After they met each other at a concert sometime in 2003, keyboardist/vocalist Lucas Kruiswijk and guitarist François Koopmans decided to form a band. After enlisting drummer Rob Van Nieuwenhuizen, they auditioned many bass players-some even stayed for a while-but the band remained a trio and began writing songs together. Many years later Incidense, as they called themselves, was ready to go into a studio and record their first album. In 2008, the first recordings started and now in 2011 we can hear the result of the unique combination of three driven musicians from the low lands. Incidense is putting down a statement with this first release, their progressive metal larded with softer and sensitive passages and a wink towards modern rock. Take the opening song; Ultimate Sin, which has an incredible guitar sound in the beginning, like a plane that takes off, flowing into a smooth and softer passage where the guitar gets acoustic. First surprise...the pleasant vocals fit perfectly to the music, whether heavy or smoother, the vocals stay very suitable. The drumming is steady and the adventurous guitar riffs lead to the first great solo. Soft spoken words over the beginning of the storm, which in this case features some powerful guitar, getting stronger and stronger until a majestic riff. Silence Must Break is a suitable title for this more threatening, darker sounding composition, where the guitars are heavy and the keyboards multi-layered. The keyboard solo over that heavy guitar really sounds great and is followed by another stunning guitar solo to complete a great song. Tribulations has a nice opening groove and shows some possible influences of Queensryche, perfectly built, instrumentally very impressive and the relaxed vocals never go over the top but that's where the similarity with the aforementioned band stops. It is nice to hear that both guitarist and keyboardist get the opportunity to show their skills, which are as I said before, impressive. With a composition like Remnants Of The Past, Incidense really can be proud of themselves. In my humble opinion, this instrumental has the same intensity as Ytze Jam by Dream Theater or YYZ by Rush. Being a huge fan of those bands, this is a true compliment for Incidense. Time to relax a bit, Nothing Left is an acoustic song, guitar and vocals with a bit of an Intwine feeling here, take your iPhones and light up the place. Many years ago we used our cigarette lighters for this, but we have to keep up to date, so we use phones now. Slower and intense, an orchestra of keyboards, and guitar in the front is the way the last song starts. Abeyance grows into a kind of an epic, with such diversity in mood and speed, but always innovating with slight influences of Threshold at times. There is also heavy double bass drums and perfect interaction between the keyboards and the great sounding guitar. Soft, almost spoken vocals just increase the intensity of this song...well done. Holland has another promising new band and Incidense proved with their debut album that they can compete with the best bands in the world of progressive metal. Their diversity, great craftsmanship and well balanced compositions really are worth giving this band a try. Believe me. You won't regret it when you buy this album. **** Pedro Bekkers (edited by Robert James Pashman) Where to buy? |
