Style: Progressive metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Fates Warning, Symphony X, Opeth
Country: Israel
Release date: 25 July 2025

One of my favorite obscure albums to recommend to people is Orpheus Blade’s debut Wolf’s Cry. Its cinematic songwriting, dark atmosphere, grandiose production values, excellent guitarwork, and a charismatic female/male vocal duet from Adi Bitran and guest singer Henning Basse (Metalium, Legions of the Night) made for a uniquely compelling experience. Ever since I discovered the album, I’ve been eagerly waiting for a follow-up and have regularly harassed a friend of mine who knows the band personally about album no. 2’s status. For years, all he relayed to me was that “IT’S COMING, I SWEAR!”¹ despite absolute radio silence from their social media accounts. This continued until one day Christopher thoughtlessly said on my lunch break “oh btw Sam there’s a new Orpheus Blade out—you should probably review that.” DAMMIT SHACHAR WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY ANYTHING?! THEY ANNOUNCED THIS WEEKS AGO!

Orpheus Blade has undergone quite a transformation since Wolf’s Cry. The only original remaining member is Adi Bitran, who took up about half the vocal duties before. It’s especially a shame to have lost Henning Basse as the dude/dudette vocal duet was one of Wolf’s Cry’s main selling points—I didn’t even realize he was only a guest singer until researching for Obsessed in Red. Gal Ben Haim’s phenomenal guitarwork is also no more; he has been replaced by Yaron Gilad (ex-Tillian) and Danny Aram. Safe to say, the new cast has some very big shoes to fill. 

…they do not. As much as I hate to say it, Obsessed in Red is a step down in nearly every single facet from Wolf’s Cry. Let’s start with the production. Simply put, Obsessed in Red sounds like a demo: weak guitar tones, muffled drums, vocals being unnaturally forward, poor mastering, and just a general lack of any modern polish or sheen make the record sound unpleasantly amateurish and a slog to listen to before any thought is given to the music itself. If you told me that Obsessed in Red came out in 2010, I would have believed you, and even then I still would have called the production mediocre at best. Jacob Hansen, who mixed and mastered Wolf’s Cry, is nowhere to be seen, but it’s clear that he wasn’t adequately replaced and the result is unacceptable for this day and age. 

Still, as a reviewer I cannot let myself be shackled to a bad first impression based on production difficulties. Unfortunately, the songwriting doesn’t rescue Obsessed in Red. The dark cinematic style that made Wolf’s Cry so compelling has been replaced by a much more standard prog/power-ish metal base with some death metal and gothic elements sprinkled on top for garnish. What spark the record has generally comes from these darker components—gnarly tremolo picked riffs (“Unattained”), polyrhythmic double kick drum beats (“Anywhere But Here”, “Unattained”), melancholic guitar leads (“Those Who Cannot Speak”), and impressively monstrous harsh vocals throughout—but they are consistently undermined by the atrocious production and otherwise middling songwriting. The big issue is that the band’s foundational prog/power sound barely inspires. Whether it’s the bland heavy metal main riff from “Of Tales and Terrors”, the middling harmonies in “Anywhere but Here”, or the well-performed but structurally entirely predictable shredding of “My Red Obsessions”, when central components fail, the entire structure crumbles. 

Another central songwriting component that’s lacking is Bitran’s clean vocals, which seem to have deteriorated from Wolf’s Cry. Part of this might be due to the mix, which often makes her sound thin, but on a deeper level her delivery is just a bit meek. The vocal lines themselves are mostly fine and she hits every note cleanly, but she struggles to project her voice with the force and add the necessary grit for a metal band, leading to some particularly bad moments like the chorus of opener “My Arms for Those Wings” (speaking of bad first impressions), or the verses in “Of Tales and Terror”; Henning Basse’s contribution is sorely missed here. She’s much better when she’s not required to project as much, allowing her to showcase a breathy crooning style which works especially well in the softer sections (e.g. the opening of “Nicanor”). Still, her crooning over the band’s relatively straightforward style is a Wolf’s far cry from the debut, where the dark cinematic atmosphere gave her an ideal backdrop to shine. The one unambiguously positive development for the vocals, however, is with the harshes, which have improved in both presence and ferocity. Overall, it makes for a performance that’s competent but rarely commanding—serviceable in the softer or harsher extremes, but disappointingly middling everywhere in between.

If anything, Obsessed in Red feels phoned in, like the band had enough of sitting on this material for so long and said “fuck it, let’s just release the thing.” The uninspired way the album closes out feels emblematic of that—after “Nicanor” culminates in an underwhelming finale, “At Her Feet” concludes the record with nothing but Bitran crooning over a synth backdrop that receives little to no development. The production is equally careless, and technical skill and a few moments of inspiration cannot save the largely lifeless songwriting. It pains me to say, but next to nothing of the vigor and creativity that made Wolf’s Cry so compelling has survived this past decade. My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.

Recommended tracks: Unattained, Those Who Cannot Speak
You may also like: The Anchoret, Hunted, Terra Odium, Novembre
Final verdict: 4/10

1. Our WhatsApp communication is in all caps—don’t ask me why. ︎

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

Label: Independent

Orpheus Blade is:
– Adi Bitran (vocals)
– Yaron Gilad (guitars)
– Danny Aram (guitars)
– Ido Gal (bass)
– Stivie Salman (bass)
– Nitzan Ravhon (drums)
With guests:
– Davidavi Dolev (backig vocals)

The post Review: Orpheus Blade – Obsessed in Red appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: progressive metal, power metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Unleash The Archers, Epica, Nightwish, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
Country: Washington, D.C., United States
Release date: 17 January 2025

Here I go again, perpetuating my sin of reviewing albums inspired by something I have little-to-no personal connection to myself. I’ll say it up front: I have never played Majora’s Mask, or in fact any Legend of Zelda game.¹ What can I say, I’ve never been a Nintendo guy. But I know the great impact that these games have had on the people who play them and on the medium of video games as a whole, so I still feel that loving inspiration carried on through the band and into their music. Master Sword took great care in paying homage to the game’s iconic creepy fantasy atmosphere, a care that’s evident in their numerous references to the source material. This labor of love results from a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund greater resources for its mastering and production, but Toying With Time is only the first half of Master Sword’s plan to cover Majora’s Mask, with part two expected to receive its own Kickstart at some unannounced future time.

Toying With Time hits just the right balance of referencing its source material enough to please Zelda fans without overloading listeners like myself for whom that connection has little meaning. Most of these references would fly by unnoticed by the unprepared ear, but once they’ve been pointed out, the homages add a fun bit of spice and help make the album feel uniquely connected to the game rather than being just another prog-power release. To name a few examples, opener “The Salesman” drops in a cheeky lyrical reference to one of the franchise’s iconic lines with “It’s dangerous alone”; “How You Hide” mimics the notes of the “Great Fairy Fountain” theme in its chorus; and “Shadows of the Mind” hints at the “Song of Healing,” while the closing track “Child of the Night” imitates Skullkid’s villainous laugh and possibly pays homage to “Majora’s Theme” in its opening melody and chorus. One of the highlights, though, is “My Last Breath,” with guest Professor Shyguy joining for a powerful vocal duet, which retells the side-quest story of Anju and Kafei, two lovers cursed to remain apart until the hero intervenes to reunite them. Even without knowing the backstory or source material, it stands out as a touching ballad, and it only grows more meaningful with that added context.

Although Master Sword have been around the musical block a few times now, something about Toying With Time’s production feels slightly off-kilter at times. As early as the opening track “The Salesman,” the different parts fight with each other for attention, guitars and drums trading their loudness back and forth seemingly at random as the piece develops. Even the vocals fall victim to this internal conflict around the 3:15 mark, where the lead melody almost gets buried by a strangely loud choral backing part. These mixing woes don’t feature as clearly in any other tracks as they do in the opener, but they also never fully subside. Little hiccups crop up just often enough to interrupt what should otherwise be clean transitions or moments of complex overlapping parts and prevent Toying With Time from feeling fully professional in its polish.

Singer Lily Andromeda forms the most consistent core of this outfit, bringing the kind of razor-sharp, powerful delivery expected of female-fronted power metal acts like Master Sword. Production and mixing concerns aside, her consistent strength brings out the best and most memorable moments throughout Toying With Time, including the belted chorus of “Dance of the Demon” and the aforementioned balladic duet “My Last Breath.” As for the instrumentals backing her up, while they have their shining moments (such as, again, “Dance of the Demon” as well as the urgent, exciting, Unleash The Archers-esque rhythms of the title track), they also are the first to fall into rote rhythms which seem to loop on and on forever (although I suppose that’s appropriate for Majora’s Mask) when a track’s energy begins to drop.

Despite all the pieces of heart they’ve gathered and the strong source of their inspiration, Master Sword’s execution doesn’t always land with the kind of poise and impact I might hope for. This type of prog-power typically thrives on bold layers of vocals and instrumentals supporting each other, some taking up steady but energetic rhythms while others lead with lofty, epic melodies. Too often, though, Master Sword falls into a rut where none of these goals quite come to fruition, leaving the melody line (whether carried by vocals or guitar) with a conspicuous lack of hooks, and even the backing rhythms frequently settle into over-repetition of some simple beat that doesn’t inspire any particular enthusiasm in the listener. “Shadows of the Mind” demonstrates this core struggle perfectly; both vocals and guitars seem to spin in circles for the first three minutes before the second half breaks out into a more mysterious vocal tone and more active, engaging instrumental parts that finally put forth the sort of epic fantasy feel I would expect from a band like this. The closing duo “Son of Stone (Winter’s Requiem)” and “Child of the Night” also don’t make the best use of their longer runtimes and climactic positioning—both tracks have individual strong moments, but lack a powerful through-line that could bring the album the finale its concept deserves.

At no point is the band’s passion for music or for their Hylian muse in doubt, but certain moments do more credit to that passion than others. Sporting a healthy amount of references to the Majora’s Mask source material—enough to entice long-time fans, but not so much that an uninitiated listener feels out of the loop—Toying With Time has all the hallmarks of a standard prog-power album, but only sometimes achieves the stirring, forceful delivery owed to source material of this caliber. Still, it’s a fun romp with consistently excellent vocals and a handful of moments where it really does feel like you might be listening to Hyrule’s very own metal band. If you find yourself heading alone into danger, perhaps it would help to bring along a Master Sword.

Recommended tracks: Dance of the Demon, My Last Breath, Toying With Time
You may also like: Empress, Scardust, Flame Imperishable, Divine Ascension, Seven Kingdoms
Final verdict: 6/10

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

Label: Independent

Master Sword is:
– Lily Andromeda (vocals)
– Matt Farkas (keyboards, guitars, backing vocals)
– Andy Stark (drums, backing vocals)
– Kojo Kamya (guitars, keyboards, backing vocals)
– Will Lopez (bass)
With guests:
– Prof. Shyguy (vocals, “How You Hide” and “My Last Breath”)
– 88Bit (piano, “My Last Breath”)
– Elizabeth Webb (vocals, “Son of Stone (Winter’s Requiem)”)
– Robert Cameron (backing vocals, “Child of the Night”)
– Adam Schloss (backing vocals, “Child of the Night”)
– James Hunter (backing vocals, “Child of the Night”)

1. That said, a huge thank you to my girlfriend for helping me identify several references and direct inspirations from the game! ︎

The post Review: Master Sword – Toying With Time appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Progressive folk/rock (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: yeah idk about this one chief, King Crimson maybe? Opeth?
Country: United Kingdom
Release date: 19 February 1971

One of the many wonders of music history to me is how such complicated and out-there music as progressive rock was at the forefront of mainstream music in the 1970s. Somehow, a perfect storm formed to break from the music industry’s usual streamlined simplicity for the lowest common denominator. But even within that era of seemingly unbridled experimentation, there were acts which were simply too weird, too uncompromisingly creative for the industry, and thus fell to the wayside. Comus is such a band; formed by art students Roger Wootton and Glenn Goring loosely based upon a shared adoration of Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band’s “monumentally atmospheric and quirky” live shows. The band rose to prominence in their local scene through playing at folk clubs around the London borough of Bromley, eventually releasing their debut First Utterance in 1971, an album so weird and genre-bending that their label Pye Studios didn’t know how to market it, and that VIP music journalist Penny Valentine described it as “a cat being strangled.” Fans loved it, labels hated it, and later it became a cult classic; the perfect Prog Subway material!

While I in no way condone animal cruelty, the unsettling nature of the music in this album may as well evoke such mental imagery; Comus do not shy away from the ugly or the uncomfortable in the slightest, something instantiated well by the opening song “Diana.” It seems like a merry tune at the surface because of its jaunty folk rhythm and playful vocal cadences, but the rhythm is played in atonal chords, and the vocal melodies are sung with deeply unsettling and high pitched nasality, twisting the song’s merry character into a horrifyingly suspenseful one. Eventually violin and Middle-Eastern percussion take over to drive up the suspense in a thrilling chase sequence with a sinister end, thoroughly immersing you in Comus’s strange world. A quick look at the lyrics also confirms the song’s horrifying nature, detailing a twisted tale wherein its namesake is raped in the forest by a man whose lust has overtaken his sanity.

Comus has a very peculiar base sound within the prog rock sphere. The conventional rock instruments (that being electric guitar, bass, and a drum kit) are nowhere to be found, and they do not use a synthesizer either like most of their peers. Instead, rhythm is created through hand drums and other unlisted percussion instruments, acoustic guitar, and occasionally, the violin, and melody comes from the plethora of folk instruments used, the acoustic guitars, and a wide range of vocal techniques. What’s really fascinating though about Comus is how they let each component run independently, but still manage to tie them together into a cohesive whole. None of the individual elements are particularly complex for prog rock standards, but the greater whole is nothing short of mesmerizing. 

And the songwriting is just as layered and dynamic as the arrangements are. Comus sweep you along through their immersive world of psychedelia with guile, never losing the plot despite all the contrasting moods it goes through, from bubbly folk passages like in “The Bite” to the suspenseful strumming with dramatic vocals of “Drip Drip” to the frequent psychedelic passages and skin-crawling atonal chords. Each song is replete with clever vocal lines, impactful lead melodies, and a well thought out musical story arc with a memorable climax. The song “Drip Drip” in particular is a whirlwind of moods that somehow still manages to be monumentally catchy and it delivers one of the greatest climaxes I have ever heard, and closer “The Prisoner” also ends the album with an absolute bang of a crescendo.

The major exception on First Utterance is the second song, “The Herald,” which abandons the dynamism and unsettling nature of the rest of the material; instead, the track takes you on a beautiful, otherworldly twelve minute journey, gradually unfurling around acoustic guitar picking through gentle woodwind instruments, sliding bass, violin, and co-singer Bobbie Watson’s breathtakingly ethereal singing. The original version was only five minutes, but it was later extended for unknown reasons. Not that I’m complaining though; the song’s brilliant, and fits well within the album’s flow despite how different it is to the rest. 

Comus is a band like no other. The fact that half a century later there still hasn’t been a band able to recreate the magic of First Utterance is a testament to its quality and uniqueness. Among major prog musicians, only the legend Mikael Akerfeldt seems to have cited significant influence from this album. He even went as far to name the Opeth album My Arms Your Hearse after a lyric from “Drip Drip.” In fact, Mikael was so enamored with First Utterance that he once teamed up with the Swedish festival Melloboat 2008 organizer Stefan Dimle to email Comus so incessantly to perform that they came out of retirement just for that festival and made a live CD of it. So to wrap things up, if my words weren’t enough to convince you of Comus’s greatness, take it from the man, the myth, the legend, Mikael Akerfeldt himself that First Utterance is 1000% worth your time.

Recommended tracks: Drip Drip if you want a taste, otherwise everything
You may also like: No one sounds like Comus

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | RYM page

Label: Pye Records – Facebook | Official Website

Comus is:
– Roger Wootton (lead vocals, acoustic guitar)
– Colin Pearson (violin, viola)
– Glen Goring (6-string & 12-string acoustic guitars, slide & electric guitars, hand drums, vocals)
– Andy Hellaby (fender bass, slide bass, vocals)
– Rob Young (flute, oboe, hand drums)
– Bobbie Watson (vocals, percussion)

The post Lost in Time: Comus – First Utterance appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: prog black metal, symphonic black metal, opera (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Imperial Triumphant, Fleshgod Apocalypse, 1914, Myrkur, Diablo Swing Orchestra
Country: New York, United States
Release date: 19 April 2024

Lots of music seeks to elicit pleasure and so do Folterkammer (“torture chamber” in German). Naturally, metal seeks to beat you down sonically, but Folterkammer are your mistress who employs a whip for this purpose (“Das Peitschengedicht”) while you forcefully lick her (…ass, as I believe “Leck Mich!” is a direct reference to the Mozart piece) and kiss her feet (“Leck Mich!” and “Küss mir die Füsse!”). Just look at that album cover: she’s not riding him like that for nothing [Editor’s note: how else do you think a human broom is powered?]. Weibermacht (“Female Power”), the sophomore album by these New York experimentalists, is a “celebratory hymn to the practices of BDSM, particularly, Femdom.” This one is for all you freaks out there who wanted more kinky metal after Obsidious’s masterpiece “Sense of Lust.” Pleasure through punishment.

Folterkammer play fairly standard black metal, but vocalist Andromeda Anarchia completes the band, a true opera singer in metal. Her perfectly controlled vocal agility spans the gamut from dizzyingly high notes which are far beyond the typical scope of metal to slides into snarls and wailing shrieks. Weibermacht’s highlight “Algolagnia” excels because of Anarchia’s vocals, demonstrating mind-fellating range: manic ramblings, horrifying shrieks, and soprano operatics. Centering Weibermacht around Anarchia’s vocals pays its dividends and she is clearly the lifeblood of Folterkammer.

Instrumentally, Weibermacht isn’t quite as gloriously impressive, playing mid-paced black metal that simply sets the stage for Anarchia to sing about her sexcapades. Mixed by Steve Blanco (Imperial Triumphant) and mastered by the master himself Colin Marston, you can safely bet that Weibermacht sounds amazing; all the performances shine, even the bass as rare as that is in black metal. Zachary Ezrin’s (Imperial Triumphant) twisted neoclassical riffs sound like a mix between Fleshgod Apocalypse and 1914 while bassist and main composer Darren Hanson provides a solid low-range counterpoint for the soprano. However, all across the album the band loses the neoclassical aspect of the riffs, turning them into slightly bland second-wave worship with a standout vocalist. Twice on Weibermacht—in opener “Anno Domina” and closer “Das Peitschengedicht”—Folterkammer experiment with excellently composed harpsichord, and I wish the band leaned further into this because those sections feel like a more complete integration of classical opera and metal. Weibermacht is tight, but with more experimentation it could be even stronger. 

Of course, the lyrics, sung entirely in German, are kinky as hell as previously alluded to (thanks Google Translate!), taking an angle of feminine empowerment through sexual domination of their masculine counterparts. Whips become calligraphy pens for writing poetry in blood (as stated by the band about lead single “Das Peitschengedicht,” feet are smelt, and asses are licked. This is a contentious angle for feminism—many contemporary scholars view sadomasochism as a tool weaponized by the patriarchy against women—but I feel Folterkammer effectively pull it off, thanks to Anarchia’s powerful vocals, no doubt. 

Weibermacht suffers in two fashions—and I don’t mean suffers from perverse sexual acts: nearly every track ends with Anarchia chanting the same phrase ad nauseam and the band rarely creeps past allegretto. The counts of the whips on “Anno Domina” are so absurd they crack me up, but the section is far too cheesy for a largely serious album, and the repetitive track endings are frustrating when the band have such dynamic song structures for the majority of each track; the problem is exacerbated by Anarchia’s chants being completely harsh for these endings when her clean vocals are what makes the project as unique as it is. Finally, some faster pacing would go a long way toward caulking up any cracks in Weibermacht [Editor’s note: this is not a sexy turn of phrase and clitorises shriveled up and died when you wrote this], but that’s personal preference.

Folterkammer’s debut was refreshing, and the band has drastically refined themselves since 2020—particularly Hanson’s compositional skills. Despite the minor shortcomings, Weibermacht is one of the most exciting projects in contemporary black metal, excelling in their creativity and Anarchia’s stellar vocal performance. In the best year for symphonic black metal ever with the likes of Ihsahn, Lamentari, and Aquilus, Folterkammer has little problem sticking with the big guns, and their trajectory is surely only upwards.

Recommended tracks: Anno Domina, Die Unterwerfung, Algolagnia, Das Peitschengedicht
You may also like: Véhémence, Passeisme, Obsequiae, La Suspendida, SkyThala, Thy Darkened Shade
Final verdict: 8/10

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

Label: Century Media – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website

Folterkammer is:
Andromeda Anarchia – Vocals
Zachary Ezrin – Guitars
Brendan McGowan – Drums
Darren Hanson – Guitars
Laurent David – Bass

The post Review: Folterkammer – Weibermacht appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: progressive rock, post-rock, alternative rock (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Maybeshewill, Suldusk, A.A. Williams, Messa
Country: UK
Release date: 8 March, 2024

Do you ever feel like there’s a monster inside you that you have to suppress? Like you’ve let down everyone around you and they would be better off having never met you? Like your life is going nowhere and you’re powerless to steer it in the direction you want? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be a fan of Sad Alternative Music. If you or a loved one listens to Sad Alternative Music, reach out to trusted members of your community who can get you back on the path to positive, uplifting music instead; it’s not too late to get help. Unfortunately, today’s review won’t help you at all with that particular malady.

Originally formed as a duo of omni-instrumentalists Elizabeth Heaton and Rowan Burn but featuring a variety of other contributors over the years, Midas Fall definitely play Sad Alternative Music. And to be clear, I’m poking fun at all of this, but I mean it with nothing less than a deep appreciation for touching, somber music and the emotions it inspires within its listeners. Cold Waves Divide Us, with its gorgeous, melancholy lyrics evoking personal struggles with self-image, intrusive thoughts, and understanding the passage of one’s life so far, feels capital-S Sad in the best possible way. Whether it’s from the poetic, personally meaningful lyrics of “Monsters” or the pained, emotive, cracking vocal performance found on “Atrophy,” I have no doubt this album will make you feel things.

Midas Fall flirt frequently with the spaced-out, distorted, and obfuscated aesthetic profile of post-rock without ever wholly settling into it. While percussion most often defines the standard post-rock ambiance, the eclectic mix of instrumentation from Midas Fall gives their music a much more active feeling as guitars, strings, and keyboards handle small rhythm parts and simple melodies in the background. This lets them blend the becalmed atmosphere of post-rock with occasional crushing heaviness reminiscent of doom metal, but without ever quite crossing the nebulous boundary from rock into metal. Each track offers a peek at a slightly different facet of this blended sound, like the slow, gentle buildup and harsh climax which features in “Salt,” or “In This Avalanche” which focuses fully on the lighter sounds of guitar and keyboard, but it’s the title track that brings everything together and shows definitively what the band can do. Heaton’s truly beautiful vocals shine in all their glory, supported by roughly equal bits of cinematic strings, alt-rock keyboards, and light guitars, all covered in atmospheric layers of reverb and impeccably mixed. Although “Cold Waves Divide Us” features it most prominently, this soundscape highlights the musical commonalities all across the album and ties together the sometimes contrasting pieces which make up each individual track. Of course, you can’t escape into the soft, airy ether forever; moments like the two-minute mark of the title track or the endings of “Salt” and “Mute” still occasionally haul you out of those depths just to growl in your face for a little bit with their hefty almost-metal guitars and hammering drums.

In moments where Heaton’s vocals drop out or fade from prominence, like most of the opener “In the Morning We’ll Be Someone Else” or the quiet middle section of the followup “I Am Wrong,” there’s precious little to take the place of the cathartically downer lyrics. While there’s always a touch of quiet but insistent motion in the backing instrumentals, only rarely do they settle into a nice unified groove or soundscape befitting Midal Fall’s post-rock origins; their lesser focus on percussion relative to other post-rockers, without setting up their other instrumentation to fade into the background quite so smoothly, robs the ambiance of a certain substance which would normally aid greatly in allowing the music to build momentum and reach a satisfying climax. Similarly, where the vocals and lyrical writing don’t land with as much gravitas, such as on “Little Wooden Boxes” before its instrumental closing with hefty distorted guitars, it can be hard to pick out the direction or any guiding influence that the composition follows, leaving it feeling a bit lost when I know the band can produce so much more compelling music. While there are still plenty of beautiful moments in their own right, providing more of a chamber music vibe with strings and quiet guitar, the division holds Cold Waves Divide Us back from ever quite finding its core sound or feeling like a cohesive presentation.

For all the challenges to categorization which they present, Midas Fall pretty much nail one aspect: that of “mournful female vocalist sings about sad things with strings and plinky guitars in the background.” Although all contributors add their own elements to this eclectic stew of beautiful moments, Elizabeth Heaton’s vocals steal the show, elevating lyric-heavy pieces like the title track and “Monsters” and offering a grand buffet of tragic messages to sink your depressed little teeth into. While not every song can be so lucky when it comes to having properly compelling lyrics, and the instrumental backing falters a little in the absence of their vocal leader (with the exception of the all-instrumental “Point of Diminishing Return”), there’s a lot to love, and a lot of feelings to experience in the full composition. So remember: talk to your kids about Sad Alternative Music. Before someone else does.

Recommended tracks: Salt, Point of Diminishing Return, Monsters, Cold Waves Divide Us
You may also like: Sermon, Iamthemorning, whyohwhy, Cavern, healthyliving
Final verdict: 7/10

Related links: Spotify | Official Website | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram
Label: Monotreme Records – Website | Facebook

Midas Fall is:
– Elizabeth Heaton (vocals, guitars, strings, synths, piano, drums)
– Rowan Burn (guitars, synths, piano, drums)
– Michael Hamilton (bass, synths, drums)

The post Review: Midas Fall – Cold Waves Divide Us appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Genres: progressive rock, chamber pop, chamber folk (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Oceansize, Ludovico Einaudi, Riverside, Sigur Ros
Country: Russia
Release date: 27 April 2012

Some artists are so iconic they don’t even need an album cover: think Metallica or The Beatles. Their work speaks for itself by their pedigree of brilliance—the music speaks for itself in these instances, not needing any additional context. Likewise, the symbol as an album title is a bold way to eschew listener expectations, such as Sigur Ros’s ( ), allowing the music to inform perception rather than external aesthetic decision. Thus,  ~ is a curious and extremely bold title for a debut album, alluring in its neutral minimalism. Similar to their Icelandic forebears, Iamthemorning wanted to let their music speak for itself without preconceived notions of the sound, to judge them by their music alone. The music within ~ does so with delicateness and grace to be full of delightful levity.

The duo behind Iamthemorning—Marjana Semkina (vocals) and Gleb Kolyadin (piano)—met in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2010 and named their project after a track on Oceanside’s debut album, but the two are now based in the United Kingdom after the recent political turmoil in Eastern Europe. Each possesses an amazing penchant for crafting deceptively simple songs which unveil their complexity on further listens. Moreover, their styles blend together seamlessly, along with the other guest musicians on violin, viola, cello, bass, guitars, and drums to come together into a complete, chamber ensemble soundscape. Semkina’s vocals have an unusual airiness in her soft voice, effortlessly floating above the sea of music underneath her. The lyricism stands in stark contrast to the airy delivery, though, as she sings of “dead victorian girls and premature burials,” providing a haunting atmosphere, surprising considering ~’s elegance. Her counterpart and co-writer in Iamthemorning, Kolyadin uses his composition and performative skills—he is an accomplished classically trained pianist, after all—to provide a sensible backdrop for Semkina’s shied, beautiful voice. Often performing simple, postminimalist variations on a theme for swaths of any given track, Kolyadin frequently switches quite seamlessly into richer, full-bodied classical- and jazz-influenced playing. Semkina sometimes follows Kolyadin’s lead into a more dramatically intense style (like in “Burn,” “Scotland,” and “Monsters”), though she also remains in her breathier range to provide some playful contrast at times (“Circles,” “Serenade,” and “Afis”). That the duo can practically function as an extension of one another on a debut album is incredibly impressive, but the two have a chemistry on ~ few musicians are able to achieve.

The production, cozy and warm, adds another element to the duo’s intricate dance. Despite Semkina’s soft delivery, her vocals shine through in the mix and are especially amplified in the occasional harmonizing rounds she does with herself, prominent in the intermission tracks (particularly I, III, and VI) and “Afis.” When the host of other performers join in with the duo, none overwhelm the main duo, and “heavier” tracks like “Burn” and “Monsters” include drumming which almost feels like a gentle caressing with the drumsticks rather than a normal rock style, a gentle pitter-patter like rain with the stick clicks and syncopated grooves. Even with other performers, the duo remain the driving force with the strings and electric instruments only adding texture to amplify Kolyadin and Semkina to greater heights, especially notable on “Inside” where the guitar almost sounds like a sitar and in “Monsters” with its distinct rising viola runs to help Kolyadin in boosting up Semina’s most full-chested vocals on ~. When the small ensemble achieves these bombastic moments, the death and pain underlying the themes of Iamthemorning seep through, and the post rock-esque crescendos in the track structures substantially help hammer home the intense emotions behind the album.

One may be inclined to think with that cast of instruments that ~ is stereotypically proggy: it’s anything but except for in spirit. Iamthemorning draw from pop in their track structures and from chamber folk in their textures, but their bursts of rock and varying soundscapes end up culminating into a strikingly progressive overall sound, truly forward thinking for the scene. Moreover, angelic and alluring, Semkina’s voice is fresh in a masculine dominated scene, and her unique style pushes an album such as ~ to be even more memorable and essential in the overall progressive world. With Kolyadin’s ever-evolving piano lines, the whole project bleeds of restrained virtuosity.

Since ~, Iamthemorning have upped their progressive tendencies, adding a late-era Riverside influence into their chamber folk basis, but the melodies on ~ have a brilliance in simplicity that stands out even in their stellar discography, bouncing around in my head for the rest of eternity in their restrained, delicate movements. Few other artists fill this niche, and Iamthemorning tapped into a sound that is accessible and beautiful: this album started it all for one of modern progressive rock’s most unique acts—it’s criminal they’re even underground enough for me to cover with their blend of victorian stylings with pop, classical, jazz, folk, and, of course, prog rock. ~ is currently name your price on Bandcamp, and I strongly encourage every reader to go check it out immediately.

Recommended tracks: Inside, Burn, Weather Changing, Monsters, Would This Be
You may also like: Gleb Kolyadin, Exploring Birdsong, Mariana Semkina, Raphael Weinroth-Browne, Haralabos Stafylakis

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Kscope – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website

Iamthemorning is:
– Marjana Semkina (vocals)
– Gleb Kolyadin (piano)

The post Lost in Time: Iamthemorning – ~ appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Genres: progressive metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: The Gathering, Ram-Zet, Winds, In the Woods…., Oceans of Slumber
Country: Norway
Release date: 26 January 2024

Madder Mortem have never received the success they deserve, and they have such a great formula for it, too. They make prog metal that’s not too inaccessible for the anti-prog layman, and their songwriting has always erred on the more organized side of Prog-Riff-ADHD. They have their freakouts, as all prog bands do, but they’re always much more controlled than, say, The Mars Volta. Coupled with the absolutely beautiful voice of Agnete Kirkevaag and the Meshuggah-inspired riffing of BP Kirkevaag, they should be prog-metal legends by now in their long career.

Only, they’re not. Madder sit at a very uncomfortably low 5.6k listeners on Spotify (at the time of writing) despite their career spanning back to the late 90s. Part of this may have to do with an inconsistent release schedule. Their last album, Marrow, came out around the time I started college in 2018, and while it was undoubtedly fantastic, Madder got lost among all the other bands who I keep in my library—Marrow did get a fair amount of play, but all I wanted was a new album.

In a year shaping up to be certifiably insane for releases, Madder Mortem are finally back, and what a grand re-entrance they’ve given us. ‘Coming From the Dark’ is probably the best song they’ve ever written, and is shaping up to be my first Earworm of the Year (EOTY for short). It’s the perfect combination of heavy and anthemic, with an added edge of darker atmosphere that recalls Madder’s early days of doom metal. Its heaviness is perfectly coupled and juxtaposed with the smoother, jazzier ‘On Guard’, highlighting Agnete’s ridiculous vocals.

Agnete’s croons are still the band’s greatest strength, and she’s truly never sounded better. She’s been on a constant upward trajectory since Red Tooth in Claw, and this album is no different. ‘On Guard’ gives you a breather before ‘Master Tongue’ crashes in with one of Agnete’s best screams. This album has so many sing-a-long (or in some cases, scream-a-long) moments that make every song stand out as their own. The band knows how to use Agnete’s vocals to their advantage, and they’re all competent enough songwriters to know when the instrumentals need to take over. 

However, Agnete isn’t the only one who’s improved here. BP and Anders Langberg have become a force to be reckoned with on guitar, and Old Eyes sports some of their best riffs. ‘Coming from the Dark’’s disturbed, wonky melody and ‘Heavy is the Head that Wears the Crown’s switch between clean arpeggios and massive chords are only a sampler of their talent. In fact, watching Madder seemingly improve with every release has been such a joy since I found them from Red Tooth and is one of the reasons they rank among my underground favorites.

Though, I can’t sing endless praises for Old Eyes. From ‘Unity’ onward, the album suffers a slight pacing issue. None of the songs from the halfway mark are bad at all. In fact, most of them are quite good—but they just can’t compare to the quality that is the first half. Despite being just shy of fifty minutes, Old Eyes feels slightly longer than it should be. ‘Here and Now’ and ‘Things I’ll Never Do’ re-up the quality for a moment, before ‘Long Road’ kinda just…ends? I feel that the previous song should’ve closed out the album, but instead Old Eyes ends on a slightly jarring note.

Overall, I still think Marrow is just slightly better overall. However, this is by no means a slouch. Old Eyes, New Heart shows that Madder Mortem continues to improve and mature. It shows that a band this talented who have been around this long can continuously better themselves, and the album’s first half is proof of that. While the second half suffers slightly, it still blows most other prog releases out of the water. 2024 is off to a strong start.

Recommended tracks: Coming From the Dark, On Guard, Master Tongue, Heavy is the Head that Wears the Crown
You may also like: Unexpect, Sermon, Athemon
Final verdict: 8/10

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

Label: Dark Essence Records – Bandcamp | Facebook

Madder Mortem is:
– Agnete M. Kirkevaag (vocals)
– BP M. Kirkevaag (guitars)
– Mads Solas (drums)
– Tormod Langoien Moseng (bass)

– Anders Langberg (guitars)

The post Review: Madder Mortem – Old Eyes, New Heart appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: speed/power metal, symphonic black metal, some prog (mixed, female vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Emperor, 90s Hellenic black metal, early German power/speed metal, faster USPM acts like Riot, Agent Steele, etc.
Review by: Sam
Country: Florida, United States
Release date: 13 October, 2023

Out of all the metal subgenre combinations, black metal and power metal historically have had surprisingly little overlap. I’ve always found this strange as the genres share plenty of similarities to make the mashup work: fast tempos, a melodic inclination, and a shared fascination with fantasy works and epic scenery. Really all you’ve gotta do is pull out the tremolo every once in a while as you abuse the double kick, turn your YEEAAAHHHs into shrieks and you’re already halfway there. I’ve only ever encountered a handful of groups who’ve attempted this, and none of them feel like they managed to push the boundaries on what’s possible. Is Faethom up to the challenge?

Well, one thing’s for sure, and that’s that the guitarwork is absolutely killer. Nearly every song has multiple memorable riffs, ranging from nasty speed metal neck breakers, to groovy, heavy/power metal style power chord bashing, to spidery prog riffs, to thrashy tremolo, and more, and when it comes to solos there’s plenty of ripping bursts of shred. Our 80s metal inclined readers will find plenty to love in Chaosmorphogoria (say that three times fast I dare you). For nearly every misstep there is on this record, there is another amazing riff waiting around the corner to make up for it. The only track that didn’t land for me at all in this regard was “Goregantuan” with its plodding main riff and mediocre symphonic black metal strumming. For basically any other track though it’s riffs galore.

The core sound of this group sits somewhere in between 90s symphonic black metal, early German power/speed metal, and prog. What’s interesting is the use of 80s horror/sci-fi sounding synths which give the music a dorky charm. They work nicely in tandem with the riffs, trading the spotlight with the guitar using campy synth lines and filling out the atmosphere with spooky and/or epic horror patches otherwise. “Blackfire Star” and “Feral” are great examples of Mariela Muerte’s versatility on keys, showing both her talent for lead melodies and creating atmosphere. The real winner is the instrumental “Final Cosmic Warcry” which is a fantastic flurry of gripping horror synths and speedy guitarwork. And on a minor note, the interludes are tastefully done as well. The intro and outro are pure dungeon synth, and “Untraversable Force” is a lovely acoustic instrumental with medieval atmosphere akin to what you’d hear from Manilla Road.

There is one very big elephant in the room however, and that is Mariela Muerte’s clean singing. Her harshes sound great, but dear lord she sounds awful when she sings. Her tone lacks any form of beauty and her melodies are bland at best and utterly lifeless at worst, some of the most blatant offenders being the verses in “Ancient Powers That Be,” the chorus in “Goregantuan” (truly emphasizing the gore part of its title), and whoever thought it’d be a good idea to have her sing a ballad part in “Feral.” Faethom embraces the 80s in more ways than one, which unfortunately includes the trend of awful singing. I was tearing my ears out over the production too at first, but I’ve since warmed up to its deliberate old school style, though I warn you that it won’t be for everyone. Besides the bass, all instruments are clearly audible and have a comfy lo-fi charm. 

To get back to my question in the introduction, I don’t think Faethom quite reach the edges of what I imagine power/black metal could be, but I also don’t think they were aiming for that. Chaosmorphogoria is an album that aims to cram in as many killer riffs and solos as possible, and lighting them up with dorky synths and some prog elements. In that regard, they mostly succeeded, but please for the love of God do not let Mariela sing again I will SCREAM.

Recommended tracks: Blackfire Star, Feral, Final Cosmic Warcry
You may also like: Malokarpatan, Stormlord
Final verdict: 5.5/10

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

Label: Independent

Faethom is:
– Mariela Muerte (vocals, keyboards)
– David Diacrono (guitars)
– Bill Bryant (guitars)
– Evie Austin (bass)
– Brian Wilson (drums)

The post Review: Faethom – Chaosmorphogoria appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Power Metal, Progressive Metal (clean, female vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Nevermore, Unleash the Archers, Trivium
Review by: Sam
Country: United Kingdom
Release date: 14 July, 2023

Out of all the years I’ve run this blog, 2019 is my favorite year in terms of underground prog metal. I didn’t realize it when the year was current, but as time went on, many releases from that year have stood the test of time. In particular, it was an amazing year for progressive power metal, which is my favorite genre, and I still frequent Mortanius, Tanagra, and Starborn till this day. One of the less good, but still quality prog power releases that year was by The Spectre Beneath. They were a bit of an anomaly. Instrumentally – and particularly, guitar-wise – it was legitimately mind blowing at times. However vocally, it was odd. Her timing was all over the place with pop-esque vocal cracks and groans in the weirdest of places, and – in the words of Matt – the lyrics were phrased more like a script than a song. We both agreed that it could have been one of the year’s best albums had it not been for the vocals, but they ended up being so weird that it merely ended up as being simply ok.

It should come as no surprise that the guitarwork is still of a very high caliber four years later. Their style resembling that ambiguous 00s “modern metal” tag which mixes power metal, heavy metal, thrash metal, and sometimes even melodic death metal, and package it with lots of compression and crunch. But wherever this band sits on the spectrum, it sounds good. Their riffs are certified neck breakers, and they know how to write good classic heavy metal harmonies. And of course, they can shred like nobody’s business. The best songs of the album are when they lean into this aspect most, which are track 1, 3, and 6.

Problems arise however when the band are not causing neck injury. There are three power ballads on the album, and they’re all jarring to varying degrees. At this point, the cause is obvious. Vocally, this band remains a headscratcher. Singer “Stevie” (previously under the alias of “L. Lockser”)¹ operates like a very passionate pop singer. Surprisingly, it works well with the aggressive tracks as the passion she puts in her voice somehow matches the instrumental aggression. But when the slower tracks happen, she sounds out of place, one part of the song trying to sound pop, the other trying to sound metal. It’s an improvement from their last outing as her timing improved, but it’s still hard to reconcile with, though maybe it’s just a taste thing at this point. 

I don’t have anything more to say about the band at this point. They riff as hard as they always do, the vocals are slightly improved but still as weird as ever, and it’s still pretty compressed production-wise. Essentially, it’s more of the same. You either like it or you don’t. If either neck breaker riffs with lots of melody or groaning pop vocals sound appealing to you, check it out, it’s only 36 minutes. Otherwise, stay clear. 

Recommended tracks: Forsaken… We All Fall, Refuse of the Past, The Ashen Child: Falling Off the…
You may also like: Manticora, Gargoyle’s last two albums (Geshiki, Taburakashi)
Final verdict: 6/10


¹ it was brought under my attention that “Stevie” and “L. Lockser” are different people. The points I raised apply to both singers, however.

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

Label: Independent

The Spectre Beneath is:
– Stevie / L. Lockser (vocals)
– Pete Worrall (guitars, bass, piano)
– Consta Taylor (drumming)

The post Review: The Spectre Beneath – The Ashen Child appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Traditional progressive metal, progressive rock, symphonic metal (clean, female vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Dream Theater, Cellar Darling, The Great Discord
Country: Australia
Release date: 14 May 2021

[EDITOR’S NOTE: This review was originally published in the 2021 Missed Albums issue of The Progressive Subway.]

Can anybody tell the people in Australia to calm down already? The heat that comes from that country is insane. The amount of quality, forward-thinking heavier prog acts that have come out of there in the last fifteen year is ludicrous. From Caligula’s Horse to Ne Obliviscaris to Karnivool to Be’lakor and back, those people gotta chill. They probably can’t with the temperature over there, but still. Acolyte here is the latest wonder-band to bring us the heat from down-under. This time with some wonderful symphonic prog rock.

OK sorry I lied. This album may be prog rock but really it’s prog power in disguise. The synth choices and riff types they go for would fit right in on a power metal album. If they put in just a little more double bass and fast paced riffage it’d 100% be a power metal band. As a power metal fan I found this a little disappointing, but it works to the band’s advantage overall. Entropy has all the emotive strength and anthemic quality of the genre, but does not take any of the cheese that frequently deters people. Morgan-Leigh Brown delivers a very smooth, emotional performance, and the darker synth patches help create a moodier atmosphere. I do miss some of the more intricate riffing patterns though. Often when they do go into riff mode it’s just simple strumming patterns or arena rock type open chord riffs, which compared to the quality of the rest of the music leaves me wanting more.

The songwriting of this band otherwise is just fantastic. They’re masters of tension and release. Symphonic metal is not something I generally associate with long build-ups but this band makes them work magnificently. Take the climax of the title track for example. They start with a simple, but tense groove and slowly let the keys start swelling, rhythmic vocals come in and everything just keeps getting more and more intense until it just explodes. It’s one of the best things I’ve heard all year. In general, the song also illustrates well how the band isn’t afraid to venture off the conventional songwriting path. At first it sounds like a typical verse-chorus type prog song but after the second chorus it goes off in this beautiful atmospheric part with multiple climaxes and the chorus doesn’t come back at all. “Resentment” is the only track that takes the more typical route as it goes for the straightforward rocker approach. All the other short songs are atmospheric interludes (and yes, that includes the five-minute long “Recovery”).

This means that merely half of the songs on this album count as actual songs. The interludes are all beautiful in their own right, but part of me wonders about their necessity given that all the long tracks have more than enough loud-soft dynamics to keep the album paced well. For example, the opening interlude always gives me extra time to reconsider whether I am committed to listen to this album and not something else, while if it started immediately with the riffs of the title track I’m less inclined to think twice about it. And between “Idiosyncrasy” and “Acceptance” there are two interludes combining for a total of seven (!) minutes. It’s not that they’re bad, but pacing-wise it becomes a bit tiring. Effectively there are three epics in a row, all of which are slow burners that start soft and end epic. I could have done with a more immediate, faster paced track there to spice things up (this is the part where I wish they were actually power metal sometimes).

In the end though these things are hardly deterrents. The album always flies by when I listen to it. The peaks this band achieves are among the best you’ll hear in prog metal. And I didn’t even get into the gorgeous production job they had which – given the fact that they brought in some award-winning producers – shouldn’t come as a surprise, or the wonderful Middle-Eastern inspirations in “Idiosyncrasy”. Entropy is among the best things I’ve heard all year, and you’d be a fool not to listen to it if you have any love for clean vocals prog. Australia has done it once again and delivered something fantastic.

Recommended tracks: Entropy, Idiosyncrasy, Acceptance
You May Also Like: Venus in Fear, Lost in Thought, Tanagra, Dakesis
Final verdict: 8/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Label: Independent

Acolyte is:
– Morgan-Leigh Brown (vocals)
– Brandon Valentine (guitars)
– David Van Pelt (keyboards)
– Jason Grondman (bass)
– Chris Cameron (drums)

The post Review: Acolyte – Entropy appeared first on The Progressive Subway.