Previously behind the Gentilhomme moniker, the anonymous musician from Quebec City now masterminds Soliloque, on this debut EP, Solution to Solitude. This solo progressive metal project oozes of Plini worship, but there’s more to it than mere imitation. Although the same senses of songcrafting and shiver-inducing melody are present here, Soliloque’s take on the style digs much deeper on the often-forgotten aspect of rhythmical complexity. The opening song, ‘Context’, is the prime example of this; 7/4 morphs into 15/16, to 11/8, and to other peculiar deconstructions of irregular hypermeasures. We truly need more music like this. The whole … Read more

Montréal polyrhythmic deconstructors Bisbâyé have slowly uploaded the songs that now make up Synkronyk since December, and the final result is finally here! They’re the only band I know where I consider having two drummers is a necessity. Their left-right rhythmic eccentricities develop to even more monstrous depths, on this new forty-minute metal slab. Most often, one guitar is tied to one drummer and the two are panned on one side or the other, with the sole bassist doing twice the work to keep up with both timings at once. This creates quasibinaural beats that have a strong power of … Read more

Bryker is the collaborative name of Bryce Butler and Parker Bracken, the two musicians behind this new instrumental progressive metal outfit. Their music fits quite nicely under the progressive metal and djent genera. While the production on Bryker is relatively minimal, everything is clearly heard and sounds good; it’s only slightly less in-your-face than mot modern releases. Overall, it’s a very good debut EP from a band you should keep an eye on!
Ukrainian progressive metal band Edwin Hubble released their debut EP, When I Was Older, on April twelfth. They’re labeled everywhere as a post-rock band, but I … Read more

The experimental sludge metal of Mudbath gloomily shines on their upcoming album, Brine Pool, out on May second. The nearly forty minutes of pain are more than reason enough to listen to the album in isolation, on repeat. The band has a unique sense of melody and harmony that’s dissonant and highly evocative, and doesn’t fall into the clichés of the genre. It’s honestly one of the best album I’ve heard all year.
There is no single available for the current album, so here is one of their previous one.
Mnhm (previously Mannheim) is a progressive noise rock band … Read more

The quality of French avant-garde black metal band Way to End has already been tested with their previous album, Various Shades of Black. Their newest release, Senestre, continues on that slope with forty-five minutes of melodically dissonant black metal filled with intricacies and oddish moments worthy of the genre tag.
Belgian band Vøs released their debut EP, Ran, in late March. The twenty-minute five tracker brings home some electro-djent that camouflages itself with post-hardcore into a result that’s melodic and energetic. This EP is certainly promising for the future of the band and what they can do … Read more