Anyone else suffering from the end of Daylight Savings Time? I feel like I don’t get to see the sun anymore. These new albums should bring some light into my life, though, and I hope they do the same for you. Check them all out here!
Devil You Know, They Bleed Red (Nuclear Blast)
Following their impressive debut The Beauty of Destruction, Devil You Know have returned with their sophomore effort, They Bleed Red. Howard Jones and Co. earned themselves quite a bit of attention with their debut album, even winning a Metal Hammer Golden God award last year for Best New Band. They Bleed Red is already garnering similar positive reactions from reviewers.
Vanden Plas, Chronicles of the Immortals: Netherworld (Path 2) (Frontiers)
German prog veterans Vanden Plas released the first half of this concept series last year, which was in collaboration with German science fiction and fantasy author Wolfgang Hohlbein. Netherworld (Path 1) was a huge hit in the prog community, and concept album fanatics were immediately clamoring for the second part to be released. Today we get the payoff, written once again with input from Hohlbein.
Pagan’s Mind, Full Circle – Live at Center Stage (SPV/Steamhammer)
The last album of new music we got from Pagan’s Mind came out in 2011, but while fans are waiting for new music, they can enjoy this new live album. Full Circle was crowdfunded through Indiegogo, and the campaign for it raised 163% of its expected goal. The music and performance footage come from last year’s ProgPower USA festival, which saw the band play their sophomore album Celestial Entrance in its entirety, as well as 80 minutes of other music from across their career.
Mestis, Polysemy (Sumerian)
Javier Reyes may be best known as one-half of the guitar tandem in Animals as Leaders, but when he’s not blowing our minds in his main project, Reyes has lately been working on a side project known as Mestis. The music featured on Polysemy is similar in technical prowess to Animals as Leaders, but it also more diverse stylistically, reflecting a lot of Reyes’ personal upbringing and emotions. You can listen to the full album here.
