Album Review: Imonolith – State Of Being

Founded by Devin Townsend Project veterans Ryan ‘RVP’ Van Poederooyen (drums) and Brian ‘Beav’ Waddell (guitar), and featuring talented Threat Signal/Arkaea singer Jon Howard, Imonolith boast all the slick efficiency and heavy-duty purpose you’d expect.

Their specific direction on this pounding debut, however, still feels both tantalisingly and frustratingly up in the air. Tracks like Instinct have a pronounced Slipknot infatuation, packed with edgy riffs and Howard’s vocals impressively calling to mind Corey Taylor. Elsewhere, however, things feel more disjointed, with the throttling tech-metal of Dig evoking Meshuggah, while Foregone seems to channel Trivium’s stadium-seeking swagger as elements of Linkin Park, Gojira and Korn bleed through, too.

With all their unquestionable talent – and that moniker – this is good, but it’s surely just a stepping-stone towards the distillation of Imonolith’s ultimate, singular vision.