Tag Archives: progressive metal

Sithu Aye – Set Course for Andromeda

by Jeff Nixon

coverHaving not heard much of Sithu Aye’s catalog aside from a couple listens of their Senpai EP last year (which I definitely need to revisit now), I didn’t really know what to expect from their new album Set Course For Andromeda. After listening to it, I now realize I should have been paying more attention to this band, because it blew me away!

The album is split into two discs, the first one, is a collection of songs with no thematic tie to each other, and the second disc is a 29-minute suite about an alien Andromedan, which is … Read more

Haken – Affinity, an Analysis Of

by Jeff Nixon

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I wasn’t introduced to Haken until early 2014 when I discovered their 2013 release The Mountain. I loved that album and immediately listened to the rest of their discography. Later that year, they released their EP Restoration which was an awesome look into their past, re-imagining and re-recording songs from their demo with higher production quality. Now, nearly two years later, we’re graced with a new full-length album called Affinity.

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If you followed Haken’s facebook page closely in January of this year, you might have seen them post a few times about the name and content of the … Read more

The Algorithm – Brute Force

by Daniel Kuburoglu

In today’s world, the modern metal scene finds itself facing an odd paradox of being more diverse and varied than ever before, while also having a notably larger number of puritans than a lot of other music scenes. As such, the word “gimmick” gets thrown around way more than it has any right to be, and with an act like The Algorithm I’d say that finding this label tossed about is pretty much a given. However, with the release of its latest album Brute Force, The Algorithm not only completely dismisses the notion of being merely a “gimmick act” … Read more

Danimal Cannon – Lunaria

by Jeff Nixon

ALBUM ART Lunaria_RGB_1500x1500Danimal Cannon’s 2011 album Roots was one of the albums that got me into chiptune music (although other Ubiktune releases certainly contributed to that as well) and remains one of my favorite albums still. Danimal’s new album Lunaria contains the same familiar upbeat gameboy programmed chiptunes paired with prog metal guitar riffs, but on a whole new level.

What sets this album apart from past Danimal albums is the fact that the songs were composed on guitar first, with the chiptunes composed around those guitar parts. Also new to Lunaria, is the addition of vocals on a few of the … Read more

Divine Realm – Tectum Argenti

by Jeff Nixon

a0104658246_10Divine Realm’s Tectum Argenti is a nice mix of melodic prog and djent with some impressive musicianship. While not as heavy as similar bands like Between the Buried and Me or Animals as Leaders, Divine Realm’s debut album still packs quite a punch.

Fronted by Canadian multi-instrumentalist, Leo Diensthuber, Divine Realm which started out as just a one-man band, grew into a full band before this debut full length album, which came out this week on February 23rd.

The album consists of seven meaty tracks, all between 3 and 5 minutes a piece. Not a second seems wasted though, there … Read more