Detailed Reviews [ The Cyberiam - 2021 - "Connected"]

Prolusion. US band The Cyberiam have been active since 2016 and thereabouts, and released their debut album "The Cyberiam" to quite a bit of critical acclaim in 2018. One EP and a pandemic later the band returned to recording action with their second studio album "Connected", which was self released in the late summer of 2021.

Analysis. While a bit of time and many albums have been subject to my attention since the debut album of this band landed in my mail, my general impression is that The Cyberiam have developed a bit as a band in the three years that have passed sine they released "The Cyberiam". The band will still be right at home in a heavy progressive rock context, but my impression is that they have expanded their canvas and their compositions a bit. Those fond of richly layered passages with keyboards and organs adding depth and scope to constructions driven by hard and beefy guitar riffs will get their fill of such excursions this time around as well, but perhaps with a bit less time used for such constructions this time around. Atmospheric laden passages with keyboards, bass and drums have found their way into all parts of this production as well, and more spare, tight passages with dampened used of guitars and more emphasis on clean and acoustic guitars is recurring trait throughout. Some nice sparse sequences with bass, drums and vocals as the driving factors and a more careful keyboard presence is a part of the totality too, alongside more elegant, layered arrangements with all instruments present but more of an emphasis given to the keyboards and the vocals. Soft and careful parts combined with light and elegant passages, carefully soaring parts, subtly majestic passages and harder progressive rock surges with and without a metal undercurrent all combining in a smooth and elegant manner, with most of these dimensions appearing to a lesser or greater degree in all of the compositions on the album. That the compositions ebb and flow through many different stages at least a part of the reason that you won't find any songs clocking in at less than five minutes on this production, and that six of the nine songs needs 8 minutes or more to reach the end. This is an elegant creation throughout, where the ebb and flow is smooth, logical and compelling, the execution is spot on by instrumentalists and vocalists alike, and with a quality mix and production applied as the icing on the cake. How compelling or not this album will be will all come down to subjective taste in the end, as the quality and execution of the material is unquestionable and undeniable.

Conclusion. Those who like and enjoy bands exploring the harder side of progressive rock should feel right at home with The Cyberiam's latest album "Connected". All the compositions sport multiple facets of progressive rock with lots of ear candy for the avid listener to enjoy in terms of structure and development, with a compelling and appealing appliance of ebb and flow intensity, and for most of the songs with more powerful surges having a tendency to appear in the final half of the songs. A good quality, expressive and dynamic album that should have a broad appeal also among fans of progressive rock in general.

Progmessor: September 2021
The Rating Room