[TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT - CANADA] We’ll embark on a mini-tour in Canada, together with special guests The Anchoret and support Voidchaser and Omnivide. If you want to experience some of the very best progressive metal that Canada has to offer, this is the tour for you! Tickets: bnds.us/fbn9tb

MY 2️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ FAVORITE SONGS 🎶 (No particular ranking) 1️⃣6️⃣3️⃣ AN ABSTRACT ILLUSION 🇸🇪 « Tear Down This Holy Mountain » @anabstractillusion.bsky.social

Few tickets left for our gig in Copenhagen. Tickets for the other shows are going fast as well. Have you secured your tickets yet? bnds.us/fbn9tb

You have decided, and “The Sleeping City” has won best Extreme Prog record in the Metal Storm Awards 2025! We’re so grateful to everyone who’s supported us, means the world to us, especially considering how much good prog was released last year.

We’re also nominated in the Metal Storm Awards 2025, in the categories Extreme Progressive Metal and Best Album Artwork. Voting open until 28th February.

STOCKHOLM! We are playing at The Node 2nd May together with Disillusion and Quantum. We’re finally returning after 6 years. Tickets on sale now.

We’re nominated in five (5!) categories in The Progspace Awards 2025! What a huge honor to be alongside such fine bands and musicians. Voting open until 28th February. theprogspace.com/tpsawards2025/

Thrilled to be catching @anabstractillusion.bsky.social live for the first time months head of when I initially thought I'd be able to! Show happens to coincide with the day I was planning to be stopping through Oslo en route to Svalbard. Happy birthday to me!!

💜

And here's the 2025 AOTY grid, as is tradition:

TOUR DATES 2026 30/4 🇳🇴 Trondheim - Rockheim 1/5 🇳🇴 Oslo - Salt Langhuset* 3/5 🇩🇰 Copenhagen - Spillestedet Stengade* 7/5 🇦🇹 Vienna - Viper Room* 8/5 🇩🇪 Munich - Backstage* 9/5 🇩🇪 Hamburg - Headcrash* 22/8 🇨🇦 Montréal - Progstorm Festival * w/ Disillusion More dates TBA

First rehearsal of 2026, getting to know some new tunes and new gear. What songs do you want to hear live this year?

Same brother, same. In other news, we made Angry Metal Guy’s aggregate AOTY list!

"Easily one of the best modern bands in this genre." Honored to be on this list, featured alongside Rivers Of Nihil, Alkaloid, Hath, Archspire, Persefone and many more great bands. Thanks Forgemaster for featuring "Woe"!

🔝MY ALBUMS OF 2025⚡️ Here is my complete top 50. 2025 was fantastic, and 2026 is already shaping up to be exceptional. In 2026, as in 2025, follow @kmanriffs.bsky.social and all the wonderful people who make this community the best place to find great music.

Re-visiting my Top 10 of 2025. #1: An Abstract Illusion - "The Sleeping City" released October 17th #Sweden #progmetal #atmosphericmetal #progrock #blackmetal #deathmetal #nowplaying

Karl is featured here as one of the best guitarists of 2025! theprogmind.com/2026/01/06/t...

@alexeckmanlawn.bsky.social with the Artwork of the Year for his work on 'The Sleeping City'. Well deserved! theprogmind.com/2026/01/05/t...

2025

An Abstract Illusion just made an incredible album with twists and turns blending 80s synths with crushing riffs and ethereal clean sections. Easily my album of the year.

#12: An Abstract Illusion - The Sleeping City Progressive atmospheric death metal Wasn't sure with this one at first. Following up their last album, Woe, with a synth-laden, Vangelis inspired sound and a strong focus on vocals is bold - and the right decision. It's not Woe. It's The Sleeping City.

⬆️🎶 ☢️☣️ 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣5️⃣ ☣️☢️ 🎶⬆️ PROGRESSIVE DEATH METAL: Huge Year again in 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣5️⃣! This is my TOP 5️⃣ 1️⃣AN ABSTRACT ILLUSION 🇸🇪 2️⃣IN MOURNING 🇸🇪 3️⃣BLINDFOLDED AND LED TO THE WOODS 🇳🇿 4️⃣RIVERS OF NIHIL 🇺🇸 5️⃣FALLUJAH 🇺🇸

In no particular order, here are my top 20 albums for 2025. If I didn't list something you liked it's because I didn't listen to it or because it stinks. Pink Floyd at Pompeii gets an honorable mention here, it's new but not new new, so I left it off. Local H's reworked Ham Fisted is also good.

Merry Christmas here are my top 10 albums of the year

Also my favorite albums and soundtracks (unordered)

My 2025 metal albums of the year! It's been a year packed with so many bands across many styles making great albums. Each of the top five will get their own post :) #metal #metalsky #musicsky

heeeell yeah

AN ABSTRACT ILLUSION 🇸🇪 « The Sleeping City » Entering this sleeping city is like a waking dream for any fan of progressive Death Metal. Incredibly rich, technical, complex, but above all sublime and captivating at every moment. A new work of art by one of the most brilliant bands of recent years.

🔝MY ALBUMS OF 2025⚡️4

As 2025 draws to a close, we are honored to see “TSC” on AOTY lists alongside some incredible pieces of work. “LPWP” made us Deafheaven fans. Both Kauan and DWEF were on 3/4 lists. Our Kiwi buds in BALTTW released a beautiful slab of schizo prog death. What’s on yours?

@anabstractillusion.bsky.social - The Sleeping City Genre: Progressive Metal I was introduced to AAI this year through their incredible album 'Woe', and 'The Sleeping City' is a perfect complementing release; please please please, absolutely do not miss phenomenal album.

A Happy Holidays wishes the AAI camp! Hope you’re having a safe and relaxing time. What music is everyone blasting? Over here it’s Kauan, Trees Of Eternity, Blindfolded and Led to the Woods, and Anna von Hausswolff.

Quite sorry but there isn't a band performing at the level Abstract Illusion are right now. Unsurpassable.

Alright, now we get to one of the styles that I *do* listen to often, and that is EXTREME PROG. This throws in forms of progressive metal fused with death metal, black metal, and other extreme types of metal. Here are my picks for 2025!

Okay, enough of you gave me approval to post about music I liked this year, so be warned. Check this thread throughout the day for 25 albums I loved.

Watch Isak’s insane one-take playthrough of “Like A Geyser Ever Erupting” from our latest album “The Sleeping City”, now on YouTube. You can watch this bad boy perform live 2026 in: Trondheim, Oslo, Copenhagen, Vienna, Munich, Hamburg and Montréal.

Milestone! Thanks everyone for listening

SCANDINAVIAN HEADLINER MINI-TOUR We're excited to announce our first ever headliner tour for some select dates in Scandinavia together with the legendary DISILLUSION. We'll be joined by the up-and-coming support acts Terravia and Feather Mountain. Hope to see as many people as possible out there!

My 2025 list includes @transgressivemetal.bsky.social, @unrqvtd.bsky.social, @ashenheartbm.bsky.social, @melpomene-band.bsky.social, @flummoxband.bsky.social, @allieinchains.bsky.social, @amiintrouble.bsky.social, Agriculture, @faetooth.bsky.social, & @anabstractillusion.bsky.social #metalsky

Cynic announced as Friday headliner for @progstormfestival.bsky.social 2026! 👉 buff.ly/bTXOIqR 💥 A truly defining band in progressive metal, still pushing boundaries after more than three decades. Montreal is in for an unforgettable night.

On croit parfois connaître ses propres limites musicales… jusqu’au moment où un groupe parvient à les bousculer. Avec The Sleeping City, AN ABSTRACT ILLUSION m’a rappelé qu’un album peut surprendre même là où on ne l’attend plus. 👉 progetplus.over-blog.com/2025/11/an-a...

Congrats to my friends in Tómarúm and An Abstract Illusion for getting in Loudwire's top 11 prog metal albums of 2025!! 🤯 Absolutely deserved attention!

I am strongly urging all of my metal loving friends to check out The Sleeping City by An Abstract Illusion. It's a really, really majestic ride.

Este año he estado un poco más desconectada de la escena y he acabado cayendo en cosas grandes. Pero más o menos este es mi top del año.

The Top 10 Albums of 2025 for @voidedgrimace.bsky.social 1. Coroner - Dissonance Theory 2. Messa - The Spin 3. Howling Giant – Crucible & Ruin 4. Yellow Eyes – Confusion Gate 5. Paradise Lost – Ascension 6. An Abstract Illusion 7. Evoken 8. Drouth 9. Slumbering Sun 10. Castle Rat - The Bestiary

Ok, for real this time. Amanda's 100% final, 100% official, 100% based Album of The Year list for 2025. The 36 albums I enjoyed most this year. See anything you like?

They pay me in 24 bit vinyl masters 🥹🫠