Artist: Nebuleyes Album: Divine Revolution Label: Self-Released Website: http://www.nebuleyes.com Reviewer: Chris Piccirillo

Track List: Révolution Divine (32:15) Endorphine et Placenta (8:34) Digitaline (4:55) Elixir (10:06) The French guitar duo of Xavier Boscher and Benjamin Masson present the album “Revolution Divine”, the story of “divine pilgrimage around "Miranon the Erotoman"'s solar system”. The band also describes this CD as “New and stellar music. The story of the album will take you into a cosmic and revolutionary journey from which you will not come back unemotioned [sic]...”. The first track, Révolution Divine is an epic piece, clocking in at over 30 minutes, separated into 10 movements named after solar system components. This song is very much in the style of Fates Warning meets Dream Theater, with a splash of Iron Maiden for good measure. The requisite guitar wizardry is here, as well as the Jim Matheos school of single note riffs over menacing keys and chords bringing a sense of uneasiness and darkness to the material. The vocals however are sung in French, in varied tones, ranging from spoken word to full, melodic sections. The, for lack of a better term, more “aggressive” vocals aren’t my favorite and while I appreciate the technique of varying vocal styles, the cleaner vocals are far superior and strong. The title track runs a bit long and meanders in parts but manages to stay engaging with different feels (minor to major, tempo and vocal style changes). Also, there isn’t a lot of recurring themes/parts to tie the song together making it seem more suited to separate tracks of an overall thematic suite. I’d also like to have the tracks indexed individually as opposed to one large 31 minute song, but that’s just me being picky. The second and other vocal track on the album Endorphine et Placenta treads the same ground as the title track musically, (and since I don’t speak French, I can’t comment on the lyrics and storyline…) with time changes, varied tempos and great guitar solos. The second half of this song contains a great acoustic section that unfortunately is diminished by an absolutely piercing triangle or beeping sound in the foreground. Too bad, because this grooving, organic sounding section is pretty great. The 2 remaining tracks on the CD are instrumental and the first of these, Digitaline begins with a latin feel with acoustic guitars and a distorted lead. This is the shortest of the tracks and is my favorite from the disc. It sounds similar, yet has a different feel from anything else on this CD and is a tribute to the skill of the musicians. Wild changes in styles and approach make this song a winner. The last song, Elixir is a true case of hit or miss for me. There are some sections that I really enjoy but some that I do not, obviously. I realize that these guys have a very distinct writing style, but it is almost too evident here. One of the best parts of this track is the wonderful piano-lead section, but just as it gains momentum, it’s swept away by a heavy section. The ensuing Dream Theater-esque solo section showcases the guitarists ability and is one of my favorites. The production on this album is that of quality. It never really sounds like a self-released project, attributing that to the excellence of home recording setups these days. The instruments all sit in the mix well and while the programmed drums have a bit of a mechanical tone, the programming itself and the parts played are excellent. These guys have a future in prog metal, and they are currently working on an all English language album, with a new female vocalist. Musicians: Xavier Boscher: Guitar, bass, clavier, programming and vocals Benjamin Masson: Guitar and vocals Sandrine Millet: Vocals Guests: Renaud Camiglieri – Bass solo on “Révolution Divine”