With their Maverick debut "Revolution", now in stores across the continent; Insolence have finally made their way up to the big leagues after an extensive string of independent releases. The first thing that instantly stands out on this effort is the more elaborate production, allowing the band to harvest a potent crop of sounds that richly garnish each track. Capitalizing on their well labored blend of dub, funk, rap, hardcore, techno, metal, ragga and more, this diversified album is bursting with colorful sounds, slick rhymes and punishing riffs that should easily appeal to anyone familiar with the bands previous works along with fans of bands like (hed)p.e., Soulfly, Beastie Boys, Soul Brains and Dub War.

With two frontmen recklessly tossing sharply honed rhymes back and forth in true hip hop crew style fashion, the verbal aspect of this CD is hard hitting and smooth, with the gritty, deep tones of Mark contrasting with the slick, buddha blazed inflections of Mech 1 to create a wealth of kinetic energy. Buffered by a few enraged hardcore/metalcore styled yells and screams, mixed in with the occasional ragga styled flowing; the vocals included here truly thrive upon variety and progression. The guitar parts are also quite forward thinking and edgy as they immerse themselves in a wide range of styles, from catchy funk strums, tripped out effect laden harmonics and reggae styled plucking through to their most predominant form, detuned assaults of distorted modern metal riffs. Bassist Paul Perry on the other hand, plays a supportive role for the most part, mimicking the guitar parts to add an abyss like depth, though at times he does let loose with a catchy hip hop styled groove or funked out slap and pop excursion. Drums courtesy of Mando retain perhaps the most restraint out of all instruments laid down on the album and focus mainly upon compacted head bobbing, hip-hop styled beats that are flourished with a variety of clever fills, ensuring that each song constantly flows with a purpose. Turntables and samples are also an integral part of the bands sound and whether they take shape as one of the many subwoofer taxing 808 bass drops, spacey scratching or general ambiance; their additions are well noted and tack on a few extra dimensions, making this album a healthy sonic feast that shines even more when experienced through headphones.

Though the concept of mixing rap and rock has been done to death, Insolence don't mix just rap and rock. Instead they draw upon multiple genres and successfully package them into one cognitive product that is as fiery as it is pungent. Layered with hooky beats and punchy modern metal aggression, the band explore countless avenues of sounds, assembling song structures that persistently change and intrigue. It should be mentioned that a few of the tracks included are re-worked versions of material from their older efforts and feature some minor changes that are mainly cosmetic, while a handful of the songs that are on display are entirely brand new. There's also a bevy of guest appearances littered throughout the tracks from the likes of former Machine Head / Soulfly guitarist Logan Mader, Cypress Hill's Sen Dog, Fishbone's Angelo Moore and Robert Trujillo of Suicidal Tendencies / Infectious Grooves / Ozzy Osbourne fame, amongst others. But with the guest performers contributions being mainly instrumental, the album retains a fairly concentrated and grounded feel. Sure, there's a few songs that fail to really hit on anything solid and there's also a few sloppy part changes here and there, but most of it can be overlooked due to the bands willingness to try different things and string together many differing ideas in a dynamic fashion. It is however a safe bet to say, that if you aren't a fan of the rap/rock genre, then you probably won't enjoy this album. When considering that the rap/metal hybrid is at an all time high commercially, "Revolution" isn't so much a revolutionary album. But aside from its main genre foundations, it is an album full of radical ideas that although may not necessarily break entirely new ground; just might be able to broaden some listeners horizons and recruit them as members of the INS Crew in the process.