"4U9525" is the third album by French jazz rock prog unit La Théorie des Cordes, founded as a duo by Mathieu Torres (guitar) and Stéphanie Artaud (piano) and shaped by influences from 70s British progressive rock, avant-garde progressive, the Canterbury scene, and hard rock/metal. The project's lineup has changed repeatedly since its debut album "Premières Vibrations" (2011, Musea Records) and follow-up "Singes Electriques" (2013, Musea Records). After a hiatus during which its members developed other projects, the group returned as a collective for "4U9525," an album built on improvised music over minimalist, simple structures. The nine tracks are conceived as illustrations of the final nine pages of a flight logbook, referencing the co-pilot who deliberately caused the crash of Germanwings flight 4U9525, resulting in 150 deaths including his own. Personnel on the album include Stéphanie Artaud (piano, prologue), Mathieu Torres (electric guitar, bass), Hugo Lemercier (mandolin, folk guitar), and Heiva Arnal (drums); the album was recorded, mixed and mastered by Hugo Lemercier at La Mercerie Studio in Mirepoix.
A Chair at the Backdoor is an album by Giant The Vine, following Music for Empty Places (2020). The band moves in a direction partly towards post-rock. Its introspective atmospheres refer to Radiohead and Talk Talk, where the previous album referred to Porcupine Tree. The tracks mentioned are "Glass", "The Potter's Field", "The Heresiarch", "The Inner Circle" and the title track, which runs to over 12 minutes. The final three tracks follow the progressive tradition, with a King Crimson-like character.
"A Sad Layer of Synth" is a single by La Josephine, the project of José Joaquín Sánchez Ríos, released on 20th March 2016 via Luminol Records.
"A Year Without Goodbyes" is an album by Storms on Mars, a Swedish project led by drummer, composer/producer, and multi-instrumentalist Tomas Erlandsson, formerly of A.C.T., released via Luminol Records. The project deliberately blends two musical directions — progressive rock and ambient electronic music — with an approach that avoids fixed genre boundaries, incorporating electronic elements, traditional rock instrumentation, and hybrid combinations depending on the mood intended for each piece.
"About Last Night" is the second single from Italian band Post Generation, released via Luminol Records ahead of their forthcoming album "Control Z," and accompanied by a music video. The band draws influence from acts such as Porcupine Tree, Anathema, Pain Of Salvation and the softer side of Opeth, developing its own take on progressive rock.
Ainsi parlait Hominina is the debut album by ZHORHANN, a French band working across rock in opposition, math rock and a cartoonish progressive jazz rock, following an earlier matrix project called "La théorie des cordes". The instrumental music draws on a wide range of influences, from Frank Zappa, Mr. Bungle, Secret Chiefs 3, John Zorn and Naked City to Nirvana, Tex Avery, Pantera, Steve Coleman and Tigran Hamasyan. The studio line-up is Vincent Blandeau (bass), Heiva Arnal (drums) and Mathieu Torres (guitar, composition, mastering), with mixing by Hugo Lemercier at La Mercery studio in Mirepoix; the live trio features Paul Bordenave (bass) and Frédéric Cavallin (drums) alongside Torres. The album consists of eight pieces dissecting modern humans on the eve of their extinction, exploring Sapiens' behaviour, beauty, poetry, contradictions and self-inflicted decline. The title, a play on Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra, frames the work as a philosophical musical tale about the erosion of critical thought under consumerism and dogmatic individualism.
"Aioi" is a single by VÆVER, a post-progressive metal band from Copenhagen, taken from their debut album "Aitherios." The song is narrated from the perspective of the twelve crew members of the Enola Gay during the mission that targeted Hiroshima's Aioi bridge, following their experience from waking at 2:30 AM to dropping the bomb at 8:15 AM, exploring the tension between duty and morality.
"Algema" is a single by the Portuguese band Allamedah, featuring fado singer Valéria Carvalho and guitarist João Luzio. It combines the tradition of Portuguese fado with a heavier, metal-oriented sound. The track was released during a period in which the band explored different sonic directions, alongside singles such as "Trama" and "Desvanescente", ahead of their debut album.
"All Is Going Wrong" is a track by Black Holes, an Italian progressive hard-rock band from Ravenna. The band's overall sound draws on influences from Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Rush, Marillion, Toto, King Crimson, and Genesis.
Alluvium is the fourth album by Initial Mass, a heavy-prog trio from Los Angeles, released by Luminol Records and following Bending Light (2019). It contains 13 tracks and is a concept album that follows the life of an ambitious individual as a metaphor for the rise and fall of humanity. The first single is "Wake", and other tracks mentioned include "Haden's Fall", "Memory Fade", "Out Of The Mold", "The Calling", "Vacant Throne", "Drifting", "In Stone", "A Crow In The Dark", "Trails Behind", "Horizon", "Calm Wind" and "Believers". The band is led by Mark Baldwin (vocals, guitar). The album was recorded and mixed by Ron Sandoval at Rev Studios, who co-produced it with the band, and mastered by Andrew Alekel. The style is American progressive metal, with reference points including Rush, Savatage, Fates Warning, Queensryche and Tool.
"Alters" is an album by The New Geometry, conceived around the theme of multiple, coexisting emotional states and personalities — hope, happiness, anger and vanity — referencing the psychological definition of "alters" as dissociated identities within a single individual. The album marks a shift for the project, introducing vocals for the first time alongside the established compositional approach of The New Geometry. Guitarist José Carmo, a previous collaborator, contributed guitar parts, and vocalist Luw joined the project during the same process. Due to pandemic-related restrictions, the material was recorded separately by each contributor in individual home studios and subsequently assembled together. Mixing, mastering and artwork were handled independently by the artists through Xtreme Audio Studio. The recording process made use of Boss amplifiers and pedals, Strymon effects pedals, Gibson, Schecter and LTD guitars, Fender bass, and Shure equipment, with mixing and mastering completed entirely in the box. The artist describes the album as a turning point for the project, opening the way to new soundscapes, collaborations and emotional territory.
"Ambient Noise" is the opening track of "The Outer Worlds," the debut album by Echo The Beyond, an eight-track collection also released as a standalone single