ALBUM REVIEW: Lybica – Lybica

South Florida’s LYBICA aren’t what you’d expect of them. Formed by KILLSWITCH ENGAGE drummer Justin Foley (except this time he’s on guitar) when he realised in 2020 that things wouldn’t be normal for a while, he decided to find a new creative outlet. That new outlet, named after the African wildcat and featuring some eye-catching cover art, is in fact an instrumental, progressive post-metal outing. Sitting somewhere between the dreamy soundscapes of CASPIAN and the thunderous RUSSIAN CIRCLES with the occasional nod thrown to COLDBONES, their self-titled debut mixes those softer moments with churning heaviness to – mostly – good results. 

The biggest problem with instrumental music is that far too many bands forget to make other parts interesting without any vocals; again for the most part, LYBICA do avoid this. Opener Ascend sets out serenely, floating in on minimalist guitars. It’s the closest they get to that dreamier CASPIAN sound, a slowly pulsing rhythm grounding some gorgeous guitar melodies. Its follow-up Resonance takes almost exactly the opposite approach and delves far more into those heavier pastures, the opening feedback and pounding toms setting the scene for a hell of a ride.

Palatial then throws some off-kilter patterns in as it twists and turns; while it’s good, it’s also unfortunately reminiscent in those moments of a less interesting MOUNTAIN CALLER. Oktavist brings the riffs in spades as LYBICA tear through its five minutes of prog-thrash glory, though once again those MOUNTAIN CALLER comparisons rear their head. It’s unfortunately around this midway point that they start to lose their way. Ferment is lethargic at best and outright boring at worst, Manifest is that 90s to early 00s pseudo-grunge, sitting uncomfortably between that and alt rock without touching on the more memorable bits of either, while Linnaeus is a tacked on 50-second detour through very little.

Thankfully, Voltaic does manage to pick the pace back up and grab interest again but even on a 40-minute album, it’s coming a little too late, and even on such a short song it meanders a little too long before the COLDBONES-esque wall of sound hits after a minute. The lead guitar is soaring and the bass riff offers a rumbling counterpoint, but it’s again all too short. Thankfully, closer Charyou is another high point, going on a tour through every mood and soundscape LYBICA have explored until now. 

The biggest problem with Lybica as an album is its sagging middle thanks to inconsistent writing. There are plenty of moods and sub-areas of instrumental prog and post-metal explored, from those CASPIAN climes of the opener to churning, RUSSIAN CIRCLES-esque chugs and much more in between, but it’s not always carried off with aplomb. That said, there’s certainly an amount of leeway due with it only being their debut, and the highs are grandiose and compelling. If LYBICA do keep going, album two will hopefully refine those rougher edges and be a real leap forward for the band. 

Rating: 6/10

Lybica is set for release on September 16th via Metal Blade Records.

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