Riffstone - Sanctuary Sky Year: 2025
Score: 80
Style or Subgenre: Symphonic Prog
My Rank in Year as of this listen: Not in top 100
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Riffstone brings together melodicism and atmosphere in equal measure, and they do so with a strong 70s vibe; not necessarily golden age of prog vibe so much as that gloriously melodic pop that comprised so much of the decade, but then put it in a symphonic prog format. I could have used a little more variety in tempi and vocal style, but still a fine listen and a great option for those who like "listenable" 70s tuneage as well as hard core progginess.
Tritop - Tritop 120 Subgenre(s): Heavy Prog
Score: 80
Year: 2025
My Rank in Year as of this listen: 4th
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Tritop's second album brings no sophomore slump, but it also doesn't quite fully achieve their promise. We do get all the hallmarks of classically informed contemporary prog including long compositions, transitions galore, and positively stellar musicianship. Listening to snippets can be very promising as all those goodies make themselves apparent and scream joy to the prog part of my brain. But in total, there's little overall musical vision linking all those goodies into a coherent whole. So much to love here... if they just could have made it all play together, this could have been a new classic. Moderate recommendation.
Storchi - By Far Away Year: 2025
Score: 85
Style or Subgenre: Experimental/Post Metal, Prog Folk
My Rank in Year as of this listen: 71st
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Storchi is an international folk/experimental/post metal quartet with flute as their primary melody instrument. This is progressive music in the sense that it eschews genres and lables, and brings its own sound and style rather than aping prog of the past. And that music is excellent. That genre fluidity lends itself to a lot of ears without alienating any. There's more than the expected amount of melody for music of this type and, as a lover of the flute, it all wits quite comfortably yet excitingly in my ear. This is music I can sit and dwell on, or play in the background and rock out to while doing other things. Really good stuff in a number of applications.
And even though I'm not big on the color purple, I totally dig that album cover.
Midlake - A Bridge Too Far Year: 2025
Score: 75
Style or Subgenre: Prog-folk
My Rank in Year as of this listen: Not in top 100
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Prog folk often sounds the least proggy of all prog subgenres. This album seems even less proggy even by prog folk standards. Still, this album is getting some love in prog circles. I'm not so quick to jump on the bandwagon, even independent of expectations for a certain level of progginess. While nicely composed and recorded, this album is just too subdued throughout to really grab me. If the idea of consistently well crafted but understated (especially vocally) prog folk with some modern but repetitive beats sounds appealing, then this might sit well in your ear.
Fulgoromatic - Fulguromatic Year: 2025
Score: 75
Style or Subgenre: Eclectic Prog
My Rank in Year as of this listen: Not in top 100
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If you want some music that is totally modern, highly eclectic, and completely impossible to pigeonhole genre or style wise, French Duo Fulgromatic should be on your short list. There is so much to love in this very creative set. Like anything this experimental, it's also easy to land on things that don't sit perfectly either. That shouldn't deter anyone with an adventurous musical taste, though. This album is getting a lot of love from the progressive community and I wouldn't even try to argue with that even if it's not going to sit atop my personal list of faves from 2025.
Atomic Sun - Atomic Sun Year: 2025
Score: 80
Style or Subgenre: Symphonic Prog
My Rank in Year as of this listen: Not in top 100
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This 2025 album is a keyboard lovers dream. There's all manner of synth, plenty of Hammond organ, and lots of mellotron. The group is composed of a duo, the other half playing guitar in a mostly supporting role. While instrumental, this is very much an album of symphonic prog storytelling. Easily recommended for fans of either the genre or the instrumentation.
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