If you feel like you yearn for more complexity in music, something to challenge your noggin, here’s the prog and avant-garde bands selection.
One would say that there’s no Nevermore without Warrel Dane who split from the band in 2011 and later sadly passed away in 2017. His voice was just perfect for the gloomy progressive metal music of the band. However, guitarist Jeff Loomis took upon himself this gargantuan task of reviving the project in 2024. Berzan Önen who was revealed as the new vocalist had really big shoes to fill but from the studio material released by the band – he executed the job flawlessly. So the more we are excited to see Nevermore in Josefov.
Born and raised in Faroe Islands, singer Eivør dedicated her life to music at a very early age. Blessed with a mesmerising voice, she took her Nordic Heritage, electronic music, guttural singing and classical music to create genre-defying music that speaks to a plethora of people. She gained global fame by composing and participating in soundtracks for “The Last Kingdom” and “God of War” video games. So Eivør is versatile and untamed in her expression. Get ready to be charmed by her chants.
British Conjurer is an evermorphing band. Listener’s first instinct would be to categorise them as post-metal but they take each and every opportunity to add multiple flavours to their compositions. And they do it as confidently as bands with 20+ years stage experience. They balance around hardcore, doom and sludge, whatever can express their emotions or serve the song the best.
Norwegian supergroup Borknagar started playing black metal with viking influences to later gravitate more towards progressive music. One could say their sound became softer but we would rather say they expanded their musical territory. Their lineup included members of Ulver, Emperor, Arcturus, Gorgoroth and even Enslaved, the creme de la creme of the Norwegian scene.
On paper Thy Catafalque seems an utter mess – mix of black metal, string section, industrial metal, drum n bass electronica, then clean vocals alongside distorted screams. All that is seasoned with an unreal, eerie atmosphere. But it does work and very well we might add and is first and foremost cohesive. The man behind the vision, Tamás Kátai, constantly pushes the boundaries of what can be done with metal music to everyone’s awe. A must see for ones who yearn for a true music adventure.
Antimatter is another one which is hard to classify. The project was created in the late 90s by Duncan Patterson (ex-Anathema) and Mike Moss. Later Patterson left Antimatter and Moss became the sole creative force. He often proves the music universe has no boundaries. Entourage is quite ascetic, minimalist often with a certain breeze of Portishead or even Pink Floyd. But there’s plenty of gloom and doom for all metalheads to enjoy.
Yet another Czech gem, futuristic jazz cabaret První Hoře will have the opportunity to perform in Fortress for the first time. Established in 1998 they operate within elements of avant-garde rock, punk and add accordion on top of this because why not. They employ plenty of theatrical outfits and masks to deliver one hell of an entertaining show. A very weird one, but we don’t see that as a fault at all. The weirder the better.
A true band of contradictions. Despite Crippling Alcoholism’s truly brutal bright magenta pink cover of an album, they are balancing on the threshold of noise rock and synth pop. They dubbed their music as murder pop which is quite apt. Additionally, despite their pretty fluffy outside, their inside both lyrically and musically is grim. Extremely grim.
