Our second premiere of the day couldn’t be more different than the first one. Where Winter Dust offered us gloom and contemplation, Fractal Cypher are all about speed, power, and technicality. You might recognize the name if you’ve been following the podcast; Noyan has been an especially vocal supporter of the band but I love them as well. They make a kind of no nonsense progressive metal that intensely fun in its dedication to the genre’s tropes but with a fresh execution and approach to them. The band are now gearing up for an EP release to follow up their previous album, called Prelude To An Impending Outcome and it’s a lark and a half. On it, Fractal Cypher have taken a more classically progressive approach, channeling the earlier Dream Theater albums, Rush influences included. We’ve got the first track from that EP, “The Grandeur of It All”, streaming below. Check it out!
How fun is this track? Its first half is all progressive rock pleasure, with playful synths and guitars hanging around beautiful and warm vocals. Near the middle of the track, of course, things take a slightly darker turn and a more metallic timbre becomes prominent; the guitars are fuller and more prominent, the groove section is faster, and all in all the sensation is more epic. Of course, this is only a warm up for a stream of guitar/synth solos and exchanges before the vocals return to reprise the verse and chorus. Business as usual, right? But something about the power and skill with which Fractal Cypher execute these passages just sells it completely, as before. By the time the more upbeat, “Rush-ified” opening verse returns to user out the track, the hype levels are extremely high.
The entire album is very similar to this track, leaning harder on “sweeter”, more rock n’ roll sounds but bringing the heat when it’s called for. If you’re as excited as I am for its release, head on over to the Bandcamp link above to pre-order it; it’s got all of your daily recommended amount of leads, solos, shreds, soaring vocals, and overall progressive metal goodness.