Inchoate - IV: The Revenant - review

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Inchoate - IV: The Revenant - review

Cover image of the reviewed item
Band
Inchoate
Album
IV: The Revenant
Style
Alternative rock
Release date
April 2009
Reviewer
9.0
9.0
Tracklist
01. IV: The Revenant [Instrumental]
A review by
Bas
June 08, 2009
Instrumental albums come and go. Most of the time they're just a long succession of solos that has no idea where the hell it wants to go. In Inchoate's case things are a bit different though. Brandon Duncan doesn't play a single solo throughout the whole disc and instead delivers us a fine platter of thrash, death, post core and a little bit sludge, noise and even doom. Riff after riff is thrown at your head, while the drum program gallops along in whatever way it deems fitting. Crunchy thrash metal riff-fests are followed by introspective sludge parts. Simple string-plucking builds up a momentum, getting faster and faster along the way, only to ebb away again a few moments after. Noise soundscapes and death metal crescendos, sporadic bursts of fast drumming and a multitude of extreme metal climaxes; 'IV: The Revenant' is a fountain of ideas, spewing forth new motions and thoughts by the minute.

There is one big difference between Inchoate and most other instrumental project. Brandon manages to make a very convincing stance that he knows exactly what he's doing, why he's doing it and what he wants his music to sound like. Every single part of the music fits with the previous and every single part has its right to be there when you see it on a bigger scale. Also with 32 minutes he doesn't make the common mistake of making a too long instrumental CD. Actually it's one of the only ones that leaves me begging for more.

IV: The Revenant is definitely not something for everyone. It constantly switches between styles and might seem chaotic in places. Especially the drumming, but also the songwriting as a whole, has a very playful approach and it's obvious that Brandon didn't want to make music that would be widely appreciated; he wanted to make what he wanted to hear. That's something almost everyone says, but only rarely is it displayed in such a convincing light as on this record.

If you want something straightforward; you'll hate this one. If you only like extremely virtuosic albums that focus more on technique than songwriting; you'll hate this one too. Personally though; I consider 'IV: The Revenant' as one of the most fascinating instrumental albums, and songs, that I've ever heard. Probably second place, right after Sepia Dreamer's The Sublime.

WATCH OUT: This is a love it or hate it album
Rating breakdown
Performance: 8
Songwriting: 8
Originality: 9
Production: 8
Written by Bas | June 08, 2009

Comments

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Comments: 9 [ 1 ignored ]   Visited by 121 users
Bas
Retired Staff
Elite

Posts: 5591
Permalink
08.06.2009 - 21:17
Rating: 9
Bas
Retired Staff
Elite

Posts: 5591


Written by Irritable Ted on 08.06.2009 at 21:11

The picture on the cover looks familiar, is it from the original Dawn Of The Dead?

I have no idea actually, but he said the best way he can describe his album is "an instrumental metal soundtrack to a fictional zombie movie"

So as far as I'm concerned it could be possible, I have no idea though
----
BAS - Beautifully Accented Sexiness
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jupitreas
hi-fi / lo-life
Staff

Posts: 6663
Permalink
08.06.2009 - 21:29
jupitreas
hi-fi / lo-life
Staff

Posts: 6663


Judging by the samples available on their MySpace page, this stuff sounds a lot like the Quake 2 soundtrack to me... Seems custom-made to be soundtrack music actually, for games where you murder a lot of things.
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Posts: 2
Permalink
08.06.2009 - 21:37

Posts: 2


Hey thanks for the great review Bas! I am truly honored. And to answer the question about the cover, it is just an altered photo of my face. I was going for a definite Dawn of The Dead type feel though, that is one of my favorite horror films. I'm also a big Quake 2 fan by the way, Sonic Mayhem was a big inspiration to me back in the day. Thanks everybody,

Brandon Duncan
corporatedemon.com
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Posts: 537
Permalink
08.06.2009 - 23:15

Posts: 537


Just listened to the first 10 minutes of it, and its just plain awesome^^ realy nice, and playfull
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iaberis
Advice Troll

Posts: 1698
Permalink
09.06.2009 - 17:14
iaberis
Advice Troll

Posts: 1698


Dunno why, but whenever I start reading a review, even from the 1-2 lines, i know it's Bas... sometimes I can tell even by the cover itself
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Bitch! Please
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Bas
Retired Staff
Elite

Posts: 5591
Permalink
09.06.2009 - 21:16
Rating: 9
Bas
Retired Staff
Elite

Posts: 5591


Written by silenius on 08.06.2009 at 23:15

Just listened to the first 10 minutes of it, and its just plain awesome^^ realy nice, and playfull

Yeah it's definitely good stuff, glad you like it!
Written by iaberis on 09.06.2009 at 17:14

Dunno why, but whenever I start reading a review, even from the 1-2 lines, i know it's Bas... sometimes I can tell even by the cover itself

Is that a good or a bad thing?
But tell me, how can you recognize my reviews by the album cover?
----
BAS - Beautifully Accented Sexiness
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Daggon
Underpaid M.D.

Posts: 1689
Permalink
10.06.2009 - 08:32
Daggon
Underpaid M.D.

Posts: 1689


This review really got my attention, but it seems that getting this album will be quite difficult here in my land
----
"Les vers savent qu'ils n'ont pas d'ailes, c'est pour cela qu'ils se cachent sous terre"
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Posts: 2
Permalink
10.06.2009 - 21:25

Posts: 2


Written by Daggon on 10.06.2009 at 08:32

This review really got my attention, but it seems that getting this album will be quite difficult here in my land

Hey Daggon, I have an international shipping option on my website, check it out here: http://corporatedemon.com/29/01/2009/inchoate-iv-the-revenant/

Or you can find it on iTunes. Thanks for your interest!
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Daggon
Underpaid M.D.

Posts: 1689
Permalink
11.06.2009 - 07:27
Daggon
Underpaid M.D.

Posts: 1689


Written by corporatedemon on 10.06.2009 at 21:25

Written by Daggon on 10.06.2009 at 08:32

This review really got my attention, but it seems that getting this album will be quite difficult here in my land

Hey Daggon, I have an international shipping option on my website, check it out here: http://corporatedemon.com/29/01/2009/inchoate-iv-the-revenant/

Or you can find it on iTunes. Thanks for your interest!

Hey thanks man! I'll try to get this when I get the chance (cof cof, more money cof cof). Sounds interesting, thanks.
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"Les vers savent qu'ils n'ont pas d'ailes, c'est pour cela qu'ils se cachent sous terre"
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