Every month the Progressive Subway team gathers the albums that stood out, and August was packed: from experimental prog rock and comebacks by big names to baile funk with bird sounds. Here is the list of the month, with descriptions and players so you can listen.
Papangu – Celestial
After two experimental albums inspired by Brazilian tradition, Papangu turn the page: «Celestial» leaves behind the heavy sludge and black elements and opens up a bright landscape with vintage synths, percussion and carefully placed vocals. Prog rock and jazz fusion that never stop moving. For fans of Magma, King Crimson, Rush.
Coma Control – Shed the Sleep
Tapio Honka is behind every instrument here, and «Shed the Sleep» is more than a display of guitar virtuosity: the melodies and grooves lock into a complete progressive metal album, with clean vocals and growls alternating properly. «Seething Hunger», «Inherently Unmet» and the instrumental «Post-Aware» stand out.
Gorod – The Ember Gone
The Frenchmen of Gorod lowered tech death’s tempos and gave weight to prog: big grooves, riffing that recalls Opeth and solos with phrasing instead of showing off. Moments like «Forgiveness», «Regret» and the instrumental «Crimson» reveal a band that no longer chases extremes — which is exactly why it’s worth it.
Fans of: Obscura, Alkaloid, Opeth, Gojira, Mastodon, The Ocean.
Shabti – Haze, White Light, and Cacophony
Shabti from Maine have black metal roots, but their album moves comfortably across the whole history of progressive death metal: from Atheist’s jazzy passages to Horrendous’ clean production. «A Weary Creation» is one of the songs of the year. The dense compositions fit dozens of riffs without losing their way.
DJ Urutau – Ornitofagia
Lua Viana’s (Antropoceno) debut project unites deconstructed club, baile funk and bird sounds into a 28-minute set. The virtuosity here is of another kind: the transition from one track to the next, in a way that recalls the work of The Avalanches. Two different worlds that shouldn’t work together — and they work perfectly.
Mastodon – Marrow Deep
The hard task was finding the balance between their old face and a new chapter, and they pulled it off: 65 minutes with strong tracks like «Barbarians Blood» and «Golden Spires», emotionally charged ones like «In the Ruins» and progressive peaks like «The Three Fates». One of the best albums of the year.
Triosphere – Oceans Above, Stars Below
Quality power metal from Norway, without excess and without cheap references to the 80s. The ballads «Shorelines» and «Encore» have soul, «Of Tyrants» and «Through the Phantom Wall» have power, and Ida Haukland’s voice carries the whole structure. For fans of Queensryche, Iron Maiden, Brainstorm.
Xandria – Eclipse
Xandria returned powerfully with 2023’s «The Wonders Still Waiting» and «Eclipse» shows it’s no accident: symphonic metal that doesn’t get lost in the genre’s grandiosity, with sensitive moments and heavy passages coexisting.
Floating Points & The San Francisco Ballet Orchestra – Mere Mortals
The British electronic artist has established himself as a classical composer, and this ballet is the strongest proof: accessible to those who love classical music while pushing the boundaries of sound.
More on the same side of metal: Pentagram (Mezarkabul) – Unspoken.
Djrum – I Wander
Where his previous album lasted an hour, «I Wander» condenses everything into sixteen minutes. Dense, without a wasted second, with excellent sound design and real acoustic instruments inside the synths. When condensation is queen, this is the result.
See also: MASTODON – Marrow Deep or the complete guide to Metal’s subgenres.
See also: Noveria – Becoming After
