The Top 10 Progressive Albums of 2025

When it comes to prog, few bands actually progress. Most that claim to be a part of this genre just wank around with an overabundance of guitar solos that the songs are merely bookends for, rather than serving songs that go somewhere.  The bands that made this year's top 10 list are taking you places with their songs. There are some guitar solos here and there, but shredding is not the emphasis, nor is using odd time signatures for the sake of just doing so. Some of these bands are more metallic, and a few albums even flirt with pop at times. These are not the coolest prog albums, but the best, fuck what other blogs say,  

After sorting through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 20 albums of 2025. The fact that these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album; there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all, we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. You might find your next favorite on this list, and I have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out the audio on these guys. Anyway here are the top 10 Progressive albums of 2025

10-Korean Cars-"#1"

This band proves that black metal is not Norway's only musical export.  Kinda melodic math rock, but their guitarist proves they have chops. The production is rough around the edges, as it carries a boom. The drummer works for what they are doing, and it all falls into place, no complaints, even though instrumental music is normally not my thing. When vocals do surface, sitting back in the mix with a plaintive croon with the nuanced picking of the guitars carrying most of the slack. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/korean-cars-1.html

 

9-ii - "Apostles of Flesh." 

Prnounced Two Eyes, they are a very interesting ensemble. I have heard them referred to as being industrial, but Gothic chamber pop is a better description of one spectrum of their sound, though they branch out of that and wander off into prog rock that has more in common with A Perfect Circle. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/10/gothtober-ii-apostles-of-flesh.html

8-Heretoir- ""Solastalgia" 

They have fine-tuned their songwriting to make their sound bigger and make what they do more accessible to the wider metal audience than just being a shoegazing black metal band. This is not to say they do not indulge in sonic spectacles that swept you away, as they do, and it is what gives them the edge over their more nu-metal minded peers/. A more delicate electronic touch glazes over into the dynamic ebb and flow in this song. So much so that fans of modern progressive metal can find a great deal to appreciate on this album. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/09/heretoir-solastalgia.html

 

7-Igorrr- 'Amen" 

One of the most appealing things about this project is the ability to blend harsh electronic elements with organic instrumentation and find its unique groove. Mastermind Gautier Serre is experimenting on a broader scale with this album. Classical elements contrast massive metallic chug, as death metal is the primary mode of attack when things go in a more metal direction. Operatic vocals still soar to contrast the guttural vocals, but this feels like more streamlined effort. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/08/igorrr-amen.html

, 

6-Imperial Triumphant- "Goldstar"

These guys won me over live. In the studio, they have once again orchestrated chaos, which can not always be heard as the catchiest songwriting. At times, there is a more metal feel as they ride a taunt clockwork chug. The vocals are snarls, but articulated enough that the lyrics come across. It makes me think of a death metal band covering early Pink Floyd

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/03/imperial-triumphant-goldstar.html

5-Messa -"the Spin." 

The guitar work on this album sets them on this progressive rock path. Add in elements like trumpet solos, and it takes on a more jammy jazz flair. I'm fine with them transitioning into a prog band. If you are going to make guitar solos the centerpiece, then unveiling your Led Zeppelin influence in a more metallic manner with great grooves is the way to do it.  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/03/messa-spin.html

  4-Bask-" the Turning."

 The country elements that graced their 2019 album have been dialed back for a heavier sound, though sticking to the honest plea of country-inflected vocals even amid guitars crunching around them. There is more boogie in the shuffle oat times with  layers of vocals harmonizing to give things a more jammy prog feel. It almost feels more like Porcupine Tree.  This juxtaposition works well to create dynamic songwriting that takes a few listens to absorb everything going on. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/06/bask-turning.html

3-Gaahls Wyrd- "Braiding the Stories." 

I am glad to hear Gaahl continuing to explore his singing voice. The vocals are well-layered, with more of his upper register present while the baritone croon holds center stage. He proves the emotive value of darkness is just as heavy as metal. With a range of sonic colors from strummed guitars to the more metallic tones, you might expect. When the guitar solos emerge, they are typically the album's most metal elemen,t and even then they provide a thematic melodic overlay. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/03/gaahls-wyrd-braiding-stories.html

2-Katatonia -"Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State." 

Here we are, three albums in, without Anders. Jonas continues to steer the ship into darker progressive waters of melancholy. There is a formula in place, and the new guitarists navigate it well, unafraid to bust out guitar solos wherever. His lyrics remain just as sharp as the earlier work on this one. "L.  Jonas's voice is fragile and honest, or at least maintains a consistent persona, as nuance is king and the key to their songwriting. 

. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/katatonia-nightmares-as-extensions-of.html

 

-

1-Callous Daoboys - "I Don't Want to See You In Heaven."

 

You are thrown into their bizarre progressive take on metalcore. While the screamed vocals are more dominant, Carson Pace's voice continues to grow. His poppy-sung vocals carry the need hooks to contrast the chaos. If there is any justice in the universe, these guys should be at least as big as Knocked Loose, just on the merits of songwriting.

  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-callous-daoboy-i-dont-want-to-see.html

Thanks for reading. Please "like" and share on social media to give music a voice 

https://www.facebook.com/abysmalhymns

Check out our Podcast here ... https://www.youtube.com/@abysmalhymns666

pst617

Imperial Triumphant : "Goldstar"

These guys won me over live. In the studio they have once again orchestrated chaos, that can not always be heard as the catchiest songwriting, though the opening taking descends into a place dark enough for me. In some ways, this is more blatant metal with songs like "Gomorrah Noveaux" riding a taunt clockwork chug. The vocals are snarls but articulated enough that the lyrics come across. It makes me think of a death metal band covering early Pink Floyd. Meshuggah's drummer joins them for "Lexington Delerium" though it's darker and more atmospheric than you might expect with such a guest aboard. It is not until the midway point that things get hammered into place. To their credit these are more concise songs, and perhaps some of the band's most accessible work to date. 

Stylistically this album is not what I would refer to as black metal anymore. Progressive metal is the most fitting label for what these guys are doing. There are tremolo-picked guitar parts at times, but it never feels like aggressive darkness being pursued. "Hotel Sphinx" finds them fairly straightforward in the commitment to the chug, with some chaotic dissonance interspersed. "NEWYORKCITY" is a quick blast of grind-core chaos and is more like an interlude. The title track is also under a minute and is a 1920's sounding ragtime ditty, that is also more of an interlude. "Rot Moderne" has more in common with the more brooding edges of the band's past work, The vocals are a lower growl as they churn through angular riffs that follow Mr. Bungle-like math. 

They almost turn "Pleasuredome' into a drum circle as they are not only joined by Haake again, but Dave Lombardo as well, so the song is percussion-heavy, to say the least. The first minute and a half is the slow build into the song. It does find its groove which would be hard for it not to with the additional drummers. "Industry of Misery' closes the album. This one snarls out of a more jazzy ambiance. It also hits more like death metal when things kick in. There is a boozy swoon to the angular nature of the lumbering riffage. There seem like more samples being used on this album than the previous one. The guitar solo to this song is trippy and interesting, the first time a metal band has done something that reminded me of Jimi Hendrix in Many a Moon. I like the darker turn the song takes as it feels like they jam it out til the end.  I will give this one a 9.5, for their willingness to experimental while still writing songs, This one is on Century Media Records. 

pst134

Live Review : Voivod & Imperial Triumphant @ the Floridian Social Club

 Still getting out to explore venues new to me , it took one of my favorite bands to inspire me to not settle down for the evening on the couch. Having seen Voivod multiple times going all the way back to the 80s , they have a knack for picking hungry young bands on the rise whose performance forces the Canadian thrash veterans to bring their A game. I have seen Soundgarden open for them, Amenra open for them and now Imperial Triumphant. Funny enough it was when Voivod opened for Napalm Death that they offered up their best show This tour finds them celebrating 40 years as a band. The newer members more fused with Snake and Away by now. 

A decent crowd for a Wednesday night, the venue holds 800, so maybe 400 people showed. Local bands death metallers Vacuous Depths opened the show, they play a dense slightly blackened style of death metal with their drummer being the star of the show. He played every accent with intensity but was very relaxed in doing so. Then Heaven's Gate  a band with Tony from Iron Regan and Municipal Waste, with the drummer from Cannibal Corpse, they played the kind of cross over thrash you would expect from that kind of pairing and were popular with the crowd. 

The venue seemed to have been designed for the aesthetics of  Imperial Triumphant in a Lynchian art deco. It was like you were stepping into one of their music videos.  I have reviewed a couple of their albums  "Vile Luxury" and "Alphaville" , the latter and improvement over the former, but it scored an 8, well done not blowing my socks off and being listened to in heavy rotation. They are much more impressive live. It is oddly more their element despite having the benefit of being able to add more layers of sound in the studio. On stage the side of the band you see grooves and uses their energy to maximum effect. Obviously with the masks there is a theatrical element, but this is taking further in their interactions with the crowd. I am going to go back and give their 2022 album a listen after being so impressed by their performance. They are not a black metal band and perhaps that was the turn off given the spin my peers in music press tried to angle them as black metal band that was creating music that was safe for everyone to listen to  and trying to cancel their Northern European  counterparts for being hateful. Black metal is supposed to be hateful, these guys are progressive metal, perhaps death metal at times. What they do works for them but is not a replacement for death metal, nor is that the intent of their performance.  

Voivod's surviving members are 58 year old singer Snake and 59 year old drummer Away.  Away's drumming  shows that the years have been kinder to him, as he plays a wide range of demanding dynamics ranging from the faster thrashing punk of their earlier "War & Pain" songs to the more recent prog outings. They even played one of the heavier 90's songs that served as the forerunner to what Meshuggah does today. While Away's playing was flawless, Snake's voice held up pretty well, he even  pulled off the bulk of the thrash era screams on the song "Killing Technology"  which they opened with. Their 13 song set could be said to lean heavily on their newest album "Synchro Anarchy" , but they only played three songs from it and then a song from almost every other album. Yes, even "Angel Rat" and "Phobos" which acknowledged the period without Snake. 

 When you have been around for 40 years it is ambitious to encompass the entirety of your career in one show, especially when you are a band like Voivod who sets out to write often conceptual albums rather than singles. They are not a greatest hits band, many songs were screamed out for by the fans, "Tribal Convictions" perhaps the most, but this was not an evening for taking requests, due to the winding nature of their arrangements, this tour was obviously very rehearsed with little room for improvisation. The set list has not varied much from show to show, sure Jason Newstead joined them for a song at one gig, but aside from that it's business as usual without feeling like they were punching a clock, as the enjoyment of their songs is retained after four decades. 

Imperial Triumphant : " Alphaville"

Once again number Colin Marston of Krallice among their collaborators as well as more main stream names from the progressive metal community Trey from Mr. Bungle and drummer Tomas Haake from Meshuggah. The angular labyrinth of winding jazz infused riffs and circular drumming that makes the song hypnotically spin. If you did not figure out on the first song, the second one makes it perfectly clear this is not a black metal album. The bass drives the second song more. There is more dissonance to the weird mathmatics they throw at you/. Some of the choice to be weird work better than others, the precussive break in "City Swine" kills the songs helter skelter momentum. They do finds some blast beats for a few moments after this. They jazzy piano flourishes are the most worthwhile part of this song.

The growled and screamed vocals on "Atomic Age" remind you this is a metal band not a math rock band despite evidence your ears might try to tell you other wise. I think Sigh made a better argument for this. These guys use more chaos and dissonance. I like that it is sonically intense. I do not think in terms of song writing they have stepped forward , but have opted to be more experimental. I appreciate this though I am not sure this will take up the time I normally spend listening to Igorrr who fills the weird void for me more often than not. "Transmisson to Mercury"  blends more boozy jazzy into things, which is far from the first time this has been done in metal so I am not sure what all the fuss is about . It is more of a sound than a song, but the sound is sonically pleasing to me so that gives them more slack, but I am by no means blown away by this.

The title track just kind of falls out of the previous song. The choas eventually is run through a more conventional metal filter. The actually find a groove on this one before wandering off into more proggy moments. By the time we get to " the Greater Good" the novelty of weird has begun to wear off. They did milk it for mileage well. Then they include two cover the first being Voivod's "Experiment" . Musically it's ok , but the vocals are growled and terrible. The cover of "Happy Home" is equally obtuse.  These guys are great musicans , this is a step further into prog, I will give this album an 8, not likely to make any of my end of the year lists, but likely to be on those that are trying to look cool.

Imperial Triumphant : "Vile Luxury"

The albums begins with a great deal of literal fanfare, before going into some well done , yet cut and paste black metal that really only catching my ear when the trumpets come back in, so it more Imperial Trumpet than Triumphant.The more angular death metal with touches of jazz found on "Lower World" works better for me. The drums seem to sit back a little far in the mix. Then their is a shifting dissonance to "Gotham Luxe" that moves like brackish water and while I appreciate the dark feel of the song like free form jazz it barely manages to contain this into an actual song. "Chernobyl Blues" starts off simmering and brooding then just kinda falls back into their same old bag of tricks. This becomes the problem with these guys while they do some tricky mathy discordant black metal it all begins to sound the same which is not progressive at all unless it progresses and goes somewhere.

I find myself letting this fade into the background when I return to "Cosmopolis" . The smoky jazz of "Mother Machine" snags my interest again. If this was black metal for  a David Lynch movie I might like this album more. Things do begin to progress on "the Filth". It has a woman wailing away in the background in somewhat operatic singing. This reminds me a little of Igorr when they go about it in this fashion and it finds their zaniness working with them rather than against. They really pull it together in the last three songs as even the one with the woman screaming mindlessly at the end still works.

I think the problem this album starts off with is trying to hard. It's a concept album, though not like say "Operation Mindcrime" but conceptually tries to convey something that might be forced rather than eased into. I''l round this down to a 7.5 for the initial pretentiousness and hope to hear more that is like the last three songs from them.