Dreadnought "Emergence"

Country: USA
Genre(s): Eclectic Progressive Rock/Metal
Label: Profound Lore
Format: CD, digital, vinyl
Release date: May 10, 2019
Tracklist: 
1. Besieged
2. Still
3. Pestilent
4. Tempered
5. The Waking Realm

Line-up: 
Kelly Schilling - guitar, flute, clean and harsh vocals
Jordan Clancy - drums, alto/tenor saxophone
Kevin Handlon - bass, mandolin
Lauren Vieira - keys, clean vocals

Description/Reviews: 

For their fourth long player, DREADNOUGHT follow-up their 2017 A Wake In Sacred Waves acclamation with an album that takes their singular multiplex and pictorial sound to new sonic realms even more heavily textile, complex, and vastly designed.  Emergence sees the four-piece delving more into heavier and darker sonic territory as well, an aspect that was evident with A Wake... but has become fully realized with Emergence.

Media/Samples 
Besieged

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Vaura "Sables"

Country: USA
Genre(s): Experimental Art Rock, Gothic, New Wave
Label: Profound Lore Records
Format: CD, digital, vinyl
Release date: April 26, 2019
Tracklist: 
1. Espionage (4:11)
2. Zwischen (5:42)
3. The Lightless Ones (5:16)
4. The Ruins (Hymne) (5:17)
5. No Guardians (5:10)
6. Eidolon (6:12)
7. Basilisk (The Infinite Corpse) (5:27)
8. Sables (5:45)

Total Time 43:00

Line-up: 
Josh Strawn (Azar Swan, Religious To Damn) - vocals, guitar, synthesizers
Kevin Hufnagel (Gorguts, Dysrhythmia) - guitar
Toby Driver (Kayo Dot, Maudlin Of The Well) - bass
Charlie Schmid - drums, electronics

Description/Reviews: 

...now on Sables, they took whatever metal influence their first two records had and threw it out the window.
Instead, Sables fees like it takes a blend of the dark side of '80s pop, with a lot of post-punk, new wave, and goth rock influence (think The Cure, New Order, and The Chameleons) and putting it through a more modern experimental prog rock lens. 

Read the full review at metalstorm.net

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Bandcamp

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Pallbearer "Heartless"

Country: USA
Genre(s): Progressive Doom Rock/Metal
Label: Nuclear Blast, Profound Lore Records
Format: CD, vinyl, digital
Release date: March 24, 2017
Tracklist: 
1. I Saw The End (6:21)
2. Thorns (5:24)
3. Lie Of Survival (8:25)
4. Dancing In Madness (11:47)
5. Cruel Road (7:13)
6. Heartless (8:09)
7. A Plea For Understanding (12:40)

Total time 59:59

Line-up: 
Joseph D. Rowland - Bass, Vocals, Synthesizers
Devin Holt - Guitars, Vocals
Brett Campbell - Guitars, Vocals, Synthesizers
Mark Lierly - Drums

Description/Reviews: 

Pallbearer’s third album, Heartless, is an inspired collection of monumental rock music. The band offers a complex sonic architecture that weaves together the spacious exploratory elements of classic prog, the raw anthemics of 90’s alt-rock, and stretches of black-lit proto-metal. From the gloriously complex, sky-lit opener “I Saw the End” to the earth-shaking (and heartbreaking) 13-minute closer “A Plea for Understanding,” the entire group puts forth the full realization of their vision: More than a doom band, Pallbearer is a rock group with a singular songwriting talent and emotional capacity. Heartless finds the group putting forth their strongest individual efforts to date: Campbell and Rowland, along with guitarist/vocalist Devin Holt and drummer Mark Lierly, turn in peak marathon performances. Both Campbell and Rowland also handle synthesizers alongside their normal duties, and there are plenty of gently strummed acoustic guitars amid the crunchy electric ones, adding a moody, ethereal spareness to the towering metal. The almost 12-minute “Dancing in Madness” opens with dark post-rock ambience and moves toward emotional blues before exploding into a sludgy psychedelic anthem. A number of the seven songs feature a humid rock swagger.

By fusing their widest musical palette to date, Pallbearer make the kind of heavy rock (the heavy moments are *heavy*) that will appeal to diehards, but could also find the group crossing over into newer territories and fanbases. After having helped revitalize doom metal, it almost feels like they’ve gone and set their sights on rock and roll itself. Which doesn’t seem at all impossible on the back of a record like Heartless.

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Dysrhythmia "The Veil Of Control"

Country: USA
Genre(s): Instrumental Progressive Rock/Metal
Label: Profound Lore Records
Format: CD, digital, vinyl
Release date: September 23, 2016
Tracklist: 
1. The Veil Of Control (5:40)
2. Internal / Eternal (6:23)
3. Black Memory (4:56)
4. Selective Abstraction (5:02)
5. Severed And Whole (5:07)
6. When Whens End (8:29)

Total Time 35:37

Line-up: 
Kevin Hufnagel (Gorguts) - gutiars
Colin Marston (Gorguts) - bass
Jeff Eber - drums

Description/Reviews: 

“Internal_Eternal” opens with a classic King Crimson guitar line, hypnotizing us for a full minute before the band really kicks in with some jazzy improv. One can hear the post-metal similarity to Russian Circles by the midpoint here, with a less technical, more flowing variation on the guitar line, backed by a conventional chord progression and relatively sparse drum fills. I say relatively because Jeff Eber is a monster on the drums, and can make the listener dizzy with his fills.

Read the full review at angrymetalguy.com

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Bandcamp

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Bosse-De-Nage "All Fours"

Country: USA
Genre(s): Progressive Extreme Metal
Label: Profound Lore Records, Flenser Records (vinyl)
Format: CD, digital, vinyl
Release date: April 14, 2015 (CD, digital)
Tracklist: 

1. At Night 08:21
2. The Industry Of Distance 05:57
3. - 02:04
4. A Subtle Change 05:52
5. Washerwoman 09:21
6. In A Yard Somewhere 05:45
7. To Fall Down 07:43
8. The Most Modern Staircase 09:48

Line-up: 
D. - Bass
H. - Drums
M. - Guitars
Bryan Manning - Vocals

Description/Reviews: 

Certifiably not a black metal band or release, Bosse-de-Nage’s grip on the extreme, whether its noise or post-based blends seamlessly with their caustic riff ideas, which yes, are borderline BM. Nevertheless, the reckless, unfettered nature of opener “At Night” is one of the most brazen things the band have done to date, with vocalist Bryan Manning hurling his ugly, feral voice across the track, while boiling blasts and wry chord combinations get down. The album’s real catch would be “A Subtle Change,” a number that buzzes with almost a punk/Killing Joke abandon, where upon a wide, but melodic chord structure takes hold. Elsewhere, more unrefined ideas are brought into the mix: “In a Yard Somewhere” is anchored in a solid mid-tempo with Scandinavian-styled riff action, while closer “The Most Modern Staircase” (love the title) features the convergence of delicate post-rock guitars, and utter extremity in a nine-minute package.

 Read the full review by David E. Gehlke at deadrhetoric.com

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Bandcamp

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Pyramids "A Northern Meadow"

Country: USA
Genre(s): Post Rock/Metal
Label: Profound Lore Records
Format: CD, digital
Release date: March 17, 2015
Tracklist: 

1. In Perfect Stillness, I've Only Found Sorrow (5:26) 
2. The Earth Melts Into Red Gashes Like The Mouths Of Whales (6:01) 
3. The Substance Of Grief Is Not Imaginary (5:32) 
4. Indigo Birds (7:55) 
5. I Have Four Sons, All Named For Men We Lost To War (3:50) 
6. I Am So Sorry, Goodbye (7:10) 
7. My Father, Tall As Goliath (4:30) 
8. Consilience (9:23) 

Line-up: 
R. Loren
M. Dean
M. Craig
D. Willaim
   With
Colin Marston (Gorguts/Krallice/Dysrhythmia)
Vindsval (Blut Aus Nord)
William Fowler Collins

Description/Reviews: 

Well, this is different! Sounding like a meeting of minds between Steven Wilson and Blut Aus Nord, Pyramids mix drum machine (programmed by Vindsval himself), high-pitched but bearable vocals and droning yet melodic riffs (with Colin Marston's aid) to near-perfect outcome. It's a curious album, not least because I missed the hype on the band's 2008 début and as such came to this completely free of preconceptions. I've seen this called black metal in places, but it's only black metal in the same way that recent Alcest is, ie not much; it's closer to the likes of Jesu, building walls of pleasant sound from industrial building blocks, yet doesn't have the fragility and innocent wonder of Justin Broadrick's project at its best. Instead, the overriding vibe is that of the post-rock elements (if song titles such as The Earth Melts into Red Gashes like the Mouths of Whales wasn't clue enough) given a sinister undercurrent thanks to the drum machine backing, dissonant riffing and moments like the electronically-fragmented vocals in The Substance of Grief is Not Imaginary and the gloomy Consilience. It's nowhere near as disturbing as the artwork, though.

 Read the full review at metalreviews.com

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Bandcamp

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Sumac "The Deal"

Country: USA/Canada
Genre(s): Post Metal
Label: Profound Lore Records
Format: CD, digital
Release date: February 17, 2015
Tracklist: 
1. Spectral Gold (3:18)
2. Thorn In The Lion's Paw (8:54)
3. Hollow King (12:21)
4. Blight's End Angel (10:16)
5. The Deal (13:41)
6. The Radiance Of Being (5:15)

Line-up: 
Aaron Turner (Isis, Old Man Gloom, Mamiffer) - guitars, vocals
Nick Yacyshyn (Baptist) - drums
   With
Brian Cook (Russian Circles, Botch, These Arms Are Snakes) - bass

Description/Reviews: 

Sonically, The Deal isn't a far cry from the explorations in heft and ambience that Old Man Gloom have recorded during their irregular bursts of creativity. There's also aspects of the industrial metal sturm und drang Isis adopted from Godflesh for 2000's Celestial, as well as the rhythmic battery of noise-rock bolstered by Yacyshyn's fill-frenzy drumming. Plus, the expressive, crushing bass playing we've come to expect from Cook's past creative endeavours – particularly his approach to adding depth and extra percussive pulse to Russian Circles' music – is in full force. But instead of sounding like a cluttered mélange of those individual styles and influences, The Deal displays a unified stance – maybe a result of Turner's unyielding vision for his new band (to write the heaviest music he has ever created) and his years of experience in conveying his ideas into all-encompassing art.

Read the full review by Dean Brown at thequietus.com

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Bandcamp

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Agalloch "The Serpent & The Sphere"

Country: USA
Sub Genre: Post Metal, Black Metal, Folk
Label: Profound Lore Records
Release date: May 13, 2014 (NA),  May 19, 2014 (in Europe via Eisenwald and in Japan via Daymare)
Tracklist: 
1. Birth and Death of the Pillars of Creation
2. (serpens caput)
3. The Astral Dialogue
4. Dark Matter Gods
5. Celestial Effigy
6. Cor Serpentis (the sphere)
7. Vales Beyond Dimension
8. Plateau of the Ages
9. (serpens cauda)

Line-up: 
John Haughm
Don Anderson
Jason Walton
Aesop
   With
Nathanaël Larochette - guitar

Description/Reviews: 

“The Serpent & The Sphere” sees Agalloch take their progressive musical oeuvre to another level, all while maintaining the classic Agalloch sound.  It is an album that reveals the band’s darkest, most meticulously crafted, and atmospherically surging work of their seventeen-year career.

Media/Samples 
Celestial Effigy

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Artificial Brain "Labyrinth Constellation"

Country: USA
Sub Genre: Tech/Extreme Progressive Metal
Label: Profound Lore Records
Release date: February 18, 2014
Tracklist: 
1. Brain Transplant (2:38)
2. Absorbing Black Ignition (5:23)
3. Wired Opposites (3:14)
4. Worm Harvester (3:54)
5. Frozen Planets (4:08)
6. Orbital Gait (4:12)
7. Bastard Planet (3:12)
8. Labyrinth Constellation (4:48)
9. Hormone's Echo (6:37)
10. Moon Funeral (7:01)

Line-up: 
Will Smith - Vocals
Jon Locastro - Guitar
Dan Gargiulo - Guitar
Samuel Smith - Bass
Keith Abrami - Drums

Description/Reviews: 

It’s remarkable how the songs, while slippery and skronky, overall barrel forward in a largely straightforward blasting manner. In a sense, it gives you a taste of death metal filtered through a Gorguts or Ulcerate lens, but never to the point where the song structures would be off-putting to less open-minded death metal fans. Artificial Brain’s innumerable transitions between black and death metal are seamless and impressive. Their mixed genre muddling of the two delivers in both deadly and depressing ways.
Sure, this is sci-fi influenced, but not in a cheesy way. Synths do not form the core of the empty void like the cosmos they conjure, as they only appear on the title track (as established in an interview I read). As the band have explained, the many other times when you think you might be hearing synth, it’s actually filters added to their voices/instruments. Now that’s pretty cool if you ask me!
To get an idea of what this sounds like,  imagine the structuring and discordance of Gorguts,  fuel that with black metal reminiscent of Deathspell Omega, and strain that output through a brutal Wormed-type assault. The resulting mixture is brutal, beautiful, bastardized, and altogether a bold effort that transcends the band’s influences to make an album that is both high octane and high art. Will Smith’s vocals are not the only thin that gives the album a disturbing Demilich feel from time to time as well.

 Read the full review by at nocleansinging.com

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Bandcamp

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Vaura “The Missing”

Country: USA
Sub Genre: Post Metal
Label: Profound Lore Records
Release date: October 29, 2013
Tracklist: 
1. The Missing
2. Incomplete Burning
3. The Fire
4. Mare Of The Snake
5. Pleasure Blind
6. Passage To Vice
7. The Things That We All Hide
8. Braced For Collapse
9. Abeyance
10. Putting Flesh To Bone

Line-up: 
Josh Strawn (Religious To Damn) - vocals, guitar
Kevin Hufnagel (Gorguts, Dysrhythmia) - guitar
Toby Driver (Kayo Dot, Maudlin Of The Well) - bass
Charlie Schmid - drums

Description/Reviews: 

Following last year’s “Selenelion” release, Vaura  take their unique style of combining progressive metal and classic ‘80s goth/darkwave into more defined and dense territory with “The Missing”.  With a sound and aesthetic influenced by the darker and more brooding moments of the aforementioned styles when they came to fruition in the ‘80s, Vaura also incorporate sounds also reminiscing the likes of post punk, early ‘90s indie rock, and shoegaze respectively along with some intricate moments found on “The Missing” that even hark back to the heyday of classic-era Queensryche and “Grace Under Pressure” era Rush.

Media/Samples 
Incomplete Burning

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Castevet "Obsian"

Country: USA
Sub Genre: Tech/Extreme Progressive Metal, Black Metal
Label: Profound Lore Records
Release date: October 15, 2013
Tracklist: 
1. The Tower
2. Cavernous
3. The Curve
4. Fathomed By Beggars And Victims
5. Obsian
6. The Seat Of Severance

Line-up: 
Ian Jacyszyn - Drums
Andrew Hock - Vocals, Guitars
Nicholas McMaster - Bass

Description/Reviews: 

With “Obsian” Castevet have crafted a more-dense, immense, and layered album than its predecessor, an album which defines a new paradigm in dissonant blackened progressive metal dementia.  With layered rhythmic uneasiness and meticulously constructed musical counterpoint serving its purpose as a crawling hateful offering unlike anything you’ll hear within metal this year, “Obsian” is the vision of three of artistically fervent musicians who sonically portray a morally impaired and devastating scenario of inevitable ruin and downfall.

Media/Samples 
As Fathomed By Beggars And Victims

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Subrosa "More Constant Than the Gods"

Country: USA
Sub Genre: Post Metal, Doom, Sludge
Label: Profound Lore Records
Release date: September 17, 2013
Tracklist: 
1. The Usher
2. Ghosts of a Dead Empire
3. Cosey Mo
4. Fat of the Ram
5. Affliction
6. No Safe Harbor

Line-up: 
Rebecca Vernon: Guitar, vocals
Sarah Pendleton: Electric violin, vocals
Kim Pack: Electric violin, vocals
Christian Creek: Bass
Andy Patterson: Drums

Description/Reviews: 

SubRosa has a sound that is a bit hard to define, and that in itself is a strength.  We have the low-end heaviness of Neurosis meeting the melancholy of A Perfect Circle.  This is then draped in the haunting sweeps and sighs of the violins, enhanced by other instruments such as hammer dulcimer and flute, and tied together by strong (yet somehow delicate) layered vocals.  

Read the full review by Daniel Keating at deadrhetoric.com

Media/Samples 
Ghosts of a Dead Empire
Cosey Mo

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Altar Of Plagues “Teethed Glory And Injury”

Country: Ireland
Sub Genre: Post Metal, Experimental, Ambient
Label: Profound Lore Records/Candlelight Records
Release date: April 30, 2013
Tracklist: 

1. Mills
2. God Alone
3. A Body Shrouded
4. Burnt Year
5. A Remedy And A Fever
6. Twelve Was Ruin
7. Scald Scar Of Water
8. Found, Oval And Final
9. Reflection Pulse Remains


Line-up: 

James Kelly - guitars, vocals, keyboards
Dave Condon - bass, vocals
Johnny "S. MacAnri" King - drums

Description/Reviews: 

With “TGAI” a wholly new sonic canvas has been created. While still harnessing the elements in which helped shape their sound in the past (the black metal and post-rock influence, even though now more marginalized), “TGAI” sees Altar Of Plagues create not only their most unconventional and visceral album yet, but their most overwhelming album in their repertoire. With an array of elements that range from industrial, electronica, along with taking the ambient and experimental influence that much further by creating a more extreme and even harsher soundscape, the many sounds generated on “TGAI” become weaved and integrated to create an unforgiving scenario of suffocating majestic glorious noise and sonic mental disarray. The result being “TGAI” defined as a vision unparalleled.

Media/Samples 
God Alone

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Portal "Vexovoid"

Country: Australia
Sub Genre: Tech/Extreme Progressive Metal
Label: Profound Lore Records
Release date: February 19, 2013
Tracklist: 
1. Kilter (5:46)
2. The Back Wards (4:16)
3. Curtain (6:57)
4. Plasm (5:47)
5. Awryeon (4:21)
6. Orbmorphia (2:40)
7. Oblotten (5:16)

Line-up: 
-Horror Illogium / Drum programming, Lead Guitars
-The Curator / Vocals
-Aphotic Mote / Rhythm Guitars
-Ignis Fatuus / Drums
-Omenous Fugue / Bass

Description/Reviews: 

Let me be clear — Portal has not become normal. Vexovoid, like every album the band has ever made, is a hellscape in audio, a truly scary answer to death metal’s typically schlocky approach to darkness and evil. But there’s a reason “Curtain” premiered on Pitchfork and “The Back Wards” premiered on NPR. By marrying the relatively conventional but roughly produced Seepia with the deliberately off-putting weirdness of Outre and Swarth, the Curator and his fellow emissaries have stumbled upon the perfect blueprint for a Portal record. Listenable enough to show your friends; demented enough to give them nightmares.

Read the full review by at invisibleoranges.com

Media/Samples 
The Back Wards
Curtain
Orbmorphia

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