BLIND DESTINY: Utopie Temporelle (PROGRESSIVE METAL): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

Blind Destiny first appeared in 2016 with a 4-track debut album, “Suffering Prison” (for 45 minutes of listening time), which showcased progressive metal that was as intriguing as it was adventurous. Sounds akin to Dream Theater blithely rubbed shoulders with jazz fusion. Despite this technical and melodic success, the French band from Le Havre disappeared from the radar before making a comeback eight years later with the release of “Utopie Temporelle”.

Progressive metal inevitably brings to mind the English language, and it was in this language that the band evolved on their first album. But as its title suggests, “Utopie Temporelle” has chosen French to share its mood. Vincent Courseaux's voice conveys rage (bordering on growl on 'Solitude' and 'Exode Mental') and anger, but also an edgy sensitivity that is pleasing to the ear, especially as the lyrics are quite well written. The singer, also a guitarist, doesn't try to copy the genre's models, and his interpretation is personal. Fair, sometimes hoarse, and touching. However, the band could do with lightening up their lyrics, as the flaws in their qualities can sometimes make the whole thing a little indigestible.

Having recently become a quartet, Blind Destiny have added a second guitarist (Mattias Eyherabide) to support Vincent Courseaux and provide a telluric foundation to their metal. The riffs are well calibrated, as evidenced by 'Résilience', 'L'arrivée', 'Dystopie' and 'Demain', on which the two guitarists sprint in parallel to the finish line. On bass, that devil Maxime Beaucé has everything it takes to earn a place alongside Mark King or Tony Levin. Andrea Moretti's metronome caresses us as much as it whips us with its precise and effective salvos.

If the foundation is metal prog, but the band is not inclined to close its window to all other sounds. There's a bluesy spirit on the introduction to the eponymous track, jazz on 'Exode Mental', and a few medieval sparks a la Opera Multi Steel on 'Solitude'. On 'Crépuscule Contradictoire' and its delirious lyrics (try putting the words “rillettes”, “canard” and “pinot noir” in a single rock song!) or on 'L'Équilibre' (with a strange acoustic solo in the middle of molten lava), Les Havrais play with calm moments and more frenzied ones. The 10 tracks spread over 50 minutes are more happily divided than on the first album, which sometimes lacked breathing space.

"Utopie Temporelle” is a wonderful discovery, bringing a French flavour to prog metal and injecting it with new blood. An album that will delight progressive metal and prog fans alike. - Official website

BLIND DESTINY

UTOPIE TEMPORELLE

AUTOPRODUCTION

PROGRESSIVE METAL