Welcome back to The Elite Extremophile’s Top 50 Prog Albums of 2024. Today covers the top 25, and you can read about the first half in Part 1.
As a reminder, the music on this list covers December 2023 to November 2024. I spend much of December compiling and editing this list, so I push releases from that month into the following year’s list.
This is also a one-man operation, in regard to reviewing. (Many thanks to my proofreaders/editors, Kelci and Dan.) I’m sure there’s plenty of great music out there I simply didn’t get to. I’ve also got my own biases against certain styles and trends.
Now, onto the list!
#25: Mamleek – Vida Blue | Experimental rock | Bandcamp
Mamleek’s sound is one of the most difficult to describe, either accurately or succinctly, that I’ve run across. The vocals are coarse and growled, evoking many sludge metal acts. But the guitars are often jangly and brittle, with plenty of negative space. The band members do flex their muscles elsewhere, pulling forth blackened riffs and pummeling doom. Jazz is incorporated, too, both in the songs’ melodies and in the inclusion of assorted wind and reed instruments. Noise rock influences further confound any easy categorization. Vida Blue is a dark and despondent record, with an air of mourning about it. This is a deeply satisfying record to listen to in one sitting. The many twists take you by surprise and leave you off-balance, but it somehow all makes sense.
#24: Five the Hierophant – Apeiron | Progressive metal | Bandcamp
Apeiron is a dark and foreboding record full of hazy atmospheres and foreboding riffs. Saxophone is integrated extensively into their music. It’s a key element and not something just tacked on for a couple solos. The songs focus on mood and build-up, with abstract guitar lines swirling around the warmer saxophone parts.
#23: Sykofant – Sykofant | Progressive rock | Bandcamp
Sykofant’s debut album is big on instrumental showiness, but the songs hold together well. The extended solos and jam sessions feel purposeful and thought-out. Jazz and blues flavors show up often, and the band isn’t shy about embracing the influence of many ‘70s hard rock acts, especially in the verses.
#22: Job for a Cowboy – Moon Healer | Progressive death metal | Bandcamp
Moon Healer is an absolutely crushing release. The songs fly by at a mile a minute, and the band flaunts their technical ability without it coming off as wanky. Many tech-death acts can get lost in their own virtuosity, but Job for a Cowboy is able to successfully mix in melodic throughlines. The riffs are dazzlingly intricate, but it’s clear there’s an artistic ambition beyond mere flashiness.
#21: Stuart Wicke – Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám | Progressive rock | Bandcamp
The two long songs on this record call to mind the melodic, prog-adjacent hard rock of mid-70s acts like Blue Öyster Cult and Uriah Heep. Wicke’s vocals are rich and emotive. Blues, psychedelia, and singer-songwriter touches are blended in with an artsier backing. “Song on the End of the World” varies between rolling and floating, and the title track is heavier and more dramatic.
#20: ni – Fol Naïs | Progressive metal, Math rock | Bandcamp
The latest release from ni is an anxiety-inducing thicket of tangled riffs that are so start-stop it’ll shred the transmission of any nearby vehicle. The band plays with dissonance expertly, and glitchy effects make it seem as if things are so weird the air doesn’t even know how to vibrate to convey those sounds. ni’s music is always tense and exciting, but Fol Naïs represents a new high point for them.
#19: Jack Dupon – Toucan | Avant-prog | Bandcamp
Toucan is an album that is simultaneously jittery and lurching. There’s a ton of nervous energy about this record, but plodding rhythms help keep many wilder elements well-balanced. The six long songs on this album meander and take many asides full of weird textures and atypical chords. But in the end, the pieces come together in satisfying ways.
#18: Moriya – The Black Nail Tantra | Post-metal, Progressive doom metal | Bandcamp
I’ve always been very open about my love of the fusion of non-Western styles of music with rock music, and Moriya is a shining example of this sort of project. Hailing from the deepest reaches of Siberia, this band takes Buddhist religious music and fuses it into doom metal and post-metal. Both the Eastern and Western styles present on this record aim to cultivate trancelike, meditative atmospheres. Chimes, synthesizers, and Tibetic scales blend naturally with crushing walls of distortion and tumbling percussion. This is both more focused and more experimental than Moriya’s stellar 2021 release, Atma. If you’re seeking a heavy, ritualistic mantra, look no further than Moriya.
#17: Opeth – The Last Will and Testament | Progressive metal | Buy
Opeth’s new album is a welcome return to form for one of the giants of progressive metal. In some ways, it’s a synthesis of their old sound with their more recent tendencies. Thinking about it, I wouldn’t really call much on this record “death metal,” even with Mikael Åkerfeldt’s death growls. A lot of this is certainly metallic, but it’s closer to Porcupine Tree’s late ‘00s material than, say, “Black Rose Immortal” or “Moonlapse Vertigo”. The eight songs on this record are heavy and melodic, with tons of wonderful textural variation, and it’s an exciting journey to go on. The inclusions of flute (provided by Ian Anderson) are fantastic, and the dramatic arc of the music is satisfying.
#16: Vokonis – Transitions | Progressive sludge metal | Bandcamp
Vokonis channels the best of progressive sludge metal on their new album. Rhythms are rolling and churning, and the band often deploys contrasts between soaring melodic moments and harsher passages. The two longer songs which close the album out are especially impressive. “Arrival” incorporates abstract post-metal elements, and the 12-minute title track closes on a powerful and emotional passage.
#15: Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere | Progressive death metal, Space rock | Bandcamp
The two so-called “tablets” on this new record are a strong synthesis of Blood Incantation’s usual prog-death mixed with Floydian space rock and Tangerine Dream-style synthy krautrock. The music is dramatic and evokes the band’s extraterrestrial themes perfectly. The two stark sides of this band’s coin play off each other very well, and I appreciate the sonic diversity this record delivers.
#14: Thanatotherion – Alienation Manifesto | Progressive death metal | Bandcamp
A side project from Ulthar’s guitarist, Thanatotherion does bear a lot in common with that other act. But where Ulthar’s music is often so dense and tangled that individual elements can be difficult to pick out, Alienation Manifesto is noticeably neater and more melodic. (This isn’t a melodic record, mind you; but it’s more melodic than Ulthar.) The riffs are powerful and unsettling, and the occasional synthesizer embellishment adds a lot of depth. I’m hopeful that this project doesn’t just wind up being a one-off!
#13: Piah Mater – Under the Shadow of a Foreign Sun | Progressive death metal | Bandcamp
Piah Mater continues down their usual, strongly-Opeth-y path on Under the Shadow of a Foreign Sun, but they’ve incorporated a few more twists. Bits of black metal, jazz, and folk crop up here and there. It’s not enough to be distracting or a crutch, but it’s enough to add some great variation alongside their usual proggy melodeath. The music on this record is exhilarating, complex, and very satisfying.
#12: Hail Spirit Noir – Fossil Gardens | Psychedelic black metal | Bandcamp
After a strange synthwave interlude, Hail Spirit Noir has returned to their psychedelic black metal roots on Fossil Gardens. Lush synthesizers and rocket-powered rhythms convey this album’s sci-fi themes brilliantly. The balance of melodicism and aggression is on-point.
#11: Perfect – Monkey Jockey Man and the Safari Tick Sugar | Avant-prog | Bandcamp
I do love me some catchy moments mixed into my progressive rock, and Perfect provides a healthy amount of that memorability alongside more experimental leanings. The songs are jittery and fun, often with an oddball and quirky attitude. Alt-rock and jazz are prominent features on some cuts, and even Perfect’s noisier excursions aren’t awful. In many ways, Perfect sort of reminds me of Yezda Urfa, in that they draw from well-known prog tropes but they put their own unique, often-high-energy spin on it.
#10: Oranssi Pazuzu – Muuntautuja | Psychedelic black metal | Bandcamp
Never content to simply push black metal in only one direction, on their latest album, these Finns have incorporated significant industrial and trip-hop elements. These particular synthesizer excursions suit their brand of icy, piercing black metal quite well, and they prove themselves to be experts at cultivating a sense of dread. It’s a disorienting, isolating listen, but it’s a good one.
#9: Tusmørke – Dawn of Oberon | Progressive rock | Bandcamp
The latest album release from this Norwegian collective is another shining example of why I like them so much. Jazz, Canterbury, and Nordic folk elements are woven into their classic prog base. As always, there is a feeling of lightness and whimsy to their music, which really sets them apart in a world that is so often deadly self-serious.
#8: Ulls – Cripta nau | Progressive rock | Bandcamp
The new release from Catalonian one-man project Ulls has a dark, foreboding, and ominous air to it. Guitar and organ swirl, and the vocals are often chanted and ritualistic. The influence of classic Italian prog crops up throughout, which adds a lot of unique character. The closing epic “El descens” is especially impressive. The keyboard tones are often light and glassy, the perfect foil for the much heavier and crunchier guitars.
#7: Ulcerate – Cutting the Throat of God | Progressive death metal | Bandcamp
Ulcerate has stuck with and further evolved their signature sound on Cutting the Throat of God. The guitars twist and tangle, reverberating with desperation and melancholy. The band puts a massive amount of weight behind their music, and each of the seven long songs on this album is an emotive and arresting experience.
#6: Ætheria Conscientia – The Blossoming | Progressive black metal | Bandcamp
Ætheria Conscientia’s newest release is a solid progression in their distinctive niche in the world of metal. Saxophones are integrated as a key element of their music, and the jazzy hand percussion helps keep things feeling light and nimble, even under crushing, plodding riffs. Atmospheric excursions provide for some interesting textural variation, as well.
#5: Ὁπλίτης – Παραμαινομένη | Progressive black metal | Bandcamp
If any band can claim the genre tag of blackened zeuhl, it’s Chinese avant-metal act Ὁπλίτης (Hoplites). The project of a Ningbo-based Hellenophile, Hoplites blends harsh, abrasive black metal with jazzy saxophones and hypnotic rhythms. This dense, scouring record is a unique and enthralling listen that effectively demonstrates the artistic capabilities of black metal.
#4: We Broke the Weather – Restart Game | Progressive rock | Bandcamp
We Broke the Weather plays a crunchy, garage rock-influenced brand of prog, and Restart Game is an excellent demonstration of the band’s skills. They effectively cultivate drama, suspense, and majesty; and it’s all packaged in complex and surprising song structures.
#3: Papangu – Lampião Rei | Progressive rock | Bandcamp
Rather than resting on their laurels and settling into a niche, Papangu chose to keep innovating on their sophomore record. Adding two new members to the band, Lampião Rei sees this Brazilian sextet go in a lusher, jazzier direction. Metal and zeuhl are still prominent flavors on this release, but they draw significantly from classic prog and the musical traditions of their home country. Lampião Rei is an exciting, diverse record with a ton of repeat listening value.
#2: Anarchÿ – Eyeclöser | Progressive thrash metal | Bandcamp
Anarchÿ’s sophomore LP is an absolute monster of a record. The immense title track is this album’s clear centerpiece. It sprawls and shows incredible variation and depth, all while maintaining a sense of cohesion. The rest of the record is every bit as solid, though. Anarchÿ’s prog-thrash stylings get run through a variety of influences, resulting in a record that revels in this genre’s excesses, in the best way possible. (I was originally going to include Anarchÿ’s album from November 2024 near the beginning of this list, too, but I decided that they were similar enough that I didn’t need to include both. Go check it out, though!)
#1: Perilymph – Progressions Imaginaires | Progressive rock | Bandcamp
Perilymph’s fourth full-length release is their most mature, best-realized, most coherent, and overall best to date. Their signature retro synth sounds are as prominent as ever. Jazz and folk flavors are woven into this album’s sonic tapestry naturalistically, and the record’s overall flow is wonderful. One of the things I love about Perilymph is the way they so expertly contrast pared-back, folky moments against passages of warm, rich synthesizers that fill every bit of space in the mix. Lots of bands try to play off contrasts, but few do it as well as these guys.
The Elite Extremophile 
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