Intronaut: Null EP (2006)
I've never considered myself to be in any way blessed with so-called "ears," as in the music industry jargon that refers to talented A&R people who can pick and mold successful acts -- in part because my friends who work in A&R are some of the goofiest people I know.
But when a promo of Intronaut's Null EP landed unannounced and unexpectedly in my Manhattan mailbox, some 20 years ago, I sensed the group had something special to offer behind their harsh and unforgiving progressive metal barrage, and I was right!
No, the L.A. band would never top the Billboard charts, but amid the dozens of metallic albums I was reviewing at the time for the All-Music Guide, this four-track EP (five if you count its 30-second "Intro") showcased a band with uncanny musical chemistry.
Chemistry, as I wrote in my AMG review of the Null EP, is a wonderful thing to behold; in music as in every other facet of life, and even more so instant chemistry.
Drawing from and expertly fusing a wide range of influences (Lethargy, Neurosis, Gorguts, Tool, early Mastodon), Intronaut inserted ambient melodies into byzantine riff constructions, avalanche-like percussion, and gruesome growls that reflected its band members' origins in progressive hardcore acts like Anubis Rising and Uphill Battle.
The resulting, multifaceted compositions mix violently technical metallic gymnastics with jazzy passages ("Sores Will Weep"), dense guitar harmonies layered for dramatic effect ("Burning These Days"), and Indian-flavored bass patterns ("They [As in Them]").
Most importantly, all of the above, but especially the standout "Fragments of Character" balance consonance and dissonance with rare fluidity and impeccable taste; making tantalizing promises that Intronaut's future, consistently adventurous and ever-more refined LPs would surprisingly keep.
Sure enough, the Null EP was shortly followed later the same year by the full-length Void, and, after smoothly addressing the departure of guitarist Leon del Muerte in 2007 (replaced by Dave Timnick), Intronaut came back stronger than ever with '08's Prehistoricisms.
So can I get some A&R credit here, please folks?
More Intronaut: Prehistoricisms, Valley of Smoke, Habitual Levitations (Instilling Words with Tones), The Direction of Last Things, Fluid Existential Inversions.
