The first impressions weren’t all that great, to be honest. With a promo that featured the band gurning on a photo session, and the band all apparently all being quite young, I was concerned that this was going to be another example of a group that release their music prematurely, without demonstrating the required maturity to produce a worthy product. Turns out I was concerned without good reason – probably because I’m an increasingly irascible old man.
Indyus hail from Austria – home of Belphegor, sexual fetishism and beautiful scenery. Musically, this crew take the smorgasbord approach in mixing a whole pot full of influences together – this time mostly of the old school variety across the spectrum of death and thrash metal. On “The Dilemma”, for instance, the band have some tasteful acoustic flourishes, bringing to mind the more reflective moments of Corrosion of Conformity, the almost progressive metal tones of late Death and the raging thrash influence of Arise-era Sepultura. So sure, mixing the worlds of thrash and death metal is never going to win any particular prizes for originality, but there are some really, really pleasing touches here. Firstly, the guitar solos, when they occur, are a real treat, varying in composition and the guitar effects used. The drumming is of a consistently high standard too, with plenty of impressive double-bass segments among the more standard metal drumming.
The influences are a bit more wide spread and varied than in many of the more hum drum releases. Normally, you’ll expect the collision of ...let’s say Kreator style Teutonic thrash with the melodic flourishes of early In Flames, but Indyus have also unleashed the influence of Entombed, Grave et. al, In the gnarly guitar sound to be found here and there among the soaring solos, with some almost hardcore-esque breakdowns of pace on a couple of the tracks. So sure, not everything here is perfect. The production, while plenty raw and full of energy is also fairly thin and insubstantial sounding, which makes for a particularly treble heavy and bass deficient sound. Rather than sounding particularly authentic of old school, it instead perhaps makes the record reverberate the concerns of budget rather than atmosphere. Mind, this is a first real album, so it is perhaps a tad churlish to pick up an ambitious and energising record for what is a minor point that with a bit of understanding does not shatter the listening experience too much.
A good, and promising start for the band then, and I can only guess that the energy and vitality that has been so well recorded onto the shiny little disc here is multiplied several-fold in the live setting. I’ll be keeping my eyes open for any forthcoming UK sojourns, boys...
http://www.myspace.com/indyus
