YSMA was founded in founded in Munster, Germany, in 2009. An instrumental Progressive Rock/Metal quintet, YSMA has released two previous albums, with a ride array of influences and sounds. "Memoirs In Monochrome" is their third, and contains seven new tracks. "Chroma (Intro)" shows ambient mastery and the ability to layer many varying sounds while not losing the core of the song. The guitar and key melodies are really quite pretty, with surprising key changes at areas that you might not expect. Building darkness throughout into a crescendo, it ends something you might hear at the finale of a classical song. "30 Doradus" is a nearly twelve minute song with more key, meter and chord changes than the average mathematician could keep up with. The better part of the melody comes from the piano notes but the bass and guitar are not lacking. At times you are hearing a free flowing exchange of instruments, while other times a clear pattern of sweetened notes and elegant harmonies. Some of the harder and darker passages here remind me of early OPETH work.

"Lost In Distant Shimmers" is delicate and ethereal, blowing on your face like a cool breeze on a warm day. Though the unabashed melody leads the way, there is also a meaty edge to the track that adds in some more gloomy elements and commanding sound. "The Glassblower, Part I & II" is another lengthy piece. It has several contending parts, though when you hear them all in sequence you have an understanding of their connectedness, into a track that needed the amount of time that it has. Anything shorter and the meaning is lost. It runs through a flood of emotionally invoking cues, and the legato passages stimulate the endorphins in your brain that make you feel naturally high. "Silhouettes" is just stunningly resplendent. The simple melodies are pulsing in front of you, so close that you can reach out and touch them. But, the opposing passages go deep and heavy, thwarting the light with staccato strikes that you can feel in your gut. The ending is like watching a sunset alive with colors of orange, pink, red and purple over an infinity of sparkles on the ocean.

"Implosions" is heavier from the start, though that piano and acoustic guitar still provides that thread of gold silk that runs through the fabric, shimmering in the light. An implosion is the process by which an object is destroyed by collapsing in/within itself. It is most commonly referred to in the context of a star. What is audible when this happens? How does the matter just seem to disappear? These might be questions that there is a detailed scientific explanation for, however as a lay person I prefer to just think of it as something magical, as I hear when I listen to this track. "Debirs (Outro)" brings this journey to an end, unfortunately. Strings abound, in a dance with acoustic guitars, and atmospheric bliss. Bright dreams are whispered in your ear from an angelic voice.

It is truly difficult to find the words to bring this album to justice. "Memoirs In Monochrome" is a ravishing mosaic of transcendence that is singularly unique and as emotionally moving as anything I have heard in while. Complex timing, musicianship, rhythmic punches and use of melody and ambient passages are what bring this album to shine. Imagine being able to view all the marvels of the universe...all the clusters of brightly colored stars and gasses that exist in the far reaches of space. I see this in my head when I listen to the album. It's an awe-inspiring work of art that you simply must hear.