R
ecorded at New Jersey’s ProgStock festival in
2019, Forging Nations
LIVE! illustrates why The Cyberiam are among the most promising new progressive metal acts around. Most of their selftitled debut LP is replicated here, including opener Alice In Afterland, whose seamless blend of soft and heavy arrangements recalls the catchiness and poignancy of Rush in their prime. There’s also the radiofriendly The Fall, the simultaneously sinister and majestic The Historian, and the hyperactive funk of My Occupation. However, it’s 2019’s 21-minute epic
The Butterfly Effect that steals the
show. Broken into five movements, it’s a thoroughly compelling voyage that shuffles through hectic and spacey passages with ease. Along the way, it channels mainstays Fates Warning, Tool and Dream Theater while also demonstrating
plenty of individuality.