Incassum
We were recently sent through a copy of In Vain from Manchester based Incassum, a band offering up a progressive, technical edge and aggressive female vocals. Having formed in 2004, these guys seem to be producing music which needs to be heard, and since I’ve got the album in front of me I figured why the hell not!
Opening with The Beckoning it immediately becomes clear that this is a band who mean business, filling the track with hammering guitar lines, pinch harmonics, bass heavy rhythms and enough rolling drums to shake your grans teeth out of her face. Moving away from a simplistic ‘prog’ tag, there’s way too much going on here to settle for one simple genre, the music is full of catchy hooks, hammering lines which are sure to get pits moving and moments which will sit you back and make you think ‘woah, that was cool!’. What’s most striking though is the female vocals, they make the mix even heavier if that is possible, adding in an unexpected element which although comes as a surprise, soon forms something which you can work with and enjoy!
History Repeats continues the theme of all out power only this time, adding in a real funky edge to things and getting you out of your seat and moving along. The intro made me think of Zakk Wylde straight away, but the main part of the song soon leaves this comparison standing, there’s a shed load of power flowing out of the musical elements which is then backed up by the vocal line adding in a sense of melody during the chorus to the track, it’s a clever mix which works well! Moving from dark and distorted into dark and clean, this track is a real highpoint on the album and one which I highly advise you to check out! Space To Breathe continues the theme of producing anthemic tracks which are going to engage huge crowds of people, this time opening with a funky edge and keeping it going throughout the track. Combining male and female vocals adds in another dimension to this track, making it one which you want to be seeing on a live stage purely to see the crowd reaction to things! Rotating through different sections in the track, this is one which you’ve got to hear to believe, there’s just so much going on that it’s impossible to know where to listen first, but it works!
So Red suddenly marks a change of pace in the album, opening soft and melodic at first yet keeping that dark edge firmly in place so as to not confuse things. Ushering in some soothing vocal lines courtesy of Sharleen, there’s an almost celtic feel to things here in the vocal and guitar combination, yet the mix forms into another deep and powerful track which you can’t help but feel a little enthralled by as it progresses. Making sure you’re fully satisfied before finishing, there’s the heavy elements brought back in but their just like the icing on a cake, they finish the track but you’d enjoy it without them! I do have to hold me hands up though and say that the guitar solo on this track was a moment of pure genius, awesome stuff! All These Lies seems to continue the anthem like approach from the band, this time opening bass heavy and launching into a melee of hammering drums and distorted guitars, once again forming a mix which, on the live scene, is going to leave venues as nothing but dust. If you’re looking for music which is heavy, funky and makes you want to dive headfirst into a pit, this is it – and it’s awesome to hear!
Finishing with title track In Vain, everything once again opens slow and melodic as it begins but soon reveals its true colours as a force to be reckoned with on the album. Heavy and powerful once again, this is like the bands final hurrah to leave you certain that what you’ve just heard did really happen. There’s more of the rolling double bass, more hammering guitar lines and more of the incredible vocals which will make you just sit back and wonder how the hell she does it! As a finishing track this does the job perfectly, closing everything off and leaving you wanting more – so guys, more please!
We featured an interview with Incassum (HERE) a while back, but to be honest what they said didn’t give a lot away about their music. What you’ve got here is a band who have produced an album which covers the entire spectrum – from dark to light, heavy to soft and generally, anthemic in all elements. This isn’t an album which everyone is going to like, but when you really listen to it you realise that what you’ve got is a hell of an accomplishment, as well as a hell of a hard act to follow! I for one look forward to hearing more from these guys and to seeing what comes next – it’s going to be a hard one to follow guys!
To find out more about Incassum, check out their Myspace page HERE and their Facebook page HERE.
Opening with The Beckoning it immediately becomes clear that this is a band who mean business, filling the track with hammering guitar lines, pinch harmonics, bass heavy rhythms and enough rolling drums to shake your grans teeth out of her face. Moving away from a simplistic ‘prog’ tag, there’s way too much going on here to settle for one simple genre, the music is full of catchy hooks, hammering lines which are sure to get pits moving and moments which will sit you back and make you think ‘woah, that was cool!’. What’s most striking though is the female vocals, they make the mix even heavier if that is possible, adding in an unexpected element which although comes as a surprise, soon forms something which you can work with and enjoy!
History Repeats continues the theme of all out power only this time, adding in a real funky edge to things and getting you out of your seat and moving along. The intro made me think of Zakk Wylde straight away, but the main part of the song soon leaves this comparison standing, there’s a shed load of power flowing out of the musical elements which is then backed up by the vocal line adding in a sense of melody during the chorus to the track, it’s a clever mix which works well! Moving from dark and distorted into dark and clean, this track is a real highpoint on the album and one which I highly advise you to check out! Space To Breathe continues the theme of producing anthemic tracks which are going to engage huge crowds of people, this time opening with a funky edge and keeping it going throughout the track. Combining male and female vocals adds in another dimension to this track, making it one which you want to be seeing on a live stage purely to see the crowd reaction to things! Rotating through different sections in the track, this is one which you’ve got to hear to believe, there’s just so much going on that it’s impossible to know where to listen first, but it works!
So Red suddenly marks a change of pace in the album, opening soft and melodic at first yet keeping that dark edge firmly in place so as to not confuse things. Ushering in some soothing vocal lines courtesy of Sharleen, there’s an almost celtic feel to things here in the vocal and guitar combination, yet the mix forms into another deep and powerful track which you can’t help but feel a little enthralled by as it progresses. Making sure you’re fully satisfied before finishing, there’s the heavy elements brought back in but their just like the icing on a cake, they finish the track but you’d enjoy it without them! I do have to hold me hands up though and say that the guitar solo on this track was a moment of pure genius, awesome stuff! All These Lies seems to continue the anthem like approach from the band, this time opening bass heavy and launching into a melee of hammering drums and distorted guitars, once again forming a mix which, on the live scene, is going to leave venues as nothing but dust. If you’re looking for music which is heavy, funky and makes you want to dive headfirst into a pit, this is it – and it’s awesome to hear!
Finishing with title track In Vain, everything once again opens slow and melodic as it begins but soon reveals its true colours as a force to be reckoned with on the album. Heavy and powerful once again, this is like the bands final hurrah to leave you certain that what you’ve just heard did really happen. There’s more of the rolling double bass, more hammering guitar lines and more of the incredible vocals which will make you just sit back and wonder how the hell she does it! As a finishing track this does the job perfectly, closing everything off and leaving you wanting more – so guys, more please!
We featured an interview with Incassum (HERE) a while back, but to be honest what they said didn’t give a lot away about their music. What you’ve got here is a band who have produced an album which covers the entire spectrum – from dark to light, heavy to soft and generally, anthemic in all elements. This isn’t an album which everyone is going to like, but when you really listen to it you realise that what you’ve got is a hell of an accomplishment, as well as a hell of a hard act to follow! I for one look forward to hearing more from these guys and to seeing what comes next – it’s going to be a hard one to follow guys!
To find out more about Incassum, check out their Myspace page HERE and their Facebook page HERE.