Another year, another batch of albums in the books. 2024 brought an avalanche of new releases to sort through, but buried at its heart was a trove of great performances worthy of celebrating, from a smattering of traditional prog to a surprising wealth of post-metal, featuring newbies and veterans and everyone in between. So which releases met my lofty, demanding standards, and which exceeded them? Read on to find out!
Honorable mentions
DVNE – Voidkind: DVNE have dvne it again. Voidkind goes full throttle from start to finish, a worthy successor to the stratospheric bar set by Asheran with unparalleled crushing intensity and a spellbinding, arcane atmosphere.
Pijn – From Low Beams Of Hope: Although not quite my overall favorite, this unexpected triumph ended up having the greatest emotional impact on me of any album this year. Between the melancholy-but-hopeful spoken-word lyrics of “Our Endless Hours” (quoted in the excerpt) and the poignant contrast of moody post-doom ambiance with strings and occasional wind instruments, I keep finding more and more reasons to come back to this one.
Kingcrow – Hopium: Kingcrow teased us all year by dipping in and out of the range of listener counts that are eligible for us to review, but joke’s on them: all they get from me is this little honorable mention. Hopium took a little while to grow on me, but as a final impression, it’s a strong outing for Kingcrow, who sound more comfortable and confident in their style than ever.
10. Alkera – Zamanın Ötesine
Style: progressive metal (mixed vocals, majority clean; lyrics in Turkish)
Recommended for fans of: Dream Theater, Haken, Symphony X, Seventh Wonder
Alkera remind us that great music, and even the emotion behind the words being sung, transcends language. Despite not speaking a word of Turkish myself, Zamanın Ötesine impressed me from minute one with the natural, powerful emotion behind every aspect of the band’s performance. With a little help from Google Translate, I was able to uncover a clearer picture of the album’s lyrical themes, and although no translation will ever perfectly capture the writer’s original intent, it was enough for me to feel moved at the messages of persistence in the face of overwhelming pain being communicated across language and culture. The ensemble’s instrumental work piles on the quality as well, with virtuosic solos and even the fully instrumental “Peripeteya” being worthy of their titanic influences from the likes of Dream Theater and Haken.
Recommended tracks: Dilhun, Peripeteya, Zamanın Ötesine
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | original review
9. Ikaiora – Beneath a Drifting Haze
Style: post-metal, doom metal (instrumental)
Recommended for fans of: Cult of Luna, Pijn, If These Trees Could Talk, Latitudes
2024 was a fantastic year for post-metal—and it’s about time, too. Even little-known solo artist releases like this one carry the seeds of genre greats like Cult of Luna, and share that same capacity to carry the listener beyond the veil of an ethereal fantasy world. Ikaiora masterfully controls silence and empty space to create the sorts of beautifully vacant soundscapes that leave you sitting in your chair afterwards, listening to the silence of your headphones while you slowly finish processing what you just heard.
Recommended tracks: all of them, but especially “casting faint shadows”
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
8. Giant Sleeper – Hyperliminal
Style: progressive metal, djent, jazz fusion (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: The Contortionist, Animals as Leaders, Scale the Summit, Arch Echo
Could it be? Finally, a djent band accomplishing something unique and different? Giant Sleeper bear few of the hallmarks of traditional, overabundant djent music, replacing most of the heavy chugs with lively bass lines and covering it all with high, energetic guitar melodies that bring unique creativity to each track. Even the vocals take on a softer, almost crooning tone instead of the typical hardcore edge. That said, with the exception of the best and final track “Part of Me,” generally the strongest parts of Hyperliminal are those without vocals, but that instrumental strength is still enough to carry an overall memorable outing and some truly standout individual tracks.
Recommended tracks: Wondrous Physick, Ultracrepidarian, The Grudge Process II, Part of Me
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | original review
7. Lost In Lavender Town – On Tonight’s Show
Style: progressive metal, djent (instrumental)
Recommended for fans of: Arch Echo, Angel Vivaldi, Liquid Tension Experiment, RichaadEB, Video game music
Heavy metal and video games go way back, whether through soundtracks to games like Doom employing the genre’s credentials to boost their intensity, or cover artists like RichaadEB producing their own metal covers of tracks from beloved games. Although not itself a cover album, On Tonight’s Show evokes the feeling of video game covers, and game soundtracks themselves, in an instrumental metal format. Chock full of Final Fantasy references (despite the band name), this action-packed EP pays back the progressive influences that have fed into the series soundtracks for decades with a new take on what a slightly jazzy prog metal video game soundtrack might sound like.
Recommended tracks: Blitz Ace, Plate, Braver, Clancy
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | original review
6. Turbulence – Binary Dream
Style: progressive metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Dream Theater, Haken, Circus Maximus
Concept albums are intimately intertwined with the legacy of traditional progressive metal and carry an equally great amount of baggage; sometimes it feels as though hardly anyone actually enjoys them. Binary Dream never quite manages to sneak out from under this weighty bulk and certainly runs afoul of the timeless pitfall of having a vague and terminally philosophical concept built on profound-sounding lyrics that fly a bit above the audience’s heads. Still, both the instrumental and vocal performances stand at the top of their respective weight classes, offering emotional delivery and crafting an abstract, futuristic setting impressive enough to make even attentive listeners overlook that the written lyrics can’t quite keep up the same level of expression and quality.
Recommended tracks: Theta, Manifestations, Binary Dream, Hybrid
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | original review
5. Anciients – Beyond the Reach of the Sun
Style: sludge metal, progressive metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Mastodon, The Ocean, DVNE, Psychonaut
It’s a little bit difficult to pick out what to celebrate from Beyond the Reach of the Sun. In part that’s because it offers little that stands out from past Anciients albums, but also because the quality of their musicianship is incredibly consistent, with no real low points to complain about, but by the same token, their continuous excellence leaves few unique moments to specifically highlight. Aside from the absolutely incredible album artwork (stay tuned for more on that), Beyond the Reach of the Sun is mostly a sequence of one very good track after another, none of them individually vying for a spot at the top of the year’s charts, but in aggregate, it would be foolish not to recognize the sum of quality displayed in this album.
Recommended tracks: Forbidden Sanctuary, Cloak Of The Vast And Black, Celestial Tyrant, The Torch
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | original review
4. Orso – Caffè?
Style: post-metal, sludge metal, progressive metal (instrumental)
Recommended for fans of: Cult of Luna, The Ocean, If These Trees Could Talk, Pijn
This rich, sludgy post-metal outing embodies the sensation of warm, rich coffee in its perfectly poised rhythms and complex, elevated melodies. Although the album’s highly caffeinated concept might at first seem like just a silly gimmick, the end result exudes competence and a commitment to great music. On top of their typical post-metal heaviness, Orso offer elevated moments of catharsis (especially in the epic closing track “Affogato”), invoking more emotion than one might expect from the sometimes aloof and detached genre while even further intensifying the resolutions of their immense builds. Fans of Cult of Luna’s brand of crushingly intense post-metal instrumentals should be sure to check out Orso’s rendition.
Recommended tracks: Ristretto, Espresso, Affogato
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | original review
3. delving – All Paths Diverge
Style: progressive rock, stoner rock, psychedelic rock, krautrock (instrumental)
Recommended for fans of: Elder, Weedpecker, Elephant Tree
Solo projects of artists from well-known bands tend to be noteworthy for how they depart from the artistic direction of the “primary” project, and delving’s first album Hirschbrunnen was no exception. All Paths Diverge ironically diverges from that trend by instead converging back towards the signature stoner/doom style of DiSalvo’s main band Elder, with just enough of his own unique touches to keep it feeling distinct. With that regression, though, All Paths Diverge sounds all the more full-bodied and intense, enriched by bright psychedelic keyboards but still delivering a hearty depth of fuzz throughout.
Recommended tracks: Omnipresence, Chain of Mind, New Meridian, The Ascetic
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | original review
2. Sunburst – Manifesto
Style: progressive metal, power metal, symphonic metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Dream Theater, Symphony X, Kamelot
Sunburst fit right into a particular mold of plucky underground prog-power groups, such as Course of Fate or Black Fate (with whom Sunburst even shares two members) with their chunky, Michael Romeo-inspired guitars and high-reaching vibrato-ed vocals. Sunburst, though, carry a little extra kick of symphonic metal, bolstered by a touch of orchestral arrangements on the opening and closing tracks. Although outside of those embellishments, Manifesto settles into a bit of a uniform, comfortable groove, that commonality also adds consistency, and Sunburst’s consistent, self-evident excellence defines this album. Whatever they may lack in uniqueness or complexity, they make up for by playing every moment to its fullest potential and maximizing the impression that their performance leaves on listeners’ ears.
Recommended tracks: The Flood, Perpetual Descent, Inimicus Intus, Nocturne
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | original review
1. Triton Project – Messenger’s Quest
Style: progressive metal, power metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Dream Theater, Seventh Wonder, Circus Maximus
Sometimes what it takes to be the best isn’t reinventing the proverbial wheel but instead just doing the same old thing really well. Triton Project don’t offer anything groundbreaking to the progressive metal scene, but Messenger’s Quest hits all the right notes for an epic traditional prog album with just a touch of power metal. With a slight emphasis on keyboards (likely due to the project’s keyboard player also being the founder and primary composer) defining Triton Project’s signature aesthetic, the overall experience will be familiar to any fan of traditional progressive metal, calling to mind Seventh Wonder or Circus Maximus for their slightly darker, more mysterious and sinister tone. The difference is, Messenger’s Quest is a staggering debut, handling the monumental challenge of epic prog songwriting with ease as multiple songs fly right past the ten-minute mark, each leaving a steady succession of great moments in its wake and never overstaying its welcome.
Recommended tracks: The Key if you want something short, or Lighthouse of the World if you don’t mind something longer, but you owe it to yourself to hear it all
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | original review
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