Review
Infera Bruo
Desolate Unknown

Calling your band “hellish noise” sets the bar pretty high to start with. Fortunately Infera Bruo live up to that title in every aspect. The band from Boston, featuring members of other great acts such as Trap Them, Manias and more, follows up their 2011 self-titled debut album; with their sophomore release Desolate Unknown. The band’s black metal vision is presented in full force through the seven (actually five songs and two interludes) twisted, horrific tracks of the album.

Starting things off with the opening “Visions of the Inner Eye,” the Emperor-esque influence becomes quite prevalent in the music, the shorter duration of the song also manages to maintain the same level of aggression that the band shows throughout its five minutes. The first weird effects are present in “Vision of the Inner Eye” but they do not unfold their entire purpose on the band’s concept. The following track, “Oblivion” starts with a more mid tempo pace, slowly evolving, introducing clean vocals to give a further epic theme to the music, while the completely mental effects that Infera Bruo use are introduced in full force about six minutes in the track.

The ambiance is a very important part of the band’s sound, and the true brilliance of Infera Bruo is that they are able to use effects and synths to create a hellish, chaotic sound, something that is clear as daylight in the two interludes of the album “Segue I” and “Segue II” as well as in the intro of “Ritual Within,” after the acoustic guitar part that is used to set the mood, acting also as a recurring element in the track, appearing again about four and a half minutes in the track. The chaotic background, on top of which the heavier, slower, dirty riffs of Infera Bruo is revealed as “Ritual Within” continues its mesmerizing thirteen-minute long journey through frenzied effects (very impressive around the eighth minute of the song) and typical black metal riffology.

The experimentation with rhythmic patterns in the beginning of “Dust of Stars,” with the eerie leads always present and the weight of the sound being unbearable, gives once again way to the black metal riffs of the band, coupled with the use of synths and effects to enhance their sonic dissonance and manage to materialize all of your nightmares about five and a half minutes in the song. The clean vocal performance on that song is probably the strongest one in the entire album, coming in for the first time about three minutes in the track, while the black metal spirit always present unleashes infectious short leads about four minutes in, relentlessly continuing to spread devastation until Infera Bruo decide to conclude their work on that track, in a blackend explosion following a harsh slow paced part filled with sonic experimentation.

All of the sonic qualities are once again found in the closing track of the album, “Invoking Collapse,” setting out with the eerie black metal leads and their chaotic riffology with the haunting leads still embedded in the structure of the songs. The deeper growls add an extra layer on the band’s brutality, while the inclusion of clean vocals expands the band’s grand sound and once again the feedback, along with the sonic manipulation of effects and synths (around four minutes in the song) give to the band its unique attributes. 

Desolate Unknown is an excellent album, and the only thing that can be said about the band is that they have to be unsigned by choice, because it simply makes no sense if they are unable to get a deal.