DEMO EP REVIEW i-(def)-i 1. FARSIDE OF NOTHING (MP3)
www.i-def-i.com
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I-(def)-I are a
Manchester based band that were formed in the summer of 2001. They have recorded this demo
with the help of Mark Daghorn who produced, engineered and mixed the EP and a really good
job has been done all-round. Unfortunately, the demo will only be available at gigs but
thankfully it is possible to download all four tracks from their website.
From the outset this is uncompromising downtuned metal constructed from very hard and crushing heavy riffs, but one dimensional it isn’t as this band is gifted with an excellent vocalist and a good understanding of how to use melody. They manage to merge an awesomely heavy sound that draws much aggression from a modern style of metal while shaping songs with a traditional melodic backbone from more contemporary influences. Especially the vocals, which are so very well sung and mixed with a harsher more aggressive shouty style that helps to emphasise the melody and form the music. Taking on that shape the guitars become very melodic when required but never let-up on the bruising heavy riffing and mixing the two aspects very well. Out of four very strong tracks, ‘Sour’ is personally most appealing with an opening riff not dissimilar to that of Earthtone9’s Star Damage. This song epitomises their style with a nice mix of melody while still sound fucking heavy. Musically you can hear the influence of bands such as Korn, Deftones, Staind, Machine Head and Pantera, while vocally maybe Incubus but more classically you’re reminded of perhaps an inexperienced version of Matt Alfonzetti (for you old bastards that remember Jagged Edge and Skintrade). I-(def)-I seem as angry as Rambo but as smooth as Casanova with their thumping metal that’s tempered with strong emotional melody. It’s really nice to hear a band playing modern metal with a vocalist that is actually singing, an art form you may have thought was long lost! They display all the hallmarks of a good rock band and we look forward to hearing a lot more from these blokes. Rigsby (9th January, 2003) |
