French band Vertex have often been reliable when it comes to a heavy riff, but their current single ‘Leviathan’ really raises the bar in terms of a brilliantly intense sound.
Tag Archives: progressive metal
DIMWIND – The Futility Of Breathing
In 2022, Swedish post metal act Dimwind released what could only be described as a very ambitious recording. The fifteen minute ‘Window Passed’ was presented as half of a split release with black metallers Breaths, and basically acted like an effective CV. During its quarter of an hour, the track moved through heavy riffs in a post rock vein, teased with drone, and even exploded into passages of instrumental black metal. It should have been really challenging, but something within Dimwind’s soundtrack like state ensured that even their heaviest outbursts seemed very natural.
FISSURE OF RIDDLES – The Marble Realm
Four years on from their ‘Nemea’ album, UK progressive sludge merchants Fissure of Riddles make a particularly intensive noise on their 2022 release ‘The Marble Realm’. Four of its six songs take a very long time to sometimes do very little, but for fans of such a slow and oppressive style, that moody and methodical approach to a riff results in the kind of album that’s almost guaranteed to make an impression.
HYDRAFORM – Hydraform EP
For this Colorado based band, there’s more to progressive metal than shamelessly aping the leather trousered tedium of Dream Theater and the hundreds of copyists that have sprung up since the 90s. On this trio of tunes that make up their second release, you’ll find the obvious speedy soloing and obvious posturing, but you’ll also find influences from a post-grunge dirtiness, traces of gothic metal and eventually a love of groove and even melodic death metal. When you glue all of those together, you end up with something that at least half feels progressive, even if it wouldn’t appeal to those who love “prog”.
ZERO FIRE – The Attic Sessions EP
Canadian metal band Zero Fire’s second EP ‘Second Sun’ was packed with great riffs. By creating a brand of melodic metalcore that also included nods to groove metal and contrasted its heaviness with use of clean vocals, it managed to be very broad in appeal. A year on, ‘The Attic Sessions’ offers fans and newcomers a couple of live recordings that demonstrate both extremes of the band’s sound. While a new studio recording would have been preferable – and a full length album better still – this EP has the benefit of giving a premier to a pair of previously unrecorded tracks.