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.

  • Album of the Week 08-2020: Demons & Wizards – III

    When things went quiet for a decade and a half after the release of their second album ‘Touched By The Crimson King’, I just assumed Demons & Wizards was finished. That would have been understandable, given that Jon Schaffer and Hansi Kürsch are incredibly busy with Iced Earth and Blind…

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  • Album of the Week 04-2020: Rush – A Farewell To Kings

    Late seventies Rush has always had a great reputation among fans of progressive rock and metal. And not without reason. Rush managed to inject all the clever twists and melodic touches that the likes of Genesis and Jethro Tull had into their music without ever losing the heavy, Led Zeppelin-esque…

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  • Album of the Week 49-2019: Catharsis – Svetliy Albom

    Sometimes it baffles me why some bands are bigger than others based on something as trivial as language. Several lower mid-tier power metal bands are drawing decent crowds throughout Europe, while a fantastic band like Catharsis is approached with caution simply because they sing in Russian. Because make no mistake,…

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  • Album of the Week 46-2019: Kinniku Shojo Tai – Love

    Very few bands can claim a second peak so long after their heyday the way Kinniku Shojo Tai does. Ever since reuniting, Kinniku Shojo Tai has been pumping out quality album after quality album, the best of them worthy of being mentioned among their classic work. ‘Love’ is another one…

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  • Album of the Week 45-2019: Tomorrow’s Outlook – A Voice Unheard

    Metal-wise, I feel like Norway has always been known for the wrong bands. Mention the country to any metalhead and the extreme metal scene is usually the first thing that comes to mind, while there is a fairly healthy progressive metal scene in Norway as well. Tomorrow’s Outlook also has…

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  • Album of the Week 43-2019: Ningen Isu – Ogon No Yoake

    ‘Ogon No Yoake’ is the album on which Ningen Isu matured. That may be a dirty word for some rock bands, but Ningen Isu finally realizes its full potential here. Their debut EP and first two albums contained plenty of excellent songs, but also showed that the band wasn’t quite…

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  • Album of the Week 35-2019: Them – Manor Of The Se7en Gables

    On the surface, Them seems like another one of those King Diamond and Mercyful Fate-inspired bands that seemed to pop up everywhere especially around Northern Europe about a decade ago. They even have the aesthetic down better than, say, Attic and Portrait. In fact, Them began existence as a King…

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  • Album of the Week 24-2019: Fates Warning – Inside Out

    ‘Inside Out’ always gets lost in the shuffle between the hyper-accessible ‘Parallels’ and the ultra-proggy monolith that is ‘A Pleasant Shade Of Gray’. Personally, I consider it superior to either of those. Sure, the flat production and the dull cover art really don’t do the songs any justice, but the…

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  • Album of the Week 21-2019: Arch/Matheos – Winter Ethereal

    With Arch/Matheos being active, there are essentially two Fates Warnings, the one actually called Fates Warning being fronted by Ray Alder. Neither are very prolific; they have a combined grand total of four albums this decade. However, all four are excellent, so that should not be a reason to complain.…

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