Hello, and welcome back to part two of our countdown of the best underground albums of the 2010s! If you missed it, you can catch numbers 50 to 26 here. While you’re catching up the rest of us will wait. … so, how’s everyone doing? … ok, that guy’s taking ages, let’s carry on. Having glimpsed the start of the list, I’m sure there are plenty of people with predictions of what’ll make the Top 25. Some of you will be right, some of you will be wrong. If an album didn’t make this countdown, you can bet that at least one of us here is mad about it, there are just too many great albums to cram into fifty places. But such is the nature of democracy and as Terry Pratchett once said, the intelligence of a crowd is the square root of the number of people in it, which is pretty damning for the twelve of us who put this list together. So come peruse the list and then shout at us for all of our “mistakes”! But you know who didn’t make any mistakes? The glorious bands that make up the top 25 places of The Progressive Subway’s Top 50 Underground Prog Albums of the 2010s!
25. Psychonaut – Unfold the God Man (2018)
Genres: Post-metal, progressive metal, sludge metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: The Ocean, Dvne, Mastodon, Isis
The debut from a band that is now the pride of the Belgium post-metal scene, Unfold the God Man was, and remains, a game-changer for progressive post/sludge metal and atmospheric prog metal as a whole. Psychonaut provide a take on the genre that manages to simultaneously meet the primal energy of early Mastodon and the brainy sophistication of contemporary The Ocean—all while presenting us with vastly new avenues of proggy riffage. Each successive track is its own journey of compositional discovery; showcasing inventive riff writing, gradual builds and subversive explosions of distortion, unconventional chord progressions, and distinctive Phrygian scales used in the lead guitar work. These are some aspects that make Psychonaut one of a kind; curating a unique sound with the same basic equipment that any other metal band has at their disposal without playing into gimmicks. The way they make metal sound so different with such familiar tools makes the music almost seem primordial. That’s the factor that truly sets Psychonaut apart from the rest. There’s no wrong choice for favorite track on this legendary debut.
Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Sabrina
24. Dimhav – The Boreal Flame (2019)
Genres: Progressive metal, power metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Symphony X, Dragonland, Seventh Wonder
How many power metal albums start with a ten-minute lyricless epic? Well, add one to the counter for The Boreal Flame. Keen-eared readers may recognize the vocals of Daniel Heiman (of Lost Horizon, Sacred Outcry, Harmony, and many others) once he finally shows up for track two, rounding out this trio with the instrumentalist Lindroth brothers. Although Dimhav stand firmly in the realm of power metal, their music carries a sharp edge occasionally bordering on death metal aesthetics, bolstered by the often frenetic rhythms of the drums and guitars. The Boreal Flame’s epic fantasy style takes root in their instrumentation, sprouting from the smattering of acoustic, sometimes folksy elements included for extra spice, like the guitar features at the beginning of “Realms of a Vagrant King” and “Chthonic Elegy.” Symphonic keyboard elements including strings and brass further evoke the medieval majesty of a faraway magical setting. Dimhav’s intricate, creative composition unfolds like the chapters of a novel, forming a plot of rising and falling actions through the steady, deliberate development of each track. Whether it’s the soaring music, the fanciful narrative, or the beautiful album art that caught your attention, The Boreal Flame harbors a special warmth for those brave enough to dive in.
Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Doug
23. Bent Knee – Shiny Eyed Babies (2014)
Genres: Progressive rock, art rock, avant-garde (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: The Dear Hunter, Radiohead, Joanna Newsom, King Crimson, Björk
We can think of prog rock as both a genre, a staid conformity to principles laid down by foundational bands, and as a sensibility, a commitment to the pushing of boundaries and continual compositional progression; Bent Knee are one of the groups that embody the latter definition. Shiny Eyed Babies, their sophomore album, consummately blended such a wealth of influences as to be utterly unique: one hears elements of everything from Radiohead, King Crimson, and Sleepytime Gorilla Museum to Joanna Newsom, Björk, and Jefferson Airplane. Courtney Swain’s versatile, haunting, and powerful vocals are the band’s defining feature, but Ben Levin and Jess Kion’s angular riffs, Gavin Wallace-Ailsworth’s inimitably idiosyncratic drumming, and Chris Baum’s gorgeous violin work, all held together by Vince Welch’s ambitious sound design, are equally vital components. From piano-led art-pop to dissonant avant-jazz to vicious rock madness, Shiny Eyed Babies remains Bent Knee’s most ambitious, defiant, and unique work—the cult classic’s cult classic.
Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Christopher
22. Wilderun – Olden Tales & Deathly Trails (2012)
Genres: Folk metal, death metal, progressive metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Amorphis, Enslaved, Opeth
Wilderun’s 2012 debut offering Olden Tales & Deathly Trails was the strongest of any folk metal band since the pioneering efforts of Skyclad’s The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth and Cruachan’s Tuathna Na Gael in the ‘90s. And frankly, even outside of the folk metal genre, no American metal band has come close since, except maybe ANARCHŸ. Finally, there was a band that was doing something original, something fresh and exciting, and not just rehashing the same-old, tired, “viking” clichés every idiot living north of Zürich and wearing eyeliner, leather, and fake fur onstage had already beaten to death since ‘95. Utilising American folk music traditions and songs and combining them with progressive and death metal, Wilderun renewed my interest in the genre with fierce growls, crooning baritone vocals, and such skilful film-score-level orchestration it would make Hans Zimmer blush. Inarguably, Olden Tales remains a standout moment in folk metal.
Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Francesco
21. Altesia – Paragon Circus (2019)
Genres: Progressive metal, progressive rock (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Haken, Riverside, Opeth, Nospun
Altesia is a perfect band for fans of the 2000s traditional prog metal era when bands like Riverside and Dream Theater were still in their heyday. Whereas bands of that era either mostly dropped off the face of the Earth, left to do other genres, or just dipped in quality, Altesia have been hard at work with two stellar albums and a third on the way. On debut Paragon Circus, Altesia demonstrate brilliant, prodigious songwriting with a strong intuitive understanding of the effective progression of longer tracks as well as short, catchier tunes. Whether it’s the Opeth-style mesmerizing croons that transition into angular growls on “Hex Reverse,” the otherworldly arpeggiated synth passages that build during the climax of “Amidst the Smoke,” or the satisfying and emotional guitar solos on “Cassandra’s Prophecy,” this album has enough meat to compete with the replayability of the prog classics.
Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Sabrina
20. Slice the Cake – Odyssey to the West (2016)
Genres: Progressive deathcore (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Black Crown Initiate, Rivers of Nihil, Fallujah, Vildhjarta
In terms of scope, Odyssey to the West truly is an album like no other. Combining the themes of Christianity, Joseph Campbell’s monomyth, and a healthy heaping of meta-reflection, the incessant blend of proggy deathcore and Shakespearean spoken word makes this album a true cult classic. Whether you’re banging your head as the breakdowns abound or scratching your skull at the hidden meanings beneath the album’s layers of symbolism, this is an album that always has something more to give. While tracks like “Westward Bound” and “Unending Waltz” offer quick hits of heady deathcore, the only way to experience this from the top, following the album’s pilgrim through his entire epic journey. From the bottom of the ocean to the peak of the holy mountain, Odyssey to the West will stick with you.
Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Cooper
19. Arcane – Known/Learned (2015)
Genres: Progressive metal, progressive rock (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Caligula’s Horse, Dream Theater, Haken
Before becoming best known as the lead singer of acclaimed Australian prog group Caligula’s Horse, Jim Grey helmed a group by the name of Arcane. While he would eventually leave it behind to focus on his bigger band full-time, they managed to hold on long enough to bestow upon us the titanic, miraculous swansong that is Known/Learned. The first disc alone is a testament to the sheer scale of compositional ambition on display, from the exquisitely paced multi-minute rising action of “Unturning” to the evolving keyboard motifs on “Instinct” to, well, pretty much everything about the 23-minute “Learned”, which is a serious contender for best prog epic of the decade. So many tracks here feature a gradually building crescendo at their heart, executed with an absolutely impeccable command over dynamics. The second disc, meanwhile, is a perfect comedown from its bombastic counterpart, focusing on soft, warm bits of heart-meltingly lovely balladry that show off the sheer beauty of Grey’s calmer register better than anything before or since. Somehow cracking two hours without a single track feeling like filler, there are few prog albums that feel as utterly complete as this one.
Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Ian
18. Warforged – I: Voice (2019)
Genres: Dissonant death metal, progressive metal, black metal (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Portal, Gorguts
I: Voice is a nightmarish descent into sonic chaos, an avant-garde death metal labyrinth that remains unparalleled to this day. Its fusion of dissonant riffage and Adrian Perez’s utterly acidic vox embodies the terror of the album’s story: a cryptic, self-referential odyssey that weaves between the perspective of a lost traveler and an enigmatic, godlike observer. As jagged transitions, jazz-infused solos, and eerie acoustic interludes reinforce the album’s themes of psychological torment, motifs return only to be missing a limb and with their heads on backwards. With I: Voice, Warforged have created a nightmare made substance, a serrated spiral of sound that pulls you in and never lets go.
Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Cooper
17. Anciients – Voice of the Void (2016)
Genres: Progressive death metal, sludge metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Mastodon, Enslaved
“Ibex Eye”. I can basically end the writeup right here, because to this day, it’s one of my all time favorite songs. It’s the best Opeth song that Opeth never wrote and contains one of the most brutal lyrical outros I’ve ever heard. However, this writeup isn’t about this one song, it’s about a whole album full of brutal, THC-soaked riffs, fist-bumping choruses and an atmosphere that feels like walking on the harsh surface of Arrakis. Intro “Following the Voice” wastes no time getting down to its brutal riffage and infectious chorus, “Worshipper” showcases the band’s early Baroness-esque sludge side, and “Pentacle” is the perfect shorter offering that rips through its six minute runtime. If you’re a fan of getting sludgy and proggy with your death, then Voice of the Void is not to be missed!
Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Zach
16. Hands of Despair – Well of the Disquieted (2018)
Genres: Progressive death metal, progressive black metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Ne Obliviscaris, Enslaved, Edge of Sanity
This is it. To this day, Well of the Disquieted by Hands of Despair is still the only 10/10 I have ever given on the blog. It’s bleak, heavy, demonic, visceral, but also melodic, emotional, and deeply cathartic. Hands of Despair are masters of the harsh-soft writing that Opeth popularized and use that to deftly craft huge, labyrinthine compositions with minimal repetition that somehow still make perfect sense through their acumen for building and releasing tension. A multitude of my all-time favorite moments and especially climaxes are on this album, and though the record may not be the most immediately accessible thing out there due to its density and length, Well of the Disquieted is absolutely worth sinking your teeth into.
Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Sam
15. Karma Rassa – Vesna…Snova Vesna (2018)
Genres: Progressive metal, progressive rock (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Anathema, Riverside, Pain of Salvation, Radiohead, Alcest
Have you ever sampled something and been instantly transported to another dimension? Well, that’s what happened to me when I found this album on Metal-Archives while browsing for the blog back in 2018. Vesna… Snova Vesna is a gorgeous, ethereal work detailing the four seasons with poetic Russian lyrics, starting in spring (“Vesna”) and ending in spring again (“Snova Vesna”). Through floaty synths, textural and melodic guitarwork, a very forward, warm bass presence, and beautiful, lush singing, Karma Rassa craft an otherworldly atmosphere up there with the best of Alcest while simultaneously engraving their lengthy compositions with dynamic twists and turns befitting of the prog label. Whether it’s a simple lead guitar melody, a sudden saxophone solo, a dramatic percussion-driven section, or benign textural strumming with synths, every creative decision on this album just works. I still have yet to encounter another album that manages to capture such levels of ethereal beauty and melancholy in its atmosphere while also keeping this level of complexity. As far as I’m concerned, Vesna… Snova Vesna is a monumental achievement and a must-listen for any prog fan.
Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Sam
14. Frost* – Falling Satellites (2016)
Genres: Neo-progressive rock, progressive rock, hard rock (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Arena, Marillion, Dream Theater, Genesis, Yes, old Haken, Steven Wilson, Subsignal
Frost’s debut Milliontown has become something of a legend in progressive rock circles; Falling Satellites doesn’t receive quite as much kudos, but for me it’s their masterpiece. The group’s only album of the 2010s, Falling Satellites is a thematically cohesive smørgasbord of beautifully composed, keyboard-led, energetic progressive rock fuelled by creative soloing, pop hooks, driving riffs, and an infusion of electronica that provides some real highlight moments (“Towerblock”, “Closer to the Sun”, “Hypoventilate”). Jem Godfrey and John Mitchell are our dynamic singers and soloists, while Nathan King and Craig Blundell form the tightest rhythm section in modern prog rock. The “Sunlight” suite comprising tracks six through eleven may well be Frost’s greatest work to date, and every song has at least one moment that’ll blow you away, if not a dozen. Meditating on the radical contingency of existence, Falling Satellites is awash with bittersweet optimism, an irrepressible sense of gratitude, and chock full of callbacks and reprises. With this and four other records, Frost have proven they’re not just another prog rock group, but probably the most innovative and forward-thinking band of the genre’s last twenty years—I lost a year in this album or maybe more.
Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Christopher
13. Ostura – The Room (2018)
Genres: Progressive metal, power metal, symphonic metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Symphony X, Ayreon, Seventh Wonder
Symphonic prog metal comes in many flavors. One of the most unique is that of Ayreon, the guest-star-studded metal opera outfit responsible for a litany of over-the-top concept albums, and rarely does any other group come close to replicating their operatic oeuvre. For Ostura, though, with their sophomore album featuring three separate vocalists and a guest guitarist credit for the man Arjen Anthony Lucassen himself, that company is not so out of reach. The Room (unlike the film of the same name) truly excels in all aspects of composition and performance, replete with incredible vocal performances and some of the most emotionally moving sections I’ve ever heard from a metal album—especially one as little known as this. While the music itself is operatic and elevated, The Room lays out a surprisingly personal and relatable narrative, offering a metaphorical look inside the turmoil of a young girl’s mind (voiced by Youmna Jreissati) as she grapples with the divided personifications of her own imagination (Elia Monsef and Michael Mills) struggling for supremacy in her internal universe.
Links: Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Doug
12. Slugdge – Esoteric Malacology (2018)
Genres: Progressive death metal, technical death metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, The Black Dahlia Murder, Hath, Rivers of Nihil
We’ve seen a lot of prog death get on this list, and that’s just because it’s objectively the best subgenre. However, despite the bevy of other prog death picks, none of them really sound like Slugdge. There’s something about the squirmy, slimy riffs blessed by Mollusca himself that sit atop this opus of an album. Every single guitar part slithers through section after slime-ridden section, and makes up in spades for any artificiality in the intelligently programmed drums. The clean vocals and soaring choruses on “Slave Goo World” and “The Spectral Burrows” perfectly contrast with the heavier “Salt Thrower” and outstanding closer “Limo Vincit Omnia”. Esoteric Malacology is one of those albums that I walked away from with a new favorite moment and song each listen, and all eight tracks still continue to fight each other for which is best on every fresh listen.
Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Zach
11. Seventh Wonder – The Great Escape (2010)
Genres: Progressive metal, power metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Symphony X, Dream Theater, Kamelot, Circus Maximus
Even in a genre renowned for producing songs of above-average length, few songwriters dare approach the hallowed thirty-minute mark without splitting their composition into bite-sized pieces on the track listing. In 2010, Seventh Wonder sailed far beyond their hesitant progressive compatriots with a title track clocking in at a massive 30:22. Where one might expect such an epic piece’s pacing to drag by the end of the half-hour, “The Great Escape” flows smoothly as a sequence of individual scenes, each new story moment accompanied by equally fresh melodies. The complex structure also comes packed with compositional flexes and flourishes, including extended instrumental sections and an abundance of clever licks and beautiful themes that you would struggle to find on most entire albums, let alone individual tracks. Despite the constant changes, there’s still a clear sense of building towards some final destination, and the finale sounds all the more triumphant as a brand new theme rather than one more reprise of a tired chorus. Of course, while the behemoth closer may be the most obvious draw for The Great Escape, the rest of the outing offers no shortage of highlights. From the gorgeous piano- and synth-string-laden “King of Whitewater” to hefty breakdowns in “The Angelmaker,” Seventh Wonder perform with a heady mix of progressive precision and power metal bombast. Even moments of cheesy candor like the chorus of “Alley Cat” skate by without reproach, nestled unobtrusively among all the epic moments made real by Tommy Karevik’s marvellous voice. From a band that still hasn’t achieved massive renown, The Great Escape is an unexpected masterclass in all things prog.
Links: Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Doug
10. Aquilus – Griseus (2011)
Genres: Symphonic black metal, atmospheric black metal, classical, folk (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Chopin, Agalloch, Debussy
What more can I say about this album that I haven’t already in one of my Lost in Times? Could it be that no other artist has successfully attempted and nailed something this ambitious in the fusion of classical music, film score and black metal? Or perhaps that for weeks on end, “Loss” continuously echoed in my brain until I was practically sick of it. Griseus is a monumental achievement in songwriting. Each song is a journey in and of itself, one that yearns for eighty minutes of your attention, and one that well deserves it. If you aren’t sold by the time ‘Nihil’ turns from black metal to acoustic folk to something from a Danny Elfman score, then this album simply isn’t for you. Even more disturbing, this was all done by one incredibly talented man. Horace Rosenqvist understands music composition and classical elements like no one else in the field, and Griseus will tell you everything you need to know about his skills.
Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Zach
9. Vanden Plas – The Seraphic Clockwork (2010)
Genres: Traditional progressive metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Dream Theater when they were still good and any band remotely like it
What do you do after releasing a career-defining concept album? Clearly, you write another one that’s even grander in scope, and most importantly, just as good! The Seraphic Clockwork leans even further into the grandiose, theatrical presentation cemented on Christ 0 with its orchestration, dramatic vocal lines, and abundance of expansive compositions. Tracks like “The Final Murder” and “On My Way to Jerusalem” push Vanden Plas’s boundaries into epic territories eclipsing even previous hallmark “January Sun” in grandiosity, while “Frequency” and “Holes in the Sky” are among the punchiest the band has written to date; “Rush of Silence” manages to do both. Of course, all the classic Vanden Plas hallmarks are still there: rocking riffs, thoughtful vocal melodies that are both catchy and carry vast emotional depth, tasteful melodic guitar and keyboard solos, and a wondrous, magical atmosphere to tie it all together. The Seraphic Clockwork is a masterclass in ambitious yet grounded songwriting, cementing Vanden Plas’s place in the underground prog metal canon.
Links: Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Sam
8. Virvum – Illuminance (2016)
Genres: Technical death metal, progressive death metal (harsh vocals, mostly harsh)
Recommended for fans of: Obscura, Fallujah, Vale of Pnath
Pewww [the craziest forty-minute collection of riffs and solos you’ll hear in your life]. In Virvum’s sole studio album, this Swiss quintet perfected technical death metal. Guitarists Nic Gruhn and Toby Koelman unleash mind-bending, interweaving guitar lines and stupidly sexy solos for forty minutes straight. Handling the low end on bass, Arran McSporran plods along almost matching the axemen in pace and notes, an impressive feat considering Gruhn and Koelman lay down more solos per minute on this thing than any band not named First Fragment or Equipoise. Don’t even get me started on the mathematical precision of Diego Morenzoni on drums: Virvum truly are the Swiss watch of metal, so mechanically precise as to be a work of art. Oh, and Illuminance is emotional and stuff, too, despite the crazy sci-fi angle, the massive bursts of cleaner trem picking giving me that sweet sweet frisson. When “Illuminance” ends (after possibly my favorite guitar solo of all time at 4:30) with its final repeated chant of “HELPLESS FINAL GLIMPSE AT A DISAPPEARING SUN,” I get shivers every time. Paced and performed perfectly, this is a debut that may never be topped again in the tech death world. It’s impossible to be this good on your first try.
Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Andy
7. Tanagra – Meridiem (2019)
Genres: Progressive metal, power metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Symphony X, Kamelot, Seventh Wonder
We here at The Progressive Subway are nothing if not willing to beat a meme to death. Our metaphorical offices often echo with the irresistible refrain of “RAIN FEARS NO FIRE, JUST AS THE TIDE FEARS NO SHORE” which opens “Witness,” the intense and climactic final track of Meridiem. Tanagra is a powerful band in the truest sense of power metal, featuring uniquely deep vocals from (now-ex) vocalist Tom Socia alongside beefy instrumental parts, with excellent songwriting to tie it all neatly together. Although less explicit about its story than most of what we consider “concept albums,” Meridiem presents a succession of mysterious cosmic fantasy scenes (partially inspired by Steven Erikson’s Malazan series) with a level of evocative clarity that few can match. Rather than getting in your face with excessive power metal theatrics, Tanagra lay out immersive worlds in every one of their songs, from the unassuming mysticism of “Etheric Alchemy” to towering timeless majesty in “Across the Ancient Desert.” The moments that make Meridiem stand out are the ones where the music draws you into the fantasy, inviting you to imagine a dream world where these incredible scenes could become real. “Witness” is undeniably the most memorable (and memeable), but it’s the capstone of an unforgettable album that stacks one incredible track on top of another the whole way through.
Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Doug
6. Alkaloid – Liquid Anatomy (2018)
Genres: Progressive death metal, technical death metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Obscura, Rivers of Nihil, Beyond Creation
TRANSDIFFERENTIATING CEPHALOPODS!!! The first of now several (ex-)Obscura offshoots, Alkaloid turned down the tech and turned up the prog from Diluvium-era Obscura with the help of frontman Morean, and the results speak for themselves. From Morean’s Supertramp-y cleans on catchy bangers like “Kernel Panic” to the frenetic tech explosion of “Chaos Theory and Practice,” the sci-fi inspired tracks are all masterful and span the gamut of what prog death can be. The first two-thirds of the album are tech-y prog at its finest hour, but Liquid Anatomy concludes with a nineteen-minute epic, “Rise of the Cephalopods,” and what a finale it is. Slowly building up from the start of the squiddy empire and building to them as the flying, dragon-like species they will be in the future sitting on thrones of human remains, the track is as stellar as its concept, and a fitting closer to one of the best progressive death metal albums of the decade.
Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Andy
5. Xanthochroid – Of Erthe and Axen Acts I & II (2017)
Genres: Progressive black metal, symphonic metal, musical theater (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Ne Obliviscaris, Ihsahn, Opeth, LARP music
Xanthochroid is prog-black to show your DnD friends. Of Erthe and Axen Acts I and II are exactly as grandiose and pretentious as the titles make them sound, feeling more like a stage play set to metal than a regular old album, complete with lyrical and musical reprises throughout the eighty-minute production, not to mention an entire orchestra backing it all. Xanthochroid bleeds epic fantasy imagery from the very first minute, pausing to show their folk side every so often. When the metal comes, it’s full of massive, Ne Obliviscaris-esque chords and raspy, Ihsahn-styled vocals. When they tone down the screams and double-kick drums, they evoke an atmosphere of wonder, palettes of lush forests and small tavern-inns existing on the precipice of two nations at war. And unlike most concept albums, Xanthochroid have told the equivalent of a Greek tragedy within their surprisingly fleshed out fantasy world. Of Erthe and Axen is never not overdramatic; it revels in drama. The album’s very sound puts you at the forefront of a world in dire straits, and the perspective of the two brothers who shape its events. ‘Towards Truth and Reconciliation’ is one of the best album closers out there, mostly because of its latter half, making lyrics out of every prior song’s title, truly feeling like you’re coming full circle in this epic tale.
Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Zach
4. Wilderun – Sleep at the Edge of the Earth (2015)
Genres: Progressive death metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Turisas, Disillusion
You got folk in my Opeth! It’s no secret that Veil of Imagination is my favorite album of all time, but Sleep at the Edge of the Earth is the album which put Wilderun on the map with triumphant, bombastic melodies in the classic Opethian style of progressive metal. Evan Berry’s rich baritone and Mikael-tinged growls are integral to the winding tracks, and boy do they wind. With an ambitious suite like “Ash Memory” and timeless epics like “The Garden of Fire,” Wilderun’s sophomore album showcases songwriting maturity most bands never achieve. With enough Turisas in the album’s DNA to satisfy both the folk fans and the high-minded prog fans, it’s great party music, too; I reckon you could raid a village or LARP with Sleep at the Edge of the Earth playing. While Wilderun have since topped the release (*wink wink*), at least in my opinion, many fans nevertheless regard this as their best, and it’s not hard to see why—most bands could only dream of a peak this high.
Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Andy
3. Native Construct – Quiet World (2015)
Genres: Progressive metal (mixed vocals, mostly clean)
Recommended for fans of: Between the Buried and Me, Haken, The Human Abstract, Thank You Scientist
Excessively technical, excessively theatrical, excessively cheesy—Native Construct’s Quiet World revels in glorious excess at any given moment, cramming tons of ideas into each song and working many of them into motifs that stretch across its runtime in a manner not unlike Between the Buried and Me. Typically, this would be a recipe for failure, but a clever utilization of reprises and recontextualized lyrical ideas packaged in a completely reasonable fifty-minute runtime makes its scattershot compositions shockingly effective, creating something more accomplished than the sum of its parts. Though, this is not to discredit Quiet World’s parts: “The Spark of the Archon,” for example, is a powerfully cinematic track with some of my favorite progressive metal moments while “Your Familiar Face” is a pithy mixture of Queen and My Chemical Romance, acting as a nice mid-album respite from the balls-to-the-wall technical excess. Quiet World fully embodies the phrase “flash in the pan” given its almost mythical stature as a quirky masterpiece from a band who released just one album and then moved on, and it is well deserving of a place in the top three.
Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Dave
2. Disillusion – The Liberation (2019)
Genres: Progressive metal, melodic death metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Edge of Sanity, In Mourning
For those who don’t know who Disillusion are, the band has essentially cemented itself as one of the most celebrated in the history of underground progressive metal. The Liberation is the second album, in a three part trilogy, following the simultaneously esoteric and unprecedentedly successful Back to Times of Splendor. Delivering on the expectations curated by the dreams of prog and melodeath fans, Disillusion presents us with a prominently cohesive chain of shifting rhythmic and melodic patterns in the form of distorted riffs, unique colors and textures of vocals, and mood-setting orchestral components. Being masterful songwriters, the band not only writes individual tracks that build and pay off around distinct, cohesive themes, but each of those tracks are also a significant means of creating the build and pay off of the album in its entirety. The album begins with four twisting tracks chock-full of gorgeous melodeath riffs, technical solos, and gutturals. As the album proceeds, we’re introduced to increasingly passionate lead guitars, somber and introspective croons, atmospheric acoustic passages, and heart wrenching strings and brass as the album climaxes. The Liberation narrowly missing the top spot isn’t only a testament to the album’s musical value but its wide reaching appeal for prog metal fans, it’s not too brutal to be ostracizing those averse to dissonance while also retaining all the elements authentic to the grittiness of metal.
Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Sabrina
1. Wilderun – Veil of Imagination (2019)
Genres: Progressive death metal, symphonic metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Turisas, Persefone, Ne Obliviscaris, In Mourning
Yes, we’ve heard from them twice before in this countdown, but they had the audacity to take the top spot, too. Are we an unrepentant coterie of groupies? Yes. Do Wilderun deserve the top spot anyway? Absolutely. On their third album, the red-socked quintet leaned even further into the cinematic orchestral sound, fully consummating grandiose atmospheres and rapturous symphonics into their ever-evolving Opethian progressive death metal style. Veil of Imagination showcases the band’s dynamic range from softer acoustic passages and orchestral breaks to monstrously intense death metal with blast beats and blistering blackened tremolo. Evan Berry’s deft blend of theatrical cleans and guttural Opethian harshes comprise one of the best vocal performances in the genre while the intricate and majestic orchestral arrangements of Dan Müller and Wayne Ingram elevate the compositions to mountainous heights. An introspective meditation on the pitfalls of neuroticism infused with literary lyrics and bookended by poetry recitations, Veil of Imagination is a chiaroscuro of harmony and chaos, of crushing death metal and orchestral levity. It’s an album to be treasured for all its elegiac beauty and cathartic brutality, and a singular accomplishment within the progressive metal underground, heralding the maturation of a band who will doubtlessly go on to be remembered as one of the greatest of their age.
Links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music
Write up by: Christopher
Our Spotify playlist contains every band in the Top 50, apart from Ad Nauseam who aren’t on Spotify, we threw in an alternative for your listening pleasure. Other than that, what’s left to say other than thank you for joining us on this journey through the underground! Please stop booing us for missing your favourite album. We’re going to go focus on our usual reviewing and not get tied up in any more projects. This does make me wonder though… what are the best underground prog albums of the 2020s so far?
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