Welcome to Prog's Tracks Of The Week. We've got seven new and diverse slices of progressively inclined music for you to enjoy.
It's been neck and neck all week long, but in the end, Canadian prog rocker Alex Henry Foster triumphed last week with City On Fire, pushed all the way by London psychedelic duo The Chemistry Set and their engaging STP, which came a worthy second, with Italian progger Massimo Pieretti in third place.
The premise 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.
KARNIVOOL - OPAL
We've only been waiting 12 years for a follow-up to 2013's third album, Asymmetry, so how much is the recent delay to the release of fourth album, In Verses, of a few months, really going to hurt anyone? In Verses will finally see the light of day on February 6 through Cymatic Music/Sony Music. In the meantime, the band have shared a new single, Opal. Unless, of course, the album gets delayed again!
“Opal pulls together ideas from some of my earliest days writing with the band," guitarist Drew Goddard explains. "The riff in the middle and end was actually the first thing I recorded in the Themata era, on a computer at my parents’ house. Twenty years later, it found its place here. Jon dug it up, and we made it feel more current. The verse that starts with “You’ve been holding up…” was a section left off Aeons from Asymmetry. The whole track came together in a way we’ve never really experienced before—these old, separate ideas suddenly just fell into place.”
EARTHSIDE - EARTHSINK
Cinematic US prog rock quartet Earthside today release a deluxe edition of their 2023 album Let The Truth Speak, as well as announcing their first live shows in Latin America with an appearance at CL Prog Festival in Santiago, Chile on 14-15 March 2026. To celebrate they've hared a video for a new collaboration with U.S. experimental metal artist Daedric, which features as an exclusive bonus track on the new release.
“Kristyn creates worlds," Jamie van Dyck says of Daedric singer Kristyn Hope. "Working with her expanded the mythos and depth of the piece. We hope this won’t be our last collaboration.”
"When I first heard Let the Truth Speak I was blown away by the cinematic impact of the sound paired with each vocalist's unique quality," Hope adds. "I noticed that Watching The Earth Sink was purely instrumental so I thought it would be cool to add a short vocal duet over the middle section. When Earthside decided to create an entirely new version to include me on the deluxe release of the album, I was deeply honoured. It was quite daunting to approach the full track as I consider their work highly technical, but working with Jamie proved to be rewarding as we finalised the vocals together.”
![Earthside - earthsink (feat. Daedric) [Official Visualizer] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/xmUp_lIppGw/maxresdefault.jpg)
BIG BIG TRAIN - THE SHARPEST BLADE
Big Big Train release their latest album, Woodcut, through InsideOut Music on February 6, a concept album exploring creativity, sacrifice and the thin line between inspiration and madness and featuring a character called The Artist. From that album comes The Sharpest Blade, featuring a lead vocal from violinist Claire Lindley, alongside frontman Alberto Bravin. Lindley also wrote the lyrics for the song.
“Having gone for a walk in the woods and happened upon an amazing piece of heartwood, lit by a natural beam of sunlight, the Artist has taken it home," says Lindley. "In the song The Sharpest Blade, he begins to carve the heartwood. Although he still has doubts and dark inner thoughts, he finds himself carving a wonderful scene. It’s so good that he feels it is perhaps not of his own hand...”
LESS PENNING & ROBERT REED - I BELIEVE IN FATHER CHRISTMAS
The original was from prog rock royalty, and this new cover of the 1975 No. 2 seasonal single from ELP singer and bassist Greg Lake, features modern day royalty in the form of Welsh prog polymath Robert Reed, Tiger Moth Tales ubiquitous Peter Jones, delivering a solidly faithful vocal turn, and Mike Oldfield's old recorder player Les Penning, with a charmingly sentimental video full of A Christmas Carol imagery thrown in for good measure. Bah humbug if this doesn't raise a nostalgic smile!
“Ive always loved Greg Lake’s I Believe In Father Christmas," says Reed, "and when we tried it as a new version, I came up with idea of having the obvious sections with Les playing his recorder, but to also have brilliant lyrics sang with various voices. So approached Pete Jones from Tiger Moth Tales to see if he would like to sing it. He jumped at it, he said he always wanted to do it. He sings alongside Angharad Brinn, and with Les Penning also doing some of the lyrics as spoken work. It’s a great combination."
TEXTURES - VANISHING TWIN
Dutch prog metal quintet Textures split up in 2017, before they had a chance to release Genotype, a followup to 2016's Phenotype, which would consist of one long atmospheric song. Having reformed in 2023, they now release the album, but a completely new version broken up into separate songs. Whilst there may be an element of disappointment in not getting the intended version, the delightful Vanishing Twin suggests there'll be plenty of great prog to invest in regardless.
“I have two relatives who struggle with the so-called Lost or Vanishing Twin syndrome," drummer Stef Broks explains of the subject behind Vanishing Twin. "This happens when two foetuses emerge in the womb, but one of them is absorbed by the woman’s body or the other twin. The remaining child that is being born will often deal with the traumatic feeling of having lost a brother/sister and this can shape their life in a significant way.”
HÄLLAS - FACE OF AN ANGEL
Swedish prog rock quintet Hällas certainly know how to put a smile on your face, and we mean that in a good way. The band release their fourth studio album, Panorama, through their own label, Äventyr Records, on January 30, and the engaging beat of Face Of An Angel is the latest single to be released ahead of the album, and which is one of the more immediate tracks on the album. More complex fare await those who indulge when the album's released.
"Hooves clip-clopping against the pavement, galloping straight into a world of twin guitars, vintage synths, 80s influenced drums and raw, repetitive vocals over a suggestive bass line – this is Face Of An Angel, the second single from our upcoming album Panorama," the band say. "Expanding a blend of 70s prog rock and heavy metal with pulse, groove and catchy lyrics."
JAGGED CITY - IMAGINARY LINES
Post-rock trio Jagged City feature Explosions In The Sky touring members Jake Woodruff (Defeater) and Carlos Torres and Imaginary Lines is the band's debut single. You'll find it on their debut EP, There Are More of Us, Always, to be released on 30th January via Pelagic Records.
"Imaginary Lines is a meditation on how all lines are imaginary - all borders are fake, all classifications are arbitrary, all divisions aren't real," espouses Woodruff. "We are all connected, and any line made by force and power is a denial of that. Musically, this is the first full song on the record, and Urian [drums] nailed the groove - it feels natural, even though it's in 5. I love how the chime-like guitar and fuzzed-out bass tones came together with the drum groove to form a cohesive, intimate, natural-sounding song."
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
