Invictra - Of Flesh, Steel and Stone

Impressively, Rochester thrashers Incivtra have released 'Of Flesh, Steel and Stone' barely a year after their last EP, 'Chaos Theory'. Formed in 2015, they've gone from strength to strength in the New York metal scene and are already starting to boast an impressive discography. A few tweaks to their lineup over the past year, and they're now on their fourth release in five years. It's a daring step forward that advances their sound and sees them sounding more convincing and vital than ever.

Opener 'Vozrozhdeniya' sets the tone like a call-to-arms, with slinky guitar melodies that demonstrate musicality, flair and talent from the word 'go', from creepy clean lines to grandiose, arpeggiated lead guitar licks when the whole band are kicked in, with amps up to 11. Segueing into 'Objects of Rage', Invictra waste no time in upping the energy levels, backed by the darkly melodic guitar riffs, Josh's well-honed screams and the frantic drumming. A minute and a half in, Josh surprises the listener with powerful clean vocal melodies that were largely absent in the past, apart from at parts in the title track to last year's 'Chaos Theory', for example. On this release, they sound much more potent and committed, with a Mustaine-type snarl that harks back to Invictra's obvious Megadeth influence. Structurally and compositionally the clean vocals are to be commended, as well, avoiding the predictable harsh verse/clean chorus songwriting trap that several metal bands fell under in the early part of the century. A solid start.

'Enemy of Your State' begins with a fantastic melodic lead guitar lick before jumping into a truly irresistible 6/8 groove. The chorus cleverly alternates between clean and distorted vocals, and the use of key changes and impressive guitar wizardry particularly evokes Megadeth. Not that they're a Megadeth clone - far from it - but every band has their favourite bands. The clean guitar lines at the end of the song even see Invictra go into Death-style territory. Overall, 'Enemy of Your State' is a real headbanger and placing a track with such groove after the breakneck speed of 'Objects of Rage' before it is a clever move. 'Simmons Hollow' follows, acting as the true centrepiece of the release. Stretching out to almost eight minutes, and in a slightly lower tuning, it twists and turns to make an exciting listen. Joe and Josh's guitar playing really stands out over this track, whether the progressive-tinged riffing or the (various) moments of pure guitar wizardry. As you think the song's about to end, a new, chuggy guitar riff takes over as the band drop the tempo and begin a truly monumental outro - with a killer bass lick snuck in just before Invictra sync up. You lose yourself in the face-contorting guitar dissonances and clever uses of silence at the end of each repeat.

'Scrape' rips you out of your trance with a crushing riff and blistering sense of energy once again. Released as a single before 'Of Flesh...' came out, it's likely to be a crowd-pleaser with the slightly simpler musical approach in the verses that has more of a fun, hardcore, crossover sensibility than the rest of their material. The song evolves into a gnarly breakdown, and Joe and Josh share the guitar leads once again before the song crashes to a halt. 'Revenant' rounds off proceedings with a melodic instrumental first section, accentuated with dynamic contrasts and melodic guitar arpeggios. Three minutes in, Invictra switch up the tone completely and change key into a clean vocal-led section. Containing Josh's strongest moments as a singer across this whole release, 'Revenant' is indeed home to Invictra's most unashamedly melodic moments on display. They gradually raise the intensity over a couple of minutes, before a thrash beat kicks in and Josh's familiar harsh vocals take over for a particularly vicious riff. Leaning back into those clever, more melodic stylings, Invictra make the listener wait before unleashing a monster outro riff that virtually snaps your neck off without warning. One to beat your mates up in the pit to, for sure. 'Revenant' is a brave, ambitious, and well-executed closer that ticks a lot of boxes and shows what the band are really capable of at the moment.

This is an epic-sounding release, with lots of progressive flourishes to keep the listener entertained. With the vast amounts of guitar wizardry on display, guitar players will love 'Of Flesh...' - and there's a lot of great bass fills too, that unfortunately go under the radar on the first few listens. This is certainly one to be played several times through. The drumwork by Dylan shows a real mastery of control and tempo, whether the slower parts on 'Simmons Hollow' or the faster riffs in 'Scrape' and 'Objects of Rage'. The 'Revenant' outro has some fantastic fills, too. Josh's vocals have improved since the last Invictra release. Now with clean singing firmly in his arsenal, we can hear how he will continue to strengthen this aspect of his musicianship down the line, and it's exciting to consider what might be around the corner for Invictra. 'Chaos Theory' was a step up from 'The World Game', and the same is true this time round - with more varied song lengths, for example. Where the songs from 'Chaos Theory' all lay within the 5-6 minute range, 'Of Flesh...' has short, sharp bangers alongside longer epics. Although Invictra are certainly an aggressive band, they don't neglect melody, either. There's a lot going on, and they do it well.

Crank it up and lose yourself in this fine example of where thrash metal is in 2021.

9/10

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