QUANTUM SPHERE

As can be expected by the name Quantum Sphere, this album is extremely technical, instrumental progressive metal, following in the vein of great bands like Planet X. This piece is extremely heavy and ridiculously rhythmically complex. The incorporation of jazz elements and spacey keyboards is quite pleasing, making Pyjama Boy more than "just a guitar album." However, as you can figure out after just a few seconds of listening, Quantum Sphere is all about the insanely technical riffing. This doesn't mean that the compositions aren't pleasing; all the opposite would be true. If you listen carefully you'll notice that each piece actually is pretty unique and that it isn't just a bunch of guys who decided together to show off their jobs through a mind (and ear) bending blend of jazz fusion meets Meshuggah. If I had one small complaint, it's that the drum production makes the kit seem like it's programmed. I'm guessing that they used replacement on a lot of the drums to give them punchier sound, but who knows. In the end, you start getting into the compositions, like I did, and it won't really bother you at all. Overall, The Space Adventures of a Pyjama Boy is a very solid album for those of you who like technical fusion metal. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of that genre, I still found this album extremely enjoyable. You can has one too!

This is the debut album from UK trio Quantum Sphere, who begin to dream back in 2009. Only two years later, their first child entitled "The Space Adventures of Pyjama Boy" saw the light. The music they offer is rich, taking elements of metal, and combining it with jazz and some symphonic prog that give as a result a solid instrumental album. It contains nine compositions that make a total time of 44 minutes.

It kicks off with "The Space Adventures of Pyjama Boys" in which the power is shared and can be felt since the very first seconds. Fast rhythm, excellent technique and a very nice keyboard background (I ignore who plays keyboards here, it does not appear in the credits). "The Formax Void" continues with the clear metal tendency, but here they implement some delicate piano notes that touches its jazziest side. The music is very well crafted and exposed, it is evident they are trained and talented musicians. I like where guitar and piano talk to each other and give us a cool passage. After five minutes there is a short moment where peace and beauty appear, letting aside the power and metal created by metal. Nice!

"Fractal Dimensions" perfectly combines metal with rock and jazz, and even with some post-rock touches (very few). Honestly the name of Planet X came to my mind since the very first time I listened to this record, I am afraid they are one of Quantum Sphere's main influences. "Perplexia" has a piano start that emphasizes even more their jazzy tendencies. Later the strings and drums enter and together begin to build up a structure; the guitar plays in odd time signatures, making some pauses that last for a split second and later after three minutes it produces a riff, which is answered by keyboards.

"Interplanetary Probe" continues with the same style, now it is evident that Quantum Sphere has found its own sound, inspired by some older acts of course, but with their personal touch. "Error" is one of my favorite tracks of this album. I love how it starts with fast piano notes that produce a sense of tension and nervousness, and I love how later drums, bass and guitar join and together create an extraordinary picture, where the slightest element is essential to the song's success. This track perfectly flows, and introduces you to the Quantum Sphere planet.

The last three songs are pretty similar, even in length since the three of them are in the four minute mark. "Tachyon Pulse Induction Protocol" shows once again their musichanship, their evident skills as composers and performers. In "Amastia" the odd time signatures are shown with the guitar, while a delicate piano-like appears as background, creating this pretty cool progressive-metal-djent sound. And finally "Attack Ships on Fire off the Shoulder of Orion" starts soft but after half a minute it explodes and begins to form the final structure. It progresses, adds new elements and shoots us with some nice keyboard and guitar solos.

I liked this album, and as I've mentioned, the quality of these musicians is unquestionable, however, in moments I felt it a bit repetitive, but that may be because I am not really into this kind of music. I know the band would expect a higher rating, the deserve it, but to me, this is a three-star album.

Enjoy it!

'The Space Adventures of Pyjama Boy' - Quantum Sphere (8/10)

Though outsiders to the styles may profess that the combination of metal and jazz music seems strange and unorthodox, I have been hearing more and more new bands that fit the bill. As far as the 'prog' scene goes, these bands take the form of a most often instrumental rendition of Dream Theater-style progressive metal, with the complex chordcraft and leadwork of jazz. Quantum Sphere narrow their sound further with a rhythm section inspired by math metal titans Meshuggah; a trend that's swept through many newer acts. Although Quantum Sphere have chosen a pretty crowded style to express themselves with on 'The Space Adventures of Pyjama Boy', they do have one thing going for them that still feels rare in the field: charm. Despite not quite lifting themselves out of the sea of technically proficient prog-fusion I have heard lately and setting their sound apart from the others, Quantum Sphere are in no short supply of potential.

As one might get from the album's name, Quantum Sphere don't take themselves too seriously. Suffice to say, 'The Space Adventures of Pyjama Boy' is not going to be the title of anyone's doctoral thesis (unless it's a flippin' awesome doctoral thesis!) but their tongue-in-cheek attitude does not hold them back from delivering a wallop on the technical side of things. Although Quantum Sphere's core is the Dream Theater-style progressive metal that emphasizes odd time signatures and plenty of lead work, the math metal 'djent' of Meshuggah plays a bigger role than I would have first imagined. While guitarist Joe Pearson dabbles around with jazz-laden prog metal-odies, bassist Greg Knox and drummer Matt Smith get some very rhythmic grooves going on. Although it is none of the musicians' primary instrument, the keyboard plays a big role in shaping the mood of 'Pyjama Boy's journey. The tribute to the sci-fi masterpiece Blade Runner 'Attack Ships on Fire off the Shoulder of Orion' showcases the technical wonder of the band, though the band keeps a healthy dose of spacey atmosphere to stave off becoming an ego contest.

Quantum Sphere have a more promising sound than most of the prog-metal-fusion bands I have heard coming out in recent years, and even as they are now, the band exude excellence with this full-length debut. With that being said, 'The Space Adventures of Pyjama Boy' leaves some room to grow. It would be interesting to see the band flesh out their sci-fi leanings a little more, and perhaps accentuate some of the atmospheric trends they bring forth in the music. As it stands, Quantum Sphere is residing in an overcrowded style of technically proficient soundalikes, but if anything, it will be their quirk and willingness not to take things completely seriously that will see them through.