Tag Archives: concept album

Best of Progressive Rock 2021

by Dæv Tremblay


Progressive rock is one of my great loves, from Yes (the old Yes) to Spock’s Beard to… today’s contenders, I listen to a lot of prog. And, if you’re here, you’re probably like me!

Number Five: The Ranch – Together to Get Here to Get Here Together


That album is good, and I mean, so good! First off, it’s not every day you get to talk about a band from Malta, that little island in the Mediterranean, and I guess it’s even rarer to talk about such an incredible one! With a perfect blend of prog rock and jazz fusion, … Read more

Bushwhacker – A Fistful of Poison

by Matt Matheson

bushwhacker fistful cover

I can’t remember exactly how it happened, but one night I stumbled upon a relatively unknown cluster of Pacific deep-northwest metal bands. They were mostly average in terms of musicianship and appeal, but one act with a couple of singles from a forthcoming album stood above the pack. This band was Bushwhacker, and their since-fully released third album A Fistful of Poison is one of the most creative and polished offerings to come out of any metal scene in recent memory. To call this album “underrated” would be an understatement as big as the Montana sky; at the time … Read more

Hybrid Nightmares – Almagest

by Dæv Tremblay

After their Ages EP tetralogy, Australian progressive black metal band Hybrid Nightmares gaze upwards towards the skies. Almagest is their new conceptual full-length album, and takes you on the journey of the Pilgrim, an unnamed automaton, going to various cosmic spheres in a quest to balance spirituality and reason. Basically, it’s a science-fiction retelling of many classical philosophy concepts. It’s quite rare that black metal bands of that ilk look to the future and out into space, although not unheard of, and Hybrid Nightmares is a strong quintet capable of putting this idea into reality and making it truly enjoyable … Read more

Lost Salt Blood Purges & Boring Bathtimes – Yellow Fog Sword

by Dæv Tremblay

Australian and British entities Lost Salt Blood Purges and Boring Bathtimes have collaborated on a release of massive proportions, elegantly titled Yellow Fog Sword. On this release, Michael Snoxall (Lost Salt Blood Purges) set out to create a novel and its accompanying soundtrack with Oliver Aldridge (Boring Bathtimes), whom he already had made some small collaborations in the past. The original story of Michael ended up as a forty-four-page novelette, illustrated by Ov Exvn Infërnvz. Then, the outline of the music was created, with directions for pacing and events, and the task of coming up with music was handled … Read more