Rush

Transit Method – Othervoid Review

Transit Method – Othervoid Review

Transit Method delivers to us their newest amplified declaration, Othervoid. And it’s prog! Is that not what you expected? Truthfully, Othervoid carries prog rock that reminds me of stuff that doesn’t necessarily qualify as the most heady music—less 70s Rush and more 90s Rush if you catch my drift.” Mass prog transit.

Neurectomy – Overwrought Review

Neurectomy – Overwrought Review

“I just couldn’t turn down an album by a band called Neurectomy. I’ve heard of a lot of medical procedures in my day, but I wasn’t as familiar with the process by which a nerve is severed or removed to reduce pain, never to grow back again. With a new “ectomy” added to my growing surgical lexicon, I was still apprehensive. But while tech death can certainly be hit or miss (with the misses often being tedious, forgettable affairs), I was far too interested in the band name and the album art to let something as silly as past experience impact my decision-making.” Nerves of steel.

AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö: Haxprocess – The Caverns of Duat

AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö: Haxprocess – The Caverns of Duat

““AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö” is a time-honored tradition to showcase the most underground of the underground—the unsigned and unpromoted. This collective review treatment continues to exist to unite our writers in boot or bolster of the bands who remind us that, for better or worse, the metal underground exists as an important part of the global metal scene. The Rodeö rides on.” Brace for Haxprocessing.

Birth – Born Review

Birth – Born Review

“As I listened to Born by Birth, it became clear I was witnessing another throwback progressive rock band being, well…born; one which harkens back to a bygone era of English prog majesty; less identified by the harder-edged, complex compositions of early Rush and more by the extended jams and intricate, less metallic instrumentation of King Crimson, Emerson, Lake and Palmer and Genesis. These were the bands I’d fallen in love with during my earlier sojourns, and it’s clear the Birth boys feel similarly.” Born too late.

The Wring – Project Cipher Review

The Wring – Project Cipher Review

“The promo’s promise of “Rush without the synths” is a pretty decent summary of what The Wring are going for here. The key elements are complex, layered, noodly guitar/bass lines and shifting time signatures. Prog’s regular downfall is letting the noodling get in the way of good songs, but The Wring keep things tight and let the songcraft lead.” Loose cipher.

Cryptic Shift – Visitations from Enceladus Review

Cryptic Shift – Visitations from Enceladus Review

“While I’ve traditionally identified as a basic black metal bitch, my listening habits of late have hovered firmly above death metal territory. The art of the Big Dumb Riff has held absolute command of my Spotify search bar, and it’s all thanks to the diversity the genre pool has spawned in over three decades of evolution. Just as I finish my most recent round of dick flattening at the hands of something as unflinchingly savage as Black Curse, I know I can hop to the opposite end of the technical axis to enjoy similarly aggressive highs in a fresh context. Cryptic Shift’s debut is about as far from something like Black Curse as you can imagine on the caveman riff spectrum, but those same thrills are all here.” Up Shift’s creek.

The Progressive Souls Collective – Sonic Birth Review

The Progressive Souls Collective – Sonic Birth Review

“Progressive metal in general can be a contested battleground. The genre and likely every single band within it has had the charge of pretentiousness levied at some point, and not always without reason. It is the terrain of 15 minute epics full of bloat, pseudo-intellectual lyrics that talk a lot and say very little, a small city worth of guest artists, and the paradoxical slavery to tropes first invented over 40 years ago. And there are no worse sinners than progressive supergroups. The Progressive Souls Collective, hereafter TPSC, is sort of mostly a supergroup but not quite.” Tough delivery.