Although sent to us as a cd-R, this is NOT exactly a private release from this French trio, as the album (their 4 th ) was released in France & Belgium through Bend Records (with distribution by Acropole Records in France and by CO D D istribution in Belgium)...already on September 11 th (symbolic, that?! Hahah)!

The band has been around since 1993, but the current line-up of lead singer/ guitarist Cindy Goloubkoff , lead singer/ guitarist/ machines operator Pierre Bouthemy , and bassist Patrice Abila (who wàs out for professional reasons between late 2002 and August 2005) only gelled in 1996, which the band itself sees as their real start. After plenty of gigs and a couple of demos (on which we could see the band develop from their Death/ Thrash origins into something finer), the band was finally signed by Black Lotus , who released their 1999 debut album "Shadoworld" , with music best described as (innovative & original) Atmospheric Death Metal. The album got nice reviews from the Metal press all over Europe and even in the rest of the world, and permitted the band to play some higher standard gigs in France, opening for the likes of Gojira , Hamlet (from Spain), DAB , Oversoul , Watcha , and more.

But the leap towards the current style of the band will only appear on Hypnosis 's 2 nd album, 2001's "Humanoid" (released by French label H.A.R./ Sacral Productions ). With material dubbed generally as "Cyber Death Metal", this was the album considered by the band as the foundation of their musical and artistic identity.

It's at this point in time that Patrice takes his sabbatical, and for a while the band is in some doubts, but then they start practicing again at the end of 2002, and at the beginning of 2003, they deliver the "Evilution" demo. Meant to promote the band's musical stylings all over the Metal scene, it was also a means in their search for a new label. Search to which comes an end when they sign to US label Crash Music . After   a couple of months of heavy rehearsals, the album "Cyber Death" is recorded in January 2004 (with Patrice playing the bass) for a june release. The band then finds Régis to replace Patrice , and is able to do the Cyber Tour 2004 , which ends up taking them through France, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, and Luxemburg in 23 gigs.

Back from that tour, the band starts writing material for their current album, and even though Régis left the band in February '05, the band still did 3 gigs of the Cyber   Metal Assault tour with French maniacs Lex Talonis . Then, Patrice came back, and the band could work on their new compositions again. By November, the band posted the message that the new album would not be issued through Crash Music , as the decision had been made to not produce the album themselves, but also to do the promotion and distribution. Recordings were started late January, with mastering in March, and by the end of April the band posted another message, in which they annaounced to be proud to have signed to Bend , with a pre-store release through the label's e-store starting laye May.

And well...the album eventually found its way into our mail-slot! A fact for which I am thankful beyond words, because the album (and the music included on the 9 tracks) is really something special. Announced to have songs that are darker, more technical and Progressive, I really have nothing to compare it with (as this is my introduction to the band), so why don't I just tell you what's on offer, eh? What you get is massive riffs with a dark undertone, great electronic drumming (hardly discernable from the real thing, except that occasionally they're absolutely inhumanely ferocious), and vocals that are quite diverse, as Cindy brings a nicely refreshing counterbalance with her melodic high-pitch, to Pierre 's Death growls. As far as Technical and Progressive are concerned, they're quite okay (more than just okay really, because they're excellent) The Cyber side of things has been minimalized somewhat this time around, though it's still present on some tracks with great synth runs. Mostly in the background, but ocasionally they take the main role, as alternatively the synths also bring atmospherical   parts in combination with more normal keyboard sounds.

To sum everything up, this is an album that should stand proud in the collection of any broader-minder Death Metal fan, simply because it is so different from the run-of-the-mill Death Metal combo's music! Why this band hasn't got a bigger deal yet, I'm at a loss to comprehend (especially since they've been around for so long!). To promote the album, the band already went on a 13-date tour through France ( gigs), Belgium (4 gigs saw them in Gent, Liege, Huy, and Longeau, meaning mostly the French part of our little country) and Luxemburg (1) during September, and they've already annaounced they'll head out on tour again next year. Maybe it's about time this French band comes "up North" a bit more, eh? About time the guys (and gal, let's not forget) show their faces around Flanders a bit more...as a step up to Holland and Germany...and whatever's beyond!

Me, I'm putting the album among my favourite Death albums of the year!

98/100

Tony.