Recommended by a trusted colleague, Incura are a theatrical metal act with a difference. After just one listen it is clear I owe the aforementioned colleague a beer because Incura are a fascinating departure from the norm, drawing together elements of therion, At the drive in, Within temptation and Jolly to deliver a heavy, progressive, symphonic blast that is gloriously, wonderfully over the top in a vein that will leave newcomers agog at the sheer sweeping excess of it all. This is the band’s debut (although a string of EPs have appeared on the mighty InsideOut label) and it must be considered a staggering achievement with its wide mix of genres and its heady sense of drama.
The album opens with the chugging guitars of ‘get the gun’ which suggests a heavy metal assault before gently mystical backing vocals waft across the mix drawing the music into a more symphonic direction. Building up over martial drums, when the song hits its stride everything from raging riffs to a full-blown orchestra are thrown at the mix suggesting a band who have adopted the Jim Steinmen (‘more is more’) school of thought when it comes to song-writing. The sound is huge, and utterly, joyously excessive, bringing to mind Rick Wakeman and even (whisper it) that doyen of musical theatre Andrew Lloyd Webber. Musically the band are entirely adept, the music played and arranged with exquisite skill, whilst the biggest sticking point for newcomers may be Kyle Gruninger’s vocals which are pitched somewhere between Brian Molko and Cedric Bixler-Zavala. Certainly there is no doubting Kyle’s skill, but it is almost inevitable (as it is with any vocalist who deviates from the norm) that his method of delivery will be divisive. Second track ‘I breathe this’ slams into the listener with a frantic energy only to step into a verse that sounds like Michael Jackson singing for Mastadon. It is a sign of the band’s talent that a) they can make such a disparate array of styles fit together as if it is the most natural thing in the world and b) no matter how much they exceed your understanding of your own tastes in music, they make you want to keep on listening. ‘I’m here waiting’ could easily be Queen and Muse collaborating with Within Temptation on a covers album of the ‘nightmare before Christmas’ so theatrical is the delivery and structure, and it absolutely rules – if you’re not lost heart and soul to the band by now then your sense of adventure is lost forever.
Even further into the beautifully camp world of Freddie Mercury and musical theatre is ‘who you are’ a twisted, nimble piece of music that veers between the red paintings, Queen (at their most outré) and Sweeny Tod via Stephen Sondheim only for the band to suddenly switch track on you and hit you square between the eyes with the monumental anthem-to-be ‘turning blue’ which wouldn’t sound out of place on Scuzz TV between, say, videos by At the Drive In and Filter with its crunchy guitars, histrionic vocal lines and MASSIVE chorus. Of course, this being Incura, just because they’ve slammed the listener into the mosh pit on one track doesn’t mean they can’t hit a Danny Elfman note on the next and ‘Decide’ does a grand job of mixing the sound of a rich musical score with that of a pulse-raising hard rock band, neatly manipulating the listener’s emotions as it does so and even taking a moment to slip into Dream Theater territory as if the whole thing weren’t absurd enough already. Indeed, this is a difficult review to write because the descriptions here are necessarily so off the wall that they could be interpreted as a negative, and yet the key here is that Incura somehow bring all of these elements together to create an album that maintains a consistent narrative throughout, with no track sounding forced or disparate. No wonder, then, that the album had a lengthy gestation, but ultimately it was worth the effort because this self-titled effort is surely a bewildering masterpiece that will appeal as much to fans of progressive rock (particularly those with a love of Peter Gabriel) as it will to metal and symphonic metal fans.
Speaking of metal, cruising on the back of a monumental riff, ‘here to blame’ is a track that veers between a carefully stripped-down verse and a chorus that borders on math metal with its unhinged riffs and furious percussion. One of the shorter tracks on the album, the song would undoubtedly make a good single, although it is not truly representative of the body of work as a whole, being one of the most conventional tracks on display.
With the album drawing towards its close, ‘the greatest con’ moves from a delicate opening into a surging blast of melodic rock with a monstrously memorable chorus (that sort that glues itself into your brain for days on end) and lush orchestration. ‘I’d give anything’ is led by piano, but it takes little time to develop into a full-blown rock monster with strong Mars Volta overtones before the gentle finale ‘sweat runs cold’ closes the album on a dreamy, progressive note with shimmering synth and a nagging rhythmic pulse.
Can you define Incura? Should you? One of those rare bands who have somehow crafted an album that sounds entirely coherent and structured seemingly in spite of the myriad influences, the only real question is not how to define Incure but whether they’ll ever manage to top this intelligent, challenging, unique and enjoyable record. There’s so much going on that the record flies by in seconds and bears repeated listens, all of which will reveal something new. It is possible that the gloriously theatrical nature of the music will drive some to distraction, but for those who enjoy music as a colourful palette, capable of endless variety and shades, then Incura’s album will provide a huge deal of entertainment. There is emotion here, depth, art and passion and the result is a debut album that explodes from the stereo with a vibrancy that makes it all the more attractive – wonderfully demented listening, one thing is certain, there will not be another album like it this year.
