Album art by Devilnax

Style: Progressive metal, progressive rock (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Leprous, Porcupine Tree, Fates Warning, Pain of Salvation, Riverside, Agent Fresco
Country: Italy
Release date: 23 August 2024

If you’ve spent any time on the internet, you will have seen the phrases “copium” and “hopium” in all sorts of memes—from denial about their favorite manga character being dead¹ to wish-thinking Time II into existence (thanks Jari, you finally did it) to a hypothetical third party winning the US elections—their usage is rarely anything more than half-serious. When one of my main underground² darlings Kingcrow announced that their new album was titled Hopium—most likely blissfully unaware of internet meme culture—I had to do a double-take to rewire my brain because I knew for certain that these guys were serious about it.

Hopium continues in the rhythmical, electronic direction of The Persistence but is far less bleak in tone and brings back some of the band’s eclecticism of old in the form of zany electronic synths and latin guitar playing. In essence, Hopium is less mood piece and more prog, its experimentation not necessarily for any deep emotional effect as much as Kingcrow were just messing around for the thrill of it. Not that Kingcrow will ever completely ditch their dramatism or heartfelt sadness, but songs like “Parallel Lines” with its zany trance synths and sexy guitar solo or “Night Drive” with its mechanical synths and grinding riff in its final minutes are less moody and are mostly just really damn cool. Above all else, Hopium is a fun, dynamic prog metal album with high technicality, strong vocal melodies, nifty experimentation, interesting twists and turns, and a dark undercurrent of tasteful melodrama tying it all together.

Honestly, there is so much to discuss that I don’t even know where to begin praising the record. Should I talk about “Glitch” and its sing-along chorus that might be chorus of the year for how incredibly hype it is? Or perhaps you want to know about the stunning climaxes of “Parallel Lines” and its cacophony of polyrhythmic mastery and brooding synths, or “Losing Game” that erupts after repeatedly chanting “Now the curtain has fallen” over an increasingly anxious rhythm? Maybe it’s better to first talk about how the band still writes incredible mood pieces when they so desire like “New Moon Harvest”, “Night Drive”, and the title track? And what about the superb individual performances? 

That last part is probably worth expanding upon: Kingcrow is exceedingly rhythmical on Hopium, having drums, bass, guitars, synths, and sometimes even vocals work in tandem to create a tapestry of rhythmic elements that come together in a way that is as groovy as it is melodic and textured. Though I lack the vocabulary to do it justice, Thundra Cafolla lays down a monumental performance on drums. On previous albums he tended to play in a more understated way, often hiding polyrhythms in parts that seemed straightforward, but on tracks like “Parallel Lines” or “Vicious Circle” he really lets loose and the result is phenomenal. On guitars, Diego Cafolla and Ivan Nastisic provide a colorful twin attack, their styles ranging from sexy latin acoustic, to urgent Fear of a Blank Planet-era Porcupine Tree hard rock, to textural fingerpicking, to Leprous-esque staccato riffs, and more. I do still miss the guitar solos that The Persistence largely did away with as those were some of my favorites in the entire genre, but the two that we do get in “Parallel Lines” and in “New Moon Harvest” are incredible. Finally, Diego Marchesi sings his heart out, showing a newfound level of vulnerability in his voice on the softer parts—“New Moon Harvest” and “Come Through” being especially touching—and just being all around excellent otherwise.³

However, I do have some minor criticisms about Hopium. Primarily, the latter half of the album misses some of the urgency and faster pacing of the first half. Four out of five tracks are either slow burners or mood pieces, and though “Vicious Circle” is tighter and more upbeat, its pacing doesn’t come close to the final chorus of “Glitch” or the adrenaline-fueled latin fingerpicking of “Losing Game”. Furthermore, its chorus is the weakest one on the album. These issues compound and make the second half feel a bit slow and bloated even if everything besides the aforementioned chorus is great individually. Otherwise, the opener “Kintsugi” has an incredibly infectious main groove and chorus, but its ABAB structure doesn’t progress much at all and could have benefitted from either an interesting twist or two, or some flashy showmanship. None of these issues break the album or anything, but they do hamper its sky-high potential a bit.

Hopium provides an interesting development of Kingcrow’s sound, taking the electronic approach of The Persistence and marrying it to the eclecticism and extroversion of their earlier work, yielding an experience that is both deeply emotional and intellectually challenging. Though its second half can be a bit slow, the depth and sheer cool-factor of their writing more than makes up for it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to whiff some Hopium that their next album won’t take another six years to release.⁴

Recommended tracks: Glitch, Parallel Lines, Losing Game
You may also like: Ions, Temic, Rendezvous Point
Final verdict: 8/10

1. LOOKING AT YOU, GOJO FANS ︎
2. Well, not anymore. They were well over our monthly listener cap for the majority of the year so we’re only getting to it now. ︎
3.  Sorry Riccardo Nifosi: I have a terrible ear for bass, but I’m sure you did just as well! ︎
4.  Waiter, waiter! Could I order some more guitar solos as well? ︎

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

Label: Season of Mist – Bandcamp | Facebook

Kingcrow is:
– Diego Marchesi (vocals)
– Diego Cafolla (guitars, keyboards, backing vocals)
– Ivan Nastasic (guitars, backing vocals)
– Riccardo Nifosi (bass, backing vocals)
– Thundra Cafolla (drums, percussion)

The post Missed Album Review: Kingcrow – Hopium appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Art by: Maximilian Korosteljov

Style: Progressive metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Dream Theater, Kamelot, Caligula’s Horse, Ayreon
Country: Australia
Release date: 24 May 2024

[Editor’s note: since reviewing Teramaze, they released transophobic lyrics on their 2025 album The Harmony Machine, something which we deem unacceptable. We endeavor not to promote bigotry in any way, and we consider it our responsibility to make note of this if these details come to light after reviewing.]

Ever since Sorella Minore came out in 2021, Teramaze have been a favorite of mine. Seemingly out of nowhere, they casually dropped a twenty-five minute track alongside three short five minute ones, and then said, “Oh yeah, we’re releasing another album six months later.” Flabbergasted by their boldness, I checked out the album and was quickly enamored of their colorful, cinematic approach to songwriting, as well as Nathan Peachy’s soulful vocals and Dean Wells’ and Chris Zoupa’s emotional lead guitar work. Then, having barely digested Sorella Minore, their new album And the Beauty They Perceived came out, and less than a year later Flight of the Wounded was also in my mailbox. Now two years and ample digestion time later, the Australians are back with yet another package of melodic goodness titled Eli: A Wonderful Fall From Grace. How could I resist?

Teramaze play a bread-and-butter brand of progressive metal: hyper-melodic vocals that border on pop sit on top of light djenty riffs bolstered by cinematic keyboard arrangements. General progressive wizardry is present in the form of time signature fuckery (“The Will of Eli”), tempo and mood changes (“Standing Ovation”), and head-spinning climaxes doing everything all at once (“Madam Roma”). However, the main appeal of Teramaze is not in their technical prowess, but in their ability to evoke a sense of wonder and longing; despite the pop sensibilities, there is a slight edge to the vocal lines and a dark vibe throughout Eli’s runtime. The solos reflect this as well by emphasizing melody and feel, only using shred as a tool in service of the overall composition (see for example, “Step Right Up”). 

And sure enough, Teramaze’s songwriting prowess is as good as ever. Unlike the chorus-driven Flight of the Wounded, Eli is a concept album whose songwriting is informed by its story beats, relying on principles of tension and release as opposed to a firm verse-chorus structure. It is the conceptual finale of the Halo trilogy, picking up where Sorella Minore left off to finish what Her Halo began. The concept album format lends itself greatly to Teramaze’s free flowing songwriting approach: they do use choruses, but almost always conjure up a compelling divergence in structure in the latter half. “The Will of Eli,” for instance, continually builds up tension and peaks at the halfway point as it pulls out all the stops, then provides release by transitioning into this gorgeous Floydian acoustic section; “Step Right Up” has a similar dropoff halfway through but builds up again to a grandiose finale at the hands of a beautiful elongated guitar solo; and “Madam Roma” even introduces a second chorus in its finale after delivering the flashiest, most technical crescendo of the album yet. The titular “A Wonderful Fall From Grace” also greatly demonstrates this tension and release writing, teasing a saxophone solo multiple times before finally letting loose in glorious fashion, resulting in one of my favorite musical moments of 2024. While the track does take time to get going, making the first half a smidge bloated, the payoff is tremendous, expertly showing off the bands talents for both technicality and feel. 

This free flowing approach might raise concerns about diminishing quality of the vocal hooks, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Nathan Peachy is an incredibly expressive and powerful vocalist, as is Dean Wells, who takes up vocal duties on the power ballad “Hands Are Tied.” Thanks to Wells’ talent for melody writing, he manages to make not just every chorus, but also damn near every verse catchy—in “Standing Ovation” especially, the verses are even bigger earworms than the chorus! While the focus on vocal melodies may detract from the riffage at times, leading to occasional sections of forgettable djenty chugging (“Step Right Up”, “A Wonderful Fall From Grace”), it’s actually a choice that reaps dividends, preventing the arrangements from becoming too crowded. 

Despite technicality not being the focus, Teramaze are by no means slouches. “The Will of Eli,” for example, opens with a syncopated rhythm doing four bars of three followed by one of four, creating a highly asymmetrical feeling in what is ultimately a 4/4 beat, and the guitar solo near the halfway mark is a proper mind-bender too. By far the most technical song however is the djenty “Madam Roma,” which features a ton of rhythmic switchups and delivers the most impressive instrumental section yet. At the peak of tension we get some well-placed harsh vocals which make the release of the subsequent guitar solo and second chorus all the more cathartic. “Standing Ovation,” too, has some dizzying solos that release into a deeply satisfying, weighty conclusion.

“Standing Ovation” beckons the listener with the lyrics “Get your ticket for a one of a kind / A performer that’ll blow your mind,” and in my case, Teramaze are that one-of-a-kind. Eli absolutely refused to leave my brain alone this year, its melodically rich yet technically intricate songwriting acting as a sideshow spectacle which blew me away over and over again. Traditional prog metal may be out of fashion, but on Eli: A Wonderful Fall From Grace, Teramaze show that sticking to a tried-and-true sound can work wonders in the right hands. It’s a worthy closer to the Halo trilogy, and I can’t wait to see what major work they have planned next.

Recommended tracks: The Will of Eli, Madam Roma, Standing Ovation (also all of them)
You may also like: Anubis Gate, Voices From the Fuselage, Vanden Plas, Daydream XI, Ostura
Final verdict: 8.5/10

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

Label: Wells Music (so basically Independent)

Teramaze is:
– Nathan Peachy (vocals)
– Dean Wells (guitars, lead vocals on track 7, backing vocals otherwise)
– Chris Zoupa (guitars)
– Andrew Cameron (bass)
– Nick Ross (drums)

The post Missed Album Review: Teramaze – Eli: A Wonderful Fall From Grace appeared first on The Progressive Subway.