The Infinite

April 2025

1. Allegaeon – Driftwood (2025)

2. Apocalyptica – Aqua Genesis (2019)

3. Atypic – nanoSpace Disaster pt. 1 (2025)

4. Breaking Orbit – Orion (2012)

5. Chiasma – Reaches (2025)

6. Dessiderium – Pollen for the Bees – Pt. 2 (2025)

7. Disperse – Tomorrow (2017)

8. Fallujah – Levitation (2024)

9. Grace Hayhurst – The World is Dying (2025)

10. Into Eternity – Behind the Disguise (1999)

11. Meshuggah – Swarm (2012)

12. TesseracT – Of Reality – Palingenesis (2013)

13. Oppostie Earth – Visuals (1997)

14. Tiktaalika, Charlie Griffiths – Mesozoic Mantras (feat. Vladimir Lalic) (2025)

15. Vulkan – Bewildering Conception of Truth (2020)

16. Yakuza – Glory Hole (2006)

17. You Win Again Gravity – Heartwood (2025)

Hi Ben, could you please add the compilation albums Marge Litch released?

Killer new single from these San Francisco-based progressive/tech-death metallers:

Although Allegaeon's new album The Ossuary Suns continues their melodic/technical death metal, a couple tracks are progressive enough for The Infinite, specifically "Driftwood" and this 7-minute epic:

Here are my submissions for the May Infinite playlist:

Becoming the Archetype - "Construct and Collapse" (4:57) from The Physics of Fire (2007)

Fallujah - "Artifacts" (7:23) from Empyrean (2022)

In Vain - "Where the Winds Meet" (6:06) from Solemn (2024)

Into Eternity - "Selling God" (3:07) from Dead or Dreaming (2001)

Voivod - "Into My Hypercube" (5:03) from Nothingface (1989)

Total length: 26:36

Saxy, you've done it again! Sharing with us a progressive masterpiece that I wish I had discovered earlier. And getting this album featured is a nice tribute to the recently passed vocalist/keyboardist Sindre Nedland. RIP... Here's my review summary:

Solemn is the latest offering in the 20-year career of Norwegian blackened progressive death metal band In Vain, and it's a monolith of triumph! The compositional writing is so unique and diverse. Besides the now-gone-from-the-band vocal duo of Sindre Nedland and Andreas Frigstad, guitarist Johnar Håland shines with his epic guitarwork. And the other half of the band also have the talent to help make this powerful masterpiece. Many tracks have riffing energy and deathly growls in the verses, followed by choruses drifting through clean melody in the guitar leads and singing. Deathly riffs and beautiful melodies make an intense blend of power and thunder. The fire and fury is brightened by melody and harmony and clean choruses soar through. Growls and cleans battle each other then make peace for coexistence. For anyone wanting a gem that's both ethereal and brutal at the same time, this is your Solemn hour!

5/5

Here are my thoughts on some tracks:

Allegaeon – Driftwood (2025)

5/5. Allegaeon have never drifted away from their melodic/progressive death metal sound. They have enhanced it with new aspects, including vocalist Ezra Haynes adding in some excellent cleans to go with his brutal growls.

Apocalyptica – Aqua Genesis (2019)

5/5. Hard to believe that one of the most progressive tracks Apocalyptica has ever done is one composed for a Nat Geo-ish documentary soundtrack. The sound ranges from ethereal and ominous to brutal and complex, the latter especially in the blast beats and unorthodox time signatures.

Fallujah – Levitation (2024)

5/5. Although I actually submitted the original 2014 version, this 10th anniversary re-recording still marks the song as one of my favorites and just what I need in my life.

Grace Hayhurst – The World is Dying (2025)

4.5/5. Lots of energy here, especially in the synth solo that starts the second third. Beautiful singing and powerful music from this talented lady. I also enjoy the drumming by Robin Johnson. Many different sections to enjoy!

Into Eternity – Behind the Disguise (1999)

4/5. Pretty great, though it would've been slightly better if the vocals by Tim Roth weren't affected by a lot of the added effects.

Meshuggah – Swarm (2012)

4.5/5. This track has a swarm of fast thrash similar to previous albums.

TesseracT – Of Reality – Palingenesis (2013)

4/5. The polyrhythmic djent doesn't end there, we still have this great short track.

Meshuggah - "None" E.P. (1994)

This five-track E.P. not only marks the point where these Swedes started to find their signature sound but it also represents the birth of the djent subgenre. I'd gotten a fair bit of enjoyment out of Meshuggah's 1991 debut album "Contradictions Collapse" but had never heard anything like "None" at the time & it subsequently sealed the deal for me with this band who have stuck with me ever since. There are a few more external influences on display here than we'd see on some of their later material which was more finely honed. You can easily pick up sections that harness groove metal, progressive metal ("Ritual") & industrial metal ("Aztec Two-Step") but the dominant component is the heavy reliance on rhythmic, atonal bottom-string chugging built around some seriously complex time signatures. All five songs are really solid but there's not any genuinely classic Meshuggah material on offer here so I don't feel that too many punters will be tempted to claim "None" as a lost masterpiece, even if it should be essential listening for all djent nuts.

For fans of Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects, Gojira & Strapping Young Lad.

4/5

Here's my review summary:

Somewhere in Southern Europe lies a small land between borders, a great distance away from wherever you live but smaller than your country's average state... Andorra! And over there is one group who has taken both eastern philosophy and western-cultural music in a great attempt to let people about Andorra's existence, and that is... melo-deathly progressive metal band Persefone! The band's spiritual philosophy continues from their previous album as they maintain their atmosphere-flavored extreme impact that has kinda put them in rivalry against the Australian Ne Obliviscaris (friendly rivals, of course, Ne Obliviscaris' Tim Charles would perform guest vocals and violin in a special single later), yet there's the slight addition of traditional prog ala Dream Theater. Persefone's previous two albums established their motive of songs ranging one-minute interludes to 10-minute epic. For this album, they've spiced it up with a 4-part 20-minute epic. The esoteric amount of subjects is in strong symmetry with the clean and unclean vocals, plus a small bit of robotic vocals from Cynic vocalist Paul Masvidal. That epic perfectly exemplifies all the band has to offer, plus some vocals by Merethe Soltvedt (best known from a few songs by Two Steps From Hell) and guitars by Øystein Landsverk who recently left Leprous. Any fan of Persefone should get Aathma, and probably start with an earlier album if they're newcomers. It has been Persefone's quest to expand their horizons, and they have a promising path to please the Earth!

4.5/5

Here are my thoughts on some tracks:

Atheist – Air (1993)

4.5/5. This waltz-paced track to start this playlist rises from jazzy guitar and cymbal into a riff blizzard. Shaefer's impressive shrieking strike the music down into the snow. Rather than being catchy, the windy music catches the feeling and drags through the breeze. After a bit more fury comes some more commanding jazz.

Black Crown Initiate – Belle The Machine (2016)

5/5. Some of the greatest modern progressive death metal songs are the ones that are around 9 minutes long. This one is so unique and beautiful! Anyone discovering this band should be considered lucky to find great gems in their discography. The instrumentation and growls is like a modern upgrade for Opeth. The guitarwork should be worth playing on a djenty 8-string guitar. Too bad the massive rhythm section of rhythm guitarist Wes Hauch and drummer Jesse Beahler are gone after this album...

Car Bomb – Gratitude (2016)

4.5/5. This trippy track actually has a Deftones-like sound, where a verse drives through with clean vocals and jangly guitars, taking a sideways turn in direction.

Fallujah – Sapphire (2024)

5/5. Over 10 years and still timeless, so much so that its album The Flesh Prevails has been given a f***ing kick-A 10th anniversary remastering. Transcending through this epic djenty sound!

Haken – The Architect (feat. Einar Solberg) (2016)

4.5/5. I still enjoy this Haken epic with a lot going on throughout these 16 minutes. When the heaviness enters in the first minute, it's closer to some jazzy progressive metal packaged from Planet X. The verses don't come until the 3-minute mark, with background 80s synths. Then the riffing hits hard in the chorus. After those 6 minutes of Dream Theater-esque progressiveness, it calms down for a soft ambient break with some guitar fiddling. The ambience slowly rises up for a bit of TOOL and the softer side of Rosetta. When the vocals come back on after a minute, they might remind some of Porcupine Tree. At over the 10-minute point is when things start to sound more like Opeth, especially when we get to hear screamed vocals by Leprous vocalist Einar Solberg, his last screams that he would perform in 5 years. Two minutes later, the heavy djent-ish riffing really fires away. Soon the chorus returns, and we reach the ultimate climax during the final two minutes. Truly an astonishing epic!

Ihsahn – Celestial Violence (feat. Einar Solberg) (2016)

5/5. Up next, we have another track featuring Einar Solberg. Shorter, darker, and showcasing his cleans. What a masterpiece of a song! Ihsahn has appeared in a couple Leprous tracks, so it's good for Einar to return the favor. Truly an anthem that should be remembered for centuries, maybe even millennia!

Intronaut – Fast Worms (2015)

4.5/5. Wow, this is the 4th 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.

Novembre – Marea (2002)

4/5. A 3-part 12-minute epic that actually combines two tracks originally in Novembre's debut. Calm acoustics aside, it's a vast improvement and another great track here!

Dominion - "Demo Tape" (1989)

The one-off demo tape from a talented Melbourne musician by the name of Corey Romeo who would go on to play with progressive metal outfit Hyperion during the mid-1990's. This 34 minute/8 song effort sees Romeo handling all of the instruments in a purely instrumental exploration of guitar-shredder style progressive metal which also touches on speed metal, heavy metal & power metal. The production is the main stumbling block as the sound quality is quite muted which isn't ideal for this type of music as it requires brightness & clarity to have it full effect. You can still make out the potential here fairly easily though & I found myself enjoying the majority of the collection. In fact, I'd even go so far as to suggest that this could have been a fairly significant release with a more professionally produced packaging.

For fans of Jason Becker, Vinnie Moore & David T. Chastain.

3.5/5

Along with the Swedish pioneers of djent:

Meshuggah

1. I (EP)

2. Catch Thirtythree

3. Destroy Erase Improve

4. Chaosphere

5. Nothing

6. Koloss

7. The Violent Sleep of Reason

8. None (EP)

9. ObZen

10. Immutable

11. Contradictions Collapse

12. Meshuggah (EP)

Here's my review summary:

Catch Thirty-Three is a concept album where all songs flow seamlessly together like an epic suite, similar to some Between the Buried and Me albums. A complete trek of a journey from start to finish, that you would want to do all over again. It's a djent journey not to be missed, with the usual downtuned guitars, bellowed vocals, and complex drumming (though it's programmed unlike the other albums). Lyrics, riffs, ambience, and seamless suite sections, all you can hear in this monstrous album. One word: brilliant!

5/5

Recommended tracks: The whole album, or if you just want separate tracks - "The Paradoxical Spiral", "Entrapment", "Mind’s Mirrors", "In Death" (both parts), "Shed", "Sum"

For fans of: Between the Buried and Me (for the "seamless album suite" aspect), Sikth, Textures

Here are my thoughts on some tracks:

Angra – The Bottom of My Soul (2018)

4.5/5. An amazing song to start with, with the emotional vocals of guitarist Rafael Bittencourt. The instrumentation is quite beautiful too! The lyrics are relatable for battling against anxiety and depression. Rafael is also good at his guitarwork, so is Marcelo Barbosa with his passionate soloing at the 3-minute mark. Rafael's vocals sounds like a mix of Devin Townsend and Chris Cornell, in contrast to the higher power metal singing of Fabio Lione in all the other tracks in the album. Either way, f***ing magical! Despite the more Creed-ish motive for this song, the melody from Rebirth still shines, along with those lyrics.

Chaos Divine – Hazard (2024)

5/5. I actually love this cover more than the one for Toto's "Africa", and it's more metal too. This epic cover should get on the radio more than the original.

Haken – A Cell Divides (2018)

4.5/5. Sick chills from this one! While the vocals by Ross Jennings sound great here, they should've brought in Leprous' Einar Solberg for some growls like in "The Architect".

Imperial Triumphant – Lexington Delirium (feat. Tomas Haake) (2025)

4/5. Finally we get to hear some cool extreme avant-prog metal, with spoken vocals by Meshuggah drummer Tomas Haake.

Jinjer – Green Serpent (2024)

4.5/5. Jinjer's progressive sound slithers through in this single from their new album Duel.

Joviac – Shine (2024)

4/5. Nice positive modern progressive metal/rock right here.

Monolithe – Unveiling the Illusion (2024)

4.5/5. This one unleashes guitar aggression in contrast with the string tranquility. Truly one of the greatest standouts here!

Nevermore – No More Will (1999)

4/5. "The velvet sleep is conviction only fools know", "These tears of dust are the tears from one who knows why", "The voice that stills the pain, I am the lover gone insane"... Some of the most emotional lyrics I've heard from Nevermore! And I love the riffing at the one and a half minute mark. RIP Warrel Dane...

Protest the Hero – Soliloquy (2020)

4.5/5. This one springs into hyperactive action with killer blast beats alongside a good lyrical concept. The instrumental wizardry keeps you in the flowing stream.

Scale the Summit – Goddess Gate (2017)

5/5. Fantastic soloing by Nick Johnston and Scar Symmetry guitarist Per Nilsson!

Sepultura – The Pentagram (2020)

4.5/5. Another progressive instrumental that's one h*ll of a thrashy journey that can be considered the Quadra Crusade.

SikTh – Weaves of Woe (2017)

5/5. Let's stop here with this awesome hyperactive highlight that reminds me of Protest the Hero's Kezia.

Nice choice with that Taramis track, Daniel. Cool 80s progressive power metal right there!

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 2024.

Below are some of the releases that are currently competing for the prestigious 2024 The Infinite Cover of the Year Award. The winner will be announced on the 1st of February, so there's still time to get your ratings in.

The following link will take you to the Gallery, displaying the top Infinite releases that you have not rated yet: CLICK HERE

I'm guessing that the database is still reflecting the status from when Vinny was a member of The Guardians. I'll have Ben investigate it. Thanks for the heads up.

I've just finished reviewing the Oranssi Pazuzu album & it's another genuine classic in my opinion. It's easily my front runner for The Infinite now.

Wow, we're starting off the new year quite well with some amazing playlists you've made, Saxy! Such an amazing job that I have the incentive to comment on all the tracks in it. So here are all my thoughts:

Alchemist – Jar of Kingdom (2006)

4.5/5. The cacophonic title track of Alchemist's first album once again has 70s space rock twisted into intricate thrashy death metal rhythms.

Almah – Beyond Tomorrow (2008)

5/5. OK, the truth is I originally included this track as one of my submissions for this playlist, but I found out it wasn't available on Spotify in my country, so I replaced it with a different track. Seems like this Almah track is available in Saxy's country, so thanks Saxy for including this submission along with its replacement. This lineup has everything including the epic vocals of Edu Falaschi, the blazing riffing and soloing by Marcelo Barbosa and Paulo Schroeber (RIP), the booming bass of Felipe Andreoli, and the mighty drumming of Marcelo Moreira. So f***ing cool! Too bad we haven't heard from Edu since the band's hiatus and departure from Angra. You gotta believe how awesome he is!

Artificial Language – Trauma (2024)

4.5/5. Progressive greatness should never stop! It's a blessing that has touched upon us last week, shortly after Christmas. The ethereal intro leading heavy riffing sounds so good. Absolutely stunning!

Atheist – Unquestionable Presence (1991)

5/5. This Atheist highlight is my original replacement submission for the Almah track, and is the best of its awesome original album! The rhythmic twists will blow your mind.

Conjurer, Pijn – Sunday (2019)

4.5/5. Maybe I should've saved listening to this playlist for January 5th, so it really would be a Sunday. I love the f***ing heavy and beautiful intro.

Death – Spirit Crusher (1998)

4/5. This one has riffing mixing brutality and melody, the latter appearing more in the chorus.

Devin Townsend – Tiny Tears (2001)

4/5. Although I haven't listened a lot of Devin Townsend in a couple years, I still underrated magical songs like this one. The lyrics are somewhat relatable.

Dvne – Summa Blasphemia (2024)

4.5/5. Then after that flight through ethereal Heaven, we drop into bleak Hell with this heavy post-sludge track.

Extol – The Things I Found (2005)

5/5. This somber highlight is my favorite track in its original album. It starts almost dark, but the chorus is so emotional in the lyrics. Awesome!

Fallujah – Chemical Cave (2024)

5/5. I think I just found a brand-new favorite progressive/tech-death band with this atmospheric riff-tastic track!

Gojira – Mea Culpa (2024)

4.5/5. The song Gojira performed in the 2024 Paris Olympics is perhaps the most brutal the band has performed in nearly two decades, probably heavier than "The Heaviest Matter of the Universe"! While the performance itself is pretty epic, you don't have to watch the ceremony itself to witness all this kick-A beast has to offer. I'm just glad Gojira have their earlier technical heaviness back.

Hypno5e – Los Heraldos Negros (2018)

4.5/5. Flamenco metal?!? Another intriguing combo! Though more recognition would be nice. It sounds so beautiful and unique, and it might be worth a classic. This collab with A Backward Glance on a Travel Road is like two universes merged into one. Lots of dynamic mood in the Spanish guitar, making such a great song.

ISIS – Weight (2002)

5/5. Perhaps my favorite song by Isis, with lyrics sung by guest vocalist Maria Christopher of 27 taking you far beyond.

Leprous – Rewind (2015)

4.5/5. It's songs like this when I wish I could rewind back in time and appreciate this band's masterpieces more. So f***ing captivating! The way it gradually builds up from a suspenseful beginning to an intense ending is pure genius. The drumming by Baard Kolstad sounds so cosmic. Set free, rewind, and clear your mind!

Novembre – Come Pierrot (2001)

4/5. I regret leaving this band's material behind so soon. I should get back in touch with the deathly gothic progressive metal Novembre's early 2000s era has to offer. The soloing that starts the last minute sounds so big and sweet. As of listening to this piece, we have just left December and started a new year in January. The song has such strong beauty! In a way, Novembre is like the Italian Opeth. A major difference is how overlooked Novembre is. But there might still be hope in the future...

Nuclear Power Trio – Vamos, Brandito! (2023)

3.5/5. Another good piece of flamenco metal, though a little too funky for me.

Orse – Affogato (2024)

3/5. Nice post-metal epic but a bit forgettable. And that cover art makes me want vanilla ice-cream with caramel syrup, along with mint Mentos after seeing a Mentos YouTube ad appear IN THE F***ING MIDDLE OF THE SONG!!!!!

Rendezvous Point – Apollo (2019)

3.5/5. At least we can end this playlist with some good music and beautiful vocals.

I blame Atheist for giving me such high expectations for tech death metal. While there are many good tech death bands, few can match what this album accomplishes; and none can match the elegant simplicity of the intro to Mother Man. In ten seconds we get the bass leading, then a surprisingly simple guitar riff, and finally the focus is on the drums. Each part in harmony, creating a whole that is much more than it seems. It's rare an album that can show exactly how well it works in it's opening notes.
It's not that there isn't anywhere else for the genre to go after hearing this album, it's just that it's hard for anyone to come up with something that doesn't sound worse. Each factor that goes into making a song good, does here. A perfect blend of aggression, technicality and melody. And unlike a lot of guitar solos where it comes down to a case of technicality or artistry, this never comes up here. If I had to complain, I'd say that even after years of extreme metal and having the lyrics, it can be hard to decipher the vocals.
I really don't have much critical thought on this one simply because it was almost everything I wanted out of tech death. What more did I want? Elements.

10/10

I'm well up for this one so are really looking forward to my annual new release cram session in January.

Saxy, you've done an amazing job with this playlist! So much so that I have the incentive to comment on all the tracks in it. So here are all my thoughts:

Altesia – Mouth of the Sky (2021)

4/5. A pretty great start to this playlist with killer vocals and chorus to illuminate your soul. There's a nice balance of influences from Haken and Opeth. I remember listening to their album Paragon Circus a few years ago but haven't checked out much of this band ever since. The amount of high quality is quite big! I like how well-composed it is. Things also get a bit djenty here and there.

Atomic Guava – Tether (2024)

4.5/5. The bass sounds quite rad in this one.

Chaos Divine – Landmines (2015)

5/5. Not gonna lie, this mind-blowing song has one of the best choruses I've heard in this Karnivool-ish brand of melodic progressive metal. So heavenly!

Devin Townsend – Goodbye (2024)

4.5/5. This 6-minute epic is a joyful rocker in a similar vein to Van Halen, probably done better!

DGM – From Ashes (2024)

4.5/5. Wicked progressive power metal rising from the ashes.

Extol – Reflections of a Broken Soul (1998)

5/5. This one continues the amazingness with more cleans and lyrics of depression.

Fates Warning – One (2000)

4.5/5. Fates Warning can add in not just upbeat drumming but also melancholic melody. While their 80s era is often considered the best, they've also shown their standing potential in later albums like A Pleasant Shade of Grey and Disconnected. They also have the operatic progressiveness of 90s Savatage. Nice vocals and guitars!

Hemotoxin – Reborn in Tragedy (2024)

4/5. This one has more of a tech-death/thrash sound, practically rebirthing a genre that faded out long ago, but it's actually more progressive than most of the other tracks in its original album, but again, technicality and aggression reigns.

Intronaut – The Unlikely Event of a Water Landing (2015)

4.5/5. Intronaut is such a mind-blowing band that f***ing needs to be more famous. This is one of my favorite songs from this band, especially the kick-A vocals touching the 3-minute mark alongside the more soulful harmonies. Though the outro throughout the final 3 minutes might remind some of Alice in Chains. If you're up for atmospheric progressive metal, you've come to the right band.

Kardashev – Silvered Shadows (2022)

4/5. If you're up for atmospheric progressive metal similar to Intronaut but more deathly, you've come to the right band, but I'll just keep digging.

Mur – Vitrun (2024)

3.5/5. Some nice fresh arrangement, though a bit draggy.

The Ocean – Unconformities (2023)

4/5. It was great listening to The Ocean for a few years, but my interest didn't last as long as I hoped. The dark lyrics and orchestration throw back to 20 years ago when they relied on all that in their debut Fluxion. This was one of my favorites of their new album Holocene, with great gorgeous guest vocals by Karin Park. Her vocals help bring power to even the softer moments. So d*mn stunning! The music and vocals work well together for that part. The heavier part from the 5 and a half minute mark onwards somehow don't strike me as greatly as they should. But what sad is, the band's lineup might split up after an upcoming tour. I wish them all the best...

Opeth – S4 (2024)

4.5/5. I'm glad this highlight got added in because it's my favorite track in the new Opeth album. The riffs and rhythms flow together perfectly. Generally, the folk-prog of Heritage is given a darker heavier treatment complete with growls.

Pyrrhon – Not Going To Mars (2024)

5/5. We may not be going to Mars too soon, but I'm going to get more of this band's material sometime later, thanks to this wild banger.

Tesseract – Luminary (2018)

4.5/5. Another excellent djenty track!

Textures – To Erase a Lifetime (2008)

5/5. This highlight closes its original masterpiece album in all its beauty and glory. However, we still have two more tracks in this playlist...

Trenches – Pathways (2008)

4.5/5. Trenches can be considered progressive post-sludge with metalcore screams from vocalist Jimmy Ryan, formerly of Haste the Day, and this song is no exception.

You Win Again Gravity – Dreadbound (2024)

4/5. Let's end this playlist with some promising creativity. And f***ing h*ll, there's a lot of it! The best part is, when there's two more minutes left, a ripping solo to make this tune stay unique. It's really great and not highly disappointing. We need a f***ing lot more solos in modern progressive metal, we really do....

Well 2024 is almost in the rearview and it's about that time that we enter into the new year ass first and look to see what stood out among the rest in metal music in the previous year. As a distinguished member of the Infinite clan, putting this list together is always the most challenging. It's the one with the most reviews of any clan during the year, but with so many crossover's the ones that truly belong in the Infinite list might be surprising. If there are any albums that seem like obvious omissions, check those albums other clan leaning and you'll likely find that album there. As for the Infinite exclusively:

1. Klone - The Unseen

2. Thy Catafalque - XII: A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek 

3. Anciients - Beyond the Reach of the Sun

4. Ihsahn - Ihsahn

5. Dvne - Voidkind

6. Calligula's Horse - Charcoal Grace

7.. Opeth - The Last Will and Testament

8. Locrian - End Terrain

9. Intervals - Memory Palace

10. Wheel - Charismatic Leaders

The last month of the year has been insane with Opeth, Thy Catafalque and Klone bullying their way to the top of the chart. There wasn't that much bad progressive metal that I heard in 2024, but a bunch of it turned forgettable in one way or another. With lackluster returns by Oceans of Slumber and Alcest, a new crop can spring forth into the top ten. I really need to listen to that Cave Sermon album don't I Xephyr?

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.

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

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.