The Infinite

October 2024

1. A((wake)) – Iron Mold (2011)

2. Alchemist – Worlds Within Worlds (1993)

3. Gloios – TELE II (2022)

4. Gris – Igneus (2013)

5. In the Silence – What Have I? (2024)

6. Meshuggah – Rational Gaze (2002)

7. Nevermore – The Termination Proclamation (2010)

8. Night Verses – Glitching Prism (2024)

9. Outworld – War Cry (2013)

10. Pregnant Whale Pain – Blank Long Nights Kill Romance Vengefully (2017)

11. Richard Henshall – Black Rain (2024)

12. Sadist – Sadist (1993)

13. Scale the Summit – Atlas Novus (2013)

14. Scar Symmetry – Xenotaph (2023)

15. TesseracT – Juno (2018)

16. Thy Catafalque – Mindenevo (2024)

17. Triton Project – The Key (2024)

18. Ubiquity – In a Blink (2024)

19. VOLA – Cannibal (2024)

Ben, please add the new Sumac EP The Keeper's Tongue.

An early demo of the experimental title track of Jar of Kingdom:

I've just listened to that Alchemist demo, and it certainly sounds different from the Alchemist we've known. I agree that it's a progressive thrash release as opposed to their later progressive/death metal, sounding closer to Voivod and Coroner. Instead of the death growls by Adam Agius, we have the thrashy cleans of Murray Neill. The two best tracks for me here are the "Jar of Kingdom" demo track "Kill for It" and the title closer. The other two songs are quite amazing too, and I would rate this higher than 4 stars if not for the lo-fi production. It is a demo after all, an impressive demo from the earliest underground depths of Alchemist....

Favorites: "Kill for It", "Eternal Wedlock"

4/5

This month's list is a fucking belter. I loved pretty much all of it. There's so much great progressive stuff out there right now.

December

Chaos Divine - "Landmines" from Colliding Skies

Devin Townsend - "Goodbye" from Powernerd

DGM - "From Ashes" from Endless

Altesia - "Mouth of the Sky" from Embryo

VOLA - Friend of a Phantom

Didn't know which clan to put this in, so I put it in both! Progressive/alternative Danish band VOLA are back with their fourth studio album through Mascot Records. 

Stream or download the album here:
https://volaband.bandcamp.com/album/friend-of-a-phantom

When you wish upon a star,
It makes no difference who you are.
Unless, of course, you don't like wishes,
Then maybe an album while you do the dishes?

For the month of November, I've chosen a slapper,
Melo-death and prog is a combo quite dapper.
Anciients' Beyond the Reach of the Sun,
Canadian bands sure know how to have fun!

https://metal.academy/releases/54564

With only two months left for 2024, it's time to look back at the releases throughout this year and see which ones are well-deserved highlights. For one of my clans, I haven't really encountered many Infinite releases from this year, but the ones I have are fantastic, reaching 4.5 or 5 stars. Here's my top 5 of 2024:

1. Madder Mortem - Old Eyes, New Heart

2. SUMAC - The Healer

3. Job for a Cowboy - Moon Healer

4. Northlane - Mirror's Edge

5. ERRA - Cure

Albums that haven't been released yet, but will check out and might update my list:

VOLA - Friend of a Phantom (quite curious about this band after hearing one of their songs in an Infinite playlist)

Opeth - The Last Will and Testament (feeling up to checking out Opeth's comeback album and see if this possible return to their deathly progressive metal roots is enough to make me up for this band again)

Any releases this year from this clan that you enjoy, enough for a top 5 or top 10 or more? Discuss!

This album was actually one of the more formative ones for me, coming early in the lifecycle of me listening to Metal with any sort of harsh vocals. At the time, I was really into the idea of bands bouncing between clean and harsh vocals, no doubt because of the heavy Opeth influence I was under. After stumbling on Chaos Divine, their style was a perfect meshing of the slightly harsher Metal I was dipping my toes into and the Progressive Metal that I enjoyed so much. Was I aware of other more established (and probably stronger) bands that still had this sort of style that I would have loved? Absolutely not, so I ended up buying this CD and it lived in my car for a very long time as I took long drives to college and wherever else. I wanted to revisit this for a deeper look as not only was it one of the first reviews for an album that I wrote, but for a bit of a nostalgia hit while trying to be extremely critical of an album that I think is good, but maybe it's not all that special. 

And honestly? It isn't really anything that special in the grand scheme of things looking back, but I still find myself immensely enjoying this collection of songs. Chaos Divine's claim to fame, for me at least, is their balance between harsh and clean as their name so aptly alludes to. Most of the album has lead vocalist Dave Anderton doing soaring leads that I still think are great to this day; he really sells the big chorus moments and has some solid verse delivery as well. His harshes, however, leave a bit to be desired. I've definitely grown away from the rasping, strained, and somewhat weak sounding growled vocals as I have a better baseline of what I think powerful sounding harshes in Progressive Metal can be, whether it's examples like Wilderun, Ne Obliviscaris, or even a safer choice like Amorphis. That being said, Anderton's harshes are used sparingly and well on choruses and big moments like the opening "One Door", the climaxes of "The Ringing of the Sirens" and "Chasing Shadows", and a nice opening hook on "Invert Evolution". The rest of the band does some solid work in my opinion, with each riff having a ton of movement as Chaos Divine loves to write whirling background scales for their lead guitars alongside slightly more complex than normal chugging rhythms. "Beautiful Abyss" has the best example of this as it's one of the more catchy and groovy songs on the album as it does a fantastic job of building upon the starting motif with tons of transitions and different layering without falling back on the harsh vocal crutch for any of the choruses or climaxes. The final 12-minute epic also really takes its time and is a great atmospheric payoff that feels like it fits right into the flow of the album, although the final 4 minutes of it really drags on and ends the album on a more somber and reflective note instead of a massive, satisfying climax. 

Even though I set out to get rid of some nostalgia this month, I think I still really like this album. It's easily Chaos Divine's best work to date, as Colliding Skies and Legacies just didn't have the staying power or memorable moments for me. I think the album has such a satisfying flow to it and while it may lack the aggression and grit of some heavier hitting Progressive Metal albums, I really enjoy the more contemplative and spacey atmosphere that this album has. The overall songwriting has stood the test of time and many, many listens to the point where it's still pretty impactful for me, which is impressive after all these years. Even though it's still definitely a nostalgic comfort alum for me, it's a more than decent diamond in the rough for Progressive Metal fans looking for something a bit softer around the edges or to expand their knowledge of Australian Metal bands. 

4/5

Here are my thoughts on some tracks:

A((wake)) – Iron Mold (2011)

4.5/5. An excellent atmospheric start that's worth your money.

Alchemist – Worlds Within Worlds (1993)

5/5. This one has some of that Eastern balladry followed by a bit of thrashy death metal in a progressive epic.

Gloios – TELE II (2022)

3.5/5. There are some cool metal ideas thrown in here and there, but that and the first "Tele" track are the only ones in that Gloios album I would consider metal.

Meshuggah – Rational Gaze (2002)

4/5. Another killer song with a paradoxical lyrical theme.

Nevermore – The Termination Proclamation (2010)

4.5/5. RIP Warrel Dane. I need to one day get back in touch with the amazing blend of beauty and heaviness occurring in tracks like this.

Sadist – Sadist (1993)

4.5/5. The band's own theme interlude creeps in with horror-filled synths. This time, the heavy guitars join in on the spooky action. The band can actually pull off the horror movie vibe better than other death metal bands, enough for the chances of ending up in a film soundtrack to be likely. Probably a Psycho remake!

Scale the Summit – Atlas Novus (2013)

5/5. Now this one hits the right tone for my instrumental progressive djent search, and I need to scale more of this summit!

Scar Symmetry – Xenotaph (2023)

4.5/5. The 8-minute title epic of Scar Symmetry's latest album concludes this part of the Singularity trilogy, blending their own usual sci-fi melodeath with the extreme progressiveness of Ne Obliviscaris. By the end of this epic, you'll be wanting more from this saga and hoping you'll get it from the upcoming third part.

TesseracT – Juno (2018)

5/5. What's that? More progressive djent?!? You've come to the right place, and with vocals! Hope you've enjoyed the ride.

Dream Theater - "Live at the Marquee" E.P. (1993)

By the time I finally got to Dream Theater's first live release "Live at the Marquee" some time around 1997/98, the Boston progressive metallers had become one of my very favourite metal bands. I'd been blown to pieces by their classic second & third albums (1992's "Images & Words" & 1994's "Awake") which had seen me further indulging in their 1989 debut album "When Dream & Day Unite" & 1995 "A Change of Season" E.P. & my urge to seek out more of this wonderfully complex yet inherently catchy metal music seemed to hold no boundaries. Of course, it would only be a matter of time until I'd pick up a CD copy of 1993's "Live at the Marquee" E.P. which was recorded in London on 23rd April 1993 as a part of their European tour. The tracklisting includes a selection of material taken from Dream Theater's first two albums as well as an instrumental jam piece called "Bombay Vindaloo" which they only performed on a handful of occasions & was never recorded. It also contains as a short intro track called "Another Hand" that was written specifically for the tour & was intended to be a smooth segway from "Another Day" into "The Killing Hand". At 47 minutes in length, this certainly looked like an attractive prospect for me at the time & it didn't disappoint either as I'd soon find that Dream Theater were a remarkable band in a live environment too, an experience that I've since partaken in first-hand on a number of occasions.

The lineup for "Live at the Marquee" is the same one that recorded the "Images & Words" album with new front man James LaBrie having been with the group for a couple of years by that stage. Keyboardist Kevin Moore (Fates Warning/OSI) was still onboard & would remain a part of the band for another year or so until after the "Awake" album. This was arguably my favourite Dream Theater lineup given that it would produce two of my three favourite albums from the band so it was hard to imagine that this E.P. could produce anything other than a series of diamonds as long as the production job was up to scratch. I wouldn't say that it's perfect but I don't think there's much to complain about in that regard either with all of the instrumentalists being easily identified & nicely separated & LaBrie being given ample room to soar over the top.

It's easy to simply assume that a Dream Theater live release would produce a series of dazzling technical feats & let it wash over you but I don't honestly think that's giving them enough credit because they are truly a remarkable talent & one that I'm not sure has been matched in the decades since. Each member is a highlight in themselves & it really depends on which are your instruments of choice as to who you'll froth over the most. For me personally, it's guitarist John Petrucci (Liquid Tension Experiment) who I regard as the greatest axe-man ever to pick up the instrument. As an old shred-head myself, that's really saying something too because I was raised on a smorgasbord of the most talented virtuosos the 1980's & early 1990's had to offer but this guy simply takes his phrasing & understanding of melody & note choice to its ultimate extreme &, in doing so, never fails to leave my jaw on the ground. LaBrie's performance is also worthy of special attention as he would appear to have been right in his sweet spot at this point in his career with no sign of a dud note or a wavering, uncertain vocal. His tone is as pure as we'd heard from him too & he brings another element to the two tracks taken from "When Dream & Day Unite" which was recorded with underrated original singer Charlie Dominici. The rest of the band kinda works in small teams with Petrucci & Moore laying down a series of intertwined yet incredibly intricate runs & celebrated bassist John Myung (The Jelly Jam/Platypus) & metronomic drum legend Mike Portnoy (Flying Colors/John Arch/Liquid Tension Experiment/Metal Allegiance/Neal Morse Band/The Winery Dogs/Transatlantic/Yellow Matter Custard/Adrenaline Mob/OSI/Sons of Apollo/Twisted Sister) effortlessly reproducing some of the most rhythmically demanding & complex metal music ever written.

The tracklisting is impeccable & had me salivating before I'd even pressed play on my first listen. Opening any progressive rock/metal release with the unbelievably complex "Metropolis (Part 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper)" would surely a devastating effect on any fan of this style of music & the execution is so meticulous that it's almost hard to believe that we are listening to humans & not some sort of higher beings from outer space. The two tracks that are taken from "When Dream & Day Unite" have never sounded better & are buoyed by the fresh production job & LaBrie's added layer of accessibility & class. The prog rock fueled ballad "Surrounded" is probably the least significant inclusion but it's still performed with heart & finesse while their can be no denying the emphatic statement that is closer "Pull Me Under" which is arguably one of the pinnacles of the entire progressive metal movement & will likely be labelled as the highlight of any set it's a part of for all eternity. Interestingly though, it's the improvised jam piece "Bombay Vindaloo" that's left me most enamored with "Live at the Marquee" as it contains one of the greatest examples of guitar playing I've ever heard in my life. When I think of what the instrument is capable of after all these years, I often think of this track as it encompasses everything that I aspired to be in the late 1990's & this single track makes the entire release worthy of my hard-earned cash, even if the rest of the E.P. had been found to be nothing more than filler. Thankfully though, that's anything but the case.

Wow! This revisit has really thrown a cat amongst the pigeons for me as I've rarely held "Live at the Marquee" up as highly as I'm about to. I regard both the "When Dream & Day Unite" & "Images & Words" albums as genuine progressive metal classics but I'm gonna take the bold step of claiming that this E.P. is even better than anything Dream Theater had produced before. Hell, five of the six songs are classics in their own right & "Surrounded" is pretty fucking solid too so it's really hard to see any chinks in the band's armour off the back of this muscle-flexing outing. Dream Theater have produced a series of wonderful live releases over the years but I can't see how any of them could be too much better than this one & it's hard to imagine why "Live at the Marquee" hasn't received more kudos over the years as it's rare to see it claimed as one of the prog metal master's more essential releases. I'm gonna have to assume that it's the E.P. format that's responsible for that as that's the only conclusion I can come to. There's not a doubt in my mind that "Live at the Marquee" should be essential listening for every member of The Infinite though.

For fans of Symphony X, Rush & Liquid Tension Experiment.

4.5/5

Amiensus - The Reclamation (Part I and II) (2024)

I've been really digging this double album by a previously unknown band from me, with Part I being released in April and Part II releasing about a week ago at the end of August. Despite being labeled as Black Metal there isn't much to back up that claim; it resides in that strange amalgamation void of Progressive Metal bands that take a million influences from Black/Death metal and smash them together into something that is unique yet recognizable if you've been around bands like Ne Obliviscaris, Wilderun, or Earthside's newest album shown above. I absolutely love this kind of stuff in general, so I was glued to Part I since the middle of August and eagerly awaiting the release of Part II. I'm not entirely sure The Reclamation needed to be a double album, as I find Part II to be weaker than Part I through and through despite an amazing start and riff on the opening "Solfario". I think they could have trimmed some of the fat off of Part I and added a few of the stronger tracks from Part II to come up with an hour long album instead of the rather lengthy 90 minutes it ended up being. I'm not exactly complaining because I'm a big fan, but it does begin to run out of ideas and steam halfway through Part II. It's a pretty dense album though, so it'll take me some more time to really see how the whole thing holds up overtime. Overall though, there's a ton of memorable riffs and moments from both the heavier side and lighter, melodic side, and it's been a comfort listen for me as I add another Prog Metal band that's more on the extreme side into my repertoire. 

Part I - 4/5

Part II - 3.5/5

As much as I enjoy the rest of Textures' debut, I see no point in including this overlong ambient sh*t at the end (the only Textures track to ever qualify for this thread):

I've done my review, here's its summary:

By the mid-2000s, djent was still starting off low-key. We have the originator, Meshuggah, and Sikth made their entrance with their djenty progressive metal sound. Named after an instrumental from Cynic's debut Focus, Textures was determined to give their music the many aspects and layers including djenty guitars. And it all starts with their debut Polars, their only album with talented ex-vocalist Pieter Verpaalen. RIP... There's no underestimating the complexity of this music. As often done by Meshuggah and The Dillinger Escape Plan, heavy aggression and soft relaxation are covered in different grounds of sonic emotion. In the short tracks and the 18-minute title epic, there's everything including minimalistic riffing, clean vocal harmonies, and the deathly djent of Meshuggah. Practically all you can ask for from the band. Polaris would've been as glorious as their subsequent albums if not for that final overlong ambient track....

4/5

Recommended tracks: "Ostensibly Impregnable", "Young Man", "The Barrier", "Polars"

For fans of: Meshuggah, Periphery, Sikth

Here are my thoughts on some tracks:

7 Horns 7 Eyes – Regeneration (2012)

5/5. A perfect instrumental standout featuring some soloing by Jeff Loomis (ex-Nevermore), reminding me of his later supergroup Conquering Dystopia.

Gojira – The Heaviest Matter of the Universe (2005)

4.5/5. Gojira has made some real heavy stuff alongside their usual progressiveness. The "OPEN THE DOOR!!!" part is quite climatic, I'll say!

Ions – A Terrible Mistake (2023)

4/5. You ever want to hear the sounds of Northlane, Tesseract, and Karnivool come together? You got it right here! There's great talent and craftsmanship to love. It's quite cool hearing the orchestration blend in with the djent guitar. That shall help encourage me to level up my progressive metal zone.

Leprous – Like a Sunken Ship (2024)

4/5. Both Leprous and Opeth are making their comeback to their earlier growl-filled metal roots with their singles from their respective new albums, and that's pretty great! Unfortunately, I found out that this is the only track from Leprous' new album Melodies of Atonement with that sound, and the rest of the album is the soft art rock continued from their previous 3 albums.

MaYaN – The Illusory Self (2018)

4.5/5. This 9-minute progressive epic is the best way to summarize all this album has to offer, from the classic riffing to the epic choruses. This should've been the end of the playlist right there, but it's OK that it isn't, because there's more of the progressiveness to come...

Meshuggah – Future Breed Machine (1995)

5/5. The chaos continues after starting with a bit of an apocalyptic atmosphere that sounds like robotic machines taking over the world; industrial noises for almost 30 seconds, then a piercing siren over a total headbanging onslaught.

Ne Obliviscaris – Painters of the Tempest – Part II – Triptych (2014)

5/5. More of the chaos is unleashed with part 2 of "Painters of the Tempest". Even though the entire suite is 23 minutes long, this part would still be Ne Obliviscaris' longest song at 16 and a half minutes! This is perhaps my favorite Ne Obliviscaris song even though it's NOT in Portal of I. There are so many brilliant ideas! This part is actually is split into 3 smaller movements. The first movement, "Creator" has a couple transitions between fast storms and soft melodies. Then the second movement "Cynosure" is more acoustic/violin oriented, unlike the overpowering guitars in the other two movements. The avant-garde jazz themes are more apparent with only clean vocals and mid-tempo melodic grooves, until it builds back up to a crescendo of metal and growls. The last movement "Curator" is back to some of the most intense powerful chaos of the album until a nice ethereal ending.

Nevermore – The Fault of the Flesh (1999)

4.5/5. RIP Warrel Dane. He had the greatest sense of drama in the vocals. Jeff Loomis is also talented with his face-melting soloing, like the one over 3 minutes in.

Novallo – White Phoenix (2015)

4/5. Quite creative, though having some slight weakness.

The Ocean – Bathyalpelagic II: The Wish in Dreams (2013)

4.5/5. Even in a small part of a multi-track suite, you can get everything from different bands like Mastodon, BTBAM, and Opeth.

Opeth - §1 (2024)

4/5. And with all that talk about Opeth, we've made it to the first single of their upcoming album The Last Will and Testament. While the sound picks up where In Cauda Venenum left off, the growls and metal of Ghost Reveries and Watershed have returned! And there's drumming insanity by Waltteri Väyrynen (previously from Paradise Lost and Bodom After Midnight). This deathly sound better not be a one-time thing like that Leprous single is. It's my last hope in regaining full interest in Opeth....

A new month means new music and I couldn't be more excited to present the third studio album from U.K. atmo-sludge band Dvne, Voidkind, for the Infinite feature release in August. I really enjoyed this album the first time around and will likely make a full review for it later this month. I can't wait to see what others think of it.

https://metal.academy/releases/51521

Here are my thoughts on some tracks:

Anciients – In The Absence of Wisdom (2024) 

4/5. Another Infinite playlist ride begins, and this is when you're starting up the engine. It has some Opeth-like ambience that then climbs up into a banger. Actually it's more Opeth in Chains, considering the more grunge-infused direction.

Angra – Gods of the World (2023)

4.5/5. Angra have made a wonderful throwback to their more classic roots in the music and lyrics while keeping up their later progressiveness. So cool! The amazing vocals of Fabio Lione take on the highs of Dio. The soloing definitely has Rebirth all over it.

Gojira – Esoteric Surgery (2008) 

4/5. The drumming by Mario Duplantier is so fast and diverse, he's practically superhuman! This song certainly needs more attention.

Haken – Cockroach King (2013)

4.5/5. The Muppet-themed music video for this Haken song is good way to introduce your children to a more modern/metalized Gentle Giant/Pink Floyd. You can hear some dirty metal soloing and silly fun jazz in the bridge. And this is before the band's more pop-ish side took over in later albums...

In Mourning – Hierophant (2019)

4/5. It's astonishing how much this band can sound like Threshold while maintaining their deathly sound.

The Ocean – Hadopelagic II: Let Them Believe (2013) 

4.5/5. The Ocean have made beautiful epics like the 3 multi-track suites covering most of this album. At the 4-minute mark, there's a TOOL-like bass riff in a more mystical soundscape. And 3 minutes later, the soundscape turns destructive, leaving behind an underwater wreckage. This is practically Cult of Luna and Katatonia mixed together, and I mean that as a compliment.

OK Goodnight – The Falcon (2023) 

4/5. This one's more chill while having fresh creativity. Nice lyrics too, "Today we own the sky". The instrumentation, especially the guitars, can remind some of Shadow Gallery. This beautiful song can be the soundtrack to a Hearthstone forest adventure. The progressiveness reaches his high power close to 4 minutes in.

Opeth – Ghost of Perdition (2005)

4.5/5. We have experienced Gojira and The Ocean in this playlist, but not yet Opeth?! Well, thank greatness for my submission! This deathly prog-metal epic with acoustic guitars is still a complete one for me.

PainKiller – Morning of Baladchaturdasi (1994)

5/5. My favorite track of the final PainKiller album, and the only track from the band I would consider perfect, for when you wanna chill out in a world of noise (not something I thought anyone would say in a way that makes sense). It's a shame that track didn't get the same ambient treatment as the other two.

I really enjoyed the hybrid of styles and influences Ætheria Conscientia took on this album. The Blossoming has showings from progressive metal giants as Ihsahn and Rivers of Nihil, and also avant garde stylings of Kayo Dot and Pan.Thy.Monium. This record shows more restraint than the previous album and makes wonders; songs like "Endless Cycle" show that they can write well developed songs without always resorting to the ten minute epic. They can be concise and still say everything they need to say. The avant-garde tag is more of a passing one as the record is still rather accessible from a progressive standpoint; The Blossoming takes liberties from atmospheric black metal for its feel, while occasionally adding the tremolo guitar and blast beat percussion. It's fascinating that a "black metal" album has so little black metal on it, but it sounds great when they do go all out.

8/10

Here are my thoughts on some tracks:

Amorphis – My Kantele (2010)

4/5. Let's start this playlist with the Magic & Mayhem album grand finale! The sorrowful lyrics really detail the emotional magic from the Finnish instrument in question ("Its strings gathered from torments, and its pegs from other ills. Truly they lie, they talk utter nonsense... So it will not play, will not rejoice at all. Music will not play to please.") The vocals work well with the guitars and keyboards. The track is basically extended into an epic as the heavy version is combined with the acoustic reprise for a memorable climax of harmonic leads. Beautiful!

Cynic – The Space for This (2008) 

4.5/5. The greatest emotion spawns from the blend of clean melody and harsh heaviness from both the music and vocals, that can help motivate you to battle against the weight of depression. There's space for many great memories of when I listened to more melodic progressive metal bands like Cynic. The band started off as more of a jazzy tech-death in their debut Focus before softening their sound 15 years later in Traced in Air. And the soloing at over the 4-minute mark is out of this world!

Dysrhythmia – Coffin of Conviction (2024)

5/5. If mathy progressive metal does sound wicked awesome as people say it does, I'm highly convinced!

Edge of Sanity – Incantation (2006 Remastered)

4.5/5. This is the best part of the massive Crimson II album/epic/suite for me, with all that glittering melody.

Ever Forthright – Tambora (2024)

4/5. This one's also pretty cool, and I also love its music video.

Evergrey – Cold Dreams (2024)

4.5/5. This new Evergrey single features frontman Tom Englund's daughter Salina and Katatonia's Jonas Renkse. Salina's beautiful vocals show her improvement since her guest appearance in 2011's Glorious Collision (she was a kid back then, but still). But HOLY SH*T, Renkse has regained his growling ability that's absolutely crushing!

Meshuggah – New Millennium Cyanide Christ (1998)

5/5. The best song of Chaosphere has drummer Tomas Haake's shining lyric writing. Those lyrics aren't as complicated as they are clever. That's my second favorite Meshuggah song behind "Future Breed Machine"!

Rivers of Nihil – The Void from Which No Sound Escapes (2021)

4.5/5. Amazing sound of sax-ified deathly progressive metal!

Spiritbox – Trust Fall (2019) 

4/5. I love the vocals by Courtney LaPlante, singing emotional lyrics in simple passion. It's nice how this song can sound heavy and soothing at the same time.

TesseracT – Burden (2023) 

4.5/5. "I'm afraid, and I don't know what I am, and I don't know where to turn, but I'll learn." Lovely lyrics of hope sung by Daniel Tompkins, almost having similar falsetto-like singing to the late Michael Jackson. Just don't expect any of the "HEE-hee!"

Voivod – Killing Technology (1987)

5/5. Killing Technology's title track begins with rumbling ambience and what sounds like heart-monitor beeps, then it stops shortly after a robot says "We are connected". Right then, freaky fast metal riffing crashes in with Snake's signature punkish vocals and lyrics of a paranoid futuristic dystopia. Now that's killer 80s prog-thrash!

Zeal & Ardor – Gotterdammerung (2022)

5/5. Another playlist-ending grand discovery! Avant-garde black metal is blended together with bluesy gospel for a unique sound of pure perfection.

The Ocean - Pelagial (2013)

Genres: Post-Metal, Prog Metal

Subgenres: Atmo-Sludge Metal, Post-Rock, Metalcore, Death Metal

I'm glad I'm taking this time to go over older albums I've heard for the sake of rearranging some things on my charts.  This was started by a willingness to explore the catalog of Metal Blade, which includes listening to the Metal Blade albums I've already heard for different reasons, such as The Ocean's popular Pelagial, which I've planned on going back to for a while.  Now despite being part of the Infinite clan on Metal Academy, that's mostly for the prog and the avantgarde.  Post-metal isn't generally my thing, but I can spot the good stuff.

The first thing that must be noted is that unlike most post-metal albums, there is certainly not a level of clearcut repetition going on for the sake of exploring overlong ambient textures.  Leave that to Isis and let The Ocean do whatever they want.  I mean let's be honest: Disequillibrated is a death metal song in the same vein as Gojira.  Like past Ocean albums you can sense instances of post-hardcore and metalcore inserted easily, like an off-white patch on a white quilt.  Despite the extremities, The Ocean never forgets that they're making atmo-metal, so there's plenty of time to chill.  As Boundless Vasts starts off heavy and ends its three minute half by quickly getting more and more serene, takes us through a chilling but ambient journey into instrumental deaths while our singer screams like he's trapped at the bottom of the abyss.  Clever work.  Most of these songs are around average length, but there are a couple beautiful segues and two nine-minute tracks near the end.  Let Them Believe may not change things up progressively, but as a post-metal track there's just enough ongoing mutation to keep exploring the oceanic themes.  As well, I completely adore the fact that the eneded the album with a seriously doomy sludge song.

Even though this is definitely a prog album, there is no limit to how accessible this is.  Ironically, this album doesn't border on the questionable nature of the prog tag like some Rush and Dream Theater albums that many metalheads can name.  You can easily take songs like the joining Impasses and The Wish in Dreams and probably play them at work on the same playlist as one with Zep's Ramble On.  This is not only because the band excels with melodicism, but the decisions they make bear a flawless alchemic formula of the post-rock and extreme metal elements even with highly-melodic piano is being played at the same time as death metal screams.

I won't call this a sludge album anymore, but as a post-metal album this is likely my new number one, depending on how I define it and whether or not I'd give the tag to Through Silver in Blood by neurosis.  Pelagial fits every standard of mine for a perfect album.  it sets out to create atmospheres perfectly while balancing out a number of genres in one of the single most consistent deliveries I've ever heard, as well as remaininh 100% accessible in its melodies while testing the borders of extreme metal and prog.  I'm especially happy that I'm currently moving this up to my number 2 prog metal album of all time, as I was afraid that having the top two be the same band (Symphony X) seemed like fanboyism.

100

Here are my thoughts on some tracks:

Amorphis – Course of Fate (2009)

4/5. A nice song to start with from this Finnish melodic prog-metal band.

Animarum – Vikalpa (2024)

4.5/5. New bands have quite the magic touch when they make sick songs like this. There's some killer fire in the lyrics. A f***ing cool discovery! Those vocals can be performed well without choking, including the clean harmonies. Excellent!

Becoming the Archetype – The Balance of Eternity (The Physics of Fire Pt. 4) (2007)

5/5. The 4th and final part of this suite perfectly summarizes the lyrical theme of faith vs. fire, connecting well with this progressive epic to bring its original album, a glorious offering, to a fantastic close.

Dream Theater – About to Crash (2002)

4.5/5. Anyone listening to this after the return original drummer Mike Portnoy? His drumming talent goes well with the emotion of this part of the "Six Degrees" suite.

Pain of Salvation – Reasons (2017)

4/5. If you're wondering why I haven't listened to these melodic prog-metal bands now as much as in the last decade, I have my reasons. Still this Pain of Salvation album was a standout album for me back in early 2017.

Rendezvous Point – Utopia (2024)

4.5/5. Some well-done beautiful progressive metal/rock there! A bit of a Muse vibe, even being as short as their songs in a length of 4 minutes. Impressive!

Rivers of Nihil – Criminals (2024)

4/5. It's insane how well drum solos can turn out like this brief one that starts the last minute. The song is another total banger overall with a fine line between their earlier tech-death albums and The Work. I look forward to more!

Scar Symmetry – Reichsfall (2023)

4.5/5. There's dynamic elegance in the intro before the usual heavy fight and melodic flight. The pace often slows down right before the chorus, losing a bit of dynamic while still sounding cool. The vocals are amazing, but I can't tell the higher notes are real or done with a vocoder similar to Cynic. Either way, that along with the guitar melodies spawn a pleasant Blind Guardian vibe. What a progressive adventure within an adventure!

Teramaze – Step Right Up (2024)

4.5/5. Step right up for some more mesmerizing progressive metal!

Textures – Awake (2008)

5/5. For a few years, I've been enjoying this band. And how can I not?! They made a lot of songs that are both hard-hitting and melodic. There are also seems to be some influence from the heavier side of Devin Townsend. I love this!

Wheel – Saboteur (2024)

4.5/5. Let's wrap up this playlist with another brooding heavy crusher. The chorus and its vocals are so mind-blowing! The Wheel shall keep turning....

I've already written my review summary in Rex's thread, but I don't mind sharing it again here:

You gotta admit, Arjen Lucassen is a true talented space metal genius. He can make a song with just a couple riffs and transform it into something beyond belief. I was once a fan of Ayreon and remembered the mind-blowing status of his albums. I suppose one day I can check out some of his former projects that I missed out on like Stream of Passion, but for now, let's escape into a wonderous dimension of progressive space metal! Musically, Star One's debut picks up where Ayreon left off in Flight of the Migrator, including that album's heavier D-tuned sound. This time, only one of the two discs is the main album, and there are 4 vocalists in every song; Russell Allen (Symphony X), Floor Jansen (ex-After Forever, Nightwish), Damien Wilson (ex-Threshold), and Dan Swano (ex-Edge of Sanity, Nightingale). The music speaks in loud fury while in spacey beauty. The deep synth/guitar momentum adds to the heaviness factor, though a few tracks lean closer to the earlier hard rock of Deep Purple, and there are some moments that sound a little too pompous. But the main verdict is an Ayreon spin-off project of progressive metal with the speed of power metal and the cosmic vibe of Hawkwind that you shouldn't miss out on. This man's a true genius!

4.5/5

Recommended tracks: "Set Your Controls", "High Moon", "Master of Darkness", "The Eye of Ra", "Intergalactic Space Crusaders", "Hawkwind Medley", "Inseparable Enemies", "Space Oddity" (David Bowie cover)

For fans of: Ayreon, Symphony X, Threshold

Thanks so much for this, Daniel! Here's my review summary:

I haven't heard of this band from Canberra, Australia before, but let me fill you in right away on what to expect from Alchemist's debut Jar of Kingdom. This is avant-garde/progressive death metal soaring through the psychedelic cosmos! This is the kind of style that's either awesome or too weird to enjoy. In this case, it's the former. Alchemist made an experiment in metal alchemy that has really paid off! With this incredible debut, I have a great feeling about the rest of their discography. There are many things that are both expected and unexpected all in one dish. Avant-garde/prog-metal has lots of twists through death and doom here. For newcomers to The Infinite genres, it may sound weird and take some time to digest. Listeners of the album get an out-of-this-world experience, as 70s space rock and Eastern balladry twisted into intricate thrashy death metal rhythms. Frontman Adam Agius actually damaged his voice during recording, hence the rawness of his deathly vocals here. The complex experimentation of Alchemist is a deathly adventure through the dark psychedelic depths of space!

5/5

Here are my thoughts on some tracks:

Devin Townsend – Deadhead (2003)

4.5/5. Let's start off with this beautiful song from Canadian metal mastermind Devin Townsend. I still love the emotion spawned from there!

Leprous – Mb. Indifferentia (2011) 

4/5. I've been a bit indifferent to Leprous for the past couple years, though songs like this make me question why. The perfect vocals of Einar Solberg first enter around the one-minute mark alongside instrumentation that starts reminiscent of the softer Opeth but then rises to be similar to the heavier side of Devin Townsend. Then gets more ominous right in the middle, but after a minute of that, right around 4 and half minutes into the song, that when we reach the heavier climax that Dream Theater is often good at doing. "DO NOTHING AT ALL!!!!"

Pain of Salvation – On a Tuesday (2017)

4.5/5. I haven't heard from this band for so long, apart from a few small revisits. In the Passing Light of Day was the last album I heard from this band 7 years ago before I switched out of the more melodic progressive metal. The lyrics have f***ing meaningful emotion that fits nicely with the Nine Inch Nails vibe in the instrumentation. This song and "Reasons" were total heavy rollercoasters for me back in those days. The "I lost the will" bridge is so beautiful. Then right after that, the heaviness comes back to surprise you. The verses are quite deep with a bit of shallowness. I can understand, considering the near-fatal Hell the band's frontman Daniel Gildenlöw went through when he suffered from a life-threatening disease. Luckily he's still alive and well.

Into Eternity – Into Eternity (1999)

5/5. Ah yeah, the perfect theme song for this progressive melodeath band Into Eternity! Guitarist Tim Roth can write great lyrics and has nice clean singing. This whole "song and album with the same name as the band" thing has been done before by classic heavy metal bands Black Sabbath, Motorhead, and Iron Maiden.

Mutoid Man – Beast (2015)

5/5. For a two-minute track, this one perfectly unites progressive metal with hardcore/speed metal as the leads and rhythms strike each other for dominance.

Persefone – Lingua Ignota Part 1 (2024)

4.5/5. The best riffing comes on in the title track of their new EP. Here we have some great guitar soloing to level up the surrounding riffing and give the EP some redeeming value. This definitely throws back to the band's better earlier material. Although the verses and choruses can sometimes get me ticked, they're still at their best here. The cleans should've been slightly reduced though.

Ever Forthright – Techniflux (2024)

4/5. Soft piano, funky bass, crushing guitar... Ain't that a great combo! The only problem here is the generic structure throughout this 13-minute progressive epic.

Intronaut – Fast Worms (2015) 

4.5/5. Wow, this is the 3rd time this Intronaut song has appeared in an Infinite playlist. I won't complain though, this is f***ing killer jazzy post-/progressive metal with flawless mixing by Devin Townsend.

Voivod – Technocratic Manipulators (1998)

5/5. This highlight demonstrates highly creative originality, packing powerful metal punches, sounding so progressive without turning into a 20-minute epic! After a calm dark ambient intro with a few bass touches, the crossover-ish dynamics erupt with speedy riff rhythms and signature snarling vocals. Near the two-minute mark, the song makes a weird evolution into old-school Hawkwind-like spacey guitar rhythms. Many styles and influences all in dexterous textures in only under 5 minutes. A truly awesome feat!

PainKiller - "Guts Of A Virgin" (1991)

Earlier this week I went about the process of revisiting the 1992 sophomore album “Buried Secrets” from unusual New York avant-garde jazz metal trio PainKiller. It had literally been decades since I last heard the three PainKiller full-lengths but I was really surprised to find that their second album offered me a level of appeal that I’d not received from it before. I guess I’m just a lot more open-minded with my music these days. That’s not to say that it wasn’t inconsistent because it most certainly was with the short grindcore sections adding no value to anyone’s life whatsoever. It was the lengthier, more restrained & slightly less consciously abstract material that floated my boat with all of the more significant tracks hitting the mark. From memory, I think I devoured all of PainKiller’s albums within about a week & I recall them getting better with each release so I had visions of their 1991 debut album “Guts of a Virgin” being an absolute abomination (& not the good type either). Given my newly found positivity for “Buried Secrets” though, I thought I’d challenge myself by giving it a few spins too.

There are similarities & differences between PainKiller’s first two albums. They both contain the screeching alto saxophone of John Zorn over almost every track, there’s a grindcore component to many of the tracks that pops up & disappears as quickly as it came & the band explores a number of different styles & genres around those core elements. There’s no doubt that “Guts of a Virgin” is the more extreme of the two records though. It’s twelve songs clock in at just 24 minutes in duration with the grindcore elements being drawn upon a little more readily. I still wouldn’t call this a grindcore record though as the combined length of those sections is really quite short with the remainder of the album feeling better suited to a few alternate genre tags in avant-garde jazz, avant-garde & experimental rock, the last of which is a little different from “Buried Secrets” which tended to explore more metallic genres like sludge metal & industrial metal whereas “Guts of a Virgin” dips its toes into rockier & jazzier sounds at times. The debut also includes some psychotic vocal screams from former Napalm Death drummer Mick Harris which are pretty harsh & abrasive on the ears to be frank. As with “Buried Secrets”, the album finishes with a pretty decent drone metal number too although this one sits quite a distance beneath the classic “The Toll” in terms of being a truly transcendental experience.

Both albums certainly contain their fair share of absolute rubbish. The difference between them is that “Buried Secrets” has a lot more meat on its bones & the crap on “Guts of a Virgin” tends to be… well… crappier. In fact, there are really only three songs that I enjoy here & I don’t think it’s any surprise to find them corresponding with the more traditional sounding pieces on the tracklisting because I’m simply not the guy for intentionally whacky music that offers more in the way of novelty value than it does from a musical standpoint. I really enjoyed Bill Laswell’s dubbier influence on a couple of tracks from “Buried Secrets” too but it’s nowhere to be found on “Guts of a Virgin”.

Perhaps I’m not the target audience for a record like this one but I have to ask… is there really one & are they actually music fans? Look… “Guts of a Virgin” is nowhere near as bad as I first thought it was but it’s a long way from an enjoyable listen either. In saying that, I get the distinct feeling that PainKiller’s third album “Execution Ground” might be the one to offer me the most appeal based purely on my past scores & its general genre-tagging which sees dark ambient & ambient dub playing a strong role at the expense of grindcore. Perhaps I should hook myself up with some of them apples shortly, huh?

2.5/5

Here's my review:

My incentive for nominating San Diego progressive metallers Psychotic Waltz's 1992 sophomore album "Into The Everflow" for feature release status was predominantly built off the very positive experience I had with the album's older sibling "A Social Grace" back in October 2023. I'd never given Psychotic Waltz a genuine crack before then but their 1990 debut album left me thoroughly impressed by its class & execution. Possibly the only thing missing was the sort of hooks that are required to take a very solid record & make it into a truly great one so I was left wondering if perhaps the band might have been able to achieve that with a little more time & experience. This month seemed like a good time to find out.

Once again we find Psychotic Waltz indulging themselves in the more progressive end of the metal spectrum with "Into The Everflow". It's perhaps not as consistently heavy as "A Social Grace" was but it certainly has its moments. The more intense & highly complex passages definitely coincide with my favourite parts of the album but the more experimental & atmospheric sections are not to be scoffed at either with prog rock playing a stronger role than I remember it doing with the debut. The vocals of Deadsoul Tribe & former The Shadow Theory front man Buddy Lackey are positioned in the higher-register, theatrical style of the US power metal scene but are not as difficult to digest as a John Arch (Fates Warning) or a Jason McMaster (Watchtower). In saying that though, he does tend to wander into some artsy territory at times & I'm not sure it always works. Thankfully, the guitar work of Dan Rock & Brian McAlpin tends to jump out & save the day at key moments.

The eight-song tracklisting is very formidable with even the weaker inclusion "Tiny Streams" still offering something of interest. The super-complex "Out Of Mind" is my personal favourite with its weighty riffs & odd time-signatures seeing my ears staying pricked up for its full duration. Unfortunately, I don't think there are any other classics included here, despite the very solid & consistent level of quality that drives the album. Some of the material takes two or three listens to fully comprehend too as there's a lot to take in here which perhaps results in a less immediate record than its predecessor which I slightly favour over this one by the barest of margins. I'm guessing that fans of Fates Warning, Watchtower & Spiral Architect will likely already be all over this album but I feel that there's enough in it for me to recommend it to ALL of our The Infinite members as Psychotic Waltz are a highly talented band that produces top quality progressive metal material. If you don't get into the proggier end of metal then you should steer well clear of it though.

4/5

I'm not really up to a lot of progressive metal at the moment (other than discovering Into Eternity and Volumes the other day), so I'll just review submissions from me and Xephyr for this playlist. Sorry Saxy, maybe next time. So here are my thoughts on those tracks:

Wandering Oak – To Lir Thy Fell (2024)

4.5/5. A killer blackened progressive metal epic to start this playlist, though I have not much to say there.

Anacrusis – Still Black (1991)

5/5. The best and most ominous riffing comes in this track which is my personal favorite here.

Mechina – Earth-Born Axiom (2015)

4.5/5. The engines ignite and the spaceship blasts off in an extensive epic in which electronic synths and cinematic orchestra prevails over the heavy djent instrumentation. Tiberi knows how to combine all that with a landscape of sci-fi dystopia that Neurotech can also achieve.

DGM – The Secret Pt. 2 (2016)

4/5. Pretty great hooks to grab your attention, especially when reaching its last third.

Mr. Bungle – Squeeze Me Macaroni (1991)

4.5/5. This amazing bass-fueled track is where its original album sounds best when blending lightness with spookiness.

Mutoid Man – Siphon (2023)

5/5. This highlight kicks off having some of the math-ish metalcore instrumentation of Converge and The Dillinger Escape Plan then continues on in progressive/sludge metal again as the vocal harmonies and growls blend together.

Protest the Hero – Gardenias (2020)

4.5/5. The instant impact here is so good you can even listen to it on its own! The drum kicks and instrumental punches unleash thunderbolts while electrifying lightning strikes from Rody Walker unleashing his screams and growls.

Rolo Tomassi – Closer (2022)

5/5. Not every track that I absolutely love has to be heavy. This ballad is so beautiful, including the harmonic voice of Eva Korman. Such a lovely song!

Here are my thoughts on some tracks:

Job for a Cowboy – Beyond the Chemical Doorway (2024)

5/5. Starting this playlist is a band that I never had the leeway to listen to in the year 2014 when I was in my power metal-loving teens, due to their death metal (deathcore in their 2006 EP) sound. But now that I'm in my 20s and can handle that kind of sound, especially in their more progressive material like their new album Moon Healer, I'm up for more! It's just way too good to lose, and the bass sounds audible and groovy.

 The Ocean – Permian: The Great Dying (2018)

4.5/5. My interest in this band seemed to have died out lately, but songs like this one still have their underrated greatness.

Ibaraki – Kagutsuchi (2022)

4.5/5. Violent yet melodic blackened prog-metal. How did I not hear this until now???

Intronaut – Prehistoricisms (2008)

5/5. And how perfect can this progressive post-sludge sound get?!

Periphery – Zagreus (2023)

5/5. This glorious highlight kicks the heaviness back to bloodthirsty brutality. This almost has a blackened vibe with the riffing and demonic growling. I haven't heard Sotelo sound so savage since when he guest appeared in Sikth's "Cracks of Light". Then the track closes with a cinematic orchestral ending.

Stortgern – Xeno Chaos (2023)

4.5/5. Standing out well is this track that bursts out more than a human-killing Xenomorph (unrelated). It truly is special as the progressive tech-death rises up in melody.

Charlie Griffiths – Arctic Cemetery (2022)

4.5/5. I hadn't listened to much Haken and Between the Buried and Me in the past couple years, but hearing the former band's guitarist Charlie Griffiths and the latter band's vocalist Tommy Rogers together is quite a treat where you get to hear a bit of BTBAM's signature deathly progressive metal sound.

The Human Abstract – Complex Terms (2011)

5/5. I just wish this band was still around. Their complex djent-ish neoclassical prog-metal sound rules, especially close to the one-minute mark then two minutes after.

Rivers of Nihil – Where Owls Know My Name (2018)

4.5/5. This one is a bleak yet amazing song from another band that I should've listened to more of. The lyrics are some of the best here, and what makes it beautiful yet slightly laughable is the jazzy saxophone solos, one of them as early as the two-minute mark. Quite a groovy headbanger this track is! It will make you float out or orbit into the astral plane. I think I can hear where some of the more technical aspects of Lorna Shore came from!

Leprous – Contaminate Me (2013)

4/5. Horns up for one of the heaviest Leprous songs, featuring Emperor's Ihsahn!

Here's my review summary:

Whenever there's experimentation, their results are often mixed reactions from many critics. The negative reception is due to those changes being suddenly different from the sound they're used to, whereas bands like Voivod take things slowly when gradually changing their sound for a fresh complex result. And on that same year, Metallica also released a more progressive thrash metal album before making their abrupt switch to the heavy/alternative metal that was received negatively. For Dimension Hatröss, only a few traces of thrash remain, those traces being just the fast thrashy tempos. Those tempos are dominated by all its changes every few measures. The band can go straight-on progressive without making a 20-minute epic, with many styles and influences all in dexterous textures in just an under 5-minute track. Some of the jazz influences come from the otherworldly diminished chords of Piggy (Denis D'Amour) (RIP). Their progressive sound would be fully solidified in their next album Nothingface. Their thrash was in the past, but their progressive metal would come in that's out of this world!

5/5

Recommended tracks: "Chaosmöngers", "Technocratic Manipulators", "Macrosolutions to Megaproblems", "Brain Scan", "Batman Theme" (bonus track)

For fans of: Watchtower, and the early 90s eras of Anacrusis and Coroner

I've done my review, here's its summary:

Anacrusis has reached a greater progressive height in their tech-thrash sound. Their two albums before this one showed subtle hints of progressiveness, but with Manic Impressions, they have reached their signature style that has put this album together with Coroner and Dark Angel's respective albums that year as the 1991 tech-thrash triptych! Manic Impressions shows a new vision for Anacrusis, along with a different drummer whose skills added to the complexity. Soft breaks and multiple time signatures have become more common than before, as are the mid-paced progressive aspects that would be in full force in their swan song album Screams and Whispers. With the songs and lyrics in cohesive flow, you can almost consider this a concept album when it isn't. Not every album has nothing but strong songs, but this album stands out as that. Kenn Nardi's talented voice (at least I think is talented) has improved significantly to flow with the dark atmosphere and intense heaviness colliding in a dramatic mix. The ominous riffing and melodic leads enhance the fast thrash that's balanced with the mid-paced sections surrounding, sometimes slowing down to heavier doom. All this and technical emotion in the music and lyrics show you what progressive tech-thrash is all about!

4.5/5

Here are my thoughts on some tracks:

Animals as Leaders – Wave of Babies (from Wave of Babies)

4.5/5. Animals as Leaders is a prominent band in the wave of developing bands of djent alongside Periphery and Tesseract, and they made cool instrumentals like this one.

Extol – Shadow of Death (from Paralysis)

5/5. Extol's cover of this Believer classic is what got me into this band, and it's a total blessing! It's also a bonus track in the Japanese edition of Undeceived. Apparently, Cradle of Filth stole the song's opening riff for their own song "Dirge Inferno", though I didn't know that because I'm one of those people who prefer to listen to Extol rather than Cradle of Filth, although I'm not a Christian. I guess that proves that plagiarism has made its way into progressive death/thrash and gothic/black metal.

Madder Mortem – Convertion (from Mercury)

5/5. This eerie epic perfectly summarizes the desolate Autumn atmosphere of its original album and artwork. The distorted guitars, technical doomy drums, soft acoustic guitars, dreamy keyboards, and calm yet powerful vocals are all there. Truly hypnotic!

Periphery – Four Lights (from Juggernaut: Alpha)

4.5/5. "THERE. ARE. 4. LIGHTS!!!!" yells Captain Picard in "Chain of Command", a two-part special episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Amazing djent instrumental, though I would've loved to hear Spencer's vocals over those guitar rhythms. I love this almost as much as Zagreus.

Arjen Anthony Lucassen's Star One – The Eye of Ra (from Space Metal)

4.5/5. This ballad-ish 3-part epic breaks the earlier mid-tempo/fast pace and is so majestic, especially in the epic ending where all 4 vocalists plus background vocalist Robert Soeterboek sing in perfect harmony.

Tesseract – Cages - PORTALS (from PORTALS)

5/5. Holy sh*t, thank you Tesseract! They really give this song the perfect live treatment.

Fates Warning – Part of the Machine (from Perfect Symmetry)

4.5/5. Frank Aresti has performed mighty technical guitarwork here. The bass work by Joe DiBiase is also mind-blowing. If people could pay attention to notes more, this would've ended up on the radio at any given chance. The band also gave Dream Theater vocalist James LaBrie an earlier chance to shine in one of the songs from the next album Parallels, released a year before Dream Theater's Images and Words. At that point, their heavy metal from as late as Awaken the Guardian is already gone.

Caligula's Horse – The Stormchaser (from The Stormchaser)

4/5. A fun banger, but am I up to revisiting the band with the rest of their new album Charcoal Grace? Not right now...

Symphony X – Wicked (from The Odyssey)

4.5/5. An excellent wicked way to end this playlist, with great singing. I definitely like the bridge at the 3 and a half minute mark followed a minute later by a scream into the final chorus. And this is the same band with the neoclassical "Smoke and Mirrors"!

The frontrunner for The Infinite Release of 2023 Award are Ne Obliviscaris' "Exul', King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard's "PetroDragonic Apocalypse" & Periphery's "Periphery V: Djent Is Not a Genre". There's less than a week to go now so get those ratings in. 

So with the start of a new year it's once again time to have a look at the covers for all the releases for each clan. I personally like to rate a whole stack of covers all at once, rather than doing them one at a time throughout the year, as it allows me to get a better feel for where each cover sits in comparison to others. With that in mind, I've just rated every cover for releases in The Infinite for 2023.

Below are the releases that are currently competing for the prestigious 2023 The Infinite Cover of the Year Award (i.e. they rate at least 3.7 and have 3 or more ratings). The winner will be announced on the 1st of February, so there's still time to get your ratings in.

Blut aus Nord - Disharmonium - Nahab

Oak Pantheon - The Absence

Haken - Fauna

Abbey, The - Word of Sin

TesseracT - War of Being

Horrendous - Ontological Mysterium

Dirge - Dirge

Enslaved - Heimdal

Ne Obliviscaris - Exul

Vvon Dogma I - The Kvlt of Glitch

If you want to contribute and rate some covers, the easiest way is to go to The Gallery and select The Infinite and 2023.

https://metal.academy/gallery?cid=5&type=overall_cover_rating&myRating=&fromYear=2023&toYear=2023&exclude=0

I look forward to seeing which release gets up for the win!

I'd add that Ben & I feel that we should really be steering away from subgenres that are simply a combination of two existing genres, particularly when they cross clans, as it needlessly complicates things. If a post-metal release is doomy enough for The Fallen then it should receive a genre from The Fallen on top of its Post-Metal tag. If not, then I'd suggest that it's not worth mentioning in its tagging. The Angelic Process is an interesting test case. This is an excerpt from my review of their highly celebrated "Weighing Souls With Sand" album:

"'Weighing Souls With Sand' is most commonly referred to as drone metal. I can see why but it's never seemed to me to be a very accurate label to be honest. There's a lot more going on here than there is in your average drone metal release, particularly from a melodic point of view. The noisy analogue hiss that shrouds most tracks reminds me a lot of the noisier works of ambient artist Tim Hecker while the huge crescendos indicate a love for post-rock artists such as Sigur Ros. There is most definitely a shoegaze element at play here too with a lot of these tracks seeing Kris strumming open downstrokes repeatedly in a melancholic fashion that reeks of My Bloody Valentine's classic 'Loveless' album. The droning bass notes take my mind more towards the ambient variety of drone only more from a textural point of view than a stylistic one. Overall I find that the post-metal tag is the more appropriate way to label the album & I'd feel much more comfortable if 'Weighing Souls With Sand' was separated from the drone metal charts as it inevitably fairs quite well but doesn't sound anything like the records scattered around it."

So, I obviously felt that it has very little to do with the drone metal subgenre that it was continually being associated with at the time but possesses an obvious shoegaze component. There was also no mention of a doom metal component & I was comfortable with the release sitting under the post-metal genre which is quite telling when it comes to the topic of discussion here. Unless anyone can present a strong case to the contrary, my immediate suggestion is that we leave releases tagged on RYM as Doomgaze under the generic Post-Metal genre.

This is a debut record of a very traditional progressive metal slab and takes a lot of its influence from giants like Dream Theater and more recently Haken. And Nospūn are really good at paying homage to their idols within progressive metal. The album is incredibly well performed, the song compositions/structures are given a lot of detail as to not make any of the tracks here (including the fifteen minute "Within the Realm of Possibility") feel extended for their own sake, and the production is top notch. I can hear each instrument with the utmost clarity, including the bass, and some of the tracks even have a decent melodic hook to anchor them down, including "The Death of Simpson" and "Back, Yet Forward".

But the record is marred by two major faults. The first is quite obvious: Nospūn do not really have much of an identity of their own at the moment. I am willing to be a little bit more forgiving in this regard since this is the bands debut album, and it's disingenuous of me to expect the band to rock the progressive metal world, in the same way that Black Sabbath did back in the 1970s. However, the other big issue has to do with this god awful synthesizer that persists throughout the entire record. When it isn't there, or not at the forefront of the track, Opus can sound really good, but "Dance With Me!" and "4D Printing" sound brutal as the keyboards rival even the most nasally pop-punk vocalists with their irritation.

It's a solid debut, but I hope that Nospūn will take notes for a follow-up and carve their own identity within the world of progressive metal. Otherwise, they are likely to flounder just like so many others before them.

3.5/5

Here are my thoughts on some tracks:

Caligula’s Horse – The World Breathes with Me (2023)

4.5/5. The band led by the talented guitarist Sam Vallen and stunning vocalist Jim Grey are back, and HOLY SH*T, this song opens the playlist in amazing heights! The blend of heaviness and beauty is brought back into shape after Leprous lost it 10 years prior. No way will this ever disappoint!

Liquid Tension Experiment – Acid Rain (1999)

4/5. An untouchable piece from this instrumental band with bassist Tony Levin (NOT Walter White, despite who he looks like) and 3 of the guys from Dream Theater (John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy, and Jordan Rudess). After two wild progressive minutes, things slow down for some tribal percussion almost like it's from the George of the Jungle soundtrack. Then the keyboards rise for under a minute, then a cowbell is struck, in queue for Petrucci to play some sick riffing and soloing. Then over the 4-minute mark, things heat up, sounding similar to Riot's take on "Racing with the Devil on a Spanish Highway". And after all that, the last few seconds of guitar fiddling ends it smoothly.

Devin Townsend Project – Higher (2016)

4.5/5. Canadian metal mastermind Devin Townsend continues to bring his sound to higher places. The most glorious part of this epic is the last chorus that starts the final two minutes. An absolute tear-jerker!

Kayo Dot – The Manifold Curiosity (2003)

5/5. This one has so much to explore, as more instruments and vocal styles are added to the arsenal. 4 and a half minutes into the track, the soft ambience is broken by a melodic explosion with a huge variety of jazzy instruments that not a lot of metal bands can add without tainting their sound. From the 10-minute mark onwards, there's more intense chaos. How intense?! It's actually in the same level as Strapping Young Lad with Converge-like screaming rage, especially at the very end with a brief moment of grind-ish metalcore. A truly heavy and artsy epic!

Opeth – Blackwater Park (2021)

5/5. The epic title finale of this band's magnum opus continues the complex structure, adding in some of the later rhythm atmosphere. All I'm gonna note is how majestic the ending is, when the band unleash all their power before hitting the brakes in a bang.

The Contortionist – Return to Earth (2017)

4.5/5. Another amazing song to love and rock on to!

Gojira – The Art of Dying (2008)

4/5. Gojira's songs can be considered a heavy mix of Meshuggah and TOOL. The lyrics fit well with the title, as the philosophical lyrics, especially the first verse, detail the pain and depression of real-life and the peace and tranquility of the afterlife, relating well to our hardships of life. So it's not always the environment this French progressive metal bands always sings about. Beautiful rhythm appears from the 6-minute mark onwards, for their typical dose of progressive melody.

Leprous – Mediocrity Wins (2012)

3.5/5. The vocals by Einar Solberg are so unique, fitting well for the Opeth gone TOOL vibe. And the tasty bass that starts over the one-minute mark is also pretty good. Other than that, the song is a little too strange, and doesn't really reach its necessary height. In a battle for good quality, mediocrity wins...

So just like that we find that a new month is upon us which of course means that we’ll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we’re asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We’re really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don’t be shy.

This month’s feature release for The Infinite has been nominated by Rexorcist. It's the 2014 "Outsiders" debut album from Florida progressive power metal outfit Skyliner.

https://metal.academy/releases/39068

Here are my thoughts on some tracks:

Madder Mortem – Towers (2023)

5/5. OMG YES!!! This is another perfect playlist opener, this one having opened my ears to an awesome song from an underrated band that has been active for 3 decades yet hidden from my young view. A beautifully powerful sneak peek for their next album! This track has not disappointed me one bit. The frontwoman has a lot of talent within her vocals. I should put this song high up in my best songs of 2023 list. You can almost consider this band a metal resurrection of Siouxsie and the Banshees.

Anacrusis – Sound the Alarm (1993)

5/5. The lower sorrow of Kenn Nardi's cleans can already be found in the dramatic riff-wrath. The pessimistic darkness would continue in later songs from that album, while the mid-paced riffing stays sharp and keeps the bleakness interesting.

Nospün - …And Then There Were None (2023)

4.5/5. And then there's some melodic progressive metal that sounds amazing, but I would've loved this to bits if that side of my progressive metal interest was still dominant.

Opeth – Hex Omega (2008)

4/5. I love it when, 40 seconds in, the music halts until 40 more seconds later when the vocals rise magnificently. Ghost Reveries and Watershed are the band's two last metal albums before the prog-rock sound of Heritage onwards.

Charlie Griffiths – Dead in the Water (2022)

4.5/5. Some more superb melodic progressive metal, but again I've moved on to the more extreme side of the genre.

Periphery – Dying Star (2023)

5/5. This one has a more uplifting vibe, but the band returns to the impressive intricate heaviness. They can really add warm calm color to an ultra-heavy subgenre like djent.

Wilderun – And So Open the Earth (Ash Memory Part I) (2015)

4.5/5. Although my interest in Opeth has mostly faded out, I still have to thank that band for boosting my love for extreme vocals in progressive metal. With that and the folk/symphonic power metal vibes, this Wilderun track has so much color.

Star One – Human See, Human Do (2010)

4.5/5. "Get your stinkin' paws off me, you d*mn dirty ape!" Star One was one of my favorite progressive metal supergroups when I was younger, and I discovered them earlier than Opeth, like 5 years earlier. Still even back then, I enjoy Dan Swano's growling bridge of "SEE NO EVIL! HEAR NO EVIL! SPEAK NO EVIL! DO NO EVIL!"

Intronaut – Above (2010)

5/5. Another blessing from the heavens above, an underrated post-progressive metal band!

Tool – The Pot (2006)

4.5/5. This one shows the bass rhythm being less snappy, instead synchronizing with the beat in a groove-powered breakdown perfect for some live moshing. Maybe that Plankton AI cover would level up the mosh pit even more. Yeah, that version is what my brother was listening to that made me interested in checking out its original album.

Plini – Still Life (Feat. Tosin Abasi) (2023)

5/5. New Plini single, featuring Animals as Leaders guitarist Tosin Abasi?!?! An absolute djent dream! And who knew you can make a lute sound djent?!

TesseracT – Of Reality – Eclipse (2013)

5/5. Altered State is one of my favorite djent albums, and one any modern metal fan should have in their lifetime! Through the last third of this part, the filthy drumming adds to the serene ambience for beautiful heights. But I gotta get out of here before that peak drops....

Now then, what have we here? This sole release from a mysterious & anonymous metal collective is the perfect example of a Metal Academy feature release in my opinion.

4.5/5

I'm a big fan of how I went from "Xephyr, why in the hell would you pick this as a Feature Release" to "Xephyr, this is exactly what I'm looking for in a Feature Release" this month hahaha

(Daniel's not wrong here for the record)

Here are my thoughts on some tracks:

Between the Buried and Me – Ants of the Sky (Live) (2008)

5/5. This 13-minute epic to start off this playlist that I still love from this band has wonderful aspects of blues groove and organ, with some hard rock/thrash added in, as the soloing ranges from jazz to Queen-esque to country. Soon it leads to an epic slow bridge that then quiets down for a bit of clean soloing. And then another country-like moment, this time with banjo-like guitars and a background bar fight (WHAT?!), before ending with an uplifting neoclassical outro similar to Pachelbel's Canon.

Opeth – Forest of October (1995)

5/5. Another 13-minute epic that I still love to bits, having melodies of beauty and sorrow from one of the band's most memorable earlier compositions. The song is quite d*mn long, but what makes those long epics superb is, there are some different emotions in different sections, all ranging from aggressive brutality to acoustic melancholy. One of my favorite Opeth songs, though still behind "The Drapery Falls"!

Disillusion – Back to Times of Splendor (2004)

4.5/5. I haven't heard anything from Disillusion in over a year when my prog-metal interest was at fault, but now that I'm reviving it slowly, this is yet another 13+ minute epic to strike my heart. It's crazy how emotional and powerful this composition, so much so that it should've been more popular. I'm glad I discovered this amazing sh*t 3 years ago via a recommendation, and I enjoy the lyrics here like "morning sun beyond the clouds". Think of this wonderful deathly progressive metal piece like Ne Obliviscaris collaborating with Amon Amarth. I mean, Ne Obliviscaris didn't fully start yet back in 2004, but still. This kind of music with tons of melody deserves more attention. At least the band is still around and producing music, even after a 13-year break at the same time as that of Tool. Near the 5 and a half minute mark is an Opeth like-section. The softer section two minutes later also rules. Things get more emotional at the 11-minute point. And two minutes later is the best ending. All in true deathly progressive metal!

Edge of Sanity – Crimson Pt. 3 (1996)

4/5. This track is actually part of a 40-minute progressive melodeath album/epic (almost as long as the first 3 epics of this playlist altogether!), but the digital edition of the album uses the slightly shortened version from the When All is Said compilation and splits it up to different parts, not caring about the movements within the lyrics. I think this is the ending of the "With Broken Wings" segment followed by most of the "War" segment (Yes, I still remember the names of the segments that I've made up). I would probably have much a better revisiting experience with this album/epic in its full form.

Haken – Elephants Never Forget (2023)

3.5/5. This epic was already in last April's playlist, but I don't mind sharing my thoughts on it again. The starting move into a more prog-rock-ish style is a bit forgettable, but still worth enjoying. After a one-minute intro, the band's Gentle Giant influence kicks in, especially in Ross Jennings' vocals. That goes on for a minute until Haken's own classic sound enters, further taken another minute later into their typical chorus. Yet another minute later, it ends sounding closer to a bit of the industrial rock of Nine Inch Nails. At the 7-minute mark is an insane bridge to make up for the earlier drag. This is then followed a minute after by the progressive metal glory that I wish there could be more of without sounding too melodic.

Caligula’s Horse – Autumn (2020)

4/5. A melodic half-acoustic half-electric ballad, slightly better than that Haken track.

Mastodon – Gobblers of Dregs (2021)

4.5/5. "All that I needed from you was your warm embrace. Turns out, that was mine to give." Tear-shedding emotional beauty!

Caligula’s Horse – Marigold (2023)

4/5. Whoa, hold the phone... Two Caligula's Horse songs here?!? Ain't that a break from the one song per band playlist rule! I suppose I can try making an exception in one of my own playlists later. Anyway, this has lots of Opeth vibes mixed with the clean vocals of Leprous.

Monosphere – Method Acting (2023)

4.5/5. Some killer progressive metalcore here! Anyway...

Ne Obliviscaris – Painters of the Tempest – Part II (Triptych Lux) (2014)

5/5. The chaos is unleashed with part 2 of "Painters of the Tempest". Even though the entire suite is 23 minutes long, this part would still be Ne Obliviscaris' longest song at 16 and a half minutes, and the longest epic of this playlist! This is perhaps my favorite Ne Obliviscaris song even though it's NOT in Portal of I. There are so many brilliant ideas! This part is actually is split into 3 smaller movements. The first movement, "Creator" has a couple transitions between fast storms and soft melodies. Then the second movement "Cynosure" is more acoustic/violin oriented, unlike the overpowering guitars in the other two movements. The avant-garde jazz themes are more apparent with only clean vocals and mid-tempo melodic grooves, until it builds back up to a crescendo of metal and growls. The last movement "Curator" is back to some of the most intense powerful chaos of the album until a nice ethereal ending.

Rivers of Nihil – Hellbirds (2023)

4.5/5. Let's end this playlist with a new single by Rivers of Nihil, their second one with bassist Adam Biggs on lead vocals. The vocals are incredible in both Adam Biggs' death growls and guitarist Andy Thomas' melodic singing. The drumming, soloing, and breakdown are all so intense! And this band has been up in prog/tech-death game since their formation in 2009.

Please be advised that I have just completed the long & arduous process of removing the Atmospheric Sludge Metal subgenre from our database. The thinking was that it's really a combination of two different subgenres that reside in different clans which creates a logistical problem for us as a subgenre can only reside in one clan. Ben & I felt it made more sense to tag post-sludge metal releases with both the sludge metal & post-metal subgenres instead which is in line with how we do it for most other similar situations e.g. post-black metal, progressive metalcore, industrial death metal, etc. Any releases where you feel there isn't enough of either of those two subgenres can be actioned through the Hall of Judgement.

Here are my thoughts on some tracks:

Ayreon – Collision (2013)

4/5. Interestingly the start of this month's Infinite playlist, the song is from Ayreon's The Theory of Everything that is more of a progressive rock opera album. However, some songs like this one have metal energy, and I enjoy the vocal synergy between two power metal vocalists; Tommy Karevik (Kamelot/ex-Seventh Wonder) and Marko Hietala (ex-Nightwish). From the intro drumming to the Star One-like speed, this could easy be a radio single.

Meshuggah – Sane (1998)

4.5/5. This song is just INSANE, continuing the complex riff-wrath.

Sikth – Days Are Dreamed (2015)

5/5. This is such a unique epic track from djenty progressive metal/core band Sikth. It reminds me more of Green Carnation and In the Woods... It might even be a fitting soundtrack for Stephan King's Revival. "A heart can glow, so bright if it has grown"

The Ocean – Isla Del Sol (2004)

4.5/5. Although I've lost interest in The Ocean recently, this song is still underrated. It's sounds so beautiful and emotional, yet heavy and complex, all at once! And that's only the second-longest epic of their debut Fluxion.

Voivod – Golem (1991)

5/5. The industrial rock-ish machinery is a powerful hint to the band's mid-90s experimental trilogy, telling a tale of self-awareness within artificial intelligence in existential monotone. A discovery of futuristic humanity that can surely surpass any Star Trek TV series episode!

Cyborg Octopus – Hindsight (2022)

4.5/5. Cyber djenty progressive metalcore, huh? Quite excellent, but they'll have to do something slightly better to get me fully hooked.

Symphony X – The Turning (2002)

4/5. This song from Symphony X I still like for its fast pace. Like HOLY SH*T, the a**-kicking speed really picks up halfway through! Still I need to slow down on this playlist after all that madness. I'm still grateful for this playlist though, thanks Saxy!

I have the DVD version of this release & really enjoy it. Looks like it's a 165 minute triple album in the CD format. It certainly won't disappoint fans of the band.

Yes, it is sufficient, Daniel. I'm not suggesting creating a cross-clan subgenre, I just like the tag and this is more of just a discussion thread. There are key bands of this hybrid such as all that's been mentioned so far here, but not enough beyond those bands to constitute a new subgenre, and probably just as well.

Yeah, but filing it as an actual metal genre feels like more of a misnomer, so if anything this is more of a non-metal discussion.

On the subject of cross-clan genres, while I often use these as a way to build custom charts of my own, I think the general idea is a very complex one that shouldn't be discussed right now.  I mean, if there was a way to make it work, I already thought of one that probably wouldn't get in the way of clan integrity, but we're so small right now that the idea is best avoided.

The dog days of summer might be behind us, but that doesn't mean we should leave the crappy animal puns behind as well. I present to you for the Infinite featured release for the month... OK Goodnight, a Boston based progressive band who very much surprised me a couple years ago with their debut and followed it up with a very smooth and enjoyable concept album, The Fox and the Bird. We would love to know what you all think of this record as well!

https://metal.academy/releases/45287

September REVIEW DRAFT (The Infinite)

I've found a new batch of records to try out and anyone who wants to help me clear out this batch is more than welcome. I'll select first, followed by Rexorcist, Xephyr and then possible Andi.

1.El Altar del Holocausto - - I T - (2019)

2.Fractal Universe - Rhizomes of Insanity (2019)

3. Ocrilim - Anoint (2006)

4. Oxiplegatz - Sidereal Journey (1998)

5. Sun Caged - The Lotus Effect (2011)

This might be the best review draft yet considering I haven't heard a single one of these names before! My selection will be... Sidereal Journey by Oxiplegatz.

Rex, you're up!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2Wtb5QsNObO9w62f7ThQNF?si=fa859b301cb24c02

1. Vildhjarta – + den spanska känslan + (2023)

2. Nuclear Power Trio – Anti-Saxxers (Mandatory Saxination) (2023)

3. The Advent Equation – A Sudden Perception (2023)

4. Ashbreather – Hivemind III (2022)

5. Psychonaut – Violate Consensus Reality (2022)

6. Ostraca – Heaven is Still (2023)

7. Dodheimsgard – Det tome kalde morke (2023)

8. Evergrey – Closure (2006)

9. Pestilence – Soul Search (1993)

10. Sikth – Cracks of Light (2017)

11. The Ocean – Permian: The Great Dying (2018)

12. Pain of Salvation – A Trace of Blood (2002)

13. TesseracT – The Grey (2023)

14. You Win Again Gravity – Paper Bodies (2023)

15. Aviations – Pure (2023)

16. The Anchoret – A Dead Man (2023)

17. Lucid Awakening – Aphelion (2021)

18. An Abstract Illusion – Slaves (2022)

19. Mastodon – Gigantium (2021)

20. Intronaut – Fast Worms (2015)

21. Haken ft. Courtney Swain – Canary Yellow (2023)

22. maudlin of the Well – Interlude 3 (2001)

23. Erra – Pale Iris (2023)

24. Cyborg Octopus – Old Stories (2022)

25. Vola – Paper Wolf (2023)  

This is certainly one of the strangest combinations of heavy metal meets jazz fusion that I've heard in a while. The heavy use of brass as a primary instrument brought me initially to a heavier version of Thank You Scientist, but as the album progressed, the timbre stuck less as an influence and more the compositions that felt closer to Imperial Triumphant and Focus-era Cynic. The record contains lots of dissonance and quick modulation keeping the listener on their toes as the record refuses to become boring.

That said, I wish I could like this as much as an Imperial Triumphant record. I think it's the mixing, but this style of really muddy and unfocused production does not fascinate me. Some of these tracks sound like they were initial demo recordings and is being recorded by one of those portable Zoom microphones; the quality is still superior to that of using your shitty phone microphone, but it loses the intricate details. And, since the record seems to do away with anything resembling a hook or motif, it's hard for me to hear this album as anything but noise. Perhaps a mix closer to that of Imperial Triumphant will help, but for now, this isn't doing it for me. Props to the band for trying something different, but it needs work.

5/10

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2Wtb5QsNObO9w62f7ThQNF?si=782f80a056a6454d

1. Arcturus – La masquerade infernale

2. Dødheimsgard – It Does Not Follow

3. Evergrey – Recreation Day

4. Sólstafir – Svatir Sandar

5. The Ocean – Subboreal

6. Rosetta – In & Yo / Dualities of the Way

7. While Heaven Wept – Icarus and I / Ardor

8. Symphony X – Pharoh

9. Between The Buried And Me – Voice Of Trespass

10. Dawn of Destiny – My Life Lies in Ruins

11. Holy Fawn – Drag Me into the Woods

12. Scar Symmetry – Reichsfall

13. Soen – Lucidity

14. Disperse – Message from Atlantis

15. Ebony Ark – True Friendship Never Die

16. Amogh Symphony – Decoded Karnosiris