Cyberium, The: Unobtainium

Following their pattern of releasing a new studio album every three years, The Cyberium return with their third full length outing, Unobtainium. Hailing from Chicago, this four-piece have slowly evolved from interesting new prog kids on the block into a much more mature and confident beast, but even with that in mind that they’ve trimmed off 30 minutes worth of listening time for this album when compared to their previous outing, Connected, proves an astute move. It’s not that Connected didn’t merit its length, but in terms of Unobtainium, I’d suggest this album is much more of a slow grower, and had that journey been another half hour longer than the 41 minute voyage laid out here, it could have been a bit of a challenge. Instead, the eight songs Unobtainium provides slowly creep into your mind and leave larger rewards with every subsequent encounter.

Lyrically, this band ain’t happy chaps, the title track all about those unobtainable things we crave and really ‘need’, but never quite manage to own and live quite happily nonetheless. Elsewhere, kidnap, cyber-bullying and ‘Roe vs Wade’ are all explored - as is the journey that (maybe?) most of us reading this have taken from the analogue world into the digital age. Cleverly, while these are heavy, involved topics, the lyrics themselves are kept short and to the point and actually make a much more interesting mark because of it. Musically, the album is also patient, a slightly more modern, riff fuelled attack paying dividends during the go for the throat “Mind The Gap�, whereas, if anything that approach digs even deeper as string-laden keys combine with the biting guitar attack and some great drum-work on “Unobtainium� itself.

Guest vocalist Rozzie helps open the album in enigmatic style, with a spoken performance of a lost, confused, abducted girl speaking out loud to her father, who clearly can’t hear a word being said. With a stop-start feel and cascading tom-fills, the intention seems to be to disorientate and I must admit that as introductions go, at first it proved a little stand-offish. Time is the key here, with the multi-layered, soothing vocal in the chorus slowly unlocking the mood and tone, although the spoken section of “Long Lived The Queen� (the second song I’ve heard this year that samples the departed royal) thankfully keeps that side to a minimum and instead reveals a jaw dropping guitar solo that allows Keith Semple to really stretch out. Semple also sings on the album, but then so does bassist Brian Kovacs, while drummer Tommy Murray and keyboard player Frank Lucas (who really is superb throughout) also offer excellent back-ups. From the more pensive and keyboard driven “Trolls� to the initially plaintive guitar of “Double X� - which grows into a strident beast - and from the rather wonderful ballad “Ghost In The Machine� to the previously single release only bonus track “Wrong Turn� - which is too good not to be included here - Unobtainium delivers again and again. Don’t be put off by the slow grow nature of this selection of songs and instead strap in for a journey that confidently reveals its strength and beauty as time goes on.

Track Listing
1. Are You There?
2. Long Lived The Queen
3. Trolls
4. Double X
5. Ghost In The Machine
6. Mind The Gap
7. Unobtainium
8. Wrong Turn (CD Bonus Track)

Added: September 28th 2024
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: The Cyberium @ bandcamp
Hits: 285
Language: english

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