BINARY DREAMS

Here's an excellent Progressive Metal album that, personally, I didn't see coming. Turbulence is a group from Lebanon formed around ten years ago, and which published its third opus 'B1nary Dream'. This concept album tells the story of the transformation of a robot named "8b+1" through an experimental process called "Binary Dreaming". This allows it to evolve from an inanimate machine to a creature endowed with sensitivity. This is of course a metaphorical interpretation of the internal questions of the human being, the search for one's own path and the confrontation with the social environment. Musically, the group is clearly anchored in Progressive Metal, endowed with a technical level required for this genre, but which comes to surprise via emotional elements, Djent, Fusion or oriental influences.

The first five tracks follow one another, constituting a kind of suite which begins with "Static Mind", a short introduction to refined instrumentation including some oriental elements and which gains in intensity before tumbling into "Theta". There we go, complex Djent rhythm (the bass-drums work is just crazy), lively vocals with the addition of a few welcome second voices, guitar solo which combines shredding and melody. Then, a very marked breakdown deliberately breaks the dynamic before starting again with a very heavy rhythmic finale. The little ending motif of the previous song is repeated on the short instrumental that follows "Time Bridge": complex rhythmic montage, killer riff, airy keyboards, totally my thing! And we continue without weakening on a second instrumental of the same ilk, "Manifestations", which exceeds 6 minutes. Lovers of Dream Theater, you will feel very comfortable in this pure Prog Metal madness, where the musicians give a fiery demonstration of their talent. This first part ends with "Ternary" marking the return of singing in a peaceful atmosphere. Note the choirs, very beautiful, and this little guitar solo by Alain Ibrahim with such a silky sound. The track gradually increases in intensity allowing drummer Morgan Berthet (Myrath) to express himself in the most beautiful way.

"Binary Dream" is the album's standout track. This 14-minute epic contains absolutely everything one could expect from this type of format. A mid-tempo start (that bass sound!) on which an extremely rich build-up develops, then there is a series of breaks, effective choruses, instrumental demonstrations,? Note the superb oriental passage played by an instrument that I couldn't recognize around the 8 minute mark, as well as the vocal/organ passage around the 10 minute mark. Difficult to continue after such a piece of bravery. However, this is what the energetic "Hybrid" manages to do, which clearly leans towards Heavy Metal. It includes a break with quite unexpected sounds as well as a guitar solo with a volatile melody. "Corrosion" is the ballad of the record, the guitar arpeggio is very beautiful with always a slight oriental touch, and the singing is moving, in particular when Omar El Hage goes up to the high notes. The album ends with a new instrumental "Deerosion", which is a great success, managing to convey beautiful emotion despite the absence of singing.

This 'B1nary Dream' is clearly a high-class Progressive Metal album which easily competes with the behemoths of the genre. It is clear that the album was greatly worked on, particularly in terms of its construction, the dramatic development of the story and, of course, the writing and interpretation of the members of the group. I compare it, perhaps because of the similarity of the singers' voices, to the TEMIC album published a few weeks ago in its style and its emotional charge. With the highly anticipated return of the Masters of Dream Theater, this year could be a great year for Progressive Metal.

Review originally posted on www.progcritique.com.