Welcome to the top half of The Elite Extremophile’s Top Prog Albums of 2025. Part One can be found here.
Continue reading “Best of 2025: Top 50 Prog Albums Part 2: 25-1”Best of 2025: Top 50 Prog Albums Part 2: 25-1
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Best of 2025: Cool Songs
Welcome to the first installment of The Elite Extremophile’s Best of 2025! Today, I’m starting off with Cool Songs. Tomorrow will feature the Top EPs, and the Top Albums will follow on Wednesday and Thursday.
Before we get to it, let me give my usual Best-Of disclaimers. This is a one-man operation, in regard to writing the reviews. (My proofreaders Kelci and Dan are very helpful.) I’m sure there was plenty of great music I just simply missed. I’ve also got my own personal biases against certain styles and trends.
As a reminder, this list covers what I call the “music year” 2025, which covers December 2024 through November 2025.
This segment is meant to show off great tracks that do not appear on my other year-end lists. If a release makes my best EPs or best albums list, it is disqualified from appearing in this particular segment.
Without further ado, let’s get to it!
Continue reading “Best of 2025: Cool Songs”Odds & Ends: December 15, 2025
Artist: Gianni Carlin | Album: In nessun luogo | Genre: Progressive rock | Bandcamp
In nessun luogo features a mildly-lo-fi sound, but it works well. Flute is always prominent, providing some great, breathy contrast to the fat and rubbery bass that underpins much of the music. The songwriting is overall solid, though the 21-minute album opener is a bit unfocused at moments. There are some surprisingly catchy passages mixed in, and with the occasional dash of jazz and blues, it makes for a well-balanced record.
Score: 73/100
Band: Hesse Kassel | Album: La Brea | Genre: Post-rock | Bandcamp
The debut record from this Chilean ensemble features intricately structured epics that unfold slowly. Delicate moments contrast heavier passages. Post-punk and art rock influences abound, and there is also clearly a deep debt to Windmill scene bands like black midi and Squid. While I overall like this record, it does have one glaring flaw, and that it is way too damn long. 78 minutes across eight songs leaves a lot of fat to trim, even when taking into account the fact that this is a post-rock record. This band is at their best during their heavier moments, like on “A. Latur”.
Score: 75/100
Continue reading “Odds & Ends: December 15, 2025”Odds & Ends: December 11, 2025
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
Continue reading “Odds & Ends: December 11, 2025”Odds & Ends: December 8, 2025
Band: creamcheese | Album: schallplatte | Genre: Psychedelic rock, Post-rock | Bandcamp
The new record from this one-man instrumental act draws quite heavily from Pink Floyd. Drifting rhythms and wavering guitars float about, occasionally interrupted by sharper tones. Acoustic guitar is deployed for the occasional bit of earthiness, balancing out this record’s more astral moments. “Maha Nakhom” sees creamcheese dabble in some semi-electronic Ozric Tentacles worship, for a nice change of pace. And though overlong, the closing “3L3K7R0K4CK3” is a charmingly diverse cut.
Score: 74/100
Band: Flowʍolꓞ | Album: Téboly | Genre: Progressive rock | Bandcamp
Flowwolf is a Hungarian band that blends psychedelic textures with progressive song structures for a very satisfying EP on Téboly. The instrumental tones are great, and there are smart contrasts between rich textures and grittier passages. The vocal performances are strong and melodic, and I also really enjoy the dashes of alternative rock that crop up here and there.
Score: 81/100
Continue reading “Odds & Ends: December 8, 2025”Album Review: Changeling – Changeling
Band: Changeling | Album: Changeling | Genre: Progressive death metal | Year: 2025
From: Berlin, Germany | Label: Season of Mist
For fans of: Opeth, Death, Cynic, Between the Buried and Me
Changeling is a quartet made up of people with deep experience in the death metal world. Bandleader Tom Geldschläger has played with Obscura and Belphegor, among others, and the other three members have ties to acts such as Fear Factory, Virvum, and Dark Fortress. Backing up this supergroup is a slew of guest musicians, including a choir and small orchestra.
Continue reading “Album Review: Changeling – Changeling”Odds & Ends: July 7, 2025
Band: Mesmerians | Album: Somni eònic | Genre: Progressive rock | Bandcamp
The latest EP from this Catalan quartet blends hard-hitting heavy psych with complex song structures and exciting playing. The four songs here range from crushing, Elder-influenced stormers to lighter pieces that draw equally from acts of the late ‘60s and the relatively sunny prog of the early ‘90s. It’s a diverse release with a lot of strong songwriting.
Score: 82/100
Band: Murrayglossus | Album: Vigor | Genre: Post-metal | Bandcamp
Murrayglossus’s second release is a doomy-yet-warm collection of instrumental compositions. Guitar lines are expansive and unpredictable, and the band is successful at infusing the usual vocabulary of post-metal with a bit more vigor. Influences from stoner metal, krautrock, and even a bit of jazz help to keep this release varied and interesting.
Score: 78/100
Continue reading “Odds & Ends: July 7, 2025”Odds & Ends: April 7, 2025
Artist: Lukey Cope | Album: Interpretation | Genre: Progressive rock, Progressive metal | Bandcamp
Lukey Cope’s debut album is an instrumental affair full of fast, flashy guitar licks. Amid all the showing off, he also displays a keen ear for melody and composition. Piano is prominently deployed, and that instrument’s percussive, biting tone pairs well against some of the thicker auditory qualities at play here. Despite being an instrumental record with a semi-atmospheric vibe, the bloat is pretty minimal here.
Score: 79/100
Band: Deddom | Album: When you find out the amount of your pension and start thinking what to do with it | Genre: Avant-garde metal | Bandcamp
This is an absolutely insane release. This 42-minute behemoth covers territory as diverse as black metal, free jazz, ambient, and more. It’s angry, full of harsh sounds and uneasy rhythms. There is a lot of inventive, oddball material here, and I like just how stark many of the contrasts are. That said, it is longer than it needs to be, and if you’re not in the mood for something harsh and challenging, you’re gonna have a bad time.
Score: 73/100
Continue reading “Odds & Ends: April 7, 2025”Best of 2024: Top 50 Prog Albums Part 2: 25-1
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!
Continue reading “Best of 2024: Top 50 Prog Albums Part 2: 25-1”Odds & Ends: December 30, 2024
Band: Anarchÿ | Album: Xenötech and the Cosmic Anarchÿ | Genre: Progressive thrash metal | Bandcamp
Anarchÿ’s third full-length release sees this St. Louis-based thrash duo both stay in their usual niche and also push some sonic boundaries. Verbose sci-fi storytelling, blazing guitar lines, and more umlauts than any reasonable person would ever use all abound here. Synth pads do a great job at adding richness and lushness to the music, and the occasional acoustic interlude helps to keep this record varied and interesting. There is even a splash of sitar for some truly unexpected sonic variance.
Score: 83/100
Band: Avneya | Album: Road to I | Genre: Progressive death metal | Bandcamp
Avneya’s debut record is a great example of progressive death metal. There’s a strong focus on contrasts between delicate, melodic passages and moments of crushing heaviness. Dashes of strings here and there add some nice contrast, and folk motifs from the band’s native Israel also add to this record’s distinctiveness.
Score: 79/100
Continue reading “Odds & Ends: December 30, 2024”
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