Published: March 11, 2016

When I’m about to review an album, regardless what I already know about the band, what catches my attention in the first place and drives me to a cautious listening, is the album’s name. Usually that comes with the visual suggestion given by the cover art; matching together they are supposed to hand you a scenery beyond words and before the music. In the digital era this might seem an oddity, but the way a band represents and introduces its work is hella important. So...

 

“The Isolation Splendour” is quite an expressive and emotional title, already giving me an anticipation about colors and textures of the music.

Will the album’s title reflect what’s actually in it? Let’s go find out…

 

Before, just some brief notions. After blowing up the metal scene with their demo “The Lonely Aquarelle” (winner of Metal Storm Award for Clandestine Cut of the Year 2013), Greeks of IMMENSITY are back with their first full-length. The album is going to be released via Hypnotic Dirge Records and Solitude Productions on March 21, 2016. While awaiting, we listened to the 5 original tracks (plus 2 bonus tracks from the first Ep, a very nice idea) trying to dig the complexity of IMMENSITY’s sound.

 

Once more, IMMENSITY don’t deny their influences in My Dying Bride and Katatonia, with a different twist given by Progressive compositions soaked in gothic influence. Slow and heavy drums and dominant guitars open the album creating an anticipation for the tormented yet plain Leonidas’s growls.

 

It’s when it comes to the clean vocals that the production actually starts capturing my full interest. Here clean vocals are, in my opinion, the real madness as well as the signature of “The Isolation Splendour”. Together with keyboards, they kick in - when needed - driving the whole album towards a Gothic/Funereal doom production. Guitar riffs in “Irradiance (For The Unlight)” are truly touching.

There’s a general sense of congruency on this work, absorbing the listener during the entire travel – total runtime including the two bonus is about 68 minutes – as the tracks seem to be tied together and inseparable.

 

What I perceive as a goal of this new IMMERSION’s craft is their unusual way of mixing doom with prog searching for a seductive, rich and mature composition.