Prospekt (ENGLAND)
Posted: 27 May 2026, 08:17
Prospekt - The Illuminated Sky (2017)
Year : 2017
Style : Progressive Metal
Country : United Kingdom
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 111 mb
Bio:
Prospekt is a British act influenced by bands such as Dream Theater, Symphony X, Opeth and Circus Maximus, as well as film scores and fusion, blending fiercely technical progressive metal with the symphonic elements of contemporary prog. Following the 2013 release of their acclaimed debut release "The Colourless Sunrise", former vocalist and keyboardist Richard Marshall left the band in 2015 and the band began the search for a new frontman with a voice that would take the music to the next level. It wasn’t long before they found Michael Morris, whose soaring range and passionate vocal style would be a perfect fit and exactly what the band had been looking for. Expanding into a quintet with the addition of keyboard wizard Rox Capriotti, the new Prospekt line-up was complete.Prospekt spent 2016 writing and recording "The Illuminated Sky", during which they acquired two iconic guest artists to take part in the album. Guitar virtuoso Greg Howe of Michael Jackson fame provides an eclectic solo on the powerful “Alien Makers Of Discord” and vocalist Marc Hudson of DragonForce provides a stellar contrast to Morris’ voice on the epic “Where Masters Fall”. Combine with that the excellent production, thanks to the mixing skills of Øyvind Larsen at Lionheart Studios, and the massive mastering job by mastermind Jens Bogren, and the result is album that has progressed upon their first album and will no doubt open the floodgates to new fans. From technical power metal, laden with soaring vocals and blistering guitar work, to epic orchestral driven prog, Prospekt has produced their best effort to date. "The Illuminated Sky" is an album that excites and takes the listener on a journey through the cosmos via the wonders of prog. State the members of Prospekt: “It’s been a long time in the making, but we are super excited for everyone to listen to the new album. We feel it’s our best work to date – more progressive, polished and at the same time heavier, with a stronger emphasis on the melody. New members Rox and Michael have given awesome performances alongside guest artists Greg Howe and Marc Hudson. Musically, each composition has its own unique identity. From the cinematic title track to the Japanese inspired ‘Akaibara’, all of the songs come together and form an album that flows and connects. We wanted to create an album that could be described as ‘a journey through music’ and hopefully the listeners will feel that, when they enter 'The Illuminated Sky'."Back around the year 2000, Dream Theater and Symphony X were the two greatest bands in the world, at least for fans of the still sparse genre of progressive metal. I would spend evenings checking whatever forums I could find, or searching Amazon and Napster alike hoping to find current bands that could match the musicianship, songwriting, complexity, and intensity of albums like “Twilight in Olympus” or “Metropolis Pt 2: Scenes From a Memory.” I certainly found a few bands, but after listening to what excellent groups like Vanden Plas, Threshold, Evergrey, and Pain of Salvation had to offer, I still hadn’t found what I was looking for.That is, until a couple weeks ago when I heard Prospekt’s “The Illuminated Sky” for the first time. “This was it.” I thought, “This was the album I would have killed for 15 years ago.” That’s not to say that Prospekt’s sound is in any way dated or derivative. What it did was evoke that same feeling as listening to Symphony X’s “V: The New Mythology Suite” or Dream Theater’s “Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence” for the first time. My tastes have certainly changed, evolved, and maybe matured a bit since then. Some of my then-favorite albums have fallen down a few notches, and albums that I might have ignored have risen to become favorites, but this is an album that brings back the simple joys of great progressive metal.Now that’s how the album makes me feel, and if you spent the end of the 20th century and the early parts of the 21st pining for great new progressive metal, you might be able to stop reading right here. If that’s not you, let’s actually talk about the album itself.“The Illuminated Sky”, Prospekt’s sophomore effort, and with a new singer to boot, expands on the sound of the first. It’s an album defined by heavy, complex riffs; deft rhythm changes; and virtuoso playing; but it’s also an album that’s not afraid to take a breath and demonstrate a range of dynamics. “Where Masters Fall”, “Alien Makers of Discord”, “Cosmic Emissary”, and the title track are great examples of the sort of complex, epic songwriting and playing that define progressive metal. They’re also examples of amazing song titles that also sound a bit like rejected band names.“Beneath Enriya” is a mid-tempo track which finds itself weaving back and forth between piano melodies and the punctuation of heavy guitar hits, with a chorus that opens up and highlights the vocals. Similarly, “Akaibara” starts with piano and ambient strings, with each verse building more power and depth until you reach the climactic guitar solo.While the real highlight here is the fast and heavy stuff, like my personal favorite track “In The Shadows of the Earth”, the dynamics and the softer moments serve the album as a whole. They let you take a breath, and give your neck a break from trying to headbang along to all the time changes. What it shows is that on “The Illuminated Sky”, Prospekt is a band that is not afraid. They’re not afraid to play as fast and hard as they want, and they’re not afraid to slow down. Don’t worry though, they never slow down for too long.
Line Up:
Michael Morris - Vocals (2015-present) - See also: ex-Hallowed Point
Lee Luland - Guitars
Phil Wicker - Bass
Blake Richardson - Drums
Rox Capriotti - Keyboards
Tracklist:
01. Ex Nihilo
02. The Illuminated Sky
03. Titan
04. Distant Anamnesis
05. Beneath Enriya
06. In the Shadows of the Earth
07. Alien Makers of Discord
08. Cosmic Emissary
09. Akaibara
10. Where Masters Fall
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
Year : 2017
Style : Progressive Metal
Country : United Kingdom
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 111 mb
Bio:
Prospekt is a British act influenced by bands such as Dream Theater, Symphony X, Opeth and Circus Maximus, as well as film scores and fusion, blending fiercely technical progressive metal with the symphonic elements of contemporary prog. Following the 2013 release of their acclaimed debut release "The Colourless Sunrise", former vocalist and keyboardist Richard Marshall left the band in 2015 and the band began the search for a new frontman with a voice that would take the music to the next level. It wasn’t long before they found Michael Morris, whose soaring range and passionate vocal style would be a perfect fit and exactly what the band had been looking for. Expanding into a quintet with the addition of keyboard wizard Rox Capriotti, the new Prospekt line-up was complete.Prospekt spent 2016 writing and recording "The Illuminated Sky", during which they acquired two iconic guest artists to take part in the album. Guitar virtuoso Greg Howe of Michael Jackson fame provides an eclectic solo on the powerful “Alien Makers Of Discord” and vocalist Marc Hudson of DragonForce provides a stellar contrast to Morris’ voice on the epic “Where Masters Fall”. Combine with that the excellent production, thanks to the mixing skills of Øyvind Larsen at Lionheart Studios, and the massive mastering job by mastermind Jens Bogren, and the result is album that has progressed upon their first album and will no doubt open the floodgates to new fans. From technical power metal, laden with soaring vocals and blistering guitar work, to epic orchestral driven prog, Prospekt has produced their best effort to date. "The Illuminated Sky" is an album that excites and takes the listener on a journey through the cosmos via the wonders of prog. State the members of Prospekt: “It’s been a long time in the making, but we are super excited for everyone to listen to the new album. We feel it’s our best work to date – more progressive, polished and at the same time heavier, with a stronger emphasis on the melody. New members Rox and Michael have given awesome performances alongside guest artists Greg Howe and Marc Hudson. Musically, each composition has its own unique identity. From the cinematic title track to the Japanese inspired ‘Akaibara’, all of the songs come together and form an album that flows and connects. We wanted to create an album that could be described as ‘a journey through music’ and hopefully the listeners will feel that, when they enter 'The Illuminated Sky'."Back around the year 2000, Dream Theater and Symphony X were the two greatest bands in the world, at least for fans of the still sparse genre of progressive metal. I would spend evenings checking whatever forums I could find, or searching Amazon and Napster alike hoping to find current bands that could match the musicianship, songwriting, complexity, and intensity of albums like “Twilight in Olympus” or “Metropolis Pt 2: Scenes From a Memory.” I certainly found a few bands, but after listening to what excellent groups like Vanden Plas, Threshold, Evergrey, and Pain of Salvation had to offer, I still hadn’t found what I was looking for.That is, until a couple weeks ago when I heard Prospekt’s “The Illuminated Sky” for the first time. “This was it.” I thought, “This was the album I would have killed for 15 years ago.” That’s not to say that Prospekt’s sound is in any way dated or derivative. What it did was evoke that same feeling as listening to Symphony X’s “V: The New Mythology Suite” or Dream Theater’s “Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence” for the first time. My tastes have certainly changed, evolved, and maybe matured a bit since then. Some of my then-favorite albums have fallen down a few notches, and albums that I might have ignored have risen to become favorites, but this is an album that brings back the simple joys of great progressive metal.Now that’s how the album makes me feel, and if you spent the end of the 20th century and the early parts of the 21st pining for great new progressive metal, you might be able to stop reading right here. If that’s not you, let’s actually talk about the album itself.“The Illuminated Sky”, Prospekt’s sophomore effort, and with a new singer to boot, expands on the sound of the first. It’s an album defined by heavy, complex riffs; deft rhythm changes; and virtuoso playing; but it’s also an album that’s not afraid to take a breath and demonstrate a range of dynamics. “Where Masters Fall”, “Alien Makers of Discord”, “Cosmic Emissary”, and the title track are great examples of the sort of complex, epic songwriting and playing that define progressive metal. They’re also examples of amazing song titles that also sound a bit like rejected band names.“Beneath Enriya” is a mid-tempo track which finds itself weaving back and forth between piano melodies and the punctuation of heavy guitar hits, with a chorus that opens up and highlights the vocals. Similarly, “Akaibara” starts with piano and ambient strings, with each verse building more power and depth until you reach the climactic guitar solo.While the real highlight here is the fast and heavy stuff, like my personal favorite track “In The Shadows of the Earth”, the dynamics and the softer moments serve the album as a whole. They let you take a breath, and give your neck a break from trying to headbang along to all the time changes. What it shows is that on “The Illuminated Sky”, Prospekt is a band that is not afraid. They’re not afraid to play as fast and hard as they want, and they’re not afraid to slow down. Don’t worry though, they never slow down for too long.
Line Up:
Michael Morris - Vocals (2015-present) - See also: ex-Hallowed Point
Lee Luland - Guitars
Phil Wicker - Bass
Blake Richardson - Drums
Rox Capriotti - Keyboards
Tracklist:
01. Ex Nihilo
02. The Illuminated Sky
03. Titan
04. Distant Anamnesis
05. Beneath Enriya
06. In the Shadows of the Earth
07. Alien Makers of Discord
08. Cosmic Emissary
09. Akaibara
10. Where Masters Fall
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/