Review Summary: The best metallic hardcore act you've probably never heard of
It was a pleasant evening of early autumn when I decided to invoke some of those last.fm radio days and put on a themed playlist in my car on Spotify. The theme was "blackened hardcore". And indeed, during my ride I heard a bevy of artists, some more blackened than others, but overall the vibe of Converge was definitely prevalent (it's very easy to overlook how many artists like them there are hiding in plain sight). But among all the trailblazing artists I heard that evening, one stood out to me - big time. Their name is Noise Trail Immersion and they hail from Italy, the birthplace of great acts such as Messa and... others.
The song that played was "In Somnis" off the album
Womb, which came out in 2016 and turns out to be their first. Now if this is how you start off your career, only great things can be ahead of you, I thought. Indeed, this song encapsulates everything this release is about in one dense, action-packed nutshell. Relentlessly dissonant mathcore not unlike acts such as Ion Dissonance interspersed with Jane Doe-era Converge-style chaotic technicality and effortles segues into haunting, yet oddly beautiful blackened melodies. The rest of the album is very much in the same vein, amounting to a veritable calorie bomb of creativity.
When speaking of metallic hardcore, comparisons to Converge are inevitable, and equally inevitably most bands will emerge from that comparison as inferior. But Noise Trail Immersion genuinely feel like they could go the distance. While
Womb might not be quite as great a masterpiece as
Jane Doe was, it can easily hold its own against Converge's other albums. It contains everything most of those albums were cherished for, if perhaps in a more nihilistic, dissonant package that obfuscates the hardcore framework just a bit more. The concept of the album is probably what you might expect just from the name alone - using pregnancy and birth as allegories for the bleakness and suffering of life and attempts to overcome the resulting nihilism. The emotional load of the whole experience meanders up and down, with climactic explosions such as the aforementioned "In Somnis" and the track "Organism", but also hitting occasional lows, like the title track - all of which definitely reminds me of the work of established dissonant death metal acts such as Ulcerate. And yet, in the finale we also get something that can be described as a faint, unexpected flicker of hope delivered in a fashion not unlike what the band Fallujah does in their work. Noise Trail Immersion are not beholden to a single style - and perfectly willing to execute extended ambient sections to break up the breakneck madness of the heavier moments too - making
Womb a great listen as a whole as much as it is piecemeal.
The dexterity and effortlessness of hitting all those dissonant harmonies on the high strings and transitioning out of them into entirely different things is sure to astound and is among the best I've ever heard hands down, courtesy of guitarist Daniele Vergine - that guy definitely steals the show on
Womb and it's not even close. Evidently inspired by Kurt Ballou's earlier work and much more, he truly provides a masterclass in using the guitar to execute dissonant and technical metallic hardcore with the best of 'em. As someone who values versatility, eclecticism and seamlessness in switching styles, it's definitely right up my alley.
All in all, the 40-minute runtime of this release is peppered with highlight after highlight - with absolute bangers front to back, tons of variety and dynamics, an engrossing theme, compelling execution and a hypnotizing climax. It's just a complete package. So if Converge happens to be your favorite band, check this out - you just might have found your second. Otherwise check it out too, it's just too good to skip on.
4.2
