ALBUM REVIEW: Detach – Minipony

Ecuadorian extreme metal act MINIPONY return with a more aggressive and confusing sound on their new album Detach. Clashing together elements of djent and mathcore with South American rhythms and screeching vocals, MINIPONY have been making waves in the darker corners of the extreme metal world for the better part of a decade. Now, on Detach, the Quito, Ecuador based trio take their sound in a dangerous new direction.

Relying more on maximalist electronics and eclectic rhythms than many of their guitar-focused contemporaries, MINIPONY fly out of the gate with a buckshot blast of chaotic metal energy. After the surprisingly restrained instrumental intro track Om, MINIPONY begin in earnest on Detachment, a four and a half minute war for control over the back-and-forth distorted guitars, buzzing synth textures and CAR BOMB style brutal percussion. Whether the cacophony makes sense or not, MINIPONY manage to cram more musical ideas into the first few minutes of Detach than many songwriters can come up with in their whole career.

Although Detach takes up less than twenty minutes, MINIPONY still manage to make every second feel like a punch to the chest, only ceasing their assault for half a breath before coming back harder and faster. On Hope and its accompanying interlude OW, the Quito trio travel the length and breadth of the extreme landscape, from unpredictable mathcore polyrhythms and MESHUGGAH style chugs to deep, overwhelming electronic noise textures. Across their restrained runtime MINIPONY lay out every single way that an album this heavy can beat the listener over the head while still sounding relatively cohesive.

Closing track Inner Dance provides an entirely new and unique experience, clashing traditional dance rhythms with FRONTIERER-esque guitar acrobatics and frantic, distorted vocals. Throughout the album front-woman Emilia Moncayo’s voice is a driving force behind the band’s frenetic and brutal sound, on this final track her vocals really cut through the noise, leaping unpredictably between deep growls and distraught screeches on the very edge of distortion. Rather than attempting to keep up with the madness, Moncayo feels like she’s dragging the lawless instruments behind her, screaming across the extreme metal landscape.

While MINIPONY are hardly going to be pressed up against COLDPLAY on early morning rush hour radio, their eclectic, ever-changing sound is bound to go down well with anyone who fondly remembers THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN or THE TONY DANZA TAPDANCE EXTRAVAGANZA. After twenty minutes of Detach those who can stand the eccentric noise will be exhilarated and exhausted.

Rating: 7/10

Detach is out now via Subsound Records.

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