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Our Top 10 Heavy-Prog and Psyche Discoveries On Bandcamp
This year, our blog is celebrating its tenth anniversary. Ever since our very first edition, the idea has been a simple one: to introduce you to new albums by some of the best up-and-coming progressive artists from around the world.
So far we have brought you over 260 editions. We have featured more than 1600 great albums. And we have reached almost one million readers.
To mark this milestone we have created three special editions. Each will be looking back on some of our favourite discoveries from the past ten years.
This third edition covers ten albums that can be loosely categorised under either the 'heavy-prog' or 'psyche' banners. You can read the first edition, covering 'Progressive-Rock' here. The second edition covering 'Progressive-Metal'can be enjoyed here.
Every album is available on Bandcamp. So it's nice and easy for you to listen and buy direct from the artists. Happy listening.
KING BUFFALO - The Burden Of Restlessness
Of all of the discoveries I have made via Bandcamp's 'best-seller' lists, I think King Buffalo are one of my favourites. KB is a classic heavy-psych trio with a texturally-rich dose of blues, stoner and progressive stylings.
This was the first of three full-length albums that this New York combo recorded in 2021. If you enjoy heavy-psyche and have not yet discovered this band, then now is the time to make amends. First recommended in edition 233.
ELDER - Lore
This was selected by my colleague Raffaella Berry back in edition 99 and was one of the albums that piqued my interest in heavy-psyche.
This was the third full-length release by this Providence-based trio. It blends the crushingly heavy riffing and wailing vocals typical of stoner-rock with spacious, keyboard-infused soundscapes, intricate textures and haunting melodies. Comprising five epics between 9 and 15 minutes in length, the album is a must-listen for those who like their psych/prog on the heavier side.
CRYPTEX - Once Upon A Time
It was a review by my DPRP colleague Patrick McAfee that introduced me to this German band and their second album, The Madeleine Effect (review on DPRP here). A very classy slice of modern progressive melodic art rock with a great singer and a noticeable Queen vibe. It duly became one of my top 10 albums of that year.
This was album number three. Once Upon A Time is Queen-meets-Savatage-in-a-musical-conundrum lit by flair, verve and vocal brilliance. It made a lot of people's best of year-end lists at the time - including mine.
Their 2023 album Nimbus (mini review here) was also a cracker. A must-listen band for those who enjoy adventurous genre crossing artsy heavy prog.
THANK YOU SCIENTIST - Stranger Heads Prevail
In addition to the traditional rock-band format, this American septet has a sax player, trumpeter and a violinist. With song titles such as The Somnambulist, A Wolf In Cheap Clothing and Rube Goldberg Variations, you know this second album is never gonna be a simple affair.
It is however an extraordinarily good, exhilarating and inventive blend of progressive rock and jazz - with a whole encyclopedia of other influences added. I really enjoyed their debut album, Maps of Non-Existent Places. This is even better! First recommended by me back in edition 114.
THENCE - We Are Left With A Song
I can not believe that it has been 13 years since I enthused about These Stones Cry From The Earth, the debut offering from this talented duo from Kuopio, Finland (my DPRP review here). That was a captivating one-song album lasting 57 minutes.
This offers is a more conventional track listing, yet is still characterised by sprawling soundscapes, where sparkling bursts of electronica overlap the heartfelt vocals, amidst a melancholic embrace of ambiance. A thoughtful slice of gentle psyche. An album to listen to in contemplative silence. Recommended by me back in edition 111
OUTRUN THE SUNLIGHT - Red Bird
Sometimes a cover is enough to tempt you to listen to an album. This beautiful illustration, perfectly captures the mood of the music to be found within. A quartet out of Chicago they busily released a bunch of music between 2011 and 2017; sitting aside the styles of metal and post-rock but with a very heavy counterpoint of ambient textures.
Having stumbled across this lush album, I am glad to discover that a new one is currently 'in the mix'. In the meantime, Red Bird evokes cathartic feelings of love, growth and uncertainty, and being that it’s instrumental, it encourages the listener to create their own narratives in the music. As the band suggests: "This album is best listened to in a quiet space, on your best set of headphones."
OK GOODNIGHT - The Fox And The Bird
This band is currently at the top of my 'this-could-be-the-next-big-name-in-prog' list. This was an Album of the Year contender from my very first listen. Twelve months later and I am still loving this quartet that formed while studying at the Berklee College of Music.Now, this is self-described as a progressive metal band. And sure there is a modern heaviness at times (try The Snake). However for me the summerish, folk-pop influence is equally persuasive. Try the dreamy acoustic guitars and mandolin, with a flowing piano in The Racoon.I can offer Meer mixed with Caligula's Horse as a reference point. Fans of Iamthemorning should also love this. Those seeking are more accessible version of District 97 may also dig this.The voice of Casey Lee Williams is divine and there is a definite proggy ambition to the song writing; especially the heavier parts. Even more interest is added by this being a concept album with an animal-led storyline. You really need to give this wonderful album a listen.
CROWN LANDS - Fearless
I have to include this heavy-prog gem, as it was my number one album from last year (2023 - read the feature here). Crown Lands come from Canada. There are only two of them. But they make a sound a lot like early Rush.Your approval of Fearless will depend on your tolerance of they way in which this duo ply many of the same sounds and especially rhythms as the originals. Heck it even opens with an 18-minute, multi-part epic!!Personally I find it a very enjoyable listen. And let's be blunt: : no-one has created music like this for 40 years!
KHAN - Creatures
My ongoing exploration of heavy-psyche brought me face to face with Bandcamp best-seller Khan. Hailing from Melbourne, this is their third full-length effort and it 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.At times I am reminded of King Buffalo, Masters of Reality and Lucid Planet. A recommendation from edition 258.
HUMANOTONE - A Flourishing Fall in a Grain of Sand
Over at Bandcamp-land this had been topping the best-sellers lists in all sorts of categories; and who am I to argue with the record-buying public!Hailing from Cocuimbo, Chile, heavy-psych, progressive, stoner, doom, one-man band Humanotone tick all the right boxes for me. Swathes of heavy guitars can be heard duelling with keyboards/organ in an ever-changing dynamic across six extended tracks. Composer Jorge Cist admirably performs all drums, bass, guitars, keys and vocals. Heaven for fans of Elder and King Buffalo. It was one of my top albums from 2022.
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