TURBULENCE - Frontal

TURBULENCE

Album: Frontal

Genre: Progressive Metal

Release Date: March 12th, 2021

Country: Lebanon

Label: Frontiers Records

Band-Links: WEBSITE / LINKTREE / TWITTER / INSTAGRAM / FACEBOOK

Lebanon is probably not the first country that comes to mind when thinking about progmetal, but of course, excellent bands can be found all over the world. Founded in 2013 by keyboardist Mood Yassin as well as guitarist and main songwriter Alain Ibrahim, who is also part of cinematic progact OSTURA, the quintet TURBULENCE got some well-deserved attention with their previous work, and now released their second album “Frontal” on March 12th, 2021 via Frontiers Records.

The album is a musical, emotional journey, showing how vulnerable life can be, and offers moments of despair, pain or confusion, but also of strength and human triumph. The concept behind is based on the true story of construction worker Phineas Gage, who - against all odds - survived an accident which left him forever physically and mentally changed, after an iron rod, driven through his head, destroyed much of his left “frontal” lobe. The cover artwork visualizes the background in an abstract way.

“Inside the Gage” is an 11-minutes opener in best prog manner: TURBULENCE take their time to develop the music by weaving beautiful soundscapes, come up with several changes in tempo, and give a first impression of Alain Ibrahim’s virtuoso guitar playing, Mood Yassin’s mesmerizing keyboard skills, as well as the expressive vocal performance of Omar El Hajj. The rhythm section with drummer Sayed Gereige and bassist Anthony Atwe supports the song perfectly with their varied playing, but it’s during the following “Madness Unforeseen” where they all come up with their whole, incredibe range. The track always blows my mind and can easily end on permanent repeat.

“Dreamless” is the shortest song on “Frontal” and simply beautiful with its melancholy, slowing things down for a moment, before drums and orchestration lead to the incredible “Ignite”. You can feel the rage breaking through at the beginning, expressed in the music and the vocals. While the song moves forward, they alternate between more thoughtful and angry moments. “A Place I Go to Hide” is another prog highlight and shows once more their amazing song-writing abilities and musicianship.

The following “Crowbar Case” opens with a peaceful piano melody, then the rest of band kicks in with full power, just to change mood and tempo again. There's a lot to discover into their music, and it's this kind of creativity that stands out for me. “Faceless Man” is the only song I couldn’t fully connect with, but it fits into the context of course, and mainly lives by the great vocals. The album ends with the touching “Perpetuity”, where they pick up the main theme once more in variations.

Music is an incredible gift to express all kind of emotions, and TURBULENCE manage to bring in a wide range of them here. The lyrics follow the concept, but also can be transferred into an individual context. Music-wise, everything fits perfectly together, from the complex, yet accessible song-writing and the excellent technical skills of all musicians to the well-balanced production. This is progmetal at its finest, with songs evolving like waves to carry the listener away. For me, “Frontal” revealed its magic more and more with every spin, and is for sure one of this year’s exciting discoveries.

Written by Katha