From their record label’s website, “Progressive metal juggernaut CYPHER emerges from the United Arab Emirates, prepared to conquer the world with their self-titled EP, signed to label Wormholedeath. Their sound falls within the realm of Progressive Metal and is heavily influenced by modern progressive metal, Djent, and touches of black and death metal. Each track on their EP is a testament to their diverse influences and musical prowess.” The EP has four songs. “Marker’s Clone” is first. The music is solid…heavy, shifting rhythms are met with deft hands and there is a darkness hanging in the air. The harsh vocals fit the music quite well, but the cleans are just a little pitchy. “Relativity of Existence” begins with smoother tones, and the cleans are better here. Thick bass notes saunter in, followed by weighted rhythms in the guitars with a distinct pace. Again, the harsh vocals seem to work a little better with the music that is presented.  I get both ominous and dreamy tones here.

“Vacuous Beings” has a sharper and more dangerous edge that comes out of the shadows and roars forward without warning. When the music quiets, you can feel a sense of calm, even know there is tension in the air, and this holds the listener in suspension.  “Digital Vortex” closes the album, and it leaps forward with weight and aggression, but it’s tempered smartly with gentler passages. The songwriting is solid and the band works in a lot of different elements into the song. Overall, the music is excellent, but again, the clean vocals are just a bit pitchy. The trade-off with the harsh vocals makes perfect sense, because it provides a contrast. The Progressive elements in the shifting meter are handled expertly by the band, and this is a promising effort from the quintet.