TURBULENCE – Binary Dream (2024) *HQ*
Since its inception in 2013 TURBULENCE has become synonymous with a dynamic and innovative musical experience. The band’s evolution now includes the exceptional talents of Omar El Hage on vocals and Anthony Atoui on bass, adding further depth to their already remarkable line up. The band’s goal has always been to bring their unique style of progressive music from the Middle East to a global audience.
“Binary Dream” is their upcoming new album, the second for Frontiers Music. The music here is progressive rock with an enormous amount of variety, a splash of metal, many mood swings, prominent keys and synthesizers, sharp guitars, a singer with a trained vocal technique.
“Binary Dream is a narrative wrapped in layers of groovy, technical progressive metal. Dive into the journey of 8b+1, a robot at the centre of an experiment called Binary Dreaming. Across nine tracks, we’re taken through a meticulously crafted story of consciousness awakening. From ‘Static Mind’ to ‘Ternary’, each piece is a blend of technical skill and emotive storytelling, reflecting the band’s growth and ambition.
Right from the first note on the album’s opening track, ‘Static Mind’, concentrated listens reveal that the intricacies of the song structures and the musicianship, at first hard to pin down, are presented in much the same way as do the genre’s universal benchmark, Dream Theater.
That comparison doesn’t always stack up, but we can also hear echoes in tracks like ‘Ternary’ and ‘Hybrid’, which have darker sounds and even more complex song structures than the norm.
As unabashed high concept (robot wakes up to a “I think therefore I am” moment) albums go, this one continues to demand our full on attention.
The two instrumental tracks, ‘Time Bridge’ and ‘Manifestations’ stand out. These are for those fans unafraid to wade into densely packed arrangements, where all instruments mesh in an impenetrable maze of Prog Metal complexity.
There are ‘song format’ tracks there too. Buried deep perhaps, degrees of inner turbulence you might say, but as the tracks proceed, they emerge triumphant.
‘Theta’ is light on its feet, ’Corrosion’ too, even thought it’s more of a ballad, each stepping from one heavyweight moment to the next, totally in sync with the band’s musicianship, polishing it up to a gleaming technical shine.
‘Hybrid’ is perhaps the album’s most accessible piece of music. There’s a visceral power and an intensity to it, but it’s got a strong melodic core that keeps it bolted to terra firma.
Strong album, and you can’t help thinking there’s more to come.
Highly Recommended
1. Static Mind
2. Theta
3. Time Bridge
4. Manifestations
5. Ternary
6. Binary Dream
7. Hybrid
8. Corrosion
9. Deerosion
Alain Ibrahim (guitar)
Mood Yassin (keyboards)
Omar El Hage (vocals)
Anthony Atoui (bass)
Pre order:
www.amazon.com/Binary-Dream-Turbulence/dp/B0CRJQLCVS
