Invertia
The Biddings Of Tyrants
(Self-Release)
Massachusetts based industrial metallers Invertia are back with their third release, but I still feel that it suffers from many of the same issues that plagued the first. That isn’t to say that it’s a wash, but it doesn’t really offer me any real signs of improvement beyond the duo’s Another Scheme Of The Wicked sophomore album released back in 2014. I will say that there is more of a death metal influence here, rather than the black/death influence that constituted the prior. That’s not really a problem here, but the drumming on the other hand is a huge issue. Those who remember the previous disc might remember what I’m talking about and programmed drums aren’t necessarily easy to play around with. Adding to that, the record is only about a half an hour long and doesn’t really offer anything all that new or different. I will say that at some points it gets a bit dancier and flows into more electronic sections as well as offering some intriguing filtered vocals, but many of the compositions seem very thin and most of the record suffers from many pieces sounding far too similar to each other. It is a rather heavy experience that feels like extreme industrial, but seems to lack any real substance.
Three albums in the bucket already and I still don’t feel that these gentlemen have found a real flow beyond these industrial/noise symphonics. Maybe it’s the kind of record that you have to soak in several times to enjoy and I will admit that some of the abrasive black metal sections come off quite well, as do the Ministry style industrial marches prevalent on some cuts. I can observe a great deal of tremolo riffs, but it doesn’t really bring off the feel of black metal to me due to the vocal influence. I suppose if a type of scowl vocal were utilized instead of such a deep growl, it would feel more like black metal; but the deep deathy growls played along with tremolos and militaristic industrial drumming to me does not black metal make, or even industrial black metal make. You wanted an opinion on this record, and here it is – but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check it out. Give it a listen first, as you might find something that I didn’t. Invertia are a band that I’ve always wanted to like because extreme industrial approaches have always sat firmly inside of my wheelhouse. However, I just can’t seem to get into these guys, no matter how hard I try. It doesn’t matter if I listen to the album two or three more times, it all just seems to blur right by me like an army of rampaging death drones.
Purchase The Biddings Of Tyrants here.
