Review: “α” by Itself Timeless

Recorded by Russ Russell (Evile, Napalm Death, At The Gates) before being mixed and mastered by Maciej “Jonson” Wiergowski (Entropia, Ewelina Lisowska), “α” marks the debut EP of the mysterious London Post-Metal collective Itself Timeless. Preceded by a couple of singles the band use art like phrasings like “the essence of being human” to distance themselves from the competition while painting the white the grey with their sound…

Whether forming some secret mathematical equation to be unveiled at a later date or simply the numbering of the songs they have written, the track listing exposes nothing of what the debut record of Itself Timeless has to offer. Scalding vocals and sinister melodies intertwine with thunderous percussion and Noise Metal tinged guitar work with technical orientation as the band rip through “2” like a parasite tearing through the veins looking for a place to latch on and bleed you dry. The vocals are pure unrelenting catharsis while an arty spoken word offers an alternative angle that is over all too soon. “4” then kicks in with aching melody underpinning turbulent violence as two extremes clash in stormy fashion. The icy  breakdown section is huge with a space age science fiction edge and the sheer tectonic plate shifting power of the piece isn’t to be taken lightly. Part Black Metal atmospherically, the band have the edge of Forlorn with the darkness of Will Haven and Stoneside wrapped in their poison ivy. The clean crisp drum sound of “6” sounds immense, the melancholic overtones sending a chill down the spine as they tingle the cerebral cortex. Dark and sinister the band have complete control, toying with the listener like an apex predator pawing it’s prey, just waiting for the right moment to break the chains that bind with a powerful piece of rhythmic pummelling. Vocally space in places this one continues the seismic activity as the band threaten to reduce everything around them to dust and ash [8/10]

Track Listing

1. 2
2. 4
3. 6