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Town Portal- Chronopoly

Some mathematical and progressive instrumental metal from the band Town Portal on its latest full-length effort, Chronopoly. This album serves up one groove-heavy piece of music after another, and the recording is actually pretty heavy as well.

This LP is available on opaque vinyl via Bandcamp.

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Rush- Clockwork Angels

Rush fans are pretty psyched about this new album, and I could see why. Clockwork Angels is definitely the best record the band has put out since 2000, but I’m not sure if, personally, it entertains as much as the group’s classics.

WATCH THE REVIEW

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Trioscapes- “Wazzlejazzlebof”

Trioscapes is a heavy, new jazz fusion projected featuring Between the Buried and Me bassist Dan Briggs. It’s a surprising release for Metal Blade Recs, and I question whether or not it would have been released if it weren’t for the BTBAM connection. However, that’s not to say the music isn’t good.

Briggs and co. have some incredible chemistry on the seven-minute “Wazzlejazzlebof,” playing together with a level of tightness few band’s achieve. The trio progresses through moments that feel akin to jazz, metal, and Mahavishnu Orchestra-influenced jazz rock. However, the music doesn’t feel gimmicky as Trioscapes changes chameleon colors to another genre.

Look for this album on May 8th.

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The Mars Volta- Noctourniquet

With an emphasis on synths, edits, and effects, the Mars Volta makes the more accessible direction its been going in a lot more interesting, making this new record a colorful approach to progressive rock songwriting.

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Cynic- Carbon-Based Anatomy

On its latest EP, progressive rock band Cynic moves its sound in a direction I hope shows up on the group’s next full-length.

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EYE- Center of the Sun

Some long, winding psych and prog rock tunes from the new EYE album, Center of the Sun. While these guys don’t exactly put a new face on this kind of stuff, they perform it with a lotta passion and attention to detail. Plus, a lotta the instrumentation is pretty friggin’ sinister. Stream it above, download it on Bandcamp, and stay awesome.

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Stream Hella’s Tripper

Back to duo status, California’s Hella recently dropped its fifth album, Tripper. The band has allowed fans to stream the album on Bandcamp, which is a nice trend I’m seeing with all new Zach Hill-releated projects. Of course, I hope this give people an incentive to actually buy the release if they like it. Stream, stream, stream above.

Crippled Black Phoenix- “Bastogne Blues” ‡ STREAM

The band Crippled Black Phoenix features members of numerous underground mainstays, but don’t call them a “supergroup.” Apparently, they don’t like that.

They released a new album back in September, but it somehow slipped by me. It’s titled I, Vigilante, and is the group’s fourth studio album. Stream a favorite of mine from the album below, “Bastonge Blues.”

Considering CBP doesn’t care much for making a fuss over their members or related projects, they probably don’t care much for comparisons either. I’m still gonna make a go of it and say this track reminds me a lot of Godspeed You! Black Emperor; however, I’d say that comparison is pretty obvious. I, Vigilante doesn’t keep itself penned into that idea, though. There’s a lot of progressive, blues, and psychedelic rock sounds coming through on this new record, too. I’m hoping this will grow on me a bit in the coming week.


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