Progressive Metal

Periphery – Juggernaut Review

By Jean-Luc Ricard on January 25, 2015 in 2015, American Metal, Djent, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Sumerian Records, Djent, Progressive Metal, 79 comments

“Believe it or not, we tend to research the bands we review here, even if it’s occasionally more tempting just to mash our palms against the keyboard for five hundred words, assign an arbitrary score, then knock off down to the pub. This week has, therefore, seen me listening to an unhealthy amount of the genre that discerning metalheads love to hate: djent (the ‘d’ is silent).” Djent is a challenging genre, but then again, a double album of material can make any genre challenging. We like challenges.

Beardfish – +4626-Comfortzone Review

By Dr. Fisting on January 10, 2015 in 2015, InsideOut, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Progressive Metal, 22 comments

“Somewhere on the outskirts of progressive music, amidst waves of 9-string trendhoppers and unbearable Dream Theater knockoffs, exists the entity known as Beardfish.” We never miss a chance to take a shot at poor old Dream Theater. It’s a lifestyle choice, really.

Dimesland – Psychogenic Atrophy Review

By Kronos on December 21, 2014 in 2014, American Metal, Avante Garde, Death Metal, Progressive Death, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Unsigned Bands, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, 6 comments

“Yep, this is one of those albums. There’s not a sphere to be had on that cover, much less a corpse, but it remains one of the more striking and subtly unnerving pieces of album art around. It’s not like other covers, and Dimesland is not like other bands. Psychogenic Atrophy is the Oakland, California quartet’s first LP, hoping to ride on the coattails of bizarre death metal bands like Gorguts and Pyrrhon that we all love so dearly. Yet Psychogenic Atrophy provides us with a plastic disc filled with a music that is almost, but not quite, entirely unlike technical death metal.” No sphere to be had, but this is far from bad.

Things You Might Have Missed 2014: Mike LePond’s Silent Assassins

By Al Kikuras on December 19, 2014 in 2014, American Metal, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Things You Might Have Missed 2014, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, 5 comments

“Symphony X nerds rejoice! Then again, maybe you won’t. Symphony X bassist Mike LePond’s first solo effort was released in September of this year and those expecting LePond to stick to his primary band’s keyboard-laden progressive metal path may be sorely disappointed. If you are, get that geeky head out of your pale behind (if you can get up off it long enough between games of Skyrim)…” New Jersey knows metal, and Al Kikuras knows New Jersey.

Things You Might Have Missed 2014: Archspire – The Lucid Collective

By Kronos on December 3, 2014 in 2014, Canadian Metal, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, Season of Mist, Things You Might Have Missed 2014, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, Technical Death Metal, 11 comments

“Archspire are, first and foremost, fast. Everything about The Lucid Collective is tight, taught and percussive, from the brutal-death-leaning snare tone to vocalist Oli Peters’ inhumanly pummeling rap-growled vocal lines.” Kronos brings you another slab of rotting death you may have missed. Have at it!

Resumed – Alienations Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on November 27, 2014 in 2014, Bakerteam Records, Death Metal, Italian Metal, Progressive Death, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, 12 comments

We don’t often do double reviews, and when we do, it’s for far bigger and more noteworthy bands. But when a review assignment gets double booked due to administrative malfeasance, and the opinions are as wildly varied as they are here, you get a bonus holiday double! For your Thanksgiving reading pleasure, we present two divergent thoughts on the tech-death insanity of Resumed and their debut album, Alienations. Don’t read with your mouth full!

Fen – Carrion Skies Review

By Madam X on November 24, 2014 in 2014, Black Metal, Code666 Records, English Metal, Non-Metal Metal Things, Post-metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Post-Metal, Progressive Metal, 15 comments

“Here at Angry Metal Guy US headquarters, subtle signs point to 2014 drawing to a blustery close. My very metal cats watch the crackling fireplace, mesmerized as the world burns at their paws. Top 10 lists hastily scrawled on the backs of store receipts and the margins of the daily paper are pulled from coat pockets and tossed carelessly about, littering every surface. And as the holiday silly season approaches, I’m winding down, bourbon in hand, returning to the contemplative atmosphere of post-metal and avant guard favourites like Agalloch, A Forest of Stars, Anathema, Horseback and New Keepers of the Watertowers. Now a year and some change after the release of Dustwalker, British progressive black metallers – Fen recapture my attention with their fourth full-length release.” Post black metal just in time for the long winter months? Now you’re screaming Madam X’s song.

Dreamgrave – Presentiment Review

By Angry Metal Guy on November 22, 2014 in 2014, Death Metal, Epic Metal, Hungarian Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, 26 comments

“Metal has been extremely retro in the last 5 years. From rethrash to retro death metal, the whole scene has crawled into its proverbial ass in order to wallow in the digested remnants of metal music that is just plain better. Rethrash celebrates the 2.5 years when thrash was the heaviest and most exciting music on the planet. Retro death celebrates a time when bands would scrape together their last Swedish kronor to put a record together that would still sound like total shit. All the bands who wish they were Black Sabbath celebrate a time when amplifiers didn’t actually have overdrive. But all of these celebrated sounds appeal to us because they were authentic: times when newness and creativity gave the world something exciting and special. One such scene for me is the melodic death and black metal scenes of the Scandinavian 1990s. It’s an era when metal was heavy, engaging, abstract, and yet melodic—it felt exciting and new. While not all of the best ideas from this era were executed perfectly at the time, it laid the groundwork for the late ’90s and the early aughts when great metal bands produced great music.” What the hell does this have to do with anything? Click and find out!

Triosphere – The Heart of the Matter Review

By Steel Druhm on November 14, 2014 in 2014, AFM Records, Heavy Metal, Norwegian Metal, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, 24 comments

“Sphere fetishists of the world rejoice! We now present to you a band that not only has “sphere” in the moniker, but also offers a song called “The Sphere.” And yes, there’s a goddamn sphere on the cover too. Are you not entertained?! Ok, now that the sphere furbies left, we can get on with the review of what is a shockingly good album. Triosphere is a progressive power metal act hailing from Norway and though AMG and myself enjoyed their 2010 effort The Road Less Travelled a good deal, this tops it in every way.” Sphere’s to you, kid!

Voices – London Review

By Jean-Luc Ricard on November 14, 2014 in 2014, Black Metal, Candlelight Records, Death Metal, English Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, 23 comments

“If you’re anything like me, you’re super awesome. But more to the point, you would have been saddened by the split of blackened death metal troublemakers Akercocke a couple of years ago. Perhaps the UK’s most consistently entertaining extreme metal act of the last decade, they seemed to improve on every album, reaching a pinnacle on 2007’s Antichrist.” The band is gone, but the legacy lives on in a disturbing new entity.