genres: modern metalcore
As someone who’s followed Imminence since their 2014 debut full length I, I’m super happy to see the band finally getting the recognition and popularity they’ve deserved for years. It also might be one of their less compelling releases. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a wonderful album that captures the essence of modern metalcore and should be an absolutely massive genre release, but much of what made Imminence so fun was the unpredictable originality of each release. I is filled with entirely unhinged and fresh riffs. This Is Goodbye shifted in a much more melodic direction, marrying post-hardcore with pop tones from around the globe. Turn the Light On started to define their current sound, an aggressive but not overly complicated take on modern metalcore spiced up by vocalist Eddie Berg pulling double duty also playing violin. Strings certainly aren’t new in metal, but putting a single, expertly played violin into the forefront adds a striking layer of warmth that they capitalize on to perfection.
That brings us up to this release. Heaven In Hiding basically sounds like what Architects fans wanted from For Those That Wish To Exist. It’s the heaviest release by the band since I, while maintaining the general style of Turn the Light On. There’s still violin on almost every track, and a handful of ambient electronic effects to fill out the soundscape even more. Now this is where the review gets difficult. If there’s a critique to be made of Imminence’s back catalog, it’s a complete lack of consistency. This makes for a fun set of tracks, but there’s little cohesion to the albums as a whole, and oftentimes a handful of tracks standout at the expense of some of the deeper cuts. The band may have overcorrected slightly here. Nearly every track on Heaven In Hiding falls into one of two buckets: driving modern metalcore anthem, or haunting midtempo post-hardcore ballad. Individually, each track is great, but it can be hard to really separate them from one another. Another misfire is the use of additional backing strings. While a genre staple that normally makes songs sound more epic, in this case it largely undercuts the power and innovativeness of having a sole violin actually present.
With that out of the way, there are quite a few strong points to highlight. Although musically there might not be much progression from previous releases, vocalist Eddie (who was already top notch) has taken even more steps forward. Traditionally Eddie has operated at full power most of the time, whether singing or screaming. Here however, there’s quite a few moments (“Alleviate” and “Heaven In Hiding” being the easiest examples) where the vocals take on a much softer and subtler approach before building later in the songs. These moments often are weak points for other bands, but here are executed perfectly with so much character and emotion (It’s also worth noting that the production of the album helps, as it steers far clear of the genre tendency towards overproduction without sounding raw or unprofessional). These moments of softness are balanced by developments on the harsh vocal side as well. At many points on the album (for example the breakdown of “Ghost” and the ending of “Heaven In Hiding”), Eddie breaks out an extremely raw ‘banshee’ shriek/scream that I haven’t heard anything like outside of raw black metal. Whether it’s a nod to their Scandinavian roots or not, I’m happy to see it deployed frequently, without concern for it becoming a gimmick. Expect to see lots of vocalists imitate this in the coming years.
Finally, the band continues to grow lyrically as well. I’ve always been impressed with their lyrics, given that they are not from a English-centric country, but here they kick it up to another level of poeticism that rivals any band in the scene. Heaven In Hiding toes the line of being a concept album, focusing on internal emotional and spiritual doubt in similar veins through almost every track. Again, comparisons to Architects are not unwarranted, though from a much more introspective perspective.
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