Pete Bailey is a guitarist from Canada, and his debut solo album, Omniscience, is downright butter. The jazz fusion-inspired melodic progressive metal on display is smooth and tasty. The programmed drums is good enough to not be an inconvenience – and it has somewhat become a staple of the solo prog artist -, but I would favour its abandon for the future. Otherwise, the music in there is pretty much flawless! It’s truly an amazing EP from a promising musician, so check it out!

Legend John Zorn has released a new album, quite recently: The Garden of Earthly Delights. It’s unlike anything I’ve heard from him, not that I have listened to his extensive discography, and it basically sounds like spiced-up Canterbury prog. Experimental noise prog, perhaps, would be appropriate, but even then not so much. In short: that album is absolutely terrific, and it’s a must in every avid audiophile library!
Experimental black metal project Skáphe released ‘VII’, which I can only guess is a direct successor of Skáphe², in the Untitled EP. It’s also labeled ‘Extract of the End’, so perhaps this is merely a single from an upcoming The End album. The sole track of the record is a twenty-two-minute hike in rough terrain. If you like unsettling and dissonant atmospheric black metal, this is for you, but you probably already know Skáphe too.
Straight from Amsterdan, Roel Funcken creates some great electronic music. Somewhere between intelligent dance music, glitch, and ambient electronica, there’s Balaklavskiy Prospex. Just a few seconds of the title track (click the play button), and you’ll be sold on this. The rhythm, the harmony, and the structure are very interesting throughout the album. Solid recommendation!
What looks like the cover of a stoner rock band is in fact that of a very talented jazz fusion one: Apollo Suns. The Canadian septet recently released Each Day a Different Sun, comprised of five tracks filled with improvisation and catchy themes – there’s even a rendition of Lalo Schifrin’s sweet 5/4 theme ‘Mission: Impossible’! The percussions bring a subtle world fusion vibe, too, which is neat. The album has an April eighth release date, but all songs are streamable and buyable on bandcamp now!
I’m convinced that Embers is a nostalgia machine. Alter‘s latest album crafts songs that have post-rock, alternative rock, and shoegaze elements to them, with a somewhat low fidelity production, that create – at least for me – a strong sense of déjà entendu, longing, and, well, nostalgia! It’s not because I’ve heard the band before, because I haven’t, so it must be because they remind me of some band that I used to listen to in my teenage years, but I can’t place the finger on it. I really like the emotion and vibe pouring out of this release, so give it a try!

When Icarus Falls‘ upcoming album, Resilience, is coming up for April twenty-first. I had the change to listen to it in full. The forty-two-minute, five-track post-metal album encapsulates the best moments of the band. The songs are very atmospheric, and build-up seamlessly from a seemingly benign start to a powerful and emotional zenith, through repetition and variation. The vocals are few and far between, which is cool because it’s the music that does the most talking, here. Overall, it’s an astonishing album, very solid and captivating!
Parallels is French post-rock one-man project Way of Abyss‘ most recent newcomer. It’s a little over thirty minutes, rather minimalistic, and very atmospheric. While the guitars and keyboard pads soar, the drum and bass rhythm section is restless. It almost sounds like atmospheric djent stripped of guitars, at times, and this is awesome! You also get hints of synthwave through it all, coalescing into a really interesting post-rock experience!
Post-hardcore and post-rock bands Arrowhead and Forever Losing Sleep have released a two-track split, last week. It’s just over fifteen minutes long, and both track are quite amazing in their own right. Both are musically very atmospheric, but their approach differ. Each side is entrancing and a very rewarding listening experience. I just can’t get enough of the back vocals on ‘Woken by the Sun’…