by Prog Nick
In the copious and prolific world of 2026 Prog, it is easy to miss an important release. When the editor of The Prog Report invited me to write a review for the new Advent Horizon album ‘Falling Together’, I had to confess – to his horror – that I had not listened to it. I immediately and remorsefully committed to correcting this by packing in an intense week of listening. As I proceeded to do so, it became clear to me that he had done me a huge favor. What a week it was, and what a privilege it has been to get to know this album.
Advent Horizon are Rylee McDonald (lead guitar, lead vocals, main composer), Mike Lofgreen (drums and co-composer), Grant Matheson (guitar, vocals and keys), Cason Wood (bass and keys) and Kristen Mcdonald on additional vocals. The band’s last studio release, 2023’s ‘A Cell to Call Home’ was very well received and it alerted the Prog community to the fact that this was a superior band not to be ignored. I loved that album, but after my own personal week of discovery of ‘Falling Together’, it is my feeling that the new album has more than fulfilled the lofty expectations created by its predecessor.
The concept of the album is the challenging of traditional childhood beliefs and the interrogation of the question whether these beliefs are authentic or simply instilled. Heady and philosophical stuff indeed, but this theme is never delivered in a sanctimonious or perjorative way. On the contrary, the delivery is humble, genuine, searching and couched in singular personal references and revelations. Even followers of the most die-hard dogmas will find something here with which to resonate.
I need to get this off my chest right now: I have a deep dislike of, and even disdain for, growling ‘cookie monster’ vocals. (As I think about it, perhaps, subconsciously, this may be a reason why I neglected the album.) However, presumption is the mother of all disasters, and insofar as that type of vocal – or rather a variety thereof – occasionally appears on this album, it is somehow different to the usual roaring metal fury that is so regularly to be heard out there. On this album it is always counterpointed by melody, of which there is much, and it is rarely and strategically placed to be as tasteful and effective as possible. These harder vocals, occasional as they are, somehow work, even for me, and I am not entirely sure how or why. I guess that this is all about treatment and balance – a balance that is partially created by having both male and female vocals, but also by counterpointing aggression and melody in just the right way,. This becomes increasingly apparent on every listen, so I request all readers, please, if you are like me, do not let the prospect of the occasional harder-edged vocal put you off. You would be missing a lot.
Rylee McDonald is an immense talent. His guitar work is brilliant and his vocals are top-drawer. It also goes without saying that he is a highly accomplished composer and producer. But this is not a solo project, and the other members of this band are not to be overlooked. They are all superior musicians. Lofgreen is to be commended for his compositional contributions and precise percussive flair, multi-instrumentalist Matheson is far more than just a side man, Wood’s highly tonal bass playing is beyond thunderous and Kristen Mcdonald has the perfect melodic voice to create the balance required by this music.
The album, overall, has a very modern sound, but it also features emotional and compelling performances that are reminiscent of some of the older doyens of classic Prog (and neo Prog.) The songwriting is consistently excellent: apparently parts of the album were conceived during the recording of ‘A Cell To Call Home’, and the following twelve months were dedicated, in the Utah mountains, to refining and expanding these ideas into a complete album. The intent was to create a distillation of the band’s style into into something even tighter, even heavier and even more representative of the band’s now distinctive direction. This was the mission of co-composers Rylee McDonald and Mike Lofgreen, and they have succeeded.
The opening track is an epic of almost twenty iconic minutes with the not-so-cheerful title ‘In a Lone and Dreary World’. Opening with this lengthy production is a brave move, and a statement that no short musical introductions will be necessary here. The track makes it immediately apparent that Advent Horizon do not intend to gently coax the listener into the album. The opening passage (together with some other moments) could easily be early Porcupine Tree, and this gives way to an angular metal guitar riff as powerful as any in the current Prog-metal scene. But when Kristen Mcdonald’s fine voice comes in, the listener realises that this will be something varied and special. The oscillations and dynamics of the track are quite mind-boggling. There is Prog, there is metal, there is melody, there are straight-ahead four-on-the floor rhythms, there are mind-bending time signatures. There is growling, there is angelic singing, there are male and female vocals, there are solos galore and there is an abyss and a peak. There is even a Flamenco section. But whichever style happens to prevail at any particular point, everything – absolutely everything – is eminently listenable and pleasing to the ear. This mammoth track makes a statement that Advent Horizon intend to dispel any doubts about their musical maturity, and what an irrefutable statement it is.
Second track ‘Faiths Window’ poses the conundrum of whether to return to organised religion when given the opportunity to do so. It starts as a slow and melancholy ballad, but soon the huge rhythm section lends several levels of gravitas to the melodic vocals. The lead solo and keyboard refrains are divine (pardon the pun) and the track builds into a Prog-metal pageant of note. The vocals in the crescendo section do walk the growling tightrope, but in my opinion they are better described as ‘anguished’ rather than ‘cookie monster’. There is an added dimension to them that somehow makes them more acceptable to these ears than plain old metal growling, and Kristen McDonald’s melodic and counterpointed vocals save the day by the end of the song. ‘Faiths Window’ may not be the high point of the album, but that balance I spoke of is very evident in it.
We are taken up a level into emotional, complex melodic Prog with ‘Patience’ which is an introspective journey of hope delivered through virtuoso performances in various styles and musical themes. The often frenzied arrangement is super-tight, but the hooks in the pre-chorus and chorus are, well, super-engaging, and the harmony lead passage is just triumphant. A beautiful balance is created, and this song will no doubt become an important part of the band’s live set.
‘Past Life Parable’, already released as a single, is one of my favorite moments on the album. Rylee McDonald’s vocals soar like an angel’s and the guitars, always tightly arranged, sear like burning embers. The song builds into something that is somehow more than the sum of its already brilliant parts, and this track becomes a moment of simple crowning glory for Advent Horizon.
The acoustic intro to ‘Gravity I’ will deceive you in the best possible way. It is breathtakingly beautiful, but there is so much more to this instrumental track than just acoustic splendor, as is revealed by the the suspense-filled outro. This expansive grace gives way to ‘Gravity II’ – an absolute masterpiece of a track that has everything you would want from the greatest veterans of Prog, let alone these young up-and-comers. Just when you thought (by now a few times) that you had heard the best moment on this album, along comes another one, and ‘Gravity II’ is just that. Heavy but melodic, rocking but complex, instrumentally massive but equally huge in the vocal department, this one puts paid to any notion that this album will be anything but a masterpiece.
But yet again, just when you thought that this album couldn’t get any better, ‘Animals’ brings it all home with the most gorgeous and heartbreaking lament to the end of the protagonist’s journey of discovery. This heavenly 6-minute track allows this record, somehow, to top itself yet again. ‘Animals’ is genuinely one of the most beautiful and emotive arrengements of the decade, built around a stunning acoustic guitar riff and one of the finest, most exquisite electric guitar solos you will ever hear. I am generally not one that is moved by lyrics, but these are somehow different: ‘All roads must lead to the final bend…Sometimes we all fall out of order… shut down to try again another day… and as we look back…we’ll see the beauty of it all’. Amidst the glory of the guitars, melodies, echoing keyboards and perfect rhythm parts, these beautifully-delivered lyrics will echo in your mind for days after you turn off your music player. They are certainly still echoing in mine.
The album’s production is exceptional, with perfect sound separation, massive power and great attention to detail. Co-produced by the band, engineered and mixed by Zach Boorman and mastered by Jens Bogren, the record is pretty much sonically perfect, and the artwork of Travis Smith completes its bold thematic focus.
We have had a lot of dystopian albums in the past few years. This one is the opposite – it is utopian and very uplifting, whatever your views on traditional religion might be. Musically, it is certainly true that ‘Falling Together’ is at times influenced by the genius of Steven Wilson and a few other vanguards of Prog, but that influence is far from an issue, at least in this reviewer’s opinion. Just as ELO, in order to be ELO, needed at times to sound like the Beatles, and Transatlantic, to be Transatlantic, occasionally needed to sound like Yes, Advent Horizon sound just as they should – a perfect mix of influence and innovation. That, together with largely superior and consistent composition, virtuoso performances, authentic delivery, humble exploration and sheer overwhelming talent, make for something special.
As I said, it is easy to get distracted and lost in all the excellence that constitutes the 2026 Prog scene, but this album deserves to stand out, to be heard, and to receive the most enthusiastic reviews. It is an absolute winner. Thank-you to our Editor – the process of coming to recognise this fact has been a privilege indeed.
Released on May 15th, 2026
Order here: https://adventhorizon.bandcamp.com/
1. In A Lone And Dreary World (19:03)
2. Faiths Window (5:20)
3. Patience (4:53)
4. Past Life Parable (5:03)
5. Gravity I (2:35)
6. Gravity II (4:49)
7. Animals (5:34)
ADVENT HORIZON is:
Rylee McDonald – Vocals, Guitars, Keys
Mike Lofgreen – Drums and Percussion
Cason Wood – Bass, Keys, Trombone
Grant Matheson – Guitar, Keys, Vocals
Kristen Mcdonald – Vocals
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