Insense are a four piece from Oslo, Norway who were once championed by In Flames front man Anders Fridén who claimed the first time he heard them, he wanted more. Fast forward to the present day, and Insense now offer the Charismatic Swede and the rest of us their 5th album – “De-Evolution”.
“Part I – Conception” opens the album. It starts off with a pounding groove which has some promise until the vocals kick in. The screamo style vocals, reminiscent of A7X detracts from the promising sound of the music and makes this opening ninety seconds sound like a mid-2000’s breakdown on any generic metal album. “Meandering” follows up with a distinct chugging and powerful rhythm section sound but the vocals again let the song down. It stops and starts with some interesting layered guitar parts which create an interesting atmosphere, but every time the vocals kick in, whether they are clean or shouted, it just detracts from the musicianship of the song. “Lethargy” starts off in a Fear Factory-esque manner with precisely coordinated guitars and drums but by the end of it, you may find yourself suffering from a feeling similar to that of its title, it is quite unremarkable.
“Radio” has some interesting guitar fills but the whole thing sounds like a really watered down effort at something out of Meshuggah’s back catalogue. Every low register chord rings with that “Djent” feel to it and as the saying “Meshuggah did it first, Meshuggah do it best” comes to mind! The only good thing about this track is the pounding bass sound. “What Life?” comes across with a bit more fire in it, the screamo vocals work here with the mid-2000’s metalcore feel of the song which sounds like early Chimaira at times with its rapid paced gallops and then slower, heavily emphasised chords over screamed vocals. “I Tried to Be” follows with its slower pace. The ringing guitars and thick bass stand out with the strained vocals to start with over a piano line, but it’s completely one dimensional with continually repeated lyrics and recycled chugging breakdowns. By the time “Part II – Undoers Arise” comes, you’d think only two or three songs had passed given how bland the album sounds. This track starts off with a lone drum beat which kicks into a low groove, reminiscent of Strapping Young Lad which continues throughout the song but the generic metalcore growls offer nothing of note to the song.
“Lack of Progress” brings in the second half of the album and given the past seven tracks, the title is an apt description of the album so far. Despite fleeting glimpses of some promise, the album hasn’t really got going up until now. The heavy Fear Factory styled sound hits hard and switching of vocal styles during the song almost comes off as credible on the track. It’s got a good groove, but the guitar solo sounds very forced, almost as if it were included to just fill space. “Sick is the Will” follows with a sound similar to the early-2000’s Nu-metal explosion. The breakdown at the end of the song comes across like it’s been tagged on to fill up space and it segues into “Part III – An Endless Series”. The simplistic melody of the guitar over the heavy rhythm section which builds up into the trademark chug styled section leads to the best clean vocal performance on the album which doesn’t bring cringes but as soon as the song seems to get interesting, it just fades out into nothing which is a letdown.
“Moderation” brings in a massive drum sound with a pounding bass and some catchy guitar hooks and the vocals are just about bearable. The breakdown in the middle of the song has a very distinct groove to it which will get your head moving along and it sets up the following track nicely. “Some Holy Thing” sounds like a straight out of 2004 metalcore-by-numbers track. It’s got the screamed chorus parts, clean verse section, melodic riffs and low register simple grooves along with the moody mid-section which kicks back into a clean singing section with a decent hook to it which gives way to the same section but with screamed vocals to end the track. “Procreational Ill” follows with a slightly frantic pace and an overall sense of urgency, almost like the track had just been thrown together to make up the numbers. It’s a wasted two and a half minutes which builds up to the final track, “Part IV – Adoption” which starts off with a melodic line on the guitar over a minimalistic rhythm section. The vocals are clean and backed up by synths to draw more attention to it and add some much needed depth to the album but at this stage, the final song it’s too little too late and the sudden ending of the song brings some much needed relief.
Overall, “De:Evolution” comes across as a half-hearted effort to get an album out. It lacks any fluidity or substance and sounds extremely bland other than the rare moments of promise it offers at times. If this was what Mr. Fridén wanted when he said he wanted to hear more, someone best pull him aside and have a few words with him.
(3/10 Fraggle)
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