Welcome to Prog's brand new Tracks Of The Week. Seven brand new and diverse slices of progressive music for you to enjoy.
Hearty congratulations to former Cardiac William D. Drake, whose video for new digital single The Flickering Heart took top honours last week, with Spanish prog rocker Kingcrow in second place and doomy prog Finns Swallow The Sun in third.
The premise for Tracks Of The Week is simple - we've collated a batch of new releases by bands falling under the progressive umbrella, and collated them together in one post for you - makes it so much easier than having to dip in and out of various individual posts, doesn't it?
The idea is to watch the videos (or listen if it's a stream), enjoy (or not) and also to vote for your favourite in the voting form at the bottom of this post. Couldn't be easier could it?
We'll be bringing you Tracks Of The Week, as the title implies, each week. Next week we'll update you with this week's winner, and present a host of new prog music for you to enjoy.
If you're a band and you want to be featured in Prog's Tracks Of The Week, send your video (as a YouTube link) or track embed, band photo and biog to us here.
LIZZARD - BLACK SHEEP
France-based prog rock trio Lizzard have announced that they will release their fifth studio album, Mesh, through Pelagic Records on September 27. Black Sheep is the first single from the new album. Lizzard have built a following throughout Europe by supporting the likes of Gojira, Terry Bozzio, O.R.k., Soen, Adrian Belew and The Pineapple Thief.
The band, who feature Frenchman Mat Ricou (guitar and vocals) and British musicians Katy Elwell (drums) and Will Knox (bass), formed in 2006 and released their debut EP Venus on 2007. The Rhys Fulber-produced Out Of Reach (2012), Majestic (2014), Shift (2018) and Eroded (2021) have all followed.
EXIST IMMORTAL - HIGHER GROUND
London-based prog metallers Exist Immortal have teamed up with Megan Targett from UK alt.metal crew Vexxed for their brand new single Higher Ground. It's certainly one to delight fans of the heavier end of the prog spectrum and it comes as little surprise that the band will be appearing at this year's Bloodstock Festival in August.
"The song, Higher Ground, is a testament to resilience and the relentless pursuit of truth and self-improvement," the band state. "It delves into the struggles of mental anguish, the search for answers and the determination to rise above adversity. With visceral lyrics and intense musicality, we aim to inspire listeners to elevate themselves and stand strong in the face of chaos.
"This also marks the first time we've collaborated with Megan on a track, despite our long-standing friendship and previous work together. Megan's contribution adds a unique and dynamic element to the song, amplifying its emotional depth and energy. We couldn't be more excited to share this collaboration with our fans."
EBONY BUCKLE - FALL BEHIND
Australian prog musician Ebony Buckle, who some may recognise as one of Solstice's backing singers, is gearing up to release her second album Hearts Get Started with the release of a brand new single Fall Behind. Hearts Get Started is the follow-up to her well-received debut album, Disco Lasers, and Buckle says that she wants her new album to be listened to and viewed as her musical diary sharing the stories of specific life-defining moments. Fall Behind acts as the first chapter setting the mood for the rest of the album. The song is about expressing who you are and letting go of the pressures to contain yourself in a box defined by others.
"The world is always trying to define us, to keep us in boxes, to make us easy to understand and brand," says Ebony. "But humans are far more complicated than that. For me this song is a reminder that it's ok to let go, to stop following, to lean in to who you are in all your beautiful weird complex glory."
SOMETIME IN FEBRUARY - THE BAD FIGHT
US-based rising instrumental progressive metallers Sometime In February recently signed a new worldwide record deal with InsideOut Music. For their new single, The Bad Fight the trio have teamed up with Between The Buried And Me's Dan Briggs and Paul Waggoner, Eric Guenther of The Contortionist and Rich Castillo of The Callous Daoboys.
"The song came together quickly, and as soon as it was written we knew we had to pull out all the stops for it," the band explain. "We asked our friend Paul Waggoner of Between the Buried and Me to feature on it with a guest solo that is pitch perfect. Eric Guenther of The Contortionist contributed keys, synths, and sound design to take it to the next level. Dan Briggs, also of BTBAM, sprinkled additional sound design on top. And of course, we love to feature saxophone when we can, so our friend Rich Castillo of The Callous Daoboys added his touch to create a tasteful layer."
FOREVER IN TRANSIT - STREAMS OF THOUGHT
US prog rock quartet Forever In Transit hail from Buffalo, NY, will release their second album A Coming to Terms on September 13 and have released a video for the track Streams In Thought. The new album is an exploration of the process of understanding and unraveling who you are, untangling the knots of bias and attachment, and ultimately learning to unconditionally accept the person you are, as you actually are and has been mixed by Diego Tejeida (TEMIC, Devin Townsend) and mastered by Andy VanDette (Porcupine Tree, Rush, Devin Townsend).
"[Streams Of Thought] is about the frustrations that we encounter when we try to find meaning or inner peace - it can take countless attempts or approaches and sometimes we arrive more lost than we began, losing ourselves in the rabbit hole of the psyche," explains drummer and keyboard Dan Sciolino.
ECHOVERSE - NOT LIKE THE OTHER
Drawing inspiration from bands like Spock's Beard, Rush, Marillion, and Dream Theater, US quartet EchoVerse offer a spiritual take on prog, hard rock, and even classical music. The band release their debut album Whispers Between Worlds in August, from which comes new single and video Not Like The Other.
"Not Like The Others confronts the hypocrisy within modern churches, highlighting the emptiness of outward displays of faith without genuine love, and challenges us all to embrace true compassion and humility in our journies with God. The track is also a straight-ahead rocker with some 7/4 riffs to help maintain our prog cred."
DEATH BY GONG - TROY TOY
Death By Gong are a new band featuring Jobst M. Feit (Radare), Peter Voigtmann (SHRVL/ex-The Ocean) and Chris Breuer (Zahn, Heads) who dance around on the fringes of left-field prog and who will release their debut album Descalator through Pelagic Records in September, from which comes new single Troy Toy.
"The song narrates a protagonist's near-panic attack at a superficial and hypocritical cocktail party," the trio say. "From introverted vocals and sparse guitars to a furious finale with droning synthesizers, Troy Toy sonically explores social anxiety and pretense."
