IBurn-IBurn
With the current Nu-Metal revival taking place of late, bands such as Spineshank and ill Nino, who underwent disappearing acts upon its 2002 demise, are starting to appear again with live shows taking place and new albums on the way. Indeed, new bands such as Ireland's IBurn are also bringing Nu-Metal back to prominence with their own take on the genre and, while some may scoff, it's brilliant.
The Tipperary quintet sound like a clear-cut cross between Supercharger-era Machine Head, angsty pre-millennial Korn and the brutalism of Adrenaline/Around The Fur Deftones while infusing that sound with a genuinely modern feel in its hardcore-leaning bass-drum heavy beatdowns. With a huge production it's a sound that smashes you straight in the face but stays true to the genre's rulebook and mediates the crushingly heavy bounce with giant melodies and even elements of rap-metal.
Opening track 'Have Myself Again' comes hurtling out of the gates like a thousand rhinos with its machete-like guitars and rampaging bass-lines, vocalist Matt Sheedy sounds like Robb Flynn having a savage fight with Tool's Maynard James Keenan as throat-shredding roars metamorphose into brilliantly infectious and hard-hitting choruses.
In 'Loser' guitarists Dave Fogarty and Mark Morris channel Slipknot's Mick Thompson and Jim Root in their head-splittingly heavy technicality while in 'Rotting My Body's Strength' Sheedy practically raps the entire song without sounding trite or overtly revivalist. Admittedly the band sound similar at times to fellow Irishmen One Minute Silence but through adding distinct dimensions they are able to step out as something different and equally exciting.
Album closer 'Lost Time' is a wonderful surprise as beautifully twanging acoustic guitars intertwine alongside Sheedy providing purely clean vocals before oddly calming gang-vocals sweep the track gently up and away. The track adds a nice extra layer to the record in allowing the members to prove their versatility.
With all revivals most bands are going to find it hard to make a genuine impact but, in taking something and making it sound fresh and interesting again, if they continue to work hard, IBurn could be making some serious impact in the very near future.