HABITUAL LEVITATIONS (INSTILLING WORDS WITH TONES)

"Habitual Levitations (Instilling Words With Tones)" is the 4th full-length studio album by US progressive sludge/mathcore act Intronaut. The album was released through Century Media Records in March 2013.

The music on the album is a pretty original sounding progressive metal with sludge and mathcore elements. It´s hard to tag correctly but in my book that´s only a strength. There is a strong rythmic foundation in the music which lends heavily from jazz. Both bassist Joe Lester and drummer Danny Walker are incredibly skilled. The off-beat snare drum hits and the cymbal work are charming as hell as are the adventurous bass playing. Upon this strong rythmic foundation the two guitarists play both heavy riffs and atmospheric parts. The vocals are usually ethereal/mellow in nature and more seldom semi-raw. The tracks are well balanced between heavy angular riffing (check out those powerful riffs in "Steps") and more smooth atmospheric sections. The latter usually with clean guitars and a semi-jazzy touch. Overall there is a pleasant organic sound to the music which is both due to the professional and well sounding production and to the way the music is played. The music is delivered with feeling, skill and a nice human touch. Sometimes it´s almost too laid back in nature, but the adventurous and powerful playing always ensure that the music is never too stoned.

I´d mention acts like Cynic, Baroness, Helmet and Tool as references at various points on the album, but Intronaut have crafted quite a unique sound on "Habitual Levitations (Instilling Words With Tones)" and deserve to be judged on their own. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.