INDUKTI

SUSAR is the perfect progressive instrumental album. I say this, of course, in complete irony based around the fact that there are vocals on this record, but I feel that is one of the many things that add to make this such a great album instrumentally. Ever since progressive rock first cropped up in the late 60's, we have had bands trying their hand at a fully-instrumental variant of the style, to mixed results. Without the vocals, instrumental albums needed something to help the music flow, to give it a narrative, and they regularly flocked towards wacky sounding keyboards and solo duels to do the trick, which rarely worked. Quite frankly, instrumental albums, especially in a genre like progressive rock, completely bore me. There are exceptions, especially when it begins to border on post-rock, a genre known for its ability to stay afloat without vocals, but prog instrumental albums tend to lean so hard towards uncontrolled instrumental wankery, and because there is no room for the instrumentals to be subdued (because there are no vocals to support), the music loses all sense of melody and restraint and floats into nothingness.

And although the last 20 years have seen the invention and spread of progressive metal, instrumental albums in the style haven't got much better. In fact, one could argue that they've got even worse. Before SUSAR's release there was Liquid Tension Experiment, possibly the most indulgent and wanky group in existence, and after it we have the influx of "djent" and "tech metal" - with Blotted Science and all those legions of kids in their bedrooms making some of the most lifeless and coldly technical music I have ever heard. So could instrumental prog ever really exist as anything more than wanky garbage? Well, yes, it did. Briefly, as Indukti's debut record, SUSAR. SUSAR is, above all, an insanely unique release. It's a 75% instrumental album that features long instrumentals and brief vocal-led tracks (as opposed to the other way around which is the norm), it contains no keyboards (thank god), it flirts between the lines of progressive rock and metal, and is risen above mediocrity by two things - the guest voice of Riverside's Mariusz Duda, and the incredible violin of Ewa Jabłońska.

Mariusz is on three tracks here, although one of those is a very minimal contribution, and his voice acts as such a great break from the jamming instrumental onslaught of the longer tracks. Instead of using instrumental tracks as breaks like many vocal-based prog bands do, Indukti use Mariusz to create some pretty great, lower key music between the long songs. "Cold Inside" is the first of the two vocal track, which essentially feels like a softer Riverside track with a touch more folk, from the violin, and what I believe is a sitar (I could be wrong). While the song could have transitioned better from the opener, it definitely feels like the first vocal part of an immense epic - which "Freder" was the overture for. "Shade", the second vocal track, is definitely a far stronger song, and would probably be my favourite on the album if it weren't so short. Unlike "Cold Inside", it feels like far less of an interlude, and contains some great heavy riffs and tribal- like percussion that call Tool to mind. And to add to that, the "I TRULY AM THE SAME" hook line is one of Mariusz' best, ever.

Then there's the rest of the album - five songs, all longer than six minutes, and aside from some tribal wailing on "Freder", entirely instrumental. All of these pieces have such great energy flowing through them, and you can tell that a lot of them came about through hours of jamming together, because they all are so keyed in to what each instrument is doing and where the passage is gone. The guitars, bass and drums here are all relatively straight - we don't get huge wanky 42-note-per-second solos on this album, instead Indukti go for a very Tool- influenced, riff-heavy variant of prog metal jamming, and it makes for much better listening. Without wanky solos and without a keyboard player to splice in cheese, Indukti could play like this for hours and I wouldn't get bored. But all of this is accentuated and brought to life by the violin. Acting in the way a lead guitar would in this situation, the violin brings the melody, the contrast, the brightness, the intensity, and nearly makes this record on its own. With the melody being carried so wonderfully up high, the rest of the instruments can focus on rhythm, and there are some mighty fine rhythms in this album. A lot of the heavy guitars, and the way they jam them for long periods of time without reliance on a vocalist, remind me of sludge and post-metal bands like Isis and Neurosis. The metal guitars are thick and crunchy, but they know how to develop linearly, and aren't all-heavy-all-the-time, which is something those post-metal bands mastered in the early 2000's.

But, I must admit, the album does falter a little bit in the second half, and I think this is strengthened by the fact that Mariusz doesn't show up for the last 24 minutes. The best track out of the final three is probably "And Weak", the second part of "Cold Inside", but most of that is heavily relying on the melody of the former, and with the vocals missing, it doesn't feel quite as powerful. Both "Uluru" and "No 11811" are solid tracks, but aren't anywhere near as memorable as the first two instrumentals, especially since they essentially do the same thing. "Uluru", as the name suggests, has an interesting inclusion of a didgeridoo (something that groups like Tool have always been partial to), and although it's certainly a cool noise, it does feel a tad gimmicky, especially when it goes full gargle-mode in the middle of the song. The length of these pieces does seem to be a bit of a factor too, considering that long instrumental jams to tend to shift towards wank as they go along, and some parts of the last three tracks do lose the cohesion a bit.

I have to admit that this album is a bit of a missed opportunity, and there are a shockingly low number of bands playing this kind of music, but at the same time this could easily get very boring very fast. Aside from some hiccups, SUSAR is strong album from start to finish, taking the instrumental side of some of Tool's longer jams, throwing a violin all over it, bringing in some sludgy riffing, and having one of the 21st century's best vocalists sing a couple of tracks to keep it in check. Essential listening to check out, and if anyone wants instrumental prog metal that isn't wanky garbage, this is possibly the finest example.

8.1

Originally written for my Facebook page/blog: www.facebook.com/neoprogisbestprog

I've read some of others' reviews of this album from Indukti and apparently this is a "love or hate" piece of music. I tend more on the "love" side and, will say it straight away, I would give it with no doubt the 5 star "masterpiece of prog" if I were an expert of contemporary prog music.

In any case, I became aware of Indukti since I recognized Marius Duzsa's voice in one song, and being a great fun of Riverside, I thought it was a new song of theirs, instead, I discovered it was another band, in fact named "Indukti". Did some more search, found the Album, "S.U.S.A.R" bought it, and at that point I fell in love for Indukti too. But the real shock came once I listened to Idmen... I am not a metal fun, neither dark, let alone power or death metal, but do appreciate some of prog-metal bands' music, like Opeth, Baroness and few others. And, of course, I wouldnt label Tool music as "metal" either, it's a bit "prog-metal" to my ears, but more "Toolian". Turning back to Idmen, I was not looking for any metal-something, however once listening the cd I was struck with their power and executing skills of these guys, but what really caught me is their capabilities to mix together some kind of power metal with beautiful melodies, at times even romantic. I do really like coupling acoustic instruments as the violin, the guitar or the trumpet, together with a tremendous rhythmic section, particularly evident in track #5, "Indukted", to me the best of the album. Also, I like very much Sansara (#1), Tusan Homichi Tuvota (#2), and Ninth Wave (#8) with its beautiful trumpet, very moving emotionally, yet very rock (!) There is a clear inspiration from Tool: as many have noted the vocalist in track #7 clearly recalls Maynard J. Keenan of Tool, but the music still is "Indukti" Some tracks are a bit weak, like track # 6 "Aemaet", a bit too long and with no particular direction. But other songs I mentioned above largely compensate these few weaknesses. My bad I got this album in my hands only 2 weeks ago, while it was published in 2009.... well, better later than never! To conclude on this Indukti's cd, I'd say every progger should have it in his/her music library. A must of contemporary prog-metal.

This album is marked by pronounced strengths and weaknesses. The strengths are the high level of energy and the great ability of the group to create atmosphere and ambience. Musically, the strength here is creating moods, frameworks, etc., mostly dark and tense. Dynamics are well used throughout. On the other hand, most of the songs seem incomplete to me. They feel like they are missing a soloist on top of the great layering and building of the other instruments-- something abstract/crazy on top of the other instruments would have made this brilliant.

Stylistically, they sound a lot like Tool. Again, this album shows great potential, but it was not really realized by this group at this point. I would continue to watch how they evolve. This album is worth checking out, but it is not close to being essential.

Indukti's debut album is a very capable piece of progressive metal which appears to take a lot of inspiration from Porcupine Tree's inspired entry into the genre on In Absentia - right down to the spacey, dreamlike vocals contributed by Mariusz Duda - and with the brilliant violin work of Ewa Jablonska adding a startling and unique dimension to their sound. Whilst prog bands of yesteryear were often fond of incorporating instrumentation beyond the typical rock group drums, guitar, bass, vocalist and optionally keyboard (as indeed are many modern post-rock groups), it always struck me as a bit of a shame that more prog metal groups didn't have any atypical instruments as permanent fixtures in their sound; here, Indukti buck that trend marvellously.

A beautifully recorded album of powerful songs from the realms of heavier prog yet there is often an atmospheric and even sensitive feel to the music's sound--which is what keeps me interested and engaged. I attribute a lot of my interest and satisfaction to the work of the violin. There are a lot of times that I'm reminded of RIVERSIDE while listening to this album--especially when there are vocals going on. The major detractor from my overall enjoyment of this album is that every song has too much similarity in sound, pace, and style.

Album highlights: "Freder" (7:30) (8/10); "No. 11812" (7:59) (9/10); "...and weak II" (9:36) (9/10).

To me, Idmen is possibly one the five best albums in the 2001-2010 decade. Hence five stars.

Now that this is out of the way, to the album itself: Idmen is the second studio album from Polish band Indukti and definitely their most original, thought-out and mastered yet. Whereas S.U.S.A.R still had that Riverside vibe to it (likely due in part to Mariusz Duda's presence on some pieces), Idmen kills the proverbial father and steps out in new territory.

And by "new territory", I mean that, to my knowledge, there is no other band that sounds quite like the mix of dark progressive rock, progressive metal, experimental tech-metal and post-rock.

Upon first listening to this album, the only thing you can expect is the unexpected: in one given piece, ambiances can evolve from one extreme to another, from an Eastern folk ambiance to massive metal riffs. Ewa Jablonska's violin act as a strong counterpoint to the heavy, dark music the rest of the band manages to pull off.

Original, often brutal, never boring, this is no prog for the faint of heart! It is a trip to the darkest recess of progressive music, to an underground place where different genres meet when their parents aren't looking. A dark, underrated jewel.

Indukti is one of the many prog bands emerging from Poland during the last years. The first time I read something about Indukti was from this page. After the first listen I immediately purchased the album. This is the form of extreme tech metal I really enjoy. All members are great musicians and the songs (most instrumental) are superb. The most distinctive influences are those of Tool, but overall Indukti sound a lot different. The vocal lines of Mariusz Duda (of Riverside) remind of his band somehow, though they generally are more experimental. This is one of the best prog releases in 2005. Favourite tracks: "Freder", "Uluru", "No-11811".

Beside another great Polish band Riverside album, released same (2009) year, "Idmen" possibly could stay as another most interesting heavy rock work of the year. But if Riverside recorded great example of vintage progressive metal, Indukti is more experimental and future oriented band.

Complex combination of technical calculated progressive metal sound with symphonic strings/arrangements and heavy prog experimentalism gave us attractive music with many layers.

Even if you can find there many influences, the music sounds original, as no one else played before. OK, I believe vocals there is more question of taste, and not fully what I would like to hear. But common impression is great anywhere.

There are many very controversial reviews for this album. To be honest I don't know ,what is the reason. Even if the music there is not old fashioned straight forward vintage prog metal a-la Dream Theater, the level of experimentalism isn't so high to make this music hardly accessible. From another hand, the sound is enough complex, but melodic, not too much electronics, funky rhythms or hip-hop were added. May be for some this sound looks boring, what makes me wonder.

Anyway, I can compare this album in some sense with my beloved early The Mars Volta albums. Just without chaos, nervous cacophony and hyper-psychedelic sound. With calculated metal sound, some classic symphonic elements and very different vocals added instead.

I can recommend this album as one of the best progressive heavy album of the year 2009.

Charmingly Hideous

Idmen has quickly become a 2009 favorite of mine, albeit a bizarre one. With their sopohmore effort, Indukti unveils a textured improvement on their debut- S.U.S.A.R. While most of S.U.S.A.R. can be easily compared to the Thrak-era KC, Idmen dives a bit deeper into the sinister realm, due largely in part to some aggressive vocals. And although I can't get enough of this album, I can see why it gets such mixed reviews. Idmen is quite ugly at times, but occasionally that can be a good thing! Only three tracks have vocals (different singers on all 3), and only two of them are aggressive in nature, but very fitting. To my discomfort, countless metal bands use this approach, often ruining good music, or simply sounding silly and repetitive. Not here. Much like their debut, the musicianship it technical, excellent and precise...but that was really all S.U.S.A.R. had to offer. Effective and enjoyable, but not mind-blowing. Idmen is built on the same foundation, but far more interesting and uniquely haunting.

Sansara sets the tone perfectly, mixing instruments in a way that creates an almost foreign sound. Loud, in-your-face and surprisingly melodic. Tusan Homichi takes the strangeness to a new dimension, with some of the weirdest lyrics and vocals I've ever heard. Sunken Bell is a welcome interlude, short and pretty, and a necessary divide between Tusan Homichi and the album's tour de force: ...And Who's The God Now?!, which I shall review separately. The next two songs, Indukted & Aemaet, are similar in style to the mechanical sound of S.U.S.A.R. and latter day King Crimson. More "music" than "songs", if you will. Nemesis Voices seems slightly out of place on this record, but only slightly. The vocals are alarmingly similar to Tool's front-man, enough so that I had to check the liner notes to be sure. The song is good, but I feel like the music and vocals don't entirely match one another. Closing up beautifully is Ninth Wave. It carries the same foreign vibe as the albums opening, but in a much more enchanting way. An instrumental delight that I never wish to end.

...And Who's The God Now?! takes Idmen to a much higher plateau, and is easily one of the most compelling songs I've heard in a while. It is also much catchier than most of Indukti's material, but a beast nonetheless. From the opening tribal drumming, through the explosion of sound in the middle, all the way to the chanting and cinematic ending, this is a 5 star song! The combination of musical elements and vocals on this one are beyond captivating, and it's fighting it's way to the top of the "play count" on my ipod. ...And Who's The God Now?! is no mere song, it is a journey. (too much?)

Tracks 1,2,3,4 & 8 are the standout's, and this would be a 3.75 effort if not for ...And Who's The God Now?!, which deserves an extra star on its own. - 4.75 stars, rounded down.

Idmen may be hard to digest for many, but for me it is like a scab that takes the shape of something meaningful. Grotesque, charming, powerful and haunting, all rolled up into a musical experience that leaves me pleasantly uncomfortable.

What an amazing sophomore effort this is! It hasn't really been that long since Polish prog-metal quintet Indukti had pleasantly surprised a large amount of prog connoisseurs and collectors all over the world with their debut release "S.U.S.A.R.", but now in the second half of 2009, their second album "Idmen" happens to be a solid improvement on that, and it works not only in terms of exploring more colorful sonic schemes but also in terms of delivering a tighter sound overall. This band has always been proficient at inserting massive degrees of experimental and eclectic vibes into its core prog-metal sound, something inherently demanded by the fact that one of the band's members plays violin ? no conventional rock can come from that, not even "conventional prog rock". Well, the musical structure of the repertoire comprised in "Idmen" features elements from math-rock, experimental metal a-la Tool, psychedelically driven fusion a-la Gordian Knot, as well as some industrial resources. Also, the occasional presence of guests at trumpet and cimbalom provides a rich source of variety and textures. 'Sansara' opens up the album with rocking splendor, showing how well the dual guitars integrate each other's phrases while the rhythmic basis is developed robustly and the violin mingles in fluidly. Shortly before arriving at the 5 minute mark, the piece slows down a bit and focuses on a moderate dominance of acoustic moods. 'Tusan Homichi Tuvota' starts with an amalgam of acoustic guitars and cimbalom, in this way generating a deceitful calm that soon enough gives in at the emergence of neurotic metallic pulsations, fueled with agile exotic ambiences. The presence of Nils Frykdahl (of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum) on vocals is a crucial help regarding the creation of uneasy intensity and euphorically gloomy atmospheres. Arguably, this is the album's pinnacle? But not the end of it, since 'Sunken Bell' follows, providing a moment of mysterious cosmic nuances (like a David Lynch's movie soundtrack), and right after that, 'And Who' Your God Now?' brings a sinister approach to fusion- infected prog metal. In fact, the sinister factor reaches an electrifying climax of magic and madness in the delirious coda's ritualistic cadences. 'Indukted' is yet another expression of sophisticated thunderstorm Indkuti-style, in some ways seasoned with math-rock oriented tricks. 'Aemet' begins as a continuation of the implacable neurosis that had been delivered in the previous track, and ends equally: in the middle, a spacey interlude brings back some memories of pre-"In Absentia" Porcupine Tree. 'Nemesis Voices' is basically based on a recapitulation of the sort of mood we found before in tracks 1 and 6. The album's last 11 ½ minutes are occupied by 'Ninth Wave', which delivers a powerful ending for "Idmen". It gets started with contemplative ambiences (featuring mesmerizing lines on trumpet). Further on, a delicious acoustic guitar duet settles a simplistic framework from which a warm, mysterious mood emerges and fills the whole environment in which the listener remains sitting comfortably (will they be still sitting comfortably by then?). The crescendo that starts at the 3 minute mark is led by the trio of violin and 2 guitars, and so the main body states yet another great example of intelligent energy. The insertion of a brief fusion-esque interlude is funny but not distracting. Finally, the sounds of sea waves and seagull screams signal a special epilogue for this special progressive 2009's gem. Indukti progresses, indeed.