New proggy sounds from Nightwish, i Häxa, Souls Of Ambience and more in Prog’s Tracks Of The Week

Welcome to Prog‘s brand new Tracks Of The Week. Six brand new and diverse slices of progressive music for you to enjoy.

Well done to Ebony Buckle, who romped home with almost half of last week’s vote with Golden Sand. Currently best-known as one of Solstice’s backing singers, after this, well, who knows? A doff of the cap to Dutch proggers Dilemma and Italian guitarist Luca in second and third place respectively.

The premise for Tracks Of The Week is simple – we’ve collated a batch of new releases by bands falling under the progressive umbrella, and collated them together in one post for you – makes it so much easier than having to dip in and out of various individual posts, doesn’t it?

The idea is to watch the videos (or listen if it’s a stream), enjoy (or not) and also to vote for your favourite in the voting form at the bottom of this post. Couldn’t be easier could it?

We’ll be bringing you Tracks Of The Week, as the title implies, each week. Next week we’ll update you with this week’s winner, and present a host of new prog music for you to enjoy.

If you’re a band and you want to be featured in Prog‘s Tracks Of The Week, send your video (as a YouTube link) or track embed, band photo and biog to us here.

NIGHTWISH – THE DAY OF…

Finnish prog metal sextet Nightwish will release their latest album, Yesterwynde, through Nuclear Bast Records on September 20. The album concludes a loose trilogy with the preceding 2015’s Endless Forms Most Beautiful and 2020’s Human. :II: Nature., all of which ponder man’s place in the Cosmos. With Yesterwynde concentrating on aspects of time, the ebullient The Day Of… shows the band, while not as bombastic as they can be, richly symphonic…

“The Day Of… delivers a message of hope and deliverance from the deluge of fear and misery we are subjected to on a daily basis,” explains keyboard player Tuomas Holopainen. “And even though it’s a long road to a dreamworld, there are no monsters under the bed; as the children in the song joyously remind us.”

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SOULS OF AMBIENCE – GREY STREET

Souls Of Ambience are the brainchild of Australian prog rock keyboardist Greg Sneddon, who released his debut album Mind Stroll through Mushroom Records in 1974, and woud later work with both Skyhooks and members of Men At Work. With Souls Of Ambience, he’s teamed up with British bassist Kevin Kershaw (formerly of Valhalla), guitarist Mareky Taborsky and drummer Chris George and they will release their debut concept album, A 1000 Tears, through WormHoleDeath Records on October 4.

“A 1000 Tears intricately weaves the downward spiral story of a young woman who, driven by the need to shield her sibling from their abusive stepfather, finds herself on a harrowing path,” Sneddon reveals. “From dressing in black to confront him to escaping to Grey Street, St Kilda, her narrative unfolds amidst the stark realities of street life. The album delves into themes of loss, resilience, and spiritual transcendence, offering a poignant reflection on the profound impacts of trauma and the quest for healing and redemption.”

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I HÄXA – DRYLAND

i Häxa are the brand new project from songwriter and visual artist Rebecca Need-Menear (of electronic alt-rock duo Anavae) and forward-thinking producer Peter Miles (Architects, Dodie, Fizz) who have been using the seasonal solstices of 2024 as waypoints to unveil three further collections of songs and cinematics ahead of a vinyl box-set combining all four Parts and a full-length album, set for release in November via Berlin’s esteemed label, Pelagic Records.  It’s August, so we now have Part Three, with the conclusion arriving in November.

“Part Three is visceral, deep and driving, with bone-shaking basslines interrupted without warning by abrupt, high-gain percussion as singer-songwriter and visual artist Rebecca Need-Menear’s spellbinding voice and cryptic lyrics float effortlessly above,” the band say.

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KOSMODROME – FATIGUE

Heavy psych proggers Kosmodrome hail from Norway, the brainchild of brothers Sturle Sandvik on guitars and vocals and Severin Sandvik on drums and joined by Ole Andreas Jensen on bass and Erlend Nord on guitar. The quartet have just signed to Hamburg’s StickMan Records, home to the excellent Elder, delving and Motorpsycho, and will release their second album, Ad Undas, from which comes Fatigue, on October 11

“A hard-hitting song that captures the relentless grind — where every push feels like progress, but the weight of expectations and how you handle them pulls you under,” explains Severin. “It depicts the toll of constant striving and the need for balance in a hectic life. It’s the anthem of burning out, yet refusing to give up. Heavy psychedelic rock as well as progressive and stoner are genres that describe it.”

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THE WRING – THE SWORD

Canadian prog metal trio The Wring will release their fourth studio album Nemesis through WormHoleDeath Records on September 27, from which comes new single The Sword. The band started out as solo endeavor for guitarist Don Dewulf, who began supporting the likes of Diamond Head and Anvil to working with the likes of Bryan Beller (Aristcrats) and Marc Bonilla (Keith Emerson).

“I’ve had the main riff and structure for a long time, but it never felt right,” explains Dewulf. “I tried it with other drummers and bass players and always put it to the side. I came back to it again for Nemesis. With Reggie’s vocals and bass and Kyle’s drumming, suddenly it felt great. Almost Megadeth-y. Super fun to play. I actually used a Dave Mustaine signature King V to play it because I was getting too much spring noise from my Floyd guitars while picking the fast parts. Reggie used a pick (which he rarely does) for an extra attack. The bass lines are killer. Probably the most ‘metal’ song I’ve recorded.”

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DEATH BY GONG – EVERYTHING IS GIVEN

Death By Gong feature Jobst M. Feit (Radare), Peter Voigtmann (SHRVL/ex-The Ocean) and Chris Breuer (Zahn, Heads) who dance around on the fringes of left-field prog mixed with elements of krautrock and electronica. The trio will release their debut album Descalator through Pelagic Records in September, and the gently undulating Everything Is Given is the latest single from the upcoming record.

“We always aim to tell an interesting story with our videos,” says Feit. “For Everything Is Given, Nicolai [Hildebrandt, video creator] had the idea to use old footage he discovered, which fit perfectly with part of the song. We then researched additional material to enhance the story. Nicolai created a cool collage by mixing the best parts, and I love how the segments now work together. The video remains abstract and open to interpretation, which I appreciate. I think this feeling will be common across all three of our videos.”

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Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.