Album Review: IL – Vessel (Self Released)

IL (pronounced Isle), the blackened post/shoegaze/prog metal band Sheffield, UK, have released their album, ‘Vessel’.

Offering up a unique combination of sounds to create something genre-defying, IL’s Vessel is an album with deep and dark depths. The more you dig, the more you find, and the more fascinating it becomes. Not just because the combination is approached in different ways, but because progressive elements are so prominent. It’s not a prog record, but the creative way IL think has resulted in something as challenging as it is compelling, and it’s very compelling.

Immediately showcasing just how unconventional they can be, Unsatisfied begins things stylish fashion. The odd melodic touches, the blackened bursts, the groove-tinged rhythms, and overall intense vibe (even when heaviness isn’t at the forefront) is maddening, but brilliant. If you find yourself loving this opener, chances are, you’re going to love everything else the album has to offer.

Especially when a track like House of Stone sees IL stretch their post muscles and deliver some of the album’s heaviest riffs. It, and the following Butterflies, with its dramatic switches between mellow melody and manic metal, are album highlights. IL continue to charm, even as they demand nothing but concentration from the listener. There’s so much to take in, that the mind simply can’t wander as each fresh track finds a way to pull the focus back. In the case of Sky Burial, it’s the punchy instrumental rhythm and subtle melodic flair.

The second half of the album is just as interesting and IL continue to showcase a broad sonic palette. First, with the blackened heft of Black Parchment, then with the intense sombre progressive dramatics of All Points of Pain, before Child of Dust arrives to deliver even more crushing noise via a cacophony of creative elements. IL certainly can’t be accused of stagnation as each track is varied, and even though it has many progressive and melodic ideas, the focus is still on heaviness.

It is a combination that holds the attention right up to the end as Death of a King wraps things up in layered fashion. It’s a massive closing track, and not just in length, as IL send a barrage of brutish noise, concentrated post hysterics, cold melodies, and hostile power the listener’s way. It’s a blast, and a really satisfying way to end an album that will be on repeat all year long. Do not underestimate the power of this record, its abrasive aspects might not seem that appealing at first, but bit by bit, IL invade the mind.

IL – Vessel Track Listing:

1. Unsatisfied
2. House of Stone
3. Butterflies
4. Sky Burial
5. Black Parchment
6. All Points of Pain
7. Child of Dust
8. Death of A King

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