It’s hard to believe that the first time I encountered Internal Conflict was back in 2011, when the band supported Evile and Savage Messiah at the long-closed Sub 91 in Leicester. Even in those early days, and with a clearer thrash influence than their present incarnation, it was clear that the band had something, as evidenced by the near-continuous mosh pit they conjured out of thin air on a rainy Wednesday evening, and time has done little to dim the fire that continues to burn at the heart of this Leicester institution. Now back with Aporia, Internal Conflict continue down the path of metalcore, offering up a blistering eight-track effort that plays to the band’s strengths, leaving the band poised to break out of the long-down-enforced malaise of the last two years with customary vigour.
Refusing to waste a moment, the band unload straight onto the hapless listener with Kingdom Of Apathy. Adam Kyle’s delivery feels punkier this time out, while the layered harmonies of the chorus provide an additional element of catchiness to a piece of music that sits somewhere between Machine Head and Killswitch Engage in the chain of inspiration. It makes for a powerful start to the album and paves the way for the creepy synth intro to Paraesthesia. Brief introduction notwithstanding, it’s another bruising showcase for the band’s elastic riffs and precision-tooled drumming, while Adam continues to impress with an improved range over previous outings. Based around a stuttering riff, Atlas Down harks back to the band’s thrashier roots, the dizzying guitar runs proving impressive, only for an unexpected synth break emerging to draw the track in a more melodic direction. With nods towards The Blackening, Atlas Down is an album highlight, and it is a good decision on the band’s part that they allow the audience a moment to draw breath with the ambient intro to Bleed The Sky. An obvious choice for single, Bleed The Sky encapsulates the experience of the album in five short minutes, with its chugging riffs, eerie synth patches and multifaceted vocals.
The recently released Hollow Heart opens with a thunderous assault on the drums from kit-demon Chris Bentley before heading into rather more straight-forward metalcore territory, with an epic chorus at its centre. While the insistence of melodic choruses does start to feel a little overfamiliar at this point, the final third is heavy enough that any misgivings are given a thorough kicking. Traitorous sees guitarists Sean and Matt trading fret-board manging riffs with aplomb and yet, for all the deft skill, it’s a dynamic track with moments of eerie calm scattered between the squalls. In contrast, the chunky delivery of The Line goes straight for the jugular and Adam sounds positively unhinged as he spits out his lyrics from between gritted teeth. Opening with a creepy sample that perfectly captures the electronically augmented reality in which most people live, Kayfabe brings the album to a close on a high, with Adam’s typically intelligent lyrics painting a picture of the state of things.
Aporia is another strong outing from Internal Conflict. The production from Neil Hudson at Initiate Media is impressive, the playing typically superlative and the delivery full of heart. While the songs suffer a touch from being structurally similar, Internal Conflict ensure they’re sonically diverse and have wisely kept the album short in order to maximise the overall impact. The result is an eight-track, forty-minute record that neatly summarises the band’s evolution to date. Powerful enough to get the adrenaline flowing, professional enough to sit comfortably alongside the bands Internal Conflict consider heroes, Aporia is well worth checking out. 8.5/10
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