’Violin meets progressive metal!’’ That’s how violinist Olivier Allard describes the sound of CYDEMIND.
Mixing progressive rock, jazz, classical, and metal, Montreal-based CYDEMIND is a unique-sounding group, one we’ll surely be hearing much more from in the future. Influenced by such bands as Dream Theater, Symphony X, Haken, and jazzmen like Avishai Cohen and Tigran Hamasyan, CYDEMIND has a sound which appeals to a broad audience.
CYDEMIND’s first release, EP ‘Through Mists and Ages’, dates back to 2014. It is soon after this release that their first single ‘What Remains’ came out. After a writing period which allowed for the band to refine their sound, the quintet (violin, bass, piano, guitar, drums) came back with their first full-length album. Titled ‘Erosion’, its six tracks are centred around the idea of nature’s persistence through time. Epic is quite certainly the word here, with one track clocking in at an impressive 27 minutes.
CYDEMIND then diverted from the usual metal band musical trajectory in order to produce music for the indie video game “Navyblue and the Spectrum Killers”. The game was released in September 2018 and is available on Steam. In addition to composing the entirety of the game’s soundtrack, CYDEMIND also released two singles ‘Navyblue’ and ‘Lights of Iberia’ as bonus content for the game.
To further expand its musical soundscape and reach new audiences, the versatile band then released its first music video ‘Winter’ in March 2019. The single is an arrangement of Vivaldi’s ‘Winter violin concerto’ from the Four Seasons. Shot throughout various locations in Quebec, Canada, the video poeticizes the beauty of Canadian winters while emphasizing the band’s energetic performance.
Five years after the release of Erosion, the band just released their much anticipated second full-length album called The Descent. Musically and thematically darker than its predecessor, The Descent delves into the concept of obsessions and the abysses into which they can plunge the human mind. Cydemind’s The Descent is available on all digital platforms.
Name:
Cydemind – Olivier Allard (violin) answering the questions!
Genre:
Instrumental Progressive Metal
Founded:
2012
# of Albums:
2
Latest Album:
The Descent (November 2022)
Latest Single:
Hoax
Latest Video:
Favourite musician growing up:
Hard question but I will say Dream Theater
Favourite musician now:
Haken
Guilty pleasure song:
Final Countdown – Europe
Live show ritual:
I can’t think about one so I think that we have none really
Favourite local musician:
My favourite at the moment is Gabriel Cyr
EP or LP?
LP for sure!
Early bird or night owl?
Night owl
Road or studio?
Studio
Where can we follow you?
Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp | Linktree
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Rapid Fire Montréal Qs
Favourite local restaurant:
Pizzeria Napoletana
Favourite street in your city:
Mont-Royal. It’s full of life, with little restaurants and shops. In the summer it’s a pedestrian street so it’s very nice.
Favourite park in your city:
Jarry Park. Mainly because it’s near my place and there’s the Omnium Banque Nationale tennis tournament there every year
Favourite music venue in your city:
MTelus
Favourite music store in your city:
Steve’s Music
