As a blog we’ve always prided ourselves on our ability to be critical of music and not just sing constant high praises—so, what on earth do we do when writers suddenly start doling out high scores like candy? Do we all become like Andy and attempt to bully other writers into lowering their scores? Do we begrudgingly accept that maybe, just maybe, a lot of genuinely good music was released this month? Either way, we were in a bit of a pickle. The year 2025 may have started slow, but in this March edition we have thirteen albums to talk to you about, and they are all good. One must understand the severe hit this edition is to our hater credentials—we’re even featuring a Dutch band! At Prog Subway HQ, we are evaluating the damages and coming up with a counter strategy to reclaim our hater fame as we speak. For you however, dear reader, we must concede defeat this time.
We’ve got something to satisfy all tastes: versatile post-metal, the return of one of prog-death’s most underrated one-man projects, the biggest band in black metal, some minimal listenable folk, the comeback of prog rock’s main man, the comeback of the biggest band in poppy prog metal, some rather tasty jazz fusion prog metal, the return of the biggest avant-garde black metal outfit in the scene, doom drone for big fuckin’ weirdos, a cocktail of blackened hardcore, your monthly dose of dissodeath, weird Lovecraftian prog black, and a thing we forgot from last month! And in addition to all that we’ve got a bunch of non-Subway picks of the stuff beyond the prog world that you should check out. Surely at least one of those piqued your interest? Hit play on the playlist, have a browse, we’ve got choooons for dayzzzz.
Dessiderium – Keys to the Palace
For fans of: Opeth, Wintersun, Devin Townsend, Ne Obliviscaris, Disillusion, Kardashev
Picked by: Zach
Dessiderium’s Alex Haddad has returned with a massive stylistic shift. Moving away from his love affair with Opeth, Haddad has opted to lean further into his JRPG soundtrack influences with a healthy scoop of Strapping Young Lad-era Devin Townsend. The result is a massive, sixty-two minute odyssey of computerized string sections, grooving riffs, and triumphant, belted clean vocals. A far cry from the murky atmosphere and black metal stylings of Aria, yet uniquely Dessiderium all the same. Keys to the Palace tells the cautionary tale of childhood innocence lost through juxtaposed synth swirls and the heaviest riffs Haddad has ever written. This is Dessiderium at its most maximalist and dramatic, but undoubtedly, the most crystal clear picture of Haddad’s vision for the project.
Recommended tracks: Dover Hendrix, Pollen for the Bees, Keys to the Palace, Magenta
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Deafheaven – Lonely People With Power
Recommended for fans of: Lantlôs, Møl, Sadness, Harakiri for the Sky
Picked by: Dylan
Deafheaven’s Lonely People With Power brought back all the attention that the band garnered from their iconic 2013 album Sunbather. And for good reason, for it’s one of the most complete blackgaze LPs I’ve come across. From minute one, it’s immersive, epic, relentlessly heavy yet also intelligent enough to understand when to scale back and let the song breathe. Lonely People with Power includes some of Deafheaven’s heaviest tracks to date, which bring forward unbelievable performances from all musicians in the band. Its seamless flow and three-act structure make for a cinematic experience, phenomenal to close your eyes to as it swallows you into its exploration of humanity’s neverending search for power and the consequences it has brought them. Whether you’re into blackgaze, prog, or just music in general, Lonely People WIth Power will surely strike a chord with anyone who gives it a fair shot.
Recommended tracks: Revelator, Winona
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
The Overmold – The Overmold
Recommended for fans of: Krallice, Khanate, Sunn O)))
Picked by: Justin
The Overmold’s “The Overmold” (The Overmold) is a massive slab of experimental doom/drone metal that has ended up becoming my favorite listening experience of the year so far. Mick Barr (Krallice) and Tim Wyskida (Khanate) fuse together their respective brands of avante-garde songwriting to create a pensive, intimate experience. At times expertly restrained, other times explosively bombastic, “The Overmold” explores improvisation, dynamics and rubato in a way not often heard in metal and metal-adjacent music. Three shorter vignettes follow that allow the duo to explore their sound in a more structured environment, cementing The Overmold as a truly unique exploration of big fuckin weirdo songcraft.
Recommended tracks: The Overmold
Related links: Bandcamp | original review
Steven Wilson – The Overview
Recommended for fans of: Yes, Rush, Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree, Tangerine Dream, John Hopkins
Picked by: Christopher
If modern progressive rock has a figurehead, then it’s surely Steven Wilson, and while he’s been experimenting a bit more with pop and electronica feeling on recent outings, The Overview saw him return to his erstwhile home. Comprised of two epic suites meditating on cosmic perspective, and channelling a wealth of 70s classic prog influences and filtering them through his own inimitable prism, Wilson treats us to an odyssey through a variety of sonic vistas. On “Objects Outlive Us” the prog rock reigns while on “The Overview” electronica underpins everything, and the production throughout is the best you’ll hear all year. This is easily Wilson’s best album since Hand Cannot Erase (and I say that as a defender of The Harmony Codex and To The Bone), and it’s one of his most audacious musical experiments to date.
Recommended tracks: there’s only two, but if you’ve only got time for one then go for Objects Outlive Us
Related links: Spotify | original review
BÅKÜ – Soma
Recommended for fans of: Cult of Luna, Amenra, Neurosis
Picked by: William
SOMA, the debut offering of French act BÅKÜ, makes a bold first impression. Haunting thrums fill an impossibly empty space as the listener studies the psychedelic album art. They are swaddled in an intriguing, blistering cold. Synthetic chirps noodle in and out like sensory floaters. Drums kick in. A man hollers, and then a different man recounts the results of a sleep study. Such is the bizarre variety of SOMA. Each track is one of a five-part suite, simply titled “OPPOSITE”. Between the transient familiarity of post-metal churn, BÅKÜ gives us black metal riffs, a hardcore breakdown, an ASMR section (seriously). The composition spins a delicate trapeze—it is long-winded and entrancing without ever falling into dull repetition. Fans of heavy, sludgy fare who are willing to embrace the ordeal of post-metal will find a serious gem in this record. Those who need no convincing will enjoy a captivating take on the genre.
Recommended tracks: OPPOSITE 3, OPPOSITE 5
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Coheed and Cambria – Vaxis – Act III: The Father of Make Believe
Recommended for fans of: Closure in Moscow, The Dear Hunter
Picked by: Chris
I made it clear in my original review of TFoMB that while Coheed is my favorite band, I’d had some misgivings with aspects of the latest Vaxis saga of records between songs that were too long in the tooth and songs that fell too much into the radio rock territory. TFoMB felt much like a return to form for the band, and if anything I like it even more weeks after its release. A great record, it’s progressive in the sense that the band take themselves through a multitude of sounds and feels without losing the plot or their sense of self, and a return of more guitar based riffing and melodies really brings this record to a higher station than recent efforts. TFoMB maintains that Coheed feeling of a pop base hiding behind a guitar-driven prog rock veneer, and that combination is just too sweet for me to not gobble up.
Recommended tracks: Goodbye Sunshine, The Father of Make Believe, Play the Poet
Related links: Spotify | original review
Imperial Triumphant – Goldstar
Recommended for fans of: Gorguts, Charles Mingus, Oranssi Pazuzu, Blut Aus Nord, Ulcerate
Picked by: Andy
My darling Imperial Triumphant are back with another NYC-themed opus, the package tighter and meaner than ever without sacrificing too much of their characteristic weirdness. Never shy to riff hard, it seems that the power trio have upped their game tenfold in the past couple years. With brainy highlights like “Hotel Sphinx” and “Rot Moderne” to counteract the brute force of “Gomorrah Nouveaux” and “NEWYORKCITY,” there’s something for everybody (assuming you can withstand a great deal of dissonance. Have a gold star, Imperial Triumphant. You’ve earned it.
Recommended tracks: Gomorrah Nouveaux, Hotel Sphinx, Rot Moderne, Industry of Misery
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Chercán – Chercán
For fans of: Vulkan, Thank You Scientist, The Mars Volta
Picked by: Doug
For their self-titled debut, Chercán could be said to imitate a number of other prog bands, but the borrowed styles take on a life of their own in the Chilean band’s capable hands. Starting from psychedelia-laced progressive rock akin to Vulkan, the additional layers of saxophone and strings bring a distinctive timbre to Chercán’s sound, and a unique flexibility to take on a wide range of influences including the realms of jazz, folk, and beyond. Offering sweet mystery and romance, lively and uplifting jazz, and even some aggressive, almost shouted angst, Chercán is a thrill from start to finish.
Recommended tracks: Tiempos Paralelos, Relato De Una Obsesión (both parts), 7 Colores
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Smiqra – Rɡyaɡ̇dźé!
Recommended for fans of: Ὁπλίτης, Car Bomb, Blut Aus Nord, Plebeian Grandstand, Frontierer
Picked by: Cooper
Ever since Ὁπλίτης’s 2024 masterpiece Παραμαινομένη, I’ve been on the lookout for new releases from the black metal mastermind J.L. behind the album, but it turns out he thought he could trick me by releasing music under a different name! Thankfully, I’m much too clever because J.L. (now called Smiqra) picks up right where Παραμαινομένη left off with Rɡyaɡ̇dźé!, but instead of the primal mysticism that ran through the last album, this new album is fraught with raw intensity. Pounding drums, shrieking sax and synthesizers, and angular guitars combine into a slurry of hardcore and black metal that knocks the listener down and keeps kicking.
Recommended tracks: qa-si-re-u!
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Burning Palace – Elegy
Recommended for fans of: Ulcerate, Artificial Brain
Picked by: Andy
Dissodeath can sometimes get a bit lost in the ambiance and forget the death metal part. Burning Palace sure haven’t. While cerebral time signature changes and alien guitar parts, the group relentlessly punish with shockingly heavy riffs from the Replicant and Wormhole school of dissonance. With Ulcerate-ish cracks of melody seeping through, Elegy’s got it all. A fine hour for dissodeath and riff lovers, indeed.
Recommended tracks: Malignant Dogma, Awakening Extinction (Eternal Eclipse), Sunken Veil, Elegy
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review coming soon
Cthuluminati – Tentacula
Recommended for fans of: Oranssi Pazuzu, Ved Buens Ende, A Forest of Stars, Arcturus, Enslaved
Picked by: Sam
To those who’ve spent enough time on the internet, the idea of silly tentacles touching you all over the place has rather…sensual connotations, but on Tentacula I promise that you can rest assured because this sensuality goes no further than the ears. The goofy goobers at Cthuluminati have spread their tentacles across a multitude of disparate genres: from black metal, to psychedelic rock, to post-metal, to horror synth, and of course, prog. Molded in unpredictable, yet strongly cohesive songwriting with glorious peaks and enthrallingly spooky valleys, Tentacula is a bewildering album in all the right ways.
Recommended tracks: Cthrl, Abysmal Quatrain, The Illusion of Control
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Wÿntër Ärvń – Sous l’Orage Noir – L’Astre et la Chute
Recommended for fans of: Empyrium, Vàli, Ulver’s Kveldssanger, The Moon and the Nightspirit
Picked by: Dave
Like Wardruna’s Birna back in January, Sous l’Orage Noir – L’Astre et la Chute has been a soothing balm for me in a period of duress and uncertainty. Sous l’Orage Noir is comprised of dark folk compositions that wind around pastoral ideas, occasionally stretching its tendrils into darker and more ominous territories through the use of sharp dissonance and harsh vocals. Even in the face of its more intense elements, Sous l’Orage Noir never loses its sense of delicacy as each track gingerly moves from idea to idea; the backing instruments gently introduce texture to the pieces and often engage in elegant dance with the guitars through counterpoint. Additionally, the vocal performances are all spectacular, whether it be Wÿntër Ärvń’s harshes, Judith de Lotharingie’s clean vocals, or the myriad chants that accentuate passages. Overall, Sous l’Orage Noir is an endlessly replayable and forward-thinking record that stretches just that bit more into dark folk’s black metal roots.
Recommended tracks: Un Voile sur l’Azur, Appelé à l’Abîme, Vingt Ans de Brouillard, Ad Umbras
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Havukruunu – Tavastland
Recommended for fans of: Grima, Saor, Moonsorrow
Picked by: Daniel
[Editor’s note: February release but, as Daniel says, he didn’t get to it ’til March. I tried disciplining him but if anything he enjoyed the caning]
Since Tavastland arrived on the last day of February, I didn’t really get to sit with it until March. But from the moment the choral chant hit in the opening track, “Kuolematon Laulunhenki,” I felt something primal stir—a tribal feeling, resonating deep in my bones. That instinctual pull only grew stronger as the album unfolded. Towering, chest-thumping riffs; soaring, melodic solos that are memorable and even singable; raw, harsh vocals that snarl and yet are somehow strangely melodic—all give Tavastland a solid foundation that would make this a stellar black metal release with just those elements, but it does so much more. The production and mastering are some of the best I’ve ever heard in the genre, retaining that black metal coarseness but still crystal clear and giving every instrument and vocal element its rightful place in the mix—everything shines when it needs to, and nothing feels overcrowded. And of course, the recurring choral passages that cut like sunlight through a forest canopy lend the whole LP a ritualistic majesty.
Recommended tracks: Kuolematon Laulunhenki, Yönsynty, Kuoleman Oma
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Non-Subway Picks
clipping. – Dead Channel Sky (experimental hip hop)
Not quite as cohesive or experimental as some of their earlier oeuvre, Dead Channel Sky is nonetheless a solid addition to clipping.‘s discography. clipping. are as punchy as ever.
[picked by: Ishmael]
Warbringer – Wrath and Ruin (thrash metal)
Now and then, I go on a kick where I just want some fast, heavy, straight-up metal ruining my eardrums. Warbringer absolutely delivers on this and more, unleashing a barrage of heavy thrash with the pacing and compositional variety to make Wrath and Ruin a holistic ass-kicker.
[picked by: Cory]
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma – Giftsongs (ambient)
Through a hellish midterm season, I basically only listened to ambient and classical minimalism for a week straight. This gorgeous release got a lot of airtime, its delicate piano parts and sprawling compositional style perfect for zoning out to.
[picked by: Andy]
Hexecutor – …Where Spirit Withers in Its Flesh Constraint (black metal/thrash metal)
Hexecutor continues their streak of being one of the most consistently above average bands in the black/thrash scene. …Where Spirit Withers in Its Flesh Constraint is a triumphant standout within the genre. Plus, that logo is awesome, isn’t it?
[picked by: Justin]
Devin Townsend – The Moth (progressive metal)
This one technically hasn’t found a studio release yet and we’ll review it when it does, but myself and Cory both caught the live stream and hoo-boy what an accomplishment! You can pay for the stream via onair.events and if you’re a Devy fan and haven’t, believe me, it’s worth it.
[picked by: Christopher]
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