Progressive Metal Reviews
Although I have a somewhat conflicted relationship with the progressive metal genre, the bands that tackle the style well tend to do so exceptionally well. If you like your time signatures odd and often changing, your song structures unpredictable, your chords and harmonies sophisticated, and your songs long, make sure to check up on Kevy Metal’s progressive metal reviews from time to time. You can find all my progressive metal Album of the Week reviews right here.
However, I did not start properly tagging my reviews until a couple of years in. If you are looking for something that doesn’t show up, it might still be there. I recommend using the search bar at the bottom of the page if you are looking for something specific.
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Album of the Week 39-2017: Galneryus – Ultimate Sacrifice
A new Galneryus album is always something to look forward to, even though it seemed highly unlikely that they would exceed the quality of ‘Under The Force Of Courage’. Unlikely, but not impossible, as ‘Ultimate Sacrifice’ proves. The record is a continuation of the concept on its predecessor, but it…
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Album of the Week 30-2017: Fatima Hill – Aion
Progressive metal is at its best when it is not a vehicle for virtuosity. The bands who favor atomosphere and interesting compositions instead of showing off their instrumental skills are relatively limited in number, but they exist. Fatima Hill from Japan was one of those bands. Compared to other prog…
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Album of the Week 26-2017: Ningen Isu – Kaidan Soshite Shi To Eros
Ningen Isu is the best seventies power trio that is not actually from the seventies. Despite starting out in 1987, their brand of heavily Black Sabbath-inspired, yet progressively tinged metal would have fit the same bill as Rush and Budgie in the mid-seventies. While the band has recorded some excellent…
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Album of the Week 25-2017: Mastodon – Emperor Of Sand
Out of all popular contemporary metal bands, Mastodon is the only one I can get behind. I respect how little they care about genre boundaries or belonging to a certain scene. From day one, they have chosen their own path and there is always a possibility that a new album…
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Album of the Week 22-2017: Onmyo-za – Karyo-Binga
Released hot on the heels of the impressive diptych of ‘Fuujin Kaikou‘ and ‘Raijin Sousei’, it is something of a miracle that Onmyo-za still had enough inspiration left to write another excellent album. In fact, it is even better than the latter. ‘Karyo-Binga’ sounds manages to sound familiar and fresh…
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Album of the Week 16-2017: Labÿrinth – Architecture Of A God
Despite their distinctly Italian power metal sound, Labÿrinth was a pretty unique band in the country’s mid-nineties metal scene. They shared their countrymen’s melodic sensibilities, tendency towards higher tempos and somewhat symphonic approach, but also had an uncommonly romantic vibe for a metal band. However, not long after founding guitarist…
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Album of the Week 15-2017: God Forbid – Earthsblood
God Forbid’s last album with their original line-up – and penultimate altogether – was the record on which they truly outdid themselves. In quite a litteral sense too. Starting out as a musically tight, but not particularly surprising metalcore band, the quintet gradually evolved into an excellent contemporary heavy metal…
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Album of the Week 14-2017: Onmyo-za – Kishibojin
Concept albums can be a tricky affair, but when done right, their atmosphere and continuity lifts everything about the albums in question to a higher level. Take Onmyo-za’s ‘Kishibojin’. It’s one of those albums that leaves very little to be desired and therefore is almost impossible to turn off before…
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Album of the Week 13-2017: Wicked Mystic – Lithium
Sometimes unexpected breakups inadvertently mean that bands go out while they’re at their peaks. Yours truly was thoroughly impressed with Wicked Mystic’s sophomore album ‘Lithium’, but before they could properly promote the record, the band had already broken up. And that means that outside of the Netherlands, not many people…
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