Style: Progressive rock (99% clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Neal Morse, Transatlantic, Big Big Train, Frost*
Country: USA (Utah)
Release date: 15 May 2026

---

As someone who grew up a heathen, religious music is something that doesn’t really animate me one way or the other. What can repel me though, is the overt preachiness of a lot of Christian rock. Prog rock legend Neal Morse, for example, made a ton of beloved albums with Transatlantic and Spock’s Beard, but after becoming a born again Christian, he made the move to writing albums that explicitly and somewhat blandly preach the gospel. On the other hand, I recently saw Thrice live, and while I was standing with a pint chanting along to “Of Dust and Nations”, little did I know that there were blogs online excoriating frontman Dustin Kensrue for embracing Process Theology¹. Indeed, while Thrice’s lyrics frequently draw on scriptural imagery and themes, the band have never been preachy and are rarely even considered a Christian rock group online. Maybe that’s why headbanging to “For Miles²” is a much more appealing prospect to me than watching Morse perform a painfully sincere retelling of the resurrection story.   

All that preamble might lead you to think today’s review is of a Christian prog album, to which the answer is: ‘er, hold on, let me explain’. On Falling Together, Advent Horizon frontman Rylee McDonald introspects on his upbringing in the Church of Latter Day Saints, his reexamination of his beliefs, and his disillusionment with organised religion over the past decade. Now, I was a little mixed on the band’s previous album, A Cell to Call Home, which showed real potential but fell prey to what I felt were some bland soft rock cliches³, but it offered a lot to like, too, and I was curious to see where a follow-up would take the band. 

While the band’s core aesthetic remains, Advent Horizon have pushed into both heavier and proggier realms on Falling Together, proving their chops out the gate with a nineteen-minute thematic overture that features heavy riffs, singable hooks, judicious use of synths and piano, an acoustic guitar solo, and even harsh vocals accompanied by some Opethian riffing. Rylee’s partner Kristen has graduated to a full band member and proves a compelling vocal foil, co-leading on the epic and contributing throughout. Across the evolving length of “In a Lone and Dreary World”, Advent Horizon produce some of their best work. The track evolves effortlessly, littered with returning motifs as guitar melodies flow into vocal melodies and back again. It’s a career-best to start with.

Fortunately, the attention to detail and progressive ambition of Falling Together remain intact across the shorter tracks to come. While “Faith’s Window” has a bit of a lighter-in-the-air tone, it somehow naturally reaches a climax where gnashing blackened screams punctuate the track and feel like a totally natural choice, as just one element in a truly compelling climax. “Patience”, meanwhile, journeys from acoustic and falsetto crooning alongside jangling major chords to an energetic Rush-esque synth n’ riff section before ultimately settling on a lumbering, bluesy groove to play out. “Past Life Parable” looks back to Advent Horizon’s A Cell to Call Home sound but the fretless bass of Cason Wood (which returns on closer “Animals”) is a frisson-inducing texture and the song builds to soaring guitar and keyboard solos.

Interlude tracks are a common stumbling block for bands, so “Gravity I” is a real test for Falling Together. And, thankfully, it’s not time wasted, but a fully composed idea, building from lone acoustic harmonics into a full guitar solo, and teasing a motif that takes hold in the second part of “Gravity II”. So many bands throw away short tracks, but the time invested in even this short piece is testament to the attention to detail on Falling Together. The final two tracks pack plenty in, too, from the Haken-esque galloping riffs of “Gravity II” to the gentle patter of synths on the back of closing ballad “Animal”. While the final three tracks aren’t quite as strong as the opening salvo, Falling Together never feels phoned in, remaining tight and sincere throughout. Rylee McDonald is a strong vocalist and while he does sometimes seem to force his voice a little, he’s a charismatic band leader for the most part. 

Let’s get heretical; Falling Together is, after all, a spiritual journey. Rylee cuts to the heart of the pressure felt by doubters raised in a church on the epic opener singing from the point of view of family and friends, ‘this is the only place you’re meant to be, you wouldn’t dare to break our hearts, this is the source of your eternity’ as backing vocals emotionally blackmail with a chant of ‘we raised you right’. Meanwhile, Kristen confronts the fear and uncertainty upon which organised religion preys: ‘but the fire of wisdom has nearly gone out, the freedom of knowledge has yielded to doubt.’ On “Faith’s Window”, Rylee judiciously concludes that ‘while this temple has its charm, I can’t help but feel its meaning is lost on me,’ pointing to the personal nature of his renunciation of doctrine. “Past Life Parable” digs deeper into the exploitative aspects of the church as Rylee laments ‘you gave a piece of everything you own to build up someone else’s home, and the whole damn time you believed. You fought against the world because they told you so.’ Across the album, the McDonalds consider various aspects of their religious life with sincerity and maturity and in a way that will likely strike a chord with many people who have left behind former fundamentalism.

If the existence of Christ necessitates an Antichrist, so the existence of Neal Morse implies an Antimorse—an appellation Rylee McDonald may or may not enjoy me bestowing upon him. But seriously: faithful or faithless, it doesn’t matter. It’s the artistry that counts and Advent Horizon have grown, built upon their obvious potential, and composed not just a great album, but a compelling exploration of apostasy. Doing what the McDonalds have done takes a lot of bravery, and it’s easy to see that a lot of heart and soul have gone into this intelligent, authentic, and deeply reflective work, one that pushes instrumental boundaries and emotional boundaries for Advent Horizon. I guess you could call me a convert. 

---

Recommended tracks: In a Lone and Dreary World, Faith’s Window, Patience
You may also like: Mile Marker Zero, Southern Empire, Our Oceans
Final verdict: 8/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Independent

Advent Horizon is:
– Rylee McDonald (vocals, guitars, keys, percussion)
– Mike Lofgreen (drums, percussion, screams)
– Cason Wood (bass, fretless bass, synthesizers, electric and acoustic pianos, organs, hand claps)
– Grant Matheson (vocals, keys, guitars)
– Kristen McDonald (vocals)

1. A school of religious thought that essentially rejects the inerrancy of scripture, instead asserting that the Bible may not always be right and the beliefs of God would surely evolve over time as his Creation changes. As you can imagine, this doesn’t play well with fundamentalists. Kensrue was also a co-pastor at a controversial evangelical church which he later resigned from, and it seems he’s moved away from organised religion. ↩︎
2. “When someone stands in your shoes and will shed his own blood, there’s no greater love, we must open up these wounds” is basically John 15:13. It’s also a baller metal chant. ↩︎
3. Advent Horizon actually shared the review and were good sports about some of my smart-ass quips, but their fans were… less forgiving, shall we say? To be fair, I made some slightly dumb comparisons in that piece as a rookie reviewer. Hopefully I’ve upped my game since then. ↩︎