28th March 2022

Review: “Nothingness” by Incriya

The debut EP of a band formed within the past 12 months is always an intriguing prospect and in “Nothingness” from Finnish Progressive Metal act Incriya we have been given exactly that. The promise is of music thar portrays a broad spectrum of colours, where deep contrasts are knit together formulated in alchemy with a desire to create for themselves a sound that uniquely combines with striking contrasts between heavy grooves and beautiful soft atmospheres.

Those maybe bold desires but with elements of DJent, Progressive and Experimental Metal woven into the fabric of their debut release, they have reached them with such accomplished ease and it wouldn’t surprise if this band was comprised of seasoned musicians however for now they remain anonymous. “Revelation” is intricate, delicate and uneasy, as gentle as a breeze that carries a leaf before a gust of wind suddenly takes hold, the building momentum of the sonic oblivion attacking the senses in waves from that calm to a monstrous crescendo. The vocals rise from a gentle clean to an ear piercing scream, that sense of discomfort continuing into “Eternity“, providing a foreboding knowledge that mirrors the finest of horror movies, that something is about to happen but you’re not sure when. It sounds huge and epic, the drum sound looming large on the horizon while the theatrical presence is eerily reminiscent of bands like Muse, Stoneside or Deftones. There is so much going on here that there are new things to catch your ear upon each repeated listen and the warmth, dark beauty and rich melody the equivalent of a Venus flytrap. Transversing into a heavier realm “Unknowable” brings the double kick of jackhammer footwork and heavier guitar with without loosing that eerie haunting aspect of the previous cuts, instead driving down the darkness with powerhouse rhythms that explode in your ear drums like firecrackers, the bleak nature of it making for the perfect soundscape for a nightmarish science fiction movie directed by Stanley Kubrick. Surpassing eight minutes for the title track gives the Incriya the opportunity to take things a few steps beyond, pushing their boundaries and the listener that much further with complexity and intricacies, exquisite almost tribal drum patterns providing the backbone for the progressive guitar work to build the momentum as things get gradually more intense. A polished and stunning debut, “Nothingness” shows phenomenal musicanship and offers something left field of the Progressive Metal sound while being dark, vibrant and fiercely addictive at the same time [8/10]

Track listing