S.U.S.A.R.

The debut from progressive/post-metal band Indukti, SUSAR is mostly instrumental and reliant on atmosphere, bringing to mind snowy forests and a dark, tribal feeling. Indukti’s music can be violent, explosive and chaotic, while retaining these atmospheric qualities and incorporating mellow, slower passages as well.

Indukti displays their influences proudly, with traces of Pink Floyd and Agalloch (a band whose wintry ambiance they also share) during the slow parts, such as the beginning of No. 11811 and Cold Inside/And Weak (CI/AW are essentially two separate songs based off the same main theme). A small dosage of world and tribal music is present sparsely in the percussion and the atmosphere, which would be a precursor to their heavily tribal-influenced follow-up album, Idmen.

Indukti exhibit a discernible likeness to the bands in the unholy trinity of prog fanboys (that would be Tool, Opeth, and Dream Theater). They take the most guidance from the former, which shows through into the riffing style – the main riff of opening track Freder is straight up Tool. Some touches of Opeth are audible in the soft, clean guitar/acoustic-based parts, and, like Dream Theater, Indukti has difficulty holding back. Not in a sense that there’s a lot of technical wankery going on here, but in regards to how the songs reach a point of high intensity and just plateau, not sure where to go from there or where to stop. While the band uses buildup quite effectively at times, often the music tends to become overly chaotic to the point where it borders on unpleasant and overwhelming, maybe even a slightly boring. This occurs especially near the end of the album where there are fewer variations in heaviness, making these closing songs less interesting. This is the album’s largest flaw, though this constant heaviness brands SUSAR as being assuredly metal.

The other issue is with the drummer, whose snare sound is annoying and cuts through the music, not to mention he takes a little too much liberty behind the kit at times. Indukti has a violinist, which makes the album a more interesting listen – not that SUSAR is generic to begin with, but the violins add another unique element and play an integral role in the band. Indukti has also brought in a guest harpist, who on the contrary really doesn’t add much, only playing occasionally. The guest vocalist from contemporary Polish band Riverside is used sparingly, on only two of the songs, providing clean singing that melds into the rest of the music seamlessly. But overall, you don’t hear the instruments as being separate, and the riffing isn’t very strong or central either. SUSAR is dedicated more to atmosphere and the ebb and flow of the songs than individual performance.

SUSAR is a good debut, atmospheric and with songs that can become frantic, twisting and turning, now and then showing difficulty with restraining their chaotic tendencies but still strong, solid post-metal. It’s a shame this band hasn’t been putting out much new material recently.

Highlights: Freder, Cold Inside… I

Indukti cite Tool, Neurosis, and King Crimson as primary influences. That bit of information alone should either have you screaming bloody murder or crying tears of bliss... or it might leave you with a blank expression on your face, which is rather unlikely since you've somehow managed to find your way to this album.

I happen to love all three of the above bands, but I can't say that Indukti really sound like any of them. Certainly, there are some lines that can be drawn - the echoing, chiming, harmonically complex clean guitars give off some semblance of 80's-era King Crimson; the sinuous and rather disorienting effect where bass and guitar bounce between overlapping time signatures at the lower end of the fretboard is employed occasionally and is decidedly reminiscent of Tool (think the introductory and middle sections of Tool's "46 & 2" if you're not sure what effect I'm trying to describe); and I suppose some of the more ambient sections as well as the noisier parts could sort of be compared to something that Neurosis has done at one point or another, but even that seems like a stretch in my eyes - I don't find much of a resemblance at all between Indukti and Neurosis. Regardless, the big picture produced by Indukti on this album is much, much more than the sum of its parts.

Firstly, everything is accentuated by violin (another allusion to King Crimson, I suppose) - or almost everything. Rather than just providing flourishes here and there for mood and effect, Ewa Jablonska is a full-fledged and prominent member of the band and the music, though she does have a tendency to fade away throughout some of the heavier portions of the album. She coats the overall sound with a smooth, organic warmth and provides something of an ethnic Eastern European flavor. She also creates some striking aural dichotomies, such as in songs like "No. 11812" and "No. 11811", where dark aggression is punctuated by sublime violin interplay.

Secondly, there's a harp played by guest Anna Faber. I've never been much of a harp fan, but I mostly attribute that to lack of exposure. Hearing it in use on this album has opened my eyes, so to speak. It's simply beautiful. The sounds that emanate from those gently plucked strings momentarily take you away to some celestial, enchanted utopia. So absolutely peaceful, tranquil, and mysterious that you feel genuine regret at being rudely pulled away by the arrival of the remainder of the band. Unfortunately, these moments of blissful harping are generally found only at the beginning or the end of a given song. There is a section in the middle of the song "Uluru" which sees the harp come together with the rest of the band for a fairly stunning, if rather brief, instrumental portion... but that's the only time you'll hear the harp in any prominent role together with the band. For the most part, Anna only performs solo pieces here and there - though the transition that she makes from "Cold Inside... I" to "No. 11812" is especially magnificent, and she does mingle with the band for a bit there, as well.

Thirdly, this is mostly instrumental. There are some vocals performed by guest Mariusz Duda of Riverside - he adds some wordless, tribal-esque vocal melodies on opener "Freder", and takes on more straightforward vocal duties on "Cold Inside" and "Shade" - but the majority of the album lacks any kind of vocal presence. I can't say whether this is overly positive or negative. The instrumental tracks are definitely more impressive from a songwriting and creative point of view, as well as in terms of technicality, but the vocal performances are quite strong and come across as very moving and soulful.

The remainder of the band is solid. Twin guitars provide a thick sound, but not one that's too overbearing. The heavier distorted portions are brought forward with a very crisp production that actually kind of sucks out some of the heaviness, opting instead for a more polished presentation (still quite heavy, though). The clean portions are also incredibly crisp and rich. There isn't much in the way of solos or leads... most of the guitar work centers around layers of clean arpeggiated chords and mid-tempo riffing with focus on beautiful harmony. The bass is powerful and audible, throwing in stretches of droning pulses alongside slap techniques and occasional transitions from purely rhythmic backing to more melodic interactions. A mighty bass presence overall, and one that adds a welcome and noticeable warmth to the music. The drums are fairly technical and very active, plowing through metric changes and rhythmic permutations with ease while avoiding complete sterility and keeping things musical with flourishing cymbal work and a competent sense of synergy and dynamics. As a whole, the band does a great job of staying together as one and building off of each other as opposed to going off on wild tangents and indulging in solo spots. A very cohesive sound.

S.U.S.A.R. is a commendable album from this Polish band. At once heavy, tranquil, abrasive, warm, and mesmerizing. There are some great ideas throughout that don't get developed as much as I would have liked, but that's alright for a debut album and it leaves plenty of room for improvement on future releases. I have high hopes for Indukti's future.