Another month, another album of the month post! We’re now over a third of the way into the year, and 2025 is starting to reveal its hand. Like March before it, April was incredibly strong for new prog releases, and our swelling ranks of writers have a veritable flock of great releases for your waiting ears. This month we’ve got epically progressive post-rock, orchestral proggy tech-death, the return of some indie prog darlings, a blend of deconstructed hip-hop and experimental sludge metal (yes, you read that right), bluesy doom metal, and much more (there are only so many ways I can describe the wealth of prog death releases in this post). Batten down the hatches, raise the mizzenmast, and stick on our playlist, because we’re setting a course for heaviness.
Changeling – Changeling
Recommended for fans of: Alkaloid, Obscura, Devin Townsend, Morbid Angel, Yes
Picked by: Zach
This album is a psyop. Since I’ve listened, I’ve woken up with a new song stuck in my head every day. Today it’s the opening guitar riff and chorus of the title track, but it’s the opening homage to Princess Mononoke from “Abdication” that’s been banging around in my head the most. For those who don’t like tech-death and don’t mind harsh vocals, listen to the last two songs at the very least. Changeling even converted some of the non-tech-death heathens in our writing room, which is definitely a sign that it’s good. This is probably my favorite tech-death album since Carnosus belched out Visions of Infinihility, and I can compare both by saying they’ve got killer songwriting. Changeling are reliant on the strength of the compositions, choosing to eschew the cheap thrills of constant blast beats and sweep picking for moments that feel earned, all while displaying the virtuosity of the team of musicians Fountainhead brought together.
Recommended tracks: Instant Results, Falling in Circles, Abyss, Anathema
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Bruit ≤ – The Age of Ephemerality
Recommended for fans of: Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Explosions in the Sky, Caspian, We Lost the Sea
Picked by: Andy
This is the single greatest post-rock album of all time, I said it. Between the most crushing, emotionally freeing climaxes I’ve ever heard and gorgeous classical and electronic buildups, The Age of Ephemerality is breathless and sublime. Each track builds and builds until they touch God, and then they keep going higher. With an electric guitar ensemble recorded in the resonant space of a church, a full string quartet, a quartet of horns, several masterful synth players and programmers, and a wickedly tight drummer, Bruit ≤ have a clear frontrunner for album of the year.
Recommended tracks: Progress / Regress, Technoslavery / Vandalism, The Intoxication of Power
Related links: Bandcamp | original review
Messa – The Spin
Recommended for fans of: Windhand, Chelsea Wolfe, Pijn, Latitudes
Picked by: Doug
Growing as an artist comes with the risk that that growth will incur a cost to the artist’s identity as a performer. Not so for Messa; the fourth outing from this Italian bluesy doom metal group remains as hauntingly beautiful as ever. As their complex potion of stylistic influences has bubbled away over the years, it’s condensed down to a supernatural potency that reflects the band’s continually expanding musical talents. The Spin further elevates Messa’s presentation to a state of transcendence through a mix of precise, technical instrumental work and Sara Bianchin’s tragically emotional singing. The band members share the spotlight for a combination of stirring choruses and otherworldly solos, and the grand culmination of their efforts for the absolutely stellar climax of “The Dress” will leave you wondering where this kind of music has been all your life. Well, wonder no longer—it’s right here!
Recommended tracks: Void Meridian, Immolation, The Dress, Thicker Blood
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Tómarúm – Beyond Obsidian Euphoria
For fans of: Ne Obliviscaris, An Abstract Illusion, Fallujah, Wilderun
Picked by: Cory
With Beyond Obsidian Euphoria, Tómarúm envisioned a work frighteningly large in scope and shaped it into an intricate, immersive, and highly rewarding behemoth of an album. This seventy-minute journey is intense and requires quite a bit of commitment and focus. But Tómarúm provide plenty of hooks and lighter instrumental passages that serve as aural footholds, allowing you to regroup along the way. The resulting experience is wondrous and sure to please anyone who enjoys epic prog death in the vein of Ne Obliviscaris or An Abstract Illusion.
Recommended tracks: Shed This Erroneous Skin, The Final Pursuit of Light
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Black Country, New Road – Forever Howlong
For fans of: The Beatles, black midi, Keller Williams, Steve Reich, Love, The Beach Boys, The Smile
Picked by: Cooper
If you know anything about me, you’re probably not surprised to see Black Country, New Road appear as my Album of the Month, but if you know anything about BCNR you’d realize that my love for this album wasn’t as guaranteed as it seems in hindsight. Thankfully, BCNR stick the landing in regards to switching vocalists and have once again delivered a masterful array of baroque pop instant classics. While still containing a healthy helping of post-punk angst, Forever Howlong sees the band exploring their sensitive side as vocals become the soft gooey core of nearly every track. While Forever Howlong may not reach the same heights as its predecessor Ants from Up There, it carves a new space entirely—one softer, stranger, and equally beautiful.
Recommended tracks: Two Horses, For the Cold Country, Nancy Tries to Take the Night
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Sumac, Moor Mother – The Film
Recommended for fans of: Isis, Neurosis, Chat Pile, Thou, Mizmor
Picked by: Dave
Led by squealing, atonal improvisation, The Film is about as musically deconstructed as a metal record can get—I can count the number of conventional sludge passages across its runtime on one hand. Yet, in its wailing dissonance and amorphous improv sections, a sharp focus emerges. Moor Mother‘s spellbinding spoken word guides a vast majority of The Film, delivered with a fervor that crests by its end into an apocalyptic fury. There’s a strong attention to detail and intentionality in its improvisation: even small bits like the frantic chime jingling in the extended instrumental break of “Scene 5: Breathing Fire” exude a rhythmic punctuation when listened to closely. What The Film lacks in conventional melody and song structure it makes up for many times over in sheer brilliance both compositional and lyrical.
Recommended tracks: Scene 2: The Run, Camera, Scene 5: Breathing Fire
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Felgrave – Otherlike Darknesses
Recommended for fans of: Stargazer, Timeghoul, The Ruins of Beverast
Picked by: Justin
Sprawlingly ambitious and truly singular; Otherlike Darknesses transcends the boundaries of death/doom metal, bringing to life a breathtaking vision of longform progressive songwriting, ever-evolving motifs, gripping textural soundscaping, and the most satisfying full album experience of the year so far for my tastes. I absolutely adore albums that have such massive ambitions, and artists who are brave enough to attempt to put them to record. Even if they fall short (they almost always do), the pure conceit behind the vision is such an awe-inspiring experience that the shortcomings end up not mattering, or even becoming singular quirks that turn into strengths over a long enough period of time. Felgrave has created one such record, my only gripe with it being: “there’s not enough of it”. Otherlike Darknesses is going to be the album to beat for 2025, and has the potential to land itself a 10/10 if it holds up over the year. Can’t recommend this one enough.
Recommended tracks: Winds Batter My Keep
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Belnejoum – Dark Tales of Zarathustra
Recommended for fans of: Nile, Ne Obliviscaris, Fleshgod Apocalypse
Picked by: Daniel
With Dark Tales of Zarathustra, fantastical themes blend with grandiose orchestration and blistering blackened death metal to summon quite a compelling debut for Belnejoum—a band made up of both underground talents and members of well known groups including Fleshgod Apocalypse, Nile, and Annihilator. Drawing heavily from ancient Persian myth, the release conjures apocalyptic heavy tracks in almost equal measure with pensive interludes, making Dark Tales a meticulously crafted journey through flame and shadow, wrapped in a distinctly modern extreme metal sound.
Recommended tracks: Tower of Silence, On Aeshmas Wings, Upon the Mortal Blight
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Dormant Ordeal – Tooth and Nail
Recommended for fans of: Decapitated, Behemoth, Ulcerate
Picked by: Cory
Tooth and Nail is pummeling and relentless death metal, yet still elegant and accessible. With a guitar tone that rips your insides out and vocals that speak venom into your soul, the experience is a visceral one. But Dormant Ordeal deftly wield subtle changes in rhythm and slight melodic hooks to keep the ear amidst the sonic battering. Add in the tasteful use of dissonance, beautifully clear production that retains plenty of character, and an inhuman drum performance, and you get a truly addictive album. Perhaps a glutton for punishment, I’ve returned to Tooth and Nail more than any other LP this year.
Recommended tracks: Horse Eater, Ophans, Everything That Isn’t Silence Is Trivial
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review coming soon
Non-Subway Picks
Thornhill – Bodies (alternative metal, metalcore, nu metal)
The Australian quartet complete the synthesis begun on sophomore album, Heroine (2022), brewing a batch of heady, grinding alternative metal chased with shots of earworm metalcore and luxurious trip-hop to create one addictive cocktail. A sweet taste on my musical palate I haven’t been able to shake since first sip.
[picked by: Vince]
Kaki King – Tutto Passa (post-rock, flamenco, atmospheric)
Kaki King’s signature style of flamenco-ish acoustic guitar (think Rodrigo y Gabriela, Jon Gomm, or Andy McKee) is back with this genre-spanning EP. While recent releases have fallen a bit flat, Tutto Passa is somehow a return to form while also breaking new ground for King, expanding into more atmospheric territory than usual. Tutto Passa is like a long train journey: watch different landscapes pass by with the clicking-clacking of the wheels underneath.
[picked by: Ishmael]
Skrillex – Fuck U Skrillex You Think Ur Andy Warhol but Ur Not!! <3 (hybrid trap, brostep, dubstep)
Umm wtf. What is Skrillex doing here? This thirty-six track album flows as a single piece, and while it’s a little cringe at times, it’s so energetic and fun it more than makes up for it by just being a banger.
[picked by: Andy]
Natalia Lafourcade – Cancionera (chamber folk)
Long one of my favorite musicians in the world, Lafourcade continues the style of her last album, magnum opus De Todas las Flores. That is, wonderful jazz-infused chamber folk. This time she has a full orchestral ensemble, and everything was recorded in one take with all musicians present right in the studio. She continues to create her legacy.
[picked by: Andy]
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