“I’m sleeping like a slave thinking I was a king.”
French metalcore quartet Insolvency’s sophomore album Illusional Gates sees them set their footing in a heavily saturated genre. Acting as the follow up to their debut Antagonism of The Soul, Illusional Gates finally sees them in their own, in direct contrast to their debut’s lack of direction. Albeit being something musically experience for a while yet, it is clear they’ve found their sound.
Opener “Blindness” leaves no doubt towards the influences taken in the likes of Architects and Imminence (minus the violin) to name a few. Accompanied by electronic staccato, “Blindness” proves to be your average cookie cutter metalcore baked to perfection with well tested and proven formulas. Thunderous drum work courtesy of Prosper Duffours lift every track such as “Torn Away Inside”. Duffours‘ drumming accompanied by thick reverb and catchy guitar riffs give it a sense of density that builds atmosphere and substance to what would otherwise be your average metalcore album.
“The Endless Maze” features Fit For A King vocalist Ryan Kirby who blends well into Insolvency’s sound, providing additional depth to what is already a plethora of different vocals contributed by the vocalists/guitarists Valentin Gondouin and Pierre Challouet and backing vocals Bruno Blackstard. “Mirage” engorges in a bass heavy interlude, something that would be right at home on a Pendulum record. Building up tension and intensity, it releases right off into the brutal in your face riffs of the subsequent song, “Illusional Gates”. Accompanied by layered vocals, it ends up feeling akin to the in-between phase of Architects’ albums Holy Hell and For Those That Wish To Exist. Halfway through, you get to the slower build up off something from Holy Hell which eventually opens up into a heavier chorus of something from Architects’ newest album.
“Last Call” contains some interesting vocal range, feeling very similar to Imminence‘s vocalist Eddie Berg. The slower, electronic pre-chorus sections (substituted for the violins on Imminence) gets a tad repetitive on subsequent listens. This trend continues into “Another Fate”, another song derived from the sound of the aforementioned metalcore giants. The in your face, constant brutality loses its charm and ends up feeling like a slog to go through at times. While it is broken up by occasional bits of melodic parts, it feels overdone to the point of boredom where every song bleeds into one another, losing all identity. “Stranger World” sounds thematically similar to “Dead Butterflies” off For Those That Wish To Exist, acting as a slower ballad-y track vocally, while being consistent with the instrumental atmosphere.
“Smother The Candle” features Thy Art Is Murder vocalist CJ McMahon who brings a minor brutality to the vocal dynamic. Sadly, it drowns out too much into the already ravenous instrumentals to provide any form of substance or respite from the last eight songs. The unified vocals are blatantly overused throughout the album. “Oversight” feels even more jarring with the lack of the melodic bits. However, the outro leans into deathcore territory with a massive guttural, something that could have been used on other parts of the album. “Afterlight”, the final, long driven interlude features symphonic orchestration that leads into closer “Fade and Flow”. It’s these build ups that the band excels in despite being relatively simplistic. “Fade and Flow” offers little in variety than anything off the album and feels like it can easily be substituted from any other song off the album. With closers being super important to me, providing an invaluable aftertaste, this one leaves a taste of gang vocals, melodic bits and a jab of brutality.
While managing to concisely concoct a sound of all good things metalcore and post-hardcore, it feels a bit too overdone to the point where each song loses any identity besides some catchy riffs. While the band have definitely found their sound in comparison to their debut record and this one, it eventually ends up being a blade sharpened by the finest prospects that metalcore has to provide. Mild repetition takes away from some of the pleasures, however the core of it is an album that is extremely enjoyable.
Illusional Gates is out February 21st via self-release.
7/10