First album for The Lylat Continuum.
Founded in 2016, the band composed nowadays by Chrys Rob (vocals/keyboards), Ian Turner (guitar), Mike Caramazza (drums) offers us today Ephemeral.
Based between a cosmic Progressive Metal and a solid Technical Death Metal, the album is composed of eight tracks and illustrated by the german graphist Mizucat. We begin with Into the Vast, an introduction that presents us the band’s modern spatial universe before offering some seconds of an as complex as brutal rhythmic. Then Zero strikes. Heaviness, ambient sonorities and several as violent as technical influences, the band steps back in front of nothing to create a seizing contrast during those ten minutes of sound. Epyon is next, melting the band’s numerous influences on this long composition. The rhythmic changes a lot, but every break introduces properly all the music’s contrasts, whether it is dissonant or heavy.
The album continues with Level 5, a song that follows the continuity of this cosmic Metal, on which the band is accompanied by Patrick Corona (Cyborg Octopus, live for Rivers of Nihil) on saxophone. The transcending leads alight on this heavy rhythmic, that alternates with softer parts, like on Meta, a very diversified instrumental that will please melomanes. Sector Y offers us again some kind of melting between Jazz, Progressive Metal and modern tones on keyboards before coming back to heavy Metal with Libra. Of course the band’s mad airy touch is quickly joined by the melting, and those leads dubbed by majestic keyboards give a strange and fascinating accent to the song. Ephemeral, the last song, allows the band to close this first album with a final touch of chaotic but yet so tidy musicianship.
The Lylat Continuum is far from being an usual band. Ephemeral melts super powerful Metal with Jazz, Ambient and various influences, giving their music this unique and rich flavour.
80/100