Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Through the mists we grope our way forward, the senses dulled by the beginnings of fog, from the cold chill that seeps into our bones, through dense skin, past veins and the running of life affirming blood, into that which holds us upright, the bones, the skeleton, and whilst the mists of life surround us daily, they offer us one vital thing to which the bones cannot fathom, it offers the imagination to focus, the brain’s release valve to conjure up images of what may live in the mist, whether it is salvation, or murky creatures from the depths.

Progressive Metal is a powerhouse of its own accord, not content with the unabashed aggression that causes the heart to beat just a little faster, it also embraces the symphonic and the drama of the refined structure, and whilst the listener can trace the roots of such composition to the likes of Queensryche and Fates Warning, even possibly an argument to made from the release of Iron Maiden’s towering Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son album, it is to the modern day application brought on by Time and experience of how the genre should be expanded, should resonate in the modern age.

Despite only being the group’s third album, Thought Chamber’s Myst Of Lyriad is to be considered as one of the finest examples of the genre, it stalks with anticipation, it growls with certainty, and above all it passionately displays the ferocity of intelligence that the music demands, and as Michael Harris, Mike Haid, Jeff Plant, Bill Jenkins produce symphonic tidal waves, so the shared vocals of Travis Wills, Devon Graves, and Jaycee Cuijpers resonate in their identity, and as tracks such New Dawn Sun Ride, Here Upon This Earth, A Qwinkle In Time, the stunning brilliance of Nyctophobia, and the raising, raging cool of the bookended title track Myst Of Lyriad and its sister reveal in Leaving Lyriad combine, so the knowledge that the music loved by millions has come another stage on, it has not only announced itself, it has barged down the door of indifference and made itself firmly at home.

Progressive Metal already had these new heroes to thank for continuing the journey, but now they must surely bow in deference at the will and the sound displayed as Myst Of Lyriad conquers all before it. Ian D. Hall