I know it's a result of how adjectives work but it has bothered me more and more that "progressive" comes first when you say "progressive metal". This is because so much of the genre is, at best, metal with progressive touches, only taking a set number of ideas and sounds from progressive music. It's even more irritating (probably just for me, I'm aware) when there are multiple sub-genres. Most of these are probably more influential to the music being made, but "progressive" still sits there at the beginning, falsely crowned. However, seeing as I don't foresee myself gathering enough influence to change grammar itself, what can I really do? The answer is try to keep my ears open for counter-examples, for albums where the "progressive" really does deserve its primacy.
That is wholeheartedly and undoubtedly the case with Benthos' From Nothing, a release which puts the majority of other "progressive metal" releases to shame. From Nothing accomplishes this by supercharging the band's penchant for agility (which was already present, but more subdued, on their previous release, II). This also makes the album really hard to review, as it swings from bright, 70's tinged progressive rock, hectic, chaotic mathcore a la Destrage, and chunky, chuggy metal that feels like it was rocketed to 2025 via 2015. And that's just on the first proper, and eponymous, track!
Somehow, the band are able to find their balance in all of this, creating something that works seamlessly, not just on the track level but on the album level as well. The basic elements stay the same, which should be no surprise as I just listed plenty of styles and influences for three albums. The album continues to dive into and mix these different styles and coming up with new combinations; check out "As a Cordyceps" for example, which takes those Destrage comparisons and pushes them to eleven. The track is a barely contained ball of energy and explosive violence, "progressive" in a way that blows the multi-solo/multi-bridge "progressive" metal that's become the norm over the last few years completely out of the water. Then you get to around the two minutes mark on it and it becomes even more explosive.
Elsewhere, like on "The Giant Child", hauntingly scintillating guitar leads give way to sweeping, emotional choruses. The bass is the actual hero on that track, working in the background to excavate and embellish the emotional weight of the other instruments. This is "progressive" in the sense of intricate, tightly composed music, not overtly technical but subtly expansive and thematically taut. It works incredibly well with "Pure", the track which follows it, and which calls to mind the obvious Animals as Leaders influences that power Benthos. I mean this in the best sense possible, is more "mathematic" and "shreddy" sounds augment the sound and create a dynamic and impactful companion to the sweeping track which preceded it.
I could go on; describing everything this album attempts, and succeeds, to do would take up a few thousand more words. Suffice it here to say that this is what I expect, in some yet-to-be-jaded corner of my heart, whenever I hear an album described as "progressive metal". I don't want more of the same "dark" screams over unison riffs. I don't want "cool" and "edgy" synth tones. I want bands that break my neck with the speed with which they blend genres. I want music that will keep me guessing. I want albums that I can keep coming back to and keep rediscovering because they are overflowing with inventivness. I want From Nothing and thank the heavens that Benthos gave it to me.
From Nothing is available pretty much everywhere, like on that Bandcamp link right above. Go get it.