INDUKTI

Charmingly Hideous

Idmen has quickly become a 2009 favorite of mine, albeit a bizarre one. With their sopohmore effort, Indukti unveils a textured improvement on their debut- S.U.S.A.R. While most of S.U.S.A.R. can be easily compared to the Thrak-era KC, Idmen dives a bit deeper into the sinister realm, due largely in part to some aggressive vocals. And although I can't get enough of this album, I can see why it gets such mixed reviews. Idmen is quite ugly at times, but occasionally that can be a good thing! Only three tracks have vocals (different singers on all 3), and only two of them are aggressive in nature, but very fitting. To my discomfort, countless metal bands use this approach, often ruining good music, or simply sounding silly and repetitive. Not here. Much like their debut, the musicianship it technical, excellent and precise...but that was really all S.U.S.A.R. had to offer. Effective and enjoyable, but not mind-blowing. Idmen is built on the same foundation, but far more interesting and uniquely haunting.

Sansara sets the tone perfectly, mixing instruments in a way that creates an almost foreign sound. Loud, in-your-face and surprisingly melodic. Tusan Homichi takes the strangeness to a new dimension, with some of the weirdest lyrics and vocals I've ever heard. Sunken Bell is a welcome interlude, short and pretty, and a necessary divide between Tusan Homichi and the album's tour de force: ...And Who's The God Now?!, which I shall review separately. The next two songs, Indukted & Aemaet, are similar in style to the mechanical sound of S.U.S.A.R. and latter day King Crimson. More "music" than "songs", if you will. Nemesis Voices seems slightly out of place on this record, but only slightly. The vocals are alarmingly similar to Tool's front-man, enough so that I had to check the liner notes to be sure. The song is good, but I feel like the music and vocals don't entirely match one another. Closing up beautifully is Ninth Wave. It carries the same foreign vibe as the albums opening, but in a much more enchanting way. An instrumental delight that I never wish to end.

...And Who's The God Now?! takes Idmen to a much higher plateau, and is easily one of the most compelling songs I've heard in a while. It is also much catchier than most of Indukti's material, but a beast nonetheless. From the opening tribal drumming, through the explosion of sound in the middle, all the way to the chanting and cinematic ending, this is a 5 star song! The combination of musical elements and vocals on this one are beyond captivating, and it's fighting it's way to the top of the "play count" on my ipod. ...And Who's The God Now?! is no mere song, it is a journey. (too much?)

Tracks 1,2,3,4 & 8 are the standout's, and this would be a 3.75 effort if not for ...And Who's The God Now?!, which deserves an extra star on its own. - 4.75 stars, rounded down.

Idmen may be hard to digest for many, but for me it is like a scab that takes the shape of something meaningful. Grotesque, charming, powerful and haunting, all rolled up into a musical experience that leaves me pleasantly uncomfortable.

What an amazing sophomore effort this is! It hasn't really been that long since Polish prog-metal quintet Indukti had pleasantly surprised a large amount of prog connoisseurs and collectors all over the world with their debut release "S.U.S.A.R.", but now in the second half of 2009, their second album "Idmen" happens to be a solid improvement on that, and it works not only in terms of exploring more colorful sonic schemes but also in terms of delivering a tighter sound overall. This band has always been proficient at inserting massive degrees of experimental and eclectic vibes into its core prog-metal sound, something inherently demanded by the fact that one of the band's members plays violin ? no conventional rock can come from that, not even "conventional prog rock". Well, the musical structure of the repertoire comprised in "Idmen" features elements from math-rock, experimental metal a-la Tool, psychedelically driven fusion a-la Gordian Knot, as well as some industrial resources. Also, the occasional presence of guests at trumpet and cimbalom provides a rich source of variety and textures. 'Sansara' opens up the album with rocking splendor, showing how well the dual guitars integrate each other's phrases while the rhythmic basis is developed robustly and the violin mingles in fluidly. Shortly before arriving at the 5 minute mark, the piece slows down a bit and focuses on a moderate dominance of acoustic moods. 'Tusan Homichi Tuvota' starts with an amalgam of acoustic guitars and cimbalom, in this way generating a deceitful calm that soon enough gives in at the emergence of neurotic metallic pulsations, fueled with agile exotic ambiences. The presence of Nils Frykdahl (of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum) on vocals is a crucial help regarding the creation of uneasy intensity and euphorically gloomy atmospheres. Arguably, this is the album's pinnacle? But not the end of it, since 'Sunken Bell' follows, providing a moment of mysterious cosmic nuances (like a David Lynch's movie soundtrack), and right after that, 'And Who' Your God Now?' brings a sinister approach to fusion- infected prog metal. In fact, the sinister factor reaches an electrifying climax of magic and madness in the delirious coda's ritualistic cadences. 'Indukted' is yet another expression of sophisticated thunderstorm Indkuti-style, in some ways seasoned with math-rock oriented tricks. 'Aemet' begins as a continuation of the implacable neurosis that had been delivered in the previous track, and ends equally: in the middle, a spacey interlude brings back some memories of pre-"In Absentia" Porcupine Tree. 'Nemesis Voices' is basically based on a recapitulation of the sort of mood we found before in tracks 1 and 6. The album's last 11 ½ minutes are occupied by 'Ninth Wave', which delivers a powerful ending for "Idmen". It gets started with contemplative ambiences (featuring mesmerizing lines on trumpet). Further on, a delicious acoustic guitar duet settles a simplistic framework from which a warm, mysterious mood emerges and fills the whole environment in which the listener remains sitting comfortably (will they be still sitting comfortably by then?). The crescendo that starts at the 3 minute mark is led by the trio of violin and 2 guitars, and so the main body states yet another great example of intelligent energy. The insertion of a brief fusion-esque interlude is funny but not distracting. Finally, the sounds of sea waves and seagull screams signal a special epilogue for this special progressive 2009's gem. Indukti progresses, indeed.

The year 2009 has been a pretty strong one. Even with another quarter to go it not only added decent albums from known favourites such as Riverside, PT and Osi (even Megadeth and Depeche Mode have their act together again!); there were also a lot of albums that introduced me to bands I didn't know yet: Miosis, Astra, Decemberists, Dredg and the band under inspection here, Indukti.

I have quite a few albums in my catalogue but even so, Indukti manages to sound very much unlike anything else I've heard. They are a progressive, mainly instrumental, experimental, mental heavy metal band. So don't expect overdressed goofs making the horn sign as their main way of communication here. This band is in it for the music!

Now you all want some clue what they are all about. A first obvious reference would be the instrumental side of King Crimson (albums Red, The Power to Believe): lots of chromatic guitar progressions with even some frippertronics as on Aemaet. The band also has a violin player in their ranks which makes the KC reference even stronger. But it's made a lot heavier and louder by throwing in some thrash metal staccato and double-kicks drums, heavy distortions and loud mastering.

Other references, I don't know really. They are sometimes qualified as post-metal but they don't apply much of the repetitious improvisational attitude from that genre. All songs are very much composed and progress through different themes and moods.

Anyway, the resulting sound is very much their own and bound to drive unexpected listeners into opposite directions. From overawed devotion down to categorical disregard. Some of this discord stems from the guest singers on this album. Well, they sure are on the gruff and gothic side of things but, only 3 out 8 songs do feature vocals, so even if you're not into them, it's no reason to discard this album. And if they really put you off, you could still pick up their debut which features the adorable voice of Mariusz Duda.

I can't say I'm a fan of this one. I'm not really sure what the goal was here, but I didn't get it. The music itself sparked interest in certain areas, but there were also very boring parts, and then ones that were complete turn-offs. I hated the vocals. They were very annoying; especially in the second track. Do they intent to sounds like cavemen or what? The three standout tracks for me were the first, sixth and eighth. Not favorites, but I could withstand them and show moderate interest. Probably not gonna listen to this again. If you're into dark, eccentric, goth/death/black-like metal, then I'm sure you'll like this. I'd say give it a whirl.

Love or hate?

It amuses me that after 30 prior ratings/reviews Idmen has only one 3-star rating. I guess that qualifies it for the tag of a "love/hate" album with folks on both sides expressing themselves accordingly. From my perspective the music lies somewhere in between these ratings, Idmen being an album that perfectly exemplifies the 3-star rating at PA. Not a "poor" album, not strictly "for fans", but not quite an "excellent addition to any collection" and certainly not an "essential masterpiece." When I first listened to samples of Idmen I was blown away and thought perhaps I was listening to something profound. This impression did not hold up after spinning the full album over time. I am not someone put off by the ingredients in the Indukti stew, I can appreciate heaviness, experimentalism, harsh vocals, and dark themes. But I need it to go somewhere more interesting, offer more variation, and push some emotional buttons somewhere inside of me. Indukti has never done the latter much for me on either album, and on this one succeed less well on the two former points. A cacophonous wall of endless oppression, where the variable components are pleasant but sometimes seem like arbitrary afterthought. There are moments on "sansara" and "aemaet" where I nearly have to scream "alright, we get it!" I personally feel they over-utilize the heaviness factor and thus reduce its effectiveness. Sometimes that works but in this case it struggled to remain interesting. On the upside, I recognize the talent of the individuals and appreciate some of what they are trying to do here. I believe people should hear the work and decide for themselves if this is compelling or simply gut-crunching tedium. "Ninth wave" is the longest track and my favorite of the set, showing a nice progression from a peaceful beginning of birds and acoustic guitars to the unsettling trumpet ushering in a shift of mood, then slowly the heaviness descends like a thunderstorm until we are in Tool territory. The storm breaks past midpoint again and we are treated to nice violin and trumpet, though the threat of the heaviness is never far removed. This is a pretty inspired and thoughtful track, but I don't believe it is sustained enough through 63 minutes for a higher rating. While some great moments are found within, too much of the album just hangs on me like wet clothes, the moods being a place I can appreciate but the expression of those moods only occasionally pulled off with success. Fans of Susar should appreciate this one as well, expect Idmen to be a sludgier, more complex, longer, and darker affair. I just wish I could say it was a significant improvement, instead, it's a sideways drift in terms of overall quality. A true mixed bag.

There's something magical in first two minutes of Freder, these arabic like melodies. Oriental things always charmed mind of westerners. In fact, these traits return soon after tech metal introduction in said time.

That's first track, six more remain. Truth is, that this interesting flavour, not so usual melody and harmony is present through all songs (as far as I can tell). Good thing for me, that it's not just brutal assault on your ears, betting all chances on that you'll be overwhelmed by it and in your ecstasy, you'll forgive, or won't hear in this sound mess at all, big void of innovation. Yes, I'm follower of theory, that you can gain more with theory of precise sound with extreme as one of the flavours, not main ingredient. Also, ambient like sound is here. So different from their latest release and

5(-) so better. I know, it's not tech/extreme. Their second album could be, but this one mix together all things in correct rate. And again, I have to say, that melody is not a crime, when music doesn't depend solely on it.

Guitar is not so original here, huh ? Playing basically one riff all over the place, most of the time. As with this genre of music, I follow one rule. As long as it's listenable, I can appreciate it. But sadly, there are (as somebody wise pointed out) mostly noises and unpleasant music. OK, there has to be innovation and also a rebellion, but how far can it go ? This record has gone quite far. They are able to, they can. But in that case, I can't think so well about it. Only better tracks (yawn, by my opinion, I don't feel good repeating myself) are last two, Nemesis Voices and Ninth Wave, which reminds me Opeth's Watershed a lot. But the rest, I have nothing to catch by, nowhere to hook on and start something. This whole record is so hostile, that it's either me, or this album, but it's not because I hate style (as long as it lacks death metal growl, I'm happier by 1 star), or that I simply don't like this music. It's about what is this album offering. And I don't see much good things here.

2(+), but almost non-listenable, at least for me. And also except last 2 tracks, which raises the rating. I'm not against hard to get into music (I have to mention these bearded (I mean many times mentioned by me) Van Der Graaf Generator. This is also hard to get into music and voilá, I like most of their work. Same with Frank Zappa, or Gentle Giant. Even Magma. But this is ridiculous. I don't see almost no good here), I'm against irrelevant music. Music which can give you nothing.

Experimenting is a good thing. It's big part of prog. But if you make something so experimental, that it's unlistenable, then what. Rate it as perfect masterpiece, even if you can't stand it, not even after many listens ? Look, I've tried. After I wrote this review, I was thinking about what people brought to 1 and 5 stars ratings. And I saw my side more on 1 star.

I cannot believe the bad reviews this album as received and also cannot understand why this masterpiece is not in the top 100 for this year, should be number 1. This their second album is a great improvement on SUSAR, itself a great debut. True it's not for the faint hearted and anyone stuck in the seventies is not going to like this but if you are open minded and like inventive music with bite, you may like to give this a listen.

The big influence from the past is clearly King Crimson Larks Tongues/ Starless/ Red, include some Tool and then mix in some RIO and you will have an idea what to expect, expect the unexpected.

Straight from the start this is one of the most evil sounding albums i've heard in my forty- eight years of life. Sansara goes straight for the throat and doesn't let go, heavy guitar chords ala Tool (themselves influenced by King Crimson) with some great violin ala David Cross, odd time signitures, stop start rhythm and extremely powerful. Tusan Homichi Tuvota starts slowly, wierdly, wonderfully with acoustic instruments, the violin plays a lovely melody and slowly increases it's power with wonderful vocals from Seepytimes Nils Frykdahl who gets crazier as the track progresses to it's climax, my second favourite on the album. A short but lovely interlude with soundscapes, trumpet and percussion then comes ...and who's the God now? with vocals by Macief Taff. The drums start a powerful tribal rhythm with the vocals slowly coming in with a repeated lyric as the guitars get louder and slowly everything starts to jell together. This is standard metal fare compared to the other tracks on this album and my least favourite track but although I say that it as nice touches here and there with some acoustic rhythm guitars and some nice great violin. Indukted is their Red, heavy guitar with a pounding stop start beat, this is the track that sounds mostly like King Crimson ala 2000. So much so that if this was on a new Crimson album with Fripp and Belew trading noise I for one would be very happy. Aemaet continues in this vain with heavy guitars and a scratching violin, in fact they could have called this Indukted II. Nemesis Voices starts with some strange noices over a repeated guitar motif and violin then the vocals of Michael Luginbuehi from Prisma come in and we're with Tool again. Like the last vocal track this is standard rock music, the violin is strong as on all the tracks and this keeps it above standard rock music. The last track Ninth Wave is my favourite on the album. It starts with seagulls, acoustic instruments and Trumpet. Over it's period of 11.32 minutes it builds from spanish sounding trumpet to the heavy chords and violin. The Trumpet here played by Robert Majewski reminds me of Mark Isham on some David Sylvian songs but the music is far more powerful. Then it slows down again with wonderful violin and again Trumpet before building to its exciting climax. The Drums on this track are exceptional.

This is the best album since Opeth released Watershed last year and unless Porcupine Tree's new album is the best thing they have done I cannot see anyone else coming close, not even Riverside's new album is this good and although I love Maudlin of the Well's part the second I think this one just edges it for me.

Jaw Dropping Prog Goth Metal Masteripiece

When I first ordered Indukti's SUSAR, I was astounded. The sounds were so unique and fresh, dark and ethereal, it completely blew me away. My first impression was 5+ stars, but luckily I didn't write my review the first night I bought the album. Over time, it became clear that the band's gradual twisting and turning of their riffs lacked a little in terms of songwriting. I still like the album quite a bit, but it hasn't held up to multiple listens. (In opposition to most prog which gets better the more you dig).

Idmen equalled, if not eclipsed, SUSAR's overwhelming first impression. I listened to the album 3-4 times the first night I bought and felt like I was listening to music composed by one of the Nazgul. Goth ethos is always about dark fantasy, and in this case it feels like we're hearing the soundtrack for the Dark Lord's entrance into Armageddon. The most obvious changes are that the music is more brutal and heavier than SUSAR, which is no small feat. Mariusz Dzuda's ethereal vocals are replaced by three vocalists, the softest of which sounds like a very good Maynard James Keenan clone. The first two sound like demons, combining many different vocal tonalities including the most music appropriate harsh vocals I have ever heard. The first comes courtesy of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum's mastermind N. Frykdahl, who tells a story of a hero mouse's quest as if he were a psychotic witch doctor about to march to his own death.

The more subtle difference between Idmen and SUSAR is the improvement in songwriting. There is better use of contrast and movement to maintain interest on this album, more ideas packed into each song. Still, some of the instrumentals (especially Indukted and Aemaet) are begging for vocals. And despite the fact that this band packs complex times and syncopation at will, it happens so seamlessly that even the straightest metal fans will still thinks rocks hard. This is inarguably very prog, but could be put on at a (very metal or goth) party and still keep the energy going. In fact, the music sounds like the soundtrack to a dark universe, Matrix or Sin City or something of the sort.

The first four songs are sensational, some of the best goth metal or prog metal I've heard in awhile. The fourth "And Who's the God now?" is the best, a dark tribal piece with so much going on that you feel like you're be pulled under lava. The next two, as mentioned, might be improved with vocals but are still quite good, complex, multiple sounds, brutal. The seventh "Nemesis Voices" is a very good song in the Tool / Perfect Circle mode, excellent but derivative. The final long instrumental is a mood piece that progresses from soft acoustic guitars and a distant trumpet (a la Queensryche's "Promised Land") but progresses to fully on fury with meticulously executed blast beats and a monstrous guitar tone where the bass and guitars merge into one collossal juggernaut of sound. Finally, the music receded again to gentle waves and we are left exhausted but happy.

The band has evolved for the better, communicating more with their music while retaining their love of complexity. I miss the harp, and the violin sits further back in the mix than on SUSAR. After repeated listens, the songs hold up much better, though I still search for a lead point of interest in places as I mentioned.

This is a must have for fans of goth metal. This is so far ahead of Tiamat, Anathema, Paradise Lost, though all those bands have their place. This is a must for lovers of Tool, post-metal, and experimental metal, though the band really doesn't sit in any of those categories well. If Ulver combined their sounds of metal and electronic ambience into a prog monster, that might be the closest comparison.

Though not without a few flaws, this is an excellent 4-5 star piece of progressive metal.

INDUKTI are an interesting band, perhaps mis-categorised as post-rock/post-metal by some. I hear heartland prog-metal in this album, albeit with a unique amalgam of instruments (including harp and violin) leading to a most pleasant sound. Like OCEANSIZE, perhaps the closest analogue to this band, there are elements of the post-rock sound, but they do not take us into the post-rock landscape in the way, say, KAYO DOT does.

Indeed, the band's biggest flaw is also, perhaps, the reason for their mis-categorisation: they do not have any meaningful vocals. This is such a shame, as their compositions cry out for a melodic line to give them that extra dimension. 'S.U.S.A.R.' is a fine instrumental album (there are guest vocals, but they are rather thin and insignificant, dwarfed by the instrumentation) with none of the cheap tricks some metal bands use as part of their posturing persona: this is all class. Prog heaven.

'S.U.S.A.R.' consists of seven equally strong tracks, all featuring contrasts between beautiful acoustic music and crunching heavy guitar, driven along by a complex rhythm. Lovers of TOOL and OCEANSIZE ought to check the album out, but it does not scale the heights these bands reach, lacking the compositional excellence and vocal power of either. Nevertheless, this is an above average debut and well worth a listen.