Welcome to The Elite Extremophile’s Top Prog Albums of 2025! As usual, this is a two-part list of 50 total entries. Part two is here.
As a reminder, the music on this list spans December 2024 through November 2025. Music from December 2025 will be on the 2026 list. I’m sure there is plenty of good music I missed, but when it comes to the reviewing, this is a one-man operation. (My proofreaders/editors, Kelci and Dan, have been very helpful, as always.) There are also certain trends and styles I simply don’t like very much.
2025 was a fantastic year for progressive rock and related genres. I was spoiled for choice with this list, and this may be the overall-strongest batch of recommendations I’ve given to date.
#50: Spawn – Light Rite | Heavy Psych | Bandcamp
Australia’s Spawn plays a hazy, slow brand of heavy psych. There’s plenty here that draws from relatively straightforward stoner sources, but the band does a good job at infusing their music with surprisingly inventive melodies. They take some interesting detours as their songs evolve, and there is often a somewhat-occult feel to this record. The closing “All Is Shiva” is a fascinating, meditative psychedelic mantra.
#49: Soft Ffog – Focus | Jazz-fusion, Progressive rock | Bandcamp
Focus draws heavily from the jazzier side of the Canterbury scene. Think Soft Machine and Camel, and if you want to look beyond the UK, Focus and Frank Zappa. Textures are often gentle, providing a broad sonic canvas for guitar and electric piano to take the lead. The four instrumental pieces here show a strong balance between structured composition and jazzy improvisation.
#48: Wippy Bonstack – Tactile Demons | Progressive rock | Bandcamp
The first of two records released in 2025 by Wippy Bonstack, Tactile Demons focuses on instrumental showmanship. Finger-twisting, jazzy licks on both guitar and piano dominate this album. The individual compositions all stand on their own, but when heard together, they complement and support each other. The 22-minute title track features some especially exciting work.
#47: Ancient Death – Ego Dissolution | Progressive death metal | Bandcamp
Ego Dissolution skillfully blends the brutality and crushing weight of classic death metal with ambitious instrumentalism and inventive song structures. Progressive influences are most evident in structure, rather than tone, with much of the record sticking to death metal’s usual signifiers. But beneath that veneer is a carefully-crafted record with plenty to discover on repeated listens.
#46: Magic Fig – Valerian Tea | Psychedelic rock | Bandcamp
Magic Fig’s first full-length release follows in the same vein as 2024’s wonderful EP. The moods and tones are dreamy and lush, occasionally evoking a hypnagogic feel. These San Franciscans show inspiration from their hometown’s psychedelic legacy but modernize it where it benefits them. Especially strong is the opening “Flammarion”, which sees the band lean into some pretty proggy ideas.
#45: Hesse Kassel – La Brea | Progressive rock, Post-rock | Bandcamp
The debut album from Chile’s Hesse Kassel draws heavily from Windmill scene bands, like black midi and Squid. But this collective takes a more drawn-out approach to their songwriting, letting layers of music gradually unfold into majestic soundscapes. The compositions are all strong and striking, and the band is at their best when they’re at their heaviest. The only thing holding this record back from a higher ranking is its sheer length. At 78 minutes, the band could have trimmed some fat, or maybe even left a song or two off.
#44: Cheer-Accident – Admission | Progressive pop | Bandcamp
Prolific Chicagoan weirdos Cheer-Accident have taken a decidedly poppy turn on their newest record. Smart, jazzy piano passages remind me of Joe Jackson, but oddball meters and effects-laden trombone interludes signal that this is unmistakably their own. The band also dabbles in some mild post-punk and electronic experiments, always keeping the listener on their toes.
#43: Doom Gong – Megagong | Psychedelic rock | Bandcamp
King Gizzard didn’t make this year’s list, but if you’re craving something Gizzardian, Doom Gong is a pretty solid choice. Their brand of psychedelia floats along and is quite melodic. Things have a faux-lo-fi feel (faux-fi?) which adds a sense of warmth and charm. Dashes of jazz and pop bring some diversity to the mix. My favorite parts, though, are when the band ups the intensity. That crunch adds some satisfying contrast, especially in the closing “DOOM GONG III”.
#42: Echolyn – TimeSilentRadio II | Progressive rock | Bandcamp
Echolyn first made a name for themselves in the 1990s, and that history is somewhat evident in their music. They play a highly-melodic and relatively sunny variety of progressive rock. This record consists of two sprawling epics, and each one fits together wonderfully. The compositions twist and turn, evolving dramatically across their runtimes.
#41: Kevin Wulf – Wheat Straight from the Preacher | Progressive rock, Folk rock | Bandcamp
Kevin Wulf managed to snap his streak of somewhat spotty, inconsistent releases with this record. It heavily channels early-to-mid ‘90s alt rock with some folky overtones. Parts of this rock fairly hard while others are more contemplative. And running through it all is a clever and creative songwriting style. There is still a bit of Wulf’s tendency to have songs just sort of suddenly end, but it’s infrequent. This album is at its best when it’s showing off jumpy, fuzzy riffs that sound like Frank Zappa being filtered through early Beck.
#40: Felgrave – Otherlike Darkness | Progressive black metal | Bandcamp
Otherlike Darkness consists of just three sprawling epics, and all three songs are fantastic. Icy, biting black metal swirls and lashes, and it’s complemented with just enough quieter moments to give the whole album a very balanced feel. The musicianship is fantastic, with many riffs tumbling off-kilter or featuring dazzling displays of technicality in a genre where simply doing some tremolo picking will suffice.
#39: Ring Van Möbius – Firebrand | Progressive rock | Bandcamp
RVM’s (presumably) final record sees the band give themselves the sendoff they deserve. While Commissioned Works was scattershot and felt half-baked, Firebrand is brimming with the trio’s signature enthusiastic ELP worship. Everything here has a sense of urgency, and I just can’t get enough of the organ and synth tones.
#38: Fer de Lance – Fires on the Mountainside | Progressive power metal | Bandcamp
Fer de Lance takes anthemic, fist-pumping power metal and uses that backing to construct complex and forward-thinking epics. Melodies are frequently majestic, with just a bit more grit to the voice than one normally hears in this field. The band also demonstrates expertise in tactfully evolving songs, with dramatic builds and satisfying climaxes.
#37: Harpo Jarvi – Toadstradamus | Progressive rock | Bandcamp
Structured as one continuous song cycle, Toadstradamus has a murky, mystical feel to it. Jazz and jam band influences are prominent. I also love the hypnotic zeuhl flavors on the penultimate track; it really meshes nicely with the ritualistic feel cultivated by this album.
#36: Triune – Triune | Progressive death metal | Bandcamp
Triune’s debut record is an intelligent and mature presentation of death metal. Opeth is a clear influence, but there’s a lot more than simple mimicry here. The guitars weave and overlap in complex and intriguing ways, and the band does an excellent job controlling the intensity. One moment, this record is storming forward, and the next, we’ve detoured into some jazzy, Floydian noodling, and it all somehow holds together.
#35: Pale Cremation – Communion | Space rock, Progressive metal | Bandcamp
In my initial review of Communion, I discussed the verisimilitude of the Soviet aesthetic on display here, and I need to underscore that point again. The grainy production and partially-garbled interview clips add a lot of character in the interludes. And the music draws from post-metal, synthwave, and psychedelia in creative ways.
#34: Ikitan – Shaping the Chaos | Progressive rock, Post-rock | Bandcamp
Ikitan’s first full-length release is an instrumental exploration of nine anomalous places and occurrences around the planet. This Italian act plays a complex, heavy, and moody brand of post-rock, often bordering on metal. Tones are rich, and the flow from one song to another is great. Ikitan is one of relatively few instrumental acts I’ve run across that can effectively convey somewhat specific ideas without words, and Shaping the Chaos is a great example of this skill.
#33: WIZRD – Elements | Progressive rock | Bandcamp
WIZRD’s sophomore album sees this Norwegian act continue their blending of jazzy madness, fuzzy psychedelia, and progressive songwriting. Things are more refined than on their debut, with some of that record’s (minor) excesses trimmed down. There is no shortage of catchy, majestic melodies, and there’s also no shortage of dazzling displays of instrumental inventiveness.
#32: Moron Police – Pachinko | Progressive rock, Progressive pop | Bandcamp
When I first heard “Pachinko, Pt. 1” as a single this summer, it immediately rocketed this album to the top of my most-anticipated-of-the-year list. That still ranks as one of the best songs of the year, and Pachinko is a really fun album. I was unfamiliar with Moron Police before this record, and their brand of maximal poppy prog is pretty fun. Some of the more overtly pop-oriented stuff has limited replay value for me, but the sheer amount of technical wizardry on display here makes this quite the release.
#31: Howling Giant – Crucible & Ruin | Progressive metal, Heavy psych | Bandcamp
Howling Giant’s brand of proggy heavy psych provides a lot to love, and Crucible & Ruin is another strong entry in their discography. The contrasts between clean and heavier passages are juxtaposed beautifully. The band has a real knack for majestic melodies that feel sincere and avoid any hint of cheesiness.
#30: Ocelot Omelet – Stereotypical Loser Trip | Experimental rock | Bandcamp
#29: Rainbow Face – Enjoy This Ruin| Progressive rock | Bandcamp
Enjoy This Ruin is a noisy, anxious record that takes heavy influence from post-punk and gothic rock. Songs often skitter about, nervously, as themes shift and morph. I really like the overall flow of the record. The contrast of this album’s quieter moments against more maximal moments is always great, and Rainbow Face does a great job at balancing these two approaches.
#28: Nuova Era – 20.000 leghe sotto i mari| Italian progressive rock | Bandcamp
The two enormous songs on this album do a great job of showcasing Nuova Era’s strengths. They owe a lot to past Italian greats, like BDMS, PFM, and Le Orme, but their sound is overall more modern. I don’t necessarily think their idea to structure the record as two songs over the span of 52 minutes does much to serve the album; it would have been just as good and made just as much sense as a string of shorter songs. But the music is dynamic and exciting, full of jazz, folk, and classical asides.
#27: Don Bolo – UMMA| Avant-garde rock | Bandcamp
In a sharp contrast to their punky past, Don Bolo’s newest LP sees them slow things down, take a hefty dose of the spice melange, and set off on an astral, instrumental exploration of Dune. Middle Eastern influences, unsurprisingly, are quite prominent here, as are dashes of jazz, krautrock, and avant-garde music. The focus here is on mood and atmosphere, but Don Bolo always manages to keep things interesting.
#26: Tropical Fuck Storm – Fairyland Codex| Art punk, Experimental rock | Bandcamp
Fairyland Codex is a noisy, wonky, and disorienting record. Rhythms lurch drunkenly, and guitars slash and crash beneath half-slurred vocals. But this sense of chaos is all carefully constructed. There are some real earworm melodies and some very clever examples of songwriting here. Avant-garde weirdness and strong pop sensibilities live alongside one another in bizarre harmony.
The Elite Extremophile 
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