Album Review: Witch Ripper – Through the Hourglass

Band: Witch Ripper | Album: Through the Hourglass | Genre: Sludge metal, Progressive metal | Year: 2026

From: Seattle, USA | Label: Magnetic Eye Records

For fans of: Mastodon, Baroness, Coheed & Cambria

Bandcamp

Witch Ripper is one of my favorite local acts, and they’re always near the top of my list of bands to recommend. Through the Hourglass is this quartet’s third full-length release, and it is a direct sequel to their last release, 2023’s The Flight after the Fall. The shared story of these records is obvious, even without looking at the lyrics, with the music here bearing clear throughlines from TFATF.

My first exposure to this record was at Witch Ripper’s album release show earlier this month. They played it in its entirety, and it was a killer performance. On subsequent listens, the album has grown on me even more.

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Album Review: Gong – Bright Spirit

Band: Gong | Album: Bright Spirit | Genre: Progressive rock | Year: 2026

From: London, UK | Label: Kscope

Bandcamp

I briefly touched on Gong’s convoluted history and past output in my review of their last album, 2023’s Unending Ascending, so I will not go into it in depth here. But this lineup–long bereft of any original members but operating under the blessing of the band’s late founder–has just put out its fourth full full-length release, Bright Spirit. In general, this album largely stays in line with this incarnation of Gong’s modus operandi. It’s fun and lighthearted prog with heavy psychedelic infusions.

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Album Review: Legs on Wheels – Gobble

Band: Legs on Wheels | Album: Gobble | Genre: Progressive rock | Year: 2026

From: Manchester, UK | Label: Dismembers Club Records

For fans of: Cardiacs, Caravan, early Soft Machine, The Dear Hunter

Bandcamp

I like the Canterbury sound a lot, but the modern practitioners of this sound can be a bit like zeuhl. Where zeuhl often devolves into rote Magma worship, so too do many neo-Canterbury acts slavishly strive to sound like Soft Machine or Caravan.

Legs on Wheels is a Mancunian quintet that does an incredible job of taking classic Canterbury influence and melding it into more modern sounds. The band dabbles in punk, psychedelia, and art rock alongside more progressive strains of rock. The music is consistently energetic and varied, and Gobble, the band’s third full-length release, is a delightful listen.

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Odds & Ends: April 6, 2026

Band: END! Begin | Album: The END! | Genre: Progressive folk | Bandcamp

This collection of four instrumental pieces is a solid follow-up to END! Begin’s fantastic debut LP. The overall mood is a bit more energetic and less torporous here, and I really appreciate getting to see this other side of the band. “Cherry Blossoms” in particular draws a lot from rock music, which is a very exciting blend.

Score: 78/100

Band: Mellow Beast | Album: Grimble, The Worm | Genre: Psychedelic rock | Bandcamp

Mellow Beast’s latest record sees him expand upon the musical universe he has established. The story of this record takes place right after Reactor, his 2023 release. Throughlines are obvious in the music, and there are even connections to earlier releases. The mood is spacy and often-hypnotic while also imbuing some Gong-ish fun and whimsy.

Score: 76/100

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Album Review: Plantoid – Flare

Band: Plantoid | Album: Flare | Genre: Progressive rock, Psychedelic rock | Year: 2026

From: Brighton, UK | Label: Bella Union

For fans of: Pink Floyd, Diagonal, Kate Bush

Bandcamp

Brighton’s Plaintoid are black with their sophomore album, Flare, two years after their debut. The band maintained their lush, jazzy air while also imbuing their sound with a bit more muscle. On repeated listens of Terrapath, at times I do wish the band had a bit more contrast in their sound. Here, they’ve successfully added a bit more while also maintaining their unique character.

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Album Review: Holotropic – Individual

Band: Holotropic | Album: Individual | Genre: Progressive metal | Year: 2026

From: Bratislava, Slovakia | Label: Independent

For fans of: Anciients, Tool, Cynic, The Faceless

Bandcamp

Holotropic is a Slovak extreme metal five-piece that skillfully weaves a base of technical death metal with elements from further afield, ranging from classic prog to ambient to Middle Eastern folk. Individual is their second release, and this short-but-mighty album demonstrates impressive breadth and depth of skill.

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Album Review: Corima – Hunab Ku

Band: Corima | Album: Hunab Ku | Genre: Zeuhl | Year: 2026

From: Los Angeles, USA | Label: Soleil Zeuhl

For fans of: Magma, Koenjihyakkei, King Crimson’s early stuff

Bandcamp

Has it really been ten years since the last time Corima released a record? Not quite, actually, but close enough; nine years and three months is a massive gap for any band that isn’t Tool. Their fourth release overall and their third on Soleil Zeuhl, Hunab Ku, continues with the naming conventions of their previous two releases.

Hunab Ku is a Yucatec Maya term meaning “The One God.” Corima’s previous album, 2016’s Amaterasu, was named after the chief deity in the Shinto pantheon, and their 2012 album, Quetzalcoatl, took its name from a prominent Aztec deity. It should be noted that “Hunab Ku” is a colonial-era term used primarily to refer to the Christian God, and it later found use in New Age beliefs. Some have tried to use this term to assert the existence of a precolonial Maya monotheism, but as far as I can tell, this is not a well-supported historical position. I recommend reading the Wikipedia article I linked. (I’m hardly an expert on the Maya, but I’d love to learn more. Should there be any Mayanists in my audience, drop your book recommendations in the comments!)

Thank you for indulging me in the anthropological aside; I did study to be an archaeologist, so I love stuff like this.

The music on Hunab Ku is an exhilarating brand of zeuhl. The band’s Magmatic influences are plainly worn on their sleeves, but they infuse a lot more crunch and grit into their music. Violins and saxophones bring some tonal distinctiveness, and everything here flows together smoothly as one continuous composition.

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Album Review: Cryptic Shift – Overspace & Supertime

Band: Cryptic Shift | Album: Overspace & Supertime | Genre: Progressive metal, Technical thrash metal | Year: 2026

From: Leeds, UK | Label: Metal Blade

For fans of: Vektor, Voivod, Coroner, Atheist

Bandcamp

I don’t know what keeps drawing progressive and technical thrash metal bands to outer space, but it seems to be working. Vektor, Droid, Voivod, Obliveon, and plenty of others have plumbed the depths of the night sky for inspiration, and Cryptic Shift continues in this proud tradition. Their 2020 debut, Visitations from Enceladus, is a phenomenal work, with the 25-minute “Moonbelt Immolator” being one of the greatest metal epics of this century.

Their newest release, Overspace & Supertime, is a monumental work, clocking in at nearly 80 minutes over just five songs. Their brand of cosmic, death-tinged thrash is a powerful canvas for their sci-fi storytelling.

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Odd & Ends: March 2, 2026

Band: Hällas | Album: Panorama | Genre: Progressive rock, Hard rock | Bandcamp

I saw this record getting a lot of hype online, and I can’t say that I get it. On a structural level, at least, the opening epic is well-built, and the occasional fun twist does occur. But my biggest issue with this release is the sound palette. This sounds like schlock-rock acts from the ‘70s and ‘80s tried their hand at prog. The vocalist reminds me of Dave Cousins of Strawbs, which is different, at least. But I don’t particularly like Journey or Foreigner or Styx, and these guys are clearly drawing a lot of influence for that particular vein of cheesy arena rock. Everything is overblown and uses trite, tired musical tropes. That results in an exhausting listen. Oddly, the four shorter songs on this album feel much more tedious and drawn-out than the 21-minute opener.

Score: 62/100

Band: JUZZ | Album: JUZZ (II) | Genre: Progressive rock, Jazz-fusion | Bandcamp

Juzz, a jazzy instrumental six-piece from Galicia, has put out their sophomore album. It’s similar in tone and style to their debut, if perhaps a bit more rock-oriented. Moods morph fluidly across this album’s runtime, ranging from hard-rocking numbers to Tangerine Dream-inspired space-synth passages. These songs also show greater focus than their debut, so I am happy to see that evolution in their writing style.

Score: 80/100

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Album Review: Mirkwood Spiders – The Black Mountain Ritual

Band: Mirkwood Spiders | Album: The Black Mountain Ritual | Genre: Heavy psych, Stoner metal, Progressive rock | Year: 2025

From: Chur, Switzerland | Label: Independent

For fans of: King Gizzard, Garcia Peoples, Stoned Jesus, Witch Ripper

Bandcamp

Mirkwood Spiders is a Swiss band that continues in the proud tradition of bands like King Gizzard and (sometimes) Stoned Jesus. Fuzz-drenched, occasionally-bluesy psychedelia swirls and storms as this four-piece weaves their magic.

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