It brings us great delight to bring to you today The Progressive Subway’s first ever official top ten Albums of the Year: 2022! This year, instead of ranking albums in tiers, as we’ve done in the past, we decided to have each of our eight active writers put together a personal top ten of their favourite underground prog albums of 2022. We then created a score system to create the Official aggregate top ten you’ll find below!

This post summarizes a year of reviewing underground (we draw the line at 20k monthly listeners on Spotify or fewer; if a band has dropped below that threshold sometime this year, they’re fair game), progressive metal albums and albums from adjacent genres (technical death metal, avant-garde metal, and post-metal are some such genres). Since July of last year, we’ve recruited a large swath of new, eclectic prog enthusiasts to the team, and in light of this new era in our blog, we thought it would be great to highlight the differences and similarities in our individual reviewers’ tastes.

The aggregate top ten can be found below! On the following pages you will find each of our reviewer’s individual AOTY top ten rankings, followed by an annual recap of our best reviewed albums. This was a fantastic year for underground prog metal and we’re hoping 2023 will prove every bit as exciting!

10. Aeternam – Heir of the Rising Sun (Canada)
Style: Prog/Folk/Symphonic Melodeath (mixed vocals)

1 vote for 3rd place.
1 vote for 5th place.

Andy said: “Heir of the Rising Sun showcases a new Aeternam, composing an album that flows and dances like a river nymph. Epic choral arrangements and bombastic orchestrations are a songwriting technique that will never go out of vogue, and the band’s proficiency at composing tasteful orchestrations now rivals Wilderun.” Read the full review: here.

9. Atomic Symphony – Hybris (Switzerland)
Style: Progressive Metal, Symphonic Metal, Power Metal (clean vocals)
1 vote for 3rd place.
2 votes for 8th place.

Doug said: “HYBRIS showcases the band firing on all cylinders. Singer Jasmin Baggenstos has a beautiful and powerful voice and is, unsurprisingly, the obvious standout. But none of the other elements are noticeably lacking even by comparison to her excellent performance, and overall the album achieves an excellent balance among all its parts, in terms of both musical dynamics and how much focus is given to each in the composition.” Read the full review: here.

8. Ashenspire – Hostile Architecture (UK)
Style: Avant-garde/Progressive Black Metal
1 vote for 7th place.
1 vote for 6th place.
1 vote for 5th place.

Zach said: “Ashenspire have created something anxiety-inducing, grim, and downright terrifying–but incredibly important nonetheless. It harbors a great deal of wisdom when speaking about the subjects of the capitalist hellscape we’re all trying to survive in… Who cares if it lacks subtlety? What has to be said in this album needs to be said in the plainest terms possible.” Read the full review: here.

7. Obsidious – Iconic (Austria)
Style: Progressive/Technical Death Metal, Power Metal (mixed vocals)

1 vote for 9th place.
1 vote for 8th place.
1 vote for 6th place.
1 vote for 1st place.

Andy said: “Obsidious do not disappoint even with the herculean task of having expectations of Diluvium 2.0 placed on them. They lift those expectations like Atlas balancing the Earth on his back… Obsidious had the most pressure I’ve placed on any debut album ever: They paid it forward with one of the best debuts in recent memory.” Read the full review: here.

6. Bríi – Corpos Transparentes (Brazil)
Style: Minimalist/Folk/Experimental/Prog Atmospheric Black Metal, Trance (mixed vocals)
1 vote for 10th place.
1 vote for 7th place.
1 vote for 4th place.
1 vote for 1st place.

Andy said: “Corpos Transparentes remains engaging on a second-to-second, note-to-note basis, an impressive feat for a single substantially minimalist song clocking in at well over half an hour. The complexities of layering the soothing synths atop energetic drum lines while juggling everything else–even without electric guitar–takes a fantastic production job. Everything sounds as clear in the mix as the warm Atlantic waters during a Brazilian summer.” Read the full review: here.

5. Charlie Griffiths (United Kingdom)
Style: Progressive Metal (mixed vocals)
1 vote for 4th place.
2 votes for 3rd place.

Zach said: “I never felt that songs ran too long or too short. Every song seemed to have the perfect amount of breathing room, and even though each song transitions into the next, the insane amount of creativity between all nine songs made all of them standouts. And this album took me a few listens to really click, just like every Haken album ever. But believe me, between the lyrical callbacks and riffs, it makes it beyond worth it.” Read full review here.

4. Disillusion – Ayam (Germany)
Style: Progressive/Melodic Death Metal (mixed vocals)
1 vote for 10th place.
2 votes for 2nd place.
1 vote for 1st place.

Chris said: “Disillusion’s masterpiece was a long time coming; they’ve always been great, but hiring Jens Bogren to handle the mix bestows the fathoms of sound and lyrical murkiness that await the prospective listener with palpable depth. To conquer both dreams and oceans in one record is an immense feat, one that Disillusion prove eminently capable of achieving, making Ayam perhaps their best record yet, a grandly ethereal contemplation in sonic form, bobbing on the waves—adrift, alone, and beautiful.” Read full review here.

3. Psychonaut – Violate Consensus Reality (Belgium)
Style: Progressive Post/Sludge Metal (mixed)
1 vote for 10th place.
1 vote for 4th place.
1 vote for 3rd place.
2 votes for 2nd place.

This Psychonaut barely fell under our Spotify listener limit so none of us have reviewed this band yet, but perhaps I (Sabrina) can say a few words: This is a band that took everyone by surprise during the release of their debut album Unfold the God Man back in 2018, so going into Violate Consensus Reality, expectations were high. Thankfully for us, they delivered in spades here with technical, hooky riffs, spiraling climaxes, and overall stellar unconventional songwriting. Along with The Ocean, Psychonaut is probably one of the leading frontrunners of modern progressive sludge. I expect great things to come from them in the future.

2. An Abstract Illusion – Woe (Sweden)
Style: Blackened/Atmospheric Progressive Death Metal (mixed)
2 votes for 6th place.
1 vote for 5th place.
1 vote for 3rd place.
1 vote for 1st place.

Zach said: “Woe reminds me why prog-death will forever be my favorite subgenre. The skill it takes to make something of this magnitude can’t be put into words and can only be heard in the album itself. I get why they took so long to make Trejde now: they had to make it completely, utterly ironed out. Without a bit of filler, failed riffage or lyrics that fell flat. I can only imagine the long hours these three poured over every single bar of music, all while staying relatively silent the whole time.” Read full review here.

1. Wilderun – Epigone (US-MA)
Style: Symphonic/Progressive Death Metal (mixed vocals)

1 vote for 5th place.
1 vote for 4th place.
1 vote for 2nd place.
2 votes for 1st place.

Sabrina said: “Each of the first four, nearly perfect tracks, are full of contrasting compositions with progressive tempo shifts; all of which do exceptionally well building with soothing, clean vocal melodies (with complementing female vocals by Katie Müller), acoustic guitar tones, and seamless stringed orchestrations which lead to swirling crescendos that’ll blow your socks off.” Read full review here.

The post Reports from the Underground: 2022 Albums of the Year appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Black Metal, Progressive Metal, Heavy Metal (“clean” vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Bathory (Blood Fire Death era), Arcturus, Iron Maiden, Immortal
Review by: Sam
Country: Finland
Release date: 28 October, 2022

It’s always nice to review a band you’ve reviewed before. Three years ago, I found out about Antipope through Apostle of Infinite Joy which, well, gave me quite a lot of joy. It had a unique combination of black metal riffs, prog metal drumming and song structures, and heavy metal-infested melodic leads and hook-based songwriting. All while having vocals that sounded like Dave Mustaine tried black metal, which strangely enough worked better for me than the Megadeth-man himself. I tried digging into their decently extensive catalog at the time, but sadly none of it was up to the standard that Apostle had set. It was as if after years of experimentation the band finally found their own sound. So now we finally have another album. Does it live up to the standard they set last time, or will the band fall back into mediocrity? 

It’s a hard question to answer. The band changed up their approach significantly from last time. There is less emphasis on the progressive and black metal aspects and a lot more on the heavy metal side of things. The arrangements have become remarkably more straightforward, using less intricate passages with creative drumming and more adrenaline-fueled arrangements to move your head back and forth. The atmosphere also changed significantly thanks to the newly acquired epic doom influences, making it now sound big and triumphant. This shows up in the lead work especially, which is now more atmosphere focused. Whether these changes are a good thing is largely up to preference. I greatly enjoy most of the songs on here and the compositions are still all very strong, but I can’t deny I’m bummed by the loss of complexity in the drumming as that was one of my favorite aspects about their previous album. 

So let’s dive into the songs. Right off the bat, I’m a little disappointed as the band trigger a pet peeve of mine. I mentioned epic doom influences, which unfortunately they also took the annoying minute-long intro track idea from. It’s a symphonic piece that leads into the actual opener nicely, but given that symphonics rarely show up elsewhere in the album it feels like false pretenses. The song works well in a vacuum but honestly I could have done without it. Fortunately, the actual opener “Rex Mundi Aeternum” delivers in spades. It flaunts the epic doom influences tastefully and quickly descends into a maelstrom of furious black metal riffage, captivating vocal lines (which are now sung instead of growled – more on that later), and epic leads that twists and turns through many different sections until it all comes together for an epic climax. It’s easily one of, if not the best song(s) the band has written yet and sets a super high bar for the rest of the album to follow. 

The next three tracks are of similar quality. “Eye of the Storm” especially highlights one of Antipope’s premier qualities, and that is genre bending. It easily incorporates half a dozen metal genres, yet it at all times sounds unmistakably Antipope. There’s the black metal, symphonic metal touches to increase the epic factor, the epic doom style emotive leads and slower passages, heavy metal gallops, a power metal chorus, and progressive metal structuring and odd-time parts. All of these elements show up throughout the album. And as if that wasn’t enough, there are also thrash and Gothenburg elements interwoven in the mix at times. If the FFO looks like a clusterfuck to you, that’s because this band is all over the place in all the best ways possible. In the words of our fellow reviewer Cristopher, “it sounds like a lot of things, but not particularly like anything.”

I mentioned the band switching to clean vocals earlier, well, I’d like for you to take a step back and pause. Take a deep breath. Ok, ready? Now imagine Dave Mustaine attempting a power metal chorus, but somehow, it works. That is what they achieved in “Eye of the Storm”. If that doesn’t blow your mind, I don’t know what does. But let’s not overdo the references to the Megadeth front man. The guy here has his own name. Mikko Myllykangas does vocals, guitars, and bass. His voice is certainly out there. He’s high-pitched and extremely nasal. I imagine for most reason it’ll be a make-or-break factor with this album, but I enjoyed him for the most part. The nasal aspect brings a high level of grit to his voice that works really well in the faster, more aggressive sections. However, that same nasal aspect can also really hurt during the slower, more emotional sections. “Twilight of the Grey Gods” in particular has a chorus that puts a little too much spotlight on his voice in a way that brings out the worst, making him sound painfully strained. “Hell on Earth” also has a few lines where he sounds out of his depth. I think he’d do really well to improve upon the softer, more vulnerable side of his voice. This drop-off in vocal performance ended up hurting the songs in the second half of the album a lot. 

I also found the album structuring to be rather odd. They start with a 10 minute song, but never attempt anything of that length again. Especially given the weaker, slower songs in the second half I’d have preferred it if they cut a couple of tracks in favor of one or two longer ones. This is also what makes the symphonic opening piece feel out of place. Only the initial epic justifies that much build-up. At 56 minutes, the songs end up blending together thanks to the lack of structural variety. Had they kept more of the progressive aspects like in the epic title track, maybe it’d have worked, but their current approach I find a little too straightforward for such a length. 

So to come back to the question in the introduction, did the band fall back into mediocrity? Not quite. But I don’t think they quite reached the level of Apostle of Infinite Joy either. It’s a step forward in some ways. The increased epic factor was great and made for peaks higher than on their previous album, but the cutting back in progressive elements and occasionally painful clean vocals made the overall experience a bit tiring and it ended up feeling like a slight step back. I think if they tune in a little more on the ambitious aspect and the vocals improve, we could be in for a real banger, but for now, we’ll just have to be content with what we got here.  

Recommended tracks: Rex Mundi Aeternum, Eye of the Storm, Church of Wolves
You may also like: Zemial, Articulus
Final verdict: 7/10

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

Label: Moribund Records – Website | Facebook

Antipope is:
– Mikko Myllykangas (vocals, guitars, bass)
– Antti J. Karjalainen (guitars)
– Joni Tauriainen (bass)
– Tuska E. (drums)

The post Missed Albums Review: Antipope – Rex Mundi appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Progressive Metal, Power Metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Angra, Pagan’s Mind, Evergrey, Lost Horizon, Blind Guardian
Review by: Sam
Country: US-MN
Release date: June 24, 2022

Long time readers of this blog might remember Matt. He was one of the first five reviewers on the blog, and spent most of that time reviewing power-prog. He also plays guitar in a band, which unsurprisingly is also power prog, and furthermore, is the subject of this review. I (jokingly) promised him I’d shit on his album when it came out, so here goes nothing. This was originally meant to come out in June, but personal circumstances were not kind to me last year and hence this review only comes out now.

Unfortunately for me, there’s little to dunk on with this album. And in all honesty, it’s actually really damn good (damn you, Matt! This is not what we agreed on.). Chaos Frame plays a relatively straightforward brand of power-prog, focusing mostly on the power metal aspect and using the prog to spice it up, similar to how, say, modern Angra would do thing). They carve out their identity by embracing a futuristic sound and a sharp, aggressive riffing style. Spacious, foreboding synths fill up the ambience and the vocals have a reverby style similar to Nils Rue (from Pagan’s Mind) that sounds a bit like an alien. The pixilated cover art fits well in this regard with its foreboding skies and dark shading over the city’s skyline. 

The songwriting on Entropy is super tight. Every song is laden with hooks. Be it the chorus, the main riff, or a cool synth line, there’s always something eye-popping to latch onto. The songs follow a chorus structure but the band always quickly moves from one section onto the next, making the songs very dynamic. There’s tons of tempo and mood shifts in each song happening in quick succession, and a bevy of influences, most notably electronic music, that give a unique identity. Sometimes it’ll sound like a symphonic metal song (“Always Looking Down”), other times you’ll have tremolo riffs and blast beats spicing it up (not gonna spoiler), and the futuristic synths permeate throughout almost the entire thing. It’s all interwoven in a natural way that makes it feel like a core part of their sound rather than a gimmick slapped on top or an avant-garde approach where they flaunt the influences in your face to show you how eclectic they are. In particular, I’d like to highlight the song “Skyscraper” as an example of all that is right with this band. It simply has everything: energetic power metal riffs, grandiose symphonic passages and creative futuristic synth, and the dynamics and unpredictability of prog metal. It’s an absolute monster of a track that is without a doubt a song of the year contender for me.

Something I also appreciate greatly about this album is the serious tone it has. In a genre filled with bands that are a little too self-aware, it’s a breath of fresh air to see a band taking a fully serious approach. The subject matters all come across as deeply personal and introspective. Opener “Entropy, Pt. 1” describes the process of someone coming to terms with growing old and one’s own mortality, “To Reap and Never Sow” seems to be about paying the price for being untrue to yourself, and “Voluntary Extinction” discloses frustrations with humanity’s course for disaster. In general, themes of death, loss, or regret seem present in most of the songs. This is reflected in the music as well. The overall tone is darker and more emotive than is typically seen in power metal, coming (again) from the foreboding synth sounds, and inclusion of slower, breathing parts that let the emotion sink in. Also of note is that, despite plenty of shred, emphasis in their solos lies on the emotional aspect (good job, Matt, and other dude).

However, there are some points of contention with Entropy. First of all, the production is rather muddy and loud. The guitars are overbearing compared to the rest, making singer Dave Brown often sound like he’s having a hard time singing on top of everything. For how dynamic the songs are, I sometimes wish he had more space to sing a little more reservedly. Overall he sounds great, but when he’s belting all the time (though in different ways) it can become a bit tiring. Another point of contention is that as creative as the first five songs are, the last three feel rather predictable. “Always Looking Down” leans in hard on the symphonic aspect, but it doesn’t deliver on its promise by virtue of relatively tame cinematic synth choices and linear structure. Compared to the other epic “Skyscraper” it simply doesn’t cultivate the same emotional spark in me. “The Late Goodbye” is a decent piano ballad, but it could have been better. And the closer “Entropy, Pt. 2” – while a great straightforward power metal song in itself – doesn’t offer much more than that and pacing wise is a bit odd as an album closer in how it suddenly goes for the finale drum solo and a foreboding fade-out. I guess if anything, it leaves me wanting more, so maybe it’s not that bad after all.

I think in the grand scheme of things, Entropy is a great achievement and a proper statement by the band. It improves upon their first two by leaps and bounds. I have some issues with the mixing and find the second half generally less strong than the first, but the overall verdict is a positive one. In a genre where almost every band tends to sound like a variation on the same theme, a more creative, unique act like this is highly appreciated. Now I’m just hoping it won’t take another 7 years before we see Chaos Frame IV appear…

You did good, Matt.

Recommended tracks: The Timepiece Shatters – Entropy, Pt. I, Skyscraper, Solaire, Voluntary Extinction
You may also like: Sentire, Mortanius, Starborn, Judicator
Final verdict: 8/10

Related links: Spotify | Facebook | Metal-Archives page

Label: Pure Steel Records – Website | Facebook

Chaos Frame is:
– Dave Brown (vocals)
– Matt Hodsdon (guitars, bass)
– Andy Xiong (bass)
– Andrew Julkowski (drums)

The post Missed Albums Review: Chaos Frame – Entropy appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Progressive Metal, Post-Metal, Doom Metal, Post-Hardcore, Neoclassical Chamber Music, Folk (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Alcest, Aesthesys, A Winged Victory For The Sullen
Review by: Doug
Country: New York, United States
Release date: 1 February, 2022

Ah, the rare triple-self-titled release, where the band name, album title, and song title are all the same. Indeed, the name Ode and Elegy represents a uniquely compact musical project, a single track on a single album by an ensemble never before assembled. Masterminded by Kent Fairman Wilson and featuring multiple of his former bandmates from The Pax Cecilia, this ambitious genre-fusion novelty combines progressive post-doom metal and neoclassical chamber-folk music into an impressive mouthful of diverse styles and sounds.

The fifty-five-minute runtime of “Ode and Elegy,” divided loosely into seven movements, showcases all kinds of musical talents. All throughout, each musician contributes their own beautiful music-making to a core atmosphere, achieving a surprising level of stylistic cohesion given the variety of instruments. From the mournful chamber orchestra that opens the piece to the string-infused post-hardcore shouts that kick in for movement II, the heavy and distorted doom guitars of the middle sections to the ominous choir features in movements VI and VII, Ode and Elegy emulates the symphonic compositional approach of its classical ensemble roots, each section building on the previous despite the widely differing genres involved.

Although it can be challenging in long compositions such as this, Ode and Elegy masterfully cultivate a feeling of tight, careful construction with their division of movements. Each shift from one movement to the next brings an ebb and flow of structure, the previous portion fading away as the new one begins with shapeless melodies and wandering rhythms that gradually develop into more focused and traditionally-organized passages. Even within each movement, the energy and volume of the music waxes and wanes, sometimes matching the crushing existentialism of the lyrics with heavy and intense metal vocals and guitar, but just as often settling into the solemn, despairing quietness of post-metal and/or chamber strings. Many times the recording goes almost completely silent, allowing the prior moment more time to sink in before rising softly into the next. Most notable in the calm, string-filled valley between movements II and III, as well as the manifold sections of movement VI – first harsh and sludgy, then choral, then introducing strings, and finally piano – these transitions in tone play a critical role in keeping “Ode and Elegy” engaging and distinct throughout its great length.

Really, my one complaint – such as it is – about Ode and Elegy is the challenge it presents to a casual listener. Between the ponderous length of its single song and its quiet and subtle composition, this album is not one to throw on in the background; it demands the listener’s full attention every time it plays. As much as it may be a treat for those of us who like to invest in our listening, even I like to listen to music in the background too, and such a release is more difficult to continue enjoying and appreciating over time in a less focused setting. I don’t think that changes my perception of the album much as a piece of music, but it bears mentioning as an extra factor that has definitely shaped my personal listening experience of Ode and Elegy.

I always appreciate the opportunity to take a deep, careful listen when an album such as this comes along, rich with lyrical meaning and emotion and made all the more memorable by stellar composition and performances encompassing a wide blend of genres. I began my first listen of Ode and Elegy with little idea of what to expect, but this monolithic and incomparable project defied any expectations I could reasonably have had. I repeatedly found myself at a loss for how to describe what I was hearing, caught completely off guard as I rounded each corner of the musical labyrinth. Even still, when I can devote my full attention for nearly an hour, Ode and Elegy invariably and thoroughly thrills me from start to finish every time I hear it.

Recommended tracks: Ode and Elegy, what else?
You may also like: Dead to a Dying World, The Pax Cecilia, BRUIT ≤, Latitudes, DVNE
Final verdict: 8/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Label: Independent

Ode and Elegy is:
– Kent Fairman Wilson
– Harold Taddy
– Reilly Solomon Taylor-Cook (bass)
– Chris McCune (drums)
– Gregory Austin (drums)
– Alice Roberts (harp)
With:
– Laurels String Quartet (strings)
– Sofia Session Orchestra (brass)
– Sofia Session Choir (choral vocals)
– Stefano Fasce (flute)

The post Missed Album Review: Ode and Elegy – Ode and Elegy appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Post-Metal, Atmospheric Doom Metal, Progressive Metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Messa, Elephant Tree
Review by: Doug
Country: Netherlands
Release date: 24 November, 2022

Let’s talk about negative space: the parts of art that are absent. The parts undrawn, unwritten, unsung. With notable exceptions (such as John Cage‘s infamous 4’33”) this aspect of art is less often explored in music where physical and artistic boundaries are less defined and it can be challenging to separate empty internal space from plain old silence. With painting and its conventions of form and color, it’s more obvious to say that a block of white delineates the main focus or adds a sharper edge to a graceful curve. In music, a portion of silence denotes not an edge, but rather a unique color in the palette, distinct from any positive mix of instruments. Instead of a border saying “here is where the music begins and ends,” the quiet moments of music inspire their own kind of feeling, and provide a reminder to stay conscious of those same unfilled moments throughout life.

More than many other artists, Downriver Dead Men Go revel in the emptiness of their work, amplifying and exalting those lightly-filled spaces in between the heavier and more active moments. The beginning of “Line in the Sand,” for example, hangs as long as possible in between its haunting piano chimes, letting the reverberations fill the air and then fade. As the song builds, gradually adding vocals, percussion, and guitars, the new additions fill these empty spaces, laying out a deeper and heavier post-doom soundscape that, by contrast, makes the beginning feel even lighter and emptier. This track represents the archetype of the kind of musical structure Ruins aims to assemble, with slow and subtle acoustic openings that give way to more substantial climaxes.

That elusive substance draws heavily from the guitar parts, deeply distorted and equally inclined to chug or to hold long notes. Where the other instruments have a tendency to drown in reverb, the multilayered guitar parts ring more clearly, lending presence to DDMG’s otherwise ethereal sound. Even here, however, the straightforward rhythms produce an emptiness of sorts; the amplitude of the sound may be greater, but there is still relatively little complexity to consume the listener’s attention. Even at its most intense, Ruins invites its audience to relax and to bask in the lonely whispering soundscape.

One problem with the resounding emptiness, though, is that it can be hard to tell different moments apart. The album lacks unique features that could help distinguish each track from the others, which makes for a homogenous and sometimes forgettable listening experience. Here and there a lonely guitar solo shines through the fog, but after a few listens, the opening three tracks as well as “Cruel World” blend together into mostly a single impression of hazy guitars, synth-strings, and vocals, with subdued piano and drums laying out long, steady phrases of rhythm. All in all, this predominant style is well-crafted and as a complete album listening experience it should satisfy those seeking bleak atmosphere, but Ruins does not leave the listener with strong standout impressions of individual moments or tracks.

This kind of quasi-minimalist expression requires a delicate balance of presence and absence. In the midst of the truly, beautifully barren moments of “Line in the Sand” and “Cruel World,” I do feel immersed in the musical void which DDMG have cultivated. But too often throughout Ruins, I feel that the lively moments don’t sufficiently balance out the empty spaces in between – that the negative space serves too little as accent and too much as a gap between one phrase and the next. If the mood appeals and you let it fully enfold you, you may find something to appreciate; if not, Ruins does at least provide a soothing experience as it flows past.

Recommended tracks: Line in the Sand, Cruel World
You may also like: Latitudes, The Angelus, Helen Money, Ode and Elegy
Final verdict: 6/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | YouTube | Facebook
Label: FREIA Music – Bandcamp

Downriver Dead Men Go is:
– Gerrit Koekebakker (vocals, guitars)
– Michel Varkevisser (guitars, backing vocals)
– Peter van Dijk (keyboards)
– Menno Kolk (bass)
– Marcel Heijnen (drums)

The post Missed Album Review: Downriver Dead Men Go – Ruins appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Technical/Progressive Thrash Metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Vektor, Coroner, Voivod, Megadeth
Review by: Andy
Country: United States-NY
Release date: 5 August, 2022

Progressive thrash metal is hard to review, and I don’t necessarily mean that actually scribing my thoughts is particularly difficult. No, basically two things happen: A new great tech thrash band immediately jumps over 20k listeners rendering it outside the scope of the blog, or Francesco scoops it up to review before the album is even on my radar. Toxik, too, at the time of Dis Morta’s release were over 20k monthly listeners and have only recently just barely dipped under the threshold, so not only do I get to review awesome tech thrash for the first time, I get to write about arguably my single favorite thrash metal album since Vektor’s untouchable Terminal Redux. 

Toxik are a classic name in old-school tech-y thrash, coming up alongside legendary acts like Watchtower, Coroner, and Mekong Delta, and the band came firing out of a thirty-year hiatus during the pandemic to relatively little fanfare. Thankfully, during that long pause from releasing new music, Toxik lost absolutely zero of their infectious, manic energy. Starting the second album in the comeback series, Dis Morta, with the title track, we’re treated to a cheesy sample into an insane riff where guitars overwhelm, simply shrieking with joy in sustained upper-register classic heavy metal glory. And then all hell breaks loose at just about a million beats per minute with Ron Iglesias’ stellar belting atop it all–the man can sing. With one of the most eccentric vocal performances I’ve heard since the Howling Sycamore debut, he brings an insanity to this album that the guitars seem to nearly struggle to keep up with; considering the guitars are genuinely some of the most technical I’ve ever heard in thrash, Iglesias’ commits quite the vocal feat. His piercing falsettos, crazed ramblings, and technical melodies are almost the star of the show, his timbre surprisingly reminiscent of Norwegian prog superstars Spiral Architect at points, too. 

Spiral Architect can also be heard in the riff-work, so technical as to boggle the mind, yet Toxik never once sacrifice catchiness and head-bangability. Dis Morta has more hooks than a tackle shop, and if every band could solo with as many noodles as tracks like “Feeding Frenzy,” the world wouldn’t need any more Italian restaurants. Take my favorite track on Dis Morta, for instance, “Chasing Mercury”: The guitars riff with a progressive, stop-on-a-dime cadence with endlessly entertaining bass licks providing counterpoint that verges on Archspire all while Iglesias screams, “LIKE CHASING MERCURRYYYYY.” Then, the song ratchets up the intensity and speed until we get a “DESTINYYYYY” shout, which turns into a solo; moreover, the solo section includes the classic Savatage “aah aah aah” vocal attack. Every second bites into the brain, and it’s the perfect pace to be in the conversation for greatest running song of all time. Nearly every track is similarly amazing at building riffs into more riffs with catchy chorus and mind-melting solos. Another track that stands out is “The Radical” with one of the most distinct spoken-word clips I’ve heard in an album ever. If the whole genre were as infectiously phenomenal as this song, I’d swear fealty to thrash like the old metal guard did in the 80s. 

Of course this is technical thrash metal, so we aren’t treated to many changes in tempo, but Toxik do have a couple tricks up their sleeve like on “Devil in the Mirror,” which begins with a clean, almost ballad approach not unlike Vektor’s “Collapse.” “Devil in the Mirror” evolves back into straight-edged thrash after the piano etude, but the dramatic, off-kilter lyrics–ranging from classic thrash metal themes like dissenting religious opinions to technology to rambunctious politics across the album–really keep the theatrical track intro intact. The production on this album is impeccable, making the most out of modern traits while still keeping the appeal of a more organic sound rather than the sterile sound of many modern bands. The drums in particular sound great, each blast beat and cymbal hit crystal clear. 
I really don’t have much left to say in way of concluding remarks except that if you like thrash in any capacity, you’ll love this. Toxik have achieved an all time genre classic in the conversation with the legends of all metal–this may well be the ‘20s Ride the Lightning or Rust in Peace. Controversial? Maybe, but I strongly believe it: If this album can gain more traction, a new generation of metal fans will convert to the church of thrash (instead of that -core those young-ins listen to nowadays). Go give this a spin on your next run or cardio day.

Recommended tracks: The Radical, Hyper Reality, Chasing Mercury
You may also like: Mekong Delta, Xoth, Watchtower
Final verdict: 8.5/10

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

Label: Massacre Records – Website | Facebook

Toxik is:
– John Christian (guitars)
– Jim DeMaria (drums)
– Shane Boulos (bass)
– Ron Iglesias (vocals)
– Eric van Druten (rhythm guitars)

The post Missed Album Review: Toxik – Dis Morta appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Progressive Metal, Alt Metal (Mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Karnivool, Porcupine Tree, Vulkan
Review by: Christopher
Country: Netherlands
Release date: 24 June, 2022

We live in anxious times. Financial insecurity, geopolitical instability, invisible diseases, and a paranoid world of isolation. Feeling a bit anxious is understandable, and many bands of late have taken up the mental health mantle as both outlet for themselves and catharsis for likeminded fans. Dutch four-piece Inhalo are one of the latest bands to do just that on their debut album Sever, which dropped mid-2022.

Sever delves headfirst into gooseflesh and panic. On “Subterfuge” vocalist Fons Herder intones the refrain “A tall order, be still my heart”, a simple but effective evocation of lurking anxiety. Indeed, Herder’s breathy vocals add a unique dynamic to the songs, at times collapsing mid-note into a ragged whisper—a worthy complement to the anxious exploration. His timbre is redolent of Dan Tompkins (Tesseract), and he can certainly belt out a note with the same power when he wants to, although his refreshing sense of restraint sets him apart.

One can certainly hear the influence of Tool and Porcupine Tree here, but Inhalo don’t limit themselves to mere imitation, instead mixing in a range of additional flavours into their prog rock/alt-metal foundation. Roy Willems’ lead guitar work is some of the most interesting I’ve heard in this kind of prog for some time; the tone is absolutely gorgeous, and he journeys through bluesier and more heavy metal styles than one would usually expect in prog. Complex polyrhythms predominate, Opethian diminished chords tickle the edges of songs—particularly on “Sisyphean”—and distorted harsh vocals, playing the mocking voice of anxiety itself, perforate a couple of later tracks. 

The rhythm section is tight as hell: Peter Cat’s bass work drives hard—his best work perhaps appearing on “Mirror Door”—and is nicely audible in the mix, while drummer Pepjin Gros’ pounds away at the toms and keeps those polyrhythms precise. There are times when Inhalo lean too heavily on the Tool influence and these aren’t as engaging as their more creative sojourns. Fortunately, they throw in enough fresh sounds that no song ever grows stale, and I’d certainly love to see them continue to distinguish themselves from the alt-metal crowd on future releases; that necessary creativity is clearly present. 

On “Mirror Door” harsh vocals representing the voice of anxiety mock “you can’t even look in the mirror without seeing me” while Herder defiantly proclaims that he must “stop finding ways to stigmatise myself”. On “Subterfuge” we hear that “two paths burn each end of the path on which I tread”, evoking the sense of danger lurking behind and ahead in anxiety; the sense of entrapment is palpable and the lyrics communicate the various facets of foreboding that accompany anxiety both intelligently and cathartically.

I know we were late to the party, but let us at the Subway reaffirm what you may already know: that Inhalo have delivered one of the most promising progressive alt-metal debuts for some time. Utilising crisp production and an array of unexpected influences into a familiar sound, this is an assured, catchy, and deftly composed record that signals a promising career ahead during which I hope Inhalo will continue to grow and evolve. 

Recommended tracks: Sisyphean, Subterfuge, Last Vestige
You may also like: Sermon, Ihlo, Hyco
Final verdict: 7.5/10

Related links: Spotify | Official Website | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram

Inhalo is:
– Fons Herder (vocals)
– Roy Willems (guitars)
– Peter Cat (bass)
– Pepjin Gros (drums)

The post Missed Album Review: Inhalo – Sever appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Progressive Metal, Symphonic Death Metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Psycroptic, Slugdge
Review by: Cooper
Country: Florida, United States
Release date: 4 November, 2022

Featuring mythical artwork, a dizzying space opera concept, and a symphonic infused progressive death metal sound, Earth Base One, the debut release from the Florida-based Tiwanaku, is an album that – at least on paper – I should love. Unfortunately, for every positive that Tiwanaku incorporates into this album, countless negatives slip in as well.

Earth Base One begins in stride with “Visitor from Titan,” a six minute song that demonstrates everything that Tiwanaku is able to do well. Riffs change up on a dime in a way that at first feels disorienting but becomes satisfying as the song repeats its strophic structure. Synthesized choir and strings provide a strong foundation and bring a sense of melody to the slightly monotonous vocals, and in typical death metal fashion, the drums blast away, never drawing much attention at all, be it good or bad. The standout element of “Visitor from Titan” is undoubtedly the lead guitar work. By shrugging off the trend of perfectly compressed, clipped, and quantized lead work that is all too often employed in the genre, Tiwanaku’s lead guitar provides a real sense of grit that recalls death metal of the nineties more than it does anything released in the past fifteen years.

The second track, “Ghost War,” follows suit, making use of many of the same stylistic choices off “Visitor from Titan.” Here, though, they begin to seem less like intentionally made songwriting choices and more like symptoms of a lack of ideas. For instance, riffs and song segments still transition between another in a disorienting manner, but that disorientation never pays off as it did in the album’s opener. Once again, the lead guitar shredding is fun and engaging, but it is now forced to compete with the other instruments in order to even be heard thanks to muddy production. Despite all its missteps, “Ghost War” still lands as one of the better tracks off of Earth Base One, a dark omen of what’s to come.

“Swarm” is the third track from Earth Base One, but you certainly wouldn’t have known that had you listened to it. In fact, when I first heard “Swarm,” I thought that my music player had somehow begun shuffling and that I was now listening to a completely different band. Nearly every aspect of the song’s sound – production, riffing style, and vocals – is completely different from the previous tracks, and these changes are not for the better. Where “Visitor from Titan” employed a production style that, while certainly not amazing, served the song with its grittiness, “Swarm” sounds like it was taken straight from a demo recording. At one point, I swear I can even hear where an audio file was copied and pasted into the DAW during production. For an album that was already on my bad side, this became a killing blow to my enjoyment, and I became much more nitpicky about the entire album.

For instance, “Nightmare Hell” would have been decent if they had cut down the nearly three minutes of ambience to thirty seconds and if they had recorded to a metronome. “Closed Minds” is probably the best song on the album thanks to its groovy synth use, but it squanders much of my enjoyment thanks to a double tracked solo that ends up just sounding out of tune and an ending that I can only describe as lazy. “Vision Abducted” is also one of the better tracks on this album, but is really just a collection of riffs as opposed to a song. Whenever Earth Base One offers something of promise, it never lasts more than a moment and whatever follows seems even worse by comparison.

The final track, depending on which music service you are listening on, is a piano solo. “Falling Stars” is a genuinely interesting and engaging piece of music, but I can’t help but see it as anything other than perplexing. Why would Tiwanaku choose to include a piano solo with showmanship that overshadows anything that happened on the album previously? Ultimately, it leaves me unsatisfied. Even worse, if you were listening on Bandcamp, there is still one more song, “Interdimensional.” I do not want to spoil the genre change that occurs with this song, so I find myself in a conundrum. I recommend you listen to this album on Bandcamp if only to experience the sheer comedy that is “Interdimensional” after the album that precedes it. Despite the shocking nature of the album’s true closer, I only resent the album more because I now find myself actually recommending this atrocity, even if it is only as comedic relief.

Recommended tracks: Visitor From Titan, Closed Minds
You may also like: Dvota, Deathbringer
Final verdict: 4/10

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

Label: Unorthodox Emanations of Avantgarde Music – Bandcamp | Website | Facebook

Tiwanaku is:
– Ed Mowery (vocals, guitars)
– Sean Hairy Valentine (lead guitars)
– Ian Spencer (bass)
– Gabriel Lewandowski (drums)
– Ryan ONeill (keyboard)

The post Missed Album Review: Tiwanaku – Earth Base One appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Avant-garde Black Metal, Drone, Modern Classical (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Blut Aus Nord, The Ruins of Beverast, Sunn O))
Review by: Andy
Country: United States-NY
Release date: 15 July, 2022

Desolate droning pulses echo outward from the preceding calm before Aveilut; the guitar immediately invokes the haunting airhorn of The Lighthouse’s psychological horror. Drums materialize to provide locomotion as soon as the creeping microtonal guitars–which occasionally meet to form hideously unsettling chords but more often than not counteract all logical sense of melody–begin to stagnate. These blaring melodies at the start of “I” are a nuclear alarm, a presaging omen of imminent, cataclysmic disaster as uncomfortable to listen to as the grief and desolation in Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima. Just as Blut Aus Nord unraveled chthonic tendrils around listeners’ throats in their suffocating opus Disharmonium: Undreamable Abysses earlier this year, so the unwieldy, indecipherable guitars of Aveilut also strangle unprepared listeners–without the need for conceptual prompting. Soon after the initial musical prophesying of doom, Doug Moore (Pyrrhon), among the best lyricists in metal, unleashes sinister snarls of his blunt poetry, rejecting the permanence of death. These distressing soundscapes and messages do not cease for the first three movements of Aveilut, but the vocals–despite the wickedly pitiless harshes–improbably provide some of the only moments of respite in the ferocious, forward-marching assault of Scarcity’s guitars and drums. 

Scarcity is inescapable. Staccato blast beats and the microtonal tremeloes turn into a bass-led pulse as “I” seamlessly transitions into “II”: the flow is a direct result of Brendon Randall-Myers’ musical pedigree as a composer of experimental modern classical. As an experienced composer, he contributes true classical sensibility and aplomb to metal. The technical crescendos and microtonal progressions contribute to a superstructure as indecipherable as the most inhuman of Moore’s vocals. Aveilut additionally has endless replay value owing to the intense, strident performances that never undermine the high-mindedness of the artform. Appreciating the seamless shifting cycles of microtonality and dramatic overarching progressions is like a game once one–after multiple listens–can disentangle themselves from the grip of the more momentary struggle to comprehend what’s happening. 

Returning to the bass of “II,” Aveilut is the sound of an experienced composer grappling with death–understandable at a primal level but altogether too sophisticated to fully wrap your head around without serious thinking. And this album isn’t merely conveying sadness nor sage acceptance like Dessiderium; this is unbridled anger, especially prominent in movements “II” and “III.” As Randall-Myers battles against these furious, challenging-to-comprehend concepts, the tremelos erupt out of the scorched earth and sizzle dazzilingly until they burn away–leaving room for another to burn anew–such that anytime a sense of complacency with the discordant riffs occurs, he tears the carpet out from under you. If he can’t come to terms with death, you can’t grasp his music easily. The vocals in these movements are the deranged wailing of souls gone, bursting out of cracks in the ground while simultaneously crazed riffs serve to obfuscate and confuse–successfully. Aveilut is a fortress of horror and loss using classical and metal alike to buttress itself from any attempts at understanding its deeper structures. The lyrics, shouted above the increasingly intensifying din, propose: “Bе without fear when your lungs fail to draw air” just as the movement ironically reaches its new zenith of asphyxiating anxiety. This climactic audial onslaught is far too powerful to be a natural disaster–this is anthropogenic destruction; akin to Chernobyl or Nagasaki.  

Constant blasts and blaring guitars continue on in their journey to come to terms with disaster–or perhaps they are the disaster. I’ve never heard something this sophisticated be quite so terrifying: Aveilut is Warforged matured to the compositional level of Schoenberg. “III” leaves the listener to smolder in the gaze of Scarcity, who explode to whole new levels of uncompromisability at the culmination of the movement’s crescendo: Everything turns to noise as the bomb foretold in “I” is actually dropped. And it isn’t detonated once; no, the bomb explodes again and again like Ashenspire setting Grenfell aflame. Thus, “IV” functions as the true fallout. Aveilut devolves–or is incinerated–into a drone as powerful as standing in front of a huge amp. Eventually, explorative guitar lines peek out of the low end along with disgustingly deep vocals, the only remaining survivors–holy god, the vocals at 6:15 are demonic with just the distorted electronica holding up the demented screams. 

“V” brings the black metal back with ungodly levels of counterpoint, the advanced chord progressions a vile reminder of the compositional skill on display. Parts of the movement may well be the harmonic zenith of metal as too many guitars to count all merge and play together for a terrifying moment at 4:55 before all hell breaks loose again into a SkyThala-lite ascending riff. Finally, the lyrics indicate some sort of coming to terms with death, getting over the apparent thanatophobia running through the work; likewise, the music tells a complicated story of that same ending. Every disconcerting piece finds another discordant line to overwhelm the senses with their euphoric polyphonic bliss. The guitars shift and fall away and give birth to new parts over and over, and Randall-Myers/Moore reach a near understanding with the scream: “Sempiternal, perfected forever, your shadow lingers on, on, on.” Afterward, all that remains is an ultimate haunting orchestration. 

Reckoning with existential mortality remains one of the largest hurdles to human life–time has not changed that. I applaud Scarcity for the authentic and heart-wrenching take on the topic; moreover, beyond reminiscence on life-altering experiences and death, Aveilut is one of the most terrifying and sublime metal compositions I’ve heard, marrying the best of multiple challenging music scenes together. While Aveilut may not be able to bring people back to life, the album is a triumphant artistic attempt at reconciling with deep internal unrest. 

Recommended tracks: Aveilut (it flows too well as one track)
You may also like: Pyrrhon, Xenoglyph, Jute Gyte, SkyThala, Warforged
Final verdict: 9/10

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

Label: The Flenser – Bandcamp | Website | Facebook

Scarcity is:
– Brendon Randall-Myers (all instruments)
– Doug Moore (vocals)

The post Missed Album Review: Scarcity – Aveilut appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Instrumental Prog Rock, Math Rock
Recommended for fans of: The Mars Volta, Porcupine Tree, King Crimson
Review by: Mark
Country: UK
Release date: November 18, 2022

Growing up in Ireland, there wasn’t a huge amount to enjoy as a budding prog nerd when it came to music festivals. Even amongst the metal-focused outings in the UK and Europe I would be lucky to find one that hosted just a few bands that I genuinely liked, and there is only so many times one can watch Iron Maiden or Kiss headline to a sea of aged battle jackets. However, in 2018 I stumbled across the line-up for the much beloved Arctangent Festival in Bristol and never before have I seen such a series of knockout live bands before. Since then, the cast has only become more star-studded and it is one of the easiest recommendations I could make to any prog fan.

It was at that 2018 installment where I first discovered today’s review victim, Poly-Math. At the time they were a mere three-piece, delivering a notably energetic and complex instrumental set in the middle of the afternoon that really stood out to me during my hungover reflections on the bus home. Dark, heavy, and riff-laden, it reminded me of a late-night Toska and I was keen to dig into the rest of their discography. Now, with their latest album Zenith, the band has expanded to include both a full-time saxophonist and a keyboardist and it’s here when I became excited to see how they might use these elements to build upon a sound that I remembered fondly.

To the uninitiated, Zenith firmly houses the established characteristics of Poly-Math‘s sound; high-intensity instrumental prog, littered with psychedelic textures, angular rhythm sections, dissonant harmony, thick riffs, and driven syncopation. These ingredients have married very well to the addition of sax and keys, which in turn seems to have led the band in new compositional directions. The saxophone has been used to intensify their more frenetic sections, shifting what was once purely abrasive metal composition into “bad trip” vibes. Meanwhile, the keys have not only added weight to the riffs, but have also bolstered all their calmer passages by filling the space with ambient textures. The final result feels like a fairly equal mix of the hyper instrumentation of The Mars Volta with the drunken brass of early King Crimson, all cradled in the math-rock sound of Bristol from which they hail.

Zenith is not an album I would present as the friendliest exordium to the world of prog. Having saxophone as a primary feature throughout the entire record does wonders for its sense of identity, but, depending on your mood, in the more frantic sections it can very easily fall into an unbearably obnoxious territory. Normally this wouldn’t be the case, but when frequently mixed with harshly dissonant melodies I think mileage is going vary for some. Overall, the calmer moments on the album, such as “Charger”, are considerably more palatable and make room for a gorgeous inventory of keys and moody grooves. Thankfully, the whole record is supported by a rock-solid rhythm section that allows the band to get away with the more experimental moments; I felt the album may have been a dud without this glue to keep it all together.

Ultimately, Zenith is a succinct, self-assured, and sophisticated piece of instrumental prog that is an easy recommendation for any veteran listeners of the genre. The more cacophonous regions of the songs may be a little too rich for some, and I often did find myself one of those people. However, the focus and talent at hand here is pretty undeniable and considering how Poly-Math have evolved over time, I will be very excited to see what they do next.

Recommended tracks: Velociter, Charger
You may also like: Black Peaks, Gösta Berlings Saga, Toska, Ex Eye
Final verdict: 7/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | YouTube | Facebook

Label: Nice Weather for Airstrikes – Bandcamp | Facebook

Poly-Math is:
– Chris Olsen (saxophones)
– Timothy Laulik-Walters (guitars)
– Joseph Branton (bass)
– Chris Woollison (drums)
– Joshua Gesner (keyboards, synthesizers)

The post Review: Poly-Math – Zenith appeared first on The Progressive Subway.