Welcome to Prog's brand new Tracks Of The Week. Seven brand new and diverse slices of progressive music for you to enjoy.
A massive well done to Dutch melodic proggers Nine Stones Close, whose new track Ghosted won last week's TOTW, despite an almighty late surge by fellow Dutch art rockers Lesoir, with UK duo Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate in a respectable third place.
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.
DELVING - ZODIAK
delving (with a small 'd', that's not typo!)is the instrumental psych-kraut-prog-rock project headed by Elder frontman Nicholas DiSalvo. The band will release their second album All Paths Diverge as two vinyl editions via Stickman Records (EU) and Blues Funeral Recordings (US) on August 23, from which comes the pulsating Zodiak.
"All Paths Diverge has many faces and facets, and Zodiak shows some of the most progressive and heavy sides of the record." DiSalvo comments. "Note that this is only an abridged version and the full album version contains minutes more of ambiance! I probably worked on Zodiak for a few years off and on and I think each part of the track reflects a moment in time, a portion of the year, a segment of the zodiac."
SWALLOW THE SUN - INNOCENCE WAS LONG FORGOTTEN
Innocence Was Long Forgotten is the first new music from Finnish prog metallers Swallow The Sun in three years, since the band released their eighth studio album, Moonflowers, in 2021. Usually that signifies there's a new album in the pipeline but there's no information on that as yet. The new single was produced and mixed by Dan Lancaster (Bring Me The Horizon, Muse, Enter Shikari), mastered by Tony Lindgren at Fascination Street Studios and recorded by guitarist Juho Räihä at SoundSpiral Audio.
"All the new Swallow The Sun music felt like an ice dagger through a sleeping heart," the band intone. "So we wanted to work with a powerful producer, Dan Lancaster, to push this dagger even deeper into this heart of ours."
KEYS - VORTEX
Keys is the proggier project from Mark Mangold, the man behind melodic rockers Touch, who played at the very first Monsters Of Rock at Donington, AOR band Drive, She Said, and US pomp rockers American Tears. Alongside Mangold are vocalist Jake E (Cyhra, Amaranthe), Emanuel Bagge for additional vocals and keyboards, Irwan Fabrien, drummer Alex Landenburg (Kamelot) and Adde Larsson. Keys will release new album The Grand Seduction on July 19, from which Vortex is taken.
"This record was such fun to record," says Mangold. "We do not limit ourselves, and keep pushing the envelope. For me it’s wonderful as Jake can sing anything… and his incredible range gives us a lot of freedom to go where we want to go. We like to surprise ourselves."
"For me this is inspiring because it is different than the bands I’ve been in," adds Jake E. "I think Keys has a very signature sound and we don’t concern ourselves with time or even direction as much as just trying to make songs and recordings that we get a thrill from."
ENIGMATIC SOUND MACHINES - AFTER THE FLOOD
Montreal-based Thomas Szirmay is a musicologist, researcher, producer, arranger, and writer who has contributed to the Prog Archives website among others, but it was when he began collaborating with childhood friend Jeremie Arrobas, a founding member of Men Without Hats, that Enigmatic Sound Machnes began to take shape. The pair released their debut album Telepathic Waves in 2023. They released the follow-up, The Hierarchies Of Angels, earlier this year from which comes the richly atmospheric After The Flood with its eye-catching just-released video.
"[After The Flood] is an instrumental powerhouse, featuring a masterful bass solo from Hansford Rowe of Gong, Gongzilla, HR3 fame," enthuses Szirmay, adding that The Hierarchies Of Angels "is a concept album that deals with anger, despair, faith, hope, salvation, submission, and of course, the current flavour of the century, evil."
KINGCROW - NIGHT DRIVE
Night Drive is the second single to be taken from Italian proggers Kingcrow's upcoming album Hopium, which will be their first release for new label Season Of Mist and will be released on August 23. Night Drive's music video, directed by Riccardo Nifosì & Devilnax, features the actress Federica Zongoli and singer Diego Marchesi in a tragic story of love.
Kingcrow (Diego Marchesi - vocals, Diego Cafolla - guitars, keys, backing vocals,
Ivan Nastasi - guitars, backing vocals, Riccardo Nifosì (bass, backing vocals) and
Thundra (drums, percussion)) recorded Hopium at Rome's Sound Under Pressure, which was produced by brothers Diego and Thundra Cafolla. The album also features Vikram Shankar of SIlent Skies on piano on its title track.
WILLIAM D DRAKE - THE FLICKERING SHADE
English musician, keyboardist, pianist, composer and singer-songwriter William D Drake is best known as a member of the much-loved and much-missed Cardiacs, and he's also worked with offshoot The Sea Nymphs and North Sea Radio Orchestra as well as enjoying an impressive solo career.
The Flickering Shade is Drake's latest digital single (here with a video created by Ashley Jones, setting 19th century English poet Thomas Ashe's poem of the same name to music. As well as Drake on vocals and piano, the song also features Dean Gaisburgh-Watkyn’s on guitar and bass and Steve Jackson on drums.
WHITE HILLS - FIEND
Cult New York psych merchants White Hills have been wowing fans with their music for over 20 years now. Duo Dave W. (guitar and vocals) and Ego Sensation (bass, drums and vocals) will release their upcoming philosophy-inspired album Beyond This Fiction through Heads On Fire Records on August 23, the follow-up to 2022's The Revenge Of Heads On Fire. The new album has been Inspired by the ideas of Joseph Campbell, the writer/philosopher known for The Power Of Myth, the album explores the idea of “riding between opposites”- forging one’s own path unrestrained by the collective “fiction” that the masses subscribe to.
“Picture dark city streets with low-lying fog," says Dave W. "You feel haunted by a presence behind but as you turn around it disappears. You start to run, pursued by an invisible tormenter that turns out to be only your own perception of time and space.”
