Intronaut

When displaced drummer Danny Walker (Uphill Battle) and Leon del Muerte (Exhumed/Impaled) formed Intronaut last year, few knew of the band’s unbridled potential that was seething under the surface. Their Null EP only hinted at the utter supremacy of this Los Angeles-based quartet, and now their debut full-length Void realises their creative and artistic vision. "A Monolithic Vulgarity” and "Gleamer” sound like a more technical Mastodon, and both fade out in diverse codas: the former lends an atmospheric slant with melodic bass and echo effects, while the latter marches forth in a Godflesh gait of mechanised guitar washes and controlled power-violence noise. The jazzy/technical aesthetic of "Fault Lines” clearly defines the link between Cynic and Isis, with Walker plugging every niche with expert drum fills like Spiral Architect’s Asgeir Mickelson. The spacious "Nostalgic Echo” allows bassist Joe Lester and guitarist Sacha Dunable to intertwine their riffs in labyrinthine progression, and the immediate assault of "Teledildonics” and "Iceblocks” soon yields to passages of Daylight Dies-esque goth executed with jazz-trained precision. Closer "Rise to Midden” reprises said formula with Lester thumbing a bass outro like King Crimson’s Tony Levin. Channelling the aggression of Mastodon and Mindrot with the technical grace of Neurosis and Isis — and Walker’s exceedingly phenomenal drumming — Intronaut effortlessly submit one of the year’s finest recordings.