Reports from the (progressive metal) Underground: January 2020 (part 3)

A pleasant day to you reader! Welcome to part 3 of the January 2020 edition. I must inform you that something has gone horribly wrong in Prog Subway land. Where have all the bad albums gone? Seriously it seems like almost everything we review is worth a 7/10 at least. This edition doesn’t have anything below a 7. It may seem that implies we aren’t critical enough, but really these albums are just all way too competent. Where did all the suck-y bands go? It’s unfair, I’m telling you. We’ve become way too capable at sorting through the weeds. But more importantly, how the fuck can there be so many capable underground releases in an already niche genre like this each month? Is the prog scene on coke or something?

Anyway, as you might have guessed, the ratings are pretty high this time. It’s way too soon, but we already have our first 10/10-rated album of the year! And there’s a 9.5/10 too! Come on, people should be way too hungover in January to make good music. Let me have my stereotypes dammit.

So with that said, here’s your radically un-suck-y Spotify playlist of recommended tracks and you can start checking out these decidedly non-suck-y albums. Enjoy the read I guess.

Leporid – Finding the Source (US-CO)
Style: Avantgarde/slight Metalcore (mostly clean vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Review by: Matt

I wonder how many people, like me, will quickly glance at the name “Leporid” and assume that it’s yet another variant of “leprosy”, because metal. The true meaning is much less brutal, as I realized upon seeing bandleader Rabbit Simmons in a bunny suit. Hmm. I don’t know if this guy is a serial killer or a pervert, but he’s a pretty good musician.

Leporid claim influences ranging from BTBAM to Katatonia, but they remind me first and foremost of Vulture Industries, with their quirky keyboards and thespian-sounding lower vocals. The quirkiness is the most striking element, but it’s always presented in a simple and appealing way. Each song has a strong central idea, supported by memorable semi-folky melodies and modern 8-string riffs that manage not to abuse the low end too much. The album immediately opens with a great keyboard motif, and they seem to know it as it confidently builds for five minutes. This track really works for me, but leads into my main criticism: Not much happens in these songs.

Basically, each track has a couple ideas that it presents in the first minute or so, and most of their time is spent juggling them around. I don’t recall any mid-song changes in feel or notable bridges to speak of. These main ideas are often good, but get diminishing returns. Maybe there were a couple deviations, but my main impression afterwards was one of repetition. Sometimes it’s enough, and sometimes I’m left wanting more. There’s also a bit of DIY stank in the album’s production, with a fake-sounding boxy snare and some harsh vocal reverb. Not a bad album overall though – they’re definitely on the right track with this. There’s a limit to how much you can gimp such solid fundamentals.

Recommended tracks: Finding the Source, Restless
Recommended for fans of: Vulture Industries, Arcturus, Tyr
Final verdict: 7/10

The Band Royale – The Band Royale (US-IL)
Style: Prog Rock/Psychedelic (clean vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | RYM page
Review by: Jonah

I want to start off by saying that I’ve been absolutely in love with the debut album by this band since I first heard it in 2015. They managed to mix psychedelic music, prog rock, and this 20s lounge singer sound together into a beautiful cocktail of sci-fi music that just makes me smile everytime I hear it, even now five years later. So when I heard that they were finally releasing a 2nd album I was excited, but also nervous, as my expectations were so very high.

With that preface out of the way, I was MOSTLY happy with this album. I think it’s an incredibly fun follow up to their original release, and while I think it’s missing some of the experimentation and magic from the debut, I also recognize how hard it is to keep that alive throughout multiple releases. So I’m very satisfied with this album, and I have listened to it many times.

The Band Royale’s music is incredibly chill and smooth, that’s the main thing you need to know coming in. It should make you feel like you’re laying back in a booth at a bar, high off some molly and just vibing as a singer croons at you over a groovy bassline. That’s this entire album in a nutshell, except there’s also really neat guitar stuff and drum stuff happening. The performances are all excellent and exceptionally groovy, and the singing is just sublime.

Although this album is as proggy as the debut, I highly recommend a listen to both. For anyone who is a fan of both prog and chill lounge music, or anyone that likes to just lay back and vibe to an album, I wholeheartedly suggest The Band Royale. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Recommended tracks: Stranger Things, Under Control, New Orleans
Recommended for fans of: Port Noir, Amplifier, Dredg
Final verdict: 8/10

Karfagen – Birds of Passage (Ukraine)
Style: Classic Prog Rock (clean vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | RYM page
Review by: Stephen

Karfagen is a Ukranian progressive band I have followed and listened to for a couple years now. I’ve always enjoyed their albums since I discovered Messages from Afar: First Contact shortly after it was released. When I discovered they released their newest album Birds of Passage, I got very excited and my expectations were set very high. Did Birds of Passage meet my expectations? No, the album exceeded my expectations. 

Like I mentioned before, I am pretty familiar with Karfagen and have enjoyed their past albums, but Birds of Passage elevated Karfagen to a new level in my eyes. Is it something unlike anything you’ve heard before? No, it isn’t. It’s a familiar sound, but it’s done so well and Karfagen puts their own unique spin on the sound. Take a look at the album artwork, what do you see? I see artwork telling me that this is most likely going to be a trippy, throwback, prog-rock album with some psychedelic elements to it. Well, that’s exactly what this is. If you enjoy bands like Moon Safari, Cheeto’s Magazine, and A.C.T. do not miss this album. 

The album has a runtime of just under an hour, at 57 minutes, and “Birds of Passage” (Part 1 and 2) have a runtime of about 43 minutes. Needless to say, those are the tracks I recommend the most. When I listen to both parts, I don’t for one second get ear fatigue, or have the desire to skip to a different song. If you listen to those two songs, you might as well commit to the rest of the album, because you’ve already listened to well over half of it. Don’t worry though, you won’t be disappointed with the rest of the album. 

Okay, this next part of the review might read a little odd, but bear with me. If I haven’t sold you on the album yet, start “Birds of Passage (Part 1)” and go to the 19:55 minute mark and listen for the next minute (and 15 seconds) until the 21:10 minute mark. If you listened to just that minute, think about the journey you went on over just the last minute. That takes some serious talent, and composition skills to switch moods that many times in a minute.

I was lucky enough to hear this album the day it was released, and immediately after the first listen, I added it to our list and put my claim in for the review. This album is very, very good. Do not miss the album, especially if you enjoy any or all of the bands I mentioned. This album will probably pop up in the 2020 AOTY edition for me.

Recommended tracks: Birds of Passage (both parts)
Recommended for fans of: Moon Safari, Cheeto’s Magazine, A.C.T.
Final verdict: 9.5/10

Joel Martin – Roots (US-CA)
Style: Rock/Metal (instrumental)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify
Review by: Andrew

Roots is a (mostly) instrumental progressive rock/metal album by Joel Martin, a 21 year-old college student from California. I say mostly because the first track (which is also the longest) has a few vocal passages – clean and harsh. These vocal passages are short-lived and the instrumentation quickly resumes. 

Heavily influenced by many other progressive bands, Roots proudly displays its wide blend of inspirations and influences throughout its runtime. Borrowing tendencies from bands such as Between the Buried and Me, Thrailkill, and even a bit of Meshuggah, Roots never really stays in one place for long. It goes through a huge variety of moods and feelings, changing tempo frequently to change the feel of the music. Despite the many influences, Roots feels unique; the songwriting is interesting and maintains great flow throughout. It’s full of engrossing riffs, funky basslines, and technical drumming that all combine to create a captivating musical experience.

The mixing is pretty great too, especially for a self-produced home record. My main gripe with Roots is the lack of memorable hooks or passages. Before you say, “it’s instrumental, there aren’t supposed to be any hooks!” trust me – I’ve heard instrumental metal that’s absurdly memorable and catchy. Roots, however, is neither. It’s got all the building blocks of a great instrumental album. Joel’s got the chops required to make something great. For a debut album from such a young musician, it is an incredible achievement. But there’s not quite enough here for me to truly love it. 

Recommended tracks: Incantation, Shrouded Sky, To Touch the Stars
Recommended for fans of: Between the Buried and Me, Thrailkill
Final verdict: 7/10

Dunkelstorm – Finsternis (Argentina)
Style: Symphonic Black (harsh vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Metal-Archives page
Review by: Dylan

It’s been a while since I’ve had to review anything even remotely related to Black Metal. But as it usually is my self imposed obligation to review Argentinian bands, I felt obligated to go ahead and review Dunkelstorm’s album, Fisternis. 

This album’s style is quite peculiar. It’s symphonic and somewhat proggy like what you get in later Emperor albums, but there’s a few things that are very unique. And most of those are because the album has a pretty big electronic/industrial vibe that is present alongside the usual symphonic black metal suspects. Not to say that they flat out mix electronic/industrial music with symphonic black, but elements like an e-kit, and a couple of the synth’s samples make the album sound really, really distinct, in a very good way 

The production is a bit bad for progressive metal standards, but very decent for black metal ones. To be fair to them, I’d rather have this album be a tad rawer than the usual prog metal release because it adds to the industrial atmosphere.

This release is actually quite a fair bit catchy, the riffs are pretty easy to remember, there’s no constant, repetitive tremolo over shrieks. It’s a very structured and methodically thought out album, unlike a lot of releases present in the genre. During most of the album, I felt like the band made the right choices on when to be aggressive, when to be atmospheric, when to let the instruments do the talking, when to add vocals, etc. It felt overall cohesive, which could be a detriment to some, because most tracks somewhat repeat the formula. It certainly wasn’t for me though. I’ll only say that the album gets just a teeny tiny bit longer than I’d like because there’s a track or two I could’ve lived without, but I was never actually bored by this release.

Dunkelstorm’s sound is unique, and very cutting edge. I’m actually not sure whether it’s the black metal fans that will get more out of this or the prog metal fans, but if you’re at all interested in what you just read, I’d strongly recommend you to check them out (free download at bandcamp!) for yourself. 

Recommended tracks: Poisoned Mind, I Want to Disappear
Recommended for fans of: late Emperor
Final verdict: 8/10

Elden – Nostromo (Sweden)
Style: Stoner Metal (clean vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Review by: Andrew

I’ve never really been a fan of doom metal or stoner rock or any varieties of either. Why am I reviewing a stoner metal album? Furthermore, why did I enjoy it so much? 

This definitely isn’t my usual style of music so I have very little to compare it to. Nostromo by Swedish stoner metal band Elden is heavy, crunchy, and riffy in ways that hit the spot perfectly. Employing a combination of heavy riffs, melodic choruses, and emotional guitar solos, Elden manages to capture my attention for an hour at a time in a style of music that typically puts me to sleep. With vocals that sound like a 21st century Ozzy and a guitar tone crunchier than a stale tortilla chip, it’s a formula guaranteed to make your head move. Elden’s influences are on clear display through Nostromo. Mastodon, Black Sabbath, Kyuss, and more shine throughout every second of every song of Nostromo. 

As stated, I am not familiar with this genre so in terms of specifics, I really don’t have much to say. Despite my unfamiliarity and inherent bias against the genre, Elden has come one step closer to changing my opinion on stoner rock. Will I seek out more from the genre? Perhaps. Will I listen to Nostromo again? Hell yeah. It’s groovy as hell and the riffs are fantastic. Beyond that, it’s just pure fun. I’d absolutely recommend Nostromo to anyone looking for an hour of fun as hell metal with a huge 70s vibe. 

Recommended tracks: Sail & Savour, Heavy Rain, Two-faced Wizard
Recommended for fans of: Mastodon, Kyuss, Black Sabbath
Final verdict: 8/10

Nero di Marte – Immoto (Italy)
Style: Experimental/Post Metal (harsh vocals, some soft cleans)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Review by: Chris

Anytime something is described as post-anything it’s expected you will find repeating themes, ebb and flow of builds, and atmospheric tones. Immoto brings a body of work which reads like a master-thesis on the usage of these techniques while injecting some new style into the formula. Having gone back and listened to their previous work Derivae, Immoto takes the ideas they had there and heightens the extremes, giving us even heavier riffs and more post lows and atmosphere. Before I say more about this album I just want to make it very clear this is the best thing I’ve personally heard all year.

This album opens with the appropriately named Sisyphos, who’s fate of rolling the boulder up the hill only to have it fall mates well with the  ebb and flow of this long track, which I feel really serves as an abstract for the album where the band states their intent, building the tension with light atmosphere and almost spoken word style harshes before dropping bone-crushing heaviness onto you to 3 minutes in. After that point you have dropped on the first big hill of the coaster and are at the whim of the flow of this album as Nero Di Marte guide you through their constant ebb and flow of energy and intensity. 

One feature of this album I have to highlight that contributes greatly to its atmosphere and feel is the naturalness of every instrument in the mix; an abundance of roomy sounds and feels for every instrument provides the sense of being within the music that this kind of building and atmosphere-driven music needs in order to really bring me along. In terms of performances, the drumming is absolutely stellar and my favorite drumming on a release this year. The bass tonality and sense of when to blend and when to really contribute a separate voice is excellent; the guitar tones and reverbs throughout manage to go from bone-crushing to light as a feather, and toe the line between inhuman and completely natural in feel.

I don’t speak Italian so I really don’t understand the lyrics, but that hasn’t kept me from feeling the emotion and intent dripping from them. Vocalist Sean Worrell as he provides a great delivery on every track: from his Gojira esque pitched harshes to softer almost pad-like hums and tones. Overall this was an album that very pleasantly surprised me, and caused me to dive a bit more back into the Post-Metal genre, though I have yet to find something else that has met the bar this album has given me. The fluidness with which Nero Di Marte have weaved their heavy and light sides together is something they’ve managed to do beyond anyone else I’ve encountered so far. So yeah, here’s my first 10 for the blog. 

Recommended tracks: Sisyphos, L’arca, Immoto
Recommended for fans of: Intronaut, Ulcerate, ISIS, Gojira
Final verdict: 10/10

Thoughts Factory – Elements (Germany)
Style: Traditional (clean vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page
Review by: Sam

It’s been way too long since I heard some proper Dream Theater worship on this blog. Varied as my taste may be (though fuck metalcore), my bread and butter will always be traditional prog metal. So when I saw we had Thoughts Factory on our list, which seemed like a competent worship band of the 00s era prog metal variety, and I thought to myself: “why not?” 

Elements is indeed a very competent release. It’s got most of the things you expect in this style: chunky mid-tempo riffs, a soaring vocalist and lots of pretty melodies. It’s a song-driven release however, so there aren’t any epic solo sections. Everything’s perfectly within bounds. Their songs have plenty of Yes sensibilities too, which drew up some Subsignal comparisons in my mind. The production is (mostly) very nice too. It’s a bit over-compressed, but other than that it’s pretty much flawless. You can hear every instrument precisely. They strike a good balance. Special props to making the bass perfectly audible even in the heavier bits in a natural way. The instrumental performance is damn tight as well. All of this makes for a perfectly competent record.

However there are some parts that didn’t really convince me about this album. For starters I wish they weren’t so damned restrained on their instruments. On one hand it creates nice compact songs, but on the other hand: this is prog metal. We’re used to some extravaganza. No need to be shy. It’s no wonder the instrumental “Frozen Planet” is my favorite song on the album. And there’s also something about the singer that irks me. He’s technically competent, but the way he delivers emotions feels like it’s done out of a book. The softer parts feel more genuine, but his soaring style just kinda passes me by. Also his tone kinda turns me off. What’s more is that most of his hooks just fall flat, which is ultimately the downfall of this album I feel. With melodic prog metal like this you either need flashy instrumental passages or strong vocal hooks (or both, like Vanden Plas and Threshold do so well) to make people come back to it, and this album has neither. What this leaves us with is a release that is competent, but not something I’d revisit much. “Inoffensive” is the word.

Recommended tracks: Mind Odyssey, Frozen Planet, Dawn Pt. 1
Recommended for fans of: Darkwater, Yes, Subsignal, Dream Theater
Final verdict: 7/10

Deathwhite – Grave Image (US-PN)
Style: Gothic Doom (clean vocals)
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Metal-Archives page
Review by: Jonah

Man this has been an edition full of follow-up albums for me, between this and my The Band Royale review, and I have to be honest in both cases the album was good, but not up to the caliber of the debut. Deathwhite’s debut in 2018 was one of my absolute favorite albums amidst one of the best years in music I’ve seen in ages, and their EP before that was equally fantastic. Thus, when this album was good but not GREAT, I was a bit let down. Nonetheless, let us get into the meat of this review.

Deathwhite plays a brand of depressive slow prog that one might find from Katatonia, of earlier Anathema, the riffs are big, the vocals are large and emotive, and the overall tone is somber and gloomy. The vocals here are just a bit less impressive than on the debut and EP, as it sounds like the vocalist (who, like the rest of the band, is anonymous) just isn’t pushing quite as hard. On the flip side, the drums are going hog-wild the whole album and god damn are they good. The guitars and bass aren’t flashy, but each have moments to shine, and as a whole the performances are really good. What really drags the album is the similarity in sound and tone from one track to the next. I would’ve loved to hear just a smidge more variance going on, and some more vocal effort, and that would’ve really pushed this to another level.

All that being said, if you’re a fan of Katatonia or anything in that vein, absolutely give this a listen. It’s still a very strong album, and I definitely love quite a few songs from it. Give it a listen, and give these cool cats from Pennsylvania some love, as I absolutely want to see another album from them.

Recommended tracks: Funeral Ground, Among Us, Return to Silence
Recommended for fans of: Katatonia, Anathema, Paradise Lost (When they got rid of the death metal)
Final verdict: 7/10