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Oct 30, 2023 · Features. Metal Hammer. 10 up-and-coming progressive metal bands every self-respecting metalhead should know. By Matt Mills. ( Metal Hammer ) published 30 October 2023. From Dvne to The Callous Daoboys, this is what we think the future of progressive metal will sound like.
- Avenged Sevenfold – Life Is But A Dream… (Warner) Avenged Sevenfold had already embraced prog grandeur with 2016's The Stage, but in truth the seeds for the psychedelia-laced fever dream that is their eighth studio album were laid all the way back in 2007.
- Enslaved – Heimdal (Nuclear Blast) For their 16th album, Viking explorers Enslaved started anew, sourcing inspiration from the prog and metal bands they listened to as teenagers.
- Katatonia – Sky Void Of Stars (Napalm) Although there’s no such thing as a bad Katatonia album, the Swedish misery merchants sounded particularly majestic on Sky Void Of Stars.
- Ne Obliviscaris – Exul (Season Of Mist) Striking a delicate balance between the bluster and brutality of extreme metal and prog intricacy, Ne Obliviscaris' fourth album is the best showcase of their unique fusion of styles.
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15. Diablo Swing Orchestra – Swagger and Stroll Down the Rabbit Hole
“Swagger & Stroll Down The Rabbit Hole” is so vastly rich in nuances that it results difficult not to be hypnotized by its proposal and to resist being dragged into an ambitious journey that promises to blur the very existence of musical genres and their rules. With this album Diablo Swing Orchestra carries out the culmination of their unique artistic vision, resulting in their most ambitious record to date. These Swedes do not recognize any musical barriers, which allowed them to freely navi...
14. Terra Odium – Ne Plus Ultra
Terra Odium takes listeners back to prog metal basics with debut album “Ne Plus Ultra.” In the place of dancing keyboard melodies and exotic instruments, Terra Odium has brought the guitar front and center for a guitar-focused style built from the ground up. This harkens back to progressive metal in its earliest days, drawing heavily from technical influences to make compositions that are as complex as they are intriguing. And although “Ne Plus Ultra” is a debut, the rhythm section includes t...
13. Mercury X – Imprisoned
Landing at the end of the year, Mercury X’s latest studio album “Imprisoned” drives deep with its emotive strength and classic stylings. Yet another offering in the vein of classic prog metal, this third studio album is a decadent treat on all fronts. Vocal prowess emerges as an eye to a hurricane of technical skill, allowing the guitars to dance across melody and the sweet kiss of violin to delicately grace verses. The album was built around the twenty-minute epic “Imprisoned,” with an addit...
Cynic – Ascension Codes
Cynic’s comeback comes in the wake of devastating loss, as 2020 saw the deaths of longtime drummer Sean Reinert and on-again/ off-again bassist Sean Malone. Cynic persisted nonetheless in a testament to the strength of perseverance in art. “Ascension Codes” sees Cynic forgoing the earthier, more organic approach of its predecessor in favor of the group’s heavier past. Several moments on this monster of a record sound like a more fully realized take on what Cynic did on those incredible first...
Molybaron – The Mutiny
This album came out of nowhere and hit us like a ton of bricks. France’s MolyBaron self-released the“The Mutiny” back in May and somebody atInside Out Music liked it enough to pick it up for a formal release in late October. MolyBaron’s sound is some sort of a mix between prog-metal and alternative rock, that at points remind of a cleaner Mastodon or a less technical Tool. Gary Kelly’s wonderfully impassioned and theatrical vocals pair seamlessly with dynamic and groovy riffs that often pushe...
Times of Grace – Songs of Loss and Separation
Following distantly from parent band Killswitch Engage is Times of Grace, bringing with it the wisdom of its predecessor but the variety that could never be afforded to such a well-defined staple. “Songs of Loss and Separation” stays true to the Killswitch tradition of reading like love poetry and sounding like metal, and does so with a keen enough pop sensibility to possibly translate well into contemporary mix of progressive and country-rock. “Mend You,” is a damn near perfect rock song tha...
Aziola Cry – The Ironic Divide
Chicago power-trio outfit Aziola Cry take to the endeavor of progressive metal with instrumentation alone, relying on composition and chemistry to carry them to the same heights as their vocal-endowed counterparts. In contrast to the heavily technical displays often encountered with a typical progressive metal release, this outfit opts to focus less on flashy solo passages and allow the elaborate character of their handiwork to be reflected in the series of gradually evolving offerings where...
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- The Anchoret – …It All Began With Loneliness (Independent) The Anchoret has done something truly special with their debut album “It All Began With Loneliness.”
- Soen – Memorial (Silver Lining Music) Soen has become a mainstay staple in the progressive metal scene over the last decade. “Lotus” garnered considerable attention and accolades, followed shortly by the similarly impressive and well-received “Imperial” two years later.
- Sermon – Of Golden Verse (Prosthetic Records) Some of the heaviest fare to come from the progressive metal scene this year, “Of Golden Verse” is delightfully dark in its craft, and incessantly intense in its delivery.
- Avenged Sevenfold – Life Is But A Dream… (Warner Records) In the year 2011, when the world was first bathed in the unabated metallic violence of hit album “Nightmare,” it might have been impossible to believe that veteran artists Avenged Sevenfold would ever earn a spot on a progressive metal compilation.
- Gojira - Fortitude. As Hammer's overall album of the year, perhaps it was inevitable that Gojira would also take top spot as the greatest prog metal release of 2021 with Fortitude.
- Mastodon - Hushed And Grim. Ever the masters of transforming adversity into some of the most incredible and moving compositions in the metal sphere (regardless of genre), Mastodon again plunged the depths of tragedy and grief for Hushed And Grim, their eighth studio album.
- Cynic - Ascension Codes. With Cynic, nothing can be taken for granted. The prog metal master's fourth record Ascension Codes proved as much as they pushed the boat even further than their usual jazz/extreme metal combo would suggest, striking through to a sense of immersive beauty that completely enraptured Hammer reviewer Dom Lawson.
- Dvne - Etemen Ænka. Considering the smash-success of the Hollywood film Dune, perhaps it is entirely appropriate that Scottish prog metallers Dvne - also inspired by Frank Herbert's 1965 novel - would also step into the spotlight in 2021.
Progressive metal is a fusion genre that melds heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the amplified guitar-driven aggression of metal with the complex compositional structures typical of progressive rock.
Dec 28, 2020 · 15. Pyramid Theorem – Beyond the Exosphere (Independent) The third album from the Pyramid Theorem camp packs just as much confidence and fearlessness as their debut, masterfully combining more traditional influences from progressive rock with metal’s intensity, polished further by the magic of modern production.
