In-Quest

The silver lining on the artwork undeservedly suggests this Belgium band is more electronically-oriented. While they do utilise a techno approach at times, it is predominantly of death metal origins. The vocals are a duel between a clearer Soilwork prototype and a deeper, muffled rumble. They definitely keep themselves busy, drifting into the folkish leads their neighbours to the north have become famous for. They use many ascending riffs reminiscent of the Soilwork’s Steelbath Suicide days, long before they discovered the mainstream and drifted into hip-hopping metalbore. It’s a more technically proficient Fear Factory that plunges into Meshuggah polyrhythms and guitar tones, most noticeably during the solos. There are numerous fanatical parts that incorporate droning double bass, screaming organs and multifaceted time signatures. They also experiment with keyboard-fuelled black metal parts. In-Quest is pretty complex even though they are of the pop disposition, keeping the songs full of activity, and the metal alive.