On Contes Funèbres, Fournier’s second as Creature, there are sounds and styles that can be found in our world, but they’ve been arranged by a mind that surely originates elsewhere. Yes, this is black metal at a foundational level, but there is so much synth prog, electronic trickery, odd vocals and anachronistic choral arrangements that calling it any one thing is pointless.” Creature features.
Progressive Metal
Birdeatsbaby – The World Conspires [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]
“One of the best ways to get my attention is to mention a band crossing genre boundaries in unexpected ways. Birdeatsbaby drew my eye, first, with their rather evocative name and, second, with that drop-dead gorgeous album art. But what really caught my interest was their history; the band started off in the punk cabaret scene and developed to include prog metal and symphonic influences.” Protect Baby Yoda!
Car Bomb – Mordial [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]
“New York’s Car Bomb have oddly escaped my radar, so I was stoked to finally become acquainted with the band on their blockbuster fourth LP, Mordial. Admittedly I’m less adventurous towards experimental, technical extreme metal than I used to be, but bands like the mighty The Dillinger Escape Plan, along with Burnt by the Sun, Uphill Battle and large portions of the early Willowtip roster are dear to my heart. Car Bomb’s complex, abrasive blend of mathcore and choppy, groove-centric extreme metal is full of color as surprisingly penetrating hooks lend a vaguely accessible streak to otherwise challenging and uncompromising music.” Don’t cut the red wire.
Tylor Dory Trio – Unsought Salvation Review
“If there is one word that kept coming to mind over and over while I played through Unsought Salvation, it was “potential.” Tylor Dory Trio are a group with a ton of it, showing throughout that they have the musical chops to pull off something truly remarkable. All that seems to be holding the band back right now is experience.” PE = mgh.
Iapetus – The Body Cosmic [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]
“Metal offers incalculable aural interpretations of outer space. Darkspace focuses on the inhospitable nature of the infinite vacuum. Gamma Ray pitches a trip through a black hole as the ultimate roller coaster ride. Ghost Bath dwells on the melancholic isolation of the cosmos while also sounding like something out of Sonic Adventure. Yet it takes Iapetus just over three minutes to craft a moment more compelling than any of those with their sophomore LP, The Body Cosmic.” Space in your face.
Obsidian Tide – Pillars of Creation [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]
“I love TheKenWord, but the problem is, if you skip an hour on the AMG Slack channel, you’ll probably miss one of his 1462 album recommendations. Lucky for me, at the precise day and time when Kenny waxed on about Obsidian Tide’s new album I just happened to be lurking on the forums, and I caught the link. The young fella did himself proud with this recommendation. Obsidian Tide are an Israeli progressive metal trio, and Pillars of Creation is the band’s debut album, a seven-song, 55-minute concept album detailing a man’s journey to enlightenment.” Tides and tidings.
Howling Giant – The Space Between Worlds [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]
“A true sleeper hit in every sense of the word, The Space Between Worlds’ style may not be the most innovative, but damn is it tasty. Introducing themselves with three tauntingly brief EP’s since 2015, including the hella fun two-part Black Hole Space Wizard arc, Nashville trio Howling Giant fuses the fuzz of stoner doom with the ambition of prog rock.” Between rock and a vast space.
Timeworn – Leave the Soul for Now Review
“Are we going out with a bang this year? Yes, ladies and other ladies, we are going out with a sizable bang from Norway, as well as a New Year’s resolution for all you concert goers: stop skipping out on fucking support acts, you twats! Because you see, I would not have known about Timeworn had I not seen them open for Kvelertak in 2017.” Support the soul.
Palace in Thunderland – The King of the Empty Aeon [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]
“I don’t read other blogs, but I do follow plenty of people on Twitter, and once in a blue moon one of them makes a good recommendation. In this case that recommendation comes in the form of Palace in Thunderland, a group of fellows out of Massachusetts who ply their trade through an intriguing blend of doom, prog, and stoner rock.” Welcome to the Thunder…Palace.
Hypno5e – A Distant (Dark) Source Review
“Genres are one of the most contentious features of music in general, and metal in particular, considering the wide sprawl of sub-subtypes we have dug around ourselves. I won’t dive into the deeper discussion about the merits of this labyrinthine web here, but I will make the case for ‘cinematic metal’ to be the most useless genre tag in the metalverse. Bands ranging from power metal to black metal and everything in between have laid claim to it, and the argumentation for it rarely stretches beyond ‘there’s a story in the lyrics.’” Sourcing a feeling.