Style: Progressive metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Haken, Karnivool, Leprous
Country: United Kingdom
Release date: 26 June 2026

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It’s hard to throw a rock around here¹ without hitting a band that mistakes complexity for quality. Many progressive metal musicians seem determined to remind listeners every thirty seconds just how difficult their music is to play. With heavy influences from the modern prog pantheon and a mission statement of “exploring societal problems stemming from sicophansy [sic]”, Manchester-based newcomers VMBRA seem all but poised to do too much on Polylith, their full-length debut. So, do they?

VMBRA’s sound is full of asymmetric riffs, uncountable metres, and adventurous harmonic ideas, but careful songwriting helps the band’s technicality serve momentum rather than ego. Phrygian, sun-baked melodies, heavy use of layering with multiple vocalists (female and male), and a dash of theatrical flair all help Polylith to establish a distinctive personality.

Haken are an apt point of comparison, particularly during the keyboard introductions to tracks like “Wyrm” and the “Cockroach King”-esque “Coldest Heights”. Yet where Haken might launch into extended displays of virtuosity, VMBRA favour a more direct, compositionally restrained approach. Solos are few and far between, and emerge organically from the ensemble rather than stopping the listener in their tracks to show-and-tell the musicians’ technique. For instance, the guitar solo near the end of “Dark Shepherd” is enjoyable not because of any technical wizardry but because its sweeping melodic contour effectively contrasts the track’s heaviness.

This lack of instrumental showmanship leaves vocals to take a central role on Polylith. Ai Sanchez delivers a charismatic performance, equally convincing whether soaring above the album’s heavier passages or delicately voicing its more understated moments. She nimbly navigates intervals of an octave or more, as in the conclusions of “A Man Walks In” and “Coldest Heights”, without sounding as though she’s straining to impress. Less successful, however, are her semi-shouted passages, as in “You Are the Sun”, which feel more forced than ferocious.

VMBRA also employ richly layered vocal arrangements. Rarely is Sanchez heard entirely alone; harmonies continually intertwine into dense, almost serpentine textures that lend the choruses a theatrical grandeur. But Polylith tends to go back to the well too many times with this and other ideas. Similar a cappella passages appear in “A Man Walks In”, “Wyrm”, and “You Leader”, while even the album’s distinctive Phrygian flavour is leaned on so consistently that it occasionally borders on becoming a stylistic crutch.

However, to their credit, VMBRA don’t entirely rely on following a formula. For instance, they try on a heavier aesthetic on “Dark Shepherd”, with drummer Kieran Byrne giving a persuasive lead vocal delivery, complete with roiling harshes. Elsewhere, “You Are the Sun” injects an amiable swing into the album, complete with jazzy trumpet flourishes that I’d like to see pushed even further. A more assertive bassline could likewise have leaned into the track’s rhythmic character: Pete Cook’s bass performance across the album never demands the spotlight, but its warm, subtle funk leaves me wanting more whenever it emerges. At the opposite end of the spectrum, “Fooled Me Once” is the closest Polylith comes to including a ballad, and also the record’s biggest disappointment. The synthesized orchestral interlude three minutes in is likely meant to be stirring but instead sounds like something that would play while you pick wheat in RuneScape.

Thankfully, weaker moments are fleeting. Tightly paced, Polylith feels shorter than its forty seven minutes, as VMBRA wisely steer clear of overindulgent songwriting. Progressive metal has never wanted for musicians capable of playing difficult music, but VMBRA are honing an ability to create music that’s intricate without demanding admiration for its own cleverness. That’s a far rarer skill—and one that makes Polylith a promising debut.

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Recommended tracks: A Man Walks In, You Are the Sun
You may also like: Temic, Scardust
Final verdict: 6/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Independent

VMBRA is:
– Ai Sanchez (Vocals, keys)
– Jack Hogg (Guitars, vocals, bass, keys)
– Pete Cook (Bass, piano)
– Kieran Byrne (Drums, samples, vocals)
With guests:
– Ryan Byrne (Guitars)
– Jack Tinker (Trumpets)

1.  I leave it up to your interpretation whether “here” refers to The Progressive Subway, the progressive metal scene at large, or my living room. But please don’t throw rocks in my living room. ↩︎