Within A Mind, Isolate
With the release of their latest demo, Isolate, Within A Mind toss a mixture of black metal, death metal and grind into an industrial sized blender and set that shit to puree. The duo consisting of Jason Aldrich (guitar, backing vocals) and Ian Heran (vocals, drum, bass) have crafted some seriously ugly metal (in a good way) with the five tracks on this disc.
Planted firmly in the grinding death metal arena, these guys throw enough textures, distortion and blackened elements in a frenzied assault on the senses. Isolate may not change the music industry as we know it, but it certainly proves that you don’t need a big budget and eight band members to scare the shit out of the general public.
Together from One
Isolate opens up with distorted, driving riffs and steady drums for the first 25 or so seconds before letting loose a stampede of blasting drums and raw vocals. There’s a decent bit of guitar work during a brief slowdown around 1:20 as the track builds back into a frenzy with vocalizer effected vocals. The remaining moments of the track consist of chugging riffs and bruising rhythms that settle into a decent groove.
Gore Tunnel
“Gore Tunnel” starts of with blasting drums and distorted, fuzzy guitars. The guitars have got a black metal feel to it more in line the likes of Xasthur — sort of distant and foreboding, yet brighter. That blackened feeling is mixed with grinding rhythms and layered growls throughout the track.
Spin Cycle
I’m digging the opening riffs to “Spin Cycle.” The blasting drums come in quickly and add to the din of noise and build toward the entrance of the vocals. the layered screams and growls add a nice depth to the vocals while the chaotic, swirling guitars and drums churn in the background.
The Silent Killer
“The Silent Killer” sees our aforementioned blender set to full throttle destruction as it erupts from the opening seconds like a ruptured artery. After the initial ferocity, the duo slow things down around the :20 mark as the vocals come in shortly after. The pace trudges along with plenty of sludgy, doomy riffs till the pace is picked up a bit after a minute and a half into the track. From that point on there’s a pretty decent groove. This is my favorite track on the disc.
Life in the Shadows
The final song on the demo opens with a grunt and manic drumming accompanied by driving guitars for the first 30 seconds or so. The duo settle into a bludgeoning, grinding groove from then on, shifting the tempo here and there to keep you off kilter in the swirling distortion and noise.
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As far as self-released demos go, this one is pretty good. It’s got a very raw, fuzzed out production which adds to the aggressive nature of the music contained on the disc. The duo’s mixture of grind and death metal aren’t anything we haven’t heard before, but the additional blackened edge to the overall sound and quality make for an interesting change from the norm. The result is a cold, distant and misanthropic feel to the band’s sound.
Favorite Tracks:
All of them
Additional Notes:
N/A