REVIEW: Tiberius - Singing For Company

Prog rockers Tiberius have graced the scene with their newest album Singing For Company, combining the prog rock prowess they have shown before with some addictive metalcore influences, to craft a sound that exudes quality across all eight tracks. Drawing on themes of faith and crisis, they create an ethereal and sinister sound that’s all too easy to get lost in.

The ethereal sound in this album can be heard from the outset, wherein album opener ‘New Revelation’ opens and incorporates a string section that is utilised throughout the project. The track elevates itself through its 5:14 runtime towards a swelling end. The lyrics in each track harken to a priest becoming angered at the religion they’ve sworn to, exemplified perfectly in ‘Soul Saviour's second chorus “soul saviours/fighting but there’s no change at all”. The interlude in 'Soul Saviour' also is simply gorgeous, utilising classical guitar as Grant Barclay talks of a baby born to delusion, before launching once more into a soundscape akin to every instrument soloing at once in the best way, then finishing with that same classic guitar.

Listening to ‘Mosaic’, you can instantly tell why it was chosen for a single; Nick Kelly’s drums come into their own with a constantly evolving drumline in the first verse, culminating in 16th note hats mixed with double bass drumming as the bridge and chorus hits. The song built around Kelly’s work is great, with guitars running lighter to foreground the workout happening in percussion. It closes with just vocals and the return of the violins as a short break, before the second half of this project begins.

The title track ‘Singing for Company’ is next, offering a sound that is equal parts jumpy and sinister in its calls for other voices to hear its song. The riff trading in the midpoint instrumental is satisfying to the ears; the main motif of “Share your song with me/Share your song for me” equally so, and is an immensely sweet line to boot. The track builds wonderfully, before tragically falling victim to the fade out by the end - perhaps more of a pet peeve than an actual issue, but nevertheless makes this project lose points.

The last four tracks on this project contain most of this album's metalcore influences, starting with single ‘Juggernaut’; a pull no punches fusion of prog and metalcore with choral ambience by its end, that once again sends the listener soaring into the ethereal. It is backed up immediately by second album highlight ‘The Iliad Flow’ - another callout track for the group that the subject of this album is railing against, atop another drum workout for its first two thirds, before breaking for a violin section and floor lead build up while Barclay claims that he’s better off alone, then launching into a double teamed drum/guitar solo instrumental. ‘The Iliad Flow’ just gets bigger the longer it goes, before cutting itself off so nonchalantly it feels almost like it's showing off - yet the braggadociousness is deserved for the sheer quality of the music.

To close, the Scotsmen break out the bagpipes for the beginning of ‘Touch the Past’, coming in at a whopping 6:43 and calling for backup while it asks for mercy and proclaims that the subject is “not your prophet”. ‘Touch the Past’ is a perfect closing track for this project, from certified bar “Hang them from the spire” in its lull second verse, to its consistent builds up and instrumental releases that hold onto the tension with a vice grip - only to release it like a breeze. The short piano melody is a nice touch at the end too, giving the listener the time to breathe after taking in the madness.

All in all, this project is beautiful in concept and execution. The religious imagery of churches and spires, ideas of true religion and disbelief, apostles and martyrs are all contrasted with fire and brimstone revelation-style apocalypse, atop a constantly pushing soundscape where each member has their technical prowess on display. The mix of the piano and violin interludes push this soundscape into a purgatory that is perfectly thematic of the concepts at play, giving a feeling of conflict that feels deeply relevant to the landscape this album is being released in.

The only true critique that could be levied at this project is the overuse of the fade out; even the track length isn’t much of a problem due to the structural strength of Singing For Company, but working on other ways to finish tracks would be a benefit to Tiberius. Singing For Company is worth a listen regardless of your preference of subgenre - there is something in this album for everyone, even if it is just an appreciation of the moving parts within it.

Score: 7/10

Singing For Company was released on March 21st 2025.

Words: Julia Brunton

Photo: Calum McMillan