{"id":148438,"date":"2025-09-20T01:11:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T01:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/148438\/"},"modified":"2025-09-20T01:11:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T01:11:09","slug":"review-thought-chamber-myst-of-lyriad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/148438\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Thought Chamber – Myst of Lyriad"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Published by Andy<\/a> on September 19, 2025September 19, 2025<\/p>\n

\"\"Artwork by: John Holland<\/p>\n

Style: progressive metal, progressive rock, heavy prog (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Threshold, Dream Theater<\/a>, Spock\u2019s Beard, Fates Warning
Country: United States
Release date: 22 August 2025<\/p>\n

I like nurturing my hyper macho persona of being the dissodeath and weird black metal guy here, far divorced from the effete prog of my past (and of my peers). But deep down, I\u2019m a prog guy at heart; just ask Sam or Sabrina\u2014I message \u2018em five times a week with some random 90s prog metal album nobody has ever heard of that I\u2019ve found from the depths of the underground. Thought Chamber aren\u2019t completely unremembered like some of the subterranean 90s gems I find1<\/a>, but they\u2019d fallen by the wayside, and most current prog metal fans certainly haven\u2019t heard of them unless they\u2019d gone deep down the rabbithole of searching for bands that sound like Dream Theater (that\u2019s how I found Thought Chamber years ago). Heck, I\u2019d even been considering writing a Lost in Time piece on their 2007 debut Angular Perceptions for years at this point but just haven\u2019t gotten around to it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So color me surprised when twelve years after the release of Psykerion and beginning with a continuation of that record\u2019s storyline, Thought Chamber are back in action with Myst of Lyriad, a record which had essentially no promotion at all. Made up largely of members of unsung early prog metal legends Enchant, that Myst of Lyriad is a relic of the past is unsurprising\u2014especially since composer Michael Harris is sixty-five years old. And this old dog and his troupe haven\u2019t learned any new tricks, with the only real difference sonically between Myst of Lyriad and 2013\u2019s Psykerion being the notable absence of Ted Leonard\u2019s (Enchant, Spock\u2019s Beard) distinctive tenor helming the band. In his steed is the formidable (on paper) trio of Travis Wills (Crimson Glory), John Jaycee Cuijpers (Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Arjen Luccasen\u2019s Supersonic Revolution), and Devon Graves (Psychotic Waltz). Together the three of them have more than enough pedigree in older prog metal bands to fit Thought Chamber\u2019s retro aesthetic\u2014although none deliver particularly stunning performances here, singing mostly simple, mid-range vocal lines\u2014yet one familiar with the group can\u2019t help but miss Leonard and his unique style of 90s prog metal crooning.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Sonically blurring the line between prog metal, prog rock, and the amorphous \u201cheavy prog\u201d of late 90s acts like Enchant, Magellan, and Ice Age, Thought Chamber are in the business of making Prog\u2122. Across the ten tracks on Myst of Lyriad, the band tries to invoke every emotion possible: those being shreddy, melodic, and ballad (y\u2019know, the three great modes of human emotion). They succeed at hitting those \u201cemotional\u201d notes but not much else at all. Melodically, Myst of Lyriad is full of hooks, yet none take; it\u2019s that frustrating feeling when you accidentally try and set the hook too early while fishing and the fish takes your bait and gets away. Listening to tracks like \u201cNew Dawn Sun Ride\u201d or \u201cHere Upon This Earth,\u201d (the latter of which is the highlight of the album with its modestly orchestrated buildup and flamenco), I can sense my brain nearly grasping onto a vocal line or riff, yet frustratingly nothing is memorable immediately after the instant gratification of \u201cooh saccharine melody.\u201d\u00a0 The main problem here is that the three vocalists are bland as hell\u2014no freaky falsetto notes, no charisma.<\/p>\n

The requisite ballad\u2014it is a 90s-style heavy prog album after all\u2014is thankfully relegated to just the penultimate track, \u201cNyctophobia.\u201d It\u2019s fine but, like so many ballads, feels superfluous, an extra six minutes that should have been trimmed for a leaner album. The most interesting asset of Thought Chamber\u2019s sound is their instrumental prowess. In any pause from singing, no matter how brief, the instrumental quartet goes off, particularly Michael Harris on guitar and Jeff Plant on bass, though Bill Jenkis\u2019 key-playing leads to some dramatic instrumental duels with the stringed instruments. Mike Hald holds down the fort perfectly with his drum playing by staying out of the way beyond inserting tasteful grooves and fills. The instrumentalists are in frequent conversation with each other, taking turns with phrasal call and responses, alternating who leads and follows. Perhaps the best example is the first track where, for lots of a largely jam-oriented ten minutes, Thought Chamber play alternating, little flurrying micro solos. It\u2019s fun and enjoyable while listening, but it doesn\u2019t make for memorable songwriting in this case.<\/p>\n

After Thought Chamber returned from the dead with only their longtime singer as a casualty, I had low expectations for Myst of Lyriad, and unfortunately I was right. On top of bland performances from a band that clearly wishes it were the 90s still, the production also hasn\u2019t updated itself from a bygone time, feeling oddly hollow with some really retro keyboard sounds\u2014but this isn\u2019t an authentic artifact of the time and feels inexcusable. Myst of Lyriad is a style of music I\u2019m deeply nostalgic for and love, but it\u2019s increasingly rare to find a band that still does it right in 2025. I could always write that Angular Perceptions Lost in Time, I suppose\u2026<\/p>\n

Recommended tracks: Myst of Lyriad, Shine Again, Here Upon This Earth
You may also like: Enchant, Shadow Gallery<\/a>, Magellan, Ice Age<\/a>, Redemption, Psychotic Waltz, Hourglass<\/a>
Final verdict: 5\/10<\/p>\n

Related links: Facebook<\/a> | Metal-Archives<\/a><\/p>\n

Label: Lion Music \u2013 Facebook<\/a> | Official Website<\/a><\/p>\n

Thought Chamber is:
\u2013 Michael Harris \u2013 guitars, keyboards, vocals
\u2013 Mike Haid \u2013 drums
\u2013 Jeff Plant \u2013 bass
\u2013 Bill Jenkins \u2013 keyboards
\u2013 Travis Wills \u2013 lead vocals
\u2013 Devon Graves \u2013 lead vocals
\u2013 Jaycee Cuijpers \u2013 lead vocals<\/p>\n

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