DEMIANS

As in the previous two albums, Chapel is once again in charge of production and playing all the instruments, apart from singing, of course. This time he does without a drummer again, which gives a drums sound similar to "Building an Empire"

However, on this occasion Chapel almost completely forgets about the progressive and experimental atmospheres that fit so well in his two previous works, offering us an album much more oriented towards alternative rock and post-grunge, apart from experimenting with other genres such as blues.

This wouldn't be a problem for me if it weren't for the fact that the compositional level also suffered a considerable drop. Having listened to the record numerous times, no song has really stuck in my mind maybe with the exception of the two that I will mention later. The album just flows letting itself be heard, but without leaving any kind of mark on the listener.

And it's a shame, since a career that started off on the right way with two interesting albums is cut short here in an uninspired album that doesn't contribute anything beyond fattening Demians' discography, but unfortunately towards a wrong direction in my opinion.

I hope the next and last (for now) Demians album, called "Battles", is better than this disappointing "Mercury"!

Best Tracks: Water and Sigh (a slow and atmospheric song, perhaps my favourite on the album, with guitar work reminiscent of the group No-Man) and Spellbound Lily (good vocal melodies, reminiscent of the best moments of the first albums)

Still keeping the contract with Inside Out Music, who returned to work with the group editing this "Mute", the production was once again in charge of Chapel himself as well as most of the instruments. Fortunately, in this case Chapel corrected some of the shortcomings of his debut, such as having a real drummer in the figure of Gaël Hallier.

As for the music, we continue to find a very guitar-heavy prog with quite a few touches of alternative rock and post- grunge influences (Feel Alive is a good example), but this time something less Americanized, which brings this album closer to what European groups like The Pineapple Thief, Riverside and Amplifier were doing at the time, influences that were already present in "Building an Empire" anyway.

Fortunately, the compositional level of this "Mute" is also quite good, while being less predictable (it doesn't abuse crescendos so much) offering us a record that, although it is not perfect, can be enjoyed from beginning to end, resulting in an interesting and stimulating experience in almost its entirety.

It's a shame that after this album, probably due to the lack of commercial success, Demians had to self-publish their next two albums, because given the quality of "Building an Empire" and this "Mute", it's obvious that Nicolas Chapel deserved better luck!

Best Tracks: Porcelain (very interesting instrumental work, especially at the beginning of the song), Black Over Gold (a showcase for Chapel's nice voice), Overhead (I love those oriental touches, as well as that explosion of guitars towards the end) and Hesitation Waltz (another of Chapel's typical crescendos, very intense and with hints a la Dead Soul Tribe and Tool)

Chapel is a skilled musicians, so if you didn´t know, you wouldn´t notice that he plays all instruments, because there are no weak or sub par performances on "Mute". Everything is played with the amount of skill needed and with the right passion and conviction. His vocals are strong and pleasant, although he doesn´t have the most unique sounding voice. Stylistically the music is alternative/progressive rock, which is often similar in style to Porcupine Tree and other artists in that vein. But other influences also pop up on occasion like the Soundgarden influenced "Feel Alive", or the Sigur Rós and Radiohead influences heard on some of the mellow melancholic parts of the album.

The album opens with the longest and probably most progressive song in "Swing of the Airwaves", and while Chapel visit progressive territories at other times during the album´s playing time, "Mute" isn´t the most progressive album out there. It focuses more on emotion, dynamics (heavy/mellow), and melancholy, and in that regard it´s a nicely atmospheric release. It´s an album which reeks professionalism in all departments. High level musicianship, a well sounding production job, and well written material. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)

It lacks the presence of a true drummer, and at some points suffers the absence of other musicians because despite Chapel does a very competent work, he is obviously limited at some points. Nevertheless, the production of the album is good and all the instruments sound crystal clear.

The album starts with The Perfect Symmetry, a long and intense track, with good atmospheric elements and fine vocals. Sadly the drums are too weak and towards the end the track is also too repetitive. Shine is an acoustic track, harder at the end. Not really progressive, but good nevertheless.

Shapphire contains a more modern sound, in a very North American style, especially at the chorus. It almost remembers me to Nickelback! I don't like this one, despite its intense final section. Naïve bring back the acoustic guitars, with a beginning which remembers me to Pearl Jam. After that we can hear some Devin Townsend influenced riffs and another pop-rock chorus.

Unspoken is very atmospheric, almost trip-hop. It has some resemblances with Riverside, and the interesting melodies make this song be one of the highlights of the album. Temple continues this trend with some Opeth-reminding guitars.

Empire is a mid-tempo with vocals which are too repetitive again. The voice of Chapel is nice, but his limited range makes the songs of Building an Empire a bit dull sometimes. Sand ends this album in a good way, being the longest and most progressive track of the album, despite the musical limitations of Chapel and the average musicianship.

Conclusion: if you like modern melancholic progressive rock in the vein of Riverside and Opeth, you can give this album a chance if you can stand the North American pop-rock influences in the style of Nickelback and similar acts that Chapel has.

The musicianship is good enough, and despite the repetitive long tracks the music is progressive enough to please the genre's fans. Good effort!

Best Tracks: The Perfect Symmetry, Unspoken, Sand.

My rating: ***

Yes, Demians is one of my favorite bands (one-man band of Nicola Chapel). Mercury is an intimate album, with short but very intenses tracks. A little heavy rock sound, but with an impeccable composition. I can not stop listening. The technical aspect of their sound would describe it as "homemade", something that has caught my attention when compared with the two previous works.

The only thing I miss is that their songs have left something progressive rock territory. But no matter. Definitely a good album, though in a different direction prior art.

Essentially it's a prog metal tinged alt-rock album, with moments of prog and some heavier bits more in the style of Porcupine Tree FOABP-era.

From the fast thumping of "Swing of the Airwaves" and "Feel Alive" to the epic sadness of "Black Over Gold" and "Falling From the Sun", this album has it all.

It may seem a bit weak from a progressive perspective. But for anyone who is a fan of melody, this is a must.

9/10

There seems to be two types of reviews on this site; one that praises the "alternative" style of singing that multi-talented Frenchman Nicholas Chapel performs with, creating a sort of accessibility to radio listeners who are usually unfamiliar to prog. Of course, there is the other who finds that obnoxious, a style of singing that's foreign to prog that only makes this album a hot mess.

Thankfully, I embrace both.

As a fan of symphonic prog, prog metal and power metal, I've had my fair share of tall, long (or short) haired blondies with falsetto pitches and high screams. Every now and then, I appreciate someone like Chapel who brings his "Puddle Of Mudd" voice to a "Porcupine Tree" party, if you will. Purely hypothetical, but take one listen to track one, "The Perfect Symmetry" and you can hear the slow elements of a Porcupine Tree, or a Riverside, an Oceansize, maybe even Tool. If you cut off the rising strings intro and piece the first and second halves together, you could easily make a four minute long radio edit for the airwaves.

Now, if you're also a fan of instrumental music like me and always wants exciting music to listen to such as a symphonic prog group or maybe even a jam band or two, this particular record may not be for you. You're not going to find sweeping synths and blistering guitar solos, but what you will find is a texture incomparable to any prog group I've ever heard. I can't even compare this to Tool or Porcupine Tree, because this is a disc all it's own. In fact, if you give a fan of, say, Nickleback or the Foo Fighters both Tool's "Undertow" and Demians' "Building An Empire" disc, chances are, he/she will probably listen to the Demians album (if not neither of them).

I'll be honest here, this particular sub-genre is boring as hell if it be not for some exciting or at least particularly interesting vocals and textures. Chapel's voice is sort of that fresh air commonly seen in monotonous, droning, boring British folks commonly seen in Shoegaze (particularly because the musicians always stare downwards at their shoes, hence the name).

If "The Perfect Symmetry" doesn't grab you right away, "Shine" should at least pique your curiosity. Few bands combine these elements of progressive textures and symphonic soundscapes with catchy verses and easily accessible vocals. If halfway through the track you don't start banging your head, you obviously don't like this subgenre of prog. "Shine" and "Naive" are probably the most accessible tracks, because, as previously stated, the vocals are there, the catchy verses are there and most of the droning, some would say boring, soundscapes are kept to a minimal, at least until tracks like "Sapphire" and "Sand".

At least for those who appreciate music not just for musicallity, but for texture, for construction and for the atmosphere it's created for, this is a masterpiece of music. After all, it was entirely recorded by a Frenchman, which till I discovered this disc, I'll admit, all French musicians made bad music.

(Obviously I have since retracted my previous statement.)

By chance a couple of years ago when I went to a festival, I bought some cd's there and the seller gave me a free CD of Demians "Building an Empire", it was curious because I didn't know about it, I actually thought to myself that it would be for sure some kind of metal band trying to be known. I was wrong, Demians have some metal tendencies, but the music is different, dynamic, interesting, so I liked that first album.

When I knew Nicolas Chapel (the man behind Demians) had released his second effort, I actually wanted to listen to it, and so I did it. The music of Demians is not the classic progressive rock, not at all, he creates a dynamic mixture of heavy/alternative prog, which is pretty good and can be actually enjoyed by anyone.

This second album entitled "Mute", released in 2010 features nine compositions and a total time of fifty minutes. It opens with "Swing of the Airwaves", a seven-minute piece which happens to be the longest track. A slow beginning that gradually progresses until the song reaches an explosion and turns heavier and emotional. Chapel's voice is pretty good, I like it and it really helps enjoying more the music, which is also great.

"Feel Alive" continues with that heavy/alt style, more heavy than alternative actually, but well the music here reminds me to some of those 90s bands. In the final minute there is a surprising and chaotic scream, power and sorrow are shared here. "Porcelain" sounds calmer and gentler, there is a nice piano all over the track, the drums are nice, the problem I have here is that in moments I feel the song too poppy, and even boring.

The following track entitled "Black Over Gold" has some depressive feeling, again a soft and slow beginning with piano and vocals. A couple of minutes later some post-rock like guitars appear along with drums and bass. The song is gradually progressing and creates a charm atmosphere. This may be a poppy tune, however I have enjoyed it much more than the previous track.

The guitars on "Overhead" reminded me a lot to one Porcupine Tree's track included in their "Lightbulb Sun", actually there are some moments on this track that really seem similar to the one I am quoting, which does not mean it is a copy, not at all, but I could think of PT as one of Demians influences.

"Tidal" is so far my least favorite track on Demians discography, fortunately it is the shortest song of this album. If you want a catchy song where you can sing, then choose this one, sorry Mr. Chapel, I did not like it at all. With "Rainbow Ruse" both the music and the mood changes, it has a piano on it and sounds more melodic, charming in moments. However, as Demians use to do, the music and mood (again) changes all of a sudden becoming heavier and more emotional.

"Hesitation Waltz" is pretty interesting, there is an intriguing yet tense atmosphere here, drums, bass lines and a soft voice. While the minutes pass there are some new elements that can be better appreciated with headphones, though the rhythm is practically the same, the textures and nuances offer a more exquisite song.

The album finishes with "Falling from the Sun", which is a melancholic track that once again remind me of Porcupine Tree, they have some closers songs like this.

Well, I like the album, there are a couple of songs I really loved, but honestly Building an Empire is by a wide margin my favorite, and I can say better than this. However, you can listen to it and have a good time. My final grade will be three stars.

Enjoy it!

With his debut album 'Building An Empire', Demians mastermind Nicholas Chapel impressed quite a few in the prog community, first and foremost being Steven Wilson, of Porcupine Tree fame. Endorsing the band and encouraging people to check them out, Demians got about as good a head start as one could hope for in the prog rock world. That being said, a great deal of hype boiled over the second album from this French project. With 'Mute', it's unfortunate to say that many with expectations of a 'masterpiece' will likely be disappointed by an album that rarely surpasses anything the debut offered.

This is not to say that 'Mute' is a bad album at all, just a bit short of the mark fans have set for it. Beginning on it's most memorable note, 'Swing Of The Airwaves' opens the album with a somewhat metal vibe, before developing into a soaring piece of art rock that sounds a bit like something Coldplay might put out these days. From there on, the pieces get progressively less interesting, although a handful of tracks like the raga-influenced 'Overhead' revive the interest by breaking out of the conventional songwriting. The last highlight here is the apparent epic, 'Hesitation Waltz', which builds up very steadily with some gorgeous string arrangements.

In terms of performance, everything here is done by Nicholas Chapel himself; extra musicians are only used in a live context. While no instrument is played at the level of a virtuoso, Chapel plays his songs tastefully, although his voice is very often the centre of attention. Vocally, he delivers quite well, although the singing rarely grabs the imagination. Instead, there is a run-of-the-mill presentation on songs that range from excellence to mediocrity. The only thing here that clearly triumphs over the first record is the production value, which have been raised in no small part due to all instruments being real performances, as opposed to virtually synthesized computer fill-ins.

All in all, the music here is rarely captivating, although my first impression with the music was quite a bit more positive. Along the journey however, many of the weaker songs do ultimately lose a considerable amount of their charm. Nicholas Chapel's Demians does not impress a great deal here, but 'Mute' does offer a few thrills along the way.

The music on the album is a kind of warm alternative progressive rock/ metal. Actually there are not that many "metal" parts on the album, but when they kick in you´re not in doubt that you´re listening to metal. I´d mention the more mellow part of Dream Theater´s repetoire and especially Enchant as infuential upon Demians sound. The other part of the band´s sound is rooted in alternative/ progressive rock in the vein of bands like Porcupine Tree, Gazpacho and A Perfect Circle. Nicholas Chapel´s voice has a pleasant and mellow quality to it. There´s a slight accent to his singing but it´s not a problem. Rather it´s a charming feature. Most of the album has a mellow and sligthly melancholic atmosphere that works magic if you ask me. This is not your usual busy progressive metal album with breakneck speed soloing and technical playing rather it´s an emotional journey that will take you to a soft and cozy place. The great thing is that the songs never get tiring even though they seldom break out in more energetic parts. Everything seem to have its place in the soundscape. That´s great compositional work. I adore the acoustic guitar work, the keyboard work and the warm vocals and harmony vocals by Nicholas Chapel which are just some of the great features on this album. I think he nailed how to make a mellow and emotional yet still rocking and in places heavy rock/ metal album, that´s interesting and entertaining throughout.

The first time I listened to the album I wasn´t aware that everything was being played and sung by just one person. Simply because there are no weak spots when it comes to the musicianship. Usually with one-man projects it´s audible which instrument or instruments that the musician is mostly used to playing or the vocals might not be top notch because the musician is mostly an instrumentalist and only secondly a vocalist, but that´s not the case with Nicholas Chapel. The man seems to play everything equally well and his vocal delivery is strong and personal. His considerable skills make for a very consistent and pleasant listening experience.

The production is warm and professional.

Building an Empire sits comfortably between being progressive metal and progressive rock and perfectly manages to be intriguing to fans of both genres. The album seldom gets too heavy for fans of the latter while it certainly offers up enough "metal" moments to still entertain the former. It´s a very hard balance to strike and I can only think of a few other acts that are able to do the same with similar success without sounding like they are forcing it ( bands like Porcupine Tree and Riverside). It´s so seldom that I´m surprised when I listen to an album by a new act but I have to admit that this one took me by surprise. A greatly enjoyable album fully deserving a 4 star rating.