Metal Underground.com

Norwegian band Insense has been something of a well-kept secret in their country’s metal scene let alone the world’s but that is poised to be challenged with the release of their new album “De:Evolution”. In a country renowned for its Black Metal, the Oslo quartet is a unique proposition carving out a distinctive presence and sound unlike that of their countrymen. Steering away from the expected corpse paint and Satan worshipping in monochrome forests presentation, Insense has sculpted an imaginative confrontation which preys upon and ignites the senses with a singular enticement all of their own. The band has drawn comparisons to bands from Machine Head to Dillinger Escape Plan, Pantera to Strapping Young Lad, and Slipknot to Meshuggah, but the reality is that while of course being huge fans of all the aforementioned giants, their sound is simply theirs, a one of a kind sonic predation which sets the band apart from those inspirations and the rest.

Insense started out as a technical metal outfit in 1999 and across the years has slowly and potently refined their sound, triggered by a very aggressive and intensive second album, to the gripping and dangerous Insense sound of technically impressive riffs and melodic desperation which bred their acclaimed last full-length “Burn In Beautiful Fire”. Their 15 year life span has also seen Insense tour every nook and cranny of their Scandinavian home turf, unleashing their renowned and ferocious stage presence alongside metal titans like In flames, Demon Hunter, The Devin Townsend Project, and Ghost, to mention just a few. Insense’s live shows are known to be brutal and chaotic, yet performed with such passion within a surgical precision that the crowd is always guaranteed to get their money’s worth.

Previous album “Burn In Beautiful Fire”, as well as fan and media praise received a Norwegian Grammy nomination, a recognition for an encounter and sound stretched with uncompromising diversity which eludes the precise tagging of the creative voraciousness setting new standards for the band. Now Insense presents their fifth instalment, the incendiary “De:Evolution”; 14 tracks of tempestuous aggression unveiling a maturity and powerful modern approach which sees the band forging new heights and depths in their songwriting and passionate onslaught. Unrelenting in its siege of explosive flavours aligned to a persistently evolving inventiveness, the new album converges on the senses like there is no tomorrow to look forward to, but then twists into a new blazing fire to welcome in another day. Providing a carnivorous breath which alone intimidates and ignites the imagination alongside a musical causticity accentuating every melody and expression drenched syllable, “De:Evolution” is a major landmark in the journey of Insense, a new inventive plateau the band has adopted as its own.