Nova Collective are a US/UK progressive rock band and this is their debut album.
Featuring members of Between the Buried and Me, Haken, Trioscapes and Cynic, Nova Collective’s debut album The Further Side is 48 minutes of instrumental progressive rock fusion with plenty of jazz, world and classical influences. Continue reading “Nova Collective – The Further Side (Review)”
Into Orbit are a post-metal band from New Zealand. This is their second album.
Unearthing is just over 40 minutes long and combines post-metal/rock, progressive metal/rock, doom, drone and ambient. Continue reading “Into Orbit – Unearthing (Review)”
[::] are an instrumental post-metal band from Poland. This is their debut album.
Pronounced 4 Dots, the band features an ex-member of the mighty Obscure Sphinx, which immediately made me keen to find out what they had to offer on this release.
The album reveals itself Continue reading “[::]/4 Dots – Aux::in (Review)”
Arcade Messiah is a one-man progressive metal project from Ireland. This is his third album.
Although there are some vocals on this release, it’s mainly instrumental, with the man behind the band making sure that the music has the starring role.
The songs are the kind of modern, progressive Continue reading “Arcade Messiah – III (Review)”
Teksti-TV 666 are an alternative rock band from Finland. This is a compilation album of sorts, consisting of three EPs that the band have previously released.
This is an interesting and irregular release. It’s kind of a mix of bubblegum-pop with Continue reading “Teksti-TV 666 – 1, 2, 3 (Review)”
This is the third album from this Greek black/heavy metal band.
Now this is an interesting release. 14 years after their second album, Agatus return with even more of a progressive/heavy metal approach to their music.
70s progressive rock and NWOBHM influences collide head-on with the black metal background of the group, making for an album that sounds little like any of their contemporaries.
The closest I can come to compare with other bands would be a crazy fusion of Rotting Christ, Vintersorg and Countess, all given a workover by NWOBHM and 70s progressive rock. or something. All I know is it’s infectious, addictive, individual and bloody good.
The black metal aspects Continue reading “Agatus – The Eternalist (Review)”
This is the début album from Messa, a doom/drone metal band from Italy.
Messa provide the listener with almost an hour of occult retro doom and dark ambience.
This is akin to a strange-yet-effective mix of Sunn O))) and Pentagram, with deliciously seductive female vocals included. Some tracks are dark ambient/drone, full of mysterious atmospheres and distorted malice, while others take Continue reading “Messa – Belfry (Review)”
Goddess are a Norwegian progressive Doom rock band, and this is their début EP.
Originally appearing in 2014, this is a re-released, remixed, remastered and expanded version. As this is my first exposure to Goddess, I can only assume these changes have improved The Withering, as it is quite an impressive release.
This is one song Continue reading “Goddess – The Withering (Review)”
This is the fourth album from UK Doom Metal band Camel of Doom.
This unusually named band play experimental Doom Metal that contains elements of Progressive Rock, psychedelia and a bit of Sludge Metal alongside the usual genre trappings. Continue reading “Camel of Doom – Terrestrial (Review)”
This is the début album from Finnish Progressive Metal band Perihelion Ship.
I like a good bit of Progressive Metal and was intrigued by this release in particular due to the striking cover art.
Featuring Hammond organ and mellotron, Perihelion Ship have captured the essence of 70s Progressive Rock and combined it with a more modern Metal influence à la Opeth and the like to produce a very enjoyable album that mixes both eras well.
The vocals alternate between cleans, screams and growls, depending on the needs of the song. As mentioned previously, Opeth are a clear influence here, but this is only a starting point for Perihelion Ship and they have enough of their own personality and style to make A Rare Thunderstorm in Spring their own. It’s also quite interesting that as the album progresses the band seem to almost come into their own more and more, with the Opeth influence receding further and further into the background. Intentional? Who knows.
The tracks are atmosphere-heavy and full of light and shade, with the music reflecting the different vocal styles in many ways. There’s good depth here and it’s easy to return to this release for further listenings.
The album is crowned by the final song, the title track, which is a 21 minute epic that rounds the album off in impressive fashion.
A recommended listen.
![[::]/4 Dots – Aux::in (Review)](https://wonderboxmetal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/4-dots.jpg?w=700)
Wonderbox Metal 