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Ingrain > Aembers > Reviews > raspberrysoda
Ingrain - Aembers

Agalloch/Alcest worship done right - 90%

raspberrysoda, January 15th, 2016

Ingrain are a post-BM band from Israel, and this is their first release since their formation in 2012- a thing which shows that the band had some time to work on some of their original material.

Although the music in the EP itself isn't very original, the band tried to be original, and somehow manages to do so- they don't sound like complete Agalloch/Alcest worshipers, but instead, the forge a different aura around their music. Calling this post-black metal is very incorrect, for the reason it doesn't sound like any post-anything, except for the use of acoustic guitars. They guide the album and are a major part in every song (just because they are featured in every one of them), and don't sound tired and aren't very intrusive. The riffs are also very appealing to the album's aesthetic, with having dark tremolo parts as well as having very upbeat sections (such as in the songs To See and Firmament)- which is quite an uncommon thing among most BM bands, but surprisingly, they work quite well and fit perfectly with the atmosphere of the release.

The vocals in this release divide into two types: a calm type of singing which immediately bring Alcest to mind, and some run-of-the-mill BM screeching with a thick Hebrew accent (the first song, Bramm, is actually sung in Hebrew- which is something Israeli BM bands rarely do). Although they aren't very special, they are very enthusiastic and are very emotional-fueled. The drumming is pretty satisfactory and sets the pace of the EP with its high level of tightness.

After a couple of listens, you get a general idea of what the band tried to do in this EP: instead of focusing on the instruments, they tamed and emphasized the ethereal feeling this EP possesses. Overall, this is a very nice listen. Although it is skippable, if you ever found out about its existence in a certain way, giving a listen or two to this is recommended.