ALBUM REVIEW: Clockwork – Inanimate Existence
In the realm of progressive death metal, miracles are being woven left right and centre. In the past couple of years alone, we have heard game-changing releases from bands defying science with albums so diverse they make you question the very musical laws upon which they are built. Now deep into a commendable career, INANIMATE EXISTENCE are poised to return with their fifth full length enigma, Clockwork. Armed to allow them to keep pace with trailblazers such as RIVERS OF NIHIL and ALLEGAEON, they have mustered their collective strength and present an utter onslaught of avante-garde brutality.
Clockwork is experimental by nature, probing deeper into the band’s cerebral well than any of their previous releases. In a genre so demanding that nothing short of genius will suffice in order to thrive, INANIMATE EXISTENCE have sculpted a tech-death prizefighter that pummels with relentless vigour. Polished and mature, it gleams with a perfectionist mentality as it bruises it’s way through an influx of dazzling tracks. Although beneath the surface it isn’t all so glorious, with the band explaining the album title as “referring to the mechanisms of a clock, and how every tick brings you closer to your doom.” Much explaining the devastating tone that is set for the most part of the album. The California trio hold nothing back in their quest to wreak havoc.
From the very outset, Clockwork’s striking nature is revealed. Magnitude nine blast beats immediately rock, while an abundance of shred tears through a vibrant soundscape. This essentially sums up a track in which hearing is believing, a tech-death fairy-tale that screams chaos and profanity. As it twists and turns towards Voyager, it unravels at full tilt. Here is a trinity of musicians mustering the very best of their collective knowledge and lifting the lid on their aptitude. Overwhelming as it may seem at first listen, this album stands as a true mark of how much INANIMATE EXISTENCE have developed as musicians and how capable they are of holding their own in contemporary tech-death circles.
As we hurtle into Apophenia, the already austere ambience feels even darker, if that is even possible. One thing that is noticeable here is the juxtaposition of certain polarised sounds. Crushing death metal passages are wrapped with gorgeous tech-metal interludes that wouldn’t sound out of place on a TESSERACT record. These shimmering bijous are a welcome attraction, offering an astute break from an otherwise inescapable blitzkrieg. This fluctuation becomes a trend, featuring on other tracks such as Solitude. This then, is not a run of the mill death metal effort. INANIMATE EXISTENCE have been careful to avoid the obvious, opting instead to work harder than they ever have done in order to craft the finest entry in their discography.
Of course time will tell how well Clockwork is received, but excerpts such as the immaculate Diagnosis compete at the highest level, with the help of solos that wail with metallic angst. Emotion bleeds from every note, executed by the quality of musicianship on display. Aptly, Liberation closes the album as perhaps the best – and longest – song, an amalgamation of everything good about Clockwork. INANIMATE EXISTENCE will enter May safe in the knowledge that they have comprised one of the year’s strongest extreme metal albums, one that ought to thrive on it’s integrity and airtight construction.
Rating: 9/10
Clockwork is out now via The Artisan Era.
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