Progressive Rock – Page 2 – Wonderbox Metal

Changeling – Changeling (Review)

This is the debut album from German progressive death metal band Changeling.

Changeling is brought to us by current/ex-members of Alkaloid, Belphegor, Defeated Sanity, Fear Factory, Obscura, Vipassi, and Virvum. It’s supported by an army of guests, who perform everything from guest solos, vocals, and choirs, to cello, flutes, horns, piano, tuba, violins, viola, and much, much more. The music combines progressive and technical death metal, with jazz fusion, progressive rock, and world music. It’s a lot, and it’s all packed into 60 minutes of compelling material. Continue reading “Changeling – Changeling (Review)”

Messa – The Spin (Review)

Messa are an Italian doom band and this is their fourth album.

Messa are one of the more notable bands to appear in recent times. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching them progress from 2016’s Belfry, to 2018’s Feast for Water, to 2022’s Close, all the time enriching and refining their doomy sound ever further. In fact, the latter two albums appeared on my end of year lists for their respective years. All of which is to say; expectations are high for The Spin. Continue reading “Messa – The Spin (Review)”

Déhà – Nethermost & Absolute Comfort (Review)

Déhà is a Belgian solo artist who plays in a vast multitude of bands, across a variety of styles. In his solo work alone he spans a wide range of genres. This album is his 38th, (I think).

Déhà is a highly prolific artist with a withering work ethic who manages – against the odds – to consistently maintain some of the highest quality levels across a multitude of genres and styles. As a very, very small slice of examples, check out the marvellous Decadance from 2022, as well as bands such as Acathexis, C.O.A.G., Cult of Erinyes, Silver Knife, Slow, and We All Die (Laughing). You won’t regret any of these. Continue reading “Déhà – Nethermost & Absolute Comfort (Review)”

Serpents of Pakhangba – Air and Fire (Review)

This is the second album from Indian avant-garde metal band Serpents of Pakhangba.

Air and Fire is an ambitious album, in more ways than one. Across 54 minutes you’ll find a wealth of creativity and ideas, all delivered with skilled performances and detailed songwriting. Serpents of Pakhangba are resolutely not your average band. Continue reading “Serpents of Pakhangba – Air and Fire (Review)”

Label Roundup: Avantgarde Music – Selvans, Skaldr, and Void of Hope (Reviews)

Wonderbox Metal gets sent a lot of new music, (which is great), but there’s no way that everything can get covered unfortunately, (which is not so great). This column hopes to redress this balance, if only slightly, by taking a look at a handful of releases that a record label has recently sent out that might have otherwise slipped through the cracks.

Surprisingly, I haven’t done one of these columns since 2022! I was genuinely shocked when I realised this recently. So, it seemed like the perfect time to revisit it, and to get caught up on some of Avantgarde Music‘s releases. This is a label I rate highly, and never seem to get enough time to adequately cover, so here’s three new albums all seeing the light of day on January 31st 2025. Continue reading “Label Roundup: Avantgarde Music – Selvans, Skaldr, and Void of Hope (Reviews)”

Katoaja – What We Witness (Review)

Katoaja are a Finnish progressive metal band and this is their debut album.

What We Witness contains 45 minutes of modern progressive metal. Katoaja operate on the heavier end of the progressive metal spectrum, delivering seven songs that showcase the talents of this relatively new band very nicely. As this is progressive metal, there’s more to Katoaja than just heaviness though. Continue reading “Katoaja – What We Witness (Review)”

Orgone – Pleroma (Review)

This is the third album from US progressive extreme metal band Orgone.

Pleroma is a 65-minute multifaceted beast of a record that, loosely, can be described as progressive/technical death metal. Orgone flesh out their death metal base with technical expertise and progressive depth. Around this though they breach a range of other musical territories, including folk, jazz, classical, and progressive rock. Continue reading “Orgone – Pleroma (Review)”

Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2024

Yes, it’s list season once more, so gather round and witness some of the best metal that 2024 had to offer!

2024 was a fantastic year for metal, and that’s an understatement. I thought 2023 was one of the weaker years for metal releases, overall. As such, putting last year’s list together, although challenging as it always is, was relatively effortless compared to this one. I don’t think I’ve agonised over placings more any other year. In the end, similar to last year, I just decided that enough was enough and I needed to just stop needlessly obsessing. Continue reading “Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2024”

Mesarthim – Anthropic Bias / Departure (Review)

This is the latest release from Australian black metal band Mesarthim.

With quite a prolific discography, I don’t get to catch up with Mesarthim as often as I’d like, (though do check out .- -… … . -. -.-. ., The Density Parameter, and CLG J02182–05102), so upon the arrival of Anthropic Bias / Departure I made sure I spent some time with it. Continue reading “Mesarthim – Anthropic Bias / Departure (Review)”

Sergeant Thunderhoof – The Ghost of Badon Hill (Review)

Sergeant Thunderhoof are a stoner rock band from the UK and this is their fifth album.

2022’s This Sceptred Isle made a big impression on me, even breaching my end of year list, so The Ghost of Badon Hill is one I’ve been looking forward to. With much expectation riding on it, I’m immensely pleased to report that it has not disappointed at all. Continue reading “Sergeant Thunderhoof – The Ghost of Badon Hill (Review)”