(((((OPENmind/SATURATEDbrain))))): IKARAY

Sunday, 9 October 2022

IKARAY

Band: IKARAY
Genres: Punk / Post-Hardcore / Post-Metal / Metal / Doom / Sludge / Ambient

Related artists: Crowning, Itto, Greed Worm.
Country: Chicago, Illinois U.S.A.
Years Active: 2016-present
For fans of: AmenRa, Buried Inside, Titan, Cult Of Luna, Amia Venera Landscape, Isis, Monuments Collapse, .rha, Sarin, Hope Drone, Omega Massif, Pelican, Downfall Of Gaia, Rosetta, and Oaken.

Label(s): Self Released

I first about IKARAY when I was on a 2019 European tour with Crowning and vocalist/friend Trilly who told me that he played bass in a band with a new album coming out. I heard an unmastered track and was blown away, thus ensuring I was sitting around waiting for the album to drop. So when 'No Borders' came out in May of 2020 I immediately picked up some 12"s for the ZBR distro because I knew it was going to be great. Subsequently I was supposed to review them but ya know 2020 then covid hit and fucked up my shit.

But I'm back in the swing of things and felt this album and band should be brought up because they are fantastic and I don't hear them mentioned often. I'm only hearing their debut self-titled 'Ikaray' EP now and it's very much in line with what followed four years later, albeit a bit slower and more yelly/less screamy. The punch and massive, driving bass are ever-present, the songs are still prodigious in both sound and length (10 minutes being the norm) which is made abundantly clear to me during the first track "New Forms" after a brief atmospheric intro, and the first of a few warranted AmenRa comparisons, because this band without a doubt gets closer to that sound than any other band I've ever heard. The transition after the six-minute mark is fucking awesome and a staple in the band's songs - starting out slow and building to a killer/hooky riff. "Remnant" utilizes the melody of the guitars to make the entire track seem more positive and bares resemblance to Cult Of Luna and Isis, but "Obelisk" comes right back with the densest and most concise song on the record, show the band going full-tilt for the majority of the track save the very dreamy mid-section. Closer "True Healer" is another head banger book-ended by noise and obviously cracks the 10-minute mark.

And so we move on to 2020's absolutely stellar 'No Borders' which showcases exploratory growth as well as track time juggling, with the average on this album coming in at more like 7 minutes. Opener "Griever" spacey-tremolos until its initial onslaught, showcasing much faster drumming and giving the band a more black metal feel to their doom metal. The vocals are also much harsher, fitting the speed increase and shifting the similarities away from AmenRa and toward earlier Hope Drone. The belly of this song has undoubtable Isis influence and the incorporation really pays off, allowing the closer of the song to really hit hard. Speaking of hitting hard, track two's "War Criminal" is five minutes of post-metal glory (complete with music video!) that is blatantly anti-Trump so I'm all fucking for it. The next song (again with music video!) "Stars Down To Earth" has a wonderful ethereal intro that paves way for the crushing AmenRa worship that follows and continues for the most of the song's tenure. Title track "No Borders" is the title for a good reason...it's a fuckin' time. Raging, towering riffs are skewered with piercing drums and bathed in screams. That's it. Nothing else needs to be said.

As far as I can see this band hasn't played a show in over a year so hopefully they're writing for a new record because both releases thus far are ace.

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DISCOGRAPHY

2016 - Ikaray cdEP (stream/donate/download here)

2020 - No Borders cd/12"LP (stream/buy here)

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(2020) IKARAY - "" (from 'No Borders') official music video

https://youtu.be/fVF4HS7wMGI