Welcome to Prog's brand new Tracks Of The Week. Six brand new and diverse slices of progressively inclined music for you to enjoy.
Congratulations to young Scottish prog metal quintet Tiberius, whose massive-sounding new single Tip Of The Spear demolished the opposition in last week's TOTW, walking off with well over half of all the votes! International progressive rock band Nine Stones Close came in second with Norwegian jazz rockers Krokofant in third.
The premise for Tracks Of The Week is simple - we've collated a batch of new releases by bands falling under the progressive umbrella, and collated them together in one post for you - makes it so much easier than having to dip in and out of various individual posts, doesn't it?
The idea is to watch the videos (or listen if it's a stream), enjoy (or not) and also to vote for your favourite in the voting form at the bottom of this post. Couldn't be easier could it?
We'll be bringing you Tracks Of The Week, as the title implies, each week. Next week we'll update you with this week's winner, and present a host of new prog music for you to enjoy.
If you're a band and you want to be featured in Prog's Tracks Of The Week, send your video (as a YouTube link) or track embed, band photo and biog to us here.
SOMETIME IN FEBRUARY - OUTSIDE IN
US-based rising instrumental progressive metallers Sometime In February recently signed a new worldwide record deal with InsideOut Music and brand new single, Outside In, is the first taster people have of music from what will be the trio's debut album for the label, which they have just finished recording, and will be released in Spring 2025. A head-rushing six and bit minutes of technical expertise and progressive idealism, with real bite in places.
“Outside In is one of Sometime in February’s proverbial kitchen sink tracks. There’s a little bit of everything we are in it. It takes us high in the mountains and back to sea level multiple times throughout its runtime. It’s heavy, melodic, and ever so complicated, making it increasingly unpredictable as it goes on. It’s also one of our few current seven-stringed guitar songs, and we always add a little more elbow grease in our songs featuring them.”
CRISALIDA - EL NIÑO
We knew absolutely nothing about Chilean prog metal band Crisálida until the video for El Niño landed in our Inbox. But wow! The band have just released their fifth album Niños Dioses, and it's not difficult to see why the band, who formed back in 1997, picked up a Pulsar award for Best Metal Artist for their album Terra Ancestral (the most important award in Chilean music industry, apparently). The band’s current lineup includes Cinthia on vocals, Braulio Aspe (bass), Damián Agurto (guitar), Pablo Stagnaro (drums), and Augusto Maldonado (guitar).
According to Crisálida, Niños Dioses takes the listener on an "emotional journey through South American identity. Based on real experiences of kids that were chosen to be offered to the Incas’ deities on a ritual called Capacocha at the Llullaillaco volcano (on the border between Argentina and Chile) and the El Plomo hill in Chile, these songs are fictionalized stories told from the point of view of these children and their families, who are facing the certainty of death and despair."
TERAMAZE - BULLET TO A PHARAOH
Australian prog rocking busy bees Teramaze continue their frighteningly prolific work rate! Not content with having released seven albums since 2020 (looks like they're trying to give fellow countrymen King Gizzard a run for their money!!), the quintet are back with a brand new single, Bullet To A Pharaoh, a wonderfully melodic slice of quality prog metal that no doubt sees them launching a. new creative chapter.
"Bullet To A Pharaoh feels like a fresh chapter for Teramaze, blending new directions while staying true to our metal roots and those big, anthemic choruses," says mastermind Dean Wells. "It’s one of many tracks we've written for what could be a double album, set to unfold over the next six months. After disbanding Meshiaak, I realized I needed to inject more of that pure metal energy back into Teramaze. It's been one of the most exciting and fulfilling songwriting experiences we've had in years. Adding more of our metal side into the new material has pushed us to think and create differently, and I truly believe the results will speak for themselves. Bullet To A Pharaoh is just a glimpse of what's to come."
MÚR - HOLSKEFLA
Icelandic quintet Múr are an intriguing proposition, all of which is wrapped up in the ten-minutes plus of Holskefla, a track from the band's upcoming self-titled debut album due for a release through Century Media on November 22. They mix the progressive sensibilities of Devin Townsend Project and mid-era Opeth with the atmospheric textures with polished technicality a la Meshuggah and Gojira and even a bit of jazz thrown in for good measure. Some of the vocals might be too harsh for some but trust us, Múr are worth persevering with.
“Holskefla is one of the oldest songs written for our debut album and our earliest exploration into writing in odd time signatures. The title means ’deluge‘ or ’barrage‘ and the song embodies the album‘s overall theme of breaking the shackles of inner turmoil and finding strength in letting go.”
KILL THE DRAMA QUEEN - PETRICHOR
The intriguingly-named Kill The Drama. Queen are a French/Luxembourg based quintet which feature vocalist and guitarist Soussi Mehdi, Manon Sadler (piano and vocals), Rizatto Christophe (guitar) Masciocchi Nicolas (bass) and Daniel Solinas (drums). The band are gearing up to release a new mini-album, Petrichor, the multi-faceted title track you can hear here.
The band released their debut album, Divided Alignment, back in 2017 and followed it up with Refractions two years later. Citing influences such as Tool and Karnivool, the band say they take " inspiration from the alternative rock scene, the emotion vibes and complex structures from the progressive vibes or the stoner-rock ground for their groove and solar atmospheres."
MYRIAD'S VEIL - HOLLOW
Myriad's Veil are a new psychedelic folk project formed by Temple Fang guitarist Ivy van der Veer and singer-songwriter Ismena who will release their debut album, Pendant, this Sunday, November 17. The duo create a magical sound that is bound to find favour with those who favour pastorally coloured music and gently seductive melodies, typified by the single Hollow.
"With their musical journey starting in marriage, they have found a way to balance and unite their own separate styles to create something new," the duo say. "The result is an album which mixes folk with psychedelic elements. The album touches both darkness and light with themes like love, happiness, estrangement and disorientation."
