Iotunn are a progressive metal band from Denmark, and this is their debut album.
Full disclosure – when I saw that this band is fronted by the singer of Barren Earth and Hamferð, I got quite excited and it immediately made me hungry to listen to their album. The man has one of my favourite voices in metal, and on Access All Worlds, he puts it to damn fine use. Continue reading “Iotunn – Access All Worlds (Review)”
Growth are an Australian death metal band and this is their debut album.
This is essentially modern progressive death metal, but with a distinctly personal slant. That’s a bit too simplistic a description though. The promo blurb mentions bands such as Opeth, Gorguts, Black Crown Initiate, and Fallujah, and I can see why. To Continue reading “Growth – The Smothering Arms of Mercy (Review)”
This is the second album from Decaying Days, a German death/doom metal band.
Adopting an approach that combines melodic death metal with melodic doom, the emphasis here is on melody and emotive delivery. Imagine a mix of Dark Tranquillity, Insomnium, and Opeth, and you’ll be on the right lines. Continue reading “Decaying Days – The Unknown Beyond (Review)”
This is the second album from Countless Skies, a melodic/progressive metal band from the UK.
Glow contains 46 minutes of Scandinavian-influenced melodic death metal that has been merged with a progressive metal approach, which has resulted in a high-quality album being produced. Think of a charismatic mixture of Devin Townsend, Wilderun, Insomnium, Amorphis, Opeth, etc. Continue reading “Countless Skies – Glow (Review)”
This is the second album from Wills Dissolve, a progressive metal band from the US.
Wills Dissolve play a multigenre form of progressive metal that takes in a range of other styles and subgenres. Progressive black/death metal, post-metal, ambient, doom metal, and progressive rock are all included in Echoes, and all get Continue reading “Wills Dissolve – Echoes (Review)”
This is the third album from Swedish death metallers Descend.
Descend give us 49 minutes of progressive death metal on The Deviant. I picked this to listen to on a whim, based purely on the artwork, (which, in the promo, didn’t have the band logo and album title on it; I prefer the logo-less version), and I’m amazed at what I had the good luck to stumble upon. Continue reading “Descend – The Deviant (Review)”
Altesia are a French progressive metal band and this is their debut album.
Despite seeing the light of day at the end of 2019, I felt compelled to shine a light on Paragon Circus once I had made its acquaintance, as it really is a damn fine record. Across 57 minutes of material, Altesia take us on a journey that’s as compelling as it is enjoyable. Continue reading “Altesia – Paragon Circus (Review)”
This is the second album from US black/death metallers Haunter.
Sacramental Death Qualia is a mutant, constantly-shifting hybrid of progressive black/death metal. Mixing impenetrable dissonance with grim blackened melody and classic progressive beauty, the music combines darkness and light in such way that it can be almost jarring on Continue reading “Haunter – Sacramental Death Qualia (Review)”
The Odious are a progressive metal band from the US and this is their second album.
The Odious’ progressive metal is a mix of modern technical/progressive/death metal and progressive rock. The end result can be loosely characterised as a mix of The Faceless, Opeth, Between the Buried and Me, Sikth, Meshuggah, Ulcerate, and Devin Townsend. Continue reading “The Odious – Vesica Piscis (Review)”
This is the fourth album from UK atmospheric/post-metal band Latitudes.
Having enjoyed 2016’s Old Sunlight, when Part Island made its presence felt I was compelled to sample its delights. I’m glad I did, as Part Island is a stunningly well-realised development of the band’s sound. Continue reading “Latitudes – Part Island (Review)”
