It's Prog's brand new Tracks Of The Week! Seven brand new and diverse slices of progressively inclined music for you to enjoy.
Congratulations to British dark prog rockers Esoterica, whose video for Into The Ether romped home with over half ot the votes last week. French post-progressive rock trio Fields Of Næcluda came second while Caligula's Horse guitarist Sam Vallen's new solo track came third.
The premise for Tracks Of The Week 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 - DRONE
It's been four years since Karnivool shared their All It Takes single, signalling new activity from the Australia's quintet. And then nothing! Now we have a brand new single, the brooding yet uplifting Drone, which they promise is an indication that more new music is to follow. Australians will be the first in the world to hear what’s been brewing in the studio when the band's Ad Complementum tour kicks off in July, with European dates to, follow in August.
“Drone is the sound of Karnivool entering a new era — a slow-cooked journey forged in the studio’s heat, where every note was tested and tempered," the band say. "This track hums with the weight of vast Western Australian deserts, anchored by colossal rock riffs that could only come from our home. It’s both a reflection and a rebirth."
SONECHKO - SPLIT
Sonechko is the new solo venture from Square Wild's Lucy Shevchuk and Split is her very first single under that banner. Away from the in-you-face energy of Square Wild, Shevchuk explores an engaging and more atmospheric and dark folk and prog mix as Sonechko, not dissimilar at times to Myrkur and Wardruna's Lindy-Fay Hella . A full EP, also entitled Split, will be released in August.
"Square Wild shows a certain side of my personality, something loud, confident, in your face and boisterous," Shevchuk explains. "However, I felt I needed to create something that was darker, something that represented a side of me I was almost ashamed of for many years."
BARRENS - A NOTHING EXPANDS
Swedish trio Barrens will release their upcoming album, Corpse Lights, through Pelagic Records on September 12. The band describe themselves as dark post-rock and have appeared at the UK's ArcTanGent Festival as well as supporting the likes of Mogwai and God Is An Astronaut. Corpse Lights has been five years inthe making, and the rolling A Nothing Expands is the third single to be taken from the album.
"Corpse Lights is the name given to the folk belief that small coloured lights often appear near the home of someone about to die, leading them along the path to their eventual resting place," the band explain. "Often considered to be evidence of the soul leaving the body, the concept of corpse lights embodies Barrens approach to creating music."
NAD SYLVAN - I'M STEPPING OUT (VAMPIRATE REVISITED)
Despite stepping away from the characters that have imbued his more recent solo ventures for the InsideOut label, Nad Sylvan is back to his flamboyant best in the video for his quirky new single, I'm Stepping Out (Vampirate Revisited). New album Monumentata draws on some of Sylvan's personal life experiences and is, at times, a more reflective listen. Here, however, you can tell he's really having fun.
“It was such great fun to showcase my inner diva, to portray five different characters in this video, The Quartermaster being my favourite," Sylvan enthuses. "You can’t really tell it’s me! Tim Burton, I’m here!!”
MOUNDRAG - THE CAVEMAN
Moundrag are French brothers Colin and Camille Goallen, and come on like a Gallic version of Canada's Crown Lands with their singing drummer and keyboardist set up. Their brand new single, The Caveman, comes with a live video recorded during their performance at Motocultor Festival 2024, which shows how much noise can be created by just two people. The duo will release their second album, aptly titled Deux, through Stolen Body Records on October 17.
"The Caveman is a fierce and urgent track, reminiscent of classics like Deep Purple’s Speed King or Budgie’s Breadfan," the pair say. "This is a supersonic burst of energy where keys and drums build a sonic wall—no guitars needed. The intense, gut-wrenching vocals tell the story of a frantic, insatiable man charging toward his fate—a scream against human vanity and the blind pursuit of power."
HEMELBESTORMER - TINIA
Belgian quartet Hemelbestomer ply their musical trade in dark and thought-provoking music, which mixes prog, post-rock and touches of doom. The band will release their new album, The Radiant Veil, through Pelagic Records on July 25, from which comes the atmospheric and slow-building Tinia.
"The Radiant Veil is "a journey through our solar system as perceived by the Etruscan civilisation," explains drummer Frederik Cosemans. "Each track bears the name of a planet in the old Etruscan language, starting with the Sun (Usil) and ending with Saturn (Satre)."
ROYAL SORROW - SAMSARA
Young Finnish prog quartet Royal Sorrow recently signed to InsideOut Music and the engagingly catchy Samsara is the latest in a line of single releases from the band (one assumes a debut album will appear at some point). Despite guitarist Juha Rapanen stepping down to focus on family matters following the release of Samsara, it's busy few months for the band, touring with Leprous on their European Melodies Of Atonement dates and also appearing at the UK's ArcTanGent in August.
"The song draws inspiration from the concept of ‘Samsara’ and is in itself a meditation on finding acceptance in the fact that everything is transient and nothing lasts," the band explain. "With soaring choruses, introspective verses and a blistering guitar solo it’s an emotional journey that entices you from its conception to its end.”
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