The sound of the third Godsticks album came as a bit of a surprise. At some point between the release of their second album ‘The Envisage Conundrum’ and the writing of 2015’s ‘Emergence’, things took a heavier turn. It wasn’t necessarily for the better. What had once been a fairly inventive prog band with a few harder moments was now a full on prog metal band. The lion’s share of ‘Emergence’ was rather…dull. Still, some fans seemed to take to the more aggressive sound and it undoubtedly attracted a few new ears. For better or worse, at least this was a prog band actually progressing.
Tag Archives: prog metal
Grab a new label sampler from Bad Elephant Music!
One of the UK’s most adventurous independent labels, Bad Elephant Music, have a Christmas gift for you.
They’ve just issued a new downloadable sampler for 2019, bringing together tracks from many of their best bands.
ASTROSAUR – Obscuroscope
With a name like Astrosaur, you’d half expect this Norwegian trio to be a full on doom metal band. Appearances can deceive, of course, and their 2019 release ‘Obscuroscope’ is nothing of the sort. Its six pieces of music are lengthy and complex; there are elements of trippy space rock and a few stoner-ish tropes, but in the main, the release delves deep into a world of complex post rock and post/progressive metal sounds that should appeal to prog fans who like things at the heavier end of the scale.
“The public perceives metal and academia as rivals” reads the Astrosaur website, somewhat pompously. Whether that’s true of not, at least half of their second album would’ve benefit from far less musical academia and far more actual tunes. With Astrosaur’s brand of prog, it really is all about the flashy self-indulgence…and for anyone whom isn’t actually a musician, this works hugely towards the album’s detriment.
BECOMING THE LION – Ghosts Of A Fallen Solder 2018
Becoming The Lion was originally conceived as an instrumental vehicle for one man’s musical talents. That man, Ross Blomgren self-released ‘Ghosts of a Fallen Soldier’ in 2010. A recording which explored various post-rock and alternative-based moods, it showed off some great musical ideas, despite a few elements that gave away its low budget origins. Most of the music veered towards a solid post-rock sound, but an over-reliance on drum programming and droning keys, in the main, meant things didn’t always turn out quite as well as they could have. Over the next few years, Blomgren released further albums, often opting for a more metal oriented sound and sometimes aiming his music at more of a progressive metal loving audience; each one a step further towards the great record that Blomgren was so clearly capable of making.
IN TENEBRIZ – Winternight Poetry
In Tenebriz is one of Russia’s more adventurous extreme metal bands. Rather than just settle for plain old black or death metal, their previous releases have fused black metal elements with bits of drone rock and post-metal, lending an almost cinematic feel to their work. Their 2018 release ‘Winternight Poetry’ is arguably their most adventurous, presenting a seven chapter half hour suite telling the story of Kai, whom upon visiting the kingdom of the Snow Queen, is taken prisoner and forever trapped in a world of permafrost. You wouldn’t know that unless you were told, since – as always with things from a black/extreme metal perspective – the lyrics are hard to grasp without the aid of the written word. For most listeners, it’ll be down to the music to do the talking…and luckily, this release features some great sounds and arrangements, befitting of such a brave piece of conceptual and progressive metal.