TURBULENCE – Frontal (2021)
Coming from Lebanon, a region not exactly famous for prog music, TURBULENCE were signed to Frontiers Music for the release of their second album titled ‘Frontal’. 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 an elaborated vocal technique.
Dream Theater is a proper reference point for these skilled musicians, especially the song structures, however TURBULENCE add their own, exotic touch plenty of interesting arrangements.
Despite their ingluences from the genre, Turbulence has carved out a bit of a unique identity. Part of this comes from a bit more of a “future” vibe ‒ the occasional techno beat and techy-chuggy riff ‒ but mostly from a little thing called mood.
Whereas any number of super noodly prog bands might sacrifice the overall feel of a song in the interest of 10,000 notes, Turbulence never allows this to happen, despite still playing a whole ton of notes. Sometimes they’re a tad somber or reflective, but just as often they’re downright uplifting (the gorgeous chorus of “Ignite”).
The soulful style of vocalist Omar El Hajj really enhances this quality. He’s a little Ray Alder and a touch Einar Solberg, but typically restrained and without the overt flair.
In many ways, the entire band shares this restraint in contrast to their obvious virtuosity. The entirety of the first and longest song, “Inside The Gage,” holds back from some of the dynamic heights in later tunes, which in turn aids the immediate impact of the ensuing “Madness Unforeseen.”
And the soft moments, of which there are many, are downright relaxing. The band is likely never relaxed, mind you, merely playing very pretty music in a precise, technical manner.
No song quite exemplifies this focus on emotion quite like “Faceless Man.” It spends a fair amount of its time employing piano, subdued vocal melodies, and otherwise softer instrumentation to create a warm, uplifting-but-somewhat-melancholy mood, so much so that when it spends its entire latter half showcasing the soloing talents of guitarist Alain Ibrahim and keyboardist Mood Yassin (yes, they even have a member named Mood), there is never an instant that feels self-indulgent.
Colourful, intense, melodic are just a few words that can be used in trying to explain what Turbulence does on this record. ‘Frontal’ display a band rich in musicianship and strong songwriting, showcasing they have more than enough technical and emotional chops to keep growing and exploring.
Highly Recommended
01. Inside The Gage
02. Madness Unforeseen
03. Dreamless
04. Ignite
05. A Place I Go To Hide
06. Crowbar Case
07. Faceless Man
08. Perpetuity
Omar El Hage – Vocals
Alain Ibrahim – Guitars
Mood Yassin – Keyboards
Sayed Gereige – Drums
Anthony Atwe – Bass
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www.amazon.de/-/en/Turbulence/dp/B08PJM9R1H
