BISBAYE

— First review of this album —

Bisbaye seems to be yet another obscure prog band, with this album receiving only 212 views on youtube in 5 years. But this band has done things I've personally haven't seen quite like this band. With every release try to find the best way to pummel your ears with erratic time signatures and quick rhythm changes. They also seem to be very underground, with very little info I've been able to find on the band members.

The main problem with Bisbaye is getting used to their sound, as if your not a experienced listener, their sound will just overwhelm you. I've been listening to this band for the past four months, and it took me a while to finish Gestalt and Synkronyk in one sitting. With Gestalt, It's difficult to explain the songs as its hard to tell which one's which when your going through it all at once. The song structure seems to be wildly erratic, with it being fast and heavy for one second, and a complete rhythm change into something more mellow before it goes right back to pummel your ears again. Its very fast and aggressive.

Overall, its a good prog album being held down with how inaccessible their sound is, but I'm sure its their intention. I think a good four stars will give it enough justice.

This is the third album from Canadian band Bisbâyé, who have now signed to Cuneiform Records having released two EPs and the two albums independently. The band was formed by guitarist Jean-Pierre Larouche and drummer Hugo Veilleux, back in 2001, since when Larouche (who is also the main composer) has been working on combining mathcore, djent and progressive rock in a way that is both familiar yet very different indeed. Some of this is down to the band line-up, as the duo are joined in their quest by bassist Vincent Savary, guitarist Nathanaël Labrèche, and drummer Julien Daoust. Yes, here we have one of those rarities in modern music, as not only are they an instrumental act but utilize two drummers throughout their performance. Imagine King Crimson joining forces with Meshuggah, throwing in some Voivod and one may just be able to imagine what is going on in the headphones. This is an album which really benefits from being played in sonic isolation as one drummer is in the left and the other on the right, and this clearly allows the listener to understand what each is bringing to the party and how they react to each other.

It is massively complex, as well as being incredibly heavy, and one is never sure what is going to happen next, as while the guitarists can be incredibly staccato and syncopated, relying on the bass to create melody and warmth while they provide aggression, they can also be straight djent and driving hard into mathcore. This is not music for the fainthearted, as it is metallic and progressive while never really fitting into the prog metal scene as many people think of it. There are also elements of free jazz at times, making this something which does need working with, but the result is richly rewarding. This is certainly one of the heaviest, if not the heaviest, album I have come across from Cuneiform in all the years I have been writing about them, and yet again they have delivered something which is not only interesting but quite unlike anything else around. For those who are a little more adventurous in their outlook.