Band: Ábrete Gandul | Album: Suciedad Contemporánea | Genre: Progressive rock | Listen
This instrumental release heavily incorporates jazz and classical elements into its compositions. Reed and wind instruments can be found among the many slinking themes present here. Things swell and retreat fluidly, and there are a lot of great tonal and textural choices. While I enjoy it overall, this isn’t the most distinctive record. It’s solid, jazzy instrumental prog, if that’s what you’re looking for.
Score: 74/100
Band: An Abstract Illusion | Album: The Sleeping City | Genre: Progressive metal | Bandcamp
An Abstract Illusion’s latest record is a noticeable step down from their last release, 2022’s excellent Woe. The Sleeping City isn’t a bad record, by any means, but it’s unimpressive. The biggest problem for me on this record is the production. Everything is very clean and clear in a way that robs the band’s death metal of its impact. The clean parts of this record also come off as overly glossy and sterile, with many of the synth tones sounding out of place. There are still good ideas in the compositions, but the sound of the album itself is lacking.
Score: 68/100
Band: Elder | Album: Liminality/Dream State Return | Genre: Heavy psych, Post-rock | Bandcamp
Elder’s latest release is an 18-minute EP consisting of two songs. The first and longer of these is “Liminality”. I don’t want to sound overly mean or dismissive, but it’s an Elder song. Elder has their sound, and a lot of their songs are pretty similar to one another. There are big, majestic build-ups and walls of cascading distortion. This falls firmly in that camp. I enjoy it, but it doesn’t really stand out to me. “Dream State Return” is the more interesting piece here. It’s more overtly progressive and features influences from early proto-electronic acts like Tangerine Dream, alongside metallic riffs. This is a pretty new direction for the band, and I’d love to hear them explore it more on their next full-length effort.
Score: 77/100
Band: 神吉 Kami-Kichi | Album: The Road between Ancient Tombs and Palaces | Genre: Progressive rock, Zeuhl | Bandcamp
The newest project from drummer Tatsuya Yoshida–the brains behind both brutal prog pioneers Ruins and avant-prog giants Koenjihyakkei–is an energetic, improvisational duo. Accompanying Yoshida is keyboardist Hoppy Kamiyama, who lays down everything ranging from jumpy, jazzy electric piano, to glimmering, celestial textures, to cybernetic bloops and beeps. Now, an hour-long, mostly-instrumental, improv-heavy release isn’t going to be all thriller, no filler. But the highs on this record are very high and show a unique take on Yoshida’s singular, madcap style. Yes, there’s some bloat here, but the cores of these songs are absolutely worth your time, if you’re into zeuhl.
Score: 75/100
Band: Liminoid | Album: Constellations | Genre: Progressive metal | Bandcamp
This one-man instrumental act from Poland plays a melodic and emotive variety of progressive metal. Bands like Porcupine Tree and Opeth are the most obvious influences, and I really appreciate the folk touches as well. Acoustic guitar, piano, and violin add some wonderful textural contrast. The record moves along at a steady clip; ideas have plenty of room to breathe, but nothing feels padded or unnecessarily drawn-out.
Score: 81/100
Band: Moron Police | Album: Pachinko | Genre: Progressive rock, Progressive pop | Bandcamp
This is an album I really would’ve liked to write a full-length review for, but I simply didn’t have the time. Pachinko is the first full-length album from this Norwegian act in six years, and it’s a doozy. This record is maximal in every regard. From the crazy cover art to the absurd premise of this record (a man is transformed into a sentient pachinko machine) to the non-stop, high-octane, hyper-technical riffage, to the lush, wall-of-sound production, Pachinko is like drinking from an auditory firehose. Many a band have stumbled when trying something like this, but Moron Police pull it off excellently. Strains of pop music and arena rock commingle with progressive rock, classical, and avant-garde music naturally. Aesthetically, this is similar in many ways to that sunny brand of prog popular in the 1990s, a la The Flower Kings or Spock’s Beard, but better than most either of those bands’ output. Even the somewhat schmaltzy ballad moments work rather well!
Score: 84/100
The Elite Extremophile 