Over the last year or so, I’ve received a handful of emails asking why my site doesn’t have a search function. The short answer is that WordPress wants more money for it than I’d like to spend.
As a workaround, I’ve compiled links for every review I’ve written for this site into a new Page: the Post Archive! It’s got all my reviews in chronological order, newest to oldest.
I’ve got it organized by post type, album and artist, and genres covered in a given post. I may not have a proper search bar, but now you can go there and Ctrl+F for whichever artist or genre or post type you like.
This is far from the first time Jordsjø has been featured on this site. They’re among the most prominent names in the flourishing Norwegian prog scene, and their music is usually pretty solid. Their last release, the split LP Kontrasterwith Breidablik, featured some of their best work ever.
What I love about Jordsjø’s usual work is the way they integrate classic Anglo-prog elements with ample Nordic folk flavors. Pestkrønikene (Eng.: The Plague Chronicles), then, marks something of a break from their usual style. The music here is much heavier, harder, and fuzzier, drawing from classic heavy psych sounds. It’s certainly different from their usual output, but it’s another strong entry in their discography.
Chilean post-rock sextet Hesse Kassel are back with their second full-length release. Last year’s La Brea had a ton of really solid music on it, but on repeated listens, its biggest hindrance is its crushing length. Eight songs with an average runtime of nearly ten minutes can make for an exhausting experience, even in the hands of very skilled songwriters and musicians. The songs on Morir Saltando (Eng.: To Die Jumping) retain all the strengths of those on their debut, but they are more focused, giving them more impact.
Brazilian prog quintet Papangu returns with their third LP, Celestial. This was likely my most-anticipated album of the year, given this group’s track record. Their 2021 debut, Holoceno, is, to date, the only album I’ve given a perfect score to upon release. That album is easily the best integration of zeuhl and metal I’ve heard, and even now it absolutely holds up after many, many listens.
Then in 2024, the band shifted their sound rather drastically on their sophomore LP Lampião Rei. With the expansion of the band to include keyboards and wind instruments, Papangu explored a jazzier direction. That jazziness continues here, with sounds from both the band’s native Brazil and the Canterbury scene playing prominent roles. Hints and dashes of their metal and zeuhl roots crop up throughout this album, but the sound is overall much closer to Lampião Rei than to the apocalyptic tones of Holoceno.
Nostalghia is a one-man project helmed by Mexican multi-instrumentalist Alex Becerra. This album is my first exposure to Nostalghia, but it looks like this is a very prolific project. According to RYM, this Departure is Nostalghia’s 14th release since their debut in 2020. The music on this record is stunningly diverse and ambitious. Aside from the band’s black metal roots, jazz, classical, alt-rock, classic prog, and more all play important parts here.
Band: beauty is the end | Album:White Knuckle Dress | Genre: Art rock, Progressive pop | Bandcamp
Ever wonder what Spock’s Beard might sound like if they were a lightly-folky art-pop band? Well, I think beauty is the end is a pretty good approximation of that idea. Their songs are long and complexly-structured, with some flashy and emotive instrumentalism. Tones are mostly bright, but they also ably deploy tense, minor-key moments well. I really enjoy how prominent violin is throughout the record, and melodies are pretty consistently catchy. Certain passages are a bit cheesier than I’d normally go for, but this record is an overall success. The 10-minute “Domesticated” is a definite highlight.
Brass Camel’s third album is a peppy, punchy, enthusiastic, and unashamedly retro-sounding record. They lean heavily into classic rock, hard rock, and glam rock tropes and imbue it with Yes-like technical flashiness. They remind me a lot of acts like (early) Kansas or some of Queen’s more ambitious moments. The sound is maximal and bright, and they effortlessly weave catchy pop melodies alongside complex instrumental displays. I wouldn’t call this an essential release, but it’s a lot of fun, and it’s an example of how to do proggy retro-rock well.
Genghis Tron’s last album, 2021’s Dream Weapon, was my introduction to the band. It was also a rather sharp break with their first two records. Where their first two were scourging mixtures of electronica, grindcore, and mathcore, the lush textures and restrained tempos of Dream Weapon were downright relaxing by comparison.
Their new album, Signal Fire, then, is something of a return to their earlier sound. It’s not entirely without the spacey post-rock elements that dominate on Dream Weapon, but this is a much more intense and aggressive release.
Hong Kong-based one-man zeuhl act Athak is back with their latest release. Primarï sees Athak veer into some new territory. Chinese music plays a prominent role, something I had not heard previously from this act. (Maybe they’ve done it before; I don’t know. Athak is quite prolific, and I haven’t heard everything.) “Iyelō” leans into some Canterbury influences, especially Third-era Soft Machine. Yangqin and erhu lend some very unique textural contrasts throughout the album. This record is inspired by colors, and fittingly, the music here embraces the full spectrum.
Brittany-based experimental math rockers Chafouin are back with a new 26-minute opus. Joining Chafouin on this record is a small orchestra, adding a new layer of depth to their music. The whole ensemble utilizes repetition beautifully, with themes gradually building and slowly morphing. Jagged guitar lines are rounded out with flute, saxophone, and violin, and wordless vocals lend a certain fanciful character. The mood grows noisier and more chaotic as this piece progresses, imbuing it with a sense of constant forward momentum that never feels drawn-out.
Le Grand Sbam is a band I’ve been aware of since their founding. I’ve listened to their previous two albums, but neither one really quite clicked with me. I could tell there were a lot of elements I liked. This is a band I should like, but it just didn’t quite coalesce.
I went into Janus, their third full-length release, with my usual hopefulness for a good experience. There have been no major changes to their sound, but something just hit a bit different this time, and I wound up really enjoying it.
This work is apparently an excerpt of a “Chthulu opera”–also titled Janus–written by Antoine Arnera, keyboardist for both this band and PoiL. It flows together as one massive, unified piece, and it shows incredible vision and ambition. This opera–about environmentalism, feminism, and flatulence–is paired with music that is simultaneously serious, complex, and whimsical.
I first found out about this record through Rate Your Music’s handy “Upcoming Releases” feature. It was there that I saw Panegyrist had their first new music since 2018 coming out! Their lone LP, Hierurgy, is a stunning, unique release. It blends avant-garde black metal with liturgical music and lyrics so dense and obscure that I feel like I need a theology degree to understand them.
Sunthema, the four-way split LP with Panegyrist and three other acts, continues on that trend. (Side note: Personally, I would have transliterated the Greek “συνθεμα” as “synthema,” but to each their own. The word is more often found in its plural form, synthemata, and it refers to any signs, symbols, or material tokens, especially those associated with certain rituals. Esoteric terms and ideas are prominent on this record.) All four acts here weave their brands of forward-thinking metal with Christian mysticism to make something powerful and enthralling.
Band: Bekor Qilish | Album: Consecrated Abysses of Dread | Genre: Avant-garde metal | Bandcamp
The new album from one-man Italian experimental metal act Bekor Qilish sees a further refinement and evolution in the act’s sound. Black metal is still at the root of what he’s doing here, but there is a lot more at play. Riffs are bizarre and ultra-technical. This constant oscillation can be exciting and lead to some fantastic juxtapositions. At the same time, though, it can also come off as disjointed or unfocused. There is a lot to like on this record, but I think Bekor Qilish’s music works best in the format of a slightly-shorter EP.
Score: 78/100
Band: Different Light | Album:Binary Suns (Part 2 – Alternate Reality) | Genre: Progressive rock | Bandcamp
Different Light is back with part two of their Binary Suns project, six years after releasing part one. Overall, it’s fine. It’s relatively sunny, piano-heavy prog that’s rooted in the 1990s. There is some good occasional crunch, and the vocal performance is strong. Certain passages are maybe a little cheesy for my taste, and transitions between the sub-sections of the suites can occasionally be a little awkward. But if you like Spock’s Beard and crave more Spock’s Beard-sounding music, this is a pretty decent choice.
The Elite Extremophile 