‘’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 uniquely 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 centered 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. ‘Erosion’ was released with critical acclaim :
“Cydemind has […] presented what will easily be among the top prog metal albums of the year…” Metal Underground
“Cydemind have an excellent album on their hands with ‘Erosion’.” – Progressive Music Planet
“Allard’s playing is by turns dizzyingly nimble and achingly plangent, and the band – park the showboating and pull relentlessly in the same coherent, melodic direction“. – Prog Magazine
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 their 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.
Always looking for novel and rewarding experiences, Cydemind then collaborated in producing the soundtrack for the post-apocalyptic contemporary theater play ‘’The Employees’’, which was performed in various theaters throughout Canada during the 2021-2022 theater season.
Cydemind won the 3rd prize at the Imagination Song Contest, hosted by Blind Guardian, for their violin interpretation of Bright Eyes.
Five years after the release of Erosion, the band are releasing 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 will be out on November 4th 2022 on all digital platforms.
In addition to their significant recording experiences, the band has performed numerous times throughout the Montreal area since 2011 in such venues as the Foufounes Électriques, the Katacombes, the Plaza Theater, and others. In 2017, they also directed the first edition of Proggy Nights in Canada, a small tour gathering 3 Canadian prog bands in Quebec City, Montreal and Toronto.
The band is composed of Olivier Allard (violin), Alexandre Dagenais (drums) Nico Damoulianos (Bass), Camille Delage (piano & keyboards) and Kevin Paquet (guitars). Olivier holds a PhD in violin performance from the University of Montreal, while Camille graduated from the classical piano program at CEGEP St-Laurent in Montreal.