This new CD from the Chicago based progressive rock band The Cyberiam is five tracks, but one song. That's because that song is a multi-track epic that weighs in at over twenty-minutes of music. There is a cool balance between harder rocking, almost metal stuff, more purely prog music and much more. This is quite a potent suite that delivers from start to finish. I'm sure there are those who would suggest this should land under "heavy metal," and I can see that argument, but to me the prog elements win out.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) in Music Street Journal: 2020  Volume 2. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2020.

Organ sounds and chorale vocals open this with a sense of drama and mystery. Then some heavy metallic textures pound in delivering a new energy and direction. It moves out gradually as some equally heavy bass is heard. Organ comes over the top as the track continues to evolve. At times I'm reminded of Dream Theater. At other points I even hear hints of Deep Purple. Yet, the metal elements sometimes drive it a lot more than either of those references would suggest. This is a powerful opening movement that really has some killer musical passages. It really does a great job of riding the fence between heavy metal and progressive rock. It drops back for the vocals with the rhythm section dominating that section. This movement is more than halfway done before those vocals open, though. There is a real hard rocking element to the vocal section, and the cut drives onward with some real AOR vibes. This segues into the next piece with a hard driving sound.