There are a few albums that I personally slept on, to my shame. Some of them are honestly really, really good, and I didn’t have the time invest in them completely, or to give them the coverage they deserve. So here is my attempt at rounding up those hidden gems.
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I’ve discussed this band before, and it’s been over 10 years since their last album. You may remember the 2012 On a Dark and Stormy Night album based on A Wrinkle in Time. Anyways, the band is back, and they have in tow some new faces you may recognize, including members of Pain of Salvation and Devin Townsend. The music is heavier and darker than the band’s previous retro prog rock sound, and I like it better. It has an intensity and even some horror aspects that I like, but I’ll admit that I really don’t like the vocals and their lack of musicality and harmony—they quite literally ruin the album for me personally. Still, the drumming is absolutely sensational, and the guitars are fantastic. This album really rocks despite its flaws, and I’m partial to “Vampires”, “The Witching Hour”, and “Pay the Piper”. I do like how the last few songs bring in some more abstract and interesting tones and ideas. Overall, my feelings are that I would love to hear On a Dark and Stormy Night in this style.
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This is the debut EP from Forest of Ember Skies, a new project from Carline Van Roos of Aythis and Lethian Skies. It is more post-rock oriented than her other projects, but in blackgaze and atmospheric fashion. So, while you’ll hear crescendos and that sort of thing, it’s mostly a beautiful, hovering ambience set against driving drums and shoegazing guitars. The first two tracks are instrumental and they are gorgeous; the last three have vocals and are my favorites overall, the vocals being effervescent and distant in tone. I like “Compass” and “No Regrets” the best. I’m interested to hear a full album, and anyone who loves music that just whisks you away to other places will appreciate this.
Forest of Ember Skies Bandcamp
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This is part two of Randy M. Salo’s (of This Is Not an Elephant) series exploring his grandfather’s rich history. It is a grooving, hard hitting instrumental work with plenty of cinematic moments and eerie keys. The bass is, of course, tremendous, but the guitarwork is heavy and satisfying, as well. The album is definitely progressive metal in genre, but like a prog metal album that is a soundtrack to something exciting and worth investigating. My favorites are “The Eocene Epoch” and “The Sky is Falling!”. Check this out, and make sure to hear the first record, too.
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Okay, this is one that I’m almost embarrassed to include in such a tight format. This is a massive album, a truly humongous project, that deserves a lengthy review. This is from Marek Arnold, one of my favorite musicians, whom you may know from Seven Steps to the Green Door, Toxic Smile, and Cyril. The album has over 50 guests from all over the prog community, including the likes of Arno Menses, Pete Jones, Melanie Mau, Marco Minnemann, Craig Blundell, Luke Machin, Derek Sherinian, and many more. The music is epic progressive rock with huge guitar solos, amazing sax and keys, and spacey and futuristic vibes. Honestly, Ayreon has absolutely nothing on this monumental work. It can often feel like “too much”, and so I think that’s why I didn’t connect with it completely, but I’m going to be working on it more and more because the album is definitely amazing. My favorites are “Papillion” with Arno on vocals, and the gorgeous tune “Come Away With Me” thus far. Any self-respecting prog rock fan needs to take a look at this one.
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This one I really like. This is The Oculist, a duo from London. Their music is progressive metal with some electronic and alternative sounds in there. You’ll hear some death metal growls, and they are really well done, in my opinion. For some reason, this album reminds me of Southern Cross’ 2013 album From Tragedy, a favorite of mine, and so I took to this album pretty quickly. I like how fresh and smooth and crunchy it is, and I love the production and how authentic it feels. My favorite track right now is “Terminal” with its sweet growls contrasted against beautiful piano, great synth rhythms, terrific orchestrations, and an alternative rock foundation. Definitely take a look at this one.
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In 2020, I included an album called Convalescence by the band Feather in a Triple Feature. Well, they are back and, I must say, they’ve grown up quite a bit. What was once a solid and djenty prog metal project is now a towering, cinematic, diverse project connecting to a video game score and sporting polished production. I’m impressed. This album is multidimensional; the djent is still there, but there is so much more to it now, including ambient and electronic ideas, and surging guitarwork that is vastly more complicated than on the debut. My favorite so far is the epic “Blood is Heat” with its ambience contrasted against deft fingerwork that is simply thrilling. If you like instrumental, interesting albums, take a look at this one.
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This is the new one from Obsidian Tide. I last reviewed them in 2019 for their Pillars of Creation album, and this one is just as good. The Great Crescendo still displays their progressive death metal with wonderful clean vox, much improved harsh vocals, and melodic guitarwork. I like the ways they’ve developed their sound, leaning more into the loud-quiet dynamic. The music has plenty of heaviness, but the band has improved their quiet game, and the difference is noticeable. My favorite right now is “Beyond” with its searing harsh vox that are killer right up against more acoustic and quiet ideas. If you like prog death metal, you will find a hidden gem here.
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The PROG Mind 
Thank you so much my friend for your wonderfull musical choices .Now im listening to Forest of Ember Skies and i feeling blessed ………..
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