Joakem "Origins": A Tectonic Shift in Modern Progressive Metal
Photo by PathwayStudios
Independent | Progressive Metal | Release: April 17, 2026
I’m going to be honest about my feelings on progressive metal for a second. For every band that uses rhythmic complexity as a tool, there are ten using it as a weapon — bludgeoning you into submission with time signatures that seem designed to prove a point rather than move one. It can be exhausting. So when something genuinely progressive lands and actually feels good to listen to, it's worth paying attention. I think this next one is.
Joakem's new single "Origins" is a damned good song.
The Cypriot outfit, spearheaded by vocalist and composer Stelios Ioakim, is gearing up for what looks like a full-length album. Listening to this single gives me hope it will be something worth following closely.
"Origins" is the first chapter of a larger conceptual story — one that begins at the very birth of life. The song drops you onto a hostile alien world: volcanoes splitting the crust open, toxic atmosphere, no mercy anywhere in sight (very cinematic). Then a comet hits and delivers something microscopic and stubborn, and life — against every conceivable odd — begins. It's a grand premise, but Joakem does it well.
What makes the song work so well is that the musical emotion matches the lyrics. There's a sense of geological force in the guitar work — thick, heavy riffs with a groove that feels tectonic. The rhythms are complex, no question about it, but they breathe in a way that a lot of prog metal simply doesn't. It doesn’t feel like a math exam. It feels like movement; like something building toward something else. Evolution. If you've ever bounced off progressive metal because it seemed more interested in impressing you than engaging you, this one might be the exception that changes your mind.
Then there's Stelios, and this is where the record really separates itself. This guy can flat-out sing. Clean vocals throughout — no growling, no affectation — just a genuinely strong, expressive voice that rides the complexity underneath it without getting swallowed. The timbre is beautiful. That's harder to do than you think. A lesser vocalist would either fight the arrangement or float above it, disconnected. But he’s really in it, and the result is something that feels emotionally grounded even when the instrumentation is doing something technically demanding.
The band behind him is no slouch either. Guitarist Bob Saganas, bassist Miguel Trapezaris, and drummer Nakis Kyriakou lock in with a precision that never sounds stiff — and the production, mixed by Philip Zilfo and mastered by Acle Kahney at 4D Sounds, gives everything room to hit hard without crowding itself out. It's a big, cinematic sound, and it suits the scope of what Joakem is clearly going for.
There’s an undeniable weight to hearing a record like this while it’s still in its 'pre-release' state—a little like finding a perfectly preserved fossil before it’s been cataloged by the museum. 'Origins' doesn't officially land until April 17th, but even now, it feels like a finished, formidable piece of history. I feel incredibly lucky to have spent time with this conceptual world before the rest of the collective catches up; Joakem is building something massive here, and this is only the first layer of the strata.
You’re gonna wanna follow these guys so you don’t miss this single in April:
Special thanks to The Metallist PR
