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CYBION

Kalisia

Tech/Extreme Prog Metal


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Kalisia Cybion album cover
4.00 | 69 ratings | 5 reviews | 46% 5 stars

Excellent addition to any
prog rock music collection

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Studio Album, released in 2009

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Introduction / Domination (1:48)
- Part I - Revelation :
2. Aspiration Above (2:28)
3. Arken Bringer (3:24)
4. Alien Choice (2:39)
5. Awkward Decision (4:20)
- Part II - Elevation :
6. Blinded Addict (5:35)
7. Beyond Betrayal (3:34)
8. Blessed Circle (5:14)
9. Black Despair (3:28)
10. Blurred Exile (3:10)
- Part III - Regression :
11. Cast Away (5:04)
12. Crisis Bleedings (2:05)
13. Confined Contender (4:07)
14. Circuits Distortion (2:03)
15. Contact Experience (3:24)
- Part IV - Extinction :
16. Devices Awakening (2:52)
17. Down Below (3:08)
18. Distant Chronicles (3:51)
19. Digital Disclosure (5:28)
20. Deserved Eternity (3:19)

Total Time 71:01

Bonus CD from 2010 SE:
1. Tower of Vanities (10:00)
2. Chimera (9:20)
3. Lost Soul (7:03)
4. The Mental Frames - Part I (5:41)
5. How Could I (Cynic cover) (5:51)
6. A Fortune in Lies (Dream Theater cover) (6:02)
7. I Am the Black Wizards (Emperor cover) (6:08)
8. This Dazzling Abyss (Loudblast cover) (5:23)

Total Time 55:28

Line-up / Musicians

- Brett Caldas-Lima / vocals, guitar, production & mixing
- Elodie Buchonnet / vocals, flute, saxophone
- Loïc Tezenas / guitar
- Laurent Pouget / keyboards
- Thibaut Gérard / bass
- Laurent Bendahan / drums

With:
- Renaud Deback / violin
- Corinne Lombard / vocals (18-20)
- Amandine Bouquet / backing vocals
- Bruno Michel / guitar (5)
- Arjen Lucassen / vocals (11)
- Angela Gossow / vocals (bonus 5)
- Christophe Godin / guitar solo (bonus 5)
- David Scott McBee / vocals (6)
- Tom MacLean / guitar solo (bonus 6)
- Charly Sahona / guitar solo (bonus 6)
- Sonm / vocals (bonus 7)
- Ludovic Loez / vocals (bonus 8)
- Paul Masvidal / guitar solo (bonus 8)

Releases information

2CD self-released - 94922-10360 (2010, France) Bonus CD with demos and four cover songs

Thanks to LiquidEternity for the addition
and to projeKct for the last updates
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KALISIA Cybion ratings distribution


4.00
(69 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(46%)
46%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(32%)
32%
Good, but non-essential (12%)
12%
Collectors/fans only (7%)
7%
Poor. Only for completionists (3%)
3%

KALISIA Cybion reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Marty McFly
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars I suppose that there's about 50% chance that this is rushed rating, not so thorough considered and evaluated. But I also feel that right now is the proper time to decide whether this is good, or will end up well bellow, on junkyard of musical history. When I look to these ratings, then 5-star can be little bit (note this adverb) overrated, but one star try ? That's ridiculous, because what sentient being can give it so low rating ? Maybe someone who hates this kind of music (but this way of thinking leads only to eternal problem "how I should rate" and that's unsolvable one). For collectors only ? Never, that's it.

This album combines few very interesting things that wouldn't be so "tasty" if they would stand alone. Death metal vocals (I hate them, yet I love them in this combination, without them it would be very different and I dare to say, worse), heavier guitars (from time to time, you know), melodic (almost power metal-like) music in mixed with great atmosphere and also some kind of story. You don't have to read it at all, you can just feel it. It's hard for me to define how good this music is for me. So am I convinced of its advantages. One politician in our country used to say "socialism with human face". Even I don't like him, I'll alternate this into: "Death metal without death metal, but with human face." - Now that's not so bad deal, is it ?

We shall see. But I know I'm going to like it a lot. But who knows, many better albums fell later of 1-2 stars, as time went by. This is life. But not in all cases. It's like 33% of times I'll drop rating later. Or raise it (what's undoable in this case)

Really beautiful set of cover pictures. Hell, this is pure musical ecstasy, using all these tricks that makes prog metal good, also with occasional going up with woman tender vocals, acoustic guitar that can be heard through roaring of electric ones (spectacular) and also the best (I'm sure it's best, trust me) use of electronically modified voice I recently heard).

EDIT: 4(-), not so appealing this time. Probably, you have to be "in mood" to enjoy this, as it's not as good as it should have been after repeated listens.

Review by Conor Fynes
PROG REVIEWER
5 stars 'Cybion' - Kalisia (9/10)

'Sci-fi metal' might be the best way to describe this labour of love from French band Kalisia. Over six long years, 'Cybion' was very slowly recorded, although when it was released in 2009, it became clear that the effort had paid off. For a band that has been around since the mid-nineties, Kalisia certainly have not been anywhere near consistently productive as a group, but this one gem of metal makes me wish they were. This is a suite of epic progressive metal that pulls out all of the tricks and assaults the listener with one of the proggiest dishes metal has served in recent years.

Although the elements of 'Cybion' that Kalisia pulls out are covered in the cliche of prog metal, it is all fueled up in such a way that it feels like the prog metal album, the one that virtually defines where the genre is at nowadays, and hopefully where it's going. 'Cybion' opens in the most 'grand' of ways, that being a symphonic overture. Immediately, a listener is pulled into the mindset that everything that Kalisia throws at them will be larger-than-life, and for the most part, this happens to be true. The entire hour-plus runs as one sprawling epic of sorts, and once it leaves the launch pad and bursts into galloping metal, it rarely comes back up for air.

There is a very modern progressive death metal sound to Kalisia, with synths and guitars being used in almost equal capacity. The growled vocals of Brett Caldas-Lima are contrasted by multiple singers in the tradition of a metal opera. Speaking of metal operas, Ayreon is a very notable influence in the music of this band, and- wouldn't you know it- Arjen Lucassen has a cameo here, along with Angela Gossow (of Archenemy) and Paul Masvidal (of Cynic), to name just a few. The point being, whoever is pulling the strings behind Kalisia has done everything conceivable in order to provide an over-the-top experience.

A slight issue I may have with 'Cybion' is precisely the fact that it stays bombastic and 'epic', and never really comes down to give the listener a break. That may seem like a silly criticism to some, but taking into account the fact that this album is an hour and fifteen minutes long, 'Cybion' can be alot to take in all at once. There is everything here from symphonic orchestrations to death metal and jazz, but it all knells under a banner of sci-fi oriented prog metal, much in the tradition of Ayreon. Kalisia have churned out a masterpiece here, and I believe the long work and meticulous efforts they put into it show in the end result. Incredible stuff.

Latest members reviews

2 stars A good friend of mine, Bill, showed two other friends and I one of the songs on this album. He told us we should buy it in lieu of it's $35 price. They're indie, proggy, talented, and I needed to start listening to metal. Where else to start but these guys? Bill has apologized to us ... (read more)

Report this review (#363147) | Posted by JohnBVail | Friday, December 24, 2010 | Review Permanlink

4 stars I really, really wish I could give this album 4.5/5. I really do. The music itself is perfect--the amazing blend of death metal, Dream Theater/Ayreon prog and countless other minor styles is nigh flawless. The only complaint, though serious, I can leverage against this album is that it is tiring. ... (read more)

Report this review (#271643) | Posted by msphelps | Saturday, March 13, 2010 | Review Permanlink

3 stars J.R.R. Tokien of our Prog world, Kalisia is somewhat obscured but robust French Extreme/Tech Prog Metal band. Comprise of 6 instrumentalists which have well connection to many elites of prog society, the band release their highly expected album "Cybion" in 2009 with many distinctive guess musicians ... (read more)

Report this review (#236010) | Posted by Jadittir | Monday, August 31, 2009 | Review Permanlink

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