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| #FOR FANS OF: Brutal Death Metal, Deprecated, Devourement |
Now sadly defunct, this final release from French Brutal Death Metallers Insain is one of the most ferocious and intense assaults in the genre in the coming year and really makes a strong case as for why the band disbanded now following such a strong and well-rounded offering. The fact that this one manages to whip through a tight, furious blast of tracks with absolutely maddening drumming, razor-wire riffing and a penchant for complex, technical bass-lines creates a rather intense sound-scape that’s readily employed by numerous bands of this particular style and gets a lot out of the fact that this short release really contains a lot to digest and get through. The traditional paces and formulas that are employed seem to come flying through without hesitation for this doesn’t really employ anything new to the table that countless Brutal Death Metal bands employ themselves as there’s numerous bands with technically-accomplished riffing, dexterous bass-works and pummeling, barreling drumming in their repertoire, and pretty much set themselves up into the same style of attack with blasts, frenetic chaos and then lighten up on the chorus to return to the blasting and chaos at the end which is readily apparent on this one as well but the fact that this release manages to incorporate more traditional Death Metal patterns and riffs alongside the chaos and fury manages to set this apart for it’s not in-your-face all the way through, offering relaxing, or whatever that amounts to on a Brutal Death Metal record, moments through traditional paces and riff-work which adds a dynamic and looser quality to the material than would normally be the case and transforms what could’ve been another simple Brutal Death record into a blistering assault that spices things up quite nicely. The ambient noise intro "Abyssum Invocatis" is a rather exemplary opener setting the stage for the assault to come. The furious blasts of proper first song "Absorbing the Masses" unleashes a whirlwind assault of frantic riff-patterns, dynamic bass-work and chugging patterns all mixed into a pounding, unrelenting drumming assault and varied tempo changes that properly showcase the bands’ technical chops and penchant for strong, enjoyable writing that keeps the traditional paces and chaotic riff-patterns from becoming lost in a horde of a similar bands such is their impact and enjoyment. The more traditional Death Metal elements work into "The Faceless Ones" as the extended running time and frantic riffing make it into one of the better tracks on here as the merge between spacious Death Metal rhythms and brutal riffing makes for a stellar overall track. "Beyond the Stellar Remnants" and "The Scourge" are frantic blasts of intense Death Metal with brutal drumming, technical compositions and relentless energy, while the title track just tends to blast away in sheer brutality without really delving back into the technical realm that made for the best parts on the previous tracks but at least works in some traditional Death Metal noodling in the final half to offset the relentless chugging on display. Finally, "Apex" trends back into the technical styling with a frantic final burst that ends things nicely. Really, the only thing truly wrong with the release is the fact that it’s over so soon, needing just a few more tracks to be considered a full-length release but as an EP manages to entice a feeling of ‘it’s-over-already?’ that hardly ever sits well on such releases. An undeserving end to a brief legacy that could’ve been much more. (Don Anelli)