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TECH/EXTREME PROG METAL

A Progressive Rock Sub-genre


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Tech/Extreme Prog Metal definition

This category lists technical Progressive Metal bands that have roots in Extreme Metal or that are strongly influenced by it. The style developed by the end of the 80s in the Thrash Metal scene when a number of bands stretched the boundaries of their sound by including elements from Progressive Rock. Death Metal followed a similar path in the 90s and by the 2000s, also Black Metal and Metalcore saw an increasing amount of bands taking in Prog influences.

Certain bands like EPHEL DUATH and UNEXPECT developed a style that largely abandoned their extreme metal heritage in favour of a highly eclectic jazz-influenced Avant Metal style. These bands are listed under Experimental Metal.


Progressive Thrash Metal
By the end of the 80s Thrash Metal had diversified its sound significantly to an extent where the originally very direct and uncompromisingly aggressive style had become more sophisticated, boasting challenging technical skills and ambitious song structures frequently surpassing the 6 minute mark. The best known examples are METALLICA and MEGADETH.

The bands listed in this section went one step further and embraced notable influences from Progressive Rock, replacing much of the typical Thrash Metal riffs and rhythms with a more progressive and melodic riffing style, influenced by KING CRIMSON and RUSH. The most well-known of these early bands was VOIVOD, who also brought the early psychedelic sound of PINK FLOYD into their unique mold. Important pioneering albums were released by WATCHTOWER, CORONER, MEKONG DELTA, as well as the debut album of SIEGES SEVEN.
More recent examples of Progressive Thrash are SPIRAL ARCHITECT and VEKTOR


Progressive Death Metal
Death Metal further built on the sound of the most extreme bands of the Thrash scene. Next to the brutal sound, blast beat drumming, complex song structures and multiple tempo changes, the most notorious feature of the style is probably the growled vocals. Death Metal is generally highly technical, making the dividing line between Technical Death Metal and Progressive Death Metal sometimes rather faint.

The bands considered for Prog Archives are those that show significant influences from Progressive Rock and/or Fusion. One of the landmarks in the style is "Elements" from ATHEIST, who mixed their hyper-technical Speed Metal with fusion. Other early albums include "Focus" from CYNIC and "Spheres" from PESTILENCE, where progressive riffing, polymetrics, fusion influences and atmospheric keyboards complemented their brutal Death Metal. Also DEATH, the popular founder of Death Metal, incorporated fusion and progressive elements on their later albums.

A different flavour of Progressive Death Metal came from the European continent, when half-way into the 90s leading death and doom-death bands started expanding their basic metal sound. The most significant album relevant to this section is "Crimson" from EDGE OF SANITY. In typical Scandinavian fashion, their epic approach wasn't fusion oriented but less technical and more melodic, introducing the now typical alteration between brutal Death sections and more melodic breaks with clean vocals; an approach perfected in the next decade by OPETH.


Progressive Black Metal
Unlike Thrash and Death metal, Black Metal is not a technical genre. Originally it was even purposely non-technical and low-fi. By the end of the 90s the genre had developed into various sub-styles, of which some incorporated elements from progressive music.
The bands listed in this section are Black Metal bands that traded the minimalism of Black Metal for a more progressive, technical or experimental approach. This distinguishes them from the Black Metal bands that fleshed out their sound with either post-rock and/or shoegaze influences. Those are listed under Experimental/Post Metal.

One of the earliest and best known example of this style is ENSLAVED, who maintained the harsh atmosphere and aggression of classic Black Metal but extended this with a more textured psychedelic sound, chromatic riffing and odd time-signatures, citing influences from PINK FLOYD, VOIVOD and KING CRIMSON. Also IHSAHN, front-man of EMPEROR, should be mentioned here.

Most artists in this section are Symphonic Black Metal-oriented bands with progressive and experimental influences, but without fully crossing over to either Prog or Avant Metal as they remain oppressively dark, harsh, often dissonant and inaccessible. Their strong ties to Black Metal is why they are featured under Tech/Extreme Prog Metal and not in Avant Prog Metal. Examples are DEATHSPELL OMEGA, MOONSORROW, NEGURA BUNGET and the slightly more accessible theatrical Symphonic Black Metal of ARCTURUS.


Modern Phase
In the 2000s trends became more diffuse, introducing bands that had some of their stylistic features in common with the extreme metal genres without fully belonging in any of them. Some of them continued the strong fusion element and hyper-technical approach from ATHEIST and CYNIC. Instrumental acts such a as EXIVIOUS, CANVAS SOLARIS and BLOTTED SCIENCE received lots of critical acclaim from progressive metal fans.

A new trend was set by MESHUGGAH, one of the most defining bands of this era. At the end of the 90s their eclectic mix of Death, Thrash, Avant, Fusion and Prog laid down the groundrules of Extreme Metal for the next decade. Another well known band to take a similar eclectic approach to Extreme Metal was GOJIRA.
In the second half of the 2000's, many young bands copied MESHUGGAH's guitar tone and rhythmical riffing style, giving rise to the so-called 'djent' movement. Many of these bands belong in Tech/Extreme, such as ANIMALS AS LEADERS, CHIMP SPANNER etc.


Progressive Metalcore
The second half of the 2000s also saw the rise of a new generation of Progressive Tech/Extreme acts with roots that lay in Metalcore, Mathcore and Technical Sludge, rather then the 'classic' Extreme Metal genres. Their music is inherently technical and complex and has quite a number of formal features in common with Progressive Metal such as odd time signatures and non-standard song formats.
Prog Archives only lists these bands that go beyond the default expectations of the genre and bring in distinct non-extreme Prog influences. Some of the most eye-catching bands in this area are BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME, PROTEST THE HERO, BURST, DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN and MASTODON.


--- Definition by Karl and the Progressive Metal Team, January 2012 ---

The Progressive Metal Team are: (9/10/2023)
Gordy
Cristi
Sebastian (Kempokid)
Brendan (Necrotica)

Tech/Extreme Prog Metal Top Albums


Showing only studios | Based on members ratings & PA algorithm* | Show Top 100 Tech/Extreme Prog Metal | More Top Prog lists and filters

4.30 | 1906 ratings
STILL LIFE
Opeth
4.29 | 1985 ratings
BLACKWATER PARK
Opeth
4.28 | 1857 ratings
GHOST REVERIES
Opeth
4.28 | 705 ratings
SYMBOLIC
Death
4.31 | 281 ratings
DIMENSION HATROSS
Voivod
4.30 | 275 ratings
THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
Opeth
4.26 | 568 ratings
CRIMSON
Edge Of Sanity
4.26 | 562 ratings
THE SOUND OF PERSEVERANCE
Death
4.30 | 273 ratings
OBSCURA
Gorguts
4.24 | 378 ratings
NOTHINGFACE
Voivod
4.21 | 488 ratings
HUMAN
Death
4.21 | 394 ratings
UNQUESTIONABLE PRESENCE
Atheist
4.19 | 583 ratings
TRACED IN AIR
Cynic
4.16 | 1331 ratings
PALE COMMUNION
Opeth
4.17 | 469 ratings
TALL POPPY SYNDROME
Leprous
4.18 | 381 ratings
THE PARALLAX II - FUTURE SEQUENCE
Between The Buried And Me
4.16 | 618 ratings
FOCUS
Cynic
4.15 | 742 ratings
CRACK THE SKYE
Mastodon
4.42 | 66 ratings
NESPITHE
Demilich
4.16 | 403 ratings
INDIVIDUAL THOUGHT PATTERNS
Death
4.18 | 284 ratings
THE WAY OF ALL FLESH
Gojira

Tech/Extreme Prog Metal overlooked and obscure gems albums new


Random 3 (reload page for new list) | As selected by the Tech/Extreme Prog Metal experts team

CORTICAL TECTONICS
Canvas Solaris
SILHOUETTES
Textures
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Kobong

Latest Tech/Extreme Prog Metal Music Reviews


 A Sonication by OBSCURA album cover Studio Album, 2025
2.96 | 7 ratings

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A Sonication
Obscura Tech/Extreme Prog Metal

Review by UMUR
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars "A Sonication" is the seventh full-length studio album by German death metal act Obscura. The album was released through Nuclear Blast in February 2025. It´s the successor to "A Valediction" from 2021. Only lead vocalist/guitarist (and band founder) Steffen Kummerer remains from the lineup who recorded the predecessor. "A Sonication" was released in the midst of a storm of controversy regarding the songwriting credits, as some former members of the band accused Kummerer of using parts they had written. Parts which according to them, Kummerer had promised to remove from the compositions.

Songwriting controversy or not, Obscura sound more or less like they have done since the release of their second album "Cosmogenesis" (2009). Technical death metal with a progressive edge, influenced by 80s/90s death metal acts like Death and Pestilence (the technical death metal albums by those artists) albeit appearing in a more contemporary skin and sound. Obscura have lifted the foot from the technical playing pedal though, and "A Sonication" overall sounds a bit more straight forward than what Obscura have released since "Cosmogenesis", although "A Valediction" also leaned that way. There are a lot of melodic death metal tendencies here too, and although Obscura have always been quite a melodic inclined technical/progressive metal act, they have increased the melodic death metal elements on "A Sonication". The vocals as usual vary between snarling raw vocals and deeper growling. There are occasionally some raw shouting and slightly more melodic tinged singing on the album too.

Although the material on the 8 tracks, 39:07 minutes long album is overall well written and the album features high level musicianship and a crisp, sharp, and detailed sound production, it´s still like something isn´t right. Obscura sound a bit tame and uninspired and "A Sonication" is an album lacking fire and passion. For a death metal release this is pretty limb, and although no one should ever expect to hear Suffocation or Cannibal Corpse brutality on an Obscura album, a bit more bite and intensity wouldn´t have hurt. It´s not a bad quality release, but it does sound a little sterile and lacking in energy. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is still deserved, but this seems like a crossroads for Obscura, and It´ll be interesting to see where they go from here.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

 Entheogenic Frequencies by AGHORA album cover Studio Album, 2019
3.07 | 9 ratings

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Entheogenic Frequencies
Aghora Tech/Extreme Prog Metal

Review by UMUR
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars "Entheogenic Frequencies" is the third full-length studio album by US progressive metal act Aghora. The album was independently released in December 2019. It´s the successor to "Formless" from 2006, so it´s been quite a few years since we´ve last heard from Aghora. Guitarist Santiago Dobles and bassist Alan Goldstein remain from the lineup who recorded the predecessor, while drummer Giann Rubio has been replaced by Matt Thompson (King Diamond, Imagika...etc.). Lead vocalist Diana Serra has left and has not been replaced, and as a result the music on "Entheogenic Frequencies" is fully instrumental.

Changing from an act featuring a vocalist to playing fully instrumental music would be a major change for most artists but Aghora already played a music style on their previous releases, which could well have worked without the vocals. In fact the vocals were often a distraction and felt like an afterthought on the preceding albums, so the lack of vocals on "Entheogenic Frequencies" is to my ears a bit of a blessing.

The jazz/fusion/world music influenced technical/progressive metal style of the preceding releases is continued in all other departments, and Aghora are still an incredibly well playing band. Thompson surprises me here, as I´m only familiar with his playing from the King Diamond albums he plays on and the King Diamond concerts I´ve attended through the years, and I´ve always felt that he had a stiff, unimaginative, and sligthly tedious playing style which held King Diamond´s music back, but his playing on "Entheogenic Frequencies" has given me another view on his abilities and the dynamics of King Diamond as a band (clearly Thomson just plays what he is told, and is not allowed much imput and creative playing), because this guy can play and there´s nothing wrong with the creativity and power of his playing. In fact the playing from all involved is amazing.

"Entheogenic Frequencies" features a detailed and well sounding production job too, so upon conclusion it´s a good quality release from Aghora and fans of artists like Cynic and the related Portal should find lots to appreciate here. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

 A Complex of Cages by BARREN EARTH album cover Studio Album, 2018
3.86 | 25 ratings

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A Complex of Cages
Barren Earth Tech/Extreme Prog Metal

Review by UMUR
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars "A Complex Of Cages" is the fourth full-length studio album by death/doom metal act Barren Earth. The album was released through Century Media Records in March 2018, almost to the day three years down the line from the release of Barren Earth´s third full-length studio album "On Lonely Towers" from March 2015. There has been one lineup change since "On Lonely Towers" as keyboard player and founding member Kasper Mårtenson has left and has been replaced by Antti Myllynen.

Stylistically the change on the keyboard player position hasn´t meant much for the overall sound of Barren Earth (and that´s despite Mårtenson being one of the main composers of the band on the past releases), as the material on "A Complex Of Cages" is a continuation of the progressive death/doom metal sound of the band´s past releases. Opeth is the most valid and immediate reference point, as Barren Earth have a similar love for 70s progressive rock and the occasional nod or two towards ethnic Scandinavian folk, but Barren Earth still have a sound of their own with more melodic death metal leanings and more use of keyboards. Faroe Island born lead vocalist Jón Aldará has a commanding brutal growl but he also sings a lot of semi-operatic clean vocals throughout the album, and to my ears his vocals are now a much more integrated part of the band´s sound, compared to the way they worked with the music on "On Lonely Towers". This probabaly has something to do with the fact that Aldará wrote almost all lyrics on "A Complex Of Cages" and also contributed vocal melodies to a lot of the material.

So, this more collaborative approach to the songwriting (while bassist Olli-Pekka Laine is still the main composer, some of the other band members picked up the torch after Mårtenson left, and has also contributed material) has paid off and "A Complex Of Cages" features memorable and effective songwriting which is both heavy and brutal, but also sophisticated and clever. Add to that a powerful, organic, and detailed sound production, and some high quality musicianship, and "A Complex Of Cages" is as a result a high quality progressive death/doom metal release. A 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

 Aphelion by LEPROUS album cover Studio Album, 2021
3.70 | 183 ratings

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Aphelion
Leprous Tech/Extreme Prog Metal

Review by A Crimson Mellotron
Prog Reviewer

4 stars In concordance with the stylistic lineage of recent Leprous albums, 'Aphelion' from 2021 eventually represents an exercise in mastery of the musical musings of preceding studio effort 'Pitfalls' - an experimental, moody post-progressive sound that dares to invoke an electronic pop sensibility and render the Norwegian band's very own branch of "slow storm build-up" heavy rock into a fascinating and eclectic experience of music that only seemingly utilizes the means of expression of the metal genre, but in reality takes the material a step further, veering into some uncharted territories, that is without a doubt the case here. One might as well make the point that there is little variation in the band's output since their fifth album 'Malina' came out in 2017, but each LP feels like a fervorous step forward in the exploration of previously unheard of before soundscapes, with the band melting together a myriad of styles and tropes within their pot.

'Aphelion' is no exception from the rule, yet it is one of the most consistent and coherent listens out of the entire recent catalogue, with its cinematic soundscape and moody passageways, there is a smoothness to the album that is perhaps counteracted by its labyrinthian instrumentation, giving way to the impressive vocal work of band leader Einar Solberg, as we observe him getting better with each new Leprous album. There is a familiar feel to 'Aphelion' but also a warmth that makes it immediately appealing. Starting off rather impressively with explosive and miraculously beautiful tracks like 'Running Low', 'Out of Here', and 'All the Moments', there is a clear tone of pensive melancholy to this work, all while the band provides the soundtrack to a rather exploratory musical odyssey, from the sweeping guitars and the pitch-perfect drum patterns to the orchestral bits and the ambient waves of synthesizer sounds. It seems like Leprous are still stronger when it comes to the heavier department of their music ('The Silent Revelation', 'Nighttime Disguise'), with the gorgeous crossover pop-metal numbers on this album, while the more forgettable pieces of music are represented by these structure-less and ghostly songs in the second half, 'The Shadow Side', 'On Hold', and to an extent 'Castaway Angels'. Still, a really solid work, 'Aphelion' is yet another excellently-crafted album by Leprous.

 Illusive Golden Age by AUGURY album cover Studio Album, 2018
3.48 | 12 ratings

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Illusive Golden Age
Augury Tech/Extreme Prog Metal

Review by UMUR
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars "Illusive Golden Age" is the third full-length studio album by Canadian, Quebec based technical/progressive death metal act Augury. The album was released through The Artisan Era in March 2018. It´s the successor to "Fragmentary Evidence" from 2009. There has been one lineup change since "Fragmentary Evidence" as drummer Étienne Gallo has been replaced by Antoine Baril.

Stylistically the material on "Illusive Golden Age" is a continuation of the technical/progressive death metal style of "Fragmentary Evidence". Augury are still an incredibly well playing unit and they pull out one powerful technical death metal riff and drum part after another, and Dominic "Forest" Lapointe´s fretless bass playing also gets the occasional spotlight. The vocals are quite brutal, shifting between deep unintelligible growling and higher pitched blackened screaming, and there are occasionally other types of vocals used in the music too. The opening title track for example features some semi-melodic shouting raw vocals.

Although "Illusive Golden Age" features a lot of challenging and sophisticated parts, one of the great assets of Augury is that they never loose their extreme metal credibility or brutality. They are arguably in the more polished end of the death metal spectrum, but there is still an aggressive and brutal edge to their music (as well as unpredictable chaotic atmospheres), which prevent "Illusive Golden Age" from becoming a sterile and powerless exercise in technical/progressive wankery. So, this is an album where you can simoultaniously drop your jaw and bang your head. An achievement Lapointe´s former bandmates in Beyond Creation for example didn´t pull off on the contemporary "Algorythm" (2018) album.

Augury have been among the elite technical/progressive death metal artists since the release of their debut full-length studio album "Concealed" in 2004, and just as they did on "Fragmentary Evidence", they continue that trend on "Illusive Golden Age", which is another powerful, sophisticated, but still brutal and intense death metal release. A 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

 Agony by FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE album cover Studio Album, 2011
3.82 | 29 ratings

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Agony
Fleshgod Apocalypse Tech/Extreme Prog Metal

Review by A Crimson Mellotron
Prog Reviewer

2 stars 'Agony' is the second studio album by Italian symphonic death metal band Fleshgod Apocalypse, released in 2011 through fames German record label Nuclear Blast, and generally expanding upon the stylistic pursuits of earlier releases by the band originally coming from the city of Perugia. Bookmarked by shorter instrumental opening and closing pieces, there are eight songs in total making up the contents of this rather messy work, blending together the two seemingly opposite worlds of symphonic music and brutal death metal, an amalgamation of genres that is incredibly difficult to pull off, with some bands succeeding at it being Greek act Septicflesh and Finnish band Children of Bodom. Unfortunately, 'Agony', amidst all of the praise received over the years, is an album that is as unlistenable as it is bold and ambitious.

Generally consisting of fast-paced death metal songs with orchestral samples running in the background, the guitar riffs are hardly discernible in the final mix, and the listener might have severe difficulty in unearthing any of them, completely lost among the unnecessary and overblown use of symphonic elements and the scorchingly fast drumming (the overusing of blast beats does not help either), mechanical and all over the place, completely lacking any liveliness or musicality. Just crass and insensitive heaviness prevailing all over the place, hardly working together with the orchestral samples, ultimately hindered even further by the weak vocals, and this goes both for the harsh death metal growls (not particularly noteworthy in the context of the genre), and for the high-pitched semi-operatic clean vocals, entirely below par and uninteresting. Don't get me wrong, all the elements of a fine symphonic death metal album seem to be there, it is just that the execution of it all that is really poor, with most of the songs being virtually buried under the overtones of tremolo-picked guitars strumming that one chord, the indulgent use of orchestration and the extremely fast-paced drums, produced rather artificially. Still, among all the critical aspects, songs like 'The Deceit', 'The Egoism', and the title track, manage to present a better view of the aims of this record, butchered by the overall approach of the band and their production team.

 Algorythm by BEYOND CREATION album cover Studio Album, 2018
3.64 | 17 ratings

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Algorythm
Beyond Creation Tech/Extreme Prog Metal

Review by UMUR
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars "Algorythm" is the third full-length studio album by Canadian, Quebec based technical/progressive death metal act Beyond Creation. The album was released through Season of Mist in October 2018. It´s the successor to "Earthborn Evolution" from 2014. There´s been one lineup change since the release of "Earthborn Evolution" as bassist Dominic Lapointe has left and has been replaced by Hugo Doyon-Karout. Lapointe is a pretty prolific musician on the Quebec music scene having been a member of/or is still a member of acts like Atheretic, Augury, and First Fragment, making an audible impact with his fretless bass playing, so it´s big shoes Doyon-Karout has to fill.

Stylistically Beyond Creation continues the high energy technical death metal style with progressive songwriting ideas of the last couple of albums. The fretless bass provides the music with an audible bass presence and a fluid organic flow. "Algorythm" is in most other ways not organic at all. It´s actually a pretty sterile sounding release and the mellow excursions into jazz/fusion and progressive rock/metal territories do nothing to change that perception of the music. Beyond Creation are incredibly well playing and perform many virtuosic guitar riffs- and leads, the above mentioned technical fretless bass playing, a technical drumming attack, and vocals which shift between deep growling and higher pitched screaming/snarling. To my ears the most valid reference is Obscura, but the aforementioned Augury is another.

The sound production is massive, layered, and detailed, but I´m not blown away by the sound, which for all its well sounding qualities ends up presenting the music in a slightly powerless fashion. So upon conclusion "Algorythm" is a bit more shallow in the songwriting- and in the performance deparments than the band´s earlier releases and paired with a sound production which doesn´t provide the music with the needed boost of power, "Algorythm" ultimately comes off a less accomplished release than the preceding albums from Beyond Creation. It´s still a good quality technical/progressive death metal release, but it´s not exactly among the elite albums of the genre. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

 Recontinue by ALARUM album cover Studio Album, 2024
3.95 | 2 ratings

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Recontinue
Alarum Tech/Extreme Prog Metal

Review by UMUR
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars "Recontinue" is the fifth full-length studio album by Australian technical/progressive metal act Alarum. The album was independently released in November 2024. It´s the successor to "Circle's End" from 2020 and the trio lineup who recorded "Circle's End" have now been joined by drummer Jared Roberts, making Alarum a quartet on "Recontinue". Session guitarist Ryan Williams (Aeon of Horus) performs leads on the songs "Introspective", "Imperative", and "Zero Nine Thirty".

Opening with a melodic jazz/fusion influenced progressive metal instrumental in "Introspective" and then segueing into a technical/progressive death/thrash metal track like "Imperative"...yup it´s Alarum alright. Powerful, melodic, and intriguing technical/progressive metal with death/thrash metal brutality. Alarum still excel in the dynamics of shifting between melodic jazz/fusion influenced progressive sections and more staight forward technical death/thrash metal. It´s one of the great strengths of Alarum how well they make the different elements of their sound naturally flow together. You don´t question the relevance of a an atmospheric jazzy fusion part in the middle of a death/thrash metal dominated song (or visa versa). Alarum combine the two styles in a seamless manner.

If I have to compare "Recontinue" to "Circle's End" I´d say that the death/thrash metal parts of the band´s music have become slightly more punchy and straight forward, but then again Alarum have lost none of their progressive mindset, so in many ways "Recontinue" is just the natural continuation of the music style found on "Circle's End". The quality of the songwriting, the performances, and the sound production values are just as high as on the preceding album, so upon conclusion "Recontinue" is yet another high quality release from Alarum and a 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

 Circle's End by ALARUM album cover Studio Album, 2020
4.00 | 1 ratings

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Circle's End
Alarum Tech/Extreme Prog Metal

Review by UMUR
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

— First review of this album —
4 stars "Circle's End" is the fourth full-length studio album by Australian technical/progressive metal act Alarum. The album was released through Dinner for Wolves in June 2020. It´s the successor to "Natural Causes" from 2011. Only lead vocalist/bassist Mark Palfreyman remains from the lineup who recorded "Natural Causes" and new in the lineup are Scott Young (guitars, backing vocals keyboards) and John Sanders (guitars, vocals, backing vocals, keyboards). The drums are performed by session musician Ben Hocking (The Levitation Hex, Aeon of Horus).

Stylistically the material on the 10 tracks, 46:08 minutes long album is a continuation of the technical/progressive death/thrash metal style of "Natural Causes". The difference between the two albums are that Palfreyman delivers his vocals in a slightly more aggressive shouting manner (there are also sporadic male clean vocals on the album and very shortly a female clean vocal section on "Crystals") and that the sound production on "Circle's End" is more powerful, heavy, and massive than the slightly less effectful sound production found on "Natural Causes". It´s a big plus in my book to hear Alarum´s music presented like this. To my ears the semi-jazzy death/thrash/progressive metal of Cynic is a big influence on Alarum, but Alarum generally go for a more straight forward and easily accessible sound.

So, although this is certainly a both technically well played and progressive tinged metal release, the song structures are predominantly relatively simple and easy to follow, and there is an almost instant gratification listening to the music. "Simple to follow" shouldn´t be misunderstood as if the music is primitive though, as it´s still quite intriguing and technically well played music. It´s also quite as eclectic in style and "Circle's End" is overall pretty varied and the tracklist is well thought out.

Upon conclusion "Circle's End" is a high quality release from Alarum and to my ears an improvement over the already great "Natural Causes". Alarum deserve much more attention than they probably receive, and I can highly recommend fans of Cynic and other similar melodic semi-jazz/fusion influenced death/thrash metal acts to check out "Circle's End" as a starting place to get to know Alarum. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

 Kinship by IOTUNN album cover Studio Album, 2024
4.17 | 17 ratings

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Kinship
Iotunn Tech/Extreme Prog Metal

Review by UMUR
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars "Kinship" is the second full-length studio album by Danish metal act Iotunn. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in October 2024. It´s the successor to "Access All Worlds" from 2021. There have been no lineup changes since the predecessor. Iotunn formed in Copenhagen in 2015 and released the promising "The Wizard Falls" EP in 2016 and with the release of "Access All Worlds" they started making headlines.

Stylistically the material on "Kinship" is a natural successor to the material featured on "Access All Worlds". Progressive/power metal combined with both death, black, folk, and even doom metal elements, and all delivered in an epic and atmospheric package (it´s one of the better combinations of melodic tinged metal and extreme metal I´ve heard in a while). Lead vocalist Jón Aldará (Barren Earth, Hamferð) performs both epic clean semi-operatic vocals (both low end and high end cleans), death metal growling, and black metal snarling, and as a result the vocal part of the album is quite varied. The material on the 8 tracks, 68:23 minutes long album is both eclectic in style, epic in sound, but also powerful, heavy, and massive. It´s relatively polished, but still with enough rawness to pack a punch when that is needed. Other than the paatos filled and skilled vocal performance, one of the other great assets of "Kinship" is the harmony- and lead guitar work of the two Gräs brothers, Jens and Jesper. The album is loaded with soaring epic leads that´ll have you picture great mountains and beautiful valleys, fantasy castles and dark wizards. The scope of the music is almost cinematic in nature.

"Kinship" features a high quality production job courtesy of prolific Danish producer Jacob Hansen. This is a perfect sound production for this type of music. As mentioned above the sound is relatively polished and you can hear all details clearly in the mix, but there is still bite and rawness enough for this never to become a sterile listening experience. Combined with the intriguing, sophisticated, and powerful songwriting, and the high level musical performances, this results in a high quality sophomore studio album from Iotunn. A 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

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Tech/Extreme Prog Metal bands/artists list

Bands/Artists Country
1980 France
7TH NEMESIS France
A.I.(D) France
ABIGOR Austria
ABNORMAL THOUGHT PATTERNS United States
ABORYM Italy
ABSCONDITUS France
ABSORBED Spain
ACAUSAL INTRUSION United States
ACHOKARLOS Spain
ACID DEATH Greece
ACOLYTE United Kingdom
ACRIMÖNIA Poland
ACROSS THE SUN United States
AD NAUSEAM Italy
ADEIA Netherlands
THE ADVENT EQUATION Mexico
AEOLIA United States
AEON OF HORUS Australia
AERODYNE FLEX United States
AETERNAM Canada
AEVITERNE United States
AFTER FOREST Finland
AFTERBIRTH United States
AGARTHA United States
AGE OF SILENCE Norway
AGHORA United States
AINMATTER United States
AKERCOCKE United Kingdom
ALARUM Australia
ALCHEMIST Australia
ALCYONE United States
ALGOPHOBIA Italy
ALKALOID Germany
ALKUHARMONIAN KANTAJA Finland
ALL DREAMS DYING Finland
ALLEY Russia
ALTERA ENIGMA Australia
AM I IN TROUBLE? United States
THE AMENTA Australia
AMOGH SYMPHONY India
AN ABSTRACT ILLUSION Sweden
AN ISLE ATE HER United States
ANACHRONISM Switzerland
ANATA Sweden
ANCIENT Norway
ANCIIENTS Canada
ANGEL OF DISEASE Georgia
ANGEL VIVALDI United States
ANGMAR France
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