Towards the end of 2025, metalcore band Ocean Planet shared a brilliantly heavy track ‘Devastate’.By coupling a lot of pneumatic rhythms with a few guitar sounds that leaned further into an old school vibe, the recording took as many cues from the prog metal of bands like Symphony X as the tougher edges of the likes of Killswitch Engage. Whatever label you’d care to pin on their work, however, the recording made it very clear that Ocean Planet meant business, and would be an act to watch out for in 2026.
Tag Archives: prog metal
Watch: Divided By Design share new video for ‘Collapsing Reality’
When it comes to “bringing the riffs”, Divided By Design really don’t mess around. ‘Collapsing Reality’ (taken from the band’s current album ‘Stages To Osiris: Rebirth’) moves through various complex moods, exploring different aspects of very technical progressive metal, providing a brilliant showcase for each of the musicians, but particularly capturing guitarist Liam Stephenson in absolutely blistering form.
Listen: Dust Orchard share epic new single ‘Hours In The Void’
This seven minute track telling “the story of a desperate struggle to survive in a post apocalyptic future” feels particularly pointed at the time of release, at the beginning of 2026. Dropped into the middle of a struggling world, the number finds Finnish prog metallers Dust Orchard in a particularly aggressive and nihilistic mood.
OPHELIA’S EYE – Severance EP
The material on the debut EP from Swiss metallers Ophelia’s Eye (2024’s ‘Catharsis’) was played with the confidence of a band with a much bigger body of work to their name. The five tracks blended thrash, metalcore and a pinch of hardcore in a way that made the band sound utterly unshakeable. A few great influences were shared along the way (it was hard to ignore the tones of classic Machine Head on ‘Stay Close, We’re Dying’, but it was also good to hear a potential love for blessthefall and Lamb of God creeping through on other tracks), but no matter what the influence, the material showcased a band who were clearly superb musicians.
Watch: The Zenith Passage unveil a new video for ‘Fleshbound Reliquary’
The current single from The Zenith Passage, ‘Fleshbound Reliquary’, isn’t big on accessible melodies, but approached from a purely technical perspective, it’s hard to beat. From the outset, the track comes with absolutely brutal rhythmic work, both from a pneumatic drum part and from some insanely heavy muted guitar chords which come together in such a way, they make the sharp prog metal of peak Symphony X seem half-arsed. Add a little hard edged slap bass and a deeper chug and you already have something that’s absolutely brutal before the death metal influenced vocal arrives.