Band:	Irreversible
Album:	Irreversible
Style:	Atmospheric sludge metal
Release date:	April 20, 2015
Guest review by:	musclassia

01. Dead Law
02. Undertow
03. Language Of Paralysis
04. Absent Help
05. -1/12
06. Mandatory Death
07. Armistice
08. Fade
09. Stele Of Revealing

After 10 years, including 4 full-length albums and as many EPs, the post-metal group Irreversible announced in April this year the demise of the group, alongside the release of what is, for now at least, their farewell album. Having only encountered the group last year when stumbling upon their previous release Surface, I hardly had the time to get to know them before they were gone. However, Irreversible acts as a solid leaving present that puts the band's abilities on full display.

In contrast to the 3 extended songs that comprised Surface, this album is more segmented with more concise songs, and I think it's better for it, as it offers greater opportunity for covering wider terrain. Which makes sense, given that their farewell statement proclaimed the album as a 'summary work' influenced by all their previous efforts. Surface was a rather solid if slightly unremarkable exercise in post-metal's meaty riffing and soft/loud dynamic shifting with some post-rock daintiness mixed in, with the predicted genre tropes on display (plus some rather enjoyable solo guitar work on top of that). Whilst Irreversible is hardly a grand departure from the post-metal genre, they do manage to explore their sound within the genre confines a bit more during its runtime, all set to a grey artwork and similarly tinted sound that slightly brings to mind the atmosphere of Cult Of Luna's Vertikal albums.

However, there's only so much exploring you can do when out of the 9 tracks listed on the album, only 4 are actual songs, with five interlude-style tracks of minimalist guitar and muted electronics bookending and fitting between the main songs. The interludes aren't inherently a problem, as they are all moderately interesting and well-written, if sometimes overlong, but when almost a third of the runtime is made up of music that acts as introductions to and transitions between the main events, it does result in a slightly fragmented and underdeveloped listening experience. This is a shame, as what we do get from the other two-thirds is highly satisfying.

The first 'real' track, "Undertow", mixes up entertaining Intronaut-esque riffing with more morose segments, accentuated by muted but lush melancholy clean vocals, alongside more post-rock-tinged parts and extra. "Absent Help", in contrast, whilst led into with a soft, percussion-driven opening, is darker, chuggier, and with greater presence of the typical post-metal vocal barks; at its slowest, the song almost becomes doom-y. However, in addition we get some more up-tempo, groovy riffs, plus some brief but surprisingly invigorating gang shouts that I would be very happy to hear more of in post-metal. Arguably the least successful song on the album, "Mandatory Death" at least offers up electronic percussion as a nice touch to accompany the slow and crunchy riffs and primal howls. Finally, "Fade" is the closest the band gets to writing a Vertikal B-side, but is more than sufficiently supported by great central riffs and excellent softer sequences to stand on its own two feet. All this brought together results in a varied yet consistently enjoyable and engaging post-metal journey.

So Irreversible may now be gone, but they leave behind a release worthy of remembering them by. The track arrangement is a tad surprising and unnecessary, almost as if the band doesn't trust people to enjoy two heavy songs in succession without a short breather in between, but it has a sufficiently smooth flow to overcome this and allow the focus to fall upon the quartet of post-metal cuts that illuminate this release with their own individual nuances. From powerful riffs and roars of fury to softer, more contemplative moments, the band maintains a consistent level of quality throughout and finish off their career leaving us wanting more, which is always a good sign.