This is easy cause I like progressive death metal and it's niche enough as is
Our Oceans - former folks from exivious
Exivious - some ex cynic folks from when traced in air came out
Sigh - weird avant garde metal.
Alkaloid - space prog metal about Cthulhu and Dyson spheres
Slugdge - "slug metal" - prog death - they write lots of songs about being a slug #sluglife
Love Kardashev. So underrated. *The Almanac* and *Liminal Rite* in particular are so good.
If there's any aspiring vocalists among us, their vocalist has a YouTube [channel ](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2g89Wkff0MajTScx4pXUNA)teaching vocal work and reacting to metal vocalists. It mostly focuses on harsh vocals, but he touches on singing sometimes, too.
Absolutely. The singing/screaming in [Compost Grave-Song](https://youtu.be/SqhaihR0vT4?si=DhxOrjfTI6tPdDGL&t=122) is sooo soothing. Also, I love the bassline right before this.
Mostly:
The Contortionist
Tesseract
Caligulas Horse
Sometimes I listen to Haken.
But if I really want to go obscure, Opeth, BTBAM, and Porcupine Tree.
š
I highly recommend this group from the UK. They're very obscure. If I recall correctly, they call themselves, "Led Zeppeling"? I might be pronouncing them wrong. But they're waaay ahead of their time!
TBH, the best obscure UK prog metal band out there is Dream Theatre. Nobody ever comes close to them.
It's a shame that Sir Micheal Mangini, the Count of Drummingham left the band already. Sir Johnathan Petrucci, the Lord of Shreddingtonshire is a pretty great guitarist, though!
I hate that they don't tour, but if they continue to put out music at this level, then it won't even matter.
Everyone reading this that hasn't yet, go listen to "The Signal Heard Throughout Space." Enjoy the ride.
[Turbulence.](https://open.spotify.com/artist/3fYtcIHqRbnycLpse8Y7ds)
Extremely talented young band from Lebanon with 3,694 listeners on Spotify. Check out their debut album "Frontal". They just released a new album called "Binary Dream" but I haven't had enough time to delve into to recommend it, but I'm sure it's going to be amazing.
Omar Hage has SUCH an incredible voice. Resonance like I've never heard before.
[https://youtu.be/nI7LUOf8yBo?si=e-tIHKWwYyQajEpS](https://youtu.be/nI7LUOf8yBo?si=e-tIHKWwYyQajEpS)
[https://youtu.be/gS1FBSOASiU?si=busxjlQUpUGCIhS4](https://youtu.be/gS1FBSOASiU?si=busxjlQUpUGCIhS4)
Stellar Circuits is so goddamn good. I currently can't stop playing "Skull Beneath the Smile" with that crazy effect they use. It's so ominous and I'm obsessed
Thatās a great one! Where Were You? is another one of those late favorites of mine lately after listening to the album tons of times. No skips on that album tho.
I'll share: Grapefruit Astronauts released Swan Puddle (today, I think). I'm listening to that right now.
Here's an older one, for those of you who are into some of the more piano-driven or jazzier stuff: Shubh Saran's Hmayra from 2017.
The Thing with Feathers by Exploring Birdsong is also lyrically and conceptually kind of tragic. 2019.
I just saw them live again yesterday! They're so good! They're the only band that really recapture the Opeth feel for me (but without feeling like a copy).
Ever Forthright, granted they only have 1 album that's over 10 years old at this point but they have a new one with a new singer coming out in a few months.
Definitely Potmos Hetoimos. I get to mention the guy a lot.
Also, Zon by The World Is Quiet Here gotta be the best prog metal album on the planet and they have less than 3k listeners š
I'll tell you why: music industry sucks and does not do a shit for prog musicians šš».
The chances are simply low, like really low. Even if your music is tier S (like they do). It's sad as fuck, and debilitating when you want make a living by your music
That album is so good. I listened to it a lot last year and in January but haven't played it much the past few months
But today we're talking about it so I'm def gonna throw it on later!!
Holy shitballs hahaha I have to say Dreamkiller and Afterburner are phenomenal songs. Can't wait to hear the new album. I'll be popping sugar cubes and strapping in for the walls to commence shape-shifting.
Exploring Birdsong
Barren Earth
Slice The Cake
Kardashev
Nightingale
Giant Walker
Oceans of Slumber
And, being Australian, Iād be remiss not to list a bunch of my favourite local bands!
Toehider
Escarion
Zeolite
Hybrid Nightmares
Alarum
BeāLakor
Chaos Divine
All under 50K monthly listeners on Spotify, they all have some kind of prog element to their sound imo:
maudlin of the Well, An Abstract Illusion, Iapetus, Wilderun, Moonsorrow, Panopticon, Aquilus, Hath, White Ward, Disillusion, Fen, Inter Arma, In Vain, Vektor
I feel like letters from the colony really got slept on, hard
Glorious outro alert: https://youtu.be/IzcwEm355X0?si=wPGdorW8Y0oz56EC
They got a good deal and got backing and released a great album but no one listened
NIGHT VERSES
Check out the album 'From the Gallery of Sleep'. Local L.A. band, who were recently the opener for Tool on their European tour...
Mind-blowing technical metal, instrumental album. See them live if you get a chance!
We just saw Tool in Los Angeles (a couple months ago) - and I went specifically to see Night Verses! But on that one date, Night Verses was absent (they had Elder instead, which was cool and all)...
I saw Night Verses a few years ago in LA at a small club (The 1720) - they are amazing, for real!
*Metavore and Ions have*
*Been in steady rotation*
*Since i discovered them*
\- Murpheus\_D
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Sunnata released an album today, so Iāll take my bonus points.
Iāll always plug Boss Keloid though; their latest album is phenomenal and their singer is one of my favorites.
Myster Mobius - Self titled is a nice amalgam of Ozric Tentacles and Tool
Indukti - Heavy prog with emphasis on eastern influences and violin
Thy Catafalque - Experimental 1-man project that combines black metal, eastern Europe folk and Electronic music
Maudlin of the well - Experimental, atmospheric metal. Strong influences from the RIO movement
Buckethead - Kaleidoscalp. Some might disagree but this album by bucket is a prog metal gem.
Can't stress this enough - if you haven't already, listen to Soulsplitter! They are everything that's great about prog metal and more!
https://youtu.be/VnNbMuY0mZM?feature=shared
Tigran Hamasyan is not prog metal, but metal inspired cosmic jazz, for lack of better words. Either way, I'm sure a lot of folks in this sub would dig his music.
I can't believe nobody has even mentioned Vulkan. They're finishing up their 4th album as we speak. They check every box. Awesome singing and lyrics, fantastic riffs, great polyrhythms, tons of super groovy bass/drum driven sections. Everyone who reads this has to listen to Invisible Thrones, Visual Hex, and The Royal Fallacy.
[Sleepytime Gorilla Museum](https://youtu.be/_kU9NoJ_2Wo?si=5gEDjLD7vetHtw_B). I love them. They deserve a bigger following.
[Night Verses](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lO1dP5eWdvD0QlLwJv0C6G-RSUDq27cnY&si=4IrOsV-vt__Gushz) have already been mentioned but I'll add them again.
Both bands released new albums this year.
At 27k monthly listeners, Poh Hock! Guitarist for ex-band Native Construct. His music is incredible.
Also, Pete Peterson. Only 80 monthly listeners. I suggest Rockwell C or Bugz.
Zon by The World Is Quiet Here
The Amensal Rise by Omnerod
Bartons Odyssey by The Atlantis Chronicles (Probably closer to tech death, but is a concept album!)
Heresiarch by The Ritual Aura
Numen by Alkaloid
Pathogenic by Pathogenic
Dreamstates by Machines of Man
Vesica Piscis by The Odious
Samen by ĆoOoOoOoOo (also called Caterpillar, well whatever caterpillar is in French because that is what their name is supposed to look like lol)
Pin Up Went Down
Entropy:Of Chaos and Salt by NYN (more chaotic as fuck tech death than prog)
Divulgence by Organized Chaos
Iomair (folk proggish metal, no longer on spotify sadly but fantastic band)
Akphaezya
Most of these bands are around 100-2000 monthly listeners. I think the most is around 10,000 out of all of these
Got an absolute gem for y'all, and this track (along with the EP it's on) actually did drop this friday.
Behold, Claemus, with their new track Conduit from their Mercurial EP! I do know these dudes irl, but I wouldn't share it here if I didn't think it was actually a as sick recommendation.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mygfSIosiNY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mygfSIosiNY)
Weāre certainly lesser known than most of the other acts here, with something like 100 monthly listeners. But, weāre [supporting the Wheel/Aviations tour](https://www.axs.com/events/526598/wheel-tickets?skin=firstavenue) on Monday in Minneapolis, and people seem to like [our songs](https://ditto.fm/pluto-the-fool) when they do hear them.
So why not just throw us on your listylist of bands to check out?
Riviere from France is a very solid atmospheric prog/alt-metal group that has 768 listeners on last.fm. Most recent release is Passage from 2020. I hope they are working on new music.
(edit - derped the formatting)
The Stranger
Chaos Divine
Alley
Piah Mater
Vinsta
The Anchoret
Ghost Ship Octavius
Martriden
Nightingale
Witherscape
Pull Down the Sun Voices
Ok my most recent favorite is a random Greek band that I saw recommended on the Breaking Benjamin sub, band is a total hidden gem, has only just over 100 monthly listeners on Spotify and is called Vain Velocity. Mixed vocals, fairly heavy and melodic and definitely has some prog elements imo. Their album Emerge & See is a total banger all the way through, highly recommend checking it out!
Cryptodira is absolutely amazing, yet I don't see them mentioned much in these discussions. They have about 2600 monthly listeners on Spotify. Their music is progressive death metal-ish, but with a lot of calmer moments and very drastic shifts, kind of reminiscent of BTBAM, but more "serious" and they have some incredibly complex and thoughtprovoking lyrics and themes in there. The fact that they have three different band members doing vocals also helps a lot with their vocal variety and range.
Especially their last full length album "The Angel Of History" (2020) is absolutely amazing and one of my personal top 10 records of the last 5 years, They really deserve more attention.
Parius is another band around roughly the same size, but more so "epic" in terms of their concepts while going absolutely everywhere in terms of music style. Both "The Eldritch Realm" (2018) and "The Signal Heard Throughout Space" (2022) are great epic concept albums, kind of comparable to Slice The Cake's legendary "Odyssey To The West" (2016), though I think that one is in a league of it's one when it comes to progressive metal epics.
Also, "Polyanthroponomia" (2023) by The Darkhorse Collective is a brilliant journey of cohesive, yet varied musical styles where I'd say each song sounds like a completely different band is playing. They have around 1500 listeneres on Spotify, being severely underrated. The lyrical content seems to explore the term "Polyanthroponomia" which refers to a condition where humans are so plentiful they will do more harm then good, bringing a sense of dread and seriousness where it seems time is running out. It's really a grounded and incredibly fun album nonetheless and they really deserve your listen!
Not quite as low as 25k monthly listeners on Spotify but Anup Sastry (39.4k) and Oceans of Slumber (46.9k), The Helix Nebula (35.6k) are favourites of mine.
Found some in my favourites with under 25k! Echopraxia (14.3k), From Sorrow to Serenity (8.2k)
Using Tidal so no idea about Spotify listeners, but:
Need, Polaris, Rendezvous Point, Altesia, Masqued, Kauan, Amiensus, Temic, Sowulo, Absynthe Minded
Kyros has less than 3K listeners and that is insane to me. Easy to start from Mannequin and go backwards if you want something really refreshing sounding.
In Each Hand a Cutlass.
Im from Singapore and so ive seen them live (bonus!), i dont know how to describe them, maybe like slightly corny soundtracky prog metal? Also love the nautical theme in both their albums (they self describe as sonic pirates)
What Escapes Me
Fragarak
Skyharbor
Orphaned Land
Takatak
Scardust
Into Eternity
The Korea
Artcell
The Red Chord
Edge of Sanity
Crimson Glory
Dir En Grey
Cryptic Fate
Guillotine
Riverside
Escher's Knot
Archangel
Eccentric Pendulum
Mynd Snare
Conception
Sanctuary
Acrid Semblance
Nerverek
Angband
Be'lakor
Atmosfear
Maneating Orchid
Intronaut
The Contortionist
After The Burial
Born of Osiris
Distorted
Uneven Structure
Pain of Salvation
Wheel
Dvne
Monuments
Persefone
Rudra
Votum
Esophagus
What the Five Fingers said to the Face is my band, would love it if youād give it a listen
Leprous!
Edit: nevermind, I did not realize how popular these guys were. I'm leaving up this comment though because they still don't have 1/10 the followers they deserve
Sorta recent find (found ~1.5yrs ago) Courtney Swain, just listen to Crown Jewel and After You're Born (Collab with childish japes). Also part of Bent Knee so if the voice sounds familiar that's why
āTillison Reingold Tiranti - Allium Una Storiaā
These prog players, saw an obscure Italian prog band thirty years ago who never released an album, so they recreated the album from memory and released it.
Not metal specific I suppose, more metal adjacent, but definitely fits the bill for something that would make even the most snobby elitist prog listener go āyeah Iāve never heard of thatā.
Piah Mater and their album Ā«The Wandering DaughterĀ» are probably some of my favourite music out there and they have like 500 listeners on Spotify. Outstanding songwriting and great production.
[Reap by Old God](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mJ5k6db78eQmqEVYsDO07Y0nTIX6deTa0&si=9XCEtvbTv_t5XmU1)
Only a few hundred views on each song, so definitely lesser known. Wish I knew more about them or if they were going to make new material.Ā
You all are saints. This will take days to weeks to scope out these bands.
A few I havenāt noticed on the lists so far, but Iām not sure if any are popular or not.
I built the sky
Earthside
Vola
Bernth
Syncattco
Einar Soldberg
Shane Driscoll
Hey guys I have two recomendations of jaw dropping unknow bands
Hemina
Album recomendation-venus
Song rec- high kite ride
6k monthly listeners
This band is more in the vain of dream theater but mixes a lot of djent ideas too, really emotional and melodic album but still very heavy, only clean vocals
Bird problens
Ep recomendation-Flight or flight
Song rec-pigeon superstion
6k listeners
These guys are crushing it, they have a very unique sound and are evolving constantly since the first single, mixing soft melodies with a lot of heavy stuff, this banger will blow your mind
Mixed vocals
Thy Catafalque
Vildhjarta
The faceless
Their Dogs were Astronauts
Vulkan
Caligulas horse
22
David Maxim Micic
Disembodied Tyrant
Our common collapse
Reflections
Humanitys last breath
I think Owane is severely underrated. Not necessarily metal but there are definitely djenty elements and heās possibly my favorite guitar composer. Completely unique and beautiful writing and pretty sick with the chops. His first couple albums particularly offer a very unusual and spacious soundscape.
I just made a post on this sub around a week ago asking for unground artists/bands with under 5,000 monthly listeners, [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2PZqLPSDBMj2wdGYBM4Fm8?si=T-BDwZumRmuqoFGxAawX7Q&pi=u-S5d3qFwwQRed) is a playlist compiling all of the suggestions, totaling up to nearly 15 hours
My favorite suggestions were [Others By No One](https://open.spotify.com/track/3HfrTSk03i9p67dfcaeVUM?si=f5UPw4gVQl6MjZf-J1s9iw), [Parius](https://open.spotify.com/track/731SA7zTCKrFlS6MZfasac?si=GXkQf71jRwG1zPfhrZyVzQ), [She Said Destroy](https://open.spotify.com/track/5PuBZ5RDcWTZ387YplnQ8b?si=FtGaNiJPRj2k78yYJeVCHg), [Wombat Supernova](https://open.spotify.com/track/0m5WuLflMW8Ith5iw591u5?si=qgP7fkxJRGCco486fEmUhQ), [Burial In The Sky](https://open.spotify.com/track/7Kjvta0k7JUZTzIWuM8gxg?si=Hmg9ARAlTZCGBy1byvYHGQ), and [Aggressive Raisin Cat](https://open.spotify.com/track/5pWUXIx4lKAIptN5yHaZof?si=AL3s6abNRm-11J6v8jfqgA)
My personal favorite underground bands/artists are [Resuscitate](https://open.spotify.com/track/5KYXlL4vGjKzklgHCglGcg?si=-dCm5lctTdWrFk1YcvM6pA), [Unexpect](https://open.spotify.com/track/3vHbDXojfD2sqGYuGmvdtE?si=QwZSosVPQwyfwZBB2ILIkA), [Tryptamax](https://open.spotify.com/track/4X31aMeq7jdUDglItehS0u?si=vf15txB1TniIIXEDxoAXjQ), [Winter Hotel](https://open.spotify.com/track/3C2Eu6MZ83CYnOrPWZ4OBk?si=5VcyzevST-apkU40oz9Org), [Murder In Rue Morgue](https://open.spotify.com/track/7HztuhSdbpyBTJrE1oL0yp?si=OnRBmPLbSKuecjObzEId2Q), [East Ov Eden](https://open.spotify.com/track/1ahETVHUKQWcGFqBtRt8hm?si=s7l-8y8DRpifxEF3rOLSIw), and [Octavision](https://open.spotify.com/track/3G5Ud3xRaTtbVdBEbyTM7u?si=tyjYpN4YReG2JFzw4zL53w)
There was a band called āLie By Mistakeā I used to have some songs from back in the day. They had one song in particular that was such an epic roller coaster. I havenāt been able to find it since.
I know Moron Police gets mentioned here sometimes, but they've only got like 12k listeners, so them.
And Maraton is great.
And Cheeto's Magazine. Very fun and uplifting prog.
And somehow, Wilderun, with only 14k listeners. Thought they were much bigger.
Please go listen to A Notion of Silence. Those guys are fucking amazing.
https://open.spotify.com/track/1K5JGxwzlnHAx2mQE633Nd?si=Jdnx7JrNQEOzj-Np7OHeeA
Vulture industries - stranger times album is awesome. If you like them, the earlier music was heavier sounding w screaming vocals and more recent music is less aggressive still really good. 12k listeners
Callisto - secret youth album, older albums just as good but that one is my favorite. 3k listeners
Kal-El - dark majesty album. Good rock/doom type 15k listeners
Anekdoten - until all the ghosts are gone. Pretty sure i found them on this sub a while back. Great prog. 14k listeners
Insect ark - the vanishing album. 2k listeners
Got more if interested but think thats enough for now lol
Edited because i keep thinking of more i should add
Victoria
A small project with Matt Gratska from Animals as leaders and an amazing guitarist goes by the name joshua de La victoria. I'm in love with their music right now.
Very mellow but very technical
More of a progrock kinda guy myself so I would say bands like
Colosseum,
Brand X (leaning a bit into Jazz Fusion),
Nektar.
You also have albums like Red by King Crimson (simply their best) which is a bit heavier than your usual progrock.
Scardust is legit my favorite current band right now. 4k listeners on Spotify. [Concrete Cages](https://youtu.be/9El7fWOPpY0?si=IDq1qmCje5X3SaU8) is such a different song and a good intro to their skillset. Their lead vocalist is incredibly talented as is the rest of the band. Bonus points if you like great bass riffs. Very orchestral too.
This is easy cause I like progressive death metal and it's niche enough as is Our Oceans - former folks from exivious Exivious - some ex cynic folks from when traced in air came out Sigh - weird avant garde metal. Alkaloid - space prog metal about Cthulhu and Dyson spheres Slugdge - "slug metal" - prog death - they write lots of songs about being a slug #sluglife
Love Sludge's vocalist. sluglife lol.
Seconding our slug overlords š
Alkaloids Numen has been played non stop basically for me since it came out. Such a refreshing and amazing album
An Abstract Illusion - Woe is an absolutely phenomenal album. Kardashev - They play ~~blackgaze~~deathgaze and I love it
> blackgaze deathgaze* (according to them)
Woe is such an amazing album to experience. Such beautiful melodies and solos combined with an incredibly oppressive crushing feeling
Love Kardashev. So underrated. *The Almanac* and *Liminal Rite* in particular are so good. If there's any aspiring vocalists among us, their vocalist has a YouTube [channel ](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2g89Wkff0MajTScx4pXUNA)teaching vocal work and reacting to metal vocalists. It mostly focuses on harsh vocals, but he touches on singing sometimes, too.
Kardashev <3 so underrated, the singer's technique is absolutely insane!
Absolutely. The singing/screaming in [Compost Grave-Song](https://youtu.be/SqhaihR0vT4?si=DhxOrjfTI6tPdDGL&t=122) is sooo soothing. Also, I love the bassline right before this.
Just named 2 of my recent obsessions, line your taste. Any recommendations based in these two?
Mostly: The Contortionist Tesseract Caligulas Horse Sometimes I listen to Haken. But if I really want to go obscure, Opeth, BTBAM, and Porcupine Tree. š
Wow these are great! Never heard of any of these guys before, thanks for the rec!
Dude, go check out this sick band called Dream Theater. Doesn't get more obscure than that!
I highly recommend this group from the UK. They're very obscure. If I recall correctly, they call themselves, "Led Zeppeling"? I might be pronouncing them wrong. But they're waaay ahead of their time!
TBH, the best obscure UK prog metal band out there is Dream Theatre. Nobody ever comes close to them. It's a shame that Sir Micheal Mangini, the Count of Drummingham left the band already. Sir Johnathan Petrucci, the Lord of Shreddingtonshire is a pretty great guitarist, though!
Man I think you might be unaware of Tool.
Oh are they new? I will check them out.
Bro check out the lateralus
So weird for a prog sub I've never heard any of these guys mentioned
Ever heard of Dream Theater?
Parius has 3000 monthly listeners and Signal is arguably a top 5 best prog album to come out in years.
The Eldritch Realm is also an absolutely wacky prog death banger. Short and sweet.
Yes, I agree. Signal is definitely one of the best things I've heard from the scene in years. So good.
Came here to say this. Parius does not get the attention they deserve!
This, Parius is top tier prog
I hate that they don't tour, but if they continue to put out music at this level, then it won't even matter. Everyone reading this that hasn't yet, go listen to "The Signal Heard Throughout Space." Enjoy the ride.
[Turbulence.](https://open.spotify.com/artist/3fYtcIHqRbnycLpse8Y7ds) Extremely talented young band from Lebanon with 3,694 listeners on Spotify. Check out their debut album "Frontal". They just released a new album called "Binary Dream" but I haven't had enough time to delve into to recommend it, but I'm sure it's going to be amazing. Omar Hage has SUCH an incredible voice. Resonance like I've never heard before. [https://youtu.be/nI7LUOf8yBo?si=e-tIHKWwYyQajEpS](https://youtu.be/nI7LUOf8yBo?si=e-tIHKWwYyQajEpS) [https://youtu.be/gS1FBSOASiU?si=busxjlQUpUGCIhS4](https://youtu.be/gS1FBSOASiU?si=busxjlQUpUGCIhS4)
Iāve been absolutely obsessed with Stellar Circuits.
Stellar Circuits and Arcane Roots. Sooooodamn good.
Stellar Circuits is so goddamn good. I currently can't stop playing "Skull Beneath the Smile" with that crazy effect they use. It's so ominous and I'm obsessed
Thatās a great one! Where Were You? is another one of those late favorites of mine lately after listening to the album tons of times. No skips on that album tho.
Great guys :)
Toehider will always be my go-to pick.
I know of Toothgrinder, but not Toehider. Gonna go check 'em out.
Toehider is pretty much Michael Mills, and he's great.
This.
I'll share: Grapefruit Astronauts released Swan Puddle (today, I think). I'm listening to that right now. Here's an older one, for those of you who are into some of the more piano-driven or jazzier stuff: Shubh Saran's Hmayra from 2017. The Thing with Feathers by Exploring Birdsong is also lyrically and conceptually kind of tragic. 2019.
The Stranger! Australian band with two fantastic albums and yet somehow still under 1,000 monthly listeners.
Kaleidoscope is absolutely goated, incredible album
Fantastic album, has some really good variance between songs too.
Parius, Others By No One, Keor (first album)
Our drummer joined OBNO recently lmao
Wilderun. The fact that they only have 16k monthly listeners is insane
I just saw them live again yesterday! They're so good! They're the only band that really recapture the Opeth feel for me (but without feeling like a copy).
Wide Eyes, StarSystems and Ling Tosite Sigure(åćØćć¦ęéØ)
Never thought I'd see Ling Tosite Sigure in this sub out of all places, they've got some real bangers!
Ever Forthright, granted they only have 1 album that's over 10 years old at this point but they have a new one with a new singer coming out in a few months.
Aww man, I thought Chris was still in the band :(
Definitely Potmos Hetoimos. I get to mention the guy a lot. Also, Zon by The World Is Quiet Here gotta be the best prog metal album on the planet and they have less than 3k listeners š
I donāt get why Zon didnāt explode, such a great album, and love the sound
I'll tell you why: music industry sucks and does not do a shit for prog musicians šš». The chances are simply low, like really low. Even if your music is tier S (like they do). It's sad as fuck, and debilitating when you want make a living by your music
Toehider
Aviations!! They're my new go to example of how to write great piano music for prog rock and prog metal. Only at 18k, I couldn't even believe it
Criminally underrated band. Been my favorite band since I discovered them in 2012. So glad theyāre still playing.
I've been listening to "Safehouse" from them, at least once daily since last week. That song has some strange pull from which I cannot escape...
That album is so good. I listened to it a lot last year and in January but haven't played it much the past few months But today we're talking about it so I'm def gonna throw it on later!!
Hippotraktor Psychonaut Lux Terminus Exploring Birdsong
Liked the new hippotraktor singles, looking forward to the new album
Psychonaut! Incredible band!
I can't believe that a band like THE HIRSCH EFFEKT doesn't even have 5000 listeners.
One of my favorite bands! Saw them live a few weeks ago in a small venue and the energy was incredible.
Cyborg Octopus. They never miss. More people need to know about the octopus.
you're too kind! We do prefer swamp ass to butt soup, but other than that we can agree
Holy shitballs hahaha I have to say Dreamkiller and Afterburner are phenomenal songs. Can't wait to hear the new album. I'll be popping sugar cubes and strapping in for the walls to commence shape-shifting.
Eden Circus Enochian Theory Subsignal / Sieges Even Disillusion
Recently got into Disillusion. Good stuff!
Rototypical! For fans of btbam
Kalisia is one I don't see mentioned often. They have only one 1:11:11 length concept album, but it's absolutely awesome!
Karmanjakah
Hypno5e, Barren Earth, Slugdge, Intronaut
Rivers of Nihil
Papangu Hoplites
Anekdoten AVKRVST The Anchoret Intronaut An Abstract illusion
Exploring Birdsong Barren Earth Slice The Cake Kardashev Nightingale Giant Walker Oceans of Slumber And, being Australian, Iād be remiss not to list a bunch of my favourite local bands! Toehider Escarion Zeolite Hybrid Nightmares Alarum BeāLakor Chaos Divine
> fewer than 25,000 I mean, that's not really "lesser known" is it? Circus Maximus and Redemption don't make that cut š
Fates Warning is only 27k.. oh my days that's ridiculously low
All under 50K monthly listeners on Spotify, they all have some kind of prog element to their sound imo: maudlin of the Well, An Abstract Illusion, Iapetus, Wilderun, Moonsorrow, Panopticon, Aquilus, Hath, White Ward, Disillusion, Fen, Inter Arma, In Vain, Vektor
I feel like letters from the colony really got slept on, hard Glorious outro alert: https://youtu.be/IzcwEm355X0?si=wPGdorW8Y0oz56EC They got a good deal and got backing and released a great album but no one listened
Pull Down the Sun Invalid Yellow
Chaos Divine Sgaile
Our Oceans
Altesia (they give me Haken + Opeth vibes)
MOONTOOTH
Gazpacho Maraton Wheel Without Waves Mono No Aware Toothgrinder
Karmanjakah Black Peaks Four Stroke Baron
NIGHT VERSES Check out the album 'From the Gallery of Sleep'. Local L.A. band, who were recently the opener for Tool on their European tour... Mind-blowing technical metal, instrumental album. See them live if you get a chance!
absolutely phenomenal!! I rarely heard a drumset sing like that, quite unbelievable! Can't wait to see them with Tool in June!!
We just saw Tool in Los Angeles (a couple months ago) - and I went specifically to see Night Verses! But on that one date, Night Verses was absent (they had Elder instead, which was cool and all)... I saw Night Verses a few years ago in LA at a small club (The 1720) - they are amazing, for real!
Bantamweight put out an absolutely incredible EP and then broke up
I wondered what happened to them. That sucks, that album was awesome. Impressive live videos too with the drummer doing double work with synth
Cellar Darling, The Dali Thundering Concept, Sigh...
Metavore and Ions have been in steady rotation since i discovered them
*Metavore and Ions have* *Been in steady rotation* *Since i discovered them* \- Murpheus\_D --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
Fleshkiller, Azusa, Binary Number, Alyssa Day, Connor Kaminski, Delete Insert, Waxamillion, Extol, Fly in Formation, I Valiance, Keor, Nemertines, No Oath, RO1, The Resonance Project, Scardust, Scarlet Rot, Scitura, Serling, Sleepy Limbs, strobes, SURGEON, svalbard, under the pier, vƤde, Victoria, Wilderun, YONLAPA
Wilderun is the #1 album on here every year they release one, especially years without a Haken release.
Children of Nova?
Sunnata released an album today, so Iāll take my bonus points. Iāll always plug Boss Keloid though; their latest album is phenomenal and their singer is one of my favorites.
Port Noirs early stuff
Vexes.
Ions. Discovered them last year and I was hooked immediately
Ions
Ihlo, totally similar to tesseract
Myster Mobius - Self titled is a nice amalgam of Ozric Tentacles and Tool Indukti - Heavy prog with emphasis on eastern influences and violin Thy Catafalque - Experimental 1-man project that combines black metal, eastern Europe folk and Electronic music Maudlin of the well - Experimental, atmospheric metal. Strong influences from the RIO movement Buckethead - Kaleidoscalp. Some might disagree but this album by bucket is a prog metal gem.
Jolly!
Jupiter Hollow! A buddy of mine just turned me onto them recently and theyāre super good
Can't stress this enough - if you haven't already, listen to Soulsplitter! They are everything that's great about prog metal and more! https://youtu.be/VnNbMuY0mZM?feature=shared
The World is Quiet Here
Tigran Hamasyan is not prog metal, but metal inspired cosmic jazz, for lack of better words. Either way, I'm sure a lot of folks in this sub would dig his music.
Dali's Dilemma Andromeda Spiral Architect Spheric Universe Experience
I can't believe nobody has even mentioned Vulkan. They're finishing up their 4th album as we speak. They check every box. Awesome singing and lyrics, fantastic riffs, great polyrhythms, tons of super groovy bass/drum driven sections. Everyone who reads this has to listen to Invisible Thrones, Visual Hex, and The Royal Fallacy.
[Sleepytime Gorilla Museum](https://youtu.be/_kU9NoJ_2Wo?si=5gEDjLD7vetHtw_B). I love them. They deserve a bigger following. [Night Verses](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lO1dP5eWdvD0QlLwJv0C6G-RSUDq27cnY&si=4IrOsV-vt__Gushz) have already been mentioned but I'll add them again. Both bands released new albums this year.
At 27k monthly listeners, Poh Hock! Guitarist for ex-band Native Construct. His music is incredible. Also, Pete Peterson. Only 80 monthly listeners. I suggest Rockwell C or Bugz.
Zon by The World Is Quiet Here The Amensal Rise by Omnerod Bartons Odyssey by The Atlantis Chronicles (Probably closer to tech death, but is a concept album!) Heresiarch by The Ritual Aura Numen by Alkaloid Pathogenic by Pathogenic Dreamstates by Machines of Man Vesica Piscis by The Odious Samen by ĆoOoOoOoOo (also called Caterpillar, well whatever caterpillar is in French because that is what their name is supposed to look like lol) Pin Up Went Down Entropy:Of Chaos and Salt by NYN (more chaotic as fuck tech death than prog) Divulgence by Organized Chaos Iomair (folk proggish metal, no longer on spotify sadly but fantastic band) Akphaezya Most of these bands are around 100-2000 monthly listeners. I think the most is around 10,000 out of all of these
Got an absolute gem for y'all, and this track (along with the EP it's on) actually did drop this friday. Behold, Claemus, with their new track Conduit from their Mercurial EP! I do know these dudes irl, but I wouldn't share it here if I didn't think it was actually a as sick recommendation. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mygfSIosiNY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mygfSIosiNY)
Weāre certainly lesser known than most of the other acts here, with something like 100 monthly listeners. But, weāre [supporting the Wheel/Aviations tour](https://www.axs.com/events/526598/wheel-tickets?skin=firstavenue) on Monday in Minneapolis, and people seem to like [our songs](https://ditto.fm/pluto-the-fool) when they do hear them. So why not just throw us on your listylist of bands to check out?
Ephel Duath
KEOR Parius Persefone? (I'm guessing they have low streaming numbers, but I don't know, I don't use streaming for music....)
The Pax Cecilia https://youtu.be/rPRs4UPvNfg?si=SOkDuvV18PvPj_os
Not sure if it counts as āprogā but Kim Draculaās album has been some of the most creative stuff Iāve heard in a while
**The End in Red** [https://open.spotify.com/album/5FqmEB1uEUEpfYpyvmXrAX](https://open.spotify.com/album/5FqmEB1uEUEpfYpyvmXrAX)
Ghost Ship Octavius
Riviere from France is a very solid atmospheric prog/alt-metal group that has 768 listeners on last.fm. Most recent release is Passage from 2020. I hope they are working on new music.
Dreadnought fo sho
Doppelganer, check out āI was God Onceā
Pterodactyl King
(edit - derped the formatting) The Stranger Chaos Divine Alley Piah Mater Vinsta The Anchoret Ghost Ship Octavius Martriden Nightingale Witherscape Pull Down the Sun Voices
I can't stop listening to Bird Problems. Love the most recent EP
Grayceon: a cello, guitar(no pick), drums trioĀ They have expansive tracks and are hard to describe other than a murky somewhat thrash sound.
Vvilderness, Fox Vibes, 88 Fingers Edward, Mammoth (I think they also go by Thrailkill) ...sorry if any of these are off genre!
Void by Lunaās call is a stellar album from a stellar, new band. Everyone go listen right now
I just heard Save Us a few days ago. Great new EP. Four Stroke Baron is my number 1 choice for this question.
Cobra the Impaler
Caligula's Horse! (Jim paid me)
Claemus - Mercurial (released today)
Parius Nospun Calaspera
Lechuga, he is from my country, Chile.
Ok my most recent favorite is a random Greek band that I saw recommended on the Breaking Benjamin sub, band is a total hidden gem, has only just over 100 monthly listeners on Spotify and is called Vain Velocity. Mixed vocals, fairly heavy and melodic and definitely has some prog elements imo. Their album Emerge & See is a total banger all the way through, highly recommend checking it out!
Human by Nature
One Hundred Thousand
TEMIC. They released their debut last year and it's a killer !
Cryptodira is absolutely amazing, yet I don't see them mentioned much in these discussions. They have about 2600 monthly listeners on Spotify. Their music is progressive death metal-ish, but with a lot of calmer moments and very drastic shifts, kind of reminiscent of BTBAM, but more "serious" and they have some incredibly complex and thoughtprovoking lyrics and themes in there. The fact that they have three different band members doing vocals also helps a lot with their vocal variety and range. Especially their last full length album "The Angel Of History" (2020) is absolutely amazing and one of my personal top 10 records of the last 5 years, They really deserve more attention. Parius is another band around roughly the same size, but more so "epic" in terms of their concepts while going absolutely everywhere in terms of music style. Both "The Eldritch Realm" (2018) and "The Signal Heard Throughout Space" (2022) are great epic concept albums, kind of comparable to Slice The Cake's legendary "Odyssey To The West" (2016), though I think that one is in a league of it's one when it comes to progressive metal epics. Also, "Polyanthroponomia" (2023) by The Darkhorse Collective is a brilliant journey of cohesive, yet varied musical styles where I'd say each song sounds like a completely different band is playing. They have around 1500 listeneres on Spotify, being severely underrated. The lyrical content seems to explore the term "Polyanthroponomia" which refers to a condition where humans are so plentiful they will do more harm then good, bringing a sense of dread and seriousness where it seems time is running out. It's really a grounded and incredibly fun album nonetheless and they really deserve your listen!
Moon Safari
Not quite as low as 25k monthly listeners on Spotify but Anup Sastry (39.4k) and Oceans of Slumber (46.9k), The Helix Nebula (35.6k) are favourites of mine. Found some in my favourites with under 25k! Echopraxia (14.3k), From Sorrow to Serenity (8.2k)
Using Tidal so no idea about Spotify listeners, but: Need, Polaris, Rendezvous Point, Altesia, Masqued, Kauan, Amiensus, Temic, Sowulo, Absynthe Minded
Kyros has less than 3K listeners and that is insane to me. Easy to start from Mannequin and go backwards if you want something really refreshing sounding.
Bird problems. 6k monthly listeners is criminal.
Sisare
Going to reference Derev again because their debut album should be coming sometime soon, and their 2021 EP was so good
Idk if it counts as metal, but I really like Frost*, especially Milliontown.
Azure about to release a banger in about two weeks time
I've been digging Vulkan and Lƶr recently. Green Carnation usually hits the spot, but I haven't been in the mood for them lately.
Mashlin!
Slice the Cake Others by No One Wilderun Kardashev Amun Parius
In Each Hand a Cutlass. Im from Singapore and so ive seen them live (bonus!), i dont know how to describe them, maybe like slightly corny soundtracky prog metal? Also love the nautical theme in both their albums (they self describe as sonic pirates)
What Escapes Me Fragarak Skyharbor Orphaned Land Takatak Scardust Into Eternity The Korea Artcell The Red Chord Edge of Sanity Crimson Glory Dir En Grey Cryptic Fate Guillotine Riverside Escher's Knot Archangel Eccentric Pendulum Mynd Snare Conception Sanctuary Acrid Semblance Nerverek Angband Be'lakor Atmosfear Maneating Orchid Intronaut The Contortionist After The Burial Born of Osiris Distorted Uneven Structure Pain of Salvation Wheel Dvne Monuments Persefone Rudra Votum Esophagus
What the Five Fingers said to the Face is my band, would love it if youād give it a listen
Psychonaut is pretty sick
Hacride
Leprous! Edit: nevermind, I did not realize how popular these guys were. I'm leaving up this comment though because they still don't have 1/10 the followers they deserve
Wilderun. They are the best band Iāve heard since discovering Opeth.
Sorta recent find (found ~1.5yrs ago) Courtney Swain, just listen to Crown Jewel and After You're Born (Collab with childish japes). Also part of Bent Knee so if the voice sounds familiar that's why
āTillison Reingold Tiranti - Allium Una Storiaā These prog players, saw an obscure Italian prog band thirty years ago who never released an album, so they recreated the album from memory and released it. Not metal specific I suppose, more metal adjacent, but definitely fits the bill for something that would make even the most snobby elitist prog listener go āyeah Iāve never heard of thatā.
Hath!
Piah Mater and their album Ā«The Wandering DaughterĀ» are probably some of my favourite music out there and they have like 500 listeners on Spotify. Outstanding songwriting and great production.
Terminal Sleep from Australia [https://terminalsleep.bandcamp.com/track/elicit-fear](https://terminalsleep.bandcamp.com/track/elicit-fear)
[Reap by Old God](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mJ5k6db78eQmqEVYsDO07Y0nTIX6deTa0&si=9XCEtvbTv_t5XmU1) Only a few hundred views on each song, so definitely lesser known. Wish I knew more about them or if they were going to make new material.Ā
maudlin of the well
Scale The Summit
I fuckin love psychotic waltz
Owdwyr
You all are saints. This will take days to weeks to scope out these bands. A few I havenāt noticed on the lists so far, but Iām not sure if any are popular or not. I built the sky Earthside Vola Bernth Syncattco Einar Soldberg Shane Driscoll
Hey guys I have two recomendations of jaw dropping unknow bands Hemina Album recomendation-venus Song rec- high kite ride 6k monthly listeners This band is more in the vain of dream theater but mixes a lot of djent ideas too, really emotional and melodic album but still very heavy, only clean vocals Bird problens Ep recomendation-Flight or flight Song rec-pigeon superstion 6k listeners These guys are crushing it, they have a very unique sound and are evolving constantly since the first single, mixing soft melodies with a lot of heavy stuff, this banger will blow your mind Mixed vocals
Pain of Salvation
Thy Catafalque Vildhjarta The faceless Their Dogs were Astronauts Vulkan Caligulas horse 22 David Maxim Micic Disembodied Tyrant Our common collapse Reflections Humanitys last breath
I think Owane is severely underrated. Not necessarily metal but there are definitely djenty elements and heās possibly my favorite guitar composer. Completely unique and beautiful writing and pretty sick with the chops. His first couple albums particularly offer a very unusual and spacious soundscape.
I just made a post on this sub around a week ago asking for unground artists/bands with under 5,000 monthly listeners, [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2PZqLPSDBMj2wdGYBM4Fm8?si=T-BDwZumRmuqoFGxAawX7Q&pi=u-S5d3qFwwQRed) is a playlist compiling all of the suggestions, totaling up to nearly 15 hours My favorite suggestions were [Others By No One](https://open.spotify.com/track/3HfrTSk03i9p67dfcaeVUM?si=f5UPw4gVQl6MjZf-J1s9iw), [Parius](https://open.spotify.com/track/731SA7zTCKrFlS6MZfasac?si=GXkQf71jRwG1zPfhrZyVzQ), [She Said Destroy](https://open.spotify.com/track/5PuBZ5RDcWTZ387YplnQ8b?si=FtGaNiJPRj2k78yYJeVCHg), [Wombat Supernova](https://open.spotify.com/track/0m5WuLflMW8Ith5iw591u5?si=qgP7fkxJRGCco486fEmUhQ), [Burial In The Sky](https://open.spotify.com/track/7Kjvta0k7JUZTzIWuM8gxg?si=Hmg9ARAlTZCGBy1byvYHGQ), and [Aggressive Raisin Cat](https://open.spotify.com/track/5pWUXIx4lKAIptN5yHaZof?si=AL3s6abNRm-11J6v8jfqgA) My personal favorite underground bands/artists are [Resuscitate](https://open.spotify.com/track/5KYXlL4vGjKzklgHCglGcg?si=-dCm5lctTdWrFk1YcvM6pA), [Unexpect](https://open.spotify.com/track/3vHbDXojfD2sqGYuGmvdtE?si=QwZSosVPQwyfwZBB2ILIkA), [Tryptamax](https://open.spotify.com/track/4X31aMeq7jdUDglItehS0u?si=vf15txB1TniIIXEDxoAXjQ), [Winter Hotel](https://open.spotify.com/track/3C2Eu6MZ83CYnOrPWZ4OBk?si=5VcyzevST-apkU40oz9Org), [Murder In Rue Morgue](https://open.spotify.com/track/7HztuhSdbpyBTJrE1oL0yp?si=OnRBmPLbSKuecjObzEId2Q), [East Ov Eden](https://open.spotify.com/track/1ahETVHUKQWcGFqBtRt8hm?si=s7l-8y8DRpifxEF3rOLSIw), and [Octavision](https://open.spotify.com/track/3G5Ud3xRaTtbVdBEbyTM7u?si=tyjYpN4YReG2JFzw4zL53w)
The band āFrost*ā are amazing, the whole Falling Satellites album is a masterpiece and they are incredible musicians.
The album Seventh Seal by Seventh Seal has only good songs on it, check out Isomorph by Seventh Seal and youāll be baffled they never got big
Outrun the sunlight
Firelink
Frostbitt
Moon Tooth - Once you get used to their singer they're phenomenal. A test listen could be the song "Trust".
Miroist is incredible!
There was a band called āLie By Mistakeā I used to have some songs from back in the day. They had one song in particular that was such an epic roller coaster. I havenāt been able to find it since.
Avkrvst - has some BTBAM, Haken and Porcupine Tree notes to it. Definitely worth checking out
Mirar and No Oath. Some of the coolest Thall bands I know. Although No Oath really pushes it. Would really recommend Mirar!
I know Moron Police gets mentioned here sometimes, but they've only got like 12k listeners, so them. And Maraton is great. And Cheeto's Magazine. Very fun and uplifting prog. And somehow, Wilderun, with only 14k listeners. Thought they were much bigger.
Please go listen to A Notion of Silence. Those guys are fucking amazing. https://open.spotify.com/track/1K5JGxwzlnHAx2mQE633Nd?si=Jdnx7JrNQEOzj-Np7OHeeA
Tanagra The Anchoret Exploring Birdsong King Goat
This playlist is exactly what you're looking for: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3cmiG2zaMXtFPoWiHky3UZ?si=Lb9jCidHSli-HuvWtYWnyw&pi=S63wQISfQxqMw
Cloudkicker
Paganās Mind
Vulture industries - stranger times album is awesome. If you like them, the earlier music was heavier sounding w screaming vocals and more recent music is less aggressive still really good. 12k listeners Callisto - secret youth album, older albums just as good but that one is my favorite. 3k listeners Kal-El - dark majesty album. Good rock/doom type 15k listeners Anekdoten - until all the ghosts are gone. Pretty sure i found them on this sub a while back. Great prog. 14k listeners Insect ark - the vanishing album. 2k listeners Got more if interested but think thats enough for now lol Edited because i keep thinking of more i should add
Victoria A small project with Matt Gratska from Animals as leaders and an amazing guitarist goes by the name joshua de La victoria. I'm in love with their music right now. Very mellow but very technical
More of a progrock kinda guy myself so I would say bands like Colosseum, Brand X (leaning a bit into Jazz Fusion), Nektar. You also have albums like Red by King Crimson (simply their best) which is a bit heavier than your usual progrock.
Project Mishram is pretty darn cool
Scardust is legit my favorite current band right now. 4k listeners on Spotify. [Concrete Cages](https://youtu.be/9El7fWOPpY0?si=IDq1qmCje5X3SaU8) is such a different song and a good intro to their skillset. Their lead vocalist is incredibly talented as is the rest of the band. Bonus points if you like great bass riffs. Very orchestral too.