TEE’s Best of 2011-2018

I once received an email asking me if I had best-of lists for previous years before I started this site. I do, but I didn’t have easy access to them. Posting rundowns of new music I listened to in a given year was something I did on my personal Facebook page via the site’s now-defunct Notes feature 2011-2018.

Recently, I decided to see if I could access them, and it turns out I can! It’s just a hassle. I figured it may be good to copy them over here to hopefully give them greater longevity. I don’t trust Zuck to not just entirely nuke the Notes archive at any given moment.

Before I get into this, a few disclaimers and clarifications:

My first best-of list was actually in 2010, but I do not have that. At the time, I had a show on the University of Washington’s radio station, and the station asked everyone for a top 10 list for that year. I submitted my list, along with a one-sentence description of each record. Everyone’s lists were published in the campus paper. I tried searching The Daily’s archives, but I couldn’t find it.

For the first few years I did this, it wasn’t a ranking. It was everything listed alphabetically with a score out of ten. (It should also be noted that my scores out of 10 are scaled differently than my scores out of 100, which are in turn different from my RYM 5-point scale and ProgArchives’ 5-point scale.) I eventually eschewed the scores in favor of a ranked-list.

These are also not curated best-of lists. These cover all records released in a given year I listened to, so there’s usually some real crap mixed in there.

While I would say my taste has mostly remained consistent, my opinions on a number of records have shifted over the years, sometimes significantly. I will be posting the lists in the order in which I originally posted them with my original commentary, typos and all. However, if my views have shifted significantly, I will add a note explaining so.

I’m not planning to add images to this. That’s just going to take too long. From 2015 onward, I included Bandcamp links. For earlier ones, I would often include a YouTube link; I will add Bandcamp links where I can.

Alright, let’s get to it!

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Odds & Ends: June 1, 2026

Band: Angine de Poitrine | Album: Vol. II | Genre: Math rock | Bandcamp

I’ve gone on record saying I’m really not a fan of microtonal music, but Angine de Pointrine’s microtonality is more restrained compared to some other acts I’ve heard. Their unusual tunings and oddly-fretted guitars serve to enhance their wild and inventive riffs. Their music is energetic and driving, drawing from psychedelia and garage rock. Some of the individual songs can run a bit long, but overall, Vol. II is a fantastic display of technical prowess and inventive composition. “Utzp” in particular is one of the most exciting songs of the year.

Score: 80/100

Band: Divided by Design | Album: Stages to Osiris: Rebirth | Genre: Progressive metal | Bandcamp

The latest EP from this British instrumental trio is some really solid music. The band draws heavily from Tool, Porcupine Tree, and their ilk on the non-extreme end of alt-influenced prog metal. The music is usually melodic and fairly lush, with each song capturing clear dramatic arcs and motifs that tie everything together. This 30-minute release is, in my view, an ideal vessel for this style of music. It’s long enough to express some interesting ideas without drawing on so long as to become tedious and exhausting. I’ve listened to many 45-to-65-minute versions of this record from a lot of other bands, and this more-digestible size really suits this style well.

Score: 83/100

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Best of 2025: Top 50 Prog Albums Part 2: 25-1

Welcome to the top half of The Elite Extremophile’s Top Prog Albums of 2025. Part One can be found here.

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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

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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

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Odds & Ends: December 4, 2025

Artist: William Covert | Album: Dream Vessel | Genre: Post-rock, Drone | Bandcamp

Drone is a genre that I largely dislike but do occasionally dabble in. When I run across a drone artist that I do enjoy, it’s usually because they’ve melded those influences with something else. With Neptunian Maximalism, they married drone with heavy, experimental metal. And with William Covert, he has blended it with post-rock and avant-garde jazz. Textures are wide and airy, but it’s not just aimless ambience. Drumming helps give this record a sense of direction, and there are clear structures and throughlines in the individual compositions. The music is spooky, spacy, and artful.

Score: 73/100

Band: Cratophane | Album: Exode | Genre: Progressive rock, Post-metal | Bandcamp

Cratophane’s sophomore album sees this self-described “angular rock” band take a lot of stoner and doom metal influences into their music. There are still jagged riffs and irregular rhythms aplenty, but the band also slows down significantly for extended periods of time. Magma’s influence looms large here, but so does that of bands like Pelican. This is a dark, moody, and semi-psychedelic record that goes to some interesting places. As with many instrumental records, I feel a number of the songs are longer than they need to be, but it’s not too bad.

Score: 76/100

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Odds & Ends: November 3, 2025

Band: El Castillo de Barbazul | Album: Sobre Finales | Genre: Progressive rock | Bandcamp

This Mexican instrumental quartet has a rather fun, loose, and noisy air about them. The music is complex and chaotic, and it’s shot through with influences from some of prog’s odder micro-genres, like zeuhl and the Canterbury sound. Some songs on this album are absolutely longer than they need to be, but the band’s unbridled enthusiasm always shines through.

Score: 76/100

Band: Donella Drive | A;bum: AXON | Genre: Progressive metal, Alternative metal | Bandcamp

The latest release from this San Antonio-based duo skillfully blends alternative metal, post-hardcore, and prog into a punchy and memorable record. The band balances harsh, aggressive tones and relatively straightforward melodic passages. In addition to obvious influences like Tool and The Mars Volta, they include some funkier elements that evoke acts like Rage Against the Machine and Primus. Some individual songs can run a little long, but the overall listening experience is a fun one.

Score: 79/100

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Album Review: Snooze – I Know How You Will Die

Band: Snooze | Album: I Know How You Will Die | Genre: Math rock, Progressive metal | Year: 2025

From: Chicago, USA | Label: Choke Artist

For fans of: Between the Buried and Me, Tera Melos, And So I Watch You From Afar, Emberside

Bandcamp

I’ve been pretty open about my general distaste for subgenres that end in “-core.” And that goes double for most things classifiable as djent. So, had I not had this album specifically recommended to me, I probably would have skipped it had I found it on my own on Bandcamp. “Mathcore” and “djent” are usually good signs I’ll find a record tedious and repetitious. There are outliers, of course, but I do do some prioritization of stuff to listen to in looking for records for this site.

I am very happy I had this album recommended to me. Snooze is a Chicago-based quartet that plays a pretty heavy variety of math rock. I Know How You Will Die is their third full-length release and their first in six years. It’s also their heaviest by a significant margin. The band’s roots in math rock and Midwest emo are evident, especially in the vocal lines, but everything comes together in an incredibly satisfying way.

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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

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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!

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