Hello everyone, and welcome to the grand return of Album of the Month posts! We’re going to begin rounding up our favourite new releases each month so you can easily find the crème de la crème of the progressive underground, and today, Dave, Andy, and Zach will be your guides to our must-listen favourites of January. We’ve even made a little note of the stuff we’re enjoying from outside the underground at the bottom of the post, too (spoiler: yes, we do like the new Caligula’s Horse album). So go ahead and tuck into the best new music that 2024’s first lunar cycle had to offer!
Sgàile – Traverse the Bealach
Recommended for fans of: Alcest, Cloudkicker, Sylvaine, Lantlôs
Picked by: Dave
I am honored to nominate Sgàile’s Traverse the Bealach as my favorite album of January. Featuring uplifting vocals, triumphant sections that occasionally teeter on the edge of power metal, and some solid djent riffing thrown in for good measure, Sgàile’s unique take on post-metal satisfies a need in the genre that I didn’t know I had. Sgàile replaces the gloomy and ultra-serious vibe of post-metal with that of adventurous enthusiasm: to quote my review, “Where The Mantle is a dour trek through snowy Oregon landscapes, Traverse the Bealach is an exhilarating climb to the summit of Ben Nevis.” I’ve had a hard time putting this one down because songs like “Lamentations by the Lochan,” “Psalms to Shout at the Void,” and “Silence” are atmospheric and expansive yet catchy and addictive at the same time.
You may also like: Falloch, Show Me A Dinosaur, Hypno5e, Dawnwalker
Ὁπλίτης – Παραμαινομένη
Recommended for fans of: Blut Aus Nord, Plebeian Grandstand, Frontierer
Picked by: Andy
What a fierce start to 2024. Coming hot off the tail of three absolutely fire albums in 2023, Ὁπλίτης has improved in every way. Tighter performances, more varied instrumentation, explorative song structures, and, of course, the omnipresent drumming, Παραμαινομένη set a sky-scrapingly high bar for other avant-garde black metal bands to top in the first weeks of 2024, a tumultuous, chaotic black metal sound with enough distilled rage to punch a hole in your drywall through your headphones for you. I sure hope the fury of Ὁπλίτης won’t translate to 2024, but with the state of the world, Παραμαινομένη feels frighteningly predictive.
You may also like: Thantifaxath, Dodecahedron, Hebephrenique, Jute Gyte, Serpent Column, Red Rot, A.M.E.N.
Madder Mortem – Old Eyes, New Heart
Recommended for fans of: The Gathering, Ram-Zet, Winds, In the Woods…., Oceans of Slumber
Picked by: Zach
An album truly makes its mark on me when I can go back and find something new in every listen. Madder Mortem’s newest offering shows the band keep reaching new heights with their groove-laden brand of prog. Vocalist Agnete M. Kirkevaag has never sounded better, and her vocal lines elevate this to a whole new level. ‘Coming from the Dark’ had potential to be the best opener of the year, anf a few songs have serious SOTY potential. 2024 is off to a great start!
You may also like: Unexpect, Sermon, Athemon
Our non-underground picks:
Willi Carlisle – Critterland (americana): Willi foregoes the “parable” approach taken on previous effort Peculiar, Missouri for something more personal and even more heart-wrenching. I particularly like the title track and the spoken-word closer, The Money Grows On Trees. [picked by: Dave]
Caligula’s Horse – Charcoal Grace (progressive metal): This one has won me over a little more with each listen, but honestly my favorite part of this album is annoying my co-writer Andy with the part in Golem where Jim Grey goes, “GOOLEEEEEEEEEEEEM!” [picked by: Dave]
Yo – 희망열차를 타고 우주로 가요 (Hopetrain to the Universe) (art rock/indie): a wonderfully trippy, eclectic album with very strong melodies and adventurous compositions reminiscent of early Motorpsycho. [picked by: Sam]
Crizin da Z.O. – Acelero: wild Brazilian funk, industrial hip hop, and dashes of metal are the soundtrack for my caffeine addiction [picked by: Andy]
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