal album. I’ve heard November 84, February 85, and November 85. Which is the real one?

Jason: I recall being in the studio (Cedar Creek, South Austin, TX) finishing up things in Nov. of 1984 and by October we were having a release party. Then I see it listed as a January 1985 official release because that is when our distributors had received the product and had put it in line at stores. November 1984 sounds a little bit early for us to call it an official release. We did have a cassette tape we shipped out all over the place with MELTDOWN and TYRANTS IN DISTRESS on it, because those were recorded first and in a different studio, engineered and mixed by Kerry Krafton. That is where the Nov. ‘84 timeline comes in.

You haven’t rested on your laurels and have been busy in various projects since the 80s. What are some of your favorites? I know several of us here particularly love Blotted Science and Howling Sycamore. Do these bands speak to a desire to play several styles of music? Does your Watchtower experience come out when composing for other projects?

Jason: I make it no secret that my earliest years in WatchTower were like school for me, as a full musician, a writer, a composer, all of it. All of it started with those guys. I find that composing and working with other artists, collaborations, has also shown me there is not one way to write a song. Any style of song, I can learn something. These guys showed me how to appreciate that part of music. And. I loved working with Davide Tiso and HOWLING SYCAMORE, a total blast singing those incredible songs. Davide let me just soar all over, anything I wanted to sing melody wise. His music and lyrics were a breath of fresh air for music. And for myself.

Ron: I do get involved in other projects, but they all pretty much center around proggy/tech rock/metal. Blotted Science was different for me because I wanted to get a lot heavier (blastbeats, drop A tuning, etc…) but Spastic Ink and my solo material is similar to WatchTower musically, it’s just more structured. When I write with WatchTower it’s different than other projects because it’s usually face to face bouncing ideas off of Doug and Rick, so musically everybody makes contributions whereas with Blotted Science it’s all long distance writing via emails and mp3s. It’s collaborative but just not the same as live interaction. The Blotted Science guys were never in the same room until 8 months after Machinations was released. I am currently working on another solo CD, which is a follow-up to my 2^nd solo CD Solitarily Speaking Of Theoretical Confinement.

Doug: After WatchTower went into hiatus after Control and Resistance, I was asked to join a funk/rock/rap band called Retarted Elf that traveled around the region and had a decent following. It was a completely different style of music, but when I started writing with them, there were certainly some things that carried over from my experiences with WatchTower.

Our site’s focus is underground progressive metal—who are some smaller bands you want to shout out? Friends, bands in the local scene, people who have opened for you, etc! We (and our readers) want them all!

Jason: I have not done a whole lot with these guys, as far as playing shows, I guested on a song on one of their releases, and would like to mention VESPERIAN SORROW. I do not know what kind of music it really is, but it is over the top. It skips over lots of genres, from symphonic proggy death metal [to] soundtrack music, with incredible musicianship that holds up against anyone. They are from around here in central Texas. Please look them up.

Ron: I don’t really have a Spotify and Apple account so I only hear what is on the net while I’m browsing around, or what students may bring in. As I mentioned before, most of what I see online is lots of guitarists doing their own thing, and not a lot of them are in bands. 

Doug: I’m a little out of touch with who are the latest hot bands, but I know I hear some pretty great stuff come up randomly through the algorithm on my music app.

Stick with me for a hypothetical. You’re packing your luggage to leave home for a tour from Texas, and you see a scorpion in your luggage. What are you doing? (I’m begging for advice as this recently happened to me in Tucson, and I haven’t opened my luggage since).

Jason: Immediately spot the creature, use a handheld vacuum cleaner to suck up the creature. It should not harm the creature too badly, then empty the chamber outside, a ways from your house.

Ron: I’d start singing ‘Rock You Like A Hurricane’ and see if it responds. If it’s a beetle, I usually sing “She Loves You yeah, yeah, yeah.” Yes, that has happened before. No it didn’t respond.

Doug: Scorpion venom is one of the most valuable and expensive liquids on the planet, but I don’t think I’d be able to figure out how to extract it safely. Instead, I’d name the scorpion Uli.

Rick: Brush it away and let it go. Or stomp on it. I live in a rural environment and have been stung by scorpions many times, it’s a non event. Less painful than a fire ant bite.

Finally, when is Concepts of Math, Book II, are you doing the classic prog trope of titling a suite Part 1 and leaving out its sequel? ;).

I’m sure you’ve heard about the WatchTower album Mathematics that never happened. Well, that Concepts of Math EP is 5 of the 11 songs that were supposed to be on the full album. Will we ever get those last 6 songs recorded? Probably not. But if we ever did, I’d think that we’d put all 11 songs together as they were planned, with each first letter of each song title spelling out MATHEMATICS. Releasing a book 2 or part 2 just destroys the whole concept. 

Our thanks to Jason, Ron, Doug, and Rick for their time. All of us here at the Subway look forward to future projects of yours, WatchTower or otherwise!

Links: Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

The post Interview: WatchTower appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: progressive thrash metal, technical thrash metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Voivod, Crimson Glory, Coroner
Country: United States-TX
Release date: 6 November 1989

The four short years between Energetic Disassembly and Control and Resistance saw a changed progressive metal landscape. No longer were Watchtower alone: Fates Warning and Queensrÿche reigned supreme; USPM bands like Savatage and Crimson Glory picked up some flourishes from the prog thrash world, which, at the time, was being pushed to new levels of instrumental competence—undreamt of five years earlier—by groups like Voivod, Toxik, Coroner, and Death Row. Meanwhile, just eight months earlier, a little band from New York released their debut album When Dream and Day Unite. 

Beyond the drastically changed landscape, Watchtower were a new band with guitarist Billy White and vocalist Jason McMaster leaving to pursue other ventures. Alan Tecchio replaced McMaster, and his vocals, if anything, are more polished than McMaster’s while retaining that unhinged energy. The timbre of McMaster is missed, but Tecchio sings his heart out on Control and Resistance with a technical ability and wide range seamlessly fitting the infamous skill of the Watchtower family. More importantly, the man, the myth, the GOD of guitar in progressive metal Ron Jarzombeck joined the fray, a man I consider to be one of metal’s preeminent musical geniuses with his work in acts like Blotted Science and Spastic Ink, his mix of jazzy sounds and serialism techniques unlike anything else in all of metal. And this album right here is where he honed his progressive style. He has a distinct style and tone—nobody else sounds like Ron Jarzombeck with his bright jazzy spring—and it’s clearly at play here, upping the ante for Watchtower from mere technicality to a stunning display of the pinnacle of metal guitar-playing—all several years pre-Images and Words.

The songwriting and production dramatically improved between Energetic Disassembly and Control and Resistance, Watchtower reigning in their talents into a more controlled album. The group winds through seemingly dozens of tempos per song with perfect, stylish instrumental pyrotechnics. The clean bass tone provides the foundation, and then Jarzombek builds towering songs out of power chords, riffs, and crazy, indescribable solos. He does things on a guitar that nobody else that I’m aware of does even thirty-five years later: the break near the middle of “Mayday in Kiev,” for instance, utilizes some classic Jarzombek shenanigans, playing unpredictable notes that allude to his future forays into Serialism. The track’s lyrics meditate on Chernobyl, fitting since these guys were clearly hit by some radioactive amp feedback (à la Peter Parker and his spider) to achieve their superhuman abilities. The precise songwriting works in their favor, too, as Watchtower dazzle on tracks like “The Eldritch” which uses a drum fill to bridge the shreddy intro to the shreddier verse. Longer tracks like the titular “Control and Resistance” have clearer sections than songs on Energetic Disassembly had, switching from intro chords to thrash metal insanity with finesse that the unwieldy debut songs lacked. Across the album, the interplay between Keyser’s bass and Jarzombeck’s guitar is spot-on, the two soloing and riffing start-and-stop time-signature freakouts as if they’re an extension of each other’s brain and fingers from the first moments of “Instruments of Random Murder” to the last of “Dangerous Toy.” The biggest difference between the two albums is Jarzombeck’s increased propensity for soloing compared to White, and Watchtower benefited from it. 

Control and Resistance is a display of talent that, while not as important as Disassembly, is much more refined, cementing Watchtower’s legacy in progressive metal (and kickstarting the career of Jarzombek who has brought a range of new techniques to metal thanks to his nearly unmatched creativity). I’m still blown away by these Texans’ talent and vision in the present day; I don’t know many riffs that can rival the likes of 3:10 in “Hidden Instincts” or 3:10 in “Dangerous Toy” for their sheer swagger. Watchtower were frantically riffing circles around everyone else, in weird time signatures, too, and they knew it.

For those of you still doubting their importance, the following bands have cited direct influence from the classic band: Testament, Dream Theater, Death, Annihilator, Coroner, Atheist, Pestilence, Cynic, Symphony X, Devin Townsend, Toxik, Sieges Even, and Spiral Architect. With only two albums to their name, they managed to birth a genre and influence all your favorite bands. Of course, groups like Fates Warning were right in line and metal was on the brink of its technical and progressive breakthrough, but Watchtower did it first and, importantly, as well. Respect your ancestors and check out these legendary albums.

Recommended tracks: Instruments of Random Murder, The Eldritch, Mayday in Kiev, Control and Resistance
You may also like: Toxik, Blotted Science, Deathrow, Spiral Architect, Howling Sycamore, Dissimulator

Related links: Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: Noise Records

Watchtower was:
– Alan Tecchio (vocals)
– Ron Jarzombek (guitars)
– Doug Keyser (bass)
– Rick Colaluca (drums)

The post Lost in Time: Watchtower – Control and Resistance appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: progressive thrash metal, technical thrash metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Voivod, Crimson Glory, Coroner
Country: United States-TX
Release date: 2 February 1985

Ask the prog metal obsessed and you’ll get a few different answers for the earliest band in our beloved genre. Queensrÿche debuted in 1984, but The Warning isn’t really progressive; King Crimson and Rush certainly had the progressive but only truly explored the metal beyond riffs here and there; The Spectre Within by Fates Warning is the obvious next choice, particularly as the band remains notably influential and active; Iron Maiden, Rainbow, and even Metallica had released proggy tracks by the mid 80s, though they clearly weren’t the progressive metal we know as its own thing; but depending on a not-well-documented release date discrepancy to beat out The Spectre Within by mere months, my champion is Watchtower, taking the mold of thrash metal light years beyond their peers to something that’s recognizably progressive metal. In February of 1985, these wizards changed the metal paradigm with their skill alone and birthed the genre that brings us all together (and tears us all apart, too).

Rampant time signature changes, driving bass, uniquely (at the time) technical riffs, and, of course, the blueprint-for-prog wailing mezzo-soprano; together with a thrash grit, we have the core of Energetic Disassembly, heaviness with an intricacy of playing lost since the heyday of progressive rock, even. This was a completely new dimension of metal: riffs like this were so far beyond any other band. Billy White and Doug Keyser on guitars and bass, respectively, pranced and shredded and bounced around their instruments like men possessed by the dancing plague of 1518, tirelessly racing through feverish, spidery riffs in several time signatures with seemingly endless range across the fretboard. Heck, even from a speed perspective hardly any other thrash up to then could  match the tempo of tracks like “Social Fears,” the almighty, riff-tacular title track, and “Meltdown”; grind was in its demo-phase infancy, and speed metal was pretty much just a name compared to the efforts of Watchtower. The riffs and acrobatics on every track, but particularly ones like on sections like near the start of “Asylum” and the hyper version of the classic heavy metal gallop on “Argonne Forest,” are as memorable as they are influential. Even when comparing their music to artists a decade and a half later like Spiral Architect who helped take the helm for purely technical prog metal, Watchtower hold their own—these boys from Austin, Texas were visionaries.

One must mention Jason McMaster’s iconic voice with his dramatic wails. While his style has only improved in the following decades (see: Howling Sycamore), his frenzied singing takes Watchtower’s energy from simply next-level to outright fanatical: just listen to that scream at the end of “Cimmerian Shadows.” Finally, Rick Colaluca’s work behind the kit is admirable, also pretty much unique for the time—you sure as hell didn’t hear Lars jumping around the kit like this. It simply had to be the fastest and most precise drum performance ever at that point in time. The level of intricacy while maintaining thrash grooves… Colaluca is underrated for his importance to developing progressive metal. All together, Watchtower were a well-oiled machine even on their debut with zero contemporaries. The next couple years would see the blooming of prog metal, but these guys broke the barrier.

I can only imagine what it would be like to walk into an Austin record store in early 1985, pick Energetic Disassembly up on cassette, and hear “Violent Change” come out of the speakers, distinctly thrash metal but so new: faster, more technical, and with a level of intelligent density not seen yet in metal’s fifteen-year history. It would be life-changing and truly mind-blowing—I’d probably have had to pick up pieces of my brain from across the street. Nearly forty years of prog metal releases later, and Energetic Disassembly does more than stand up or remain notable just for its early release: this is still great progressive thrash (although the production is rough even for this point of time), and the prog community should be shamed for allowing this one to be lost in time: rectify it.

Recommended tracks: Tyrants in Distress, Energetic Disassembly, Social Fears, Meltdown
You may also like: Toxik, Blotted Science, Deathrow, Spiral Architect, Howling Sycamore, Dissimulator

Related links: Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: Zombo Records

Watchtower was:
– Jason McMaster (vocals)
– Billy White (guitars)
– Doug Keyser (bass)
– Rick Colaluca (drums)

The post Lost in Time: Watchtower – Energetic Disassembly appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Thrash metal, power metal, progressive metal (clean vocals, Japanese lyrics)
Recommended for fans of: Megadeth, Kreator, Nevermore, Manticora, DragonForce
Country: Japan
Release date: 27 August 2014

Scouring Metal-Archives using their advanced search function to find everything that was released in my given genre and time period of interest was the habit that led to the creation of this blog. The first time I did this was in 2017 when I wondered why no worthwhile modern tech thrash seemed to exist besides Vektor. That search led me to two bands, one being the Spanish one-man project Cautiva with their brilliant one-off album Human, the other being Japanese legacy band Gargoyle’s seventeenth album 解識 (henceforth referred to as Geshiki). Apparently they never toured or released anything outside of Japan, so despite dating back to the 80s, no one heard of them except for the few metalhead nerds who thoroughly scoured the web like I did. Either way, I counted my lucky stars because Geshiki quickly became one of my all time favorites.

While Gargoyle had always been pretty fast paced, Geshiki is just fucking balls to the wall with no regard for genital safety. Virtually every track is played at a breakneck tempo with incredible precision of every musician, and thanks to the modern production style that strikes an excellent balance between compression and spaciousness, the riffs also hit like a truck. Speaking of riffs, Gargoyle are truly one of the best in the business, and on Geshiki they show you exactly why as they crank out godly riff after godly riff. Whether they’re going at full speed or whether they’re just hammering on the power chords doesn’t matter; just look at the frantic speed metal riffs of “羯諦 [Kettei]” and “直撃 [Chukogeki]” or the power metal inspired harmonies of opener “Gordian Knot” and “Mankai Oratio” and you’ll understand. Of course the guitar solos are jaw dropping, too—flaunting skill in both shred and melody at every opportunity. 

The drummer also deserves a shout-out for his performance. Double time at high speeds, blast beats, blisteringly fast fills, all played with grace and precision; I don’t know where Katsuji Kirita gets the energy from to play like that so far into his career—let alone to also do backing vocals in the meantime—but hey, I’m all here for it. Speaking of which, Kazuhisa Tochihara is stupidly charismatic on vocal duties as well, adopting that classic thrash not-sure-if-talking-or-shouting-or-both style of singing with such conviction, power, and technical proficiency that I found the melodies stuck in my head even if I couldn’t understand a word of what he was saying. The strong chorus-based structure of these songs helps in that regard of course, but without Kazuhisa Tochihara’s charisma I don’t think I would have found myself going GYATSUGYAT GYATSUGYAT or ORA! ORA! MANKAI ORA! as I woke up early on a Sunday morning to feed my cat.

For an album as breakneck as Geshiki, forty-nine minutes might seem like a lot, but Gargoyle actually space it out nicely with well-timed breather tracks. “Fullcolor Answer” and closer “Namida no Kachi” are midtempo ballad-esque tracks focusing primarily on melody and atmosphere, whereas “Tsubasa no Kioku” is a dynamic instrumental that also uses the opportunity to take a step back from the onslaught. I must say I don’t find these tracks as compelling as the other more aggressive ones, but their excellent placing makes the album infinitely more digestible and the songs are still very enjoyable in their own right. And in terms of variety, it extends beyond merely slapping on a ballad or two. Even within the adrenaline rush, each track has its own story to tell: “SW Power” with its power/thrash flavor, “Kettei” with its blast beats and rolling tom rhythms, “Mankai Oratio” with its call and response chorus, “Chukogeki” with its rapidfire vocal lines, and so on. While not as diverse as some of their previous work like Natural or Future Drug, Gargoyle still show a keen understanding of songwriting and album structuring on Geshiki that pays enormous dividends.

Finding Geshiki was such a pivotal moment in my musical journey as it solidified the habit that led to this blog, and it’s a shame that none of Gargoyle’s music is available on streaming bar some mediocre fan uploads on YouTube (stupid Japanese labels and their dinosaur policies), but nevertheless I believe Geshiki is an extremely worthwhile album to seek out. The band’s next and final album Taburakashi is more in the same style, which I can also wholeheartedly recommend. Nowadays, I rarely listen to thrash anymore like I did when I found this band, but this album is so good and timeless that I still revisit it regularly. Just please for the love of God put your music somewhere I can realistically buy it without needing to learn Japanese.

Recommended tracks: Gordian Knot, Kettei, Mankai Oratio, SW Power
You may also like: Significant Point, Cautiva, more Gargoyle

Related links: Official Website | Facebook | Metal-Archives page

Label: First Cell – Official Website

Gargoyle is:
– Kazuhisa “Kiba” Tochihara (vocals)
– Kentaro Yokota (guitars, backing vocals, synth guitars)
– Toshiyuki “Toshi” Sueyoshi (bass, backing vocals)
– Katsuji Kirita (drums, percussion, backing vocals, programming)

The post Lost in Time: Gargoyle – 解識 [Geshiki] appeared first on The Progressive Subway.