Band: Amoeba Split | Album: Quiet Euphoria | Genre: Progressive rock | Bandcamp
This instrumental release has a nice diversity of sounds on it, and the prominence given to jazz flavors works in its favor. The saxophone and keyboard parts especially call to mind early jazzy prog acts, like Frank Zappa, Magma, and Soft Machine. At points, they even veer into territory comparable to Return to Forever. The only real weak point here is the sprawling closer, which atmospherically meanders for eleven-plus minutes without saying or doing all that much. That aside, this is a really enjoyable release.
Score: 76/100
Band: Aton Five | Album: Aton Five | Genre: Progressive rock | Bandcamp
This instrumental Russian quartet plays a relatively heavy variety of prog that often treads the line between rock and metal. The riffs are flashy, complex, and weird, and the guitar and keyboard tones deployed are all great. Dashes of jazz and classical crop up throughout the record for some pleasant moments of contrast. The speed and complexity of these riffs call to mind bands like Liquid Tension Experiment. The closing 22-minute “Lethe” might be a touch long, but it still has plenty of great ideas in it that channel acts like Pink Floyd and Elder.
Score: 73/100
Band: Botanist | Album: VIII: Selenotrope | Genre: Post-metal, Folk rock | Bandcamp
Botanist borders on being a gimmick band at times. Rooted in black metal, in lieu of blazing, icy guitars, this act uses fuzzed-out hammered dulcimer, giving their music a unique timbre. Results have been mixed throughout their history. I love their album Collective: The Shape of He to Come, but many others fall into the realm of unremarkable post-black metal. Selenotrope, though, is one of their stronger outings. Otrebor’s dulcimer lends a rich variety of sounds, ranging from a droning buzz to more biting twangs. The songs are well-structured, and I’m also quite fond of the folky vocal arrangements (though the whispered vocals do get tedious after a while). Botanist has always been best when they’ve leaned most fully into folk elements.
Score: 78/100
Band: Gniazdo | Album: Kłamstwo | Genre: Progressive rock | Bandcamp
When this improvisational Polish duo reached out to me about reviewing their album, I was skeptical, and I told them as much. The phrase “fully improvised” does not inspire confidence in me. My skepticism was misplaced in this instance, though. The music on Kłamstwo (Eng. Lie) is heavy, organ-powered prog and psych in a vein similar to Quatermass or Rare Bird. Some cuts run a little long, as will happen with almost all improvised music, but this release is overall dynamic, exciting, and bursting with creativity.
Score: 75/100
Band: the.pigeon | Album: позбирані, нероздільні (selected, indivisible) | Genre: Progressive rock, Ukrainian folk | Bandcamp
The music on позбирані, нероздільні draws ample influences from classic 1970s prog, but it is organically melded with Ukrainian folk music. The opening instrumental sees the inclusion of several acoustic instruments. The two tracks with vocals highlight Slavic folk melodies in lush, proggy settings. This is a stellar, engrossing EP that is absolutely worth your time.
Score: 87/100
Band: The World Is Quiet Here | Album: Zon | Genre: Progressive death metal | Bandcamp
TWIQH is clearly deeply indebted to Between the Buried and Me. A lot of Zon sounds like it could have fit in on Automata or Colors II. BTBAM have a difficult sound to ape, so the fact that these Wisconsinites have managed to do it so well is quite a feat. That’s not to say these guys are quite Starcastle to BTBAM’s Yes, but the similarities are numerous and striking. Despite that, they manage to add their own twist to that distinctive prog-metalcore sound, particularly in the vocal arrangements. The riffs are speedy, pummeling, and technically impressive; and I really like the repeated use of chimes or a glockenspiel during quieter moments. There’s also shockingly little bloat, despite the length of the record.
Score: 80/100
The Elite Extremophile 