Best Progressive Metal Albums of 2024
Starting this year, I want to change the format to "Band - Album" since this is the more dominant way it is used when discussing music online.I will admit, I was not the biggest fan of A Hidden History of the Human Race. I resented the focus on pseudo-scientific conspiracy theories about aliens and felt the album artwork was overused at that point.
This album won me over. The way they fuse together many distinct genres, such as '80s death metal, funk, prog rock, jazz, metal, atmospheric death metal, and post-rock, is very admirable. The creativity of their synth work and the way their compositional arrangements are crafted make this unique and, at times, awe-inspiring.
This album is darker, gloomier, and more atmospheric than their previous works, but it is just as emotional and melodic. There are a lot of small details in the synth and electronic elements, as well as impressive mixing and production work that deserves admiration.
For many people, this might be the best Caligula's Horse album yet.
In my opinion, avant-garde and experimental dissonant death metal band Hoplites has produced their best album to date.
You'll find twisting saxophone, angular chord progressions from the lead guitar work, a slinking rhythm section, and additional surprising twists along the way. This is a really fun and interesting listen, though it can be overwhelming and abrasive at times.
A lot of people say that this is Opeth's best album since Watershed, and I'm not sure how much I agree with that. However, I do agree that this provides a little bit of all the tools Opeth has utilized throughout their long, vivacious history as one of the most prolific prog-metal bands.
This still hasn't fully clicked for me yet, but the components are there for it to deserve serious acclaim.
Such a complex melodic death metal album. Some of the vocal choruses on here are mind-blowing, and their sense of build and release is executed incredibly well.
The album's pristine production quality makes it easy to hear the depth of the instruments, and the way they harmonize with each other is brilliant.
I was never a huge fan of Job for a Cowboy, at least not before hearing this album. Moon Healer is everything I want from a proggier technical death metal album.
It features mind-blowing guitar solos, deathcore-esque growls, and an incredibly technical drummer and bassist who could put most others to shame. The subversive jam interludes are absolutely dumbfounding.
Ihsahn is a master songwriter. We have witnessed him create songs across the spectrum, from the harrowing compositions on Emperor's In the Nightside Eclipse to his most recent work on the Pharos EP, which explores the serene parts of prog rock.
This is a strong showcase of his symphonic sensibilities combined with his intuition for riff writing and his iconic guttural style.
Night Verses is probably one of today's leading instrumental prog bands, and after their past couple of releases, they have certainly earned that title.
Their songs are packed with emotion and energy that is rarely conveyed through mostly vocal-less compositions. I really appreciate instrumental metal done well outside the realm of instrumental djent, which previously oversaturated the 2010s.
The Newcomers
Anciients are one of the up-and-coming progressive metal bands from the area of sludgy death metal. They used to be described as a mix of Opeth and Mastodon, but they come into their own style much more with this album.
Some of the tracks feature some of the most clever riffs I've heard this year. However, some of the weaker tracks could probably be shortened a bit.
I have a group of friends who absolutely love Borknagar and say that this is their best album, if not one of their best. I have not picked up as much of a liking for them, but I have given this a lot of attention. I can see some of the appeal.
They spend a lot of time with tension and release, and they have a very clean approach to traditional blackened prog metal. Someone tell me what they think of this one.
