SYNAPSE

— First review of this album —

Synapse 3rd EP made of covers.

'La Bikina (Luis Miguel)' on a cheerful metal opera tune, Alex's guitar work is reminiscent of that of Brian from Queen, a surprising prog mariachi. 'And if in addition there's no one (Alain Souchon)' begins a singular a cappella before the riff bringing a prog djent-nu metal side, a progressive fusion with soft and screaming vocals ah yes it's Thomas' touch which varies without difficulty its sound range; spatial atmospheric end. 'Force your way (Final Fantasy VIII)' for the instrumental with riff on a synth which announces a frenzied rhythm; Alex shows his dexterity, yes he works hard and the heavy Devin Townsend and Dream Theater reminiscences feel; airy, solemn piano break, like Thin Lizzy, just that; smoothly carried out it feels like the clouds of Olympus but the finale recalls the metallic slope. 'All I want for Christmas is you (Mariah Carey)' the serious intro; Thomas is responsible for taking the title to create a baroque metal sound; very elaborate compared to the original. 'I'll be there for you (The Rembrandts)' Sacha's bass heating the air, prog is moving away, jazz no longer exists; we are on heavy punk growl vocals that move hard; prog is just the sound and the colorful blood and the memory of Friends. 'Take on me (A- Ha)' yes we had to dare that one, fresh, airy, depressed pop song at the start before the phrase which went around the world; an energetic groove, breaks between the voice and the rhythm, a cinematic keyboard to cast doubt and this chorus seeming to come from elsewhere.

Synapse releases an EP of pre-Christmas covers mixing the original tracks with their touch; it's stunning, far from their original prog jazz-rock sound but the breaks clearly show the progressive dimension of this young, musically well-stocked group; it's confusing, intriguing and perhaps the best way to find a wider audience; it's fresh and innovative. (3.5)

— First review of this album —

SYNAPSE is a young Parisian progressive metal band founded in 2016, related to the master DREAM THEATER but not only: rock, progressive variations and a jazzy touch, a melodic musical tornado filled with inventive instrumental passages and a current sound for a ambitious project. Texts on the end of our world, on our potential reaction, on our determination to prefer chaos rather than adaptation, his 2nd album currently. SYNAPSE is composed of Thomas VALENTIN on vocals, Alexandre SACLEUX on guitar, Sacha LE ROY on bass and Carlos BARDONNET on drums.

9 tracks that can be listened to while thinking of DREAM THEATER for the instrumentation, heaviness and musical rhythmicity; the screaming voice can be disturbing at first but it adapts well to musical wanderings hard FM at one time, AOR at others, a trait of ROYAL HUNT for sequence and creativity; innovative jazz-prog breaks, latinos, bossa nova, djent on a title that clearly shows the very current sound, a few notes from LEPROUS on "It's Only Cries" with a break à la SERRA, solos that can recall MALMSTEEN at times, the nursery rhyme " Human Naiveté" to end up like a film soundtrack, a pleasant summary of fact.

SYNAPSE has released an album to listen to! An album that hides nuggets, which improves over time, an album that is not content to be an ersatz, we have new sound. The downside would be the voice a little high compared to the interpretation of the varied and fresh melodic structures, otherwise it is a group to follow because it fits into today's sound, giving momentum to prog.