December 2025 "The Infinite" Playlist - Progressive Metal Constellations

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2Wtb5QsNObO9w62f7ThQNF?si=83afa726424a4bce

1. Avenged Sevenfold – Fermi Paradox (2016)

2. Baroness – Ray on Pinion (2007)

3. Car Bomb – Antipatterns (2019)

4. Conception – Roll the Fire (1993) Added by Andi

5. Cynic – The Space for This (2008)

6. Defecto – Eternal Descent (2025)

7. Fallujah – The Crystalline Veil (2025)

8. Gojira – The Art of Dying (2008)

9. Haken – The Strain (2020) (15)

10. Jinjer – Pausing Death (2019) Added by Andi

11. A Kew’s Tag - …To Reveal a Grieving Goddess (2021)

12. The Ocean – The Quite Observer (2015)

13. Ok Goodnight – The Snake (2023)

14. Samael – Black Matter Manifesto (2025)

15. Soen – Savia (2012)

16. TesseracT – War of Being (2023) Added by Andi

17. Vildhjarta - + Den spanska känslan + (2025) Added by Andi

18. Vulkan – This Visual Hex (2020)

Another Infinite playlist I felt up to breezing through entirely. Great work, Saxy! Here are all my track thoughts:

Avenged Sevenfold – Fermi Paradox (2016)

4.5/5. Quite a cool start to this playlist! Avenged Sevenfold has pulled off some impressive progressiveness ala Symphony X, as well as some brief moments of blackened blast-beats. I approve of the lyrics too, sounding poetic even in small phrases, "The past is sewn." "My sweet Medusa."

Baroness – Ray on Pinion (2007)

5/5. Mastodon: "We're true geniuses in sludgy progressive metal!" Baroness: "Hold our beers." I'm stunned by how awesome this band is, with the first verses reminding me of Intronaut at that time. The last third of the track fully displays their talent. The cover artwork by frontman John Baizley really pops out as well. I need more of this band!

Car Bomb – Antipatterns (2019)

4.5/5. This one ironically has its own pattern in the structure. It starts heavy again with a breakdown before building up and collapsing into a cinematic ending of operatic synth reverb. The heat begins to cool down...

Conception – Roll the Fire (1993)

5/5. Similarly with Thunderstone's "Virus", the "2.0" version makes up to checking out the original song, followed by the rest of that band's material. The vocals are so mesmerizing, and so are the incredible guitars. See, Norwegian metal in the 90s wasn't always the black metal of Darkthrone. Did I mention how amazing Roy Khan is? Kamelot may have been the band I was listening to in my teens, but better late than never for my discovery of his earlier band.

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!

Defecto – Eternal Descent (2025)

4/5. This one's an underrated heavy banger, with beastly vocals and guitarwork by Nicklas Sonne. A pretty great track worth repeated listening. What a shame that Denmark doesn't have as many prominent metal bands than other Northern European countries. Imagine if Kamelot or Symphony X has less of the symphonics and more rapid-fire melodeath/thrash instrumentation. That's the band and song right there!

Fallujah – The Crystalline Veil (2025)

4.5/5. But if you're up for actual progressive melodic/tech-death, look no further than Fallujah. The guitar and bass sounds amazing here! They really packs some explosive punches at the two-minute mark. When things get more melodic while still progressive a minute and a half later, it might remind some of The Safety Fire. After a minute passes, we get some beautiful soloing in between the vocal sections, guided by intricate drums. Then one more clean chorus, and some f***ing killer riffing to close things off. G****mn, I can almost consider this a perfect gem!

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.

Haken – The Strain (2020)

4.5/5. Y'know, my relationship with The Infinite is a bit strained when I keep losing my appeal for bands like Gojira and Haken. With that said, this song is still interesting despite sounding too much like both TOOL and Lacuna Coil. Still we have excellent progressive guitarwork, making up for the lack of Diego Tejeida's keyboard prominence. There are definitely some Animals as Leaders and Between the Buried and Me vibes here. Along with a Plini-inspired intro. The Dream Theater side of things start to show at over the two-minute mark, leading into two minutes of intensity and bliss. After all that, the final chorus has some of the most beautiful falsetto vocals I've heard. This can practically be an anthem for The Infinite, and I wish it could've existed in my more melodic teenage-hood.

Jinjer – Pausing Death (2019)

5/5. I've often come across playlists that start off heavy but gradually become more melodic. This shows that this playlist is like that, "BUT THIS TIME BACKWARRRRRRDS!!!" So beautiful and brutal, with the final breakdown at the 4-minute mark being a crushing show-stopper.

A Kew’s Tag - …To Reveal a Grieving Goddess (2021)

4.5/5. Do I have to know what the f*** something like a kew's tag is for me to enjoy this song? The beautiful Haken vibes get me hooked.

The Ocean – The Quite Observer (2015)

4/5. Progressive metal and post-sludge are the two best Infinite genres. So why am I quiet about this band? Maybe one day, I'll be up to checking out their material again.

Ok Goodnight – The Snake (2023)

4/5. I wouldn't say this is a total highlight, but it's a raging beast for sure.

Samael – Black Matter Manifesto (2025)

4.5/5. At last, the D-flat-tuned symphonic black metal that has been missing from this band for 30 years (except for Above) has returned! And it's more progressive too, sounding closer to a blend of Coroner's new album Dissonance Theory and Enslaved.

Soen – Savia (2012)

5/5. An awesome highlight, especially in the vocals by Joel Ekelof and the bass by the famous Steve Di Giorgio. A bit TOOL-ish in the beginning, but still beautiful. This incredible song can be both beastly and mellow.

TesseracT – War of Being (2023)

5/5. HOLY MAMMOTH, the 11-minute title epic of the new Tesseract album has really gotten me excited and on my seat! There are so many intense twists that it's hard to count. And the vocals are so majestic. This is the kind of epic Tesseract has had with "Concealing Fate" from One and the 4 epics that make up Altered State, missing in the two albums that followed. Tesseract is really back!

Vildhjarta - + Den spanska känslan + (2025)

5/5. The final track of this album has the last unforgiving riffing throughout this glorious 7-minute epic before letting light shine again, albeit not as bright as it once was.

Vulkan – This Visual Hex (2020)

4.5/5. And finally what's one last long epic to end this splendid playlist? Though the instrumentation sounds a bit programmed.