Idmen

Idmen is the second full-length album by Polish band Indukti. I am hesitant to label them as progressive as they seem to fit the post-metal genre more closely. Idmen showcases both heavy and acoustic parts and everything in the middle. Softer portions with clean and acoustic guitars are reminiscent of Agalloch, but the darker atmosphere and intensity isn’t.

Idmen has a tribal vibe, including but not limited to the usage of ethnic percussion, especially on vocal tracks. The lyrics contribute greatly to the effect, considering the second song is based off a Hopi narrative. And then of course, that chant at the end of And Who’s The God Now. Vocals are much more central on this album than on the previous effort, SUSAR. They dominate in each of the three tracks they are present on, delivered by various methods ranging from growls and screams to spoken word, singing, and whispering. The vocal songs venture into the territory of avant-garde; they are just flat out weird, but that’s part of their charm – they’re interesting to listen to.

The instrumentalists shine on the songs that aren’t vocally-based. The band has a violinist. She isn’t really essential, but she adds a specific flair to the group’s sound. Guitars vary from acoustic to clean to the more typical and most utilized dark and distorted range. The drummer plays in odd time signatures, maybe more often than not, largely following along with the riffs.

Generally, the heaviness remains level throughout each song’s run time with minor fluctuations. Few of the songs boast dramatic changes in atmosphere or instrumentation except the epic closer and longest song on the album, Ninth Wave, the highlight track. Also featuring a trumpet player to add to the Indukti’s list of instruments used that are normally not found in metal bands, it takes a journey through numerous different moods, undulating smoothly and frequently between heavy and soft parts.

Idmen is packed with quality post-metal. The vocally-dominated songs tend to have more of a tribal feel and the instrumentals meet and possibly surpass the standards set by their first album. Indukti is a band that could use more exposure and I would recommend this album to anyone interested in the post-metal genre or even progressive music who's open to some tribal strangeness.