Retsam Suriv “Danger”

Country: Argentina
Sub Genre: Symphonic Progressive Metal
Label: Azafrán Media
Release date: January 2014
Tracklist: 
1. Alto Voltaje (7:24)
2. Nuevos Tiempos (4:43)
3. 09:15 (11:58)
4. Siento (9:55)
5. Amenazas De Un Final (8:07)
6. Un Mondo Differente (9:15)
7. Transicion Final. Danger (2:51)

Line-up: 
Vilma Lilián Del Giorgio - vocals
Cristian del Giorgio - keyboard
Miguel Carrasco - guitars
Charly Palermo - bass
Javier Fraccione - drums

Description/Reviews: 

“Danger” is the second álbum by this Argentine symphonic prog band (led by virtuoso keyboardist Cristian Del Giorgio) with powerful female vocals (in Spanish), though much of their material is instrumental.

Media/Samples 
Amenazas De Un Final
Mundo Diferente

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Bly De Blyant "Hindsight Bias"

Country: Multinational
Sub Genre: Jazz-Rock, Ambient, Psychedelic
Label: Hubro
Release date: January 31, 2014 (Norway), March 3, 2014 (World)
Tracklist: 

1. Jiddu - 4:13 
2. Westkreuz - 3:32 
3. Laura - 3:36 
4. Hindsight Bias - 5:44 
5. Michael Jackson Pollock - 2:50
6. DEFGHIJK - 3:59 
7. Bunker Hill - 2:58 
8. The Eighteen Irascibles - 6:47

Line-up: 
Øyvind Skarbø - drums
Hilmar Jensson (TYFT, Jim Black’s AlasNoAxis) - guitars
Shahzad Ismaily (Marc Ribot, Will Oldham, John Zorn) - bass, keyboards

Description/Reviews: 

This free-form, psych-jazz, prog-rock 3 piece have created a collection of songs that are fluid throughout, although I didn't feel that as an album everything obviously fitted together, but then how could it? Packed full of references from here and there, it is impossible to pigeon hole where this lot stand, but that is both the joy and the advantage of this sort of music.
The album seems to comfortably cover the spectrum from the easily digestible 'Laura' which combines together elements of French dance, funk with mellow organs and some Nile Rodgers style guitar, to the far reaches of experimentalism with 'DEFGHIJK' which sounds like someone picking up morse code from outer space, as someone else practices drums and a church organ.

 Read the full review by Adrian Huggins at pennyblackmusic.co.uk

Media/Samples 
Laura
Hindsight bias

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Quarto Vuoto "Quarto Vuoto" EP

Country: Italy
Sub Genre: Symphonic
Release date: January 2014
Tracklist: 
1. Dimmi Solo Se E' Cosi' (5:35)
2. Zattera della Medusa (10:41)
3. Rub' Al-Khali (14:06)

Line-up: 
Edoardo Ceron - bass
Nicola D'Amico - drums
Federico Lorenzon - vocals, violin
Mattia Scomparin - keyboards, piano
Luca Volonnino - guitar

Description/Reviews: 

Quarto Vuoto primarily uses a familiar RPI formula, namely an emotional, symphonic approach with memorable melodies. This is particularly true of the first two songs. The opener, "Dimmi solo si e' cosi", is the shortest piece on the album and is song-based. The opening melodies are carried by a pretty tame sounding electric guitar, backed by a straightforward rhythm section and some analog synth sounds. The vocals are introduced by a simple piano motive. Overall there are short melodic themes, and the atmosphere is created largely by piano and analog string sounds. There is a nice synth crescendo at the end of each verse, created by climbing notes and buildup of the other instruments around them. There is a nice break with some slightly more frantic piano and a guitar solo.

 Read the full review by Todd Dudley at progarchives.com

Media/Samples 
Dimmi solo se è così

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Orisonata "Orisonata"

Country: USA
Sub Genre: Progressive Metal
Release date: January 31, 2014
Tracklist: 
1. Journey to the Center of the Earth 08:42
2. Once And Future King 06:35
3. The Great Baptism 08:04
4. Unholy Creation 07:18
5. Oath Breaker 05:01
6. Robin Hood 07:55
7. The Muses 05:07

Line-up: 
Jason Lee Greenberg - guitars, bass, drums, keyboards
Jennifer Grassman - vocals
  With
Todd Oxford - saxophone on Journey to the Center of the Earth and Robin Hood
Pamela York - jazz piano solo on Unholy Creation
Wade Vandesande - bass on Oath Breaker
Brad Shearhart - bass on Robin Hood
Cynthia Butler - flutes on The Muses
Marco Bayarena - synth solo on Journey to the Center of the Earth

Description/Reviews: 

Orisonata is a progressive metal project by composer and guitarist, Jason Lee Greenberg, and his wife, vocalist Jennifer Grassman. Drawing from the worlds of classical guitar, jazz, and progressive metal, Orisonata offers a unique combination of instruments rarely heard in traditional metal. Expect to hear gorgeous saxophone passages, wooden flutes, jazz piano sections, and orchestral strings all bound by blistering guitar riffs and solos as well as the unearthly voice by classically trained singer, Jennifer Grassman.

Media/Samples 
Trailer
Unholy Creation

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Prowlers "Mondi Nuovi"

Country: Italy
Sub Genre: Symphonic
Label: Agla Records
Release date: January 31, 2014
Tracklist: 
1. Mondi Nuovi
2. Viva Ancora
3. Guardando dentro te
4. La Danza di Madre Natura
5. Melaquadro
6. Giovane Falco
7. Capriccio in A-
8. Ultima Notte
9. Disordinaria
10. Soldato Stanco

Line-up: 
Laura Mombrini - Lead and backing vocals
Roberto 'Bobo' Alfio - Fender Jazz and Fretless bass, double bass
Alfio Costa - Hammond Organ, Mellotron, Piano, Minimoog, Synthesizers, Fender Rhodes, samples, backing vocals
Stefano Piazzi - Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul guitars, acoustic guitars, backing vocals
Giovanni 'Giana' Vezzoli - Drums, percussions and backing vocals

Description/Reviews: 

Sixth album for Prowlers! In a colorful and elegant digipack, the band's music takes shape and is renewed, offering the listener a painting unmistakable sound.

“Mondi Nuovi is an album of melodies, songs and feelings. It's an album of friendship and sharing... of music and life. It's been almost a year since the first written note and here are today the ten songs ready for you. Our music goes beyond any categorization because it's the fruit of our dreams, our emotions and our limits. ”.

Media/Samples 
Mondi Nuovi
Ultima Notte
Soldato Stanco

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Amalthea "In the Woods"

Country: Sweden
Sub Genre: Post Rock, Post Metal
Label:  Moment Of Collapse
Release date: January 31,2014
Tracklist: 
1. Rain
2. The Fall
3. Harm
4. Field
5. Vapour
6. Rust
7. End

Line-up: 
Per Skytt
Erik Skytt
Jeremias Valsten
Simon Mellergårdh

Description/Reviews: 

‘In the Woods’ ... has an open sound, like you’re chilling with friends around a fire in the woods. Mostly the band keeps it calm with additional instruments like a viola, trumpet or a trombone and clean voices. Once in a while there is still that heavy outburst that prevents the record from getting whiny. If I should compare Amalthea‘s new work, it’s a mixture of Cult of Luna‘s ‘Somewhere along the Highway’ and a band like Balmorhea. Included are own ideas and songs that are well composed.
As an extra the music captures the desolateness, wilderness and loneliness Scandinavian bands have a trademark on. The melancholy in ‘Rust’ is dripping out of the speakers. The small trumpet sounds in the background give the song that little extra. The Post-rock/hardcore/metal hype might be over but if you come up with an album like ‘In the Woods’ it needs to be heard. The serene beginning of in ‘End’ marks the endpoint of this beautiful ride and I truly can say this is the best album Amalthea has written. The album ends in a subtle climax with an ambient sound slowly fading out. The fire in the woods can be put out and everyone can go home satisfied.(swnk.org)

Media/Samples 
Entire album online (temporarily)
Harm

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Within Temptation "Hydra"

Country: Netherlands
Sub Genre: Progressive Metal
Release date: January 31, 2014
Tracklist: 
1. Let Us Burn
2. Dangerous (featuring Howard Jones)
3. And We Run (featuring Xzibit)
4. Paradise (What About Us?) (featuring Tarja Turunen)
5. Edge Of The World
6. Silver Moonlight
7. Covered By Roses
8. Dog Days
9. Tell Me Why
10. Whole World Is Watching (featuring Dave Pirner)

Line-up: 
Sharon den Adel - vocals
Robert Westerholt - guitar
Ruud Jolie - guitar
Stefan Helleblad - guitar
Jeroen Van Veen - bass
Martijn Spierenburg - keyboards
Mike Coolen - drums
   With
Tarja Turunen
Xzibit
Dave Pirner (Soul Asylum)
Howard Jones (ex-Killswitch Engage)

Media/Samples 
Paradise (What About Us?)

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Radar Men From The Moon "Strange Wave Galore"

Country: Netherlands
Sub Genre: Instrumental, Psychedelic, Space Rock
Label: Fuzz club Records
Release date: January 30, 2014
Tracklist: 
1. Surrealist Appearance (5:36)
2. Reverie (3:32)
3. Strange Wave Galore (5:55)
4. The Sweet Confusion (5:47)
5. Lautrèmont (3:09)
6. Opaque (5:08)
7. What the Lightning Said (6:52)

Line-up: 
Glenn Peeters - guitar and sonic attack
Jan-Titus Verkuijlen - bass and shivers
Tony Lathouwers - drums and audio generator

Description/Reviews: 

First noticeable fact on the new record is that they take quite a different approach to the genre: I wouldn’t call it math rock straight away, but it’s pretty technical for a psychedelic band. Not a bad thing at all, it pulls the listener in and together with the resonant drones of the second track it is able to form a sweet introduction of this album. And when suddenly the next track starts, it’s time again to thank baby Jesus for space rock. The following two tracks are as catchy as they are heavy, with a prominent drumming compared to earlier work and the synth taking up its place in the band. This is the moment that the album should be played at its loudest, because the closing minutes of the fourth track are heavenly if you’re looking for rumbling guitars, effects freaking out and a drummer going nuts. And looking at the album as a whole, these moments of mayhem are scarce. The overall sound of Strange Wave Galore is no uncouth wave of fuzzy guitars and endless jams. Sometimes it breaks out and stirs up its audience, but most of the time the music is refined and flirts with the sound of bands like Maserati. This influence is most prominent in the second to last track, which shows the musical growth of Radar Men from the Moon. I think this album will raise some eyebrows from people who are expecting more of what they have already heard from this band, but it’s an accomplishment to try other stuff and still be a recognizable band.

Read the full review at inlog.org

Media/Samples 
Bandcamp

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Pulp Culture "What Do You Want?"

Country: USA
Sub Genre: Progressive Rock
Release date: January 30, 2014
Tracklist: 

1. Black Hole Information Paradox 06:07
2. Play, Pretend, Rewind 03:37
3. Through the Vortex 03:26
4. Embers of Remembered Dismemberment 05:05
5. Hyperbolic Timelines 06:15
6. Cognitive Dissonance 04:51
7. The Wait 04:50
8. Eighth-Dimensional Blues 06:53
9. In the Shape of a Painting 08:42

Line-up: 
Alex Brown (Lead Vocals, Bass Guitar)
Andrew Zerbo (Guitar)
Jake Van Loon (Guitar)
Vince Monte (Drums)
   With
Josh James on "The Wait" (Alto/Sopr. Saxophone)
Josie Mollohan on "Through the Vortex" (Cello)
Andrew Allen on "Eighth Dimensional Blues" (Cello)

Media/Samples 
Bandcamp

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Marblewood "Marblewood"

Country: Switzerland
Sub Genre: Psychedelic, Stoner
Release date: January 30, 2014
Tracklist: 
1. Kailash (08:31)
2. Hit the Brakes (08:16)
3. Splendour (09:42)
4. Silence (09:51)
5. Postwar Apocalypse (12:33)
6. In the Beginning (21:14)

Line-up: 
Marc Walser: guitars, vocals
Dave Zurbuchen: drums, vocals
Arie Bertogg: bass
   With
Sarah Weibel: vocals
Sandro Hussel: dilruba, esraj
Michael Marti: organ

Description/Reviews: 

Blues-fused guitar solos meet heavy desert rock riffs, jazzy beats, electronic grooves and floydian psychedelia. Long instrumental passages feature additional organ and dilruba. 

Media/Samples 
Bandcamp (name your price)

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Unkh "Travellers"

Country: Netherlands
Sub Genre: Alternative, Progressive Rock
Label: Myousic
Release date: January 21, 2014
Tracklist: 

1. Barfly's Last Cigarette 4:37 
2. Fast Food for the Common Man 4:03 
3. Borderlines .Ca 12:51 
4. Crimson Oceans 5:15 
5. Breathe 3:48 
6. Borderlines 1.4 2:03 
7. Sur Place 6:34 
8. Theme of the Mighty Mushroom 5:45 
9. The Water Carrier 4:58 
10. Borderlines .Fr 13:32
11. Your Own Graceland 4:15

Line-up: 
Jeroen Habraken (vocals, keyboards, guitars, programming)
Frits Appel (guitars, vocals)
Maarten Habraken (drums, vocals)
Matthijs van Nahuijs (bass, vocals)

Description/Reviews: 

Unkh is a progressive indierockband with a mashup of electrorock, eighties wave and seventies progrock.

Media/Samples 
Entire album online

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Wolve "Sleepwalker"

Country: France
Sub Genre: Progressive Rock
Release date: January 29, 2014
Tracklist: 

1. The Tall Trees - 1:50
2. Cassiahv - 11:37
3. Ocean - 10:18
4. Countdown - 1:19
5. Colors Collapse - 7:57
6. Sleepwalker - 3:33

Line-up: 
Julien Sournac - Guitar, Vocals
David Dutoit - Bass
Sacha Lounis - Drums, Persussion, Backing Vocals
Alexandre Aguilera - Acoustic Guitar
   With
Rafael Leroy
Gulrim Choi
Julien Patoue
Hadrien Guegan

Description/Reviews: 

There are so many areas of progressiveness, yet still I'm pleasantly surprised to find even more niches - especially when I come across something really outstanding or special. Take this Parisien band Wolve. One of the things that makes this album stand out is the delicate balance between the lovely, quiet pieces and the heavier ones. That element reminds me of one of my favourite young bands; A Liquid Landscape. That alone would be enough to suggest you might want to listen to this. But there is emotion and more to find here. (André de Boer at weekendprog.blogspot.com )

Media/Samples 
Bandcamp

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Machine Mass feat. Dave Liebman "Inti"

Country: Multinational
Genre(s): Jazz-Rock, Fusion
Label: Moonjune Records
Format: CD, digital
Release date: January 28, 2014
Tracklist: 
1. Inti (7:29)
2. Centipede (4:43)
3. Lloyd (6:25)
4. In A Silent Way (6:30)
5. A Sight (6:39)
6. Utoma (6:11)
7. The Secret Place (4:35)
8. Elisabeth (12:47)
9. Voice (4:53)

Line-up: 
Michel Delville (The Wrong Object, douBt) - guitar, Roland GR-09, electronics
Tony Bianco -  drums, loops, percussion
Dave Liebman - soprano, tenor sax, wooden flute
Saba Tewelde - vocals (7)

Description/Reviews: 

Graced by Liebman’s extraordinary phrasing and improvising skills, “INTI” combines free improvisation with tight rhythmic structures, post-Bitches Brew time signatures with ambient episodes, spreading across different musical and spiritual realities, both playfully and intensely. The band ventures into the fiery electro-jazz territories explored by Bianco and Delville’s recent Machine Mass Trio, which also showcased both musicians’ capacity to listen closely and improvise over unpredictable chord, rhythm and time changes while handling live electronics and computer loops.

Media/Samples 
Bandcamp

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Lascaille's Shroud "Interval 02: Parallel Infinities - The Abscinded Universe"

Country: USA
Sub Genre: Progressive Death Metal
Release date: January 28, 2014
Tracklist: 

1. Integration: Into the Posthuman Continuum 09:36
2. Reborn: The Lamentation's of a Dying Universe 07:09
3. Awakened: Not Even Remembered by the Dust of Stars 09:09
4. Obscured: The Great Aphotic Barriers 10:21
5. Agony: The Sad and Beautiful Face of Death 25:38
6. War: A Congregation of Non-Existence 20:20
7. Sorrow: The Conversation I Had With Death 13:13
8. Disenthralled: Into The Bulk 08:25
9. Transcience: A Moment For Our Eternity 12:02
10. The Guilt Reprisal 07:30

Line-up: 
Brett Windnagle: All guitars, drums, harsh vocals
   With
Andy Walmsley: Additional harsh vocals on "Reborn"
Patrick Parris: Clean vocals on "Agony" and "War"
RaeAnna Parris: Clean vocals on "Agony"
Tony Cordisco: Additional harsh vocals on "Agony"
Bryan Edwards: Additional harsh vocals on "Agony" and "War"
John Yelland: Clean vocals on "Sorrow" and "Disenthralled"
Mercedes Victoria: Clean vocals on "Transcience"
Tyler Sherrill: All keyboard solos

Media/Samples 
Bandcamp (name your price)

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Transatlantic "Kaleidoscope"

Country: Multinational
Sub Genre: Symphonic
Label: Inside Out
Release date: January 27, 2014
Tracklist: 
1. Into The Blue
2. Shine
3. Black As The Sky
4. Beyond The Sun
5. Kaleidoscope

Line-up: 
Mike Portnoy
Neal Morse
Roine Stolt
Pete Trewavas

Links:
Web page
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Pegasus "Standby... On!"

Country: Spain
Sub Genre: Jazz, Fusion
Label: self-released
Release date: January 2014
Tracklist: 

1. Tiana i el Mull - 5:02
2. Freewalk - 5:27
3. Roadrunner - 5:02
4. Caravana Sobre el Mar - 5:18
5. Kitblues - 3:42
6. Pluja Fina - 4:04
7. The Hammer and the Beauty - 4:28
8. Caminant pels Núvols - 4:29
9. Para Lelismo - 4:15
10. Marea Minvant - 5:32
11. A Reveure - 1:38

Line-up: 
Santi Arisa - Drums
Rafael Escoté - Bass
Josep Mas "Kitflus" - Keyboards
Max Sunyer - Guitars

Dan Arisa - Percussion

Media/Samples 
Entire album online

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Hadea "Fabric Of Intention"

Country: USA
Sub Genre: Tech/Extreme Progressive Metal
Label:  Mighty Music
Release date: January 27, 2014
Tracklist: 

1. Hinge 03:31
2. Fabric Of Intention 04:50
3. One Guarantee 04:16
4. Reconstruction Of Our Ways 08:41
5. Nowhere To Be Found 05:08
6. Source And Creator 05:03
7. Malicious Species 05:04
8. Sleeper 04:29
9. Ignis Fatuus 03:20
10. Larva To Chrysalis 07:31

Line-up: 
Frank Stroehmer - Guitar
Serge Stroehmer - Bass
Shawn Corbett - Vocals, Samples, Keyboards
Seth Long - Drums

Description/Reviews: 

Changing names after the tragic loss of drummer Hunter Holland, North Carolina's Gollum are now known as Hadea. Gaining a new record deal, this album "Fabric of Intention" is a veritable music stew in the highest form: experimental, progressive, heavy rock with doom, sludge, groove, and thrash/death overtones. Mastadon, Tool, King Crimson, Lamb of God, Compression, Opeth - these are only some of the names that come to mind when hearing the outer worldly "One Guarantee", the relatively straightforward pummeling "Source and Creator" and psychedelic twister "Ignis Fatuus".

Read the full review by Matt Coe at eternal-terror.com

Media/Samples 
Bandcamp

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Orsino Nation "Spectrasanct"

Country: Australia
Sub Genre: Art Rock, Avant Prog, Pop
Release date: January 27, 2014
Tracklist: 

1. The Flesh-Eating Zombie Love Song (5.37)
2. Wanderlust (5.09)
3. Midsommar (2.48)
4. Belladonna (5.03)
5. The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party (2.07)
6. Liza (2.42)
7. Highway To Disaster (2.55)
8. Horses (3.42)
9. Dixie Wonderland (4.09)
10. Hallelujah (3.16)
11. Mary (1.11)
12. Dr Hooripopf (4.01)
13. Blood On The Doors (2.38)
14. Eirawen (3.57)
15. The Plague Of Sand (7.11)
16. Touch Of Ice (2.21)

Line-up: 
Yasmine Amber - lead vocals, autoharp, bodhran, tambourine
Charger - keys, synths, drums, flute, vocals/harmonies
    With:
Iliana: backing vocals
Owen: lead guitar & backing vocals
Justin Hartwig: lead guitar
Jamie Thornton: rhythm guitar

Description/Reviews: 

If Tori Amos & Dave Gilmore had an ADHD lovechild and you gave that child a distortion pedal it would grow up to be Orsino Nation.
Orsino Nation are art music rebels on a sonic journey toward transcendence. The duo's influences are highly eclectic & their music genre-jumps even within a single track. Their music has been likened to Kate Bush, Mr Bungle, Pink Floyd, Stevie Nicks, & Cradle of Filth in their more eerie moments. The songs all have an atmospheric, filmic quality, often building to a crescendo of primal vocals, ethereal harmonies, strings & choirs.
Dramatic and fey, frontwoman/rockstar/flamenco-dancer Yasmine Amber is emotionally electrifying and Charger is a classically-trained virtuoso pianist & flautist with a Viking sensibility and a penchant for heavy metal. The combination makes for an avant-garde symphony of wild and beautiful sounds.

Media/Samples 
Belladonna
4 tracks online

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Zentraedi "Seven Medley Sins"

Country: USA
Sub Genre: Progressive Rock/Metal
Release date: January 26, 2014
Tracklist: 

1. Swarm 08:34
2. Time Capsule 11:11
3. Crusadist 08:23
4. Dodging the Remote 11:17
5. Dek80z 11:59
6. Missing the Future 07:27
7. Needful Things 09:50

Line-up: 
Jon Beal - Vocals, Keys
Jason Harvey - Bass
Mohadev - Guitar
David Beck - Drums
   With
Gourisankar - Tabla on 2
Indrajit Banerjee - Sitar on 2, 4

Media/Samples 
Bandcamp (name your price)

Zombie Frogs "Awaken"

Country: USA
Sub Genre: Instrumental Progressive Metal/Rock
Release date: January 26, 2014
Tracklist: 
01. Leviathan 07:03
02. Potentially Broken Orange 05:31
03. Ionized 06:16
04. Kamikaze Babushka 07:00
05. Mad Ratter 04:02
06. Awaken 05:43
07. Awake But Not Alive 05:38
08. Void 05:52

Line-up: 
Joey Izzo - Keyboards, Synth
Lucky Cerruti - Lead Guitar
Sam Reti - Rhythm Guitar
Austin Bolden - Bass
Erik Huang - Drums

Description/Reviews: 

The group is heavily influenced by prog giants such as Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, and Scale The Summit, but at the same time possesses its own unique sound and style. Their music fuses progressive roots with melodic technicality and poly-metric insanity. 

Media/Samples 
Bandcamp

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Filthy Habits Ensemble "Gruesome Routines"

Country: Spain
Sub Genre: Avant Prog, Jazz
Label: Discordian Records
Release date: January 26, 2014
Tracklist: 

1. Cerdoflauta (6:01)
2. Assbook (8:34)
3. Strange Pisciphilic Behaviour (12:26)
4. The Tragic Story of a Cockroach Eating Champion (9:31)
5. Nice n’filthy (3:36)

Line-up: 
Pablo Selnik: Flute, Euphoric Pig Noises
El Pricto: Clarinet
Agustí Martínez: Alto Sax and Clarinet
Don Malfon: Alto Sax
Tom Chant: Tenor Sax
Jo Miramontes: Synthesizer
Director Wlkins: Electric Guitar
Sebi Suarez: Electric Bass
Vasco Trilla (Thriller): Drums

Media/Samples 
Bandcamp

Links:
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Marcelo Paganini "2012 Space Traffic Jam"

Country: France
Sub Genre: Jazz-Rock, Fusion
Release date: January 25, 2014
Tracklist: 

1. Sphinxes of Babel - 8:14
2. Crying With a Smile - 4:29
3. Actor - 3:06
4. Somewhere Somehow - 8:01
5. Lost Secrets - 6:14
6. Last Bart to San Bruno -  5:09
7. B4ever Now - 4:32
8. For Real - 5:41
9. Can't Autograph Your Mp3 - 8:11
10. 2012 Space Traffic Jam -  8:40

Line-up: 
Marcelo Paganini - guitars
   With
Gary Husband (Allan Holdsworth, Billy Cobham) - drums
Marc Madore - bass
Eumir Deodato - keyboards on tracks 6, 7, 9
Tony Kaye (ex-Yes, Circa)  - Hammond on track 4
Billy Sherwood (ex-Yes, Circa) - bass on track 4

Media/Samples
Progstreaming

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Until Extinction "Malice"

Country: USA
Sub Genre: Progressive Gothic Death Metal
Release date: January 25, 2014
Tracklist: 
1. The Cremation of the Divine Monstrosity 04:10
2. The Creation of the Divine Hypocrisy 04:58
3. Malice 04:23
4. 300 04:28
5. Tempus Fugit 04:02
6. Herald the Dawn 04:49
7. Where the Wild Things Aren't 03:58
8. No Sunshine 02:30
9. White Lies in Red 05:11
10. Genesis of a Terminus 01:15
11. On Cursed Wings 10:25

Line-up: 
Jake Thiele - Keys
Josh Spalding - Vocals
Sean Nickrent - Bass
Kevin Dowler - Drums
Alex Luke - Guitar
Angelic Hobart - Vocals

Description/Reviews: 

Melodic prog/death metal featuring male and female vocals. Sound similar to Dark Tranquillity/Nightwish/Cradle of Filth

Media/Samples 
Malice

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Descend "Wither"

Country: Sweden
Sub Genre: Progressive Melodic Death Metal
Label: Inverse Records
Release date: January 24,2014
Tracklist: 

1. Confined by Evil 08:51
2. The Rancorous Paradigm 06:17
3. In Hours of Despair 07:32
4. Severance 03:40
5. Wither 02:38
6. Diabolic 08:09
7. From Grace to Grave 07:23
8. Sundown 12:05

Line-up: 
Nima Farhadian Langroudi - Vocals
Andreas Lindström - Guitars
Alex Wijkman - Guitars
Jonathan Persson - Drums
Justin Biggs - Bass

Description/Reviews: 

The quintet employ a combination of progressive, technical and melodic sounds and styles in this album that really is intriguing, even if you might not be a death metal fan. In some ways, this reminds me of a more modern version of Death; a rather lofty comparison, I know, but I promise you, it’s a very apt one as well. It has that complexity and brutality along with the melodic structures of an album like Symbolic; the main difference being the lack of Chuck Schuldiner, which is hardly surprising. However, it doesn’t take the genius of Schuldiner to make an excellent death metal album.

 Read the full review by Ian Yeara at metal-observer.com

Media/Samples 
Bandcamp

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Lune Kiri "Demo"

Country: USA
Sub Genre: Post Metal
Label: Little League Records
Release date: January 24, 2014
Tracklist: 

1. A Black Friday 04:58
2. Stockholm 15:44
3. Interlude 03:57
4. A Burning House 10:28

Line-up: 
Jonathon Shelton
Andrew Walden
Perry Creath
Stevn Kearney

Description/Reviews: 

Lune Kiri is a Raleigh, NC-based metal quartet whose music incorporates memories of atmospheric post-metal groups like Neurosis and The Ocean, high-energy post-hardcore acts like La Dispute and Touché Amoré, and the jaw-dropping noise blasts of bands like Boris and Swans. Needless to say based on this demo EP, my friend [who owns a small record label, that released the EP] was pretty much spot on about what Lune Kiri sounded like and what they were trying to go for. The music itself is very dynamic and seems to pride itself on its constant shifts between different moods, textures, and speeds. It’s all very well rehearsed and very well put together. I won’t deny that at all.

Read the full review at jakobsalbumreviews.wordpress.com

Media/Samples 
Bandcamp (name your price)

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Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra "Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light on Everything"

Country: Canada
Sub Genre: Post Rock
Label: Constellation Records
Release date: January 24, 2014
Tracklist: 
1. Fuck Off Get Free (For the Island of Montreal)
2. Austerity Blues
3. Take Away These Early Grave Blues
4. Little Ones Run
5. What We Loved Was Not Enough
6. Rains Thru the Roof at Thee Grande Ballroom (For Capital Steez)

Line-up: 
Thierry Amar: Contrebasse, electric bass, plucked piano, vocals
Efrim Menuck: Electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mellotron, vocals
Jessica Moss: Volin, plucked piano, vocals
Sophie Trudeau: Violin, plucked piano, vocals
David Payant: Drums, organ, vocals

Description/Reviews: 

This lyric in many ways encapsulates Menuck's unflinching take on a world replete with shabbiness, greed and injustice, seen through the lens of parenthood, mortality, endurance and defiance. There are few other musicians who deliver social critique with the courage and honesty of lines like “All our cities gonna burn / All our bridges gonna snap / All our pennies gonna rot / Lightning roll across our tracks / All our children gonna die”. Feel-good music this is not; but neither can it reductively be tagged apocalyptic or world-weary. Fuck Off Get Free rages with scorn and with hope, utterly passionate but pointedly unromantic. Thee Silver Mt. Zion once again demonstrates, like few other bands working today, that there is much to fight for and against, and plenty more fight songs to sing. 

Media/Samples 
Austerity Blues (excerpt)

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Major Parkinson "Twilight Cinema"

Country: Norway
Sub Genre: Progressive Rock/Pop
Label: Degaton Records
Release date: January 24, 2014
Tracklist:

1. Skeleton Sangria 02:49
2. Impermanence 04:25
3. Black River 05:08
4. The Wheelbarrow 07:52
5. A Cabin in the Sky 03:46
6. Heart Machine 05:54
7. Beaks of Benevola 04:27
8. Twilight Cinema 05:44

Line-up: 
Jon Ivar Kollbotn
André Lund
Eivind Gammersvik
Lars Bjørknes
Jens Erik Aasmundseth
Steinar Hjelmbrekke

Description/Reviews: 

Somewhere in between pop and psychosis, somber poetry and dark rock, you will find Major Parkinson. A fearless and distinctly different band, with a fresh and unconventional approach to the art of writing music.
The long awaited third epic from Major Parkinson has turned out as a dark, uncompromising and ambitious journey through a dense forest of melodies, a torrential river of poppy cabaret-prog. Twilight Cinema is a darker version of Major Parkinson than the one we know from previous releases, without having gone beyond the band's character. The classic Parkinson-like melodies have now found their place in a far tighter directed and more electronic sound. 

Media/Samples
Bandcamp

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Ring Of Fire "Battle of Leningrad"

Country: Multinational
Sub Genre: Progressive Metal, Power Metal
Label:  Frontiers Records
Release date: January 24/28, 2014
Tracklist: 

1. Mother Russia
2. They’re Calling Your Name
3. Empire
4. Land Of Frozen Tears
5. Firewind
6. Where Angels Play
7. Battle Of Leningrad
8. No Way Out
9. Our World
10. Rain

Line-up: 
Mark Boals – vocals
Tony MacAlpine – guitars
Vitalij Kuprij – keyboards
     With
Timo Tolkki – bass
Jami Huovinen- drums

Description/Reviews: 

“Battle of Leningrad” is the band’s fourth studio album, coming after a 9 years hiatus – a period which has seen the band members getting involved in other projects, most notably with singer Mark Boals becoming singer for Royal Hunt and Kuprij and MacAlpine touring with Trans Siberian Orchestra and Steve Vai respectively.
Ring of Fire reconvened with Boals, MacAlpine and Kurprij during 2012, when they agreed to work on their unfinished business and develop a new album from the true story of the siege of Leningrad during the WWII.
Musically the album is all the fans have been waiting for. True “Neoclassic” Power Metal with technical and exciting musical passages 

Media/Samples 
Sampler

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Random "Pidanoma"

Country: Argentina
Sub Genre: Progressive Metal, Post Metal, Doom, Sludge, Psychedelic
Label: Las Tías Records
Release date: January 24, 2014
Tracklist: 
1. Corto Normal - 06:13
2. Ojota y Media - 02:11
3. Mee Chango - 17:10
4. Mia Gato Está Solo en la Oscuridad - 16:14
5. Guri Guri Tres Piñas - 20:53

Line-up: 
Raul Garcìa Posee - guitar, vocals
Pablo Lamela Bianchi - bass
Marcos Luis Crosa - drums
   With
Adrian Terrazas Gonzalez (The Mars Volta) - Sax in Mee Chango

Media/Samples 
Bandcamp (name your price)

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Glass "Palindrome"

Country: USA
Sub Genre: Instrumental, Symphonic
Label: Musea
Release date: January 21, 2014
Tracklist: 

1. No Sanctuary - 5:00
2. Satori - 2:58
3. Hughtopia - 9:40
4. The Water Is Always Moving On - 3:32
5. The Rain Song - 6:23
6. Wake for Oswley - 5:25
7. Arrhythmia Linger Longer - 20:09
8. One - 4:36
9. Avidya - 3:43
10. Singing Bowls - 2:11

Line-up: 
Greg Sherman: Mellotron 400D, ARP 2600 Synthesizer, Moog Mini-Moog Synthesizer,  ARP Pro Soloist Synthesizer, Wurlitzer Electric Piano, Hammond A-100 Organ, 1889 Whalley Genung pipe organ, Singing Bowls

Jerry Cook:  Double Bass Drum Ludwig Vistalite Drum Set, Ludwig Concert Timpani, Zildjian Gong, Percussion

Jeff Sherman: Fender & Epiphone Bass Guitars, Gibson L-1 Acoustic Guitar, Fender Rhodes Piano, Synthesizer.com Synthesizer, Studio Logic Bass Pedal Controller, Alien Sonifier Circuit Bent Keyboard, Singing Bowls

Description/Reviews: 

There's something here for all fans of Progressive rock music: the Canterbury School-influenced jazz-rock songs the band helped pioneer in the Seventies (complex time signatures, vintage Hammond organ, Mellotron, Fender Rhodes and Mini-Moogs abound), classic European symphonic Progressive rock, acoustic music and much more...

Media/Samples 
Bandcamp
No Sanctuary

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Metatag "Transmission"

Country: Norway
Sub Genre: Electronica, Ambient
Label: Hel Audio
Release date:  January 22, 2014
Tracklist: 

1. Day One 02:28
2. Genetic 04:04
3. Antidote 03:05
4. Headspace 02:25
5. Meridian 02:38
6. TT 03:56
7. Quake 03:39
8. Message 01:09
9. Lowlight 02:44
10. Timer 02:42
11. Peach Trees 04:29
12. Clouds 02:37
13. Moon Scan 05:02
14. Black Glow 02:04
15. One Dream Lost One Dream Found 01:53
16. Ram Page 3 04:24
17. Trace 02:15
18. Never 02:18
19. Blade 02:08
20. Mørketid 02:29

Line-up: 
TBA

Description/Reviews: 

"Transmissions" is a fine debut album by Metatag. Their brand of dark, ambient and electronic music isn't one that will appeal to a broad audience I suspect, the often bleak and desolate landscapes explored ones that will intrigue a select few. But if you enjoy minimalistic, ambient electronic music of the instrumental variety, and especially if you enjoy the sound of vintage keyboards, this is a production that should intrigue you. Even more so if you tend to enjoy music of this kind that contains at least some references to the so-called Berlin school of electronic music.

 Read the full review by Olav M Bjornsen at progressor.net

Media/Samples 
Bandcamp

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Univers Zero "Phosphorescent Dreams"

Country: Belgium
Sub Genre: Avant Prog
Label: Label Arcangelo
Release date: January 22, 2014
Tracklist: 
1. Shaking Hats
2. Rêve Mécanique
3. Très Affables
4. Vocation
5. Les Voleurs d'Ombre
6. L'Espoir Perdu
7. Phosphorescent Dream

Line-up: 
Kurt Budé - clarinet, bass clarinet, alto and tenor saxophones and percussion
Daniel Denis - drums and percussion
Dimitri Evers - electric and fretless bass
Nicolas Dechêne - electric and acoustic guitars
Antoine Guenet - keyboard
   With
Nicolas Denis - drums and percussion (3)
Hugues Tahon - trumpet (2, 6 & 7)
Adrien Lambinet - trombone (2 & 6)

Links:
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Toy Masheen "Toy Masheen"

Country: USA
Sub Genre: Progressive Rock
Release date: January, 2014
Tracklist: 

1. Moonshot Me 7:04
2. Molto Vivace  11:27
3. Portmeirion 9:07
4. Toy Masheen Suite 15:42

i Overture
ii Modern Day
iii Fugue
iv World's Competition
v Modern Day Reprise
vi Misfit Toys Revolt
vii The Ties That Bind
viii Llanberis Pass (an Improvisation)
ix Yorkshire

Line-up: 
Brett Bottomley - Chapman Stick and Stick Midi triggering
Rich Broga - Vocals
Paul Petrillo - Drums
Roland Pepin - Keyboards
Deanna Broga - Vocals

Media/Samples 
Teaser

Links:
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Tempel "On The Steps Of The Temple"

Country: USA
Sub Genre: Instrumental Post Metal
Label: Prosthetic Records
Release date: January 21, 2014
Tracklist: 
1. Mountain (8:30)
2. Rising from the Abyss (9:05)
3. Final Years (4:35)
4. The Mist That Shrouds the Peaks (10:15)
5. Avaritia (8:41)
6. On the Steps of the Temple (10:59)

Line-up: 
Ryan Wenzel - guitars, keyboards
Rich Corle - drums

Description/Reviews: 

Tempel mixes black, doom, post and a few death tones but not by inserting them one after the other or taking a few standard riffs of each. Instead, the sounds of the genres are mixed, creating a sound that’s utterly new and better than the sum of the genres. A grainy guitar that synesthetically speaking sounds just like the brambles on the cover underlines every riff, while chiming guitar embellishments with a sound as golden as the album cover sky raise the atmosphere. Underneath all this bass riffs and complexities amplify the other sound elements. There are never too many overdubs, but always enough. Interestingly, the skeletal drums have a vague touch of that mixed-in quality of Electric Wizard’s ‘Come My Fanatics’ while retaining their heaviness.

Read the full review by Jochem Visser at thesleepingshaman.com

Media/Samples 
Bandcamp

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