Karcius’ Latest LP Is Among 2026’s Most Unique Hard Rock/Metal, Independent Albums Yet

By: Philip Sayblack | Phil's Picks

Early this month, prog-rock band Karcius released its latest album, Black Soul Sickness to audiences.  Released independently, the 45-minute record is unquestionably a presentation that must be heard in order to be fully appreciated.  The third record in a trilogy started in 2018 with The Fold and continued in 2022 with Grey White Silver Yellow & Gold, it stands out in large part through its featured musical arrangements.  The lyrical content that accompanies that content is unique in its own way as is the sequencing of the overall content.  Each item noted is important in its own way to the whole of this presentation.  All things considered they make Black Soul Sickness a presentation that is equally interesting as an introduction for new audiences and continuation for established audiences.
Black Soul Sickness, the recently released latest album from prog-rock/metal act Karcius, is an interesting new offering from the independent act.  Its interest comes in no small part through its featured musical arrangements.  The arrangements featured throughout this seven-song record are the absolute heaviest compositions that the band has crafted to date, continuing an evolution that honestly started in 2012 in the band’s then latest album, The First Day.  Up to that point, the music that the band had composed was largely full-on experimental music that blended elements of prog with jazz and even some World Music elements.  At the end of The First Day, though that started to change and was increasingly notable with each record from there, peaking with 2022’s Grey White Silver Yellow & Gold. That is until now.  Throughout the course of this album, listeners can hear influences of Dream Theater and Redemption, which is fronted by Tom Englund (who also fronts Silent Skies and Evergrey).  Right from the album’s outset, ‘Wallow,’ audiences will hear those influences, from the vocals to the richness of the overall instrumentation.  The production presented here really gives that whole that familiar sound and feel.  As a matter of fact, thanks to the production, expertly aligning the vocals and instrumentation, audiences might even think front man/bassist Sylvain Auclair’s vocals are right there with those of Englund.  The use of the keyboards alongside the rhythm section throughout throw back to early Dream Theater while the rest of the song throws in those Redemption comparisons.  The whole is a work that is fully engaging and entertaining.
The Redemption comparison continues throughout the rest of the record from here, as are the Dream Theater comparisons.  Drummer Thomas Brodeur’s work behind the kit – that ability to so easily handle what feels like some polyrhythmic patterns at times – is impressive to say the very least.  At the same time, guitarist Simon L’Esperance adds his own impressive touch to each song, showing putting his talents on full display from one song to the next.  The group’s work from beginning to end makes the record’s musical body a strong starting point for this record.
While the musical foundation of Black Soul Sickness is reason enough for audiences to take in the album, it is just part of what makes the album worth taking in.  The album’s lyrical presentation makes for its own interest.  That is because from one song to the next, the lyrical content is even more unique in its presentation.  According to information announcing the album’s release, the album’s lyrical content is “a haunting and cinematic odyssey through the fragile architecture of the human psyche.”  In other words, it would seem that perhaps the album is a concept record.  At least that is this critic’s interpretation.  The opening song, which spans 11 movements and a total run time of 13 minutes, 28 seconds (it is also the album’s longest song), finds a subject who apparently is struggling with a lot of mixed thoughts and emotions.  At one point, the subject states, “It’s here with me/Now in death/A soul not free/Is pleasure what you seek/Is pleasure what you take?/Leave me alone/You’re not the same/This is so wrong/Is this what I deserve/Is this what we deserve/Baby girl?”  The “baby girl” is apparently the subject’s daughter.  So, there is some family tension there.  As the song progresses, one assumes that the daughter addresses her father, saying, “And though I can’t escape the hollow of your face/Crawl in slowly/Closer/And find your way/Your finger on my spine.”  Again, here is a sense of something not great there between parent and child perhaps.  The rest of the song continues in similar lyrical fashion.  Again, there is a lot of metaphorical language herein that is sure to get audiences thinking and talking after the fact.
The album ends in pretty tough fashion in ‘Dusting My Coat.’  Right from the song’s outset, the song’s subject sings, “On the down side/At the end of the line/Looking back on what we had/All the blessings/All we could have done right/There’s no way to save it now/All the words we’d wished we said/Oh, the fun we could have had/Time to leave it all behind/Dusting my coat/And I’ll join you/Walking those last few miles/One final wish/And I’ll be there/One final push/To be high/Rest well/My brother/Rest your weary, tortured mind/Lay your head on the horizon/Time to skyrocket to Mars/Feel the weight off your shoulders/One final journey to be had/I never meant for this to happen/Never meant to cause you pain/I never wanted things to worsen/Thought we had more time than this.”  The song’s overall melancholy musical mood is a good pairing with the obviously less than gleeful mood set through the lyrical content here.  The whole works, again, with the noted description of the album’s overarching lyrical content as it definitely is a deeply emotional work in its own right that is sure to get audiences thinking.
‘Rise,’ which comes in the album’s second half, is yet another example of the interest generated through the record’s lyrical content.  This song’s lyrical content is just as thought provoking as that in any of the record’s other songs.  It would seem that the song, here, is the subject facing the negative thoughts and emotions, accepting things.  This as he sings, “I know the pain I’ve caused throughout/I know it’s real/I’ve failed to see/So now I run toward the fear/Rising to meet it/I’m swallowed whole/No space to breathe.”  This just comes across as one more part of the whole that really does seem to be a concept record.  To that end, it is an interesting placement considering how the seeming story ends.  It is just one more example of how much depth is presented throughout the album’s lyrical body.  The whole is sure to keep listeners thinking and actively listening.  In turn they will develop a whole new appreciation for this band and this album.
Speaking of having more appreciation for the album, its sequencing puts the final touch to that appreciation.  As noted, the album opens with its longest and most in-depth song.  From there, the album’s energy remains solid in the second entry, ‘Out of Nothing,’ which exhibits the Dream Theater and Redemption influences even more clearly than the album’s opener.  The album actually keeps the energy relatively high until reaching its midpoint, ‘Slow Down, Son.’  This subdued composition is also the album’s shortest, clocking in at just under three-and-a-half minutes.  It is actually a chance for the band to show here that it can plays soft and controlled just as well as it can heavy and loud.  It makes for a great break point for the album before things pick back up in ‘Rise.’  What is interesting about ‘Rise’ is that it starts off softly, in a sort of bluesy/country style approach and gradually builds to something so heavy once again.  That transition is expert, leading out of ‘Slow Down, Son.’  It is a subtle, controlled change whose impact is fully felt and heard. 
‘Awakening The Spirit,’ the album’s penultimate entry, is another interesting presentation after the heaviness of ‘Rise.’  The gradual rise, climax, and fall of the energy herein is a distinct change, notable in its own right from the rest of the album, with the final bars making for a solid transition into the subdued finale that is ‘Dusting My Coat.’  Interestingly enough, even that song gradually builds to its own climax in its final bars, ending the album on a powerful note.  Simply put, it is obvious that a lot of time and thought was put into the album’s sequencing.  Because of that time and effort, it forces audiences to actively take in the record just as much as the album’s content itself.  All things considered they make Black Soul Sickness a truly unique record that is one of the most unique of this year’s new rock and metal albums, as well as one of this year’s most unique independent albums.
Black Soul Sickness is available now.  More information on the album is available along with all of Karcius’ latest news at:
Website: https://karcius.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/Karciusmusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/karciusmusic