10 Extremely Underrated Prog Metal Albums

Prog metal is a never-ending bag of complexity, beloved by music theory nerds and those who sip red wine in leather-bound wingback chairs.

There’s nothing like sitting back and getting lost in a great prog album, so here are 10 underrated records that deserve another few listens.

This is progressive thrash metal, motherfuckers! The definition of underrated, Germany’s Mekong Delta made a damn masterpiece in 1990 with Dances of Death (And Other Walking Shadows). The album is like a more progressive version of Megadeth‘s Rust in Peace — focused heavily on war, otherworldly entities and twisted philosophy. The musicianship on this album is second-to-none as well. Just listen to that drumming!

A newer entry in prog metal, Chinese act OU may be one of the most unique bands around today. Released in 2022, OU’s One is a proggy, djenty puzzle with lyrics sung entirely in Mandarin. OU‘s experimental and cinematic style ended up in the lap of prog god Devin Townsend, who signed on to produce the band’s second album in 2024. Now that’s a co-sign!

You know those moments in anime when a scene escalates from chill to psychotic in 0.1 seconds? That’s Bath from Maudlin of the Well. Released in 2001, Maudlin‘s second album was long buried as various members would go on to form Kayo Dot, but these prog virtuosos created a piece that would be rediscovered in the YouTube era. This is true, esoteric prog metal.

VOLA have recently started receiving the praise they deserve, but until they’re playing the main stage at metal’s biggest fests, they remain underrated. As pure songwriters, VOLA stand head-and-shoulders above most modern galactic-influenced metal bands. The entirely of 2021’s Witness is both addictive and awe-inspiring thanks to earworms like “24 Light-Years” and “Straight Lines.”

Let’s get into death metal territory. One of the few metal bands from Andorra, Persefone unleashed a monster with 2013’s Spiritual Migration. This thing walks the line between death metal, prog and power metal, sounding absolutely epic throughout its runtime. The guitar work on Spiritual Migration is absolutely dizzying, standing up to fellow prog giants like Between the Buried and Me.

There’s nothing wrong with a little Opeth worship. The Reticent‘s 2020 album, The Oubliette, sounds like it was plucked straight out of the Watershed-era, but with thrashy passages and sexy saxophone sprinkled throughout. The album’s concept deals with Alzheimer’s Disease and the slow depersonalization its victims experience. Incredibly heavy stuff, but handled in a sophisticated (yet nightmarish) way.

One and done… that was Dali’s Dilemma. Taught by the Dream Theater school of prog, Dali’s Dilemma released their sole album, Manifesto for Futurism, in 1999. This is progressive metal in its purest form —  soaring high vocals, tasty bass tapping, massively expressive drumming… you know the score. Great stuff from a band that could’ve done much more.

The 2020s hasn’t been all bad! In fact, it’s been a hell of a time for progressive death metal. An Abstract Illusion gave us a beast of a record with 2022’s Woe, delivering that classic Swedish sound that always succeeds in mesmerizing and horrifying. Ugh, the piano work on this album is so haunting. An hour runtime is not long enough.

Don’t be embarrassed to love this type of prog! Denmark’s Royal Hunt is about as nerdy as prog metal gets, especially with album titles like Clown in the Mirror and Land of Broken Hearts. 1995’s Moving Target is classic, it’s up-tempo and it’s got a damn choir singing background vocals like an ‘80s superhero movie. Lush would be an understatement.

Let’s finish up with some doomy shit. Anciients‘ Heart of Oak bounces around from Sabbathy to Opethy to Darkthroney… it’s just a multi-stylistic buffet of heavy prog. The musicianship is top notch — both brutal and celebratory at the same time. This is one of those albums that makes you think, “Thank god I’m a metalhead.”