A celebration of the band’s 15-year career, the new album by this American Progressive Metal entity will take us on an an epic 36-minute journey blending alchemy and astronomy.
A celebration of the band’s 15-year career, and a true time capsule featuring no modern audio editing techniques like quantizing or pitch correction, Alchestronomy is the fourth studio album by Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s own Progressive/Melodic Death Metal/Rock outfit Parius, following up on their 2022 album The Signal Heard Throughout Space. Produced by the band itself, mixed and mastered by Jamie King, and displaying a sinister artwork by Stephen Andrade, the new offering by Louis Thierry on vocals, Ryan Rauch on the guitars, Kenny Rentz on bass, and Dan Silver on drums, with the support of guest keyboardist Diego Tejeida, is an epic, 36-minute suite perfect for admirers of the music by The Black Dahlia Murder, Haken and Opeth, among many others, taking us all on a exciting and progressive journey to outer space.
The sinister keys by Diego bring a dark Deep Purple-ish touch to Alchemy, exploding into a multi-layered Progressive Death Metal tune where the guitar lines by Ryan walk hand in hand with Kenny’s rumbling bass. Unbecoming of a Gentleman is a more direct Progressive Metal tune with the harsh vocals by Louis increasing its heaviness considerably, followed by Celestial Sea, sounding as if Dream Theater decided to experiment with Death Metal elements. Moreover, Dan keeps hammering his drums manically, supported by the always killer bass by Kenny. Chrysopoeia offers an amalgamation of styles boosted by a theatrical and progressive vibe, with its riffs and keys being in absolute sync until the end; whereas Equivalent Exchange flirts with Progressive Rock at times, with the soulful guitar solo by Ryan adding extra layers of emotion to the music. Blind Eyed Starlight keeps the Progressive Metal essence of the album burning majestically, with Ryan once again stealing the show armed with his electrifying axe; and lastly we face Astronomy, sounding like a wild fusion of Dream Theater and Opeth, with the classy beats and fills by Dan bringing sheer adrenaline to their sound, therefore concluding the album in great fashion.
“An alchemist and an astronomer engaged in a battle of ideals. Each of them convinced they know what will ensure they live forever. The album is a sort of musical inkblot test that the band hopes will be cherished by prog fans and casual listeners alike, serving as both a half-hour progressive music epic, as well as seven distinct and traditionally structured songs — a progeny of works like Dream Theater’s Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence and The Mars Volta’s Cassandra Gemini,” commented the band about their new album, and if you want to know more about those talented guys you can find them on Facebook and on Instagram. Don’t forget to stream their music on Spotify, and of course, to purchase Alchestronomy by clicking HERE. Just like that famous joke starts, “an alchemist and an astronomer walk into a bar,” but of course this is no joke. This is high quality heavy music, and I’m sure we’ll hear a lot more from Parius after such a successful celebration of 15 years of existence with their excellent new album.
Best moments of the album: Alchemy and Astronomy.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2026 Willowtip Records
Track listing
1. Alchemy 5:49
2. Unbecoming of a Gentleman 3:47
3. Celestial Sea 3:45
4. Chrysopoeia 3:14
5. Equivalent Exchange 6:14
6. Blind Eyed Starlight 6:01
7. Astronomy 7:54
Band members
Louis Thierry – vocals
Ryan Rauch – guitars, additional keyboards
Kenny Rentz – bass
Dan Silver – drums
Guest musician
Diego Tejeida – keyboards (session)
