Album Review: Irist – Order of the Mind

By Prog Sphere on March 20, 2020

Think of the palatial, serene technicality of Gojira, a greasy, Mastodon-like anti-melody, the peculiar gloom of… well, to hell with it; just name all your favorite post/progressive/groove metal bands into one and you’ve got an idea of how Irist sounds. Or not.

One can be drawn to many other comparisons, but throwing out names like that draws an allegoric image of Irist at best, and then only for the fundamental pieces of the band’s sound. From a structural, vital perspective, the group’s debut Order of the Mind is in a constant motion, sweeping from one instrument to many, from ambiance to belligerence, then merging both into billows of ferocity. One moment you’re listening to an attack of vivid progressive death metal lacquered with underlining solos and embellished with commodious screams; the next moment you’re exposed to a stripped-down guitar noodling and whispers.

Even when you think you’re safely settled in the untamed death metal side, the sound is constantly shifting, sometimes recoiling into the frigid chasm of space like any of the aforementioned groups, occasionally brightening for a scrumptious and natural stir of warmness more common to prog. The opening “Eons,” “Creation” and “Harvester” express its themes with unsettling screams of pain that turn the backing riffs into something of Stephen King calibre, but the relentless chugging and light flourishes of “Nerve” put that in contention.

Order of the Mind works its way through the cosmos of sounds and succeeds on its potential like any tech-infused progressive album that knows what it means to accomplish and not just to impress.

Order of the Mind is out on March 27, 2020 via Nuclear Blast. Pre-order the album from this location. Watch a video for “Creation” below, and follow Irist on Facebook.