WALKING ACROSS JUPITER

Russian prog newbies whip up a potent blend.

As the post-djent generation become more fully woven into prog’s tapestry, it will be records like this that unite the tribes. Based in St Petersburg, Russia, Walking Across Jupiter are the model of a modern prog metal hybrid: you can hear everything from Meshuggah’s polyrhythmic punch to Devin Townsend’s cinematic soundscapes here, but there’s never a sense that Oneiroid is a mishmash of tropes. Instead, this inventive duo make the whole shebang flow beautifully. Whether finding a place for what sounds like synthesised bagpipes on the stately Unus Multorum or filtering their Rush fantasies through a prism of symphonic bluster on Hymns Of The Valiant, melodies are always front and centre, those underpinning wonky riffs adding texture rather than dwarfing the subtleties. If there is a downside, it’s that you may find yourself wishing the band would stretch out a little more and explore certain ideas further, as they do on a startling bonus cover of Bowie’s Space Oddity. Otherwise, this is a dazzling and daring debut that gleefully and fruitfully blurs the lines between several contemporary prog strains.