Humanoid
Remembering Universe

2008 was a more than positive year for progressive metal releases. Among the greats, artists such as Ayreon, Andromeda, Evergrey, and Cynic returned to the scene. But last year wasn't just about big comebacks; among the emerging artists, the arrival of the Canadian band Humanoid on the market is also noteworthy.
The band was formed last year in Montreal, Quebec, by guitar hero Mathieu Marcotte (formerly with Augury), accompanied for the occasion by bassists Dominic Lapointe (fretless and 4-string bass, collaborated with Augury and Quo Vadis), CaotH on a 9-string bass (affiliated with Unexpect) and Neuraxis drummer Tommy McKinnon.

"Remembering Universe," this is the title of the first full-length by the Canadian quartet, consists of eleven instrumental tracks, ranging in length from the 47 seconds of "Visions Made Of Glass" to the 6 minutes and 47 seconds of "Passages Part IV (Forms)," spanning from Gordian Knot-style progressive to the purest ambient.
Technically, the musicians deliver a superior level performance: starting from the guitars, true queens of the album, through the bass parts, to the drums, no criticism can be made of the work done, neither from a purely performance standpoint nor from an emotional one.
The songs maintain a very calm mood and within them, one rarely encounters excessively cadenced or sharp rhythms, just as the riffs move on equally delicate and relaxing grounds. Starting from the first, beautiful, "The Quest Begins" one notes how Marcotte (project creator) was fascinated by the ambient touch of Ulver: indeed, the song brings to mind the work of the Norwegian group at the time of the EPs "Silence Teaches You How To Sing" and "Silencing The Teaching." It's on a purely Ulver-style base that the delicate notes of the acoustic guitar appear in the finale, paving the way for the second track "Passages Part I (Eidetic Memory)." In this case, the music is stripped of the ambient component, presenting itself much closer to that Gordian Knot-style progressive previously mentioned. Opened by a guitar and bass duet, introducing the main musical theme that will be repeated as a backdrop for all 6 minutes and 6 seconds, the song introduces modest and sober distortions for the first time, giving the piece more of a metal soul.
Continuing to listen to the album, one cannot help but be fascinated by the sweet melodic lines of tracks like the short "Navigating Towards An Unknown Region," just 2 minutes and 38 seconds, in which Mathieu once again amazes and delights the listener with his acoustic guitar.Among the more metallic episodes, we highlight the third part of "Passages", named "Passages Part III (Exoplanet)," one of the few tracks that also features drums and where the guitar distortions become more aggressive.

Few are the flaws that can be attributed to the album, among which the listening difficulty stands out: the structures of the tracks present within the LP are indeed intricate and complex, often difficult to assimilate. It is also noted that there is no voice to guide the listener on the journey embarked upon once the play button is pressed.
When it comes to the more technical part, there are no criticisms to be made about the production: the sounds of the instruments are clear, just as the volumes of the instruments seem meticulously calibrated, making everything very balanced.
In summary, this "Remembering Universe" is an album capable of drawing inspiration from the work of other great bands, reworking it, making it its own, and making it recognizable in a sea of releases.

Tracklist:
1-"The Quest Begins"
2-"Passages Part I (Eidetic Memory)"
3-"Passages Part II (Leaving)"
4-"Conciousness Of The Universe"
5-"Navigating Toward An Unknown Region"
6-"Unearth Treasures"
7-"Lunar Nostalgia"
8-"Passages Part III (Exoplanet)"
9-"Passages Part IV (Forms)"
10-"Visions Made Of Glass"
11-"Fragment"

Line-up:
Mathieu Marcotte - Electric guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, classical guitar
Domenic Forest Lapointe - Fretless bass
KaotH - 9-string bass
Tommy McKinnon - Drums