Progressive Metal

Queensrÿche – Condition Hüman Review

Queensrÿche – Condition Hüman Review

“Against seemingly impossible odds, Queensrÿche roared back from the adult-contemporary abyss two years ago with their self-titled album. The band had parted ways acrimoniously with vocalist Geoff Tate, replacing him with newcomer Todd LaTörre (Crimson Glory) and reconnecting to their prog and metal roots. The resulting album was shockingly good, proving that the band could indeed survive without their former frontman. Now that that’s been settled, the band’s 2nd act continues with Condition Hüman. How many Bitcoins would Gëoff Tate pay for this bad boy?

Scale the Summit – V Review

Scale the Summit – V Review

“Although we try to cover the metal scene pretty even-handedly here at Angry Metal Guy, some genres will always get short shrift. While our inbox gets swamped with retro-what have you, orthodox black metal, and your brutal/tech death band of the week, some genres that I like – slam, for instance – rarely make an appearance here. Another one of those genres is modern instrumental prog, a la Animals as Leaders and our band of interest, Scale the Summit.” Instrumental albums are a sticky mistress. No, wait….

Pyramids on Mars – Echo Cosmic Review

Pyramids on Mars – Echo Cosmic Review

“Sometimes I’ll pick a band from the promo list just because they have an interesting name. So it was with Pyramids on Mars, who I dearly hoped were a bunch of Richard C. Hoagland inspired conspiracists writing metal for martians.” Here at AMG we’ve brought you the scoop on goblin metal and troll metal. Why not add martian metal to the list.

Royal Hunt – XIII Devil’s Dozen Review

Royal Hunt – XIII Devil’s Dozen Review

Royal Hunt has been knocking around the prog-metal circuit forever, and though they’ve dropped a few killer releases, I’d describe their overall discography as a bit spotty. There are those classic albums where their melodic AOR/metal style really hit a sweet spot, and others were it feels like they’re stuck in a lower gear. Their golden age was in the mid 90s with vocalist extraordinaire, D.C. Cooper (Silent Force, Steel Seal) and most fans would likely point to 1997s Paradox as they crowning achievement.” The hunt resumes. Tally ho!

Riverside – Love, Fear and the Time Machine Review

Riverside – Love, Fear and the Time Machine Review

Poland’s Riverside should be no stranger to the dedicated reader of these Angry pages. After discovering the band’s Anno Domini High Definition in 2009, Riverside has sneakily become one of the staples of my playlist. I wasn’t completely enamored with Shrine of New Generation Slaves; but its chill, more reflective moments are the ones that I keep coming back to: “The Depth of Self Delusion,” yes, but especially, “We Got Used to Us,” which has a slow groove and a transcendent chorus. Still, SoNGS lacked the punch and progressive drive that ADHD—and the band’s earlier material—had, and landed far more in the territory of post-Marillion prog, without the brooding darkness into which late Gazpacho has wandered recently. SoNGS was, arguably, nothing more or less than a road sign, though, pointing towards 2015’s latest record: Love, Fear and the Time Machine.

Fuck the Facts – Desire Will Rot Review

Fuck the Facts – Desire Will Rot Review

“It’s not to often that punk-derived genres get to fly the ‘progressive’ banner, but if forced to name a modern prog-grindcore act, Fuck the Facts would be the first words from my mouth. The Ottowan group’s devil-may-care attitude towards stylistic unity is something of a treasure in the grind world and their constant shuffling between deathy prog-grind and grindy prog-death, all whilst collecting the refuse of a half-dozen other genres, is a joy to witness.” Prog and grind go together like nuts and gum.

Spock’s Beard – The Oblivion Particle Review

Spock’s Beard – The Oblivion Particle Review

“What do you think of when I say “progressive metal?” Well, if you’re anything like me, you think of early ’90s wanks from New York, nerdy band photos of cheap sunglasses and bad haircuts, masturbating guitar solos, cheesy keyboard theatrics, and lengthy double-albums longing to be The Wall or The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.” Nobody wanks in New York!

Symphony X – Underworld Review

Symphony X – Underworld Review

Symphony X is New Jersey’s answer to Yngwie Malmsteen. That’s not just a funny blurb: the more I think about it the more I realize that that’s actually a surprisingly good description of the band. My relationship with the band started in 2000 with the release of the band’s absolutely perfect V: The New Mythology Suite. At the time, I described them to friends as being “Malmsteen—if he could write songs and had a good vocalist.” Since then the band has released some excellent records, but they’ve also taken a turn for the heavier, and edgier, moving further away from the traditional progressive/power wheelhouse and straight-up neocassical stylings. The orchestral approach on V never quite disappeared—they’re a ‘neoclassical’ progressive/power band ffs—but from Paradise Lost on the band’s heavier attitude has continued to develop; embodied by Allen’s full-throated Jersey rasp.” Angry Metal Guy weighs in on Symphony X’s newest release.