This album is going to riding high in the 2013 album of the year polls

In addition to the usual certainties of life – death, taxes, rain on UK bank holidays – you can always be safe in the knowledge that anything on Sensory/The Laser's Edge is going to be pretty stupendous. The label seems to have its finger pretty much on the pulse when it comes to high quality progressive metal, and 'In Crescendo' is just one more case in point.

'In Crescendo' is the fifth album from the Italian progressive metal act who started life as Earth Shaker back in 1996, and as you might expect the band sit on the fence between the likes of Queensrÿche on the one side and DreamTheater/Fates Warning on t'other, equally at home with blasts of heavy riffing or changing tempo at the drop of a hat. There's no weak links in Kingcrow – vocalist Diego Marchesi, guitarists Diego Cafolla and Ivan Nastasi, keyboard player Cristian Della Polla, bassist Francesco D'Errico and drummer Thundra Caffola are all at the top of their game; and the eight songs on offer, all from the pen of Diego Cafolla, are all thoughtful and well crafted, even if 'This Ain't Another Love Song' does dip its toes at first in the 'Silent Lucidity' paddling pool – until, that is, gear and time changes push it into another dimension.

This album offers so much to praise and there's so little space to do it in. But in terms of pushing all the buttons the irrepressible 'The Drowning Line', with its marvellous vocal harmonies and thunderous instrumental section, takes some beating; opener 'Right Before', possibly a great grandchild of 'Take The Time' from what seems now so many years ago, comes roaring out of the speakers like a hungry tiger looking for his next meal; and of course at ten-plus minutes the multi-faceted, slow-burning and haunting, atmospheric title track – a tragedy of love and loss – dominates the tail-end of the album and pretty much encapsulates everything that is Kingcrow.

Engaging and engrossing, 'In Crescendo' offers an early indication that 2013 is going to be a great year for metal music. As I write, I know the year is but 38 days old but I'm quietly confident that this album is going to riding high in the 2013 album of the year polls – it really is that good.

John Tucker