“Abstracted have been a band since 2013, and their long-gestating debut record, 2022’s Atma Conflux, was an effective and varied slab of djenty progressive death metal, marred by tepid production and less-than-stellar clean vocals. More than anything, though, it showed potential as a record brimming with ideas that was so close to being great. With Hiraeth, can the Brazilian group finally unify their influences into something more than the sum of their parts?” Add and Abstract.
“The calendar turns, and what better way to celebrate the coming year than an album that sounds straight out of the late 80s? Austria’s Wildhunt have been slinging out classic thrash/heavy metal since 2011, but have until this year produced only one record: 2016’s Descending. Ten years is a long time to cook up a sophomore record, and Wildhunt via Jawbreaker Records boasts of “a mix of detail-loving, energetic metal and epic song structures” for album number two, Aletheia.”” Tally ho!
“Perhaps more than any other subgenre of metal, prog requires work. Prog metal’s penchant for long, complex compositions can make an entire album feel like a chore, but the genre also dazzles with displays of virtuosic musicianship that prompt repeat listens. Like their 2023 debut, The Grand Enigma, Tiny Miracles is a 70-plus minute opus, comprised of what Sad Serenity describes as ‘6 mostly overlong songs of up to 23 minutes.'” 4/5 in self-insight?
“Since their inception in 2016, New York’s Witnesses have been a fluid entity. A constantly shifting lineup, held together by sole permanent member and mastermind Greg Schwan, where a small collection of artists lend their voices and instrumental talents to the equally shifting sounds of each album—ambient, post-metal, and doom.” Does each shift vary in quality? Come, be witnesses to Witnesses Joy.
“Now here’s a desert island pick if there ever was one… Back in 1994, I discovered The Karelian Isthmus, the 1992 debut album by Finnish death metal upstarts Amorphis, at my local Newbury Comics. Upon hearing that its follow-up was due to drop soon, I played that album front-to-back on numerous occasions in preparation of its arrival, fully expecting a continuation of the debut’s doom/death musical motifs. Instead, the then-quartet added a keyboardist, discovered progressive rock, and took such a musical and lyrical left turn that not only turned heads.” Of olde lakes and timeless music.
“I believe that the words I used when Steel informed me that a new Horseburner album was in the bin were, quote, “About fucking time!” Sure, it’s only been five years since The Thief, and in the grand scheme that’s nothing. I’ve tried on plenty of stoner/sludge/doom groups during that wait (when I wasn’t listening to Conan’s Existential Void Guardian for the zillionth time) but through it all I kept coming back to Horseburner. So as far as I’m concerned, a new Horseburner couldn’t arrive fast enough.” Fast horse or dead horse?
“First things first, that artwork: a hulking antediluvian fish bearing down with spread fins and tangled tentacles on the tiny figure illuminated in the depths. If that doesn’t indicate musical magnitude I don’t know what does. Abyssius, on their debut, self-titled LP, explore the concept of one overcoming the confrontational nature of life’s meaninglessness—just as that behemoth looms, so does the bleak and hollow void.” Fish and nothingness.
“The U.K.’s Final Coil have once, twice graced these halls under the watchful gaze of our benevolent taskmaster Steel. But his eyes are all denim and leather these days, leaving me to find the band’s latest The World We Inherited languishing in the Dry January promo sump. Blending post and prog metal with a healthy dose of grunge, it’s been four years since they dropped their last LP, The World We Left Behind for Others. Unsurprisingly this 2024 release is connected to its predecessors, the third and final piece in the band’s “Persistence” triptych. Concept-driven albums are natural draws for this reviewer, an excellent choice for ushering in the new year.” Triple Coil points!
“There is something familiar and charming about what Green Lung do and do so well. Blending the likes of Sabbath, Jethro Tull, Boston and more, the band harks back to an earlier time and, on Black Harvest, managed to do that with their own voice. However, there are lots of other things I can reach to for comfort and familiarity, perhaps explaining why I haven’t reached for Black Harvest until thinking about this review. What staying power does This Heathen Land have?” Of Lungs and lands.
“When it comes to selecting promo, the easiest way into my heart is through a vibrant, colorful piece of album artwork. Australian progressive metal quartet Hemina apparently knew this, as the artwork for fifth outing Romancing the Ether pops with its Lisa-Frank-edition-of-Journey cover. After acquiring reviewing rights from our esteemed GardensTale, I jumped right in, excited to hear what adventurous music lay just beyond that psychedelic veil.” Color is the key.
