The Silent Epidemic is
Insense's third album in the span of eight years, but that doesn't appear to have been enough time to help the Norwegian group come up with a truly original personal sound. On opener "Welcome Whore," for example, vocalist/guitarist
Tommy Hjelm's enraged yowls sound very reminiscent of
Phil Anselmo's and his groove-heavy riffs derive straight out of
Pantera's "A New Level"; while on next number, "Deeper Nail," the singer cleans up his act to sound more like
Incubus'
Brandon Boyd and leads his cohorts down a far more accessible quasi-metalcore trail. What gives? Well, it soon becomes apparent that
Insense are quite capable of aping and blending any number of established heavy metal templates, yet they generally fall short of truly reimagining and reinvigorating them, as intended. Take "Yearning," which borrows from
Meshuggah's lopsided rhythms and then douses them with some abnormally large doses of metal-gaze melody; or perhaps "The Worst Is Yet to Come," which at least owns up to their Scandinavian heritage via some black email blastbeats amid neo-thrash staccatos; or even "Time Wounds All Heals," which fulfills every stylistic expectation of a hardcore-infused emo single! Each is eligible for the lofty label of "progressive" if considered within the album's daunting variety of styles; but with very few exceptions (like the surprising dynamic shifts and captivating melodies found in "The Erosion of Oslo" or the title track), they often sound simplistic and/or derivative, in and of themselves. So much so, in fact, that while inexperienced listeners may feel positively riveted at
The Silent Epidemic's many aesthetic facets, more knowledgeable metal heads will likely be distracted from
Insense's not inconsiderable talents by their clear-cut case of creative kleptomania.