Style: Progressive Death Metal, Technical Death Metal (Harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Obscura, Beyond Creation
Review by: Mathis
Country: Mexico
Release date: 01 December, 2022

When I was in school I struggled with creative and critical thinking. I chose to pursue graphic design not only because I found it fun but also because I wasn’t all that great at anything else. In my studies, I discovered creativity isn’t just a bonus perk that some people spawn in with but can be developed and trained using several critical thinking techniques. I loved seeking goofy alternative solutions to simple problems, but all the confidence I’d gained suddenly drained when I started designing. Every good idea that popped into my head had popped into someone else’s head long before. Nothing is new under the sun. It’s all been done before.

Ancient Architects is a sci-fi progressive death / tech death album that tells of extraterrestrials and their superiority over all other life forms. Nothing is new under the sun. The ancient ones harvest resources from inferior worlds without regard for the ecosystems that inhabit the pathetic rocks. The concept itself is fascinating, with a severe lack of evidence proving alien life, the human imagination can theorize nearly anything about aliens, and it’ll hold as much weight as any other theory. Unfortunately for Indepth, the all-powerful alien story is antiquated and far too commonplace in death metal these days. With limited run time on an album, it’s hard to elaborate on the finer details that could make an extraterrestrial story stand out among the rest. What’s more, Ancient Architects has a familiar sound that accompanies the notorious supreme being theme.

Rhythmic riffs saturate most tracks with assistance from intelligible drumming that isn’t too fast, slow, technical, or showy. Fretless bass slithers in and out of the foundation of each song, dutifully supporting the rest of the instruments yet stepping out of line regularly for a chance to warm its cold blood in the spotlight. Obscura first came to mind because of the cosmic subject matter, and Indepth unabashedly parallels Obscura in their musical preferences as well: “Universal Scar” could fit as a bonus track added on to a remastered release of Cosmogenesis. Despite all of their commonalities, one significant element of Ancient Architects is unlike Obscura. Steffen Kumemerer is consistent in his manic mid-range harsh vocals throughout Obscura’s discography, but vocalist Luigi Ponce has a much more dynamic voice. All through Ancient Architects, Ponce boasts his vocal range, with his primary weapon being a lower mid-range growl and his sidearm taking the form of a sharp high pitched knife. These vocals make Indepth sound akin to Beyond Creation, especially when complemented by the fretless bass. With the last few ingredients added to the mix, a dash of chuggy, almost djenty slow sections, and some ethereal synths, Indepth finalizes their recipe for Ancient Architects.

Indepth emulates some of the greatest progressive death acts beautifully but is that really enough? Not really, but there is a caveat to the idea that there is nothing new under the sun. It may be true that new original ideas are rare; however, I’ve learned that there are plenty of ways to manipulate an old idea and create something distinctive. Indepth achieve this manipulation masterfully, their personal flair sets them apart from the bands that they are influenced by. For example, the djenty chugs I mentioned earlier as one of Indepth‘s unique ingredients arrange an epic presentation in the titular track with two minutes worth of bludgeoning thall. Additionally, tracks like “Ethereal Desert” have celestial synth work as intros, interludes, outros, or woven into the background of the track. These songs are only a few examples of Indepth’s creative efforts, and I can assure you that each and every track on this album is exceptional despite obvious similarities with the big-name bands.

Is there really nothing new under the sun? Ehh… maybe for those who can’t dedicate themselves to reshaping old ideas into new forms, but Indepth put in the work. Though the topic of Ancients Architects is slightly stale, the album is brilliant in every other aspect.

Recommended tracks: The Arrival II – Outer World, Universal Scar, Ancient Architects
You may also like: Xenosis, Dissonance In Design, Deviant Process
Final verdict: 8/10

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

Label: Concreto Records – Bandcamp | Website | Facebook

Indepth is:
– Luigi Ponce (Vocals and Guitar)
– Fer Castro (Guitar)
– Nando Tovar (Bass)
– Dan Wolf (Drums)

The post Missed Album Review: Indepth – Ancient Architects appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Melodic Death Metal, Melodic Metalcore (Mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Amaranthe, The Unguided, Brymir
Review by: Mathis
Country: Russia
Release date: 10 October, 2022

“Judge the book (album) by its cover”, my mind tells me before any soundwaves even reach my ears. This cover has a strong focal point, good visual hierarchy, and clean typography I can establish with only a glance. Endless evidence disproves the theory of “if good album cover, then good music,” but I was lucky this time. My stupid brain saw a pretty picture, and Sympuls-E delivered pretty sounds, and pretty sounds make my stupid brain happy!

Immensity is a wonderful marriage of melodeath and metalcore, and their lovechild, melodic metalcore, blesses Immensity with the best traits from each of its parents. Sympuls-E blends memorable metalcore choruses with soul-stirring stringed arrangements and zealous synth work. I love genre mixing/blending/hopping or whatever you’d like to call this kind of stuff, but I don’t want to paint the wrong picture of what this album is. The ratio of melodeath to metalcore is not 1:1; metalcore takes up a larger portion at around sixty-five percent, and melodic death metal fills the rest.

Don’t stop reading! If you don’t think thirty-five percent melodeath will tickle your fancy, then you should at least try “ The Pathfinder” and “One Way Journey”; these two tracks are the heaviest on the album, with blast beats, speedy riffs, and feel-good melodic synths. There are quite a few bangers besides these tracks, but they have less harsh vocals and more djenty chugs. “Light Years Away” has the best vocal work on the album with the clean vocals reaching high notes that weren’t explored anywhere else in the album, and “Infinity Around” penetrates my brain’s endorphin reserves: in a turn of events this “poppy” song ranks higher than most of the other tracks on the album.

After reading Andy’s Zemeth review a few months back, I’ve been perusing through the internet’s library of melodeath, and I prefer bands that lean heavier like The Devils of Loudun, Bleak Flesh, and Carrion Veil. However, Sympuls-E are a little too soft compared to those bands. Opting for an even split on the harsh and clean vocals would benefit them greatly. The clean vocals aren’t bad, but they’re monotone in most tracks, so I suggest adding more harsh vocals as well as a greater variety of styles. More low growls, more screeches, and fewer mid-range screams. Immensity is a good album until you start to get bored of it.

Immensity piqued my interest with its dramatic melodies flirting with my ears. I was further wooed by the catchy metalcore choruses. We dated, but after a while the spark started to fade, and I couldn’t help but feel like we were going through the motions. I still have feelings for Immensity, and they pop into my head and fill my heart with joy, but I know there are more profound lovers out there.

Recommended tracks: The Pathfinder, One Way Journey, Infinity Around
You may also like: Rise To Fall, Atlantis Chronicles
Final verdict: 6/10

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

Label: Independent

Sympuls-E is:
– Anton Metlikin (vocals)
– Dmitry Kokarev (guitars)
– Ivan Anisov (guitars)
– Svyatoslav Krekov (drums)

The post Review: Sympuls-E – Immensity appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Deathcore, Metalcore, Prog Metal (Harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Erra, Monuments, Structures
Review by: Mathis
Country: Bulgaria
Release date: 30 September, 2022

From Bulgaria, Enezothe make their debut with Consensus Reality, an album evocative of progressive metalcore and deathcore acts from the 2010’s era. As one of the few self-appointed -core listeners in the Progressive Subway, I get quite a thrill from bands like this! It’s always a treat to return to the style that got me into progressive metal, and soak in the sweet, sweet nostalgia.

My first impressions of Consensus Reality were skewed because I was multitasking, but this follows my standard listening process. I like to get a rough idea of the album while working, choring, or playing games; then I  revisit the album, paying closer attention to all of its intricacies. During my first listen through I felt a bit underwhelmed, but I thought it was because I was too focused on something else. To my misfortune, Consensus Reality sounded even more jaded when I gave it my full attention.

Enezothe is composed of some talented musicians, and I have no issues with their performance, the problems are the songwriting and production. Most songs feel stale and dry, and the nostalgia isn’t even there to carry the weight. Consensus Reality emulates releases like Impulse by Erra; heavy and djenty, but lacking innovation and intrigue. “Time Thief” for example has too much going on, the weedly mid-high range riffs are too repetitive and messy in the mix, while on the other hand, the chuggy djent riffs are too djeneric. The djent could create a nice groove if not for the background noise, or Enezothe could drop the djent to focus on the technical riffing. It’s possible to walk the fine line and keep both the chuggy and technical elements, but the song structure would need to change allowing both a time in the spotlight. Stargazer did this really well in 2013 with their track “Desideratum”.

“Time Thief” isn’t alone in its lackluster, in fact the majority of Consensus Reality is mundane. “Adamant”, “Veiled Hex”, and “Archaic Rebirth” feel like filler songs lacking purpose; they are mindlessly heavy with no captivation at all. Without providing something for the brain to latch on to like an iconic riff or a stunning chorus, most of the album is forgettable. The unique tracks are only unique when compared to the rest of the album, “Evil Doer” is a gimmicky track that has middle eastern influences, and sounds similar to Shokran, but falls flat because it still doesn’t have any of its own allure.

There are a handful of stronger tracks in Consensus Reality despite the tangled mess of clashing riffs and overall generic sound. “Jeusan” does a good job of keeping the groove laden riffs clean, while adding some points of interest like a relaxed guitar solo, a twinkly ethereal outro, and a devastating blast beat breakdown. The technical deathcore vibes are what Enezothe do best, Danail Georgiev has some deliciously chaotic vocals that pair perfectly with blast beats and technical riffs. One of my favorite parts of the whole album is the twenty second intro to “Order Fish To Fly” due to its precise execution of relentless aggression. Another track worth mentioning is “Pagliacci”. It has a slower start that is somewhat boring, but makes up for it with Sound Struggle-esque jazz fusion in the second half.

Unfortunately, Consensus Reality is a relatively weak album despite some small strengths here and there. The riffing is too jumbled, the grooves are too generic, and the overall sound is dated. Some listeners may find Enezothe nostalgic, but ultimately, while not an awful attempt, this album would have been a better fit in 2010. Moving forward, I think there is a lot of potential to establish a unique sound while appealing to the legacy of old school progressive metalcore

Recommended tracks: Jeusan, Order Fish to Fly, Pagliacci
You may also like: Day Three, Dusk; Stargazer; Oceans Over Earth
Final verdict: 4.5/10

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

Label: Independent

Enezothe is:
– Danail Georgiev (vocals)
– Venelin Pavlov (guitar, production)
– Vazken Hadavyen (guitar)
– Peter Drenski (bass)
– Victor Sotirov (drums, mix, production)

The post Review: Enezothe – Consensus Reality appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Old School Death Metal, Death Metal, Technical Death Metal (Harsh Vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Death, Nile, Cynic, Control Denied
Review by: Mathis
Country: US-ID
Release date: 07 September, 2022

Death metal has never been a big genre for me, I’ve always sort of tiptoed around it; I’ve tried sub genres like deathcore, tech death, and deathgrind, but never gave death metal much attention. One of the only death metal artists I’ve found that I enjoy is Death. I love the creative and technical riffs they use, how frequently they change tempo, and the paradoxical, structured chaos. Other bands in the genre all sound so similar to me, and I was surprised to discover that one of the founding bands of death metal sounds so much more fun and unique than all of the bands they’ve inspired. The team at the Subway have been essential in my exposure to interesting death metal, and as per usual they provided me with an awesome recommendation! Barn, a neo-old school death metal band composed of five kids – the reincarnation of Death.

Barn’s Habitat is the ideal way for kids born in the 90’s and later to experience old school death metal. Most of my generation have been spoiled by the modern day technology now used in music production. Kids these days, am I right? Well, luckily for myself and others like me, Habitat is very clean and crisp; every bass line, frantic drum fill, and nutty riff are equally accounted for and administered. In nearly every aspect, Barn is a Death worship band. Chuck Schuldiner is listed as the primary influence on Barn’s about page on Spotify, and if you’ve ever heard Schuldiner’s guitar work you can hear the impact he’s had on these kids right out the gate.

There are a few influences in Habitat other than Schuldiner and Death, but they are far less notable. The vocals have more range than Schuldiner’s do, oftentimes employing lower growls that sound more like what you might hear from Nile. Cymbals cling, clang, ting, and tang; and maybe it’s just the modern day production emphasizing the metallic chatter, but it reminds me of Tony Westermark’s cymbal heavy style in Soreption. The fretless bass brings to mind a number of artists that opt for fretless bass as well, but I am reminded more of Cynic than funky fretless bass found in bands like First Fragment or Equipoise. “Ancient Animosity” in particular has a section around the four minute mark with light plucky guitars and winding bass lines that give me Cynic vibes.

In all honesty there isn’t much sense in breaking down each track, there aren’t any tracks that standout as better or worse than the rest. They all have an abundance of spectacular riffs, so much so that it’s jarring. It seems like Barn came up with a plethora of ideas and wanted to use them all in the eight tracks that inhabit Habitat; it’s like eating eight servings of slightly different pasta dishes. It’s a delicious feast that leaves you bloated, it can hit the spot, or leave you with regrets, and clutching a bottle of Pepto Bismol.

The term “worship” in the prog community often holds a negative connotation, so I try not to use it, but Barn is an exception. They mimic Death to a fault. Throughout Habitat I rarely heard any original or unexpected musical feats, and on the rare occasions that I did hear something interesting and different it was gone lickety-split. Does this make Barn a bad no no copycat worship band? Heavens to Betsy, no! I actually found their last album to be even more similar to Death than Habitat is, so it seems like the youngsters are slowly establishing their own sound. I think their biggest concern should be cutting content; this album is amazing, but way too long. Eight tracks in sixty-seven minutes is insane, but sometimes kinda cool…sometimes.

Recommended tracks: Predatory, Cave, Ancient Animosity
You may also like: Contrarian, Atomic Witch, Atvm, Overtoun
Final verdict: 7/10

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

Label: Independent

Barn is:
Reece Howell (Vocals)
London Howell (Guitar)
Dante Haas (Drums)
Indy McCarter (Guitar)
Ian Dodd (Bass)

The post Review: Barn – Habitat appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal, Djent (Mostly clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Devin Townsend, Native Construct, Troldhaugen
Review by: Mathis
Country: Australia
Release date: 09 September, 2022

When I first heard of Toehider’s upcoming release I Have Little To No Memory Of These Memories (IHLTNMOTM), I expected the album would be focusing on memory loss and mental health. Boy was I wrong; IHLTNMOTM is in fact a story about the opposite of memory loss, sudden and unexpected memory gain. Woah, the album title makes way more sense now!

Staying true to the reputation Toehider has made for themselves, IHLTNMOTM is an outlandish adventure that’s as unpredictable as a carnie on crack. The album is all over the place, that’s what I’m getting at here. What’s more, Toehider crammed and jammed all of this insanity into one track for your listening convenience – one single forty-eight minute track. The story is presented as segments or chapters throughout the song, each chapter acting as a unique “song” with little to no concern of the genre that preceded it in the last chapter. Speaking of genres, there is quite a range! Power metal, 80s pop, progressive rock, progressive metal, djent, classic rock, and the list can go on and on if you get nitpicky.

Prologue:
The narrator prepares to usher the listener through the odd story of three individuals and how their lives begin to intertwine. The narrator is outside of the story, but without a doubt one of the best characters with his unscripted satirical banter. In a Deadpool sort of fashion the narrator occasionally goes off on tangents like “The saga starts one Sunday (maybe Saturday… hey, who can say? Those minor points are inconsequential anyway)”, and then proceeds with proper narration. The Prologue is especially silly, because the narrator layers beautiful harmonies in a barbershop quartet meets Queen A Cappella style, rather than just telling the story in a drab traditional manner.

Chapters 1 – 2:
Following a short interlude, chapter one introduces us to our first nameless character only after the narrator has a brief rant about traffic. The on-call fireman is sitting in the cab of the fire engine as it races through the streets on the way to a house fire. The narrator explains that the fireman has a perfect memory due to a condition known as hyperthymesia, but while sitting in the fire engine he has a vivid memory of events that have never happened to him before. Reflecting the chaos the fireman experiences both internal and external, a suspenseful progressive metal segment plays filled with synths, similar to Voyager but with less djent. However, as the fireman’s mind drifts into his newfound memories the “track” gradually grows softer with the narrator describing a tragic inhuman world that appears to be in decay.

Paying homage to Bonnie Tyler in the sickest way possible, the other two main characters are introduced in chapter two of IHLTNMOTM. The second chapter shares multiple commonalities with Tyler’s “Holding On For A Hero,” a woman who needs a hero, a burning house, that kind of stuff. Violating likely every fire safety code, the hoarder finds herself amidst a raging house fire, and with flammables on all sides the house graciously welcomes the flames.  It just so happens that the hoarder’s house is the very same house that the fireman is making his way to right now. The hoarder is trapped, boarded in by all her crap. Amidst all the chaos she falls, and of course she gets to experience Murphy’s Law firsthand. She trips over a hat rack among all the junk and falls, an avalanche of stuff tumbles down with her knocking her  unconscious. In her unconscious state her mind is ravaged by new memories. As the fireman works on extinguishing the flames he catches a glimpse of the third main character gracefully entering the burning house. Moments later the hoarder is carried out of the flames by her rescuer, our third and final character subject to the memory madness. The brave shoe-billed stork.

Chapters 3 – Epilogue
If you think I’m gonna cover this WHOLE story then you’re mistaken! This review would be far too long, I mean the album title is a full sentence itself. However, I can get you excited by sharing sneak peaks of what’s to come. The fireman, hoarder, and shoe-billed stork venture to the source of their infiltrated minds by wild means of transportation, the same inhuman planet that the fireman saw in his new memories. They learn the reason why they have all been experiencing anomalies in their heads, there’s 80’s montage music, more shenanigans from the narrator, and a dude named Bralien. I bet you are intrigued now, and to heighten your listening experience I’d advise you listen with a good set of headphones to catch all the nuance and little motifs throughout I Have Little To No Memories Of These Memories.

Admittedly I was skeptical of how Toehider would be able to handle such a bizarre project. I’ve heard eight minute songs that felt like a lifetime, but I was thoroughly captivated and never bored one bit by this forty-eight minute long song. The chapters flow in and out surprisingly well considering the vast genre coverage; the storyline, characters, and satire all work perfectly. Devin Townsend, Native Construct, Others by No One, and whatever other wacky acts out there are shaking in their boots right now. Toehider has had a consistent discography, but I was blown away by this album. Toehider has utterly annihilated my expectations.

Recommended tracks: I Have Little To No Memories of These Memories
You may also like: Exxperior, Others by No One, Rototypical
Final verdict: 8/10

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

Label: Independent

Toehider is: Micheal Mills

The post Review: Toehider – I Have Little To No Memories of These Memories appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Jazz Fusion, Math rock, Post Rock (Clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Sithu Aye
Review by: Mathis
Country: UK
Release date: 23 July, 2022

Vision is the follow up EP to Thoughtscape’s 2018 release Path. Four years after his first release, Alex Verghese, the man behind Thoughtscape, has opted for a gentler approach in his song writing. Having ditched the cookie cutter djent formula of the past, Vision is a peart djazzy EP that would have fit snugly into our summer themed playlist.

Although more jazz fusion than anything else, Thoughtscape explores a few other genres in Vision. Consistently light and bouncy, the guitar work in Vision has an inherent Sithu Aye finesse, but at times reminds me of the progressive rock/post rock stylings of Detroit Hills. Verghese’s vocals are just as consistent as his guitar playing. You can hear one line from the whole EP and have a strong understanding and expectation of the vocal performance to come. His consistency in singing is great, but leaves me longing for more experimentation. Verghese has a solution to his lack of vocal variety though, instead of altering his voice he changes the setting his voice occupies. “Beingness” is vibrant and dense instrumentally; inject Verghese’s vocals over the intricate track and you have something that resembles math rock and progressive post-hardcore like Haven State. “Grace” is a slower track, especially during the verses. The vocals in “Grace” aren’t any different than the other tracks in Vision, but by slowing everything down the moment the singing begins post rock vibes start flowing. These slower, softer vocal sections really amplify the similarities to Detroit Hills.

Vision has two outstanding tracks, “Gong Bath” and “Agni”. These two instrumental tracks underline Thoughtscape’s technical proficiency with the guitar. I hardly paid attention to the drums, synths, bass, or keys when listening to Vision, and that’s not to say they are awful, they all just pale in comparison to the guitar noodling and soft yet djenty riffs. If it were up to me Thoughtscape would capitalize on the Sithu Aye style, go full instrumental, and pick up on trends like neoclassical jazz fusion. There isn’t enough unique content in Vision to warrant continuing this part math, part post, mostly fusion approach. The guitar work can easily stand on its own and rise in the ranks of the instrumental jazz fusion genre.

There is one other reason I think taking the instrumental route would be best for Thoughtscape. I touched on the consistency of the vocals earlier, but with the intention of showing how the surrounding music can change how they sound. The simple fact is that the vocals are not strong enough. There isn’t enough range, and hearing the same voice without any modification gets boring quickly. Verghese’s voice sits on the higher side, and with such cheerful music it fits well enough, but adding some layers or harmonies could help immensely. The only exception is the lead voice he sprinkles in the occasional background line, but they only repeat the last line of the lead in a softer tone. The singing isn’t even unpleasant, and I have certainly heard worse, but if singing is the forefront of a song you best believe it deserves that limelight, yet once again I have to give my praise to the lead guitar instead. I can’t help but think that the vocals were an afterthought.

Vision feels like one of my business papers from college. Clearly competent, with a handful of substantial material, but clearly not given 100% dedication. I’m the professor this time around and Thoughtscape deserves a “C”; they didn’t nail it, but they didn’t fail it either. I’m not gonna suggest them to any partners for an internship, but if they focus on their strengths and try for an instrumental release, Thoughtscape could have a bright future in store.

Recommended tracks: Gong Bath, Agni, Beingness
You may also like: Haven State, Detroit Hills, Save Us from the Archon
Final verdict: 5/10

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

Label: Independent

Thoughtscape is: Alex Verghese

The post Review: Thoughtscape – Vision appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Jazz, Avant-Garde Metal, Progressive Metal (Instrumental)
Review by: Mathis
Country: France
Release date: 3 June, 2022

Ya like jazz? Well have I ever got a treat for you, or I guess Ckraft has a treat for you. I am going to assume you have some appreciation for metal as well; you are reading this on a metal/rock blog after all. Epic Discordant Vision is an avant-garde metal album with all the nuance of free jazz and the weight of a thousand tenor saxophones.

To give you a less ambiguous idea of what Epic Discordant Vision sounds like, I need to get you readers up to speed on some history behind Ckraft. Charles Kieny was abruptly introduced to the accordion at a young age. However, he eventually ditched the accordion in favor of more interesting activities. Fast forward a bit and Kieny had taken a liking to metal over the years, with bands like Korn, Meshuggah, and Gojira. He wasn’t even introduced to jazz until he attended a workshop at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris (Kieny’s Alma Mater), which exposed Kieny to the idea of spontaneity in music. The flowing composition of improvisational jazz, a river that always flows in one direction yet explores every possible alternate route, sometimes becoming a soft and graceful stream, other times a torrent of erratic and destructive energy. The freedom to reach the destination without a premeditated path initially sparked Kieny’s fascination with jazz.

In the years after his introduction to jazz, Kieny met many other musicians that shared his appreciation for jazz and metal, and together they formed Ckraft, with Kieny at the helm of the ship. Epic Discordant Vision is the perfect title for this album; it’s a grand feast with fifty minutes of harsh riffage, tenor sax leads, and accordion noodling. It’s in the same realm as T.R.A.M with the bass and guitar creating a thick foundation and the more traditional jazz instruments in the foreground. However, since Kieny is so captivated by improvisational music, Epic Discordant Vision is more chaotic and … discordant. Jazz is commonly thought of as soft “elevator music”, and most of the larger artists in jazz fusion employ a softer, welcoming sound too. Ckraft is different. The majority of their melodies are heavily influenced by Gregorian chants, giving their music a medieval chill. This unsettling gothic tone is one of the few consistencies throughout the whole album.

The other consistency in Epic Discordant Vision is the accordion. Initially, I didn’t hear it as often or as prominently as I expected but turns out I was hearing it all along. Kieny plays an augmented accordion which is essentially a standard accordion that can play directly to synthesizers. It’s like using pedals on guitars or presets on a keyboard. This allows for a very broad range of sounds from traditional acoustic accordion; from the minute-long solo in “Bug Out!” to the oscillating synths in “Haunted Axis”. It’s refreshing to see that the accordion isn’t just a gimmick for Ckraft. It creates a massive amount of depth in the music, whether supplemental or serving as the vanguard it’s much more than a scheme to entice listeners.

Ckraft is composed of musical monstrosities no doubt, and Charles Kieny is an absolute genius. I’m not a genius, however, and this creates a significant disconnect. As per standard procedure, I would typically go through the good, bad, and ugly of Epic Discordant Vision. This album is not quite standard or typical though; I have a hard time discerning one track from the next, and although it is impressive I genuinely can’t get into it. The entwining Gregorian melodies mixed with the abstract free-form jazz sort of blend the album into one large track. There are no softer songs, no heavier songs, no interludes, no guest vocals, and nothing that makes one track more notable than any of the others.

I’ll just say that this album is remarkable but doesn’t tickle my fancy. If ya like jazz, then you need to go listen to Ckraft now, because you will love them! If jazz isn’t your cup of tea, if you like more structure to your music, or if you like to know what’s coming next, then maybe skip this album.

Recommended tracks: ???
Recommended for fans of: T.R.A.M, Panzerballet
You may also like: Wax People, Peculate, Krokofant
Final verdict: 6/10

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

Label: Independent

Ckraft is:
– Charles Kieny (augmented accordion, composition)
– Théo Nguyen Duc Long (tenor saxophone)
– Antoine Morisot (guitar)
– Marc Karapetian (bass)
– William Bur (drums)

The post Review: Ckraft – Epic Discordant Vision appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Groove Metal, Progressive Rock, Alternative Metal (Clean vocals)
Review by: Mathis
Country: US-CA
Release date: 06 June, 2022

A strong contender for bobblehead album of the year, Waking up will have your head bouncing around without any authorization! Teravolt are the ones to be held responsible for this groove-inciting release; a progressive rock/groove metal crossover that you never knew you wanted. Complete with a percussive punchiness that rivals Muhammad Ali in his prime.

Though Teravolt is inherently similar to bands like Meshuggah, Gojira, or Sepultura; I see Teravolt more as a groove metal/prog rock crossover because they don’t use any harsh vocals. Very powerful but never reaching a point where belting becomes a scream; the vocals are much closer to that of Dream Theater or Voyager than to what is more traditional in groove metal. At the same time Teravolt embraces an in-your-face, high-octane take on alternative metal. They have a sound that resembles Twelve Foot Ninja, but with the passion and power of Protest the Hero.

Aside from Teravolt’s unique blend of styles there is one other major feature of Waking Up that helps set them apart from bands in progressive realm. This would be Teravolt’s percussion, what I believe to be the beating (pun intended!) heart of the band. Naturally, groove metal bands tend to prioritize rhythm over melody, Teravolt takes this a step further. The drums and percussion in Waking Up are just as prominent as the vocals at times, and they frequently steal the show. Yoyo Bianchi, the individual behind the drumsticks, isn’t just some heavy handed hooligan; the prominence of his work throughout the album was obviously intentionally accounted for in the mixing and production process.  You may be thinking “that is great and all, but what is the deal here? Why is this guy drooling over Yoyo?”. Well for starters he has an awesome name. More importantly, Yoyo incorporates various latin percussion instruments into his style, effectively making Teravolt a latin-alternative-groove metal band. That’s a mouthful. In addition to this Yoyo is frequently filling any open air with intense and intricate drum fills. He smothers any opportunity for a listener to lose interest, and keeps the band moving and grooving with his hyperactive drumming style. Due to Yoyo’s latin influence being percussive and rhythmic Waking Up maintains a tribal style that you may not expect. There isn’t any neoclassical hyper-technical latin guitar like you may hear from Syncatto or First Fragment.  You can easily pick out Yoyo’s drumming on any song, but “It’s My Time” and “Divided We Stand” will give you a solid understanding of what’s in store.

The guitar work in Waking Up, although not as unique as the drumming, greatly surpassed my expectations. Directly accompanying the drumming there is an extensive amount of “Chugga-chugga-chug-chugga-chug-chug”, but goodness there are some sick guitar solos that I didn’t see coming at all! “Coward Crowd” and “Heat Wave” both have beautiful solos with old school virtuoso-shredding styles. There are some more emotional solos thrown in too though like the outro to “Church of Pain ” which is light yet powerful with layers like a rich and delicate wedding cake.

Taking a break from the “chugs” there are some beautiful lighter songs like “Waking Up” and the acoustic guitar in “Restless Sin”. Speaking of “Restless Sin”, this track is one of my favorites as the female vocalist get’s the limelight, and is by far the softest song on the album. I honestly had no idea Heather McAndress was part of the band. I thought she was just a guest vocalist on this track, but after watching Teravolt’s music videos, I realized she does backing vocals on most of the tracks. The fact that I didn’t hear her voice before is alarming, she has a beautiful voice but is underutilized. Softer feminine vocals would perfectly complement the very powerful masculine vocals, and would add some more diversity to the band’s sound.

This leads me to my second issue with Waking Up: The album has eleven great tracks, but some of them are too similar. This does make the few unique songs a very warm welcome. Ultimately, however, if the listener isn’t paying close attention or is well acquainted with the album they may not even recognize one song from another.

Groove metal is a familiar genre, but Teravolt adds their own alternative spice to their take on the recipe. Prog rock, tribalistic latin percussion, and some softer female vocals make for a great change to the sometimes stale formula. Waking Up can sound a little samey from track to track at times and the one track with lead female vocals left me craving more, but all in all these folks do a great job coloring outside the lines of groove metal.

Recommended tracks: Restless Sin, It’s My Time, Coward Crowd
Recommended for fans of: Twelve Foot Ninja, Black Orchid Empire
You may also like: Ostura
Final verdict: 7.5/10

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

Label: Rodolfo Bianchi

Teravolt is:
– Chaz Terra (Vocals)
– Heather McAndress (Vocals)
– Andy Faust (Bass)
– Yoyo Bianchi (Drums & Percussion)
– Benjamin Lechuga (Guitars)

The post Review: Teravolt – Waking up appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock, Djent (Mixed vocals)
Review by: Mathis
Country: Germany
Release date: 01 April, 2022

Ambitious progressive newcomers Aquae Furtivae released their intriguing debut album Road To Square One earlier this year on April first. It’s a concept album that tells the story of a father struggling with Alzheimer’s.

Aquae Furtivae are covering what sounds like some heavy subject matter here, but sample just a snippet of their debut album and you’ll find that there is a massive separation between the story and the music. From carnival tunes to latin guitar, to brazenly heavy djent; Road To Square One has a shocking amount of variety in genres. Just listening casually you probably wouldn’t guess the album is about a disease that steals away precious memories of friends and family. The creative approach to storytelling that Aquae Furtivae employs is the main appeal of this album, keeping their sound fresh and interesting while at the same time telling a devastating story, and how each family member is affected by the fathers declining mental state.

Road To Square One has a core progressive metal sound similar to Haken, Caligula’s Horse, or Dream Theater. The various other genres weave in and out of the more consistent progressive metal style, creating a mildly quirky style that is a notch or two more conservative than something like Others By No One or Edge of Reality. I love wacky stuff, but I am the first to admit that sometimes boundaries are pushed too far and the finished product ends up convoluted and over the top. Aquae Furtivae’s approach is perfect. They are experimental in their writing, but not to the point where it becomes a gimmick. “South” the intro track begins with a bluesy riff and ends with alien horror movie vibes. They aren’t sampling every restaurant (Genre) at the food court, rather just choosing a few that compliment each other. This is an awesome direction for other experimental acts to take in the future, however most others will probably just go for rockabilly djent disco instead.

Now that you have a good understanding of what makes this band ambitious and how that works in their favor, I will now proceed to rip this album to shreds. Road To Square One takes risks and naturally there will be some hang ups, shortcomings, or aspirations that didn’t quite hit the mark. While I was only joking about ripping the album to shreds, there is one major issue with it that rubbed me the wrong way. It is one of the strangest concept albums I have listened to. With a total of eight tracks Road To Square One only has vocals on three. Two of these tracks are back to back, with the latter showing up after a slow and bland three track instrumental interlude. The last track with vocals is the namesake “Road To Square One”, a fourteen minute long epic, and I suspect that the intention was to distance the epic from the other two lyrical tracks. However as aforementioned, by doing this Aquae Furtivae have created a run of boring instrumental tracks that kill the album’s momentum.

The parts of Road To Square One that I enjoy seem to vanish as soon as I have finished listening to the album. I know for a fact that there were choruses or some other vocal performances I liked, but I’ve listened to this album at least twenty five times and I can’t remember anything. It doesn’t stick. In one ear and out the other.

All filler no killer, Aquae Furtivae lost my interest just as quickly as they grabbed it. I am being harsh, Road To Square One isn’t that bad, but it feels very empty and goes by far too quickly. Unique ideas are overshadowed by instrumental nothingness, and I may have found it more enjoyable if I only listened to the first three songs and the namesake epic.

Recommended tracks: South, The Path of the Lost, Road To Square One
Recommended for fans of: Haken, Dream Theater, Caligula’s Horse, Earthside
You may also like: Altesia, Soulsplitter, Edge of Reality
Final verdict: 4.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram
Label: FGMusic

Aquae Furtivae is:
– Jérome Kaufman (Guitar)
– Anaïs Lefebvre (Extreme Vocals)
– Iago Franco Gonzalez (Drums)
– Guest: Lucas de la Rosa (Vocals & Guitar)
– Guest: Marc James (Bass)

The post Review: Aquae Furtivae – Road To Square One appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Progressive Metal, Thrash Metal, Death Metal, Alternative Metal (Mixed vocals)
Review by: Mathis
Country: Netherlands
Release date: 08 April 2022

“Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in our heart” – WTP. This happened to be the case when I discovered Crown Compass. It was a small discovery that led to great joy, but we at The Progressive Subway discover awesome artists and bands all the time. So, what makes Crown Compass different than any other band I have come across? Well, Crown Compass are special because they’re a supergroup composed of musicians from Cynic, Exivious, Textures, and Pestilence. Usually underground artists tend to be newcomers, so I was definitely looking forward to what Crown Compass’ collective experience would bring to the table. Spoiler alert: their debut The Drought did not disappoint!

What I found most notable about The Drought is how unorthodox it is juxtaposed with other thrash acts I have heard. My guess is that this is largely due to each member’s experience and style they bring to Crown Compass. While this is certainly thrash metal, it isn’t much like Voivod, Vektor, or Mekong Delta. The Drought is quite a bit deathier than these bands. There is more chug and death metal tone in each riff, it’s much more similar to what you would hear from Gojira back in the day. Crown Compass just adds a shot of nitrous to reach 220 BPM.

The Drought offers more than just thrash-y death metal, or death-y thrash metal. The album unexpectedly opens with a soft and subdued acoustic piece that acts as the opening scene of this depressing play. Like many other progressive albums, this one is a concept album. The Drought is down to earth though! Similar to The Reticent’s storytelling, many of the stories told by Crown Compass are tragic matters of fact. Each track on The Drought is a tale of a struggling individual, whether that be Gilbert dealing with a volatile work environment, or the drunken diver that longs to join the soul of the woman’s carcass he discovered on the beach. I’m not kidding when I say this album is harsh, but if you wanna ditch the emotional stuff you can enjoy it still, just avoid reading the lyrics.

Fortunately, Crown Compass did decide to exercise a few of thrash metal’s essential core principles. I counted eight guitar solos in The Drought, and some songs have multiple solos in them. One of these eight is actually a bass solo, and throughout the album there are plenty of prominent basslines to supplement that standalone solo. The percussion is fast paced and technical at times, but also leaves space to avoid any unnecessary noise. It isn’t just a high hat massacre with snare shots on every other beat, the drumming is thrashy but well thought out, and executed flawlessly.

My favorite track on the album is “Ecdysis”, which focuses on a man struggling with how society has progressed and his decision to embrace it or reject it. This song is incredibly chaotic, so much so that it verges on mathcore. The chaos perfectly parallels the turbulence and discord that rages in the man’s mind, but amid the nonsensical screams, shouts, and growls is a charming chorus that infiltrates the brain and brings a high like no other. I believe the chorus is meant to reflect the comfort the man finds in clinging to what’s familiar, but maybe I’m just projecting…. It could just be that Joe Tal is a musical genius and writes epic choruses. “Gilbert” and “A Limited Number of Heartbeats” support this theory with their captivating choruses.

A handful of the tracks on The Drought are on the longer side, which is to be expected of progressive metal. However, some of these songs are about a minute too long with their extended outros. I would have liked to see maybe one or two more tracks, especially because two of the songs on the album are instrumental, and one of these is a reprise. It would have been fun to have a shorter pure thrash song, and maybe a shorter ballad-esque song as well.

I have learned that very few albums are perfect, and even fewer debut albums are perfect. I just can’t help but be excited when I find a supergroup all of a sudden my expectations are through the roof, but one or two members from a variety of successful musical groups doesn’t guarantee the release of a historic album. The Drought is not historic, and probably won’t ever be considered essential thrash or prog metal, but it is certainly deserving of opening this review with a Winnie the Pooh quote.

Recommended tracks: Ecdysis, Gilbert
Recommended for fans of: Gojira, Textures, Stam1na
You may also like: The Offering
Final verdict: 8/10

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

Label: Independent

Crown Compass is:
– Daniël de Jongh (vocals)
– Joe Tal (guitars)
– Robin Zielhorst (bass)
– Yuma van Eekelen (drums)

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