Sunday 16 October 2016

Invoking The Abstract - Aural Kaleidoscopes


Tracklist:-

1. Locus
2. Requiem
3. Sensory Substitution
4. Aural Kaleidoscopes
5. The Summit
6. Voiles
7. Mandatory Metamorphasis
8. Neocropolis
9. Afterglow Eclipse
10. Celestial Born
11. Disharmonic Design

I'm beginning to really get excited about blogging (here) again and have some cool things in the pipeline. I've been planning and hustling this morning and now it's time for me to sit and write about another left field release in the shape of the latest record from US instrumental tech/prog metallers Invoking The Abstract. "Aural Kaleidoscopes" is actually the band's debut album, following on from their 2012 self-titled EP. The record was released via Unique Leader just last month!

I played some of this record to my brother and he said it was too much for him. I must be made of sterner stuff! Opening track Locus is tech death sans vocals and it’s mighty fine indeed. The crazy rhythm section fights it out with the lead guitar and leaves no time for ponderous reflection. I used to be a bit sceptical about instrumental records but as I’ve got deeper into extreme metal I’ve realised that they definitely have their place and provide as much excitement. Invoking The Abstract proves that with the short burst of Requiem. The apt title of Sensory Substitution describes this album perfectly. On any other record this would be an interlude but here it more than deserves it’s place. ITA goes fully all out on the title-track, featuring plenty of fretboard wizardry and virtuoso musicianship. The mid-section of “Aural Kaleidoscopes” sees ITA spreading their collective wings a bit with longer songs. The Summit is head-spinning from start to end, but you won’t be able to stop listening. It’s heaviness is undisputed as well, with drumming so fast you won’t believe it’s played by a human being. You may think that Voiles is laid back to begin with; however, you’d be wrong! The madness just continues and so do the genre defying time-signatures. Even the introspective passages are more technical than your average metal song. There’s something invigorating about listening to this album on a Sunday afternoon when jacked up on coffee yet still unable to stay awake. Mandatory Metamorphasis should really be renamed Mandatory Masterpiece. The sweeping guitar of Neocropolis really brings it to life, while the breakdowns will smash your head in. In fact the whole song will do that! There’s a calmness about Afterglow Eclipse, with the background filled with lapping waves. For some it will be relief. That relief doesn’t last long though as Celestial Born rages as if ITA are trying to make up for lost time or something. Finale Disharmonic Design closes out the album with as much fervour as Locus began with. It went quickly and for the most part I was headbanging like I had the brain cells to lose! This is one hell of an album and you need to hear it.

Stream and download "Aural Kaleidoscopes" via Unique Leader's bandcamp page below:-



You can buy the album on both CD/vinyl here - http://www.indiemerch.com/uniqueleader/band/invoking-the-abstract

Invoking The Abstract Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/invokingtheabstract
Unique Leader Records Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/UniqueLeaderRecords

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