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.
Three years after their last release, 2022’s excellent Thank You from the Future, Moon Letters have returned with their third full-length album. I’ve mentioned a few times that they’re one of my favorite local acts, and if you follow me on Facebook, you will occasionally see photos of their rather theatrical live shows. If you get a chance to see them perform, I highly recommend it.
My first experience hearing this album was at one of those performances. It was their album release show, and they played This Dark Earth in its entirety. That performance was part of a larger musical festival called Cascadence, formerly Seaprog. Occurring most Junes (there have been a few years it did not occur), it’s a fantastic highlight of mostly-local progressive music acts.
Slovakian quartet Besna’s newest album is a powerful record full of searing, anguished post-black metal. The band expertly blends haunting and disorienting atmospheres with raw emotionality and clever and unexpected song structures. There are moments of stark beauty woven into the piercing guitar lines. The closing track is an especially strong encapsulation of this band’s best tendencies.
Score: 82/100
Artist: Marton Juhasz | Album:Metropolis | Genre: Jazz, Jazz-fusion | Apple Music
This is certainly at the jazzier end of things I cover, but it isn’t out of place here. Juhasz’s latest album sees him toy around with complex meters and rhythms, and the drumming is especially impressive. Warm saxophones and glimmering electric piano lead the way on most songs. He also draws from a fairly diverse set of influences. “Sao Paulo” has fitting Brazilian flavors; the guitar on “Helio” would be right at home in a post-rock song; and “Radar” features the structured chaos of an avant-leaning math rock band.
It’s time for The Elite Extremophile’s Top 50 Prog Albums of 2024! This is the first half of the list, and you can find the second half here.
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.
2024 wound up being an alright year for the sort of stuff I cover here. It felt like it started off somewhat slow, but in the end, it wasn’t too challenging for me to find 50 records worthy of being highlighted.
Band: Celeste | Album:Echi di un Futuro Passato | Genre: Progressive rock | Bandcamp
Celeste is an Italian band that put out one album in 1976, disbanded, and then reunited in the late 2010s. Despite hailing from Italy, their style of prog has never felt particularly Italian. The music here (and throughout their discography) is light, breezy, and laid-back. Jazz flourishes are ample, and I really like the keyboard tones. This is a nice, relaxing bit of music to have on in the background, but it doesn’t really have enough to grab onto for active listening.
Score: 64/100
Band: Five the Hierophant | Album:Apeiron | Genre: Post-metal, Progressive metal | Bandcamp
Instrumental post-metal band Five the Hierophant blends biting, buzzy saxophone with sludgy guitars and plodding rhythms. In many ways, this band reminds me of a metallic, instrumental version of Van der Graaf Generator. They draw heavily from dark, jazz-influenced classic prog, like King Crimson and the aforementioned VdGG. Little bits of Middle Eastern music crop up on “Moon Over Ziggurat”, and the two-part “Tower of Silence” features unsettling drone and electronic elements. Though the songs are long, their length feels appropriate. The music is clearly carefully constructed, and no notes are wasted.
As a rule, I don’t review friends’ music, but I’m not above promoting it! I’ve got a couple buddies in Savsatt, and they put out their debut album a few weeks ago. If you’re into atmospheric(-ish) instrumental black metal, check ’em out and maybe buy their record.
Band: Everything Oscillating | Album:The Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are | Genre: Progressive rock | Bandcamp
Everything Oscillating is an instrumental act that focuses on flashy, technical shredding. Two of the three members are the guitarist and bassist for the Seattle-based band Moon Letters, whom I’ve covered a couple times. EO does a great job threading the needle of balancing flashy instrumental antics and engaging songwriting. The best moments here call to mind classic bombastic ‘90s and early ‘00s prog bands like Liquid Tension Experiment and Transatlantic, with a bit more of a classic heavy metal influence. Jazz and Latin flavors are included naturally, and the (abbreviated) instrumental cover of “Achilles’ Last Stand” is done well, too. (I feel like I could write a short essay on my love for the original version of that song, and EO absolutely does it justice here. It’s right up there with “Carouselambra”, “In the Light”, and “The Rain Song” among my favorite Led Zeppelin cuts. (I know, shocker, my favorite Zeppelin songs are all among the band’s longest.))
Score: 79/100
Artist: Peter Gabriel | Album:i/o | Genre: Art pop | Bandcamp
Peter Gabriel’s first new album in 20 years is enjoyable. It’s decent, fairly arty pop with some good melodies and interesting ideas. His vocal performance is strong, and the production is clean, crisp, and professional. Compositionally, though, it doesn’t stand out. Post-rock flavors weave themselves into Gabriel’s usual somewhat-spacey writing style. It’s competent but not particularly memorable. i/o comes in two different mixes: the so-called “bright-side” and “dark-side” mixes. These two mixes are not meaningfully different. Yes, if you listen to each song’s bright and dark version, you can tell them apart, but the differences between the two are insubstantial, surface-level, and borderline-gimmicky. Publications (especially prog-focused ones) that included this on their best-of 2023 lists make me question if they just reflexively put every release from major ‘70s players on their year-end lists, regardless of quality. (In fact, I know several included Yes’s abysmal The Quest on their 2021 lists, so I suppose they do.) If you want some keyboard-forward art-pop to put on in the background, i/o will work, but this album doesn’t leave a lasting impression.
Witch Ripper is one of my favorite local acts from the Seattle scene. They play a heavy, sludgy variety of metal, but it’s shot through with complex melodies and artful subtleties. I’ve seen them live a few times, and they always put on a fantastic show. So if you’re in the Pacific Northwest and you get a chance to see them, I’d strongly recommend the experience.
Despite being around since 2012, the band didn’t put out its first full-length release until 2018. Homestead is a solid album with some great moments. It’s more sludge-with-prog-elements than vice-versa, but it still holds its own. Their new album, The Flight after the Fall, has more explicitly progressive leanings.
The Elite Extremophile 