The Insight Eye

When I got a hold of the band’s debut demo “Polymorphism of Death” in 2002, I didn’t know much about the Italian death metal scene. I knew about Sadist and Algophobia, but that was pretty much all. I certainly appreciated the coming of a new force, but these three complex rifforamas didn’t exactly make me fall in love with all things Italian except the pizza and the lasagna, of course. Then “Subjected” came two years later and things started looking more serious from the illogical… sorry, Illogicist camp although the main topic for meditation that arose from it was how enormously revered Chuck Schuldiner (R.I.P.) had become a mere few years after his untimely passing with so many acts rushing to pay their tribute to his impressive legacy. What could be viewed as both pros and cons in this case is that of all the worshipping and cloning that waits on literally every corner within the death metal realm, the Death followers are those who wear their influences on their sleeves in the most explicit and proudest manner, again for better or worse.

The question that immediately springs up in this train of thought is how many albums exactly a band can produce painstakingly following a well-trodden path which holds no surprises whatsoever along the way. And, what would be the point in doing this throughout a whole career? Where is this strife for evolution and advancement that every artist is supposedly aiming at? As much as I like Death and some of the practitioners who worship at their altar, I think that this whole post-Death movement was reaching the verge of oversaturation towards the end of the past decade. So I patiently waited to hear Illogicist’s second coming before making any conclusions about their contribution to the scene…

the album reviewed here was such a pleasant surprise that the impression it made on me was even stronger than the one of Sadist’s supreme self-titled opus released the same year. The moment the title-tracks opens with this unforgettable portion of “illogical” atonal riffs one knows that the band have done the right thing, to outgrow the initial shadow of a great mentor, and embark on their own journey through the music “jungle”. This journey takes them through creepy serpentine labyrinths, dramatic melodic breaks, puzzling technical build-ups (check out the superb staccato salad at the end) this eventful carnival aptly guided by a sinister shouty, death metal throat who doesn’t spare his vocal chords, not even for a split second. The rifforama becomes jumpier and more hectic on “Brain Collapse” with riffs roaming up and down to a surreal disorienting effect the latter made even more outlandish by more quiet spacey inclusions and enchanting melodic tunes; expect a most delightful technical skirmish mid-way, mazey twisted riffage in the second half and a fantastic doomy exit. Death metal seems to have found its new champion here, and we’ve only been through two numbers. “Rooms of Emptiness” bedazzles with more virtuoso guitar wizardry the intricate density reaching “Mental Vortex” and “Unquestionable Presence”-esque proportions with more staccato drama pouring over the blissful listener later who will utterly savour this never-ending supply of vital technical metal “humus” which becomes even more urgent and elaborate towards the end.

“The Absolute of Nothing” relaxes with more abstract progressive melodisms for a start, but the accurate technical rhythms resume their sophisticated carnage with a riff after riff coming in quick hallucinogenic succession leaving little room for the more melodic walkabouts to breathe those mostly provided by the excellent lead sections with the bass burping prominently in the background, and the only genuinely aggressive passage on the album wrapping it on. “Soundless Pain” tries not to make too many “sounds” choosing the minimalistic subdued path to sneak into the cavalcade, but the busy rhythm-section gets involved before long creating a lot of dramatic accumulations with memorable motifs galore that would take several listens before one becomes aware of every single one of them. “Core” digs down to the very “core” of the genre source unearthing outstanding rhythmic patterns, both melodic and technical, spreading them on a not very predictable, fairly hectic canvas which shreds its way through Shrapnel-like leads and strong bass backgrounds. “Be My Guide” immediately begins with the busy dense intricacy the riffs cutting and turning in both expected and unexpected ways the ensuing dramatism enhanced by another fast-paced tractate which brings the Death references for a short bit, but that’s pretty much the only piece here that truly recalls the mighty American(s). “Secrets of Human Hate” cooks a delectable mazey knot from the get-go the guys playing with more progressive structures with echoes of Theory in Practice and Nocturnus only that the atmosphere evoked by the Italians remains on the cold, dispassionate side of the spectre; all for the better as the fans will enjoy one final portion of serpentine, twisting arrangements before the very end which comes in the form of a short doomy conclusion.

To find a flaw on this opus one really has to be an incorrigible cynic, or a plain musical misanthrope who denounces anything that is close to genius by default. There are simply no defects here if we exclude the lack of speed, but the latter wasn’t that widely covered on the debut so apparently the band don’t think they should rely on it so much for their feats; there are plenty of super-speedy riffmongers out there the way it is... the array of precise, organized riff applications is staggering recalling the one on other meisterwerks like Psycroptic’s “The Sceptre of the Ancients”, Brilliant Coldness’ “Poisoned Reality”, Droys’ “And If”, and the aforementioned efforts of Atheist and Coroner. It’s very dynamic the constantly-shifting times and tempos largely compensating for the relative lack of fast-paced sections which absence one would hardly notice in the long run. The Death references are barely felt excluding the already mentioned penultimate number, for which the band deserve a medal provided that some acts out there have been rolling on a copy mode for three whole albums, and counting. The guys make a major claim at greatness threatening to take Sadist’s throne as the new emperors of the Roman Metal Empire. However, it takes more than a double (a band releasing two strong albums in quick succession before taking a break or splitting up) for that to happen…

after such a climactic work, a band always have to take some time in order to ponder over the future. The dilemma in such cases is: either to nail down one more similar slab, or to change their delivery any which way they decide, be it more or less death metal-related. The (il)logical decision, especially in old school-consolidating times like the last 15 years have proved to be, would be the first alternative. And Illogicist didn’t make a mistake; “The Unconsciousness of Living” was a faithful sequel to the album reviewed here; so faithful that it barely held any surprises for the fanbase. This fact by all means deserved a sigh of relief having in mind that the death metal template was taking a more volatile shape thanks to transformational sagas like the Spanish Unreal Overflows’ ”The Architecture of Incomprehension” (2006) that were threatening to take the genre into not very solidly charted territories. On the other hand, it by no means generated the same amount of veneration as the applied formula has already been depleted almost to the full, and any other subsequent exercise in such technical grandiosity would invariably be coming with the irksome sense of deja-vu. The guys’ main rivals Sadist, for example, had no such burden on their shoulders as their more flexible, less technically rigid approach has always possessed a wider arsenal of moulding tools.

Really illogical the next step should be if the band want to continue to reside in the visionaries’ sector of the death metal movement. “The Insight Eye III” would hardly make them the rising stars of the show, but “Lego II” (hello time and again, Sadists!) on the other hand, would ruin their high reputation beyond any chances for redemption. Or would it? There’s no recipe for success within the capricious music industry, neither are there any such ones for total career disaster. One thing is for certain, though: there’s no logic in it so under no circumstances should our friends follow any trajectories except the ones borne out of the most insightful third-eye meditations.

A band that should be getting some recognition is this band Illogicist, from Italy. This is their second effort, and I have to say, this is probably better than their debut album. I’ve always regarded their debut as “modern-day Atheist”, and I still do, but here, they’ve still retained snippets of that sound, but moulded their own style in there.

You should probably be warned: If you’re looking for a hundred riffs and beats in a 270bpm song, you may want to look elsewhere. Apart from the fast double kicks and fills from the (outstanding) drumming, the songs themselves are not really that fast. The guitars meander along at a reasonable pace for most of the album, put for what they lack in speed, they make up for in riffs. One example in the beginning of “Rooms Of Emptiness”, where they play a fairly straight-forward (for Illogicist standards) riff, but it remains catchy and gets you in the mood for the rest of the song. “Soundless Pain” contains a lot of stop/start, choppy riffs, again at the medium pace, but this song is also catchy in a good way, and Marco’s drumming between the chopped up guitars is a major highlight.

One section of music that took me by surprise is the last part of “Be My Guide”. Standard 4/4 time signature for most of the section, although this is probably the best part of the entire album, with the drumming taking on a pseudo-shuffle rhythm, and the guitars pounding along with it. A very clever and unexpected way to end the song.

Marco Minneman needs to be mentioned here. One of the leading drummers of our time, and he really shows off everything he’s capable of on this album. Pulling off odd time signatures in the manner that he does is exceptional, and he proves to be the shining light in this album. “Soundless Pain” probably showcases his talents more than any other track, especially during the verses. Also: NOT A SINGLE BLAST BEAT IN SIGHT! This is one of the rare death metal album that does not contain a single blast beat, and that in itself is a testament to Illogicist’s ability in their songwriting and creativity, not having to rely on a blast beat to get them through any section of music.

The vocals are your standard raspy growls, but there is something unique about these ones that I can’t really explain. Maybe it’s just his Italian accent pushing through, but they sound quite unlike any other I’ve heard.

This album is a must for any technical death fan, and even for those that are not. Some pessimism may cloud the modern death metal scene by metal fans around the globe, but this is one band that shouldn’t be lumped in with the others. While they are not pushing the boundaries in speed, it just goes to show that you don’t need to be playing at warp speeds to be interesting. Definitely recommended.

Best tracks: The Insight Eye, Soundless Pain, Core