Incoming Cerebral Overdrive
Cerebral Heart

In these times of widespread crisis, if you want to listen to something truly interesting, you have to turn to the underground. Even a genre like post-core, which just 3-4 years ago seemed capable of producing only masterpieces that redefined heavy music for the new millennium, is now beginning to show some signs of wear. Just like all other musical currents, post-core is starting to see the emergence of numerous copycat bands that add nothing to what has already been said, rather anonymously replicating what their predecessors have done. Personally, I didn't even enjoy the latest works of the masters (Neurosis, Isis, Converge, etc.).

But fortunately, there is still someone capable of saying something in such a bleak landscape, and that’s exactly the case with Incoming Cerebral Overdrive, the Italian band (from Pistoia) reviewed here, which debuted in 2008 with this excellent "Cerebral Heart," an excellent compendium of everything the modern extreme scene has managed to offer us.

The band moves within the stylistic coordinates that we all now know (at least those passionate about the genre), such as those of Converge (it’s no coincidence that Kurt Ballou produced the album along with Alan Douches), Dillinger Escape Plan, Botch, Unsane, and so on. The sound is powerful, clear and massive, and it fully allows each instrument to be distinguished during listening.

The guitar playing is sharp, distorted, granitic, dissonant, and is well matched with the varied rhythmic section, with great shifts in tempo and rhythm, alternating between off-beats, jazzy inserts, and distinctly hardcore accelerations. This makes the compositions frantic, neurotic, characterized by great mood and melody shifts, and all this without making the listening too heavy. On the contrary, it highlights the remarkable artistic maturity of the musicians, capable of combining technique and compositional talent without overdoing it with the instruments.

Tracks like "Food," "Analysis," "Seasons," "Slave" and "Awakening" sound like real whiplashes on the back (if you come out hunchbacked from the listening, well... I warned you), and they are worth listening to multiple times despite the complexity of the pieces. I also note the excellent artwork, minimal yet very well done, and the presence of the video for "Slave", which can be watched on the computer using QuickTime Player.

In conclusion, half an hour of excellent post-core, genuine, fresh, and aggressive as tradition demands, for a band that has everything it takes to break through and beat foreign competition. Keep it up.