Author: progsphere
Swiss instrumental progressive rock duo Flame Drop return with Beyond Cosmic Infinity, their second full-length release, and a sprawling, celestial voyage that takes the ambitions of their 2023 debut Flow and expands them into truly interstellar dimensions. Crafted by longtime collaborators Roland Hegi and Felix Waldispuehl, the album is a lush, immersive journey through emotion-driven soundscapes, untethered by lyrics but anchored in mood, movement, and sonic storytelling. If Flow was the experience of drifting through deep space as solar winds carved away at your being, Beyond Cosmic Infinity feels like the next step—a metaphysical migration into a realm untethered from reality. This isn’t just an album; it’s a transcendental departure from this…
What the Florida-based alternative rock quintet Ghosts of Tallahassee (interview here) masterfully achieve on their new two-track release, Sleep, is diving headfirst into the immersive depths of electronic music—enhancing their enveloping melodies and guitar-driven foundations with rich synth textures, looping patterns, and pulsating rhythms as their sonic identity continues to evolve. On Sleep, the band fuse these contrasting elements with finesse, creating a sonically vast work that merges precisely layered cinematic atmospheres with intricate electronic flourishes. The emotional weight of this release is carried by sparse yet blossoming guitar lines, which in the opener “Lights Out” swell organically into a measured eruption of melodic…
Emerging from the coastal city of Virginia Beach, Ocean Asylum are rising from the underground with a daring take on progressive metal with their emotionally charged debut EP Committed, released in November 2024. What began as a Dillinger Escape Plan cover project quickly blossomed into something far more ambitious and personal. With a lineup solidified by the addition of frontman Rickey Fowl and a shared vision for musical experimentation, the band has channeled their individual influences into a cohesive sound. In this interview, the quartet opens up about their origins, the creative chemistry that fuels their writing, and where their…
After a two-decade hiatus that seemed to stretch endlessly for fans of the underground progressive rock trio, Cheat the Prophet (interview here) has roared back to life with Redemption—a fiercely personal and uncompromising collection of six songs that redefines the band’s legacy. Released on February 7, 2025, the album is not simply a reunion project—it’s a creative manifesto, a statement of identity, and a cathartic reclamation of artistic purpose. It’s also their most refined and emotionally honest work to date. Redemption by Cheat The Prophet From the outset, Redemption reveals itself as an album steeped in reinvention. Gone is the youthful indecision and…
In a time when genre boundaries continue to blur and artists are more empowered than ever to follow their own creative impulses, composer and multi-instrumentalist Justin Gusmano (interview here) delivers a deeply personal and musically rich debut with Forever Alive. The album is an instrumental journey that combines the soulful textures of jazz fusion, the exploratory spirit of progressive rock, and the emotional resonance of blues, all anchored by Gusmano’s virtuosity on keyboards — especially the ever-iconic Hammond B3 organ. From the outset, Forever Alive establishes a sense of cinematic sweep. The opening track, a brief but evocative instrumental, sets the tone with…
FROGG is a group I should be enamored with on paper. Their earlier offerings encompass every component that ought to make for an exceptional brutal/technical death metal record. Blisteringly rapid guitar work, relentless blasts and fills, and guttural vocals paired with a thematic/lyrical focus rooted deeply in all things extraterrestrial. Regrettably, the production quality of those prior records didn’t hold up against the other elements that could’ve propelled this band into the upper echelon of death metal. While other tech-death managed to construct a suffocating sonic atmosphere, FROGG often came across as somewhat clinical. With Eclipse, that narrative has shifted entirely. Eclipse by FROGG A stark transformation is noticeable from the…
For Swiss instrumental progressive rock duo Flame Drop, creativity has always been about evolution. Formed by Roland Hegi and Felix Waldispuehl, two musicians who first collaborated in the band FORS, Flame Drop emerged from a desire to create without constraint—a shared return to musical roots and a leap into cosmic exploration. “We played together in the Swiss progressive rock band FORS,” the duo recalls. “Then took a break after the band split. We got back together to write and record a long track, which led to an album a few months later.” Beyond Cosmic Infinity by Flame Drop That spontaneous reunion sparked more than…
From the frigid northern reaches of Minnesota comes Sentient Machine, a progressive metal project with a deeply introspective core. On March 8, mastermind Micah Devereaux unveiled Metamorphosis, an EP that straddles death metal’s intensity, progressive twists, and melodic beauty. But this release is far from new—it’s a resurrection. “These songs were originally recorded over ten years ago,” Devereaux reveals. “I just didn’t have the confidence to release them back then.” Only recently did he rediscover the old mixes buried in an aging hard drive. With modern mastering tools and a decade of growth behind him, Devereaux finally felt ready to share them.…
Progressive metal duo Obsidian Skies from Boulder, Colorado, USA, announces the release of their new single “Unmade by the Ocean”, a symphonic journey through a post-apocalyptic underwater world. The single, premiering today via Prog Sphere (see below), marks the first offering from their upcoming full-length album to be released in 2025. The comment on the track: “Unmade by the Ocean is heavy-hitting, rhythmic, and technically challenging, while still maintaining a very melodic core. With soaring solos on guitar, bass, and piano, it is a song with a unique and diverse sound. Lyrically, it tells the story of a small group…
With Blood Eagle, the latest single from his project DIECOT, Chicago-based musician Thomas Robert delivers a relentless blend of precision and intensity. Featured on Progotronics 51, the track emerged from a period of experimentation. In this interview, Robert tells us about the creative process behind Blood Eagle, his approach to songwriting, and where he sees DIECOT fitting into today’s ever-evolving metal landscape. You just launched a new single with DIECOT entitled Blood Eagle. How do you feel about the new track, and what was the creative process behind it? Very happy with the new track and how it turned out, I love the energy…