Igorrr – “Savage Sinusoid” (2017)

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Label: Metal Blade Records

Review by Michelle Henriquez

The project that started with Gautier Serre evolved into a multifaceted interception of genres, in which metal, electronics, classical music and Balkan music merry meet with the assistance of Laurent Lunior‘s savage shrieks, Laure Le Prunenec’s enchanting operatics and Sylvain Bouvier’s impressive drumming. Igorrr knows no limit when it comes to creativity in musicmaking. So when they launched their latest album “Savage Sinusoid” in June, it shook the foundations of the ones who’ve never heard of Igorr’s musical expectations while indulging fans with one of the their best creations to date! The first song on the album, “Viande”, starts with Laurent’s crazed and somewhat primitive shrieks followed by some nice Apex Twins-like beats and electronics. The Apex Twinlike inspirations is also found on a later track named “Robert”. The next song, “ieuD”, which is actually an inverted Dieu (God in French) if you read it correctly, is a dramatic combination of lamenting vocals, semi-Medieval chords and choir meshed with some slick drumming, electronic beats and death-riffs. The dramatic song is followed by a more humorous and quirky song, “Houmous”, which mixes choirs, operatic vocals, mad screams, guitars, electronics, blast-beats, saxophone and accordion in one song. Especially the progressive quality of this song is impressive. The instruments are used at different times in different combinations to contribute to a coherent and structured song, whilst at the same time keeping the crazy dramatic humor all at once. “Opus Brain” starts off as a drum-and-base song that slowly adds the many layers of genres Igorrr utilizes. It has that dark gothic melody in the organs and haunting operatic vocals. Other exotic instruments are used, such as the sitar. However, in my honest opinion, there are better tracks on the album. “Humous” and “Spaghetti Forever” are definitely better compositions due to their stretching and coming together of different genres. “Opus Brain” is too layered for my taste: it is still a decent song, especially for existing fans. “Spaghetti Forever” is another strange and eccentric title for a song that starts calmly with an acoustic and classical guitar piece before plunging into electro-enraged opera and screams accompanied by blastbeats, organs and violins. “Cheval” is pure accordion and idiosyncratic traits and vocals of Lunior and Cattle Decapitation‘s Travis Ryan. However, a more metal song on the album is “Apopathodiaphulatophobie” wherein Travis Ryan’s deep vocals are subjected to Lunior’s sick shrieks with short interfaces of Prunenec’s operatic prowess. “Va te Foutre” is a black metal inspired song that is the perfect follow-up for “Apopathodiaphulatophobie”. It is also short, but is a distinctively Igorrr metal interlude and its instrumentality shows why Igorrr is so diverse and progressive in songwriting. Lastly, it would not be an Igorrr album if it did not include Igorrr ballads such as in “Problème d’Émotion” and “Au Revoir”, the last song on the tracklist. In these songs, Prunenec’s sultry and melancholic vocals are assisted by classical piano and violin. “Au Revoir” develops into instrumental metal with classical piano tunes and “Problème d’Émotion” is at some point accompanied by electronics and low-tempo beats while Prunenec’s vocals soars in the whistle notes, which makes it hard to discern if the voice is human or instrument.  “Problème d’Émotion” surprisingly remains a ballad without the wacky progressive turn Igorrr usually takes in their songs. In short, “Savage Sinusoid” is a more mature and structured album than its predecessors. It is worthwile listening to a more approachable album that includes all the eccentric and nonsensical twists Igorrr always implements in their music, but that does not layer too many of the distinctive genres they use in their music to overwhelm the listener. Igorrr’s more structured approach to this album makes the album more palpable and evokes all emotions in the spectrum of life.

Rating – 90/100

 

Tracklist

  1. Viande
  2. ieuD
  3. Houmous
  4. Opus Brain
  5. Problème d’émotion
  6. Spaghetti Forever
  7. Cheval
  8. Apopathodiaphulatophobie
  9. Va te foutre
  10. Robert
  11. Au Revoir

 

Line Up 

  • Gautier Serre – Composer, instrumentalist
  • Laurent Lunior – Vocals
  • Laure Le Prunenec – Operatic Vocals
  • Travis Ryan – Vocals (Guest)
  • Sylvain Bouvier – Drums

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