Inverticrux used to be called Vintage Flesh, whose 2011 album Hour of the Night Gaunts I previously reviewed (here: http://www.metalteamuk.net/june11reviews/cdreviews-vintage.htm.) So in a sense you can consider this a sequel, and as with every sequel, I (the creator of the review), am convinced it’s ‘better than the original’.

For starters, I’m happy to report that Inverticrux definitely is better than the original that was Vintage Flesh. Self-dubbed an “amalgamation of black, thrash, doom, punk all tied messily together with a heaping helping of horror theme samples and imagery” and “shit head metal and black and roll”, I cannot deny the latter tickles my fancy on certain levels. Maybe this lot finally figured out what they’re all about? Maybe with Inverticrux they truly reach their full potential… maybe, maybe, maybe…

Unfortunately…Virgin Reaper leaves us baffled rather than impressed. Vintage Flesh appeared to me like a struggle for mediocrity. Night Gaunts… sounded like a bunch of angry, naive teenagers without any plan whatsoever coming together and just wanting to make noise. At that stage, the potential of a band is boundless. Now, with Virgin Reaper the innocence is gone. The band have actually discovered song structures and recording techniques, with clear patterns of development shaping (especially in the bits influenced by the two waves of black metal). The core problem lies in the lack of an observable identity. Starting with Raypissed’s vocals that still sound like a piss-take really, especially as they seemingly cannot quite decide what they aim/want to be. I’m not saying that anyone should conceal themselves within a bunker of genre limitations, but consistency of style is one of the most essential features in creating any piece of art. What if the Mona Lisa was wearing a multi-coloured beer helmet? Sure, it’d be fucking great and ol’ Leo would have had a great good laugh with his mates down the wine-bar (or whatever they have in Italy)… but it surely wouldn’t hang in the Louvre… at best it’d lie in a pile of discarded ideas along with that flying-machine made outta sticks. And indeed so, Inverticrux has no business in today’s big-leagues.

Though, musicianship seems to have improved, there are still those ear-wreckingly out-of-key/tune moments as the instrumental Shores of Styx and some shocking harmonica-playing that create a sense of half-arsed/unpolished work.  If they don’t put the work in, why should I listen?

I definitely can’t deny that after listening to 1/3 of this, an incredibly strong aura of claustrophobia took over… I craved to remove myself, running far, far away from the state it had delivered me to. I simply couldn’t take it any longer and needed a break. Unfortunately it wasn’t the kind of hysteria provided by band as Esoteric or Deathspell Omega, it was more like being in an awful R&B club, with the DJ blasting Nelly louder than hell and the dance floor filled with people carrying super-contagious bird-flu… I don’t know how it came to this, y’know. Why would I be here, why would I listen to this? FFS!

Anyways, this is definitely the strongest output from this pack of metal die-hards, but it is still far far away from being anything meeting the standards of today’s metal scene. Things simply hang too loosely together and ideas are (still) not executed to their fullest potential. Sometime development takes time, maybe seeds of greatness lie beneath? Good luck, lads! I promise I’ll hand the next promo to someone who’s not a complete dick.

http://www.facebook.com/LetsGetInverted?sk=info 

(Miika Virtanen 1.5/10)