Five hairy blokes from South Wales present to us their debut album. What is noticeable about this album from the beginning is how tight it is. I’m not from their part of the world and haven’t seen them live but “Anything that Moves” immediately struck me as the recorded version of an energetic live performance.
In respect of style, I’ve seen the word “progressive” attached to Intensive Square but if that means a multitude of heavy styles, then that’s what it is. I felt a touch of hardcore, a lot of irregular movement, plenty of technicality and copious rumblings of Meshuggah. And yet it’s all and none of those and some more. Starting with “The Long Man”, a deathcore song cuts in after an insistent drum section. There’s plenty of action. The riff is deep, the motion is irregular and the technical work is a bit like The Haunted, I thought. But it’s about the whole, not the parts, and it all adds up to a nasty, power-packed and engaging song. I could liken the vocals to Heights, but to throw us off the scent altogether “The Long Man” ends with cosmic screeching and an eerie atmosphere. Add a bit of ponderous sludge and I couldn’t tell you what I’m listening to but it’s interesting. A very unusual feature of this band’s music is the mad saxophonist who cleans up any pretensions to normality to great effect across the album, including “Vegetarians”, which I understand is going to be a video track. It’s appropriate to say that “Vegetarians” is the equivalent of tearing up raw meat. Slow and scornful in progress, the bass twirls and reverberates through this hefty slab of quorn burger or whatever. Juicy. Intensive Square’s sing structures are always interesting. The sharp motions are in evidence on “Ends”. It’s attention-grabbing and unusual. The growly bass, the sound distortions, rumbling thunder and harsh vocals all reinforce the heaviness. The thunder of “Me vs the Cables” has more of a creepy progressiveness about it. Heavy as lead, there’s a distinct tinge of Meshuggah about the twanging bass line. The scene is harsh. Sparks fly from the musical machine. The vocalist does his bit, aided by the sound mix and hardcore chorus. It’s like being forced into the ground and having piles of dirt shovelled on to you. If that’s not pleasant enough, “Rhino Fight” continues the relentlessly heavy and technical assault. It’s now like being tangled in machinery and struggling to get out. The mad saxman intervenes, and we move on to “Gastric Emptying”, which like Heights but without the melody or the charm. This stomach-churning production stutters on in violent progress. Lovely. After “Vegetarians”, “Trials of Ubermann” (great track titles, by the way) makes sure that life doesn’t get any easier. Trudging through treacle could be an analogy, and the saxy boy again adds a chaotic feel to it all. It stops mid stream and then races off in a whirlwind scene of hardcore energy. This interesting adventure ends with “King”. I thought at one point it was heading into a black metal passage but the growls and sludgy bass return and grind us further into the ground. One more drum roll brings it all to a close.
This album sure isn’t for relaxation. It’s thunderous and heavy. There were parts where I wondered what I was listening to, as “Anything that Moves” seemed to be anything’s that metal as we tore through some metalcore, sludge and all round metal mayhem. But Intensive Square clearly know what they’re doing and have released in “Anything that Moves” a fine album with lots of original touches.
(8.5/10 Andrew Doherty)
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