Montréal’s premier progressive metal gathering, ProgStorm Festival, has unveiled another major name for its 2026 edition — with genre-defining innovators CYNIC confirmed as one of the festival’s headliners. Following the previously announced appearance of CAR BOMB (set to headline Saturday, August 22), ProgStorm continues to shape an ambitious lineup celebrating the full spectrum of forward-thinking heavy music.
ProgStorm Festival returns to Club Soda in Montréal, Québec, running August 21–23, 2026, marking the festival’s second year as a dedicated home for progressive metal in all its technical, emotional, and boundary-pushing forms.
Few bands carry the weight and influence of CYNIC. Led by founding member Paul Masvidal (also known for his work with Death and Aeon Spoke), the band rewrote the rulebook with their landmark debut Focus (1993), fusing extreme metal with jazz fusion, atmosphere, and philosophical depth. Their later works — including Traced in Air, Kindly Bent to Free Us, and Ascension Codes — further cemented Cynic’s status as one of progressive metal’s most visionary and enduring forces. Their appearance at ProgStorm 2026 promises to be a defining moment for the festival and fans alike.
Since announcing its return in November, ProgStorm has revealed a diverse and carefully curated lineup spanning multiple branches of the progressive underground. Artists confirmed so far include Car Bomb, An Abstract Illusion, Exist, Vulkan, Dawn of Ouroboros, Fractal Sun, Sky Passage, and Hillward, with more names still to be announced.
ProgStorm Festival 2026 – Daily Lineup (So Far)
Friday, August 21
Cynic
Vulkan
Fractal Sun
Hillward
More bands to be announced
Saturday, August 22
Car Bomb
An Abstract Illusion
Exist
More bands to be announced
Sunday, August 23
Dawn of Ouroboros
Sky Passage
More bands to be announced
