Holle Mangler "Tales From A Fairy World (Part 2)"

Country: Germany
Genre(s): Instrumental Atmospheric Progressive Rock, Electronica, Ambient
Format: digital
Release date: May 20, 2025
Tracklist

1. The Sorcerer (10:56) 

2. Staring Into The Eyes Of Death (11:19) 

3. Panic (4:36) 

4. Funeral For An Oath (11:00) 

5. Liberation (12:43) 

6. Along The Butterfly Meadow (5:55) 

7. Page 21 (6:30) 

8. Garden Of Rebirth (2:00) 

9. Gathering Of The Council Of Elders (13:10) 

10. Outro (1:27) 

Total Time 79:36

Credits

All tracks composed, arranged and produced by Holle Mangler

Cover Art by Steven Stahlberg

Description/Reviews:

Although it is the most varied and dynamic release so far, the style cannot be clearly assigned. However, it shows parallels to progressive rock, as well as to the familiar electronic sound.

Media/Samples
Bandcamp

Links:
Web page (Free Download)

Skullcap "Snakes of Albuquerque"

Country: USA
Genre(s): Instrumental Jazz-Rock, Fusion
Label: Cuneiform Records
Format: CD, digital,vinyl
Release date: May 30, 2025
Tracklist

1. Pine Trees Of Tennessee (5:35) 

2. Rt. 40 (3:13) 

3. Bear Out There (3:27) 

4. Journey To The Sunset (3:21) 

5. Snakes Of Albuquerque (4:27) 

6. Miles (1:06) 

7. Orange Sky (4:21) 

8. Just Passin' Thru (1:55) 

9. Desert Turtles (6:20) 

10. Ambrosia Burger (1:32) 

Total Time 35:17

Credits

Janel Leppin - cello, Minimoog

Anthony Pirog - electric guitar

Mike Kuhl - drums, percussion

All compositions by Skullcap.

Recorded at The Brink Analog and Digital Studios in Richmond, VA on December 27–28, 2023.

Engineering, mixing and mastering by Mike Reina.

Produced by Mike Reina.

Description/Reviews:

Snakes of Albuquerque is the debut recording from the rock and jazz, free improvising, classically informed, adventurously rhythmic, and memorably tuneful power cello trio Skullcap.

This is not a band that is easy to pigeonhole. The song titles offer a kind of road map through its unpredictable terrain. ‘Journey to the Sunset’, ‘Snakes of Albuquerque’: these suggest Gothy darkness, jumper cable skronk, and an internationalist mindset, all qualities apparent in Skullcap’s sound. But tying those attributes to a single genre? Not going to happen.

Snakes of Albuquerque is a record of instrumental rock that doesn't sound like anyone else. With this instrumentation, how could it? 

Media/Samples
Bandcamp

Lorentzen "Leave Nobody Behind"

Country: Norway
Genre(s): Instrumental Progressive Rock, Classical
Label: Apollon Records Prog
Format: CD, digital, vinyl
Release date: May 30, 2025 (CD, digital), July 4, 2025 (vinyl)
Tracklist

1. Leave Nobody Behind (9:20) 

2. Autumn (1:03) 

3. Offering To Lares (7:40) 

4. Evening (0:49) 

5. Lament (1:34) 

6. Dimensions Of Hope (6:28) 

7. The Dark Hours Of My Being (1:00) 

8. Solitude (1:32) 

9. Leave Nobody Behind 2 (4:33) 

10. Symbols (0:52) 

11. Remembrance (1:12) 

12. Dimensions Of Hope (4:49) 

13. Autumnal Day (2:20) 

Total Time 43:12

Credits

Eivind Lorentzen (Gentle Knife)
    With
Atle Pakusch Gundersen (Wintherstormer, The Cut)
Trond Gjellum (Panzerpappa)
Jácome Guerrero Kiko (Superkabras)
Paulin Skoglund-Voss - cello
Markus Reuter (Stick Men)
Davide Rossi - violin
Charlotte Valstad Nilsen (Gentle Knife)
Brian Talgo - mellotron, recitations

The album was mostly recorded in Lydkjøkkenet by Øystein Vesaas and in Double Decker Studios by Arild Brøter
Mastering by Jacob Holm-Lupo
Cover design by Siv Gade Lien
Additional artwork by Susanne Hæstad.

The album is produced and mixed by Eivind Lorentzen and Øystein Vesaas.
Music composed by Lorentzen except Dimensions of Hope I-II composed by Lorentzen, Antonio de Honestis and John Sinks.

Description/Reviews:

A roster of great contributors come together in this project helmed by Norwegian musician and composer Eivind Lorentzen (ex-Gentle Knife, Oldenborre, K, Synsbedragerne etc). Together they create an album of evocative minimalist prog characterized by great performances interspersed with readings of Rilke. Firmly rooted in the prog, modern classical and nordic jazz realms, and nodding to Vasks, Reich, Fripp, Frahm, Bartsch and others. 

Repeating motives in asymmetric meters are contrasted and echoed with live strings, drums and acoustic and electric guitars.  A listener phrased it as “humanistic minimalism”. At first glance apparently nothing much goes on… but then it does… Hope remains a central dimension in the record, expressed in the album title Leave Nobody Behind and the eponymous pieces as well as in the pieces Dimensions of Hope I-II, and notwithstanding The Dark Hours of my Being (a Rilke poem recited on the record).

Media/Samples
Streams

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Phil Selvini & The Mind Warp "T.E.T.R.U.S."

Country: Italy
Genre(s): Progressive Rock
Label: Luminol Records 
Format: CD,vinyl,digital
Release date: May 16, 2025 (digital)
Tracklist

1. To Make Ends Meet (9:10) 

2. Reverie (Including ''Cloud Nine") (5:11) 

3. Riding In The Fog (8:17) 

4. The Last 48 Hours (7:46) 

5. The Mind Warp (26:18) 

Total Time 56:42

Credits

Phil Selvini: guitar, vocals, mellotron, effects

Leonardo Spampinato: guitar

Davide Sebartoli: keyboards

Francesco Scordo: bass

Leonardo Puglisi: drums

Description/Reviews:

Composer, author, singer, guitarist, dreamer Phil Selvini defines his artistic production as classically '70s progressive rock, with melancholic solutions and extensive use of organs, synths and mellotron, complicated structures and long-lasting songs. Influenced by King Crimson, Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, with the Mind Warp Phil Selvini has achieved the goal of being able to lead a collective capable of reproducing and rearranging his songs. This reality is represented as an entity, a container of emotions, the fusion and opposition of ideas, order and disorder, the most stormy chaos and the most solemn quiet, the mind alien to the body. 

Phil introduces the five tracks of T.E.T.R.U.S. as follows: "In To Make Ends Meet alienation and mass control, consumerism and empty conformism are the main themes. The rhythm is nervous, the atmosphere at times disturbing and dreamy at the same time, they evoke images of empty people in search of a leader, like sheep in need of a shepherd. Whoever dares to rebel against the rules is considered a madman by a conservative, greedy society populated by schizophrenic men. The introspective and melancholic Riding In The Fog recalls, from time to time, Pink Floyd with its ascending melodies and evocative passages here give shape to a sleepless and silent ghost that rides through the hills on a foggy night. The Last 48 Hours and the suite The Mind Warp are somehow connected, they tell the emotions that can be felt due to the loss of a loved one. Pain, mourning, delirium, threatening shadows and the inner feeling of cold that an empty house can transmit. But here the marble house can also be understood as a metaphor for the tomb, and the general atmosphere of these last two pieces is that of a touching and sincere elegy".

Media/Samples
Streams

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Zio Crocifisso "Campana di Legno + Trappola per Topi"

Country: Italy
Genre(s): Instrumental Avant Prog 
Label: AMS
Format: CD, digital
Release date: May 10, 2025
Tracklist

1. L'acconto

2. Arenicola 

3. Speziale

4. Metaxu

5. Il Tramonto dell'Occidente si Avvicina

6. Lievito Madre (PT. I-V)

7. Buone Parole

8. E Mele Fradicie

9. Margherita Legge Umberto G.

10. La Rivolta dei Servi

11. La Malabestia di Calafato

12. Vince

13. Il Cuore si Stanca anche Lui

14. La Malora

Credits

Paolo "SKE" Botta (Yūgen, SKE, Not a Good Sign) - Keyboards

Dario Magri (Yokoano, Sho) - Drums

Fabio Malizia (Orbe) - Bass

Matteo Serenelli (The Appetizers) - Guitars

   With

Thea Ellingsen Grant (Juno) - Vocals

Andrea "Mitzi" Dal Santo (Christadoro) - Vocals

Simen Ådnøy Ellingsen (Shamblemaths) - Saxophones

Jacopo Costa (Yūgen, Loomings, Oiapok) - Vibraphone

Margherita Botta - Vocals

Elia Leon Mariani (Yūgen, SKE) - Violin

La Miniera - Choir

Recorded by Davide Vezzoli at Alari Park Studios,

Matteo Serenelli at Albero Musicale

and Paolo "SKE" Botta at South Central Ceppine Studios

Mixed by Matteo Serenelli at Albero Musicale

© Mastered by Fabio Intraina at Trai Studios

Mastered by Matteo Serenelli at Albero Musicale

Executive production: Matthias Scheller / AMS Records

Illustrations by bicindolor.com

Graphics by Paolo “SKE” Botta

Description/Reviews:

Zio Crocifisso is an Italian instrumental avant-prog band. The character we portray (taken from Verga's novel "I Malavoglia") represents the expression "there's none so deaf as those who will not hear".

We are inspired by bands such as King Crimson, Poil, Melvins, Tool, Zu and Sleepytime Gorilla Museum.

This album is the result of the merging of three different approaches to music. Rather than finding a common ground, we tried to merge our ideas to find different and hopefully interesting solutions. Hope you enjoy what we did.

This material is released on CD by AMS Records, and includes all music from 2024's Campana di Legno EP + new unreleased material named "Trappola per Topi" for a total lenght of + 50:16 +

Media/Samples
Bandcamp

Links:
Web page
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Progarchives
Proggnosis

Gösta Berlings Saga "Forever Now"

Country: Sweden
Genre(s): Instrumental Progressive Rock
Label: Pelagic Records
Format: CD, vinyl, digital
Release date: June 6, 2025
Tracklist

1. Full Release

2. Through The Arches

3. Arrangements

4. Forever Now

5. The Sprig and the Birch

6. Fragment II

7. Ascension

8. Dog Years

9. Make of Your Heart a Stone

10. Ceremonial

Credits

Rasmus Booberg - guitars, mixing

David Lundberg - keyboards

Alexander Skepp - drums, percussion

Gabriel Tapper - bass

Jesper Skarin - percussion

Media/Samples
Bandcamp

Links:
Web page
Facebook
Progarchives
Proggnosis

Dice "Awen Energy From Outer Space"

Country: Germany
Genre(s): Progressive Rock
Label: Scene Records
Format: CD, digital
Release date: July 18, 2025
Tracklist

1. Chasing The Sun (11:55) 

2. Burning Paper (9:45) 

3. Living In This Mad World (13:03) 

4. Lost In Time (8:38) 

5. Awen Paper Outro (Dreamscene 27) (4:15) 

6. Deep In Outer Space (12:03) 

Total Time 59:39

Credits

Christian Nóvé - vocals, keyboards, bass

Ramona Nóvé - background vocals

Yannick Franke - guitars

Tom Tomson - drums

Links:
Web page
Progarchives
Proggnosis

Marco Mattei "Age of Fragility"

Country: Italy
Genre(s): Progressive Rock
Label: M.P. & Records (World), 7d Media/Third Star Records (NA)
Format: CD,digital
Release date: May 16, 2025
Tracklist

1. Just Tired (7:52) 

2. You Don’t Deserve It (3:39) 

3. Human Again (3:42) 

4. Wrong (3:29) 

5. Insomnia (5:25) 

6. A Trick Of The Mind (4:49) 

7. Watermark In My Heart (3:04) 

8. So Fragile (4:22) 

9. End Of The Line (6:01) 

10. Just Tired (Extended Version) (11:09) 

Total Time 53:32

Credits

Marco Mattei: Electric Guitars, Guitar Loops, Bouzouki, Acoustic Guitars, Celesta, Keyboards, Percussion, and Programming, Lead Vocals (2)

Duilio Galioto (PFM): Piano, Wurlitzer, Hammond B3, Mellotron, Lowrey Organ, Rhodes Mk1, Vox Continental, Farfisa Compact Deluxe, Memory Moog

Jerry Marotta (Peter Gabriel, Paul McCartney): Drums, Percussion

Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel, King Crimson): Electric Bass, Upright Bass

Dave Bond: Lead Vocals (1, 10), Backing Vocals (2)

Malena Ramonet: Lead and Backing Vocals (3)

Tino Boley: Lead Vocals (4)

Jennifer Maidman: Voice (5)

Trey Gunn (King Crimson): Warr Guitar (5)

Jeff Kightly: Lead and Backing Vocals (6)

Peter Voronov: Violin (6)

Joe Edelmann: Lead and Backing Vocals (7)

María Betania Hernández: Cello, Viola and Violin (7, 8)

Wrongonyou: Lead and Back Vocals (9)

Michele Boni: Cavaquinho (9)

Katrin Romanova: Harp (9)

Artwork by Bernhard Wösteinrich, elaborated for the Italian version by OndemediE

Music and lyrics by Marco Mattei, except "So fragile" (music by Marco Mattei and Duilio Galioto, lyrics by Marco Mattei)

Recorded in June 2024 at Dreamland Studios in Woodstock, NY

Mixed, mastered and produced by Marco Mattei

Description/Reviews:

An album that introduces a peculiar fusion of ethno-worldbeat, progressive rock and art rock.

"Age of Fragility" is a concept album that creates the most suitable sound environment to represent particular moods of modern life, telling stories of isolation, indifference, emotional dependence, fragile relationships, self-sabotage and depression. Through its poignant lyrics, the album paints a vivid portrait of the fragility and complexity of the human experience.

The album was , where an incredible ensemble of musicians gave life to the compositions of Marco Mattei, who is also the producer of the album.  The result is a deeply emotional and engaging sonic journey, with songs that strike deep chords, offering listeners a rewarding experience with every listen. 

Media/Samples
Just Tired
Bandcamp

Links:
Web page
Facebook
Proggnosis

Surunaamio "Surunaamio"

Country: Finland
Genre(s): Progressive Rock/Metal
Label: Isosisko Records
Format: digital
Release date: May 30, 2025
Tracklist

1. Musta

2. Epäinhimillinen

3. Äänetön kevät

4. Kuoleman kentät

5. Näkymätön voima

6. Erämaa

7. Yksinäinen tuli

8. Menneisyys

Credits
Kalle Koo (At The Hollow) - Vocals, guitars & bass

Matias Rokio - Drums

Music & lyrics by Kalle Koo

Recorded, mixed & mastered by Janne Saksa

Album cover by Tuomas Vuorensola

Description/Reviews:

While At the Hollow’s soundscape was serene and sensitive, tranquillity has transformed into rage, anger and power that comes from deep within. The album’s music combines the raw sensitivity and punk attitude of Apulanta’s Kiila with the heavy melodic nature of Dissection’s Reinkaos album. The drums hit hard, the riffs cut deep, and the vocals carry with strength. Despite the heavy surface, Surunaamio also carries a deep blue melancholy, not unlike Juha Tapio. The combination of Surunaamio doesn’t neatly fit into any single genre, but it contains influences from different directions and makes it something entirely its own. Light, shadows and every shade in between.

Media/Samples
Äänetön kevät
Näkymätön voima

Links:
Facebook (Kalle Koo)

Zolar Czack "Who?"

Country: Ukraine
Genre(s): Instrumental Jazz-Rock, Fusion
Format: digital
Release date: May 11, 2025
Tracklist

1. Badaboom (1:15) 

2. Falling Moon (4:42) 

3. Zin (4:50) 

4. Qarakorshaq (4:29) 

5. Hyakki Yagyō (3:28) 

6. Paradox Of Place (4:33) 

7. Abura-sumashi (4:00) 

8. Time (4:13) 

9. Portal (5:04) 

10. Eat The Frog (6:00) 

Total Time 42:34

Credits
Composed and recorded by Dennis Fursov (Quiet Observer)

Media/Samples
Bandcamp

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