The Untamed Hunger

The Dutch Black Metal duo (Balgradon Xul – vocals & drums, Draconis – guitars & vocals) waited six years after "Hybris" to give birth to a new work. Well, Infinity have not actually changed: lyrical insertions containing touching melodic licks alternate with relentless blast-beat attacks, however, a certain melody pulsates in these blasting rampages. Yes, "The Untamed Hunger" includes very infusive music, pompous and solemn mostly. Figuratively speaking, Dissection remained their guiding star. Although some changes did take place.

The key to understanding the transformation (albeit not a cardinal one, but nevertheless) lies in the production: it was a bit softer on "Hybris", as well as a bit more sandy, while the production on the newest work is quite violent and tough (matching the album's title, by the way). It is not surprising at all, the sound on "Hybris" was provided by Tore Stjerna, while Infinity did it themselves on "The Untamed Hunger": the album was recorded, mixed and mastered at The Absolute I Productions, guitarist Draconis' own studio. As a result a huge amount of power has been added to guitars (as opposed to the bygone fizz), definitely, now the general sound of the album is dominated by dynamics and drive, it is less Dissection-esque in a manner of speaking. So presumably, now Infinity are exactly what they should be.

Changes in the sound did not take long to affect the manner of presenting the material. This is best shown when using palm muting, albeit not so often. For example, when the tempo slows down in the beginning of the second "Ortus Luciferi", there is even a pronounced dominance of palm muting, you know, this is an almost death metal attitude. And an almost thrash/death metal-ish palm-muted riff in the fourth "Infernam Aeternam" makes the music even brutal and violent, completely uncharacteristic of Swedish melodic black/death metal (i. e. Dissection). Actually, "Hybris" had palm muted rhythm as well, but because of the soft production, it made itself felt unobtrusively, as if it was afraid to frighten off the bewitching melodies. Now Infinity are not shy about anything.

On the other hand, sometimes seeping brutality is not only a consequence of new production. In addition, Infinity have started to eschew smooth transitions in the structure of their songs more often, the third "Hakathriel" serves as a good example of unexpected acceleration when Infinity rush into the sound attack.

The Norwegian black metal influence is now more evident due to the changes that have taken place in Infinity's music or, more accurately, in their sound. We all know that Immortal's influence was felt before, for example, on "Hybris" it is the third "Wrath of the Djinn" that has an obvious riff in the spirit of "Pure Holocaust". But "The Untamed Hunger" surpasses the previous album in this parameter. The most obvious episodes: the fourth "Infernam Aeternam" opens with a blast-beat riff in the spirit of "Blizzard Beasts"/"At the Heart of Winter", in the title fifth song it is already "Battles in the North" (high-speed distorted guitar picking accompanied by doublebass-attack), and in final "The Cold Silence Beyond" – "Pure Holocaust".

Well, there are groovy Satyricon-like riffs sometimes ("Lord of the Earth", "Infernam Aeternam"), but due to the rough production they take on a fundamentally different color, not black metal-ish at all. And "The Untamed Hunger", the richest song on the album in terms of variety of riffs, is couched at the beginning in a mid-tempo groove in the spirit of none other than "Jesus' Tod" (but the riff is in its own way, of course). The title track is also marked by an almost grindcore rampage and, perhaps, the only riff in the entire album in the manner of modern black metal (somewhere in the second half). A very remarkable song.

And yet the most pompous and solemn song – "Hakathriel" – is sustained in the spirit of Viking-era Bathory, even its solo filled with Quorthon-esque grandeur stands apart from the rest of the not-so-numerous solos on the album. Actually, solo work is the album's weakest point, the one in the very first song "Lord of the Earth" sounds pretty ordinary especially after the part of the piercing tremolo picking lead line. So a sluggish start sets the trend in this sense: the licks are much stronger than the solos on "The Untamed Hunger".

Summary. Infinity categorically reject new trends in black metal, steadfastly adhering to old school canons. You will not find anything new here, but enjoy the spirit of the Beginning breathtakingly.

The Metal Observer