Our Top 50 Underground Prog Albums of 2020 – 2024: 25-1
Welcome back to our countdown of the Top 50 Underground Prog Albums of 2020-2024! If you missed Part One then click HERE to catch up with the first half of the list. And if you’d love a list like this but for the 2010s, then I have great news you can find just such a lovely thing here (Part One) and here (Part Two). While you go look those over, I’ll go do some online gambling… Ok, I’ve lost $7,000 so I hope you’re ready. Let’s get stuck into the Top 25! To recap, twelve of our writers voted on this list, whittling down 130 nominations to a top 50. To be eligible, we had to have covered the album upon its release or the band had to have fewer than 20,000 monthly listeners at the time of voting. Our writers voted for their top 20 and we aggregated the results.
Are there great albums missing from this list? Absolutely. Such are the perils of democracy, as anyone living in [gestures vaguely at the globe] knows. Believe me, if you’re mad that your favourite album didn’t make this list, at least one of our writers is also mad (I personally am mad about like four albums that I wish had made the list!). And you can always shout out the great albums that you think deserved a place in the comments. But did all the albums that made the top 25 deserve to be here? Hell yes! Now let’s see who made the The Progressive Subway’s Top 25 Underground Prog Albums of 2020 – 2024!
25. Neptunian Maximalism – Éons (2020)
Genres: Avant-garde jazz, drone metal, experimental (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Swans, Sunn O))), Secret Chiefs III, Sun Ra
Few records are as grand in scope as Neptunian Maximalism’s sophomore record, Éons—even fewer manage to pull it off with such effortless aplomb. An intoxicating mix of avant-garde jazz and drone metal, Eons is a three-part odyssey describing the creation of the earth, the rise of the human race, and their subsequent takeover at the hands of humanoid elephants. The first part, To the Earth, exudes a playful deviousness as gods stir primitive Earth’s primordial soup; on opening tracks “Daiitoku-myōō no ōdaiko” and “Nganga”, trepidatious percussion fires asteroids at the world while the rest of the orchestra deftly dodges the onslaught. To the Moon is nocturnal and menacing, the external chaos from celestial bodies turning inward as life on Earth evolves and turmoil churns among its denizens. The bass lines on “ZÂR” are utterly menacing, and creatures bubble under the surface of its slow yet steadfast percussion. Conversely, the third part, To the Sun, eschews chaos entirely for meditative, deliberate drone, reflecting the stabilization of the Earth under the rule of the elephant people. “Eôs” is positively ascendant in its methodical buildup around thrumming guitars before being cut through with bassy saxophone, psychedelic guitar effects, and chthonic chanting. As a whole, Éons is exceptionally ambitious: the record stands mighty and proud thanks to its avant-garde backbone, cinematic compositions, and inimitable vision.
Links: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram | original review
Write up by: Dave
24. Bruit ≤ – The Machine Is Burning and Now Everyone Knows It Could Happen Again… (2021)
Genres: Post-rock, electronic, modern classical, progressive rock, progressive metal (instrumental)
Recommended for fans of: Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Explosions in the Sky, We Lost the Sea
Back when I listened almost exclusively to progressive metal, Andy convinced me to try Bruit ≤’s debut album, The Machine is Burning and Now Everyone Knows It Could Happen Again. After a single playthrough, it had a remarkable impact on me. By elevating post-rock with a sophisticated fusion of orchestral elements, distorted synth textures, breakcore beats, and reverb-soaked guitars, the record invokes the sublime, with buildups that have a visceral effect. The music is intimate—through its chamber music style of instrumentation—yet immensely emotional and intellectual.
Rather than feeling episodic, the album takes a deep inhale followed by a long exhale, unfurling in an arc of rising and collapsing intensity which spans the four tracks. Industrial motifs expand into wailing strings, suggesting the accelerating force of industrial civilization on “Industry”; moments of fragile beauty are captured in crystal by the flutes, piano, and acoustic guitars of “Renaissance,” interrupting the momentum of The Machine. That renewal of ecological innocence is heartening, before being torn down again in the stark realism of the spoken word in “Amazing Old Tree.” So by the album’s end, when every instrumental element converges in a furious climax, I’m consciously ready for the agonizing, heart-stopping minutes of suspended noise, but I’m never quite ready emotionally. The Machine Is Burning is a deeply affecting narrative about power, fragility, and the consequences of human excess, and one of the most transformative records I’ve ever heard.
Links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Write up by: Sabrina
23. Bríi – Corpos Transparentes (2022)
Genres: Atmospheric black metal, experimental black metal, folk metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Wolves in the Throne Room, Panopticon, Kaatayra, Mare Cognitum
“Everything is rhythm.” This is Caio Lemos’ creed. Getting lost in the free-flowing thirty-six-minute track Corpos Transparentes is easy as textures shift and minimalist sections grow and fade like a gentle tide or breeze. Melodies build in endless crescendos interspersed with moment-to-moment highlights—the piano progression just past the seven minute mark, and the lead piano solo twenty-two minutes in, for instance. Throughout the thirty-six minutes of ebbs and flows, the entire track builds as seen from a bird’s-eye-view, individually simple or repetitious textures or moments layered to mind-blowing levels of complexity.
Drums, breakbeats, pianos, keyboards, flutes, vocals, bells: all are integral parts of the breathing beast that is Corpos Transparentes, moving in tandem as the album’s steady heartbeat. If you listen closely enough, you realize everything is used as a percussion instrument, all a part of the singular beat underlying one of Lemos’ masterpieces. Lyrically, the album centers on remembering that life is finite and savoring it regardless, so that Corpos is a fitting reverence of life. Rhythm, truly, is everything.
Links: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Instagram | original review
Write up by: Andy
22. Alkaloid – Numen (2023)
Genres: Progressive death metal, technical death metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Obscura, Ne Obliviscaris, Gorod, Gojira
Alkaloid have quickly become one of the strongest forces in progressive death metal, with third album Numen further solidifying their place in the upper ranks of the scene. Like the two records before it, Numen runs well over an hour and is packed to the brim with dense, twisting, grandiose prog—exactly as you’d expect from this supergroup of modern extreme-metal legends. The compositions cover the prog-death gamut: quick-hitter “The Cambrian Explosion” bounces around at breakneck speed, earworm “Clusterfuck” stomps right up to its infectious chorus, “Qliphosis” is an endless stream of mindbending riffs and leads, and “A Fool’s Desire” splits its time between death metal and warm prog rock. In Alkaloid tradition, the album ends with a near side-length epic, “Alpha Aur,” that stands as one of the best songs of its respective year. Its last four minutes are particularly blissful, featuring some of the most memorable guitars I’ve heard this decade. Meanwhile, the vocal performance from Morean (Changeling, ex-Dark Fortress) is nothing short of remarkable. His distinctively unnatural cleans and deep, raspy growls imbue the record with a beastly, cosmic feel that’s uniquely Alkaloid’s. Numen, like all the band’s work, is a record that’s complete in every sense of the word. Alkaloid truly can do no wrong.
Links: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram | original review
Write up by: Cory
21. Lucid Planet – II (2020)
Genres: Progressive metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Tool, Soen, Samsara Blues Experiment
Take a quick look at the album art, and you’ll get a good sense of what you’re in for with this one. Lucid Planet’s second album, aptly titled II, is an absolute trip. Tool-like grooves might form the album’s foundation, but from there the band launch into uncharted territory. “Entrancement” could well be a psychedelic ritual carried out by a tribal alien species set to summon their cosmic overlord. “Offer,” meanwhile, hits with a blast of …shimmering dub? And neither is a match for generational banger “Organic Hard Drive” and its straight psytrance breakdown. The most surprising thing about all these oddities? Each fits into the album seamlessly and is ridiculously good in its own right. Lucid Planet’s genre-mixing isn’t a gimmick; it’s a deftly executed, defining feature of II.
Still, if you came for progressive metal, you won’t be disappointed. The album also holds long, rich, slightly more conventional prog metal compositions, and penultimate track “Face the Sun” remains one of my favorites in the genre. Lucid Planet’s II has it all, and if this were my personal list, it’d be sitting somewhere on the podium.
Links: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram
Write up by: Cory
20. Sunburst – Manifesto (2024)
Genres: Progressive metal, symphonic metal, power metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Kamelot, Symphony X, Borealis, Pyramaze
Sometimes an album comes along and hits you with the answer to a question you didn’t even think to ask. In the case of Greece’s Sunburst and sophomore album Manifesto, that question was: “Hey, wouldn’t it be sick if Roy Khan fronted Symphony X?” The answer, of course, is yes—yes it would be. Both Roy Khan’s Kamelot run and Symphony X birthed hugely reverential projects for me, and seeing as Khan left the Kam in 2010 and Symphony X hasn’t done anything since 2015, I’d been starved for proper power-prog worship. Manifesto filled my cup and had it running over throughout 2024 and beyond. Muscled Michael Romeo-flavored riffs abound on tracks like “Samaritan,” while vocalist Vasilis Georgiou unleashes the kind of dramatic framing and charismatic delivery that made Khan such a winner in my book. The album is hooky, muscular, and (sun)bursting at the seams with verve, a sound as colorful and expressive as the attention-grabbing cover art. Manifesto is a ray of sunlight filling me with warmth: a glittering work of power-prog replete with headbanging riffs and soaring melodies that, for forty-nine minutes, wash over you like the waters of the Lethe to make you forget your woes. The best things aren’t always about reinventing the wheel, but remembering why you love to drive in the first place.
Links: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram | original review
Write up by: Vince
19. The Anchoret – It All Began With Loneliness (2023)
Genres: Progressive metal, progressive rock (mostly clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Pain of Salvation, Caligula’s Horse
Modern metal bands embracing the aesthetics of ‘70s prog is one of the most cliche pastiches in music today, so it’s all the more impressive when a band manages to make something new of the sound—and on their debut no less! From the jazz-fusion sax and flute solos to the walls of mellotron-laden atmosphere, It All Began With Loneliness is stuffed full of classic prog elements, but it is with their veritable periodic table’s worth of metallic additions to their sound that The Anchoret distinguishes themselves from the hippie horde. Employing a post-genre style of riffage that makes use of classic chugs and power chords as much as it does blackened tremolos and nigh-djenty syncopation, the guitar work across the album lays a sturdy foundation for the album’s extensive proggisms and even more plentiful solo sections. There are few albums where you could hear sax, flute, mellotron, guitar, and vocalists trade solos atop a proggy landscape of modern metal riffage, and It All Began With Loneliness does it all in its first track. Bust out the bell-bottoms and the platforms; the ‘70s are alive and well on It All Began With Loneliness.
Links: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram | original review
Write up by: Cooper
18. Psychonaut – Violate Consensus Reality
Genres: Progressive metal, post-metal, psychedelic (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: The Ocean, Mastodon, Gojira, Cult of Luna
Can metal be consciousness-expanding? Can it invoke paradigm shifts? Psychonaut sure hope so on their second release, the crushing work of psychedelic post-metal that is Violate Consensus Reality. Seismic riffs shore up tumultuous chants leading to moments of perfect lucidity as the Belgian trio extol the audience to ‘renew’, ‘reclaim yourself’, ‘open your conscience’ and ‘break the consensus’. It’s a defiant, rousing message, a call to arms to become a force of nature within the world, to be the change you wish to see, to bend the very matter of reality to your will. A lofty goal? Perhaps. But the band sure as hell manage just such feats with a record that veers from scabrously heavy (“A Storm Approaching”, “A Pacifist’s Guide to Violence”) to uplifting psych rock (“Hope”) to bona fide progressive metal epics (“Violate Consensus Reality”, “Towards the Edge”) that rival the grandeur of their much-vaunted influences. No moment is wasted, no sentiment is phoned in, as De Graef, Michiels, and Peters pummel their way through fifty-five minutes of progressive post-metal perfection. Let it be the soundtrack to building something glorious.
Links: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram
Write up by: Christopher
17. Iotunn – Kinship (2024)
Genres: Progressive metal, folk metal, death metal (mixed vocals, mostly clean)
Recommended for fans of: Wintersun, Borknagar
Though both would place in my personal top 50 version of this list, I put Iotunn’s Access All Worlds above Kinship as I was building out my rankings. However, I’m glad that Kinship won out amongst the group here, because as I’ve put my critic hat on to pen this paragraph, it’s become clear to me that Kinship is actually the superior release both on paper and for me personally. A rare kind of beauty emerges when death metal stops clawing at the earth and starts gazing at the stars. Kinship is that kind of album—a sweeping, ethereal journey that is still deeply personal. Iotunn’s immense sound, with guitars that shimmer between the earthly and the celestial, builds an atmosphere on Kinship that is as vast as an expansive night sky. The heart of that sound, though, lies in Jón Aldará’s extraordinary vocals—clean and cosmic, roaring and vulnerable—imbued with longing that reaches for the great beyond. His performance molds intimacy from grandeur, making each chorus and hook a communion with something ancient and infinite. Kinship might appeal to headbangers like me, but it’s aiming for the dreamers, too.
Links: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram | original review
Write up by: Daniel
16. Subterranean Masquerade – Mountain Fever (2021)
Genres: Progressive metal, progressive rock (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Green Carnation, Orphaned Land, Opeth
Subterranean Masquerade are stalwarts of the progressive underground. Their legendary debut, Suspended Animation Dreams, was released all the way back in 2005, and still, 2021’s Mountain Fever is every bit as essential. Here, SubMasq’s wild blend of progressive rock, metal, and Israeli folk music is on full display: “Somewhere I Sadly Belong” romps, and “Mågnata” rips at the heartstrings; “Ya Shema Evyonecha” and the title track hit with energetic folky flourishes, and “For the Leader, With Strings Music” delivers a prog odyssey. Each incredibly composed track has a distinct identity, while frontman Davidavi Dolev’s beautifully dramatic vocals and the core band’s consistently compelling instrumental performances hold everything together. And if this weren’t enough, a massive cast of supporting musicians—including five guest vocalists and performers on the cello, violin, viola, mandolin, bouzouki, oud, louta, brass, woodwinds, traditional percussion, and others—enrich every square inch of the album.
In a single, simple word, Mountain Fever is a joy—and not at the expense of being compositionally intricate or meticulous in its detail. I can’t think of a release this decade that’s so musically engaging yet effortlessly enjoyable.
Links: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram | original review
Write up by: Cory
15. Stortregn – Impermanence (2021)
Genres: Technical death metal, progressive metal, melodic death metal (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Dissection, Obscura, Beyond Creation, Inferi, Archspire
Most of the write ups for the other albums on this list focus on production, songwriting, and performance—as they should—but what often separates great albums and fantastic albums is pacing, which Stortregn showed complete mastery over on Impermanence. From a macroscopic level, the tracks on Impermanence flow into each other, invisibly stitching the release into an organic and dynamic single piece with songs functioning like movements. Microscopically, all of the thousand addictive riffs spiral in concentric circles with Johan and Romain’s guitars in an eloquent conversation. The drumming—easily among the most creative single performances of the decade—creates endless forward momentum, pushing the guitar and bass parts into somersaulting spirals in an intense contrapuntal dance. In between the grand album scale movement and the beautiful implementation of movement in the instrumentation, the songwriting is also paced to perfection. Between the assertive swells of intense death metal activity, Stortregn throw in breathing room in the form of acoustic guitars and jazzy drumming, such as on highlight “Timeless Splendor.” The dynamics at play moment to moment are nothing short of masterful. It’s obvious that a tech death-adjacent release sniffing a prog blog’s album of the decade list has 10/10 performances across the board and crystal clear production, but Stortregn wrote something special with Impernance, and the ornate geometric image they create with sound and song flow is one-of-a-kind.
Links: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram | original review
Write up by: Andy
14. Kaatayra – Só Quem Viu o Relâmpago à Sua Direita Sabe (2020)
Genres: Atmospheric black metal, folk metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Wolves in the Throne Room, Panopticon, Bríi, Mare Cognitum
Vitally important to Brazil’s history, culture, and economy, the rainforest is a symbol of life. Central to the most diverse ecosystem on Earth is the timeless cycle of tropical storms, witnessed for thousands of years by the spirits of the forest themselves. Só Quem Viu o Relâmpago à Sua Direita Sabe embodies this endless circle and, in doing so, pushes metal beyond its limits.
Abandoning the electric guitar completely on Só Quem while remaining convincingly black metal, Kaatayra captures the fury of the storm and its life-affirming qualities in one go. Slight variations in tempo and pitch from tremolo-picked riffs on an acoustic guitar are highlighted, and the barrage of blast beats is like raindrops. It is just when the metal starts to overwhelm that Kaatayra backs off, letting swirly synths, vortices of acoustic guitar, and droning clean vocal lines take over. This pattern repeats throughout the four tracks in a beautiful masterclass of tension and release. The enigmatic man behind Kaatayra, Caio Lemos, is surely one with the forest spirits, blessing our mortal ears with the soul of the Amazon in musical form. In a discography full of masterpieces—including two albums earlier on this list—Só Quem stands tall as a magnum opus. Só Quem is a one-of-a-kind reworking of the entire ethos of metal; the record frees the listener from the shackles of daily life by authentically channeling the natural world. It is a transcendental experience.
Links: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Instagram
Write up by: Andy
13. Ad Nauseam – Imperative Imperceptible Impulse (2021)
Genres: Dissonant death metal, avant-garde metal (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Ulcerate, Gorguts, Deathspell Omega, Stravinsky, Šostakóvič
Imperative Imperceptible Impulse is handily the greatest dissonant death metal album of the decade so far, perhaps even of all time. Ad Nauseam has painstakingly crafted an experience that is wholly antagonistic to the listener yet retains an irresistible lure, the sonic equivalent of ‘morbid curiosity’. Each and every choice made on III embodies the spirit of dissonance: the guitars are purposefully tuned to eradicate the players melodic and harmonic comfort zones; the main harmonic language is purposefully informed by disharmony; melody is primarily crafted by way of polyphonic dissonance. The emerging discordant intervallic language induces a nauseating vertigo that is even further aggravated by frighteningly precise shifts in rhythm. The rhythmic conceit of III as a whole is jarringly obtuse, going so far as to literally mimic the skipping of a scratched CD towards the end of “Inexorably Ousted Sente”.
Ad Nauseam‘s holistic approach to dissonance even spills out into their real-world process of creation. Taken from III‘s Bandcamp page: “not only all Ad Nauseam records are self-produced, but each band member also contributes researching, designing and building most of the equipment used for the recordings (drums parts, cabinets, bass/guitar/studio related electronics) and collecting mainly vintage, odd and uncommon gears.” While most dissodeath groups choose to amplify their songwriting through murky production and textural obfuscation, Ad Nauseam have taken near unprecedented care to ensure that each and every moment of III is horrifyingly clear. The final result leaves the listener akin to a battered ship on an unforgiving ocean, holding on for dear life, terribly cognizant of each and every wave and the overwhelming eventuality of their predicament.
Links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | original review
Write up by: Justin
12. In Vain – Solemn (2024)
Genres: Melodic death metal, progressive metal, black metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Insomnium, In Mourning, Disillusion, Countless Skies
I mean, what do you even say at this point? My fellow writers here at the Subway and I have already lavished so much praise upon In Vain‘s magnum opus of progressive melodeath that any further words feel excessive. I could say it’s almost unfair how many things this record pulls off perfectly, how its virtuosic performances and top-notch production are somehow dwarfed by the sheer genius of its soaring yet melancholy melodies and inventive compositions. I could list off the numerous individual moments that made my jaw drop and the hairs on my arms raise. I could even make a silly meta skit comparing the continuous yet deserved praise Solemn has received on this site to the ritual beating of a literal dead horse. That would, indeed, be quite clever and funny.
But, instead, I would like to dedicate this spot on the list to the late Sindre Nedland, who tragically passed away due to cancer last year. His ethereal yet powerful vocals were a core part of the In Vain sound for over twenty years, and the main reason why some of Solemn‘s climactic moments slam into the ol’ feels with such sledgehammer-like force. In light of his passing, tracks like “Watch For Me on the Mountain” and especially “Season of Unrest” (written by Nedland about his struggles with the disease) hit even harder, and it’s truly tragic that this is the last we’ll ever hear from him. But he left us one hell of a swan song. May he rest in peace.
Links: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram | original review
Write up by: Ian
11. The Reticent – The Oubliette (2020)
Genres: Progressive metal, death metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Steven Wilson, Riverside
Eleventh place for an album I might never listen to again? Let me explain. It’d be uncontroversial to call The Reticent connoisseurs of the depressing, and on their 2020 masterpiece they go all the way to the bleakest abyss. The Oubliette is the horrifying, heartbreaking story of Henry, an elderly man with dementia. Friends and family visit him in the care home but Henry feels trapped. He misses his wife who he no longer remembers has passed, and he wishes to escape this prison and return to her. By “Stage 5: The Nightmare” we hear from the disease itself as it taunts Henry with the memories it’s robbed from him. Suffice to say, The Oubliette is an upsetting listen, but it’s also deeply humane. With their Opethian prog death, and a Wilsonian sense of the darkly melancholic, The Reticent explore the existential terror of losing one’s self forever with a combination of unflinching solemnity and deepest compassion, which makes The Oubliette one of the most emotionally challenging albums ever written. Statistically speaking, we will all lose loved ones to some form of dementia, if not experience it ourselves. The art that confronts such horrors may not lend itself to repeat listens as much as other albums, but The Oubliette is a creation with immense emotional and existential value, and that’s some of the highest praise I can give.
Links: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram | original review
Write up by: Christopher
10. Ions – Counterintuitive (2023)
Genres: Progressive metal, djent (mixed vocals, majority clean)
Recommended for fans of: Haken, VOLA, TesseracT, Ihlo
It may feel counterintuitive, but the greatest delights often result from entering with low expectations. When you settle in to crack open the newest album by your favorite band, you’re already primed to expect a particularly positive experience; meeting those expectations might provide a cozy feeling of satisfaction, but anything less likely leads to disappointment. On the other hand, with a band you’ve never heard before, an unassuming album cover, and a generic genre label, your afternoon could lead you anywhere. Ions were exactly such a discovery for myself and eventually the rest of the Subway writers. Counterintuitive appeared at first glance little more than a standard djent affair, but turned out to be a boldly compelling bit of artistry.
In addition to the typical prog and djent influences, Ions incorporate elements of pop and electronica into their presentation, drawing inevitable comparisons to Ihlo—and the similarity has only grown stronger after the latter’s sophomore album Legacy in 2025. Counterintuitive’s tracklist oscillates between two equally well-crafted poles. Some, like the high-energy opening duo “A Terrible Mistake” and “True Friendship,” thrum with as much foot-tapping catchiness as proggy syncopation and odd time signatures can possibly support. Others, like “Split Character” and “Birds of Reminiscence,” offer more subtle, introspective soundscapes that show a wide range of emotional expression. I don’t want to set expectations too high lest I ruin the magic, but Ions will satisfy even the most demanding listeners, and might become a surprise favorite for those who can keep their minds open.
Links: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram | original review
Write up by: Doug
9. Meer – Wheels Within Wheels (2024)
Genres: Progressive rock, art rock (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Riverside, Anathema, Bent Knee, The Dear Hunter
There must be “Something in the Water” indeed over in Norway. Wheels Within Wheels builds on Meer’s already captivating Playing House, delivering an hour of lavishly orchestrated yet emotionally tender progressive rock. Brother and sister vocalists Knut and Johanne Kippersund Nesdal form Meer’s centre of confluence, delivering exquisite performances whether together or apart. Their vocal harmonies gambol unhurriedly around one another, much like streams in “Take Me to the River”. And Knut, whose vocal duties are stepped up from Playing House, rises beautifully to the occasion: no matter how many times I listen to the vocal climax of “Today Tonight Tomorrow”, it never fails to set off a little supernova of auditory bliss in my brain.
The melodies and orchestrations bloom into verdant expanses of sound, each member of the eight-piece ensemble serving a carefully-balanced purpose in the whole. The arrangements are maximalist without ever overwhelming or tipping into excess. The prog quotient is flirted with to varying degrees throughout, from beautifully straightforward melodies to the post-rock layering of “This Is the End”. Alive from its opening instrumental shimmer to the swelling finale, Wheels Within Wheels captures Meer at the height of their powers—a current of confidence and vulnerability flowing in perfect balance.
Links: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram | original review
Write up by: Claire
8. Azure – Fym (2024)
Genres: Progressive rock, power metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Rush, Ayreon, (Luca Turilli’s) Rhapsody (of Fire), Haken, Yes
On the flip side of the aforementioned Inpariquipê’s subtle post-minimalism, Azure’s Fym can be described as nothing less than maximalist perfection. From the theatrical symphonics of “Sky Sailing / Beyond the Bloom / Wilt” to the nervous staccato of “Trench of Nalu” to the somber and ethereal “Kingdom of Ice and Light”, every moment is packed with engaging melodies, cinematic drama, and thoughtful storytelling. Leading along Fym’s ambitious story of recovering shards from an enchanted sword is the blindingly technical instrumentation, whether it be the energetic slap bass from Alex Miles across “The Azdinist // Den of Dawns” or the lightning-fast guitarwork in the power-metal-tinged “Weight of the Blade”; guitarist Galen Stapley has never met a solo they couldn’t effortlessly tackle.
The cherry on top of Fym is vocalist Chris Sampson’s charismatic delivery and remarkable vocal range. Sitting in a Geddy Lee-esque timbre, Chris soars to remarkable heights on “Sky Sailing / Beyond the Bloom / Wilt” and holds the final note of “Kingdom of Ice and Light” so long that it would make this writer pass out. However, all of Fym’s technicality would be moot were the music not absurdly catchy and bingeable: the record is stuffed with earworm melodies and some of the best choruses in recent memory. The key change in the final chorus of “Mount, Mettle, and Key” is nothing short of ascendant, and “Fym” takes on a power-prog swagger in its refrain. In a genre which is starting to show its age, Fym stands out as an utterly jubilant breath of fresh air and a landmark of modern progressive rock.
Links: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram | original review
Write up by: Dave
7. First Fragment – Gloire Éternelle (2021)
Genres: Technical death metal, neoclassical metal, shred (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Beyond Creation, Jeff Loomis, Spawn of Possession, Equipoise, Cacophony
Since day one, the atom of the metal song has been the riff. First Fragment replace those with guitar solos and replace the guitar solos with even crazier solos. Gloire Éternelle is gluttony incarnate for fans of the guitar in various forms: flamenco, fretless bass, and electric guitars all get their time to shine. Taking cues from the likes of Michael Romeo (Symphony X), Eddie Van Halen, and Jason Becker, the performances across Gloire Éternelle look back to the classic shred gods—the intro to “Pantheum” is the most glorious bout of 80s fretboard kinetics you’ll ever hear—and bring the style into the 2020s with the patented Yngwie Malmsteen More Is More™ approach. Yet despite the blessed barrage of flurried guitar notes, band leader, songwriter, and guitarist extraordinaire Phil Tougas does provide some much needed breathing room across the album, with tracks like “Sonata et mi Mineur” and “Mort Éphémère” acting as more relaxed instrumental interludes; besides those moments, however, Gloire Éternelle is a decadent feast that never ends, with each stream of solos more bombastic and filling than the last.
The Baroques were obsessed with elaborate ornamentation to achieve a sense of awe at the capabilities of humans, and Gloire Éternelle embodies the Baroque more than any metal album. The record is alive, much like an octopus, with the band members all exploring different directions in simultaneous, contrapuntal solos like tentacles. Throughout all the complex weaving, First Fragment never lose focus of precision and excellent execution. I will never forget my first time hearing the epic eighteen-minute “In’El” and thinking “this is what it must be like to look into the face of God.” Resplendent, radiant, sublime.
Links: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram
Write up by: Andy
6. Disillusion – Ayam (2022)
Genres: Progressive metal, melodic death metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Ne Obliviscaris, Edge of Sanity
The Liberation did incredibly well in our Top 50 of the 2010s, so it should be no surprise to see the German trio’s equally brilliant follow-up make the top ten. A somewhat more meditative work that nevertheless safeguards Disillusion’s signature heaviness, Ayam plunges into the pelagial liminality of the realm between dreams and wakefulness. Their established blend of Opethian melodeath and Katatonia-esque melancholy is fully liberated on Ayam, cementing the sheer uniqueness of their style, and aided by a perfect production job by mix/master dream-team Bogren & Lindgren. Vocalist and composer Andy Schmidt’s fire and brimstone invective, the spoken word rhythm of his lyrical prose, belies the rich, plaintive beauty of his cleans. Meanwhile, Disillusion race through bracing riffs and portentous melodies, veering between moments of frantic discordance (the anarchic solo on “Tormento”) and intense heaviness (the foundation-rattling intro to opening salvo “Am Abgrund”) balanced against far more restrained and contemplative passages (the string-tinged lamentations of “Driftwood”). As closer “The Brook”—an interpolation of “Brooks Was Here” from Thomas Newman’s iconic score to The Shawshank Redemption—plays us out with the heartbreaking lines ‘dreams are oceans hauling me to see / afar from here is where I long to be,’ the benthic depth of Ayam is laid bare. Endless fathoms of human experience, all our yearning, our fear, and our hope, compressed down into a single sonic journey.
Links: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram | original review
Write up by: Christopher
5. Dessiderium – Aria (2021)
Genres: Progressive metal, death metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Ne Obliviscaris, Wintersun
Have you ever had one of those moments where you feel a deluge of simultaneous conflicting emotions that somehow provide clarity? That is Aria—a dizzying, exuberant, mood-clashing display of disparate passions containing everything that scratches my itch in progressive metal. Blazing riffs, sweeping solos, relentless drums, and raspy harsh vocals that trade with stretched cleans all concoct a melodic, swirling euphoria that throws moderation out the window. What sets Aria apart, though, is that within all of that technical blaze, it finds something deeply human. Aria is steeped in melancholy, but rather than wallowing in sadness, Alex Haddad, Dessiderium’s sole creative force, paints aural works of longing rendered in full color, with a joy and sageness that glows through the album’s distortion. That’s no small feat considering the lush, wall-of-sound production style, which teeters on the edge of overwhelming. But Haddad balances heaviness and beauty flawlessly, proving that they don’t compete—they coexist. Aria and Dessiderium are a reminder that, when guided by sincerity, excess can be just as affecting as restraint.
Links: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram | original review
Write up by: Daniel
4. Nospūn – Opus (2023)
Genres: Progressive metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Haken, Dream Theater
For how much we at The Subway like to joke that Opus is the first album ever made, there’s a reason it became an underground prog darling. The album is a love letter to everything that makes the genre shine, done with tremendous amounts of heart, talent, and most importantly, fun. A trope-fest in the best way possible, Opus includes the time-loop concept, an acoustic introduction followed by an instrumental overture, a cheesy power ballad, an instrumental math equation of a song, an epic of gigantic proportions, and more. We’ve seen the likes of Haken and Dream Theater do these things multiple times, yet Opus manages to squeeze out all the remaining juice from a style that seemed played out. It’s fresh and refreshing, probably the best received traditional prog metal album since The Mountain or In Contact and for good reason. It shares a lot with those two albums, but Nospun’s ear for hooky melodies is a triumph in progressive metal songwriting; take for example “Within the Realm of Possibility”. The intro synth is adventurous, weirdly curious and grand. Its melody repeats in the chorus making it even grander, exploring what’s the climax to an oddly weird story. A masterful 8 minute solo passage later, the stakes have changed in the story, the final decision is being made, you can tell by the way the drums and guitar resemble an orchestral 3rd act in classical music and then bam! That grand chorus found its way to make itself sound bigger with a key change that’s delivered by a vocalist masterfully mixing the grit of Russ Allen with the melodic side of Ross Jennings. Such ideas and blueprints are spread all over Opus, and whilst it may be a predictable album, it commits to executing every trope to perfection.
Links: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram | original review
Write up by: Dylan
3. Horrendous – Ontological Mysterium (2023)
Genres: Progressive death metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Death, Atheist, Cynic, Blood Incantation, Tomb Mold, Ulthar
If Horrendous’ 2018 offering Idol was an emphatic “attaboy!” marking the beginning of the death metal outfit’s evolution, 2023’s follow-up, Ontological Mysterium, is a bona fide masterpiece of progressive death metal that, in my humble estimation, puts Horrendous in conversation with the greats. The music leads the listener through twisting, labyrinthine passages of death metal esoterica, an Escherian construct that I was only too happy to get lost in over and over again. Introspective yet possessed of a vicious momentum, Ontological Mysterium ensorcels and ensnares at every turn, with a warm, amniotic production that infuses every inch of the music with life. Tracks like “Preterition Hymn” and epic closer “The Death Knell Ringeth” are absolute blasters, fusing wizardly prog madness with the death metal’s gnashing bite. This is the kind of record that stamps itself on your soul the moment you press play.
Links: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram | original review
Write up by: Vince
2. An Abstract Illusion – Woe (2022)
Genres: Progressive death metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Ne Obliviscaris, Kardashev, Insomnium
With Illuminate the Path, An Abstract Illusion put themselves out there, and with 2025’s The Sleeping City they cemented themselves as stalwarts of the progressive metal underground; but it’s with their sophomore output Woe that An Abstract Illusion made their definitive statement. Made up of a single seamless track split into seven distinct movements, Woe unfurls itself into a kaleidoscopic tapestry of fervent emotions and luscious textures as it conveys its tale of cultish rituals, human sacrifice, and divine comeuppance. Across the album’s diverse movements, An Abstract Illusion prove nothing is sacred as they masterfully interweave their ample synths cut with trippy 808s and cinematic orchestral layers into their historically informed yet innovative take on progressive death metal. And while tracks like “Slaves” and “Prosperity” offer quicker hits of heady rhythms and ripping leads, it is the momentous two-part outro of “In the Heavens Above, You Will Become A Monster” and “This Torment Has No End, Only New Beginnings” where Woe reaches its most transcendent heights and certifies its legacy as a cornerstone of progressive death metal.
Links: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram | original review
Write up by: Cooper
1. Wilderun – Epigone (2022)
Genres: Melodic death metal, progressive metal, symphonic metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Persefone, Devin Townsend
Again? I know, I know, but if you read the 2010s list, you’ll know we’re fanboys, and Wilderun did just as spectacularly well in this vote as they did in the last. And for good reason! The Bostonianite band’s fourth record leans even harder into the orchestral influences, for a rich, through-composed work that both builds upon their Opeth influences and transcends them, finding the confidence to go all-in on their unique blend of Broadway theatricality, regal modern classical, and truly forward-thinking progressive metal. A thematic journey on the nature of artistry, Epigone considers the creative process in prismatic fashion, from inspiration lost to dreams (“Exhaler”) to the toxic vaunting of pain as a prerequisite for genius (“Passenger”), and a primordial place where ideas are born bubbles away in the record’s margins (“Ambition”, “Distraction Nulla”). Any concerns that Wilderun might be as artistically spent as their subject matter are soon dashed, however: Evan Berry’s vocals have never sounded so crisp; Wayne Ingram’s solos fizz with chaotic legato; and when those Dvořákian orchestral crescendos come, the entire edifice threatens to tear apart and consume the listener. Choirs of heaven admonish and protect while Berry alternately laments and excoriates. Complex, melodic, and emotive, Epigone cements Wilderun’s place not just as kings of the underground, but as arguably the most important progressive metal band of their era.
Links: Bandcamp | Apple Music | Facebook | Instagram | original review
Write up by: Christopher
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