“Sunbeam Overdrive as a name conjures the gaudy—a would-be leisure suit-wearing hotshot cruising down the coastal highway, top-down, sunglasses on, radio cranked. But the 90’s California kid in me hears this modern style of progressive metal that borrows more from aged successful radio-friendly acts like A Perfect Circle and Sevendust than anyone who plays in the more expected noodling and tricky rhythm definitions of the genre.” Sun’s out, prog’s out.
“I hold concept albums dearly as a style that occupies many of my most treasured proggy excursions. Cautiously, though, many a lesser outing bloat the barrel of this contentious niche. Confidently Lunarߵs third full-length, The Illusionist, inhabits this realm—a dramatic telling of a magician’s struggle with what his work has made of his own life. We all ask this question to ourselves of a great many things in this world. Was it worth it? Was it worth it to park between the lines when the lifted F-150 went and snagged three spots? Was it worth it to pen 700 or so words when the tags read deathcore?” Deathcore and the Moon.
“One country whose output always perks my ears up is Australia. It seems like the Aussies just know how to craft strong albums, whether it’s the catchy hard rock of Butterfly or the avant-garde insanity of Portal, music from Down Under never fails to entertain. Nowhere is this more evident than in the country’s progressive metal scene, which features such bands as Karnivool, Voyager, Dead Letter Circus, and current kings of the mountain Caligula’s Horse. All of these bands craft terrific songs featuring strong musicians, but more importantly stellar vocalists. Let’s go ahead and add Teramaze to this list now.” Hit the Tera button.
May 2021 be a better year for us all.
Yellow is the new manbun.
“I first heard of Ebonivory due to Caligula’s Horse. These guys were supposed to open for the Horse on their North American tour this year, but of course that was cancelled. It did prompt me to hit up Bandcamp and purchase their discography (two EPs and an LP), which turned out to be really good. References can definitely be made between these guys and other Australian prog acts such as Voyager, Karnivool, and Dead Letter Circus. Fast forward a couple of months and here we are, with a brand new release from these Aussies.” Perfect harmony?
“In Contact was one of the best records of the 2010s, an extremely ambitious concept alum that connected both lyrically and musically on a level above anything the band had accomplished before. That unexpected success puts its follow-up, Rise Radiant, under pressure.” Horse Pressure.
“My introduction to the band was on The Mountain, which found the band dropping incredible songs with deeply creative compositions and amazing performances. But The Mountain‘s follow-up—Affinity—has never really established itself in my listening rotation. Unfortunately, while Affinity was full of ideas I loved and things I appreciated intellectually, it was like the girl who’s “perfect” for you but that you can’t get into. So I’ll admit mild consternation when Vector arrived. I wondered if Vector would continue in Affinity’s footsteps or if Haken had stayed on the move.” Moving and remaking.
“A new record from an unsigned band touring with Caligula’s Horse should be enough for most reviewers to perk up their ears and attempt to claim it from the promo bin. Somehow, though, Opus of a Machine’s new album Stray Fire had its cloaking device firmly in place, and none of us grabbed it until the AMG Overlords forced it upon me.” Forced Opus is the best Opus.
“The much-maligned genre of djent seems to be undergoing a change as of late. It’s becoming more diffuse, more rarely a goal unto itself and more often part of the progressive metal vocabulary. This is a good thing because distilled djent commonly boils down to an exercise in making technical prowess sound as dull as possible. As an ingredient, rather than a meal, it can be used to contrast intense guitar sweeping, as a deliberately unsteady base or a breather passage.” Season sparingly.
