Montreal's CYDEMIND is an interesting concept...difficult to describe and way beyond my means to provide a mental picture of their musical themes accurately. A combination of metal and progressive rock, pianos and violins weave in and out of guitars and drums in the all instrumental album "Erosion". Themes such as time and nature permeate throughout.
'What Remains' opens the album with violins and slightly off-kilter, yet rhythmic drumming, with fret-filled guitars and piano meanderings. And with any exceptional album, having the ability to create ever-changing songs with no vocals and keeping the listener enthralled is an achievement in itself. And CYDEMIND do a damn good job of it. Second track 'Tree Of Tales' weaves an embryonic tapestry of mid-tempo wanderings. Chilling guitars sweep through the song with a steady bassline in the background. Violins and pianos saunter casually across the landscape. 'Derecho' is a somber, mellow track with no metal elements until approximately six minutes in, cascading into an upbeat miasma coagulating into a beautiful and mesmerizing journey. 'Red Tides' begins with...you guessed it...tides. And pianos. Then a keyboard frenzy that could hold hands with early Yes or Emerson, Lake and Palmer. CYDEMIND know their influences and know them to almost streamlined perfection. Fifth track 'Stream Capture' slows it down again with pianos, violins and distant guitars. And lastly is an approximately 27 minute masterpiece, riding the crescendo of waves and shimmering luminescence of the soul. One minute in is another barrage of keyboards to make any fan whimper and praise the prog gods forevermore.
CYDEMIND are their own beast...a hybrid of metal-prog-new age-guitar rock that will snag you along on their adventure, beckoning you to follow suit. Take their hand and journey with them.
Erosion is set to come out May 26! Pre-Order Link is here :
