This year in progressive rock and metal found genre mainstays continuing to impress while relative underdogs and newcomers finally seized some of the spotlight.
Boston's Wilderun construct an epic combination of folk, classical, metal, and progressive rock on their third LP, Veil of Imagination. Hear it in full before it's release tomorrow.
Twenty years later, Guerrilla remains a self-contained joy and a great example of how unique, self-assured, and mature yet silly Super Furry Animals were at the turn of the century.
Fifty years later, the Kinks' Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) is as charming, compelling, and characteristic as ever. This new 50th Anniversary box set goes above and beyond to capture that magic.
Everything that fans could want—and everything that makes blackgaze stand out—is contained within Alcest's Spiritual Instinct.
Founder of both Rock 'N' Roll Heaven and Megaforce Records, Jon Zazula spares nothing in chronicling the highs and lows of his journey in Heavy Tales.
In Cauda Venenum is Opeth's most wicked record of the decade, signifying that their earlier evilness is still wonderfully intact.
Folk poppers Firewoodisland deliver peak chamber pop with the gorgeously arranged and performed ode, "Hollow Coves".
In contrast to Bat for Lashes' previous efforts—whose dense peculiarities and poeticisms rewarded deep listening—the retro Lose Girls is too run-of-the-mill and inconsequential.
Tool's Fear Inoculum meets nearly every expectation admirers could have and ranks as a worthwhile extension of the band's legacy.
More pleasant and breezy than Weather Diaries, Ride's This Is Not a Safe Place very much feels like a proper follow-up.
If/When is stunning, proving yet again why the Tea Club should be celebrated by admirers of any—if not all—of their sundry genre classifications.
Of Monsters and Men lose some uniqueness and quality jumping on a more commercial bandwagon, but their beloved singularity is mostly intact on Fever Dream.
Kentucky's eclectic Dirt Poor Robins follow their ingenious Raven Locks trilogy with a wonderful lyric video for "Scarecrows".
Dream pop band LANDROID's latest track is at once dense and distant, filling the room with evocative noirish timbres and haunting introspection.
The Tea Club's latest single finds the quintet evoking classic folk rock artists in the midst of maintaining their knack for evocative songwriting and arrangements.
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