Reports from the Underground: February 2020 prog reviewed (part 2)

Those of you who have followed us from the very beginning might look at these posts, especially the intros, and think “man, how have these guys not run out of different ways to say the same thing to introduce the reviews every month? That must take a lot of creativity right? I wonder if they’ll eventually just stop having ideas?” And I must say, it’s not far off. Especially since we switched to a weekly format, my inspiration for these introductions has become increasingly slim. It won’t be long before I start pulling random shit out of my ass just to have something to write about, or that I simply skip these introductions in their entirety. Just dump the Spotify playlist and get on with it. Not like anyone really gets anything of value out of these anyway. Knowing me, the first option is probably more likely though. So prepare yourself for a weekly dump of Sam’s random rambling (tm, I guess).

So, February, for the second time. The year is slowly unveiling and the good releases keep flowing in. February’s actually shaping out to be a great month, contradicting an earlier claim of mine that the month is generally dull. It keeps surprising me how many interesting prog metal-related releases appear every month. At first I barely scrambled a list of 10 albums together and now we have 40 albums to choose from. Seeing how many capable artists sprout out of the weeds, it always makes me really sad how little the underground prog community is developed. Places like r/progmetal generally don’t go much deeper than something like Persefone, and most Facebook groups are even worse as they’re still stuck memeing about Steven Wilson and Mikael Akerfeldt more than 10 years after any of them made anything that even remotely resembled a metal album. The only place I’ve encountered on the internet with significant underground prog metal support is the r/progmetal Discord server. It’s not a very big community yet, but it’s steadily growing. I hope that soon it’ll start spreading its roots to other parts of the internet. The underground prog metal scene is incredibly prolific and deserves all the exposure it can get.

…well I guess I did have something to say after all. Wtf brain, make up your mind! So now let’s start kicking. Here’s the Spotify playlist with all the recommended tracks and I’ll be off. Enjoy reading!

LeatherFrank – Dark Forest (Turkey)
Style: Stoner Rock (clean vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | RYM page
Review by: Stephen

When I dove into Dark Forest,I didn’t know what to expect from LeatherFrank’s debut EP other than it was going to fall somewhere in the stoner genre. Right off the bat, I could tell that time was taken with this four song EP. The production was on point and the tones were dialed in nicely. As you can probably tell from the album art, and song titles for that matter, this album has a pretty dark tone overall. So if you’re looking for something bright and happy, I’d suggest looking somewhere else. 

Track one off the EP is “Out of the Rain”, which starts out with a fairly familiar stoner rock feel. About halfway through the song however, we get a short (but tasty) bass solo that felt like a turning point in the album. Everything after that bass solo felt dark, psychedelic, groovy, and different from the start of the EP, which I was happy with. Even the vocal mix was different. Moving to track two, “Comfortably Violent,” we get the longest track on the album and also my favorite track off the album. “Comfortably Violent” is dark but strangely uplifting somehow. The vocals are very sparse in the song, but are welcomed when they do show up. “Dark Forest” is the title track off the album, and it didn’t really surprise me. It has the most catchy hooks and melodies off the EP by far. The vocal melody in the chorus was stuck in my head for a good while. “Celeste” is the final track on the EP, and is also the shortest track. I would have liked to see this track expanded on a bit more because it had an awesome start, and it felt like it was over too soon.

One of my favorite things about this album was the bass work, and bass tone. The bass had a very comfortable spot in the mix, and the bass player made it worthwhile. Another one of my favorite things about the album was that the guitar players weren’t afraid to experiment a bit with the tones they were using on a short EP. One of my biggest complaints I have with a lot of stoner releases is that the guitarist will use the same fuzzy guitar tone throughout the entire album, and that wasn’t the case here. Overall, Dark Forest is a very solid debut EP, and I’d especially recommend checking them out if you are a big fan of stoner releases that lean more towards the psychedelic side of the genre. 

Recommended tracks: Comfortably Violent
Recommended for fans of: Skraeckoedlan
Final verdict: 7.5/10

Operose – Oceans of Starlight (UK)
Style: Symphonic (clean vocals)
Related links: Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Metal-Archives page
Review by: Dylan

There’s something extremely painful as a reviewer when you find an album like this. A type of album that, from the moment you start off, you know there is no way it’s getting a score higher than a 5/10. However, not only do you have to finish listening to it, you must re-listen to it in order to find things to write about. You dread it, try to run from it, escape deadlines, but eventually, you’re gonna have to slog through a mediocre album a couple more times.

And that’s exactly what happened with Operose. This band suffers from a very well known syndrome in this blog known as the “not bad, but won’t ever be good” disease. This release is about as cliche as it gets for bad symphonic prog. Lady operatic vocals, shit production, muted guitars with no power, it’s all here. 

And even the good things that exist in prog metal like the operatic vocals just annoy the hell out of me. You know how in this style of vocals the long, high notes don’t stay in the same note, but rather oscillate between higher and lower ones? Well to me, the singer here oscillates WAY too much between said notes. It’s a VERY annoying sound for my ears, so it’s not pleasant to have to go through this. 

So yeah, in case it wasn’t obvious, I don’t recommend this. Perhaps you’ll get a kick out of the ballad “This Life of Mine”, a song where the muteness of the production is actually not that noticeable, but that’s just about it.  

Recommended tracks: This Life of Mine
Recommended for fans of: Epica but no growls and bad
Final verdict: 4/10

Rope and Ladder – Rope and Ladder (US-MA)
Style: Rock Opera (clean vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | RYM page
Review by: Andrew

Rock operas typically take one of two forms. They are either fantastically grandiose and well-crafted, or they fall flat because of half-baked ideas and incomplete musicality. For me personally, examples of bands that absolutely nail the rock opera are Ayreon and The Dear Hunter, among others. Things these bands all have in common are a well-thought-out story, competent storytelling and narratives, and excellent backing instrumentation to support the plot delivery. Ayreon complements the sci-fi plotline with a wonderful mix of driving heavy metal and soft, folky instrumentation. The Dear Hunter kicks the theatricality up to 100 with their frequent style changes and mood shifts. Both bands effectively deliver their plot while keeping the listener captivated and immersed in the story.

As you may have guessed by now, Rope and Ladder, the eponymous debut album by Rope and Ladder, is a rock opera as well. Rope and Ladder strive to reach the heights achieved by the aforementioned bands, and nearly reach it. However, Rope and Ladder, like Icarus, fly too close to the sun and suffer as a result. Although in this case, there are no wings of wax. The wings have been replaced by a grandiose vision that fails to reach its creators intentions.

I will start by talking about instrumentation. Rope and Ladder blend the theatrics of a bonafide musical with the distorted guitars and drumming of a post-hardcore band. Piano and strings make frequent appearances throughout the music as well – usually to the benefit of the accompanying instrumentation. There is nothing immensely complex; the songwriting remains consistently straightforward throughout the album. There is no real sense of progression, no build or release of tension. Sure, the moods change up as the plotline demands, but it is not enough to actually drive any sense of conflict or emotion.

Now to the singing and storyline. There are two primary vocalists – one male and one female. Coincidentally (or not?), the male singer, Jay Clark, is heavily reminiscent of The Dear Hunter mastermind Casey Crescenzo. I found this slightly alarming considering how similar the music itself aims to be, but it doesn’t actually mean anything. Just a neat coincidence. Clark, however, does have a great set of pipes. The female singer, Leila Tunnell, has a great voice as well. One of the most important parts of a rock opera is the ability to understand and follow along with the plot, even vaguely. In Rope and Ladder’s case, I was barely able to pick up bits and pieces of the plot. Admittedly, I have yet to actually read the lyrics, but after several listens of the album I am still not quite sure what it’s about. I believe I would better connect with emotional shifts if I understood what was occurring in the plot at that moment but given the lack of true tension or conflict present in the music, it is fairly apparently the plotline follows a similar trend. One major exception is in one of the last tracks, “The Confrontation,” which is very clearly the climax of the story. This is probably my favorite track because of the back-and-forths throughout and the powerful ending leading into “The Queen.” These couple tracks at the end unfortunately aren’t enough to bring the story up beyond “passable” in my mind. 

I must give Rope and Ladder huge props for attempting and nearly succeeding at such a grand undertaking for a debut album. It is clear that a ton of effort, work, and love went into making this album. With some feedback and a changeup in the future, Rope and Ladder absolutely have the potential to make something truly great, but as it stands, it falls just short. 

Recommended tracks: Corruption / A Call to Arms, The Invasion, The Confrontation
Recommended for fans of: The Dear Hunter, Dirt Poor Robins
Final verdict: 6.5/10

Sons of a Wanted Man – Kenoma (France)
Style: Post-Black (harsh vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | RYM page
Review by: Dylan

With the amount of post black/blackgaze/blackened post metal/however the hell you wanna call it I’ve listened to, both for reviewing and pleasure purposes, it seems that I can instantly know whether a release from this subgenre is going to be a hit or a miss for me.

And this one was a 100% hit. Kenoma is yet another fantastic French post-black release. It comfortably settles into the massive sea of bands that share this wonderful style of music without having to hide behind a certain band to worship.

Let’s start off by saying Sons of a Wanted Man are a bit… kvltier than what you’d probably expect out of the post-black definition. There’s definitely a lot more black metal than post rock going on here. This means that blast beats, tremolo riffs, BM shrieks, and dissonance all play a big role in this release (and that’s not even mentioning the almost non-existence of any clean vocals). The post rock, dreamy, gaze-y, beautiful elements are either subtly placed during these sections to make the listening more pleasant to the ears, or used as a parenthesis for all of the chaos present in this very dense album. While I’m not usually enamoured by ‘’sonically packed’’ releases, it’s clever use of said post elements and reasonable album length have made it so that I can genuinely enjoy Kenoma without ever feeling overwhelmed. 

All in all I think it’s pretty obvious that I’m gonna tell you that Sons of a Wanted Man are a band to keep on your radar. Go listen to this album, appreciate all of its achievements, and eagerly await for their sophomore release. 

Recommended tracks: Kenoma, Under a Lightless Sky
Recommended for fans of: Dodecahedron, Downfall of Gaia
Final verdict: 8.5/10

Mitochondrial Sun – Mitochondrial Sun (Sweden)
Style: Ambient (instrumental)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | RYM page
Review by: Matt

I was wondering how this album ended up in the review queue – it’s really got nothing to do with prog or metal. I suppose it’s probably because Niklas Sundin of Dark Tranquillity is behind it. Going from one of the few remaining good melodeath bands to this dark ambient album is a bit of a leap, but they did love their keyboards…

Mitochondrial Sun exists in that ambiguous spot where it’s electronic music, but doesn’t neatly fit any subgenre. I grudgingly say ambient, but it’s often too active for that. The official page seems to have the same conundrum, settling on “cinematic and atmospheric music spanning a variety of genres and moods.” This feels appropriate, as the whole time, I felt like it would better serve as the soundtrack to something else. There’s not exactly a shortage of things going on – melancholy pianos, cellos, synth leads, digital drum loops – but none of it demands your attention. I’m reminded of the soundtrack to FTL, or Egosoft’s “X” series of space sim games, but without the former’s standout melodies or the latter’s bombast. To be honest, I wasn’t that impressed at first, but came around after looping it in the background for a couple hours. This is a nice, solid sad spaceman ambience.

The problem with trying to review something like this is that it doesn’t have the same goals as what we cover here, or even albums in general. Is it less worthy for being background music? Can you fault it if it’s hard to remember? I’ve been listening to ambient music for years and still only have something like 15 albums that feel distinct, but I enjoy the genre as a whole anyway. Likewise, though this one won’t end up in my rotation, it’s still successful as atmospheric music. Credit to Niklas Sundin for doing such a radical genre change without sounding awkward or hacky at all.

Recommended tracks: Celestial Animal, The Void Begets
Recommended for fans of: Ben Prunty, Siddhartha Barnhoorn
Final verdict: 6/10

Antipope – Apostle of Infinite Joy (Finland)
Style: Melodic Black (harsh vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Review by: Sam

This is it. The review I’ve mentally been writing since February. I found this album while browsing through Bandcamp, and it instantly struck a chord with me (not that I know anything about chords). Antipope is a black metal band, and a good one. And so far, this is the only album of the year I have been truly enamored with. 

Apostle of Infinite Joy is a very unique album. It starts with a sort of psychedelic intro, but don’t be mistaken. It doesn’t last long. Soon the album explodes into a colossal black metal assault. It’s not in the way you expect it to however. Instead of frantic blast beats with fast picked tremolo riffs, we get swelling melodic riffs, epic background synths and amazingly varied drum work. I can’t recall the last time I’ve heard a black metal album where I was so consistently enamored with the drumming. It probably helps that the album is mid-tempo by the genre’s standards, so there’s more room for creative fills and patterns to exist in. The band has the dynamics nailed as well, striking an excellent balance in tempo and tension and release, making the songs very easy to listen to. The album is also very melodic, incorporating many heavy metal-inspired harmonies over their black metal core sound. The guitar work is just absolutely delicious. Be it the atmosphere, the riffs, or the lead playing, it’s all absolute ear-candy (though I do miss some shred-fest solos). The production is slick as hell too. The tones are amazing and the whole thing just sounds damn colossal. Each instrument sounds incredibly powerful without stepping on another instrument’s toes.

I mentioned the dynamics, but this band has songwriting nailed in general. They managed to make each song distinctive by giving it something immediately memorable. Sometimes it’s a riff, another time it’s the atmosphere, or a good vocal hook. Speaking of vocals, they are… one of a kind. As weird as it sounds, it’s like Dave Mustaine decided to become a black metal vocalist instead, but then in a good way? It has that same nasal, high-ish snarl, but then more… black? All I know is that it works, somehow. At least, during the heavier parts. The softer, more melodic passages often come across as a bit forced. However, judging by the previous albums, his voice has already improved a ton, so I’ll give him some leeway in that respect. 

I don’t know what else to say. This album is really good. It loses steam a bit near the end as some passages become a bit aimless and the vocals can be kinda awkward at times, but otherwise I have absolutely zero qualms with this album. Antipope sounds like exactly no one but themselves. Apostle of Infinite Joy is an absolute win, and I strongly recommend it to anyone with an affection for melodic black metal. Easily my favorite release of the year thus far (though new Green Carnation may give it a run for its money).

Recommended tracks: Harbinger of Dawn, Red Goddess, Venereal Ritual for Dispersion and Reintegration of the Soul
Recommended for fans of: modern Rotting Christ, Immortal, black metal Iron Maiden(???)
Final verdict: 8.5/10

Hex A.D. – Astro Tongue in the Electric Garden (Norway)
Style: Doom/Psychedelic (clean vocals)
Related links: Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Review by: Jonah

It’s always a treat when I get to review an album by a band who I have previously covered on this blog. Due to the nature of the music we review this doesn’t happen often (and occasionally happens TOO often) but it’s always fun to see where a band has gone since I saw them last. Thus we come to Hex A.D. whose previous album I reviewed, and found to be a perfectly okay but generally unimpressive piece of prog-doom. Let’s see if they’ve made any steps in the right direction.

In short, yes, yes they have. With a mere one year break between this album and their previous LP the band has cranked their psychedelic influences way, way up and it has absolutely done them a great service. This music is full of hammond organs, floaty keys, and some of the most fun riffs I’ve heard in a while. The drumming isn’t particularly flashy but gets the job done, and the bass is thick and very present. The vocals feel like a much more emotive Ozzy Osbourne and add quite a bit of personality to the music. While this concoction of stylistic elements isn’t necessarily particularly original (I’ve heard it done both worse and better by other bands) it is one that always seems to appeal to me. Although I’m not the biggest fan of psychedelic music on its own, mixed with doom it’s very, very nice.

So while not a masterpiece, this album is a large step up from Hex A.D.’s previous work, and leaves me hopeful for their future. Prog-doom is a genre that can always use more good bands, and it makes me incredibly happy whenever I get to review one. So give these lads a listen, especially if you enjoy old-school doom or psych rock. I think you’ll have a blast!

Recommended tracks: Deadly Nightshade, The Day the Sky Exploded, Old Bones
Recommended for fans of: Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin
Final verdict: 8/10

InTechnicolour – Big Sleeper (UK)   
Style: Stoner/Psych/Desert Rock (clean vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | RYM page
Review by: Tyler

I always thought the phrase “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover!” was really silly. That’s the easiest way to know if you’re going to like the book! The title is on there, the blurb on the back that tells you a bit about the book, the image if there is one. It’s all dynamite information that tells you whether or not to spend your money. I’m not gonna sit in a book store and read the first chapter of every book that suddenly piques my interest. Anyway, this album looks like an 80’s synthwave revival based on the artwork, but it’s a doomy, stoney banger that deserves your ears.

It’s not your typical doom or sludge album either. There’s some truth in that fluorescent beach. Big Sleeper takes a brighter, slightly bouncy take on the genre. The guitars are tuned real low and there is lots of fuzz, the drums are real dry, and the vocals are smokey and grizzled, but there are lush leads, a lot of energy to be found. The song “Shaker” comes to mind immediately. The super cool guitar lead that pokes through during the chorus is so much fun, and the driving nature of the whole song makes me want to take my Subaru Outback out for a cool spin around town and just vibe out.

I will say that there are times where the songs tend to homogenize a little bit. I absolutely love the band’s sound, but there are times where I could have used some break from the norm. It is  actually the songs like “Shaker” that tend to sound samey to me. Other songs like “Under the Sun” and “Lend Me a Crushed Ear” have a similar feel that comes and goes without too much of a thought. Every other song on here though has its own unique identity that kept me on my toes and eager to hear whatever came next. Songs like “Gallon Man” and “Slow Moth”, both more traditional in their approach to the genre, but still feel lighthearted since the band knows that it’s more than just crushing the listener with a fuzzy riff fist. It’s about how all of the elements play together and create a world to live in for a few minutes.

The whole album culminates into a magnum opus that is truly worthy of its namesake: “Tortoise”. The way the song crescendos and builds slowly to a triumphant, happy, crushing riff is exactly what I wanted this album to say goodbye with. It is a slow burn to get to that point, but it was a moment that I never wanted to get out of, and the second I saw where the song was going, I sent it to all of my musical friends and listened to it misty eyed until I fell asleep. 

InTechnicolour may not be as progressive or technical as some of the other things you see on our site, but they bring with them an identity that is totally their own and an unapologetic aesthetic that serves as a great reminder of what happens when folks judge based on looks: You end up as a stupid dummy who should reevaluate the way you see others. Stop reading this and listen to “Tortoise”. Bye-bye. Stay inside.

Recommended tracks: Shaker, Gallon Man, Slow Moth, TORTOISE
Recommended for fans of: Red Fang, Thrice, the twangy parts of Mastodon, Sleep? Sleep too, I guess.
Final verdict: 9.5/10

Xenobiotic – Mordrake (Australia)
Style: Deathcore (harsh vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Review by: Chris

Fallujah is one of my favorite bands. That seems like a really strange sentence to start off a review for a totally different band, but it feels apt because Mordrake by Xenobiotic is essentially what I had hoped Undying Light was going to be but was not. Thankfully though, Xenobiotic filled that void in me with this fantastic record. 

Mordrake is a massive album. It’s a lot to get through and it’s a crushing album, but it’s worth every moment. For most of the 46 minute length it will unyieldingly bash you over the head with riffs and gutturals until you are little more than dust, but the experience is definitely enjoyable. They have made sure to beat the one failing most albums in the tech-death/deathcore genre have, which is failing to captivate the listener after a certain point due to ear fatigue. Xenobiotic manages to sprinkle enough lighter airy sections (a la Fallujah’s piano/electronic moments) to give breathers at the exact moments you need to calm down from the shrieks and riffs. 

“Insomnia” is a great intro track, giving a minute or so of brooding bass and dissonant chords before you’ve been thrown into the pit. From there the band begins to sprinkle in more riffs and grooves to guide you along the maniacal journey. This album also features something I love to see in these tech-death-y/deathcore records, which are focused songs such as “Inverted” that know what they are and where they want to go. They get you in and out of that cycle in a brief 3 minutes.

The most standout track to me was “Saphris”. It has a beautiful intro leading into the brutality, followed by a wonderful laid back synth and piano section with guest cleans by Sam Dishington (Departé)that really really hit the Fallujah-itch for me, before tying it all up in a nice bow with a very ambient heavy outro. Similarly, the two song suite of Mordrake I: Reverie and Mordrake II: Acquiesce really closed the album out well, and the final essence of the dissonant guitars basically dying as a wall of sound distortion was a fitting way to end this album.

This album didn’t necessarily reinvent anything, but it did what an album has to do to be successful in this genre: bash you over the head with power and polish. Mordrake has both of these in spades. With some other voices in the genre seeming to fade a bit, I’m excited to see Xenobiotic rise up and take a place at the helm.

Recommended tracks: Saphris, Grieving the Loss of Self, Mordrake I: Reverie and Mordrake II: Acquiesce
Recommended for fans of: Fallujah, Whitechapel, Shadow of Intent
Final verdict: 8/10

Soul Flesh – Road to Nara: A Cow Calves at Spring’s Last Day (Germany)
Style: Black (harsh vocals plus a bit of spoken word)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Metal-Archives page
Review by: Josh

What comes to mind when you think about black metal? Piercing high screams? Satanic themes, maybe? Soul Flesh don’t have that, but they do have groove and clean sections aplenty.

This is a bizarre album to listen to at times. One second the band’s playing tremolo riffs over a kick drum being hit a dozen times per second, then out of nowhere comes the stankiest bassline you’ve ever heard, then back to tremolo riffs. Other times, the drummer plays a straight dance groove over a heavy riff and it somehow works. Danceable black metal. Huh. 

The band also throws in these melodic clean sections that act as a contrast to the heavier parts, and this works excellently, as the heavy parts tend to be lackluster on their own. However, these sections are at times marred by the poor recording quality that the distortion tends to mask. Perhaps poor isn’t the right word, but it sounds as if the guitar was tracked straight into a DAW instead of being recorded from an amp. The tone just isn’t all there.

The heavy sections, as I’ve said, tend to be not the best. They’re definitely not bad, but at the same time they’re nothing to write home about either. There are only a few memorable riffs over the course of the album, which does not bode well when many of the songs go beyond the seven minute mark. Instead, we get a whole load of tremolo picked power chords. This isn’t bad, per se, but when it’s the meat of the album, that doesn’t result in the best listening experience. The more progressive parts compensate for this in a way, but not completely.

If this album sounds interesting to you, give it a whirl. Above that, though, I’d mark this band as one to watch. If they bring in more of those groovy parts, their next album has potential to be something incredible.

Recommended tracks: Black Sand, True Hydrocephalics
Recommended for fans of: Sigh (??)
Final verdict: 6.5/10