It has been some time since a genuine, new Progressive Metal piece hit our review pipe. A few remarkable records came our way last year, and that was a good sign. Yet with the departure of some big names1 over the years, things got a little bleaker.
But for the most challenging category in prog, the conceptualists and real storytellers, there was almost no movement. True, acts such as Ayreon and the rest of Arjen Lucassen’s gaggle of happy misfits still exist. But the man behind this whole construct ain’t no fresh young tiger anymore, either.
The RMR crew just covered a theme-based, wannabe talebearer posse that didn’t quite make it into our good graces. And those are always a reminder that concept work in prog is tricky and wildly difficult to pull off correctly. So, what’s it gonna be this time? Black Sea of Trees would like to sell you some shades and sunscreen. This is about an ancient Cult of the Sun after all. You’re gonna face a riot of ultraviolet light and overheated conditions.
More precisely, the piece rocks about Akhenaten2, an ancient Egyptian pharaoh married to none less than Queen Nefertiti.3 But more importantly, here’s to an emperor who reformed those age-old belief systems into a famous, monotheistic sun cult. And BSoT found themselves a storyline that could well be the proverbial hill worth dying on for a prog band with enough ambitions.
And right from the start, the band deploys an ebb and flow of woozy, atmospherically-laden Progressive and Alternative Metal all dressed in clear-voice vocals and harsher growls with an aggressive blackened air when the mood requires it. Echoes of old Tiamat and raven-esque musings that Steven Wilson once displayed often dominate the soundscape. And sometimes the spiky tunes of Porcupine Tree raise their heads for some passages.
One thing is certain, though. Cult of the Sun doesn’t explore new pathways. It beautifully reinforces and improves on those old tropes that the crew here has already encountered before. Hot ‘n’ cold, from soft atmospheric crooning to full metal crescendo, their tune flows like the old Nile used to do when the great Egyptian dynasties were at the height of their power. Melodic, harmonic, and always high on atmosphere, these cultish urges tell the story without descending into overdone djentology. You know, this folly of the moment that a lot of old-style prog acts enacted ad nauseam for some time. In addition, the RMR crew appreciated the discrete oriental sounds and sub-themes injected here and there to add some local flavoring. Fits with the landscape and historical background. Even if these modern sounds weren’t yet quite known back then.
Before starting on Cult of the Sun, the RMR Review Desk gave the overly lengthy debut album a few spins. And I daresay, we weren’t all that enthused, and it left us somewhat worried. Sophomore records often suffer from that ‘slump effect’ with a good chance of worse things to come your way. In this case, however, the contrary is true. The RMR crew found a still (overly) complex theme-based record. But one with a well-elaborated story, full of emotive atmosphere woven into the harsher parts whenever the story requires it.
So, did Black Sea of Trees finally find that much-needed balance? There is still a tendency to meander through ever-repetitive soundscapes endlessly and to try to build momentum that never reaches a fitting end. However, Cult of the Sun finds itself with a much shorter airtime and decidedly tighter songwriting. The RMR crew also found much less unnecessary bravado and more substance and attention to the theme at hand. And this much-improved production definitely increased the overall quality of BSoT‘s general offering on display.
Cult of the Sun is far from perfect. But I am sure that adepts of woozy, esoterically tainted soundscapes will find a lot to like here. Comparing the current fare with what the band produced the last time around, the RMR crew saw real progress. Now, if, for some future record, they can get their songsmithing on an even firmer footing and truly focus on a theme without losing themselves in endless repetitions, they’ll be in territory where great records dwell.
Until we meet again.
Record Rating: 6/10 | Label: Self-Released | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 8 May 2026
- One went full-tilt into whiny lalaland and the other does some version of pop these days.-↩
- Also called Echnaton or Amenhotep IV. Looks like he had an identity crisis.-↩
- With whom he had a bunch of daughters, the animal.-↩