Imonolith serve up metal and tantalising promise for the future on State Of Being…
Founded by Devin Townsend Project veterans Ryan ‘RVP’ Van Poederooyen (drums) and Brian ‘Beav’ Waddell (guitar), and featuring talented Threat Signal/Arkaea singer Jon Howard, Imonolith boast all the slick efficiency and heavy-duty purpose you’d expect.
Their specific direction on this pounding debut, however, still feels both tantalisingly and frustratingly up in the air. Tracks like Instinct have a pronounced Slipknot infatuation, packed with edgy riffs and Howard’s vocals impressively calling to mind Corey Taylor. Elsewhere, however, things feel more disjointed, with the throttling tech-metal of Dig evoking Meshuggah, while Foregone seems to channel Trivium’s stadium-seeking swagger as elements of Linkin Park, Gojira and Korn bleed through, too.
With all their unquestionable talent – and that moniker – this is good, but it’s surely just a stepping-stone towards the distillation of Imonolith’s ultimate, singular vision.
