Maerund – Sunthema

Bands: Deathspiral of Inherited Suffering, Elysian Blaze, Panegyrist, Maerund | Album: Sunthema | Genre: Black metal, Progressive metal, Post-metal | Year: 2026

From: Memphis, USA; Adelaide, Australia; Chicago, USA; Chicago, USA (I think) | Label: Rubeus Obex (USA); I, Voidhanger (Europe)

For fans of: Cormorant, Enslaved, Batushka

Bandcamp

I first found out about this record through Rate Your Music’s handy “Upcoming Releases” feature. It was there that I saw Panegyrist had their first new music since 2018 coming out! Their lone LP, Hierurgy, is a stunning, unique release. It blends avant-garde black metal with liturgical music and lyrics so dense and obscure that I feel like I need a theology degree to understand them.

Sunthema, the four-way split LP with Panegyrist and three other acts, continues on that trend. (Side note: Personally, I would have transliterated the Greek “συνθεμα” as “synthema,” but to each their own. The word is more often found in its plural form, synthemata, and it refers to any signs, symbols, or material tokens, especially those associated with certain rituals. Esoteric terms and ideas are prominent on this record.) All four acts here weave their brands of forward-thinking metal with Christian mysticism to make something powerful and enthralling.

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Odds & Ends: July 6, 2026

Band: Bekor Qilish | Album: Consecrated Abysses of Dread | Genre: Avant-garde metal | Bandcamp

The new album from one-man Italian experimental metal act Bekor Qilish sees a further refinement and evolution in the act’s sound. Black metal is still at the root of what he’s doing here, but there is a lot more at play. Riffs are bizarre and ultra-technical. This constant oscillation can be exciting and lead to some fantastic juxtapositions. At the same time, though, it can also come off as disjointed or unfocused. There is a lot to like on this record, but I think Bekor Qilish’s music works best in the format of a slightly-shorter EP.

Score: 78/100

Band: Different Light | Album: Binary Suns (Part 2 – Alternate Reality) | Genre: Progressive rock | Bandcamp

Different Light is back with part two of their Binary Suns project, six years after releasing part one. Overall, it’s fine. It’s relatively sunny, piano-heavy prog that’s rooted in the 1990s. There is some good occasional crunch, and the vocal performance is strong. Certain passages are maybe a little cheesy for my taste, and transitions between the sub-sections of the suites can occasionally be a little awkward. But if you like Spock’s Beard and crave more Spock’s Beard-sounding music, this is a pretty decent choice.

Score: 74/100

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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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Album Review: A Forest of Stars – Stack Overflow in Corpse Pile Interface

Band: A Forest of Stars | Album: Stack Overflow in Corpse Pile Interface | Genre: Progressive metal, Post-metal | Year: 2026

From: Manchester, UK | Label: Prophecy

For fans of: Arcturus, Ashenspire, Primordial

Bandcamp

A Forest of Stars has been around for nearly 20 years, but this record is my first exposure to them. It is their first release in eight years, so, in my defense, they have been quiet lately. Stack Overflow in Corpse Pile Interface is their sixth full-length release, and it’s full of theatrical, abstract, and highly emotive music that draws from classic prog, folk metal, folk, and avant-garde music. It’s a demanding record: the six songs range between nine and 17 minutes in length, and all the compositions are dense as hell. But it’s well worth your time and attention.

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Album Review: Elder – Through Zero

Band: Elder | Album: Through Zero | Genre: Progressive rock, Heavy psych | Year: 2026

From: Berlin, Germany | Label: Blues Funeral

Bandcamp

I’ve found Elder’s work to be a bit inconsistent over their last few releases. After the stellar Lore and Reflections of a Floating World, Omens was spotty and failed to deliver on the band’s promise of change. The Gold and Silver Sessions were an interesting (if unnecessary) foray into krautrock. ELDOVAR was a neat collaboration album; and while I liked Innate Passage, it’s not a record I’ve found myself returning to. Last year’s EP was also a bit of a split decision from me, with one good-but-not-exactly-memorable song and one fantastic one.

Across the span of these last few releases, I’ve sensed that Elder has had a desire to more fully embrace progressive rock, but they’ve had a hard time escaping some of the songwriting tricks and patterns they’ve long utilized.

Through Zero, Elder’s seventh (or eighth or ninth, depending on how one counts splits/collaborations) full-length album, is their greatest success since 2017’s Reflections. On this record, they’ve fully embraced progressive rock while also maintaining their unique voice. Synthesizers and other keyboards are integrated more fully here than anywhere else in their discography. Their classic heavy psych stylings are still prominent and an integral part of their music, but they’re supported by a greater diversity of sounds. Literal textures and tones, as well as melodies and songwriting styles, are more varied on this record than they’ve been before.

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Album Review: Yes – Aurora

Band: Yes | Album: Aurora | Genre: Progressive rock | Year: 2026

From: London, UK | Label: InsideOut Music

Bandcamp

Look, it’s a new Yes album. We all know who Yes are. We know what we’re signing up for. I had low expectations, despite Mirror to the Sky being pretty decent overall. Let’s just get to it.

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Album Review: Crown Lands – Apocalypse

Band: Crown Lands: Album: Apocalypse | Genre: PRogressive rock, Hard rock | Year: 2026

From: Toronto, Canada | Label: InsideOut Music

For fans of: Rush, Led Zeppelin

Bandcamp

Crown Lands is a Toronto-based duo with a sound firmly rooted in mid-70s hard rock and prog rock. Unlike a number of other retro-focused bands I’ve covered here, this pair do a great job at keeping those sounds fresh and lively. Depending on how you want to classify prior releases, Apocalypse is their second, third, or fourth full-length release.

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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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Album Review: The Magpie Arc – Gil Brenton

Band: The Magpie Arc | Album: Gil Brenton | Genre: Progressive rock, British folk | Year: 2025

From: UK | Label: Independent

For fans of: Strawbs, Comus, Jethro Tull, Steeleye Span

Bandcamp

The Magpie Arc is a British quartet that spins traditional folk songs of the British Isles into hard-hitting, proggy folk rock, and Gil Brenton is their second full-length album. Where many bands I describe as folk rock are primarily rock acts with some folk influences, this band is the inverse. Their vocal style and instrumentalism belie a deep love of British folk music, and that helps give their music a character that stands out from other acts in a similar space.

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Album Review: Tusmørke – Balderdom

Band: Tusmørke | Album: Balderdom | Genre: Progressive rock | Year: 2026

From: Oslo, Norway | Label: Karisma

For fans of: Jordsjø, Caravan, Yes, Jethro Tull

Bandcamp

Apparently Tusmørke put out an album last year that I missed, but they’re prolific enough, there’s never that long a gap without them on this site. Balderdom (Baldness) follows in a template similar to Dawn of Oberon, in that it consists of a handful of shorter songs and a side-long epic. Tusmørke’s unique Norse-folk-prog is on proud display here, and this is another strong entry in their catalog.

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