A Progmetal extravaganza this time with four albums you should check out.
Jack the Joker - The Devil to Pay in the Backlands
Jack the Joker are a band from Fortaleza Brazil, formed in 2012 and releasing ther debut album in 2014. For me they were a new band, also probably as Fortaleza is not around the corner from Rio and I never saw them touring around. Well late or not at the party, this album is an absolute feast. Progmetal in the original style which was big in the nineties. At times a bit heavier and at times reminding me of Pain of Salvation in their best years. 11 songs mostly around the 5 minute mark with two epics in XV 8:56 and closer Hope lasting 13:00. So if you like strong vocals, solid musical performances and songs with hooks and melodies you should simply try this album out. Jack the Joker are the next progmetal band on Frontiers Records which means that there must be chances to get them over to Europe. Especially a tour with DGM should be a nice label package. And if Europe is too far, maybe I can convince Josie we need a small holiday to beautiful Ceara, when in Brazil.
Martyr - Dark Believer
What is Martyr doing in a progmetal extravaganza? I know, but they just released rather strong Dark Believer, which gets it's live presentation tonight at P60. Further when you hear the opening song starting a hint to Queensryche is more than present. Further the middle part of Cemetery Symphony screams Screaming in Digital. But overall Martyr play Heavy Metal with speed and power tendencies at times. Personally I think Dark Believer a great album again and the current line-up is a fine one. Let's see if they can stick together for more albums. Pretty sure I will see Martyr performing the se songs any day soon, so something to look out for.
Pentesilea Road - Sonnets from the Drowsiness
It was early 2021 when Pentesilea Road released their full lenght debut album. Turned out that while Italian main men Vito lived just around the corner. So occassionally when meeting him at shows I heard the new album was progressing till finished. What I did not expect was that we would get over 100 minutes of progmetal of the lighter and melodic kind. This time a real band performing with no guests performances I believe. Weird is that while I love the voice of Michele Guaitoli it is the instrumentals that speak loudest to me. Not unlike the debut really. Yet with 18 songs I shall need much more time to grasp it all. With me going to Brazil and Portugal and Vito passing Italy I did not get a physical copy, but I found that when abroad my bandcamp app is a main source of music I play, so it will spin around many times still.
Philosophobia - The Constant Void
Philosophobia debuted in 2022. I heard the album online, but never got round to purchasing it. Strange as their style is the progmetal I love. Being an international band, mainly from Germany the one band member I did know is Dominik on vocals. Giving us early this century some real gems with Wastefall. So on the vocal department no worries, also on the full album the band is on a high. This is what one can call proper progmetal. An instrumental short opener, a heavy opening track with great hooks and than some ballad alike work and closing the album with a song of 20 minutes, where parts of the album highlight The Forgotten Part I are coming back as it is called part II. I guess that ProgPower 2026 can not afford to skip this band really. Just to keep the old school progmetal fans happy.
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