Two years after an impressive debut “Malignant Universe” and two delicious singles in 2014 and 2016, technical death metal steamroller Invidiosus is back with full force. The marvelous quintet from Minnesota, USA, (having Todd Farnham of up-and-coming Amiensus in their ranks), is generously delivering excruciating pain in a new EP titled “Guided Towards the Inevitable”, available via Twin Town Tyrant Records.
The thing about this release is that it is so full of ideas, so dense in content and substance, that creates the feeling that, although it contains just 5 songs, this is a full-length album. The band has made rapid progress. With strong roots in old-school death and grindcore elements, they make big and steady steps in modern technical extreme sound, enriching it rather than repeating known patterns of the genre.
The title song of the album is enough to confirm what I just wrote. The main riff gets stuck in your mind for days, followed by an unexpected slow, “narrative” part, where the bass guitar (which here pleasantly reminds me of Beyond Creation) accompaniesthe blackened vocals, before it finally gives the baton to the guitar solos in order to finish you off causing intense eargasm. “Malignant Universe” is a remake of the track found in the first album without the spoken part at the start, a choice that was probably made, so that it could be heard in its true dimensions thanks to the dramatically improved production in comparison with its first execution.“Ideal Breaker” perpetuates the shredding paranoia amid a drumming pandemonium. Then we arrive at the big -for me- surprise of this EP: the cover of Trouble’s “Bastards Will Pay” (from the album “Psalm 9”,1984). What I would expect is a brutal version of the song. Instead, the execution is pretty much (keeping in mind that this is still death metal) on the same track but with more heavy and aggressive sound. Here we also witness Matthias Joyce‘s performance capacity, as he adds layers on vocals giving them an even darker, almost psychedelic, texture, which is quite difficult considering that the original is already inside the doom metal spectrum. The following “Neurotic Mystery” is in my opinion the most technical composition while maintaining old-school elements (in solos) and drops the final curtain in the most enjoyable way.
This is a great release overall, from a band with a huge reserves of talent and creativity. The act is currently on a mini summer tour in Latin America. We hope that one day we will see them in our neighborhood too. Until then, grab “Guided Towards the Inevitable” and listen to it until it melts.
FOR RECKONING HOUR / METAL REVOLT
Αλέξανδρος Λιάκουρης
RELEASE DATE: JUNE 17, 2016
