ALBUM REVIEW: Reserate – Introspect

“This emptiness just pulls me under.”

Since their inception in 2018, Reserate have built up a name for themselves in Singapore’s small but active alternative scene. The band started out with a progressive metalcore sound before pivoting towards a more modern metalcore sound. They’ve played countless local shows over the years, including opening for British prog-metal titans TesseracT in May of this year.  Ahead their upcoming show in August supporting BABYMETAL and their Japan tour in September, the quintet is poised to release their debut full-length album, Introspect.

Album opener “Monochrome” lands with a destructive hit. Sounding like a glitchy wall of sound, the electronic-influenced djent riffing forms quite a unique effect. Vocalist Linus Sebastian brings a ferocious performance with his harsh vocals, matching the intensity of the track. Ending on a massive breakdown, the track presents an intriguing and experimental side to Reserate, playing with an unconventional mix and electronics to create heaviness. “Break The Silence” follows suit, with interjections of leads from guitarists Coral Liaw and Kevyn Oliver breaking the noise. Regrettably, the mix does drown the drums out at points, which is a shame because drummer Ridwan Johari does lay down an impressive set of grooves.

There are points where the experimental nature of the album’s mix works against it, mainly on “Lavender Town”. The track sees Oliver delivering the chorus, which is placed quite strangely in the mix. The best way I can describe it is that it sounds like the sound is coming from inside my head, as opposed to the more well-rounded elements of the mix. The bridge features a performance by saxophonist Haziq Didie, but the presence of high-pitched buzzing noises distracts heavily from the saxophone. Thankfully, these issues don’t affect the entire album as a whole.

“Weightless” is undeniably a standout, with Reserate bringing a tri-vocalist combo which combines the efforts of Sebastian, Liaw, and Oliver. With Sebastian taking on the more aggressive verses, Liaw providing the pre-chorus vocals, and Oliver delivering a soaring chorus hook and additional screams on the verses, the combo is one that really works. The track is packed with meaty djent riffing, pulling back and injecting melodic ambience on the chorus. These qualities make “Weightless” one of the strongest performances by this iteration of the band and a style that is well worth pursuing.

The album takes a melodic turn with “The Longing”, taking a much more melodic and melancholic direction from the album’s first half. The wistful, open sound gives a lot more room for the individual instruments to breathe, a refreshing change in pace. The emotional twist shows a different side to the band, and their ability to craft more melodic compositions was a pleasant surprise. “Drift” continues in this direction, bringing back some of the band’s older influences with a ERRA-esque opening riff. The track follows in this progressive metalcore direction, with an ambient tremolo lead blanketing the track. These two tracks are my personal highlights on this album, displaying the band’s musicianship in a compelling way. It’s a direction that I hope the band continues to explore, as while as fun the experimentally heavy tracks can be, they can feel overwhelming in an album context.

Closing the album is its title track, the longest on the album. Beginning as a gentle piano ballad interjected with rap-singing vocals from Oliver, it throws a curveball as a trap beat enters the scene with Sebastian delivering screamed rap vocals. While I’m normally not a fan of rap in metal, I must admit that this approach was really well-done. Wistfully lamenting about a dissatisfied state of life, the track’s emotion hits a climax as it opens up the sound in a gorgeous, heavy ambience. The track is beautifully cinematic, building with a steady pace and incorporating elements that might otherwise not match. “Instrospect” is a grandiose ending to the album befitting of its closer position.

Introspect is an album that holds a lot of potential, with engaging instrumentals and a good amount of experimentation. Production-wise, it could have benefitted from a cleaner style that gives all the instruments their own space, despite its unusual choices being quite interesting. With refinements to the production and a focus on the melodic elements of their sound, the future is promising for Reserate (Particularly the three-vocalist combo, which is a niche not many bands have). As a whole, Introsphere presents Reserate as a multifaceted band, and with more time to polish their sound, they stand a chance to rise higher.

7/10

Introsphere releases on the 16th of August via independent release. Digital pre-orders for the album can be found here while merch can be found here.