InDread Cold
Underaba
5.5
Members of Darzamat, Chort, and Eclipse fill the ranks of InDread Cold - a dark and experimental Polish band. One of the few releases I've heard from Blackdoom Records, a label founded by two guitarists from My Dying Bride, Underaba is more than decent and warrants a close look from fans of later-era Arcturus and maybe even Samael - although handled with a little less grace and refinement.
Tapping into the industrial side of things, "The Symbols" begins Underaba with its bleak sound, rhythmically spoken/slightly sung verses, and a full-sounding doomy chorus. The effect-laden guitars, with descending scales, give the song an almost carnival quality to it, while the lead-work suggests some Arabic influence. I'm enjoying this quite a bit, and I'm not even remotely a fan of pensive dark/industrial metal. Where I normally might complain about the drum programming, it suits InDread Cold's sound more than well. The crash sounds a little too typical at times, reminding me of my friend's old Alesis, but it's a minor complaint. The following track, "Pit Of Silence", admittedly, I don't enjoy as much. The expansive tones and distant guitar plucking move slightly into tasteless experimentation, but not enough to disgust. The band has its moments where they venture into more direct song structures (which don't come off so well), but on the whole, the mood set is one of an ominous and vast nature. "No Dreams Undreamt", has been deemed their most commercially accessible song - being gothic, melodic, and drum sample laden. It sounds like a cross between depressing 80's new wave, and maybe Tiamat. There's a wide array of effects used on the guitars, like on "Cold Feelings", where there's obviously some sort of midi effect on the instrumentation that keeps a good dialogue with the excellently sung chorus. Again though, I'm impressed by the band during their last track, "Illusory Words of Goodbye". With a rich sound and a brooding feeling, it's more on par with the first track that initially excited me about this release.
While InDread Cold starts out on a high note, they're unable to maintain the same level of interest throughout all of Underaba. Still being a relatively young band, there's a lot of potential for greatness. I'd readily encourage anyone with an open mind and an interest in doomy and experimental metal to take a listen if they're ever offered a chance. You just might find something unexpectedly great - or maybe you won't. In either case, I'm willing to give them some time, and I wouldn't be remotely surprised if they were able to produce something outstanding next round.
