Band: Caligula’s Horse | Album: Charcoal Grace | Genre: Progressive metal | Bandcamp
My view of what is actually popular and successful is probably skewed by where I spend my time online. A lot of that time is on Reddit, and a not-insignificant portion of that time in turn is spent perusing r/progmetal. One of the most beloved bands on that subreddit is Caligula’s Horse, and if you’ve paid attention to my comments on other darlings of that subreddit (Nospūn, recent Leprous, and recent Haken) or compared my year-end list to theirs, it should come as little surprise that this is a band that’s never really clicked with me.
Their brand of prog metal is melodic and in the same general vein as Dream Theater. The vocals are clean, and there’s a strong emphasis on majestic climaxes. Everything is well-played, and the songs are smartly-structured, so I’m struggling to articulate why this record isn’t resonating with me. It’s not particularly derivative of any one act, but I suppose there’s not much that really stands out about it either. The production is a bit soupy, as the guitars bleed together into an indistinct distorted mush, and the vocals get swallowed up by the backing. That lack of definition can make it tough for individual elements to stand out.
Score: 66/100
Band: Ellesmere | Album: Stranger Skies | Genre: Neo-prog | Bandcamp
Ellesmere is an Italian band whose music draws heavily from neo-prog and ‘80s arena rock. It’s big, loud, complex, and showy, and if you like acts like Marillion, IQ, or Asia, you’re probably going to like Ellesmere. The production isn’t great, and the vocals are fairly rough, but nevertheless it’s clear the music has some strong bones. The 12-minute title track is especially good, featuring smart structuring choices and dynamic musicianship.
Score: 71/100
Band: La Horsa Bianca | Album: Polemosophy | Genre: Progressive rock | Bandcamp
The new album from Kharkiv-based La Horsa Bianca is a rich, symphonic instrumental outing. Keyboards are slathered on thick throughout this release, often cultivating floating, psychedelic textures. There’s an effective variance in mood between the individual compositions, and bits of diverse influences including jazz and avant-garde music are effectively mixed into the progressive rock base. The band frequently revisits musical themes, and they even came up with this handy chart/tool showing all such instances!
Score: 77/100
Band: NAKE | Album: NAKE | Genre: Post-rock, Post-metal | Bandcamp
This Danish act plays a heavy, chugging variety of post-metal. These soundscapes lurch and morph naturalistically, and the occasional synthesizer embellishment adds a nice bit of textural contrast. Individual tracks can run a bit long, but the underlying compositions are strong at their cores.
Score: 74/100
Artist: Behrooz Paygan | Album: Lunar Rhapsodies | Genre: Progressive rock | Bandcamp
Tehran-born, Toronto-based composer Behrooz Paygan plays a lush, symphonic variety of progressive rock that occasionally borders on metal. His voice is rich and soulful, and the arrangements of the individual tracks are intricate and thoughtful. Parts of this record can be a bit cheesy or overlong, but the overall experience of Lunar Rhapsodies is a good one. Plus, that’s some pretty sick album art.
Score: 73/100
Artist: Bobby Shock | Album: All Growed Up | Genre: Progressive rock | Bandcamp
Bobby Shock’s latest album sees him stay firmly in the stylistic lane he’s already established for himself previously, but it’s still an improvement over 2022’s Mind Games. His bass is biting, aggressive, and usually in the foreground. Synthesizers are deployed liberally, and there’s also a sense of humor and lightness to a lot of this album. Elements of classic prog are woven in with pop and bombastic ‘80s arena rock influences in ways that work naturally.
Score: 76/100