Intronaut – The Direction of Last Things

And that direction is South.

Intronaut is notorious for their eclectic meld of progressive rock, jazz and different classifications of metal, ending in an avant-garde, artistic take on a characteristically dark genre. From 2006’s Void to their most recent, The Direction of Last Things, the marked manner in which they go about their song making hasn’t skipped a beat. Despite saying this, their newest is an appropriately named marker of their last attempts, going downhill from their past releases.

The key elements that Intronaut have expressed thus far in their discography are for the most part present, but an essential aspect of their ultimate brutality, Sacha Dunable’s lead vocals have dwindled in their epic-ness. The decline first became noticeable on The Direction of Last Things’ former, 2013’s Habitual Levitations (Instilling Words with Tones), with Dunable and other guitarist and vocalist David Timnick collectively trading in their pounding low tonalities for more melodic harmonies.

Combining their newer, more mellow approach to vocal tones with their steady technical output harvests an outcome that sounds almost cheesy and somewhat bro-ish. Take the third track off Last Things, “The Pleasant Surprise,” for instance. The blasting, double bass pedaling of Danny Walker’s drum work is conflicted by Dunable’s vocal delivery, holding back the song from its truest potential. On “The Unlikely Event of a Water Landing,” the arty structure of the song is lost in the gasping enunciation of the lyrics.

Of Intronaut’s six releases, The Direction of Last Things falls the shortest, standing really no where near the strength of their past albums. While it teeters on the lower end of the brutal scale,it still manages to express the technical musical capabilities the band have manifested both individually and as a whole. Newer Intronaut fans may not find issue with Last Things, but it may be a rough transition for those that worshipped their earlier work.