Sweden's Implode have now completed the ambitious undertaking of digitally releasing four separate three-song EPs—I. Aeon Clockwork, II. Terra Pericolosa, III. A Syndicate, and IV. I Tension—each covering a separate concept and representing a "chapter" of a larger work. That larger work, issued by Cramada, is I of Everything, which collects all four EPs (plus another previously released standalone single, for 13 tracks total) on one physical release, acting as the band's sophomore album.
This might suggest that there could be some form of musical separation from EP to EP, but that's not the case, so it definitely plays through as a complete album without any grand stylistic shifts. And said complete album really takes me back to the melodic Swedish death/thrash of the late-'90s—reminiscent of early rippers from bands like Darkane (especially) and Carnal Forge—brought "up to date," somewhat, with a slightly more intense complexity, and melodic tendencies that just somehow feel more... "current," I suppose.
The driving force is a sense of fast-paced, hyper energy and aggression through cool riffs and melodies plus sneering midrange vocals. It's technical, but not just for the sake of it. In fact, a lot of the technicality comes from the sheer frantic speed, which simply makes the riffs that much harder to execute at this level of cleanliness. The same could be said for the high-level blasting percussion, complete with explosive fills and constant bursts of random flare.
As but a few examples, "Cursed Dead Sun" is loaded with dizzying picking patterns and quick shifts that—if you really try to follow along—make you realize that there are indeed added levels of subtle complexity making the riffs kind of fucked up and crazy. A great example of some of the more emphatic melodic characteristics, too. "The Sublime" follows more of a gnashing, midpaced groove that offers increased breathing room—still heavy on the tremolo picking, but the chunkier rhythms really stand out as a break amidst the constant speed, and present a different side of their tactics. "A Manifest" is not the only track from the third EP to feature a nice atmospheric clean passage; but it does throw in some quick, scorching guitar solos that actually bring to mind Marty Friedman's work on Rust in Peace. "Of Needle and Thread" is one of a few tracks that sort of flirts with a vague hint of black metal in its use of tremolo-picked melodies, and its interesting chord phrasings add emphasis to those aspects of the composition as well.
I don't know if they recorded all of the material at the same time or under the same conditions, but I'm guessing they did, because it's a very consistent listening experience. The production is fine: while nothing blows my mind as exceptionally great, at the same time I don't have any glaring issues with it. (Although, now that I think of it, I can barely make out one iota of bass in the mix.) Guitars and vocals run the show, for sure.
I haven't seen the physical packaging, but the illustrations (as well as the band's logo) are awesome, I must say. Conceptually the topics (overall dealing with individual struggles amidst the insignificance of humanity within the vastness of space and time) are probably loftier than the lyrics themselves, which are often abstracted enough to fit a general "metal" aesthetic:
We all resemble dirt
Aiming for the soil
A note from the inbred
Diversity left us alone
Glimmering cold beam
This night is upon us all
A plague of flesh and shame
Carve through the skin and hide
Until you see the bones alike
I can't exactly say that I feel Implode are doing anything particularly original musically, but I have absolutely no problem with that—especially because this is a style of metal that (at least to me) feels far less common in 2015 than it did in the late-'90s/early-'00s. As with some of those albums from back in the day, it can get a little exhausting in its entirety (nearly 50 minutes), so I do wonder if the EP format was more effective in delivering smaller bursts of material? Still, this is some of the best melodic Swedish death/thrash I've heard in quite a while, and certainly deserves wider praise. I'm fairly confident that had I of Everything been released in the late-'90s alongside discs like Rusted Angel or Who's Gonna Burn, I would have been steadily jammin' it ever since!
Get It
- Plastic Head (CD)
- Amazon (CD/mp3)
- iTunes (mp3)
