Artwork by Tapio Honka

Style: Progressive metal, progressive death metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Between the Buried and Me, Dream Theater, Opeth, Haken
Country: Finland
Release date: 14 August 2026

---

Parenthood, medical training, and heartburn. As the Subway’s elder (in age, I’m still in my reviewer infancy), life has thrown plenty of obstacles that get in the way of my sleep hygiene. I’ll sleep when I’m dead right? Solo artist Tapio Honka has more than adequate slumber to worry about in Coma Control’s sophomore LP Shed the Sleep. Honka’s debut, Perennial, was flagged down by the Subway’s dreaded Progmobile for an overindulgence in Between the Buried and Me imitation. In their follow-up release, Coma Control faces the task of shedding the BTBAM cosplay act and solidifying an independent identity. Otherwise, Honka faces the fate of joining an ever-growing list of forgettable Tool/Mastodon/BTBAM-derivative acts. 

There’s no denying the shadow that BTBAM continue to cast over Honka’s songwriting. However, Shed the Sleep demonstrates Honka emerging from the comforting cocoon of replication and unfurling his colorful wings to take flight. The incorporation of additional influences widens Honka’s scope: Opeth-adjacent melancholy, runs of thrash gallops, and dynamic Dream Theater-like noodling demonstrate the progression of Honka’s compositions. Honka’s Åkerfeldtian growl certainly puts the “death” in Coma Control’s brand of progressive death metal. While moments of BTBAM mimicry remain—“Well of Absence” undeniably emulates The Parallax II: Future Sequence, and Honka’s clean vocals at times veer dangerously close to Tommy Rogers’ timbre—they come across more as guest appearances rather than the main focus.

The greatest addition to Honka’s repertoire is the injection of groove throughout Shed the Sleep. The fiery instrumental “Post-Aware” finds Honka tying together finger-acrobatic guitar riffs with consistent, infectious headbanging hooks a lamenting wah pedal-filled guitar line underneath contains the exuberance of John Petrucci’s many six-stringed earworms. Virtuosic guitar solos are aplenty throughout the album though always as a complement to the backing instrumentation, never feeling technical for the sake of showmanship. Honka’s instrumental performance across the board shines, demonstrating mastery behind the drumkit as well. The drumming on Shed the Sleep runs the gamut between death metal blast beats and delicate, featherlight percussion behind drifting clean passages. Frequent tempo changes and engaging tom fills demonstrate the drums refusing to take a backseat to Honka’s stringed wizardry. 

With any BTBAM-inspired release, wild instrumental shifts are a given, and boy are they present in Shed the Sleep. The ten-minute closer “Immersed in Whispers” incorporates gentle piano and bluesy guitar lines which caress Honka’s soft vocal melodies, an accordion and whistle-filled reprieve, polyrhythmic death metal stomping, and groovy isolated bass riffs, all while circling round uniting melodic phrases. Honka successfully engages listeners among the scattershot songwriting through the use of evolving musical themes within tracks. For instance, on “Apathy’s Abundance”, the opening acoustic strumming morphs into a head-banging chug. As the seven-minute track takes sharp progressive death metal twists and turns, the acoustic line is never too far out of earshot. 

With Honka’s musical influences hidden just under the surface, Shed the Sleep appeals with a familiarity, though the album has plenty of staying power due to the presence of ever engaging and satisfying riffs. Neighboring passages—which often contrast starkly in tempo and dynamics—flow together seamlessly, as Coma Control’s constant sonic metamorphosis precludes boredom. Unlike many massive and complex progressive metal/death metal albums, Shed the Sleep is immediately accessible and captivating.

Is Shed the Sleep novel and innovative? Nope, Coma Control still lean heavily on their musical influences on Honka’s sophomore effort, though he has developed much more of his own musical identity. An exultant reverie of transcendent sonic heights, exhilarating riffs, and valleys of melancholic harmony, Shed the Sleep excels in all critical aspects required to make up a great progressive death metal album. While Honka can’t do anything to improve my sleep quality, I’m thrilled that he shook off enough shut-eye to deliver such an impactful album.

---

Recommended tracks: Seething Hunger, Inherently Unmet, Post-Aware
You may also like: Vulkan, Luna’s Call, Sermon, An Abstract Illusion
Final verdict: 8/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Independent Release

Coma Control is:
– Tapio Honka (all vocals and instruments)