Hello there, and welcome to another Prog Subway album of the month post. As you might be able to glean, we haven’t quite figured out how we want to present these yet. The layout changed slightly from the last post, having re-added the related links section. We’ve been trying to find a balance between presenting supplementary info on our picks and keeping the post clean. Let us know in the comments if you like the new layout or if you have some suggestions for how we can improve upon it.
In other news, we have added a feed of our most recent “Reports from the Underground” posts in the sidebar, allowing for easy navigation to our highlight posts. We could only pin the Album of the Month/Year posts for so long, and so this seemed like a good compromise. Again, let us know if it looks any good.
But blog news aside, let’s talk February! The year 2024 has been rapidly ramping up in terms of good albums coming out. We have double the amount of albums on this list as on our January one, at least half of which are already album of the year contenders. We’re all really excited to share this list with you, and I hope you’ll be able to find as much joy in these albums as we did.
Kyros – Mannequin
Recommended for fans of: Frost*, Yes, Haken, Rush, pop Devin Townsend, Gunship, Voyager, Dirt Poor Robins
Picked by: Christopher
February was a damn solid month for releases, but my pick has to go to Kyros. Fusing Frost*-esque progressive rock with erratic synth-pop, Mannequin is maximalist, twee, funky, saccharine, and hyperactive, a sonic onslaught of Technicolour synths and melodic riffing, spanning the spectrum from Affinity-era Haken complexity (“Have Hope”, “Technology Killed the Kids IV”) to Gunship-esque synthwave (“Esoterica”, “Liminal Space”) to Frost*y synth prog bangers (“Illusions Inside”, “Showtime“). Mannequin is a prog album that you could stick on in a club, although the wonky time signatures would trip everyone up, and yet your most elitist prog fan friend will be unable to deny the compositional acumen of the album. Our cosy little genre isn’t often so buoyant and lively, and that makes Kyros’ contribution all the more refreshing.
You may also like: Temic, Maraton, 6:33, Pleasures
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Hannes Grossmann – Echoes of Eternity
Recommended for fans of: Necrophagist, Obscura
Picked by: Andy
Necrophagist 3. ‘Nuff said. But for real, Hannes’ career retrospective in this EP demonstrates why he’s the king of tech death drumming, from the classic sound of Necro to the modern titans Obscura to the insanely technical wizardry of Blotted Science. There is something in this EP for every era of tech death fan, and I can’t recommend it enough for anyone leaning toward the heavier side of prog.
You may also like: Blotted Science, Spastic Ink, Vomit the Hate, Alkaloid, Moral Collapse
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Triton Project – Messenger’s Quest
Recommended for fans of: Dream Theater, Seventh Wonder, Darkwater, Circus Maximus
Picked by: Doug
It’s rare and thrilling when a brand new band produces something as immediately compelling for their debut as Messenger’s Quest. Defined by elegant, masterful songwriting and talented performances from all band members, the album settles comfortably in among the established ranks of slightly power-metal-tinged traditional prog bands like Seventh Wonder, showing equal compositional potential and roughly as much performance talent. Triton Project have built an epic experience (both in length and in mood), one which revels in its own complexity and manages to keep exciting the listener throughout, but which also stays just grounded enough with the scope of its story and its quiet reset moments to not become overwhelming. You won’t want to miss this one; with all the quality on display, I have a hard time imagining it not being one of the top albums of the year.
You may also like: Dimhav, Spheric Universe Experience, Daydream XI, Odd Logic
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Eternal Storm – A Giant Bound to Fall
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Insomnium, Dark Tranquility, Persefone, Be’lakor, Shylmagoghnar
Picked by: Zach
You guys know I like Opeth, so Opethian melodeath was bound to be a winner for me. Eternal Storm upped the prog on this album, and in my humble opinion, it’s all for the better. This album is sweeping, absolutely massive in the best way. Despite the massive runtime, every song feels interesting as it sprawls through multiple sections, twisting every riff so creatively. Eternal Storm have crafted something incredible with this album, and I hope you’re all enjoying it as much as I am.
You may also like: Fires in the Distance, Disillusion, Grey Skies Fallen
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
They Came From Visions – The Twilight Robes
Recommended for fans of: (early) Ulver, Uada, (later) Agalloch, Spectral Wound
Picked by: Dave
Much to the chagrin of my less trve kvlt-inclined cowriters, my pick this month is the folk horror meloblack album The Twilight Robes from They Came From Visions. The Twilight Robes functions as an introduction to a world slowly taken over by anguish and desperation, painted through vignettes that straddle the line between atmoblack and meloblack. Here, you’ll find tales of human sacrifice in a Wicker Man-style effigy, a person tempted to become a werewolf, and people fossilizing among the tattered ruins of their home. The most remarkable facet of this album is its ability to integrate narrative structure into the performances, creating a remarkably cohesive album that stuns and terrifies with its prosody. On top of that, some of these riffs are catchy, which is not a term I typically use to describe black metal. Give one listen to “Burning Eyes, Blackened Claws”, though, and the howling riff will be stuck in your head for the rest of the day. All of these facets combined make for a strong early-year contender for black metal album of the year.
You may also like: Stormkeep, Valdrin, Ars Moriendi, Winterhorde
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Throne of Thorns – Converging Parallel Worlds
Recommended for fans of: just (progressive) power metal in general
Picked by: Sam
The review isn’t out yet, but I can already safely put this album on our list. Seldom do you hear a debut album of musicians with no noteworthy prior pedigree that is this good. Bombastic orchestration, gravely alien vocals with a great sense of melody, stunning guitar solos, rich keyboard playing and sound design, technical riffage, adventurous compositions, this band has got it all, and the songwriting is extraordinary too. Any power metal fan reading this should put Converging Parallel Worlds on immediately. I may be experiencing new toy syndrome, but honestly, I can’t recall the last time I was this instantly enthusiastic about a prog power band we reviewed. An early album of the year contender, for sure.
You may also like: Noveria, DGM, Lör, Aeon Zen
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify
Our non-underground picks
Borknagar – Fall (prog black/folk metal): Norwegian legends Borknagar return with a gorgeous collection of liltingly folky progressive black tales. ICS Vortex belts his way through an album perfectly balanced between enormous choruses, contemplative folk arrangements and intensely heavy passages. [pick by: Christopher]
John Surman – Words Unspoken (ECM style jazz): Redolent of Jan Garbarek and his legendary late 70s albums, John Surman’s new album is pristine and gorgeous, a must-hear for the jazz fans among us. [pick by: Andy]
Dirt Poor Robins – Firebird (prog rock, synth pop): in the shadows of Kyros’s amazing new album Mannequin there was another band mixing prog with synth pop, but now with a more contemplative approach and killer guitar solos. [pick by: Sam]
Ihsahn – Ihsahn (symphonic progressive black metal): For three decades now, Ihsahn has been the vanguard of black metal, the man behind symphonics and crucial for the development of progressive black metal. Ihsahn builds on that career—from his teenage years to his latest brooding pop covers—to craft a magnum opus befitting eponomy. [pick by: Andy, Christopher, Zach, Sabrina… most of us are loving this one.]
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