Hailing from Chicago, Illinois Immortal Bird have spent the past 11 years combining black metal, crust punk and some sludgy genres to create a somewhat unique blend of metal and adjacent sounds to express their outspoken shtick.
Having discovered them on the release of their full length debut, Empress/Abscess back in 2015, I’ve always had high hopes for this band, whose lineup includes members of the last known lineup of Woods of Ypres – who will always be important to me for personal reasons.
However, two studio albums later it seems IB, like all musicians of all genres, have entered a period where they’ve found themselves and have not moved or adapted any new elements to their signature sound. By this I do not mean they have made a bad album, Sin Querencia is laden down with all the right musical goods to ignite the interests of new listeners and would certainly make it onto many “best album” lists at the end of the year.
But for me, I am sorry to say, this album cemented this band into place and has secured them safely into their signature sound, which will make audiences realise their idiosyncrasies and tell them what a typical IB album sounds like.
This is not a bad move by any means, in fact it’s great these guys from Illinois have developed a secure place in the blackened crusty sludge sound that made them stand out years ago. So in short, IB have found themselves and are riding in the safest lane that will keep them solvent of any kind of slip-ups until they feel the need to do something radical.
An impressive release showcasing strong shared talent from these guys, but not something that will pique your intrigue if you were seeking a band taking a new route. It’s not mediocre but not brilliant so one very safe album in their output.
(6/10 Demitri Levantis)
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