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I’m looking forward to their next release at least as much as any other band on this list.
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Harsh vocals and blastbeats perfectly offset mellower progressive moments, and the boys in Oceans of Slumber are definitely up to the task of playing music deserving of Gilbert’s vocal talents. Somehow, despite what on paper looks like a number of mismatches in musical and vocal style, Winter turns out to be a brilliant chemist’s experiment much like the Cult of Luna/Julie Christmas collaboration. Gilbert’s sultry, bluesy, soulful powerhouse vocals take the band’s chaotic mix of progressively-laced death/doom/black metal to unforeseen heights on Winter, the band’s second full-length effort. The best thing Texas’s Oceans of Slumber did was recruit sublimely talented vocalist Cammie Gilbert to front their band. Oceans of Slumber – Winter (Century Media) The title track is one of the finest epic prog songs of the year, but the album as a whole has no weaknesses. Hints of death metal, doom, and old-school metal permeate The Northern Sanctuary, with Swanö’s clean and harsh vocals blending perfectly (and at times humorously) with guitarist Ragnar Widerberg’s excellent work. Musicianship and production are top-notch, as one would expect from Swanö, and the variety of songwriting keeps listeners on their toes throughout. The Northern Sanctuary is a step up in all facets from the band’s first record. The prolific and always entertaining Dan Swanö returns with his death metal-tinged prog metal project, Witherscape. Witherscape – The Northern Sanctuary (Century Media) Excellent songwriting combined with precise musicianship make this the best Tool album we’ll hear until a real one eventually shows up.Ĩ. The music stays on the right side of the line between shameless ripoff and authentic tribute, and aside from some poor sounding and unnecessary harsh vocals, Return to Nothing hits it out of the park. Heavily influenced by Tool and Soen, with a dab of older Opeth for good measure, the band’s debut Return to Nothing is a remarkably well-done album. But never fear, because Source are here with the next best thing. Pavement EntertainmentĪnother year, another lack of output from Tool. Leave the clinical technicality to bands like Scale the Summit and Animals as Leaders: when it comes to pure prog metal instrumental song craft, Dysrhythmia are the real leaders. Sinuous guitar lines and dizzying drum fills permeate the songs. Of all the albums that crossed my desk this year, Dysrhythmia’s The Veil of Control came out on top.įeaturing members of Gorguts and Krallice, this trio has the capability to pound out some heavy stuff, but aside from the occasional blast beat, what we get here are six finely crafted King Crimson-influenced cuts including “When Whens End,” the best prog metal instrumental track of the year. Instrumental prog metal is a niche market, to say the least, and one where it is hard to pull off great work. Dysrhythmia – The Veil of Control (Profound Lore)
#Metal albums 2016 full
My token Canadian entry! ( Read Our Full Review) Profound Lore Recordsġ0. ( Read Our Full Review)Īyahuasca – Yin (Self) – Diverse, fun psychedelic prog that narrowly missed the top 10. The Neal Morse Band – The Similitude of a Dream (Metal Blade) – If you have to buy a double-CD prog metal concept album this year, buy this one, not Dream Theater’s The Astonishing. Or second, I just didn’t get a chance to listen to it enough to make a sound judgement. First, I probably didn’t think it was as good as the ones below. Second, if an album isn’t on this list it’s for one of two reasons. The beauty of lists is that everyone can make their own, and everyone is right. First, you might disagree with this list, and that’s okay. This column is my take on the year’s best progressive metal releases.Ī couple of notes. It was a super year for music of all kinds, with a lot of great releases from old and new alike. The end of the year is upon us, which means it’s time to spew out a bunch of Top 10 lists across the Internet.