Review Summary: In a world where progressive metal bands are a dime a dozen, a band slowly forging its own identity truly is something not to miss.
Reminiscence by the band Far From Reality was an album that showcased a band brimming with potential. For a debut, it was a mature yet extremely safe progressive metal album. I was excited for the band’s future and hoped the band would inject more creativity and originality in the eventual second album. However, shortly after the album’s release, the band split. Keyboardist Ludovick Daoust, guitarist Vincent Bruneau and singer Simon Lavoie went on to add bassist Tommy Fradette and drummer Steven Cope to create a new band called Fractal Cypher. Being responsible for writing the best stuff on their ‘’first album’’, Ludovick Daoust would now be writing most of the material. Would the band take a step in forging their own identity? One thing was certain, things were looking bright for the band’s debut, ‘’The Human Paradox’’.
Right from the beginning track, ’’Lost’’, you understand how much these guys know who to play their instruments. Daoust is once again a master on the keys, hitting the whole spectrum between epic strings and quieter piano sections, dark ambiance and hopeful playfulness, shredding and letting the others take center stage. Bruneau shines thanks to a huge guitar tone mixed with riffs that perfectly blend typical progressive metal and power metal/melodic death metal/djent influences. The highlights of his performance though are definitely the solos which are technical, tasteful and at times filled with emotion. Lavoie is slightly more of a mixed bag overall, with a number of unremarkable vocal lines, a few weird pronunciations and sometimes slightly flat notes hindering an otherwise powerful and quite unique performance. The added harsh vocals aren’t really impressive but are used sparingly and add a nice dose of heaviness and variety to it all. Newcomers Fradette and Cope aren’t often at the forefront but both add their own flavor to the mix when needed.
Impressive musicianship is one thing, but what most bands forget is to be more than the sum of their parts. That is one thing Fractal Cypher understands, with riffs and songwriting overpowering self-indulgence. Highlight ‘’Idle Words’’ finds the best balance between all of the band’s elements, with massive djenty riffs, intricate and fun prog sections, dynamic vocals and overall stellar songwriting. ‘’Imminent Extinction’’ is the heaviest track on the album with a mind-boggling intro to impress even the biggest Dream Theater fan. ‘’Endless Circle’’ is probably the most fun song on the album, where all the melodies hit bullseye and a smile on your face is obligatory. ‘’The Ghost of Myself’’ seems like a questionable ending track at first, being just a fun power metal track that doesn’t seem to have that much going on. However, something happens. The song stops, and Daoust does this wonderful descent on the keyboard, not unlike the one at the end of the first track, ‘’Lost’’. It then builds slowly to an ending that is, simply put, perfection. Even after twenty listens it still gives me chills it’s so good.
While this album is overall extremely impressive, it is not immune to criticism. The band has a tendency to blow their loads early, with ‘’Lost’’, ‘’Prison Planet’’, ‘’Imminent Extinction’’ and ‘’Final Abode’’ all starting strong while the rest of the song goes along nicely, missing a bit of excitement or genuine surprises. ‘’Final Abode’’ is the biggest offender of this, starting with energetic heavy riffs accentuated by shifting drums and then meandering until the ending guitar solos and breakdowns break the slight boredom. I understand why the band would choose ‘’Prison Planet” as a first single since it’s a more compact, catchier version of the album, but it might turn off potential fans because of its relatively unexciting nature. The songs could also use a bit more of an Ebb and Flow, a more dynamic approach. A tad more technical prog madness would help bring some songs to life, while calmer sections are mostly reserved to the album’s two ballads instead of being integrated into the ‘’main’’ tracks. Speaking of those ballads, ‘’Shining a While’’ starts and ends beautifully but lacks focus and ends up being more confusing than pretty. ‘’Awakening’’ fares a bit better, being more consistent and having a nice hopeful tone to it.
However, don’t misunderstand me; all those criticisms are minor in the grand scheme of things. This album is a great step above Far From Reality’s Reminiscence, a thousand times better than Circus Maximus’ Havoc and in the same ballpark of quality as Myrath’s Legacy and Haken’s Affinity. If you weren’t a fan of Dream Theater’s The Astonishing, this is probably more along what you want in a Dream Theater album. The great thing though is that this album’s mix of sounds isn’t a rip-off of any of the aforementioned bands. And in a world where progressive metal bands are a dime a dozen, a band slowly forging its own identity truly is something not to miss.
