Actuality by Inoculation is described as Cosmic Death Metal and I honestly can’t think of a better description for the band or their music, as this is the sound I imagine that nebulas make when they are giving birth to new stars. It is vast, it is loud, it sounds like the universe screaming, it is… well… cosmic. Across its 10 track, 33 minute runtime, Actuality doesn’t so much nurse you in its arms as it does beat you around the head with fists of motlen hot magma.
It is a ferocious assault that doesn’t let up for one second as drummer Charlie Winters, bassist Nick Nedley, and guitarist/vocalist Anthony Allen present you with the sound of planetary warfare, if the warfare was conducted by two actual planets punching the bejesus out of each other in a heavenly MMA octagon.
This does, however, mean that Actuality is a very complex record. This isn’t something that you can put on in the background as you bimble about your day. Actuality is an album that demands your full attention.
I’ve been living with it for a couple of weeks now – so my apologies to Inoculation for the lateness of this review – and I still find myself peeling away layer upon layer of this Cthulhu shapped horror onion. With each playthrough I find myself discovering a new sound I haven’t heard before or a chord progression that I somehow missed during the previous listen. I like that in a record. I like that in a band. I like anyone or anything that challenges me to break my preconceptions of what I think they or it is, and Inoculation and Actuality do just that.
If I have one criticism – and it is only a small one, believe me – it’s that I could’ve lived without so many time changes. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t a deal breaker but for me, sometimes less is more and on a personal level their are moments that I could’ve done with a track just following what I perceived to be its natural progression.
Yet, like I said, this is just a personal thing and as I didn’t write any of Actuality, I don’t really have a say in how Inoculation approach their art. Which explains why I write about music as opposed to performing it.
Actuality is pretty good shit and Inoculation are a band that I urge anyone with a taste for Death Metal – Cosmic or otherwise – too check out.
You can buy Actuality via Maggot Stomp Records.
RATING: 3 OUT OF 5
RATING SYSTEM:
- 0: Fucking Shit
- 1: Shit
- 2: Not Bad Shit
- 3: Pretty Good Shit
- 4: Amazing Fucking Shit
- 5: The Best Shit You Will Ever Hear
PRESS SOURCE: Davide Pulito The Metallist / PR & Marketing for Heavy Music. Contact Website and Email: [email protected]
