Canadian progressive blackened death unit Symbiotic Growth has unleashed their latest lyric video “Lost in Fractured Reveries” in support of their sophomore album “Beyond The Sleepless Aether,” released digitally on March 28th, 2025, and available on limited edition CD from Bolverk Collective.
Similar to the band’s predecessor, their 2020 self-titled full-length, “Beyond The Sleepless Aether,” is once again based in fiction and is lyrically conceptual, but dives more into thoughts and emotions of everyday life, and sometimes those thoughts are hard to deal with. It’s progressive, experimental, foreboding, and emotional; every song has its own identity and place within the album’s story, taking its protagonist through the multiverse, placing him in places like dark wooded forests, wide open desert landscapes, and the unending cosmos.
The band comments on the track “Lost In Fractured Reveries”:
“The song is about the last stop through the protagonist’s journey on the proggiest song on the album. He finds himself floating within the cosmos, seeing all of time and every universe being woven together like a web, contemplating his entire existence, whether he ever even mattered in any time or in any universe. The jumping time signatures and tempo changes lend a hand to the uncertainty that feels within the song.”
Watch and listen to the lyric video at https://youtu.be/mrfCcx7U4Fk
Mixed and mastered by Tom MacLean (Twelve Tone Studio, Haken, Athemon, Brutta), “Beyond The Sleepless Aether” features seven paryalzing sounds of technical metal created by the Sudbury, ON recording line up of Aaron Barriault (Vocals, Guitar, Bass), Devin McQueen (Vocals, Guitar), and Dan Favot (Drums)(ex-Wolven Ancestry, ex-Fractal Generator).
“I think the fans who have heard our previous album may be a bit surprised; the sound of this album is a bit different; it’s a little bit more experimental in its way. Either way, we hope that fans enjoy what we’ve created. I feel like the listener may have feelings of uneasiness and wonder. An odd combination, but I feel like it’s fitting,” adds Aaron Barriault – Vocals, Guitar, Bass.
“Beyond The Sleepless Aether” is recommended for fans of Ne Oblivisacaris, Der Weg Einer Freiheit, Cor Scorpii, and Gojira.
The album can be heard on the following digital platforms:
YouTube (Album Stream) – https://youtu.be/CSOzIaRlo6E
Spotify – https://spoti.fi/42m1Mlp
Bandcamp – https://symbioticgrowth.
CD Order is available at https://www.bolverkcollective.
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Track Listing:
1. Of Painted Skies and Dancing Lights – 7:03
2. Spires Of The Boundless Sunset – 7:28
3. The Architect Of Annihilation – 10:57
4. The Sleepless Void – 9:52
5. Arid Trials and Barren Sands – 7:35
6. Lost in Fractured Reveries – 8:44
7. Trading Thoughts For Sleep – 10:02
Album Length: 1:01:43
Album Credits:
Mixed and Mastered By Tom Maclean of Twelve Tone Studio
Album Art by Erskine Designs
Album Band Line Up
Aaron Barriault – Vocals, Guitar, Bass
Devin McQueen – Vocals, Guitar
Dan Favot – Drums
Live Band Line Up
Aaron Barriault – Vocals, Guitar
Dan Favot – Drums
For more info: Facebook.com/SymbioticGrowth | Instagram.com/symbioticgrowth
“Beyond The Sleepless Aether is heavy as a herd of elephants wearing armour, jumping up and down on your head for the rest of time. It is utterly relentless, yet interspersed with moments of such musical beauty that your soul will ache to the point of breaking. I cannot praise this album highly enough as it is fucking perfect in every single way, and if you have ever taken anything I have ever written to heart then know this. You… yes, you reading this… you need this fucking album in your life in the way that you need breathing. 5/5” – Black Metal Archive
“There are an immense number of individual components that deserve special attention on “Beyond The Sleepless Aether. The rhythm work is exemplary, the stubborn use of background keys in the context of a mostly dissonant sound sets standards, the vocals are one of the absolute pieces of jewelry anyway, and what is ultimately ignited in the lead guitars is no longer from this world: soulful playing, virtuoso descents, crunchy sawing. Everything that could contribute to the mutual mood is really taken into account here, of course also at a technically brilliant level. 10/10 ” PowerMetal.de
“this record (Beyond The Sleepless Aether) is a delight to listen to, and an early contender in what is traditionally one of the most competitive metal niches out there.” – Metal Storm
“Canada’s Symbiotic Growth came in clutch with their fantastic new record Beyond the Sleepless Aether. Enslaved are an immediate touchstone—so much so that I’m sure the main riff to “Spires Of The Boundless Sunset” sounds like a specific latter-day song of theirs that i can’t quite place. As the album develops, however, Ne Obliviscaris become a more obvious point of comparison, with the songs expanding into ever more extravagant and elongated arrangements as the album goes on. As with NeO, the longer, postier passages do drag on a bit, but there’s always a pummeling riff or cathartic melody waiting around the corner to bring the energy back up again, and the band is granted an extra tech-death tinge, thanks to the ferocious efforts drummer Dan Favot of Fractal Generator” – Heavy Blog Is Heavy
“Glimmers of brilliance, particularly in the epics and performances, shine through across the record, untouched by occasional patches of off cleans and songs that stick to their guns a little too tightly. As a result, Symbiotic Growth have made a fine record, and one that shows an incredible amount of maturity and growth from their debut. In just a few years, they’ve leveled themselves up a considerable amount, and perhaps the symbiotic relationship between this reviewer and these musicians will help their growth into something special.” – The Progressive Subway
“a solid and high quality example of extreme progressive metal that deserves attention” – Progressor
“Prog death, with a little atmosphere, a smidge of black metal, longer tracks, pretty complex and yeah brutal too.” – WORT 89.9 FM The Mosh Pit (Madison, WI)
“Canada is always that country that always gives us some unexpected gems of extreme music. Symbiotic Growth is the latest revelation. This debut album brings us a fantastic balance between the extreme aspect of death metal and progressive metal.” – World Of Metal Magazine
“Symbiotic Growth‘s songs are significant hybrids, but their incorporation of differing influences works very well because they’re such adept songwriters and skilled performers.” – No Clean Singing
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