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.
