It’s rare to hear such accomplishment on a debut EP. Most bands are usually finding their voice, playing songs that have potential but haven’t quite hit the mark in terms of style and structure. However, Leicester groove-metal outfit Immerse have an innate talent that’s hard to match and have created what can only be described as a titan.
Immediately, you’re struck with some crushing riffs and unbelievable tapping in ‘Obelisk’. Not only that, but the vocals are arresting. It’s great to see music in this genre without the generic cookie monster growls, and instead exploring some interesting ranges and tones. Immerse utilise clean vocals to their advantage well – not only in ‘Obelisk’, but throughout the release and particularly in ‘Mitigate’, where those clean vocals add a huge layer of emotion that may otherwise be lacking from the track. Immerse certainly have a keen sense of melody and rhythm, as is evidence from the extremely funky bass that crops up again and again. In ‘Gerun’, a brutal aural assault, the vocals get a bit desperate, the instrumentals get heavier and the bass is just sublime, especially in the more chilled groove section towards the end of the track.
This is certainly not a modest EP, not in the slightest. Nor should it be. Immerse don’t just know how to throw down, but how to enchant. ‘Plenitude’ is a beautiful piano interlude and sounds like it could have been ripped straight from a Final Fantasy game. ‘Ray(e)’ is an acoustic affair that blends prog sequences with ambient atmosphere. Thanks to these two interludes, every other track just feels massive.
Unfortunately, there are a couple of moments that clunk. The lead in on ‘Fallacy’ is too abrupt, too harsh after ‘Plenitude’s softness, and although it’s an excellent track in its own right, any subtleties that it has (like those amazing gallops) just get overlooked due to the jarring positioning. This is rectified somewhat when ‘Ray(e)’ transitions into ‘Mitigate’, but it’s too little, too late. Nevertheless, this is all forgotten by the time that ‘ZeroShift’ rolls around. An absolute banger of a final track, its fatalistic and brutal nature ends the EP on an unsettling and captivating note.
This is possibly the best introduction Immerse could offer to the world. If they can keep up the momentum, then they will be able to carve out a reputation as one of the most exciting and innovative metal bands the UK has to offer at the moment.
4 out of 5 high fives!