Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Cyberiam, The
Label: Melodic Rock Records
Release: 2018
Runtime: 79:23
Rating: 4/5
Chicago’s The Cyberiam are a pleasant surprise, in the sense that their prog-rock »policy« doesn’t really leave room for any real musical innovation, yet they still follow the footsteps of the 1970s prog-rock pioneers in a seriously exemplary way. They also ride the wave of the first prog-metal generation’s doctrine with ease, and thanks to some occasionally wound-up riffing nested in broken rhythms, you’ll find them in the same cauldron as mostly American outfits like Dream Theater (in the Kevin Moore era), Enchant and Shadow Gallery, among others.
So The Cyberiam are a band that builds first and foremost on atmosphere, on mood, and on the contrasting flow between moods. How that actually works when you listen to the album, in this case the self-titled studio debut, is of course another question. Forget about any extremist chase for technical complexity, the kind that a wave of new-era bands led by Animals As Leaders, Tesseract, Obscura, Intervals and the like have pushed progressive music toward. The Cyberiam walk the path of the traditional school of progressive rock. You’ll notice very quickly that the guys in the band grew up listening to American prog-rock pioneers Kansas. The classic dialogue between keyboards and guitar is clearly audible and front and center. Both in the phrasing and in the way the instruments complement each other in the longer instrumental passages, which is where the most interesting stuff happens, and the stuff that’s most appealing to fans of this genre. But watch out. The band subordinates its moves and actions primarily to building atmosphere. They don’t rush into firing off streams of notes in the overloaded, schoolbook manner of Dream Theater, although in the interplay between “softer” and heavier passages they occasionally lean toward Dream Theater. The Cyberiam are extremely listenable throughout and, as said, effective, that is, supremely atmospheric.
So if we’re looking for a band that could be counted among The Cyberiam’s contemporaries, it’s interesting that the atmosphere the band develops is closer to, say, Poland’s Riverside than to something like America’s Spock’s Beard. Simple as that. It comes down to the way they compose and arrange. The Cyberiam are in no hurry whatsoever, and the band calmly puts most of its artistic effort into creating contrasting turns in the flow of moods. The Cyberiam occasionally pull toward Kansas, and Enchant too, thanks to the vocal character and vocal color of singer Keith Semple.
The band has potential. The debut “The Cyberiam,” which doesn’t hide its big ambitions and boldness, is definitely also a sign of the group’s great talent. This album is also a confirmation for the band that they’re on the right evolutionary path when it comes to building a credible foundation for defining a recognizable musical profile. So, a step in the right direction, which logically carries a few reservations about artistic maturing, but that’s a story for the next studio album. In the future, the production will also need a bit more warmth (more contrast with the lower tones, meaning the bass guitars could be wound up more, and the snare drum could ring out fuller). The Cyberiam are a band worth keeping an eye on in the future, too.
Lineup
Keith Semple – vocals, guitar
Frank Lucas – keyboards
Tommy Murray – drums
Brian Kovacs – bass guitar, backing vocals
Production
The Cyberiam
Track list
01. Alice In Afterland (8.53)
02. Cool Kids (6.59)
03. The Fall (5.20)
04. Don’t Blink (9.47)
05. 2020 Visionary (5.46)
06. The Historian (8.10)
07. My Occupation (8.49)
08. Juxtaposer 6.02)
09. Brain In A Vat (7.22)
10. Nostalgia 8.58)
