Ion Dissonance
Solace

THE REVIEW

Post hardcore? Mathcore? Industrial Death Metal? Noise?
None of the four.
Labels are too constricting for Ion Dissonance, who, after impressing everyone with the previous “Breathing is Irrelevant,” return with an even more bewildering and schizophrenic release. As I was saying, you can't really name the genre played by these Canadian guys who create a syncretism by drawing from various genres; the base is certainly a Dillinger Escape Plan-style Mathcore, but enriched with odd time signatures clearly inspired by Meshuggah. And to conclude, they use a riffing style similar to the last Gorguts works (I’m talking “Oscura” and “From Wisdom to Hate”). The vocals are incredibly powerful, bordering on growling, and they match perfectly with the mood expressed by the band.

But what is more astonishing than the entire album is the technique and the sound extremism: the riffs fit together with monstrous precision, while the drums unleash offbeats one after another, maintaining very high speeds. The compositional skills of the five clearly emerge as the songs are very structured: contrary to those who say the songs all sound the same, I argue that they are so complex and intricate that they can only be unraveled and recognized after many listens.

Extreme innovation: these are the words that summarize the entire album. It is undoubtedly an album for very strong stomachs and very refined tastes: I believe this release can appeal to both jazz enthusiasts and fans of the most technical Brutal Death Metal (and obviously fans of Converge, Isis, the aforementioned Dillinger Escape Plan, and Mathcore in general).

In closing, a few words about the production, which does absolute justice to the Canadians' work. An extreme yet wonderful album that revisits post hardcore, infusing it with a massive dose of rage and despair that brings it closer to the more rugged and dark territories of metal. My opinion is clear, buy it.