INDUKTI — Idmen (review)

Album · 2009 · Progressive Metal

4/5 · 2010-03-31
Negoba

Jaw Dropping Prog Goth Metal Feast

When I first ordered Indukti's SUSAR, I was astounded. The sounds were so unique and fresh, dark and ethereal, it completely blew me away. My first impression was 5+ stars, but luckily I didn't write my review the first night I bought the album. Over time, it became clear that the band's gradual twisting and turning of their riffs lacked a little in terms of songwriting. I still like the album quite a bit, but it hasn't held up to multiple listens.

Idmen equalled, if not eclipsed, SUSAR's overwhelming first impression. I listened to the album 3-4 times the first night I bought and felt like I was listening to music composed by one of the Nazgul. Goth ethos is always about dark fantasy, and in this case it feels like we're hearing the soundtrack for the Dark Lord's entrance into Armageddon. The most obvious changes are that the music is more brutal and heavier than SUSAR, which is no small feat. Mariusz Dzuda's ethereal vocals are replaced by three vocalists, the softest of which sounds like a very good Maynard James Keenan clone. The first two sound like demons, combining many different vocal tonalities including the most music appropriate harsh vocals I have ever heard. The first comes courtesy of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum's mastermind N. Frykdahl, who tells a story of a hero mouse's quest as if he were a psychotic witch doctor about to march to his own death.

The more subtle difference between Idmen and SUSAR is the improvement in songwriting. There is better use of contrast and movement to maintain interest on this album, more ideas packed into each song. Still, some of the instrumentals (especially Indukted and Aemaet) are begging for vocals. And despite the fact that this band packs complex times and syncopation at will, it happens so seamlessly that even the straightest metal fans will still thinks rocks hard. This is inarguably very prog, but could be put on at a (very metal or goth) party and still keep the energy going. In fact, the music sounds like the soundtrack to a dark universe, Matrix or Sin City or something of the sort.

The first four songs are sensational, some of the best goth metal or prog metal I've heard in awhile. The fourth "And Who's the God now?" is the best, a dark tribal piece with so much going on that you feel like you're be pulled under lava. The next two, as mentioned, might be improved with vocals but are still quite good, complex, multiple sounds, brutal. The seventh "Nemesis Voices" is a very good song in the Tool / Perfect Circle mode, excellent but derivative. The final long instrumental is a mood piece that progresses from soft acoustic guitars and a distant trumpet (a la Queensryche's "Promised Land") but progresses to fully on fury with meticulously executed blast beats and a monstrous guitar tone where the bass and guitars merge into one collossal juggernaut of sound. Finally, the music receded again to gentle waves and we are left exhausted but happy.

The band has evolved for the better, communicating more with their music while retaining their love of complexity. I miss the harp, and the violin sits further back in the mix than on SUSAR. After repeated listens, the songs hold up much better, though I still search for a lead point of interest in places as I mentioned.

This is a must have for fans of goth metal. This is so far ahead of Tiamat, Anathema, Paradise Lost, though all those bands have their place. This is a must for lovers of Tool, post-metal, and experimental metal, though the band really doesn't sit in any of those categories well. If Ulver combined their sounds of metal and electronic ambience into a prog monster, that might be the closest comparison.

Though not without a few flaws, this is an excellent 4-5 star piece of progressive metal.