Quebecois progressive-fusion label Unicorn Records tosses forth a group that indulges in both styles, sometimes at once. Hailing from France, Alkemy is a promising new band, and Da 63 Projekt is a promising new album. Guitarist Aurélien Budynek also sings [in English] for this quartet of fusionaries, and while his voice isn't amazing nor amazingly bad, some tracks may have been better off as instrumentals. Keyboard jockey Aurélie Martin cops quite a few solid lines on the dexterous end of the spectrum, but considering the band he's playing in, some nice analog/digital synth sounds would have balanced the cartloads of electric & acoustic piano that dominate throughout. While Martin, bassist Philippe Sifre and drummer Lionel Bertrand faithfully find themselves in elliptical orbits 'round Budynek's lead guitar role, they demonstrate ample chops and even take moments to funk things up, as with the opener "Underwater." Rock is the soup of the day, however, and that's what the majority of these eleven tracks do. Cues from both Return To Forever and Dream Theater assimilate into new guidepoints on the awkwardly-titled "Sick Seekers," which finds Martin punching in his organ sound. Bertrand's approach is mildly Zonderrific and he & Sifre play a good chunk of the more interesting stuff, in spite of Budynek's crunchy leads. One instrumental, "Inner Pulse," supplies an interesting Moraz-esque keylead, and another, "Turtle Soup," makes a swell showcase for Budyneck's jazzified axework. In all, not bad. Not bad, at all. Let's see what they cook up next.
Track Listing:
1. Underwater 6:08
2. Turtle Soup 5:56
3. On The Very Day 5:07
4. Sick Seekers 6:28
5. Leaving Future (Part 1) 2:46
6. Leaving Future (Part 2) 6:18
7. Within My Prism 6:32
8. First Person Dreamer 5:25
9. Different Looks 5:21
10. Inner Pulse 5:24
11. My Eyes 8:00
Total time: 63:25
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