Album Review: Infected Rain - Ecdysis

I hate to put bands into competition with each other, but sometimes there isn't a better narrative to explain what it is I'm trying to say. In this case, Infected Rain and Jinjer occupy very similar places in my mind. Both are modern bands of the most aggressive nature, that just so happen to introduce just enough of a melodic break to bring their music back toward the mainstream to a degree that broadens their horizons. In the previous album cycle, while the world was focused on Jinjer, I thought Infected Rain was doing the same thing in a better way. Jinjer stepped things up on "Wallflowers", so now the question is whether Infected Rain is keeping pace to rightfully say they are underrated.

That's an easy claim to make just one song into the record, as "Postmortem Pt 1" throws everything at the wall. The buildup is electronic, the verses to the song are a harsh groove, and the chorus opens up into a smooth and melodic counterbalance. Lena's voice does it all, shifting from a harsh scream that retains clarity, to a beautiful clean vocal that absolutely nails the melody. One of the common shortcomings of bands trying to do this comes from not having a voice that can powerfully hit both sides, but Lena has no such problem. She is only getting better.

Infected Rain's issue is not an imbalance between their abilities on either side of the spectrum, but in how they balance those two areas. When they follow in the framework of half harsh, half clean, they do some compelling work. When they take on a song like "Fighter", where the clean vocals are only a whisper in the bridge, the songs can drag a bit. Something like that is missing the push and pull, the ebb and flow dynamics that make the songs that much more engaging.

Unfortunately, Infected Rain falls into the same trap many bands of their ilk do, where they either can't consistently write great hooks, or they water them down in order to retain their metal credibility. They give us just enough to tempt us into thinking they could be the next band to cross over and appeal to everyone, and then they close the curtain and focus on their harsh side to the detriment of the music. It almost feels like they have bought into the line of thought I have heard expressed too often than 'heavy' is a synonym for 'good'.

With these dozen songs pushing the record toward the hour mark, the need for more dynamics and hooks is made clear. The aggression works in small doses, but gets old well before I make it through the entire running time. I keep waiting for something my ear can catch onto, something to say the screaming in my face was to prepare me for 'this', but those moments are few and far between. Instead, the record feels like a lot of set-up without much payoff. It's delayed gratification than never seems to come.

When the album is over, I'm left disappointed. I have heard promise in Infected Rain before, but I didn't get as much of it from this record. Their sound is developing, but not in the way I would hope it would. All that matters is if they are happy with the music they are making, but as all I can do is recount my own reaction to it, I have to say they are moving further away from me with this record. Which is ironic, considering that Jinjer took a step closer with their last album.

The more things change, eh?