Review LYBICA ‘Lybica’

The fact that time and creativity are closely interwoven is evident these days through a variety of new albums that might never be made if not by putting a stop to the usual. Distraction always leads to something new and here we have a good example.

Lybica is a band that is the brainchild of Justin Foley. The drummer, known from Killswitch Engage, realized in 2020 that many of the plans came to a halt or paused due to lockdowns. However, Foley didn’t want to sit still and wait for normal life to pick up again. For this reason, he began sharing some of his song ideas that didn’t fit into the usual concept of the mothership with a few friends in Florida. This was the beginning of Lybica.

The collaboration with Doug French and Joey Johnson has resulted in a debut album that is well worth listening to. ‘Lybica’ is a pure instrumental record that doesn’t need vocals either. Those would rather interfere with the carefully crafted guitar melodies.

The quartet manages with songs like the impressive closing track ‘Charyou’ to create an emotional soundscape that has depth and substance. Lybica bundle an emotional expression which leads to excellent songs like ‘Resonance’. Sometimes in the field of post-rock and consistently progressive, Forley and bandmates manage to create appealing music with always new twists providing excitement and entertainment. Thereby the quartet also goes to work with metallic heaviness like in ‘Oktavist’, while ‘Ferment’ expresses a melancholic gloom.

With Lybica, the song is the star. It is not about lyrics and words, but about the impact that music unleashes. It has the potential head game, an individual story that unfolds while listening to these nine songs. This album is absolutely worth listening to.