GREY WHITE SILVER YELLOW & GOLD

After the excellent "The Fold", Karcius have needed four years to offer us the long-awaited continuation!

And fortunately, this great Canadian group has managed to follow in the footsteps of "The Fold" but increasing the intensity, giving us their heaviest album to date, but without giving up their jazz influences and their usual skill in each and every one of the instruments.

A special mention also goes to Sylvain Auclair's voices, which sound more integrated and powerful than ever. Just listen to Supernova! Absolutely spectacular.

So, if you haven't discovered Karcius yet, this excellent "Grey White Silver Yellow and Gold" is a perfect place to start getting to know them.

Best Tracks: the album has a fairly homogeneous quality, but if I have to choose, I would pick Supernova (one of the most epic choruses of recent years), The Ladder (spectacular instrumental section, with a bass solo included, and wonderful guitars) and A Needle Tree (the song starts bringing back de melody of Goodbye, one of the best songs of their previous work "The Fold", and after that it develops in the most atmospheric and obscure track of the album)

My Rating: ****

KARCIUS is the Canadian group formed between 1997 and 2001 on a unique sound in their genre; rock, pop, jazzy, ambient; defining themselves between GABRIEL, STING, PORCUPINE TREE, RADIOHEAD, LED ZEPPELIN and RETURN TO FOREVER all sprinkled with modern sounds on the atmospheres of PINK FLOYD. Fruity prog rock that I name, surprising and diversified music with a measured dose of improvisation; instrumental at the start, evolution with the heavy prog vocal contribution of Sylvain from 2012 for a singular melting pot; a heavy, ponderous, powerful sound, almost grunge at times, delicate at other times; which sends me back to naming also the RIVERSIDE and the last LEPROUS albums. In short, KARCIUS is a singular and inventive group concept, intimate, nervous and bewildering, so let's slip into their latest baby.

"Parasite" dark, rhythmic, jerky start, far from the jazzy fusion label put forward; a metallic riff starting on HAKEN, SOEN, a nervous melodic sound, a peach of hell; a bit of ALICE IN CHAINS, SOUNDGARDEN and PAIN OF SALVATION and this rocky voice that suits perfectly; in short, an explosive climb that moves very pleasantly. "Supernova" follows and contrasts with the established climate, piano and acoustic guitar in the background with Sylvain and his soft, crystalline voice; alternative rock metal coming to mind, more rock but prog resonances in the musical score, the rocky voice again; a playful then energetic guitar solo that would belong in atmospheric prog metal; a stunning title. "The Ladder" for one of the two complex river titles; a plot, a basic crescendo and exploratory ramifications on the dark, unhealthy side of rock before, supposed to disturb the previous generation; a break at Sébastien's Mellotron and we find ourselves in the frightening climates of the PORCUPINE TREE at the start. A progressive synth à la RUDESS, a bass à la TAYLOR of QUEEN, it goes joyfully everywhere until the return of the catchy metal riff; a solo and the sound of PAIN OF SALVATION which returns, an iconic, dreamlike, majestic title.

"Cosmic Rage" for the tribal piece with percussion and clear drums and that reverberating guitar; nervous, bewitching riff forming a multilayer of musical colors; its rise to belch and go into a trance with Sylvain who does not leave anyone indifferent, making his voice moan like no one else; think of Daniel GILDENLÖW for the mixture of hope and sadness. "Distance Kills" always on a tribal connotation, an electric tune that makes you move your legs without noticing it, this rhythm that to use the archangel GABRIEL at the beginning of his solo albums, the bass amplifying everything; track goes everywhere with this crescendo, this tortured guitar solo and this piano finale which is only the prelude to the chaining "A Needle Tree" and the dreamlike intro, a jazzy keyboard for the first time in the album , spatial digression, ambient, it's up to you; the voice arrives helped by an acoustic guitar, dry, with a sound in its raw state. Here it is prog melancholy atmosphere and you have to wait the 5 minutes to see the title take off, fly away; 9 minutes and this roll of pads, heavy machine gun salvo on a piano à la Joe JACKSON then the synth solo à la WRIGHT of PINK FLOYD melts, then the enjoyable guitar solo, crystalline notes on this heavy and tenacious rhythm and a powerful finale .

KARCIUS has just released the album of the month, in this rather sad beginning of the year; a captivating sound, seeking its imprint on old basic sounds, rehashing certain others to release raw current notes, prog metal in tune with the times, standing out from its jazzy spirit to give the current prog between alternative and crossover; KARCIUS invites us to reflect on the direction of his music in today's world and demonstrates that prog is dead; that it has transformed, mutated into this unique sound that PORCUPINE TREE opened up in its time, a clean sound with reminiscences; the loop is closed, rock has indeed given birth to this timeless progressive movement where rhythm, atmospheric images, fruity colors, emotions and riffs plunge into their unique, disorienting sound, with great art. Not by chance that the jack of all trades Tony LINGREN is behind the controls. KARCIUS talks about the different colors of man's addiction and insatiability with money, gold, drugs, strong emotions; a cult of personality on human self-destruction, the sequel to the delirium of 'The Fold' for a simply magnificent album, you have been warned.

Since the release of the album "The Fold", the band has changed their Jazz Fusion style to a much heavier style. This new album continues in that direction. The opener "Parasite" is full of anger with a heavy atmosphere not only coming from the guitar but also from the voice of Sylvain Auclair. "Supernova" starts in acoustic mode and the intensity grows up as the song progresses in a typical heavy rock fashion. "The Ladder" is the highlight song with many twists and turns, complex time signatures, and some Pink Floyd influence. The song goes back and forth between acoustic and electric. There are some impressive drums parts and cool sounds throughout the song including some groovy bass lines and what I think could be some mellotron parts in the middle and at the end. "Cosmic Rage" is another take on Pink Floyd with a Gilmore guitar-style passage. The drums again are shining with a song that t goes into some complex patterns as the song goes. The last song the epic "Needle Tree" starts in an ambient atmosphere with their first intrusion into their Jazz root. Then it switches off to an Opeth-style groove before returning to a Jazz section and ending in a rare peaceful moment. This is another strong album from Karcius that should give them a boost to present a great show this year I hope.

An interesting foray into Heavy Prog from these former jazz-rockers from Québec.

1. "Parasite" (6:06) could be any heavy metal band from the 1980s--especially with that overly familiar lead vocalist. (7.75/10)

2. "Supernova" (5:58) taking the band into a more delicate palette of instrumental sounds really works for these guys; it's awesome to hear the piano, acoustic guitars, and more delicate side of Sylvian's voice. A top three song for me. (8.75/10)

3. "The Ladder" (13:46) solid heavy rock with an interesting construction. (24.5/30)

4. "Cosmic Rage" (7:05) starting from the softer, more spacious side works better for this band. Still so familiar--so much like the many "hair metal" bands I'd heard in the 1980s and 90s. (12/15)

5. "Distance Kills" (8:03) interesting Peter Gabriel Passion-like opening leads into a more smooth, easier to engage with full bloom. A top three song for me. (13/15)

6. "A Needle Tree" (15:23) once it gets going (1/3 of the way into it) it sounds like classic heavier BIG BIG TRAIN, MAD CRAYON's Preda, MYRATH, and PINK FLOYD. If this song hadn't taken so long to get started, I would have called this the best song on the album. Great finish with a very engaging and memorable ear worm of a chorus on repeat to the end. (26.5/30)

Total Time 56:21

B-/3.5 stars; a good if inconsistent and sometimes monotonous collection of heavy prog from some very competent musicians. Rated up for production and polished performances (especially that awesome drummer!)