20 Best Metal Albums Of Summer 2017

Artificial Language is criminally underrated, a sentiment proven by the band's awe-inspiring debut The Observer, which is easily one of the most progressive rock records of the summer.

One thing this titanic album makes clear without any hesitation is that this American six-piece is one of the most pure, musically gifted prog acts in the underground scene. With every instrument at their disposal (which also includes the prog rock staple of the keyboard) being taken to the limit in a display of inalienable musical mastery, The Observer is fast, mindblowing, fast and, also, really, really fast.

It may be over 40 minutes long, but the way compositions like "The Grand Skeptic" and lead single "These Aren't Mirages" glide as blindingly as lightning, breakneck in their intricacies, will ceaselessly boggle the mind.

So much is going on constantly on The Observer that it will doubtlessly take a handful of play-throughs for listeners to wrap their heads around it fully. But once they do, they will find that they are listening to a true masterclass in musicianship.