Now Hear This - Cybertronic Spree

Last year the Cybertronic Spree did a Kickstarter to fund a brand new album of original songs and it was successful! I got my rewards recently so I had to share them. But wait, do you know who The Cybertronic Spree are?

They're a band from the planet Canada made up of various Transformers! They put on a heck of a live show. This shot is from when I saw them in 2021, my first "post-pandemic" concert. Prior to this album, they mostly played covers but also had a couple of original songs. Back in 2019, they released a cover album of The Transformers 1986 movie. That's right, the covered the entire soundtrack album!

Let me tell you something about me...this soundtrack is one of my all time favorite albums. It came out just before I started my junior year in high school. I'd been into hard rock/metal and this album led me to new artists like Stan Bush and Lion. As you may remember, high school is a weird time and this album was there for me. Between Stan Bush's "Dare", "The Touch" and Spectre General's "Nothin's Gonna Stand in Our Way" this was my go to pick-me-up album.

Anyway, back Ravage, the new Cybertronic Spree album!

This is their first album of all original tunes and it freakin rocks! As you might expect from a Transformers inspired band, they have a sound straight out of the 80s and the lyrics usually have a sci-fi vibe. Awesome guitars, killer synth and amazing vocals from both Hot Rod and Arcee. It's so cool that they have a male and female vocalist!

I'm usually digital only with new music but could not pass up the chance to get a CD signed by the entire band. One of the higher pledge tiers, which I missed out on, included the album on a transforming Ravage USB drive.

Also in the package is a pack of eight trading cards wrapped in an old school wax wrapper. The front has individual pics of the band and the back has info like their perferred instrument, likes, and dislikes.

Finally, there's a super shiny sticker sheet whch includes the album's namesake, the best cassette Transformer (suck it, Lazerbeak!).

How is the album? I absolutely love it! The opening track, "Turbo Heart", takes off like a high speed launch with a driving beat that gets you pumped to rock out with these robots. "Toys Inc." and "Through the Wrecking Yard" are a couple of other favorites with a bit of a punk influence. The final track, "Mechanical Maelstrom" is a 7 minute instrumental that could be a lost track from the original soundtrack album.

Unfortunately, as of this writing, the album is not available for purchase which is a shame. But you can pick up their cover of the 86 Transformers soundrack on Bandcamp. I also highly recommend checking out their YouTube channel for all sorts of fun, including kick ass covers like Heart's "Barracuda" (video shot during quarantine), Zepplin's "Immigrant Song" and their music video (remember those?) for their cover of Weird Al's "Dare to Be Stupid".