Progressive metal – Page 8

Earthtone9 – In Resonance Nexus (Review)

This is the fifth album from UK metal band Earthtone9.

11 years after their last album, Earthtone9 have returned to deliver more of their individual and idiosyncratic take on heavy music. You could probably get away with calling this a few different things – alternative metal, post-metal, post-hardcore, modern metal, progressive metal – but ultimately Earthtone9 have always moved to their own beat, and had their own quite distinctive sounds very early on. Continue reading “Earthtone9 – In Resonance Nexus (Review)”

Huntsmen – The Dry Land (Review)

Huntsmen are a US progressive metal band and this is their third album.

Leaving a lasting mark with 2018’s striking American Scrap, Huntsmen made a strong first impression with their debut record. They followed this up with 2020’s Mandala of Fear, which saw the band go big in many different ways, living up to their early promise. It’s now four years later and here we have The Dry Land, which gives us 42 minutes of new material. What does the Huntsmen of 2024 provide us with? Continue reading “Huntsmen – The Dry Land (Review)”

Four Stroke Baron – Data Diamond (Review)

Four Stroke Baron are a progressive metal band from the US and this is their fourth album.

This is my first encounter with Four Stroke Baron, but it’s a very favourable one. Containing 41 minutes of material, Data Diamond is packed to the hilt with multifaceted content. Strap in, it’s going to be a wild one. Continue reading “Four Stroke Baron – Data Diamond (Review)”

Cobra the Impaler – Karma Collision (Review)

Cobra the Impaler are a Belgian metal band and this is their second album.

I enjoyed 2022’s Colossal Gods, so it’s great to have some new music from Cobra the Impaler. Across 52 minutes Karma Collision demonstrates that Colossal Gods was merely an appetiser, as now we have the main course. Continue reading “Cobra the Impaler – Karma Collision (Review)”

Urzah – The Scorching Gaze (Review)

This is the debut album from UK sludge/post-metal band Urzah.

The Scorching Gaze contains 42 minutes of material delivered in a charismatic hybrid metallic style. Urzah combine elements of sludge, post-metal, progressive metal, doom, and hardcore/metalcore into an exemplar of heaviness that feels timeless. Continue reading “Urzah – The Scorching Gaze (Review)”

Inter Arma – New Heaven (Review)

Inter Arma are a post-metal band from the US and this is their fifth album.

Inter Arma are not your average band. They contort and shapeshift from one track to the next – from one part of a song to the next – delivering a multifaceted metallic journey through all kinds of different styles and genres, including doom, death metal, black metal, sludge, and more, all wrapped up in a progressive/post-metal bow that’s just wonderfully realised. Continue reading “Inter Arma – New Heaven (Review)”

In Vain – Solemn (Review)

This is the fifth album from Norwegian progressive metal band In Vain.

I really, really liked 2018’s Currents, so to my mind it has been far too long since we’ve heard from In Vain. Featuring 61 minutes of new music, Solemn is a grand affair, mixing together the band’s progressive/melodic death metal ingredients into a feast of tasty extreme metal. Continue reading “In Vain – Solemn (Review)”

Protosequence – Bestiary (Review)

Protosequence are a Canadian technical death metal band and this is their debut album.

Bestiary contains 33 minutes of technical mayhem that’s unusually variegated. After enjoying Protosequence’s 2020 EP A Blunt Description of Something Obscene I was looking forward to hearing this, and it has not disappointed. Quite the opposite in fact. Continue reading “Protosequence – Bestiary (Review)”

Apparition – Disgraced Emanations from a Tranquil State (Review)

Apparition are a death metal band from the US and this is their second album.

Featuring an ex-member of Nails, Apparition play progressive death/doom metal. On Disgraced Emanations from a Tranquil State they deliver 38-minutes of music that hits the spot. Continue reading “Apparition – Disgraced Emanations from a Tranquil State (Review)”

Enslaved/Svalbard/Wayfarer – Club Academy, Manchester – 08/03/24 (Live Review)

Well, what a storming lineup we have here for a chilly Friday night in Manchester. All three of the bands on this bill are worthy of attendance in their own right, so to have them all in one place is a rare treat. Continue reading “Enslaved/Svalbard/Wayfarer – Club Academy, Manchester – 08/03/24 (Live Review)”