Review: Clément Belio – Patience

Style: progressive rock, jazz fusion, djent (clean vocals)
Review by: Stephen
Recommended for fans of: Native Construct, Tigran Hamasyan
Country: France
Release date: 6 May, 2019

[EDITOR’S NOTE: This review was originally published in the Missed Albums of Jan-Jun 2019 issue of The Progressive Subway.]

Patience was recommended to me out of the blue on the I&W discord, and I really didn’t know what to  expect. The album art peaked my interest, so I decided to bump this album to the top of my list. Just 30 seconds into track one, and I have been whisked away to the beautiful landscape that the album artwork displays, and am wondering where else the album would take me. 2019 has been an absolutely stellar year for releases, and Patience by Clement Belio is one of the reasons why.

I’ll try to keep this brief, because there is a lot to unpack here. Let’s start with the genres featured on this album. It’s a blend of prog, metal, jazz, soul, djent, orchestral, classical, and electronic elements that work together to deliver something truly beautiful. It also features a wide variety of instruments, including some that I have never heard before in prog or metal. “Take Your Time” (along with the one-minute “Dive In”) really sets the mood for the rest of the album. It’s bright, beautiful, unique, and manages to make an 8:30 runtime feel short. 

Then steps in “Chromatic Curtain,” which is one of my favorites. There is a beautiful heaviness to it, and Clement Belio uses djent in a way that I haven’t heard before. “Chromatic Curtain” is followed by “La Danse Macabre,” the only track of the album that is completely in French. This song has a very unique feel to it. It’s  a French-waltz-prog-metal concoction that I enjoyed so much, that I had to start over on my first listen. Each and every track that follows is great. The last track I will highlight is “Trampoline.” What beautiful piano work this track has, wow. 

The only minor complaint I have on the album is that the middle section of the album didn’t have vocals, and I was really enjoying the vocal work on the album. If you enjoy prog that is both heavy and beautiful at the same time, do yourself a favor and bump this album to the top of your list. For me personally, this album is in the AOTY running. 

Recommended tracks: Chromatic Curtain, La Danse Macabre, Trampoline, and all the rest.
You may also like: Edge of Reality, Umpfel, Artificial Silence, Ihlo
Final verdict: 9.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | RYM page

Label: Independent

Clément Belio is:
– Clément Belio of course! (all arrangements)