Band: Antisoph | Album: non satis | Genre: Progressive metal | Bandcamp

This German band’s latest release is a pretty neat 3-song EP. The riffs are inventive, weird, and abstract, and the vocal performance is pretty strong as well. I like the bits of jazz and post-metal influence they included in this release. The one downside is that not all of these songs needed to exceed seven minutes. 

Score: 72/100

Band: The Flood | Album: Tail of the Whale | Genre: Progressive rock | Bandcamp

I like this album a lot; probably more than most folks, and for pretty specific-to-me reasons. The music here is solid, even tossing aside my own specific fondness. It’s often slow-moving, lush, and impassioned. Jazz and classical touches are incorporated quite nicely. The vocals are a bit weak though, and I could see them grating on some people. But that’s honestly part of the reason why I like this album. When I was first really getting into progressive rock, I did it primarily through a number of now-long-dead-or-defunct Blogspot sites with links to Mediafire or Rapidshare. And The Flood reminds me a lot of the bands I discovered through those sites: rich, symphonic prog from mainland Europe with slightly-rough production and a vocalist with a noticeable accent. (For a few examples of bands like this, check out Prof. Wolfff, P2O5, Womega, or Phylter.) It’s a very specific sort of nostalgia from my high school and college years that I don’t expect many to relate to. But this is my site, and you’re here to read my opinion.

Score: 81/100

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