the Top 10 Progressive Albums of 2023

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 I sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I use those lists to compile the top 10 albums of the year. 2023. The very fact 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. Perhaps you can find your next favorite on this list; and 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 2023.

10-Hawkwind - "The Future Never Waits" 

With 81-year-old Dave Brock as the sole surviving member of the band, I was not sure what to expect. Nik Turner is the member I am sure to miss the most, but it seems keyboardist Thighpaulsandra who has played with Spiritualized, is making huge contributions to the sound, as it is more focused on the space part of the space rock equation and rocking less. Though I am not sure how heavy I want an 81-year-old man to rock it. Brock answers this to a certain extent in "the End". There is a more fuzzed-out guitar tone that comes in though it is whisked off into the cosmos with the swirl of synths around it that are jostling for position in the mix.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/05/hawkwind-future-never-waits.html

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9-Megafauna-"Olympico" 

What sets this Texas band apart from the pack is how the vocals of Dani Neff , are sugary in a pop fashion that does not succumb to normal pop sensibilities. There is harder rocking under the surface of these songs. From the onset of this album, she declares the time has come to "say goodbye to normal people" and that becomes their mission statement. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/megafauna-olympico.html

8-Blood Ceremony- 'The Old Ways Remain"

 This band was lumped into the "vest metal" movement over a decade ago when female-fronted proto-metal bands were gathering some steam. These days the band owes less to Coven and more to Jethro Tull, not just due to the flute solos, but the overall jammy vibe that goes down. This sounds like it came from 1968, with the double-tracked vocals of their frontwoman, now fully aware of what they are  creating here

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/05/blood-ceremony-old-ways-remain.html

7-Vanishing Kids- "Miracle of Death" 

Here is the 6th album from this progressive collective that is pushing the bong in a darker more atmospheric direction for this album. By the time it gets to the guitar solos things have wandered into a more doom-like jam, with the drums crashing around it. While the darker more atmospheric textures are present the guitar keeps things in a more metallic direction with a sense of adventure that sometimes even leans into a blues-like swagger.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/09/vanishing-kids-miracle-of-death.html

6-Yakuza- "Sutra"

Chicago Avant - Guardians are back. It's been over ten years since their last release. There is a more focused intention to bring the heavy here. Bruce Lamont, moans with more anger over the off-kilter riffs that are framed with dissonance. A return to form for the band though takes close notes from their peers.,thus making a Highly enjoyable listen,

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/04/yakuza-sutra.html

5-Enslaved -"Heimdal" 

The band finds ways to keep it fresh 16 years later. Only two original members, though guitarist Ice Dale has been in the band since before black metal became cool and anyone knew who Enslaved were ...well at least in America. They bring new sounds to the table, making it more impressive that they can keep pumping out songs that are this inspired 16  albums later. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/03/enslaved-heimdal.html

4-Riverside - " ID. Entity"

Sure, there are big rock moments, but it has more in common with Tears For Fears than Dream Theater, which is fine by me. This Polish band has been around for over 20 years now, so I am well aware of who they are. I like how unlike many so-called progressive bands they have actually allowed their sound to progress. How progressive would they be if they were still doing what they were doing back in 2001? 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/01/riverside-id-entity.html

3-Nebulae Come Sweet -"De Lumi​è​re"

This band out of Belarus caught me by surprise, as they go above and beyond to take things in a different direction. This album came out in March and sadly flew under the radar. They feel more European than American in the almost classical manner they go about this. They blend dark melodic brooding with big grandiose choruses. They prove just because you are singing it does not mean you can not do so in a commanding fashion that has balls to it. An album full of dark wonderment. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/10/nebulae-come-sweet-de-lumiere.html

2- Peter Gabriel -"i/o"

After 21 years Gabriel is releasing his first album of new original songs. At the ripe age of 73, Gabriel's voice sounds great. It is progressive rock that is more adventurous than other artists on mainstream rock radio though not as wild as say what he did with Genesis back on "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway". Impressive that he is still capable of doing this into his 70s, as his work is more vocally challenging than say the Rolling Stones. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/12/peter-gabriel-io.html

  1-Katatonia - "Sky Void of Stars" 

This album is not at all produced like a metal album.  There are some interesting jazz-like layers of guitars, blended with a wide scope of electronic sounds. This is clearly more of a progressive rock album and thankfully falls on the darker side of that genre. The gloomy Swedes find their take on prog to be coated in slithering darkness, which finds the band continuing to evolve even this late in their career.  The emotive refinement of their songs is what gives them the top spot. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2022/12/katatonia-sky-void-of-stars.html

Hawkwind : "the Future Never Waits"

 

With 81-year-old Dave Brock as the sole surviving member of the band, I was not sure what to expect. Nik Turner is the member I am sure to miss the most, but it seems keyboardist Thighpaulsandra who has played with Spiritualized, is making huge contributions to the sound, as it is more focused on the space part of the space rock equation and rocking less. Though I am not sure how heavy I want an 81-year-old man to rock it. Brock answers this to a certain extent on "the End" . There is a more fuzzed out guitar tone that comes in though it is whisked off into the cosmos with the swirl of synths around it that are jostling for position in the mix. It did benefit when I put my headphones on, this brought up the bass in the mix, and things gained more beef. If you are a smoker of the weed, this would be an album to do that to. The bass and drums do their job of anchoring the song down. 

The 3rd song is named after " the Doors of Perception " author Aldous Huxley. I suppose it's his voice that is sampled for this trip into weirdness. If you do things like eat mushrooms or drop acid this would be an album to do that to. As would most of Hawkwind's catalogue, which this album makes me want to jump back into the earlier album I have not listened to in some time. The song take an odd jazz like turn. The narrative shifts to news reels of his death. They go even further into a jazz feel with "They are So Easily Distracted" which becomes actual jazz and not just a band influenced by it, with the more surreal sounds blowing like wind around it. They return to a more rock sound with "Rama". Brock's voice sounds good for his age. 

This album sounds great, but in terms of songwriting midway into the album is drifts off into jams. This still feels pretty true to who they are as a band and does not besmirch the legacy of their music. "Outside of Time" does eventually find vocals breaking the through the cloud of smoke, but they just kind of hesitate to really give things more structure. For me what makes the difference of a cool album versus ab excellent one is if they place more value on songs over sounds. This does happen but not consistently. When they head into a more rock direction with "I'm Learning to Live Today' , it's heading in a more effective direction. If it sounds like I am only wanting these guys to be a rock band, well that is because they are, and well I heard about them from Lemmy, but I dug the jazz parts just fine. Jam all you want with guitars and lock into a groove that is fine. 

The take you on a journey into the future on "the Beginning". The real question here is at 81, how is he doing these drugs. Listen to how the guitars are mixed on this one then tell me that he is not. After going into the future it ends up in the past with 60s folk-tinged psychedelic sounds. They stay on this hippier frame of mind on the last song. But it's a song not a jam. I will give this album a 9, it's a solid effort where they are at with one solitary member who is 81, but still jams pretty good. 

Psychic Hit : " Solutio"

 

This band did not just fall off a turnip truck in California, it's members come from the likes of Hawkwind and and Funeral Chant. They know how to tap into early 70s metal recalling even Judas Priest in the more metal moments on the song "Constellation". Their other heavy boogies pulls from Thin Lizzy and Alice Cooper. Powerhouse vocalists, Ariana Jade as enough sass and sultry to her voice to feel like a legit proto metal front woman. All the players sound pretty capable , the bass player's melodic work fights it's way in the mix and impresses me, along with the more jammy direction the second song goes in. 

Where most retro metal tends to languish on recapturing a sound, they have the 70s warmth without getting lost in it . The hypnotic bass line into the psychedelic opening of "Orocovis" is an excellent example of this. It is not like they suddenly become Jefferson Airplane, when the verse kicks in they take back off in the harmonized guitar gallop. While they would not be totally out of the zip code of bands like the Devils Blood, who came out a decade ago. They are more metal in how the guitars attack. Most of these sort of bands tend to fall closer to doom, and that is not even hinted at until the third song. They have carved a pretty unique path for themselves. The more aggressive "Left for Dead' is perhaps the album's most overtly Judas Priest like moment. Thus making it the most metal thing so far.  

They dial things back with "Hand of Fate", when the song builds back up there is a more palm muted attack before the riffs start coming. The vocals begin to share a pattern by following the guitar more and perhaps being a less hooky than they were the first half of the album.  They close the album with the best riffing, it reminds me a little of Rainbow. The vocals however are less Dio and come across as a garnish rather than the meat of the matter. This album is a lot of fun while at times the influences are worn on their sleeves, they still have an identify of their own . I will give this album a 9 and see how it sits with me.       

the Top 10 Progressive Metal Albums of 2016

progressive means to progress, if you are putting out the same album of indulgent noodling I don't care if it is under the guys of a rock opera or not your sound is not evolving you are not progressive. So these are not albums serving as bookends to keyboard solos and are all more focused on the songs than trying to just make musicale bukkake. Many genres are touched on with in this some are more black metal than others some are death metal, some are hard rock, but they all break the mold and embody progressive metal even with out operatic vocals and frilly shirts. Here are the top 10 progressive metal albums of 2016. If you want to hear any of these bands just follow the review links.

10-Fallujah- "Dreamless" 

Here is the follow up to 2014's "The Flesh Prevails". While these guys are technical death metal, they pull it off in such a way that doesn't just come across as dazzling you with chops but create an atmosphere. The first song seems like a movement more than a song on it's own even though I like the fact the carries more ambiance than anything I remember from the first album. "Adrenaline" ebbs down into an almost jazzy landscape, but caters more to fans of death metal as it is about the propulsion. The vocals are forceful growls on the lower side of mid range. A more progressive color is added that creates a more Dream Theater like feel before they blast off into the more rapid fire attack. The drummer is really killing it coming off of fills into punching grooves. The bass player is not too far behind him in terms of prowess. The shredding solos of course reach out and grab, but it's the other textures like the female vocals of Tori Letzer, tossed into this one that make a difference

.http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/04/fallujah-dreamless.html

 9- Hawkwind- "The Machine Stops"


 Here's a rule... if you are going to throw around a band's name when it comes to influencing other artists you like , then you must review their albums when they are released or you are very simply a poseur. You don't have to like it. As not all band's can keep up the kind of streak that the likes of Bowie and Zappa had. Things have changed since their days Lemmy was in the band. The sci-fi element was not toned down, instead it was allowed to run wild. If you do drugs and are not doing them when you listen to this album, that needs to change. This concept album is based on the Em Forster book of the same name. So here is a case of where this album did not get as much air time from me since I no longer drop acid ...or do any drugs, but if I am going to relapse on the more mind expansive drugs then this would be on tap. I really like how they maintained their sense of identity while dabbling in newer sounds.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/04/hawkwind-machine-stops.html



8- Thy Catafalque- "Meta"

Katai is back handling things on this own once again. There is more of a conventional metal groove to the opener and less black metal, though the end result is a good song so what genre he is delving into here doesn't really matter much to me.  Katai does get some help by the second song "Siraly" as female vocals coast over the slightly slower than mid-tempo waltz of distorted guitar. Things get a more experimental with bells ringing out before a thrashing attack. This album does take more chances than most metal releases and is not tied hard and fast into a genre it feels the need to play it safe and conform to.


 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/09/thy-catafalque-meta.html

7- Hail Spirit Noir- "Mayhem in Blue"


 I loved this band's last album, so I won't lie it's a surprise to hear them go from progressive black metal into groovy 60's tinged black n roll.Some blast beats do crop up, I am not sure I would say they give the end a more black metal feel, I do not that this is going to be a weird ride. The title track finds them bringing back more of the prog feel, and going all out into the wake of Poseidon with Opeth like melodic section before bring some smack down.The sung vocals are well executed and these guys are incredible musicians so it's hard to argue against any of their creative choices so far.


http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/10/hail-spirit-noir-mayhem-in-blue.html

 6- Cult of Luna & Julie Christmas-"Mariner"

 On the 8th release by this band I think it was high time they did something to switch it up a bit so the same old sludge didn't get stale. The first song stays fairly close to home. Though they have opened up a more expansive sound with a greater range of melody.While some of the songs might go to excess in terms of length, they keep my attention . There is not a fast forward classic on this one, some points are just more powerful than others, but it all balances out.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/03/cult-of-luna-julie-christmas-mariner.html

5- the Von Deer Skulls"- The Rest is Silence"


 They cover a lot of ground in the eight minutes of the first song.If I am really going to nit pick the genre lines, I would say this falls closer to sludge than doom. The slow heaviness places more emphasis on oppression on than mourning. The spoken section going into "the fall of the Raven" makes it clear these guys are from France. The more oppressive mood is the driving force of this song as it lumbers a more droning course.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-von-deer-skulls-rest-is-silence.html

4-Pensees Nocturnes- A Boire et A Manger"

 How experimental do you like your metal is the first question you have to ask when going into this one. French metal bands have never played it safe. This takes that to a new extreme with something you might hear in the Big Easy they pulls from a style of jazz that later influenced the creole jazz of New Orleans influenced Jazz it flips into metal that is noisy and dissonant. This is dark enough to make me happy, but after hearing it called depressive black metal my expectations were something more like Lifelover or Totalselfhatred . Instead of anguish and emoting we get something more like death metal even though there are croon clean vocals that come like something from a Mike Patton project.This is totally original despite the comparisons to John Zorn that could be drawn. The guitar playing might sound disjointed at times, but I think this is all done very purposefully. The blast beats come in spasm like burst lingering when the New Orleans street jazz returns


. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/02/black-metal-history-month-pensees.html


 3- Ihsahn- 'Arktis"


 Ihsahn has brought back the metal is back in a big way on his 6th solo album.  You won't forget Ihsahn was in Emperor. I suppose he felt he took the experimentation as far as he could without losing sight of where he came from. This makes for an album that is in line with his earlier solo work. Captures more of an Opeth like feel...that is when Opeth actually played metal.The electronic elements are still there just set back behind the guitars. The guys from Leprous are still around with  Einar Solberg, helping out with vocals . Overall he is back here in fine form and proving himself to be one of the best creative minds in metal or any genre.



 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/03/ihsahn-artktis.html




2- Voivod - "Post Society"

 Voivod has always been light years ahead of their time. Since "Target Earth" the band has locked into a sound that takes the classic tones from "Dimension Hatross " and pushes it forward in a modern production. This ep is the quality of both songwriting and production as "Target Earth" in fact the arrangements might be even more progressive,  like the surreal breakdown on the title track that kicks the ep off. They have always been able to shift in a very organic manner from one movement to the next . What amazes me more upon hearing this is how true they are to their legacy even though half of the original members are not on this recording. Chewy and Rocky did comprise the live band on their last pass through the states with Napalm Death and both really do justice to the Voivod legacy. This is only an ep, but it is Voivod and even there passing fancies are better than what your favorite band can muster


. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/01/voivod-post-society.html

1- Purson- 'Desire's Magic Theater"


 While summoning a retro vibe is part of their sound there was more of a hard rock under current to their sound which this new full length turns away from in favor of something that is supposed to be a rock opera aiming for Sgt. Pepper and Ziggy Stardust. Right from the get go it feels like it has more in common with T-Rex before colliding into more of a folkish hippy haze of second hand smoke. They throw a ton of colors at you so it can be overwhelming at first but at the end of the day I found this album stuck and stayed more than the others on this list. So that is why it earned the top spot.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/04/purson-desires-magic-theater.html

Hawkwind :" the Machine Stops"

Here's a rule... if you are going to throw around a band's name when it comes to influencing other artists you like , then you must review their albums when they are released or you are very simply a poseur. You don't have to like it. As not all band's can keep up the kind of streak that the likes of Bowie and Zappa had. Things have changed since their days Lemmy was in the band. The sci-fi element was not toned down, instead it was allowed to run wild. If you do drugs and are not doing them when you listen to this album, that needs to change. This concept album is based on the Em Forster book of the same name .The first actual space rock goes down on the second song "the Machine". At it's core the band's sound has retained it's roots and there is not threat of them isolating the cult following they have garnered over the years.

Of course Dave Brock is setting the controls for the heart of the sun on "King of the World" , the only other original member along for this rocket ride is Tim Blake, who also played in Gong. From the Nik Turner camp Dead Fred is aboard with violin in tow. "In My Room" is not a Beach Boys cover , but a song that starts off as whirling psyche rock before turning into rain sound effects. One of the more bizarre turns I have ever heard a song take. The song that it wanted to be certainly sounded pretty cool. "Thursday" wants to have a harder rocking to it's siren drone. If you think your indie rock band is "psyche" then you need to check your self and listen to this album because these drug sniffing dogs still have it. I can tell midway into this album it's blowing the last Pink Floyd out of the water even with half the production value. The brighter more upbeat vibe the beginning of "Synchronized Blue" goes for is not my favorite sound from them, but they do make an attempt to rock it a little harder, to the point of touching upon metal. They even get proggy and go off on a meandering keyboard solo.

Space rock might be the crown they wear, but it doesn't stop them from dipping into almost trip hop like beats on the more subdued"Hexagone" that finds the vocals tip toeing around a 60's mod melody that would go well with a cup of tea. Cosmic synths set the stage for "Living on Earth" that has one of the album's more interesting vocal melodies". The keyboards wander around over this song , but some how they jammy quality that it floats on makes it work. Jamming is what goes down particularly after the break at the four minute mark. They glide around the bubbly yet exotic path of the Milky Way on " the Harmonic Hall". This finds the band stepping even deeper into electronica. This song is more of an instrumental, with the breathy chanted vocals sounding more like another sampled layer.

They return to more straight up rock on "A Solitary Man". This song brings the band back down to earth, and perhaps too much so. It's not a bad song, it doesn't seem to play to the band's strengths. They do however shine on like the crazy diamonds they are with the up tempo dream bath of "Tube". This opus comes to a close with "Lost in Science" . It sounds like droids are robbing a bank before the band goes into their legendary brand of space punk. I'm not sure how much air play this will get from me since I no longer drop acid ...or do any drugs, but if I am going to relapse on the more mind expansive drugs then this would be on tap. I really like how they maintained their sense of identity while dabbling in newer sounds. I'll give this one a 10.