IREPRESS

Now, seriously: there's nothing special about new IREPRESS release, it's mostly heavy Post-Rock, as it is popular these days, instrumental and well-played, with some experimental leanings (dub and electronica), but if you want something really fresh, go search elsewhere. It may sound innovative for those who listen to it for the first time in their life; but when you have dozens of releases monthly, and THEY ALL SOUND ALL THE SAME, this just doesn't funny anymore. I won't deny this may be a problem only for me (too much Post-Rock per one person, mayday, mayday!!!), but genre's decay is obvious.

This is, primarily, an instrumental effort. There is a definite loud/soft dynamic woven throughout the record. It's got odd bursts of group-chorus vocals that last mere seconds (not long enough to be cheezy). The number of instruments employed is vast, and they've mastered the subtle use of synthesizers to tremendous effect.

Steal this record and give it a listen if you don't believe me.

So what we have here is a well played set of eight pieces. There are plenty of dynamics, quick shifts, technical fluorishes, and drum & bass grooves throughout. All of the tracks are quite good, but the closer, Nonografistole Adendum (Trampled to Death by Love), stands out above the rest and makes for a fantastic conclusion. In this track we have all of the elements of before, with an added section featuring a trumpet solo, and shortly after that, there is a section with some extra percussion (it sounds like some bongos or congas). Not anything bombastic or anything there; they are simply nice touches. If these guys keep making records, I think we will have another force to reckon with. They're off to a great start as it is.

Expect the unexpected in Samus Octology due to the overabundant changes of time and melody that create a very innovative sound and atmosphere. The album has incredible songs that combine some sort of heavy riffs with slow or fast melancholic jazzy sections that bring incredible atmosphere and feel to the album. At the start of almost every song in the album you might think that Irepress is just one of those progressive metal shows off bands but if you look deeper into the album you'll find that this band is like no other. Songs like A. Frid Ohm/B. Martin Eek that has a very melancholic intro with an incredible bird whistle ("just beautiful") in the middle of the song to give great atmosphere presence. Other brilliant songs like Pah No and June Ipper can easily describe the album but the one that caught my attention the most was Nonografistole Adendum (Trampled to Death by Love). This song combines all the previous elements mentioned early and yet something more, with an incredible saxophone (I think it was a saxophone, if not, well...my mistake) and additional percussion that give a jazzy moved feel to it, and it's almost 10 minutes long (though the length doesn't make the song any better).

In overall this album is amazing as it gets. This is one of the most innovating bands within the post rock-metal (or however you want to classify it) genre combining such incredible elements all in one package of songs. Highly recommended to post metal fans looking for a band that breaks out of the ordinary rather than doing the same thing all over again and not bringing anything new to the table.

A well earned 4.5! fantastic album.