ALBUM REVIEW: The Biddings of Tyrants – Invertia

Oppressive industrial black metal isn’t a genre you come across on a regular basis, so when a band comes along that plays it, you’re bound to have your interest piqued. Step forward INVERTIA. The duo from New England are unleashing third album The Biddings of Tyrants into the world, their first record since 2014’s Another Scheme of the Wicked. This time around, members Dave Coppola and Tim Winson have been assisted by Aaron Rossi (MINISTRY, PRONG) and Kevin Talley (DYING FETUS, SIX FEET UNDER), who have provided their drumming talents on half of the album’s ten tracks present. Talking of MINSITRY, the band cite them as one of their major influences alongside MAYHEM, IMMORTAL, SKINNY PUPPY and, er, George Carlin. Now you know.

But onto the record. At just under 33 minutes it certainly doesn’t pull any punches; only furious opener Another Big Brother clocks in over the four-minute mark and the average length is just over three. What it DOES mean is that The Biddings of Tyrants plays out like an extreme sucker punch, there and gone in a flash whilst giving your ears a good pounding as it sweeps by. From the snarl of Fleshless in Time to the gnarly Not for Taste and on to the maelstrom of Trapped and Tailored (featuring Winson’s self-titled ‘buzz beat’ programming), INVERTIA have produced a real challenge for the senses.

Give it a few listens as well; the industrial elements, whilst very prominent at the beginning of the tracks, don’t tend to be noticeable amid Coppola‘s guttural growls and raw production, but once you’ve allowed the album time to sink in they begin to creep out of the songs and into the foreground. Special mention as well to the guitar work (also Coppola) which tips it hat at moments to the tech scene, particularly in Scatter. The best track, however, is The Forever Incision, bookended by the haunting strains of a choir and running amok in the middle with a host of black metal licks and powerful drumming.

This isn’t a perfect album, the production could do with a little tightening around the segues from samples to metal and there are too many songs that end with a few seconds of silence that stop the album from flowing, but INVERTIA have certainly set the black metal cat amongst the pigeons with The Biddings of Tyrants. It might be nearly the end of 2016 but INVERTIA have given us one last slab of heaviness to see out December with.

Rating: 7/10

The Biddings of Tyrants is out now via self-release.

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