NULL

"Null" is an EP release by US progressive sludge/mathcore act Intronaut. It's their debut release. The EP was released through Goodfellow Records in February 2006.

The music on the 5 track, 28:25 minutes long EP is progressive sludge. The delivery is very convincing and especially the rhythm section of bassist Joe Lester and drummer Danny Walker are really skilled and deliver some impressive playing along the way. The vocals are raw and shouting and there's even a semi-growling nature about a few of the vocal parts. They generally feature a nice bite. It's Intronaut's well balanced songwriting where they both emphasize heavy angular riffing and more atmospheric parts that's the band's finest asset though. They are a really heavy and occasionally raw bunch, but they are still rather sophisticated for the genre. Their occasional jazzy leanings add an even more interesting dimension to an already great release.

The sound production is powerful and raw. It's professional sounding and suits the music well. So you get a strong sound prodution, excellent musicianship, and adventurous songwriting on "Null" and it's hard to say anything else than that this is a quality release. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

Originally this came out as their first demo titled "NULL - Demonstration Extended Play Compact Disc" that was recorded and released in 2005, but the band managed to impress the ears of the good folks at Goodfellow Records and this was repackaged, given a real album cover and released simply as NULL which became their very first release as an EP. The demo only had four tracks but an additional fifth track "Burning These Days" was included on the EP.

NULL shows just how much INTRONAUT have changed over the course of a decade, however much of their progressive take on the world of sludge metal is quite in tact on this first output. NULL reminds me a lot of the earliest Mastodon releases where their music is much more aggressive and fueled with adrenaline with fewer slower jazzy passages slipped into the mix but not totally devoid thereof either. For the most part Sacha Dunable's vocals are growly and remind me a lot of Luc Lemay from Gorguts at this stage with very, very little clean vocals to be heard. The band are already adept at playing extremely complex riffs that form their signature melodic dissonance as Leon Del Muerte and Dunable deliver highly distorted and aggressive guitar riffs backed up by equally hardcore bass techniques of Joe Lester. Danny Walker has mastered the sludge metal drum sound but on this one he plays more aggressively and all the tracks are of a much higher tempo than much of the albums that follow. The time sigs and progressiveness is already in full play.

If you're already an INTRONAUT fan don't miss this debut EP for it's as entertaining as any of the lot but it is true that the intricacies and complex song structures that they would really develop on "Prehistorians" are not quite so characteristic of their sound at this stage. This is a band that wants to blow the roof off the house pumping out fast and furious sludge metal without much of the atmospheric touches that they successfully weave into their overall trademark brand of sludge. While i wouldn't call this their most essential offering i do find it one that i can't live without and a highly enjoyable form of sonic torturous eardrum bombardment.

3.5 rounded down