Le Stelle: A Voyage Adrift

Stupid earth-dweller, prepare to have your primitive brain sent into spasms by the fiendish intricacies of our cosmic jams! Thus (possibly) spake Incoming Cerebral Overdrive- or at least, that’s what you’d expect them to say with that band name. Actually, as my colleague observed when reviewing their last record, this band is probably among the more accessible purveyors of tech-metal: rather than the torrid avant-garde rush of bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan, here we have an approach built around jilting, oddly timed riffs which nonetheless have an infectious quality to them. And unlike the sheer metallic heaviness of Meshuggah and the like, tracks such as Sirius B or Bellatrix have a tech-punk thrust that works well.

This sense of energy is interesting to note, because this is an album about space, more specifically stars, after which all of the tracks are named. The last metal (or sort-of metal) album I reviewed about the cosmic was Necro Deathmort’s latest, which effectively evoked the depths of space by bleeping their way through sedate yet sinister expanses of industrial ambiance. Here, a very base, earthy vigour propels Le Stelle forward, so you really need the names and artwork to enlighten you as to the concept. Sonically, the only sense of the celestial I got was the funny sci-fi effects that flicker curiously in many of the tracks, lending a sense of whimsical continuity.

Certainly, Mirzam bursts in with a fleet-footed, squirming riff that reminds me intensely of Sikth’s Pull My Finger. It is based loosely around a quick, skittering 7/8 rhythm replete with squeaking extra-note lead lead fills (another Skith trait) and twanging bass guitar. But the sludgy power of the guitar and the deep, hardcore vocals are more reminiscent of Yakuza’s more frenetic sections. The dynamics here don’t really compete with that band; the pace is kept high, and the mood is often addictively buoyant- like Sirius, for example: an almost funky guitar pattern underpinning squeaking computer noises.

The ‘darker’ tracks could include Kochab, which begins with an atmospheric haze of Cynic-like clean plucking, but which nonetheless works towards a frenetic climax: a strange, bendy riff, like someone erratically flexing a rubber bar of sound. It also features some ill-fitting black metal vocals. Probably the most effectively unsettling moment on the album is the wheedling, sickly lead guitar sounds that hover around a sluggish, grinding-to-a-halt riff 3:10 into Pherkad. That is until the closer Rigel, a tightly worked and dynamic epic at ten minutes in length, full of crackling, dark tones. For the rest of the time, though, it’s mainly a good ride. Entertaining and high-energy tech-metal.