Hailing from Southern Connecticut, Progressive Metal band He Was A God, recently unleashed their three song EP The Smile & The Scar. A first for this band, however, they are not new to the scene. Chris Densky (Genitorturers, Deadstar Assembly, Adva), Tony Pellino (Transfixed Movement, Adva), Dan Perrone (Adva, Odessa) and Ray Zvovushe (King Sexy, Adva) have been making music together since grade school. The addition of vocalist Ben Curns completed their lineup and He Was A God was formed.
The fifteenth studio album from prog legends Dream Theater finds the Bostonian act with nothing left to prove but still in the form of their lives. At a mighty seventy minutes in length yet featuring a mere seven tracks, A View From the Top of The World (InsideOut Music) explores and probes new ideas while reinventing the past with gleeful abandon. Complex compositions which could seem forced, unwieldy or contrived in the hands of others, Dream Theater pulls off with unerring and enviable ease.
Following up a breakthrough album, such as Boss Keloid’s last opus Melted On The Inch (Holy Roar) which finished at #4 in Ghost Cult’s Album of the Year poll in 2018, is a challenging proposition. Stray too far from the magic formula and you risk undoing that giant stride taken forwards (even without being a band that has always taken efforts to ensure development and evolution of their sound is a given); repeat the previous approach and accusations of diminishing returns, or playing it safe, abound along with an invariably inferior product. Continue reading
Every album that Moonspell releases explores a different facet of their Gothic Metal style, sometimes responding to the one before it in a constant tug-o-war between darkness and light. Their thirteenth album, Hermitage (Napalm Records), is no exception. In contrast to the grandiose symphonics of 2018’s 1755, the band opts for a scaled-back, atmospheric approach with more Prog influence thrown in than usual. It seems to invoke the band’s early vibe without going full throwback and also reminds me of Tiamat or Opeth in spots.
The peculiarity of Technical Death Metal is the capability of exploring itself, yet creativity begins to fade when there’s a vast repertoire of bands of this kind, which have made history on the underground’s music scene. Certain musical groups stick to follow a simple and uncomplicated path, keeping a comparable sound with many other bands that continue to perform in this genre. Let us consider the huge waves of Technical Death Metal in the eighties and in the nineties and how it reinvented itself to the present day. Bands such as Suffocation and Gorguts trace Technical Death Metal’s status as a whole, releasing records and records without losing its own legendary position, carrying bloody and filthy anthems for dozens of years. Continue reading
Ghost Cult is proud to partner up with progressive metal artist Tom De Witt a.k.a TDW for the full album stream of his new release The Days the Clocks Stopped, (Layered Reality Productions). Not only is this album a multifaceted masterpiece, but the album also features a who’s who of great guest stars (full list and credits below). Fans of any stripe of progressive music will adore this killer album, so stream it now! Continue reading
Progressive music fans rejoice! Long missed supergroup Liquid Tension Experiment, featuring Jordan Rudess and John Petrucci of Dream Theater, former Dream Theater co-founder Mike Portnoy, and prog-rock legend Tony Levin of King Crimson is a go! Jordan posted a picture of the members all together wearing masks that spells out “LTE3.” In a 2019 interview with Jordan promoting his solo album and a new Dream Theater album, he told Ghost Cult it would happen when the time is right. It would seem the pandemic is that time for their first new album in 20 years! Check out the post and our interview with Jordan below.
Over 35 years ago, Fates Warning was one of the main trailblazers and influencers in the Progressive Metal movement. With so much history, there has been a lot of lineup changes throughout the years, but the band has always been known for its exploration and expansion of the scene. Even today this East Coast act is still examining their special sound. Earlier this month FW released their newest full-length album, Long Day Good Night (Metal Blade Records). These boys went big and completed 13 songs to celebrate their 13th full-length release. The group took their time to dig deep into their assorted inclinations to expose the wealth they found there.
Devin Townsend is a music extraordinaire who is well-known for his many different and successful projects that he has participated in over the last 25 years or so. Whether it be Strapping Young Lad or Devin Townsend Project the man has always thrown his heart into it. He is a Canadian machine that expertly and consistently generates epic-scale music in many diverse forms. Last year he released his latest solo album, Empath (InsideOut Music). He took his essence to a new level of eccentricity with a masterful embodiment of bonkers meets serene. Many cling to the wilds that is Dev for his honest presentation, whether that be in Jazz, Metal, or whatever genre he chooses to express himself with. His devotees gather in the masses at his shows for a guaranteed excellent and entertaining performance. Last December he brought his uncommon magic to England and much like his actual works, the presentation was a little unconventional. Dev is about to release his new live album, Order of Magnitude: Empath Live Volume 1 (InsideOut Music) documenting that European tour. It will be released as a limited deluxe 2CD/Blu-Ray/DVD artbook package, a limited 2CD+DVD digipak, gatefold 3LP+2CD vinyl box set, and more.
Viking Metal started out by combining the epic energy of Black Metal with the mystical grace of Folk music. Enslaved is a band at the pinnacle of this heavy, Nordic sound. Starting out as teenagers, this Norweigian act has successively enhanced the Scandinavian metal scene for nearly thirty years. Their beginnings were more in the realm of the extreme, but over time Enslaved has not been afraid to dip into other genres like Prog Rock and Jazz. It’s encouraging to witness their ability to be undaunted by their explorations while still being true to their Viking roots. Their new fifteenth full-length album, Utgard (Nuclear Blast) verifies their astute ambition of experimentmentation and expression.