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The Cyberiam — Connected
(Bandcamp no#, 2021, CD / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2023-09-13

Connected Cover art

The Cyberiam is a Chicago band firmly in the tradition of modern progressive rock, in this case operating somewhere between the poles of Dream Theater and Porcupine Tree, with strong performances from vocals, keyboards, and guitars. Rhythmically, they borrow the occasional trick from metal, with coordinated breaks for unison licks on bass and drums, but in general the main focus is away from that, so they don’t really strike me as a progressive metal band. I suppose a lot of that comes down to the vocals, which are clean and strong. There’s a good balance between powerful electric passages and gentler acoustic ones. Connected features nine tracks, all of which reach for epic scope regardless of their length, which ranges from five to a bit over ten minutes. The album is very skillfully crafted, with a dramatic flow of intensity from song to song so that the listener remains engaged. In decades past, we reviewers used to remark on the technical skills of the musicians and the quality (or lack thereof) of the production — in today’s world, there are so many outstanding musicians who would have seemed like virtuosos in the 70s that it seems pointless to remark that The Cyberiam’s guitarist can rip out a flashy solo when it’s called for. Likewise, the tools of mixing and mastering have become so sophisticated that every independent release can sound like something from the top producers of the past if that’s what they’re looking for. So suffice it to say that The Cyberiam has all of that stuff down pat. Luckily, the quality of their writing lifts this music above being just another well-produced prog album. If you’re looking for the edginess of King Crimson, you won’t find it, but you will find a fine example of hard-hitting contemporary progressive rock.

Filed under: New releases, 2021 releases

Related artist(s): The Cyberiam

More info
http://thecyberiam.bandcamp.com/album/connected

 

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