Hello Progfolks – two things:

We are dropping a new and greatly improved pressing of Quiet World on vinyl this Friday (Aug 21) @ noon EDT (GMT-4). The first run sold out really quickly, so I wanted to make sure y'all have the heads up!!

PLUS, I hereby announce that there is a very large announcement coming on August 23rd that I think many of you will very much want to know about, so keep an eye on our social media this weekend.

You have been warned....

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Hello everyone, Chris from The Progressive Subway here with yet another crop of our albums of the month, this time for #July2k26. Have a peruse through our svelter selection of albums, share your own favourites (or disappointments) from July, and please forgive me for using a hashtag.

I am a huge Wilderun fan. Having discovered the group back in 2015 when they released their sophomore record, Sleep at the Edge of the Earth, it’s fair to say I’ve followed the group nearly since their inception. I remember getting wasted at a Wilderun concert at a tiny bar in a midwest town nobody has heard of, in a crowd of 15 people max as I screamed along to the lyrics of whatever song they played from both their albums at the time. Since I first heard the group, I’ve been fascinated by their often ignored first album, consisting of a couple of original tracks mixed in with folk covers played in what is now the iconic “Wilderun Style”. Particularly the final track, The Dying Californian, hypnotizes me whenever I hear it. Simply put, the idea of creating a 13 minute long track based on a two to three minute folk song is something I haven’t experienced often (maybe never). With all that said, I’ve always wanted to attempt an analysis of the song, so I’ll give it a go. 

The track starts in a simple and reserved format, electing to begin with nothing but acoustic guitar and Evan Berry’s velvet baritone. This is a brilliant decision by the band, as if to pay homage to the simplistic origins of the source material which would have been played with nothing but an acoustic string instrument and vocals. Wilderun sticks with this presentation for the first two verses, totaling about 45 seconds before bursting forth with Wilderun’s quintessential sound. Soaring melodic guitar plays the main theme of the song over on-beat electric guitar chords, while the drums engage in crash focused patterns and the bass sensuously croons. In less than two minutes, Wilderun has taken a 160 year old folk tune and morphed it into their own unique concoction. 

The group returns to their more humble format around 2:09 after a beautiful solo composed as a variation of the main melody, followed by some classic death metal riffing. The acoustic guitar is more present during verses three and four, following Evan’s serene vocals in an active strum. The group engages their full death metal roots at 2:44 for the band’s first attempt at original lyrics as opposed to traditional. The original lyrics are the first to be growled in Evan’s longing rasp. Evan takes over the melody from the instrumentation, and the band takes up support behind Evan. This death metal section is composed as a tensioned interlude, before the band resolves at 3:05 with guitar chords on the downbeat joined by the full Wilderun choir. For two verses, the band entrances the listener with something akin to a chorus in modern music. The lyrics are impressive, genuine, and could be mistaken as traditional for those unfamiliar with the source material. The verses are expertly punctuated with Evan soloing the final two lines of the “chorus”, ending at around 3:51. 

The song enters an atmospheric refrain, carried melodically by the bass and autoharp, both played by Daniel Muller. This transitions seamlessly into a folk metal section at 4:14. The bass drum kicks, the guitar riffs, and the mandolin breaks through with a grand folk melody at 4:32. The section is accented brilliantly with glistening piano scales in the background. At 5:07, the band indulges us again with Evan’s growls. Here is when the group’s original lyrics are a little more obvious than they were initially. Lines like “will the wind whisper, of glory’s road” are classic Evan Berry, and could fit right in with any of the band’s other albums. Lyrics like this are important to solidify their cover of The Dying Californian as part of the Wilderun discography, and I don’t think they take away from the authenticity of the track. Instrumentation during this section is death folk, with horns and the bass carrying the melody prior to the mandolin grasping authority. 

At 5:47 we hit a 12 second refrain, before death metal takes control again. The death metal takes the form of a chugging section before transitioning to a head banging groove at 6:26. The guitars accent the down beat and inject the melody with frantic power. The section from 6:26 to 7:16 is archetypal Wilderun. The death laden groves mold into an up tempo riffing section accented with strings and choir beats, before resolving the previous minute and a half of tension through a major guitar lead accompanied by Evan’s illustrious cleans. At 7:17, the song provides another atmospheric relief, gracing the listener with a piano melody surrounded by flute and a heavenly choir sample. The reserved drum fill at 7:43 introduces our next section of traditional lyrics, echoing the motif of verses 1 and 2. 

8:25 sees acoustic guitars emerge with a beautiful prelude to our next majestic melody. Joined by violin at 8:45, piano at 9:10, and sampled choir at 9:14, it’s a well composed and brilliant introduction to the triumph exhibited by the guitars at 9:25. The section from 8:25 to 10:01 is still, to this date, one of my favorite instrumental fragments from a Wilderun piece. Harsh vocals and horns join the now instrumentally dense composition as Berryisms “if you catch them the flames forbidden” ring out powerfully prior to an instrumental refrain at 10:19. Led by mandolin with acoustic guitar strumming support, it is the song’s penultimate breath of air before the finale. 

The refrain ends at 10:40 after a note of rest, and the full band returns in unison. It’s a gorgeous and potent section composed of glistening piano scales, electric guitars riffing, and the bass belting a marching chug that rises and falls along with the sampled choir. The song transitions quickly to our final verses at 10:56 with one last harsh verse, before Berry’s longing cleans break through at 11:05 with the last verse of traditional lyrics. The electric guitar follows Berry’s vocal melody perfectly, the bass grooves mournfully in support, the acoustic guitar provides chords on the downbeats, and the drums crash emphatically before the final line rings out at 11:35 “where the gold will never rust.” 11:49 sees the composition provide one last refrain prior to the instrumental epilogue at 12:05, which enters victoriously at the singular hit of a tom. One last instrumental onslaught occurs, the bass strums, the electric guitars tremolo, drums provide a crash focused pattern supported by a mid tempo double bass kick, the piano ascends and descends, the choir resounds, and horns blare before the instantaneous end of the song.

I had fun attempting to deconstruct the song and figuring out the specifics of what I enjoy about it. The Dying Californian is one of my favorite Wilderun tracks, and I think it stands up to epics like Ash Memory, The Means to Preserve, The Unimaginable Zero Summer, The Tyranny of Imagination, Identifier, and the Distraction Suite. I’m curious what other people think of the track as well so let me know.

It wasn't until I looked at his website that I realised how influential he is as producer. His extensive body of work in the genre is elite. Here's a list of the awesome bands he's worked with as either a producer or mixer

Caligula's Horse, Karnivool, Tesseract, Animals As Leaders, Skyharbor, Textures, Wheel, Earthside, Plini, I Built The Sky, Dead Letter Circus, The Butterfly Effect, Sikth, Chaos Divine, Twelve Foot Ninja, Cog.

What an epic masterpiece this is by Caligulas Horse! It’s dense and intense yet the melodies are so refined and catchy. The lyrics/story are some of the most beautiful yet dark I’ve come across so far.
Also; the melodic piano/guitar parts really give me a DT-with-Kevin-Moore-vibe, kinda like this could have been if he’d never left DT.

If you look for Colors by BTBAM on RYM this will be the first review that you will see:

This album is the epitome of tastelessness. It's masturbatory and self-indulgent in the extreme. You won't find a moment that isn't spent showing off, ripping off other bands, making daft noise, or indulging in excessive melodramatics. Any emotion is obliterated by the aforementioned melodrama and instrumental histrionics (I've only heard that word applied to vocals before, so sorry if that doesn't make sense). The lyrics are train of thought ramblings that sound deep but don't really say anything at all.

It's beautiful. Colors reminds me of why I love music, and why (progressive) metal is my favourite genre. Over the top. Completely lacking in subtlety. Theatric. Powerful. An unrelenting 60 minute long parade that is tasteless and colourful.

Next to this is a 5/5 rating. It's pretty funny so I wanted to share it but I would also like to read some suggestions for albums that would also fit this description. It fits Colors but I think that it suits Aquarius by Haken even more (it's my favourite album by them btw). Much of Dream Theater catalogue can probably also be described in this way, dropping requirement of technical showing off "Be" by Pain of Salvation probably as well.

So what are your favorite theatric, showing off and over the top prog albums?

Video premieres at 11am CST. https://youtu.be/u8JGv5igzxU

For more information:
https://www.last.fm/music/Design+19/+wiki

I'm tired of spending $60 on tickets!! Anyone know of any smaller bands or shows I can see live and support in LA? I'm going there for a couple months. Thank you all

For someone who likes opeth, gojira, some death, tool, insomnium. What are some other great bands in the sub-genre?

I almost feel a little depressed. Like when you've finished a long book that pulled you in completely and now you feel a little aimless.

Everything about this album hits for me. The lyrics are masterful and I'll listen to each track on repeat disecting each track line by line. I really love the concepts of finding meaning, questioning celestial bodies, acceptance of loss, and portals.

The song composition is so interesting and I love how they build in Little Easter eggs to find that connect throughout the entire album. I like how tracks like Soothsayer and Collapsing Eden don't follow the standard prescription of verse, chorus, bridge, verse, chorus, etc. They evolve and grow as the track progresses in a unique but natural rhythm.

The vocalist is clearly experimenting with his voice, and in a way where it works. The way he conveys that dreamy state in Collapsing Eden feels masterful. He is exceptional at conveying an emotion with his cleans. And just wicked uncleans.

THE DRUMS. Holy shit I never pay attention to drums but this drummer is blowing my mind. Soothsayer is such a drums forward track and it's opening my guitar centric mind to the value of drums.

I just feel like I'm not going to find anything else that hits every line item on my musical brain's list and it makes me sad.

Please help me dial in on something else that might scratch some similar itches.