Tag: intronaut (Page 1 of 2)

This is Intronaut’s first release that came out way back in 2006. It sounds a lot different to the groovy beast that exists today. The grooves are here for sure but they are ensconced within a more hardcore sound. They have only released six albums and it has been four years since their last. They aren’t the most prolific and yet all the albums that they have unleashed on the world are all killer no filler.

This album was the first time I had heard the amazing Danny Walker on drums. His grooves are insane and he is one of the best there is. Unfortunately, due to his “indiscretions” he is no longer in the band.

It’s a very heavy record and yet deep in the grooves there are moments of beauty, like in the intro to Nostalgic Echo. Cool jangly guitars with a killer groove that then explodes into max riff groove-arama. The majority of the tunes however are odd time signature heaven with angry man vocals and enough crunchy riffs to fill a space bigger than you can think of. My favourite piece on the album is the last track, Fragments Of Character. A full on frenetic groove laden beast.

They seem to occupy their own little space within metal world  and are somewhat unique. I hope it isn’t too long before we hear some new tunes.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

It’s cool to look back on bands to see how they have evolved in a relatively short space of time. This album was released in 2010 and is full of polyrhythmic goodness, fat grooves and riffs, and delicate pieces that the band would take and evolve into the monster outfit they are today. I always look forward to new music from these guys.

Elegy kicks things off and is crushingly awesome with enough going on to keep mere mortal metal bands in ideas for their whole careers. Danny Walker is a phenomenal drummer and it’s sad that he is no longer in the band, but his indiscretions could not go unpunished. His drumming on Above lifts the song from what could have been a normal type of track, well normal for these guys anyway. Sunderance turns the heavy up to max with unreal drumming and some fat riffage to go with their trademark vocal melodies.

I know I keep going on about originality and how I’m drawn to bands with their own sound, but these guys are a one off and are just awesome to my ears. Core Relations and Past Tense have some great off time grooves with epic rhythms, but it’s the instrumental title track that is the most intriguing. It’s based around drums with a drum solo, and a guest appearance from Tool’s Justin Chancellor on bass.

Not their best album, but still better than most bands.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

Album number 6 should have seen Intronaut moving up to the big leagues. This album is another leap forward in their evolution, but thanks to COVID, all touring and promo just stopped. This was their first release on Metal Blade, so every one was pumped.

Intronaut’s last album, The Direction Of Last Things, is one of my go to records, and I was eager to see if they could live up to that album. There were problems with the recording of this album, as long time drummer, Danny Walker, found himself in trouble with accusations about his private life and was dispensed with. Now, Danny is an incredible drummer “so how could they replace him?” I hear you cry! Well, they brought in Faceless drummer, Alex Rudinger, who has done an incredible job – just listen to opener, Cubensis – a polyrhythmic delight.

Part of the reason that I love this band so much is they have this ability to drop these juicy fat riffs and unbelievably groovy pieces into any song at any time, and The Cull is one of those tracks. To any other band, this one song would be a whole album’s worth of material – there is so much going on here. Sometimes the seemingly simple riffs are the best, and the heavy fat crunch of Contrapasso starts out that way and then just takes off. The drumming on this track is nuts, and a mention to the harmony vocals that the band dish up as they add another dimension to the music. Speaking Of Orbs adds a keyboard pulse groove to proceedings, before massive chugga’s take over to fat riff central. Incredible arranging and songwriting – it’s an absolute beast of a tune. Tripolar is just soooo freaking amazing! My brain is struggling to come up with superlatives for this track. It’s so heavy, and the chord and key changes do weird things to my groove gland!!! And we even pay a visit to Jazz-land towards the end of the song. Check Your Misfortunes is just insane, and the drumming alone is jaw dropping. There’s so much to take in as there is so much happening, and yet, if you strip it down, it’s just simple layers that build into something awesome. Next up is Pangloss and the riff is monumental and sooo heavy. The tuning is so low to get that deep rumble. The middle section is incredible, and today this could be my favourite track. Album closer, Sour Everythings, is next up and another incredible tune is up for your delight. This one has everything and goes everywhere – a fitting end to an exceptional record.

If you just think metal is Judas Priest, then you are living in the dark ages. Metal has moved on so much that the two are almost unrecognizable from each other. A definite worthy follow up and is most definitely 10/10 from The Grooveman.