Artist: I Exist
Title: II: The Broken Passage
Genre: Sludge Metal
Release Date: 31st January 2012
Label: Lost Shepherd/Prosthetic
Album Review
Continuing right down the line from their debut, Australian Sludge Metal band I EXIST have cranked out their sophomore effort just barely a year after release of ‘I’. Like most Sludge Metal, the production is thick, but not necessarily slow, carrying a much more heavier pace that could even be akin to some of the early Hardcore released by bands like BIOHAZARD. The album opens with the slow, and slightly atmospheric ‘Winters End’ which is groove oriented and a good way to get built up for the rest of the album, but things explode after this. ‘Ghost Of A King’ is much faster with the bellowing vocals, but doesn’t sacrifice any of the groove, and even the drumming have some unique rhythms to it. Most of the album is like this- a mix of Hardcore/ Sludge Metal/ and even some Punk thrown in with a track like ‘Acid Strain’. Of course there are the slower bits too that are similar to the opening track like ‘Lungs Of Mire’. Here, the focus is on the drums rather than the speed of the guitars which seem to follow a bit of a brain dead rhythm with the rest of the music, but the band also injects layered melody into the music as well to make up for this while keeping their Sludge as simple as possible. Also listeners may notice that on tracks like these the vocals are a lot more absent than usual for the first half of the song, which allows them to get a grasp of the instrumental side of I EXIST.
I EXIST throw in a few surprises as well. For those who might get bored by the whole simple Sludge Metal pace of the music, there are a few stand out tracks to regain interest. ‘The Riders Of Ode’ is the cleanest track on the album, opting for an acoustic instrumental that is a great pause between the distortion soaked chuggers. ‘Immortal Mare’ has more of a Heavy Metal focused rhythm and has a much more old school tone to it while sounding a bit more melodic and technical at the same time while keeping things simple. ‘Return To The Cosmos’ uses a lot of whammy to add a psychedelic Stoner Metal level to the music, making it a bit more progressive than usual. Overall, the hypnotic quality of the music will keep listeners hooked, although those who are new to Sludge/ Stoner Metal may find it a little boring at some parts, and those who are used to Hardcore will certainly entertain to the vocals and faster tracks, but the slow ones might not bring the energy they desire that keeps them going in the mosh pit. The good news is that ‘II’ is that is a jack of all trades- one can easily meditate or sleep to it if they wish or find themselves rocking out to them live at a concert (providing I EXIST is playing any songs from the album at the time).
Tracklist
01. Winters End - 3:16
02. Ghost Of A King - 2:23
03. Wyverns Keep - 2:48
04. Blades Ruin - 2:38
05. Black Unicorn - 3:49
06. The Riders Ode - 4:33
07. Acid Strain - 2:27
08. Lungs Of Mire - 3:10
09. Fleshold - 1:57
10. Mammoth Falls - 2:35
11. Immortal Mare - 2:16
12. Wretched Earth - 4:51
13. Return To Cosmos - 4:24
Line-up
Aaron Osborne- Guitars, Vocals
Simon Murphy- Drums, Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Guitar, Keyboard
Jake Willoughby- Vocals
Alex Young- Bass, Vocals
Sam Provost- Guitar, Vocals
Josh Nixon- Guitar, Wah, Acoustic Guitar, Smoke
Adrian Kelly- Spiritual Presence, Live Guitar
Website
http://www.myspace.com/iexistmusic
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 7
Total: 7.5 / 10
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