Insolence have already established themselves among the top of the underground crop with the handful of independent releases they've unleashed and this record continues on with the legacy. Once again the group showcases growth and evolution in all aspects pushing themselves into new domains and widening their horizons. Reggae and dub are the latest enhancements to the groups repertoire along with the inclusion of ambient, rapcore, hip hop, hardcore and mind expanding instrumentals. The group has firmly established a sound all its own and as such a comparison to another band does not apply here, instead a comparison of their previous albums would be more appropriate as this release takes on the fury and aggression of their album "Within", mixes it with the microphone technician verbal tactics of "Within" and holds it all in place with the experimental sounds of their last release "Terrorists". Vocally Mechanizm or Mech 1 as he now goes by, blazes through the songs with his impressionable oral wizardry, as a tight chain rhymes link together hitting hard with introspective lyrical content that possesses a fed up with the world stance. There's a bit of rastafari chants and some smoothed out songs that drip with enough T.H.C. to give the listener a contact high, but the defining factor that makes the experimentation enjoyable is indeed his acutely honed mic skills. Although Mech makes up for a large portion of the bands vocals, Mark also uses his voice as a weapon taking precedence as the music shifts to heavier phases, grating and raw his blistering vocals contrast superbly with Mech's laid back rhymes and erupt with a hardcore style that can at times even dabble in rap. But the main thing here is that they work very well together, dynamically weaving their pieces back and forth like a constant battle between the elements of fire and ice. Guitars are skilled and rhythmic, straying from any self imposed limits they take on a mildly distorted hardcore styled assault through the aggressive moments and stray off into funked out reggae strums and alien like background noise dripping with wah and effects as they take the listener on a melodic voyage in the others. Inspired and moving, former Tribal Disco Noise guitarist Keir does indeed luminate this CD with his solid musicianmanship, but his playing at times tends to be a bit overshadowed by the vast dimensions of the bands sound. Bass wise, humble dub like riffs crash into funk slap and pop and heavy groove. Free reign is exercised through verse's but the riffs do tend to jump back into the fold just in time to give the combustible choruses a more power packed punch. Drums and percussion smack out tightly snared hits and tumbling tribal rolls like clockwork, crisp highhats and rabbit punch rolls pummel the dense mixture and the inclusion of some 808 hits only strengthens the song structures. Vivid yet precise, there's a lot to be said for the confidence and talent that is hammered out by drummer Mando and lyricist/percussionist Mech 1. Meanwhile, turntables add finesse and flair, effortlessly scratching out spacey sounds with hip hop roots and colorful b-movie samples that seem to stem from the same vein as the ones featured on their previous release "Terrorists". By no means excessive, they end up giving the tracks a polished and fuller sound. The ground covered on this CD is vast and varied, so many ideas and influences are crammed into each track that it can take quite a few spins before the listener even catches on to everything the band has accomplished. A veritable hip hop bouillabaisse has been stewed here and with the numbing amount of ingredients in motion it would be a gross misconception to write this band off as just another "rapcore" act. Still, it could use a bit more time on the burner as some transitions structure wise aren't as slick as they could be, the occurrence of some instruments being overshadowed by others in the groups sound which literally bursts at the seams with musical content may also be a bit too much for some of the more average listeners ears, but with this aside, the disc clearly writes the next chapter in the ongoing saga of the band. Insolence have not sacrificed their integrity or changed their style to try and make it to the top like so many before them, quite truthfully they have done the exact opposite and looked to their past catalog tearing out the best pages and re-writing a whole new scripture that is a testament to their creativity and prowess, not to mention conceiving perhaps one of the best ever crossover releases put out to date.
(4.5 / 5)