What do you get when you mix Philip K. Dick themes, prog-metal mayhem à la DREAM THEATER, and the occasional jazz-fusion and djent flourishes? You get something very close to the organic grooves of the up-and-coming prog bunch, TURBULENCE. Released on March 8th, 2024, via Frontiers Music, their sophomore studio album “Binary Dream” narrates an overarching story of an awakening consciousness across the ten new songs. The catch in this wild tale is that the protagonist is a robot called 8b+1. Yeah, the singularity is drawing near just like the machine elves’ prophesies foretold us! Hailing from Lebanon, these prog sages season their sonic roller-coaster ride with ample Middle-Eastern flavor, too. In this case, much to my delight, it stands for so much more than just the usual riff or two in the Phrygian mode. The album’s epic, 14-minute title track, for instance, throws in a hefty amount of rather spirited Middle-Eastern licks by a zither-like instrument. As this gargantuan track was also my entry point into the band’s unique craft, I guess I could not have had it any better.
The album opens with a brief track barely clocking in at a minute and a half. Entitled “Static Mind,” the song blends djenty twists and turns to otherwise rather HAKEN-like prog conduct. While the selection is by no means shy about these musicians’ technical prowess, what becomes clear right from the start is that this bunch is still more about tight songwriting rather than pyrotechnical showing off. The transition to “Theta” is so seamless that you might not even notice that the song has changed. Ah, yes! This is a concept album, remember. The second track throws in a bit more aggressive riffs and vocalist Omar El Hage gets to belt some hard-rock vocals here and there. When he sings in the higher register, it almost triggers an instant TEMIC flashback, which we don’t really mind, do we? The vocal department is not the only thing that makes TURBULENCE a kindred spirit to them: there are lots of sublime keyboards on both band’s latest albums. Mood Yassin‘s tasteful keyboard runs get a well-deserved spot in the limelight, especially in the three instrumentals. “Manifestations,” being the longest of these instrumental tracks, would be my go-to track if I were to introduce this bunch to some prog-curious newbies. Besides nodding rather deeply to this one Boston-based prog dinosaur, the song is a genuine everything bagel when it comes to class-A prog metal – tradition-savvy, quality riffs in mind-bending meters, soaring solos, atmospheric stuff, and a little bit of djenty marinara sauce on top.
Sandwiched between that 6-minute prog onslaught and the 14-minute title track, “Ternary” showcases the band’s softer side. The song is basically a ballad but, rather fortunately, not of the stomach-turning variety. Instead, the song is a haunting exploration into the ambient side of prog, resonating with the air of the latest SILENT SKIES album from last year, with a few added guitar hooks of the djenty kind.
As per the unwritten laws of prog, the title track does the honors of being the most mind-boggling, epic centerpiece of the selection. This is also where the Middle-Eastern vibes get the thickest, thanks to the kick-ass zither solo (or whatever ethnic, plucked instrument that is). I could have listened more to stuff of this sort! Progressive riffs and ethnic instruments from the Middle East go together like bread and butter. I wouldn’t be surprised if these prog ruffians were familiar with the sufi prog of Sami Yusuf. They certainly share similar open-mindedness about what you can do with music.
If there’s one thing that the band needed to be scolded for, it would be the order of the songs on the album. Up to the most uptempo banger, “Hybrid,” the songs gather more and more momentum, one after the other. It almost seems as though “Hybrid” is the peak track, in terms of energy. Then, the last two tracks, by being of the more atmospheric variety, let the energy levels drop a little. “Corrosion” is a nice breather after the 6-minute punch-up, yes, but two songs in almost exactly the same, slow tempo at the end of the sonic journey might not be the best way to bring closure to this trip. Ahh, yes, the good old pitfalls of progressive concept albums rear their ugly heads a little here. That said, the seven tracks up to this point deliver to the specs so brilliantly that I wouldn’t hold this against the band too fiercely. I can always skip these two tracks if I want to listen to the more headbanging tracks, exclusively.
Yeah, for an insufferable prog nerd like me, the best this album has to offer comes in the form of the longest tracks – ”Manifestations,” “Binary Dream,” and “Hybrid.” However, the atmospheric beauty of “Ternary” caught me totally by surprise, so I guess it is fair to say that this is one of the best new finds for me so far this year. This new TURBULENCE album is so magnificent that I am pretty confident that their 2021 debut, “Frontal,” will not let me down either.
Written by Jani Lehtinen
Tracklist
- Static Mind
- Theta
- Time Bridge (Instrumental)
- Manifestations (Instrumental)
- Ternary
- Binary Dream
- Hybrid
- Corrosion
- Deerosion (Instrumental)
Lineup
Omar El Hage – vocals
Alain Ibrahim – guitars
Mood Yassin – keyboards
Morgan Berthet – drums
Anthony Atoui – bass
Label
Frontiers Music
