Moldova’s mightiest metallers Infected Rain are back with their 5th album Ecdysis. Led by charismatic and striking frontwoman Lena Scissorhands, Ecdysis provides another thumping dose of progressive modern metal, ranging from melodic, soothing passages, to full blown contemporary aggressive nu-metal devastation – and everything in between.
Whilst Jinjer, Spiritbox and Butcher Babies currently take the spotlight for similar musical and aesthetic style, Infected Rain are rising fast and carving their own path staying true to their style. Many may view Infected Rain as newcomers to the scene, but their debut album Asylum was release over a decade ago now. Which given the events of the last 2 years feels like an ice age ago. They are certainly causing waves now though.
One thing Ecdysis is overflowing with is pure energy. There are djenty booming riffs for days, and Lena’s growls and screeches push the tracks forward at pace. More so than similar bands, Infected Rain maintain a bouncy feel throughout which keeps it more routed in a nu-metal feel. In this way they also feel much more accessible than similar prog/djent bands can often be.
It’s not all pace and aggression, and you would be forgiven for completely missing the aggressive side on opening track Postmortem Pt. 1. Feeling like you’ve accidentally put on a Beast in Black album, until 40 seconds in when the bomb drops and all hell breaks loose. The soft melodic side is however on full display often, Everlasting Lethargy being a break example of these 2 items mixing expertly. There is soothing, almost hypnotic feel to the softer passages. Lena is equally as extremely talented when it comes to either the screeching or the pacifying vocals.
There is plenty of variation on display throughout the album. Whether it is taking an electronic infused modern metal approach on Showers, or straight up classic hard-edged nu-metal on Longing and The Realm of Chaos (with Heidi Shepherd of Butcher Babies making a guest appearance). They actually feel most at home when the tracks are pumping our pure hostile nu-metal. Nine, Ten takes obvious influence from a famous fellow blade-fingered horror icon’s notable chant. “1-2 Freddy’s coming for you…”
Ecdysis is a little lengthy at 55 minutes, a full 15 minutes longer than previous album Endorphin. It feels its length, where trimming a couple of tracks feels appropriate. Nevertheless, Infected Rain have produced another explosive meld of aggression, emotion and destruction with Ecdysis. It gets better with every listen, and everything is full-bore and no holds barred, just as it should be.
Score: 8/10
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