In February 2024, this blog will celebrate its tenth anniversary. Ever since our very first edition, the idea has been a simple one: to bring you some of the best up-and-coming progressive artists from around the world.
Each edition features at least five albums, with a full album stream and video for each, plus a mini review and a link to the artist's website.
In nine years we have brought you over 260 editions, featuring more than 1600 great albums; so far reaching over 900,000 readers.
In 2023 we published six editions featuring 32 wonderful albums.
As it can be difficult to keep track, here is an easy-to-use, all-in-one-place list of our recommendations from 2023. There is the album cover, title and a brief description of the music, with a link to the edition in which it originally featured. There, you will find a mini review, streams and info and a video for every album. Happy listening.
This band features Andy Edwards and John Jowitt (former members of IQ, Arena, Frost* and Jadis) and two musicians I'd not heard of before, Rob Groucutt and Mirron Webb. A wonderfully diverse album of modern progressive music at its best.
Moving-on from the instrumental, Canterbury-infused neo-prog of their first album, Zopp now features vocals. This is an epic 42-minute journey spanning avant-garde, jazz, ambient, folk, psychedelic rock and endless heaps of PROG.
ANASAZI - Cause & Consequences
I first came across this band from Grenoble with their 2011 release, Playing Ordinary People. I remember that I rather enjoyed their blend of prog-metal with more alternative rock and nu-metal sounds. They have so far released six albums and four EPs, all of a very consistent quality.
The second album from this quartet out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania will delight all fans of symphonic, melodic prog. An impressive collection of varied tracks that slip some blues, reggae and 70s hard rock into their modern take on classic prog.
February: EDITION 257
ICE AGE - Waves Of Loss And PowerAny self-respecting fan of heavy prog/progressive metal should have a copy of Ice Age's The Great Divide; the New York foursome's debut album released in 1999. Now 22 years later Ice Age is back with their third album; a delight for fans of Kansas, Styx, DT and Fates Warning.
February: EDITION 257
EXPLORING BIRDSONG - Dancing in the Face Of Danger
My top discovery this month was this piano-driven, guitar-less progressive rock band from Liverpool. After launching in 2017, the trio have developed a truly unique sound drawing influence from 70s prog pioneers ELP and Genesis, the pop-prog legacy of Kate Bush, and the heavier, modern style of Tesseract and Porcupine Tree.
Helix is another impressive slice of contemporary prog/art-rock that, featuring both an eight-part and a three-part epic, will appeal to fans of Steven Wilson, Arena, Marillion and RPWL.
My ongoing exploration of heavy-psyche has brought me face to face with Bandcamp best-seller Khan. Hailing from Melbourne, this is a varied meld of fuzzy psychedelia with stoner riffs and post-rock crescendos, alongside an exploration of more progressive rhythms and some languid, pastoral passages.
April: EDITION 258DEPOSED KING - One Man's Grief
Hailing from Budapest, this duo is clearly influenced by Steven Wilson and Riverside. Their music is a contemporary style of alt-prog-rock with a heavy coating of electronic trappings.
If your tastes veer towards the progressive jazz-rock fusion of the 70s, or takes references from the more contemporary Canterbury scene, then this collection will make you quietly euphoric.
A symphonic prog-metal band from London with a sound that screams Arabian nights!
April: EDITION 258
If you like your progressive metal to have a doomy vibe, then this is an album you need to check out.
This Aussie quartet has previously supported such bands as The Butterfly Effect, Dead Letter Circus and Caligulas Horse and played at the iconic Progfest in Australia. This is their second album, and it should delight fans of the above bands plus fellow countrymen Cog and Karnivool.
Ten straight-to-the-point slabs of melodic progressive metal for you to enjoy.
April: EDITION 258JASON BIELER And The Baron Von Bielski Orchestra - Postcards From The Asylum
This album hasan abounding joy at creating music without any particular boundaries. To summarise in Bieler's own words: "My family and friends, you are welcome for the gift that is me."
'Ring of Gyges' may sound like an early album track by Rush, but this second album by a quintet from Iceland is a captivating, modern blend of Haken, Leprous, Wolverine and Anubis.
OK GOODNIGHT - The Fox And The Bird
This has been an Album of the Year contender from my very first listen. I have not been able to stop playing this second album by a newish quartet that formed while studying at the Berklee College of Music.
They come from Canada. There are only two of them. They make a sound a lot like early Rush. What's not to like?
September:
EDITION 260HATS OFF GENTLEMEN IT'S ADEQUATE - The Light Of Ancient Mistakes
The seventh album from this London duo is a collection of songs inspired by books. As before, this lies comfortably in the realms of accessible progressive rock but with touches of funk, metal, ambient, classical and electronic music to give added interest.
September:
EDITION 260UNITOPIA - Seven Chambers This is simply a great modern prog album. It's heavier and darker than previous efforts.
September:
EDITION 260
MICE ON STILTS - I Am Proud of You
This New Zealand band's third album is a reflective journey through addiction and recovery. Haunting vocals deliver poetically-introspective lyrics amid lilting string arrangements and acoustic leanings. 'Folk-prog' would be the main descriptor.
October: EDITION 261
A very classy slice of modern progressive melodic art-rock with a great singer and a noticeable Queen vibe. Metallic in places, pop in others. This album has really grown on me.
October: EDITION 261LARS FREDRIK FRØISLIE - Fire Fortellinger
This album is more-or-less what one would expect as the first solo effort by the keyboard player for prog-rockers Wobbler. As the title suggests, it consists of four songs/four stories. Two weigh in at a fullsome 16 minutes each!
October: EDITION 261THE ANCHORET - It All Began With Loneliness
The Anchoret seeks to combine prog-rock sensibilities and Mellotron vibes, with the power and riffage of modern metal.
AVENGED SEVENFOLD - Life Is But A Dream
Yes, you read it correctly. Avenged Sevenfold. The American stadium rock stars. "Batshit Crazy" and "Certifiably bananas" are just two comments from the myraid of reviewers trying to make sense of this. We sidestep from Floydian tranquility, to metalcore insanity, whilst juggling jazz-core and folk. Top 3 album of the year for me.
ANUBIS GATE - Interference
The ninth album from this ever-reliable Danish band, is a no-brainer purchase for those who enjoy the more traditional style of progressive-metal.
October: EDITION 261PALLAS - The Messenger
Forty years and still going strong. This time with the return of lead singer Alan Reed.
November: EDITION 262LALU - The Fish Who Wanted to Be King
This is the fourth album from this international project put together by French composer and producer Vivien Lalu. With Damian Wilson back behind the microphone, this is a quick follow-up to last year's impressive Paint The Sky.
Four enjoyable slices of atmospheric rock/metal, with a superb building of atmospherics. For fans of Porcupine Tree with touches of Riverside and (new) Katatonia.
November: EDITION 262HEAD WITH WINGS - Without Intervention
A compelling combination of dark alt/prog-rock and synth pop, woven within a concept about modern online culture. One of the best modern progressive (art-rock) albums you will hear this year. Simples!
November: EDITION 262VOKONIS - Exist Within Light Two years after their well-received Odyssey album, Swedish upstarts Vokonis return with their unique brand of doomy, proggy goodness with a ever-so-healthy dose of heavy-psyche. Shame it's only three tracks, but that just leaves you begging for more.
For the release of their 21st studio album Glass Hammer mastermind Steve Babb is again joined by singer Hannah Pryor and guitarist Reese Boyd. "Arise is my progressive-rock spin on space rock,” says Babb. “I’m still flirting with doom metal on a couple of songs, as we did on the last two albums, but there’s also psych-rock and even an 80s influence going on in the music.3
And did you miss any albums from 2022?
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