The Absence - Oak Pantheon (2023)

My favorite metal album so far in 2023? Maybe. Although, maybe not?

It’s hard to know what people mean when they say “progressive metal.” Do we mean bands that follow the blueprints of original prog metal bands? Do we mean something you’ve never heard before? In this case, I think we mean mashing together all the genres these guys could find, and excelling at each.

This is an excellent grab bag of all the styles I really dig in modern metal. The singer–who fronts a Minnesota-based band with a Minnesota AF name, Tanner Swenson–can deliver seemingly any style of metal vocal; growly, shouty, or clean.

This is just a really inventive record that never stops surprising.

Tracks I Liked

Listen! - Baroness-style harmonies on a gigantic chorus

Bard of the Hell-bent Ages - a solid, not-to-be-fucked-with pummeling

Silence We Plead - soaring and epic. Great melodicism