Instant Supression Domain.Nation

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by Joe Mis
Staff Writer

And now for something completely different… Well, not COMPLETELY different, but certainly unique in many ways… Domain.Nation is the genre-bending latest from Instant Suppression, a quintet of talented performers from Rostov-on-Don in the Russian Federation. They seem ready to make a splash in the crowded metal music market with a unique blend of progressive metal, death metal, gothic metal and modern electronic rock.

Formed in 2005 and originally called Joker, Instant Suppression brings some fresh talent to the fore. Domain.Nation is their first full-length album and follows an earlier EP and single release. All aspects of this recording are surprisingly polished and mature, and the songwriting and structure is better than one sometimes gets from veteran bands. The band picks and chooses elements of prog metal, death metal and electronica and rolls them into a cohesive whole, giving them a somewhat unique sound. The simple fact that they use three vocalists in many of the tracks only adds to their uniqueness.

Aggression is the keystone in Instant Suppression’s performance. Aggressive vocals, aggressive instrumental performances and aggressive lyrics delivered in a clear and slick package make Instant Suppression a band to keep an ear on.

The vocal trio is impressive. Yura Kazbanov does the death metal grunts to a T, is more understandable than most growlers, and he also plays a good lead guitar. Anton Topchaev sings clean vocals with a slightly limited range, but has a fine voice overall – and he handles the electronics for the band. He lays down some great keyboard lines without dominating the music and works very well with the other band members. Yana Blinder provides the female vocals – and she truly has a phenomenal voice. She provides a very sweet and soft contrast to the growls and rampant power chords.

Andrey Petrushin (guitars and backing vocals), Arthur Linskiy (bass) and the single-named Alexey (drums) make up the balance of the band. Each seems to be a very talented musician in their field. The guitar lines are sweeping and intense, and show many flashes of technical brilliance without becoming a shredding expo. The keys are very solid and are an integral part of the music. Bass and drums are very good as well, handling all of the varied tempos without issue (although Alexy at times seems to overuse the double bass drums).

Instant Suppression’s music is varied but almost always melodic. There are the required prog style tempo changes and numerous long instrumental passages that give the band a chance to show some depth and substance. Lyrically their music is not overly original. The first six tracks are fairly standard themes for death/power/industrial metal – death, humanity being somewhat less than ideal, excessive mechanization of society, etc. Then the album seems to switch to more emotional prog metal themes: death, regret, hope (and lack thereof), change and growth.

The music highlights are “De(com)pression,” “To The Back Of Beyond,” the soft but short instrumental “Segment II,” the most mainstream track “Lost In Light” – and just about every note sung by Yana Blinder.

The production and engineering are good, but not perfect. The instrumental parts of the album were recorded on a home studio setup, which gives a level of warmth and almost “old-fashionedness” to the sound – and seems very fitting. The maturity of both the musicianship and lyrics show Instant Suppression to be band with a bright future.

All things considered, Domain.Nation is a great debut album. It is not perfect, but well worth a listen. From start to finish the music is intense. It should appeal to fans of any of the featured genres, but it may be too “deathy” for prog rockers and too soft for death metal fans. No matter what your taste you will find something to like about this band, and hopefully the metal world will take some notice and give these guys the support they deserve.

Best part – you can’t beat the price, as the album is currently available as a free download from their web site. Check it out!

Label: DF Music Organization (Indie)

Web: http://www.instantsuppression.com/ , http://www.myspace.com/instantsuppression

Track Listing:

01. Shapeless Threat
02. Fake
03. Domain.Nation
04. Mechanical Universe
05. De(com)pression
06. Segment I
07. Regeneration Age
08. Take The Power
09. Segment II
10. Frozen
11. To The Back Of Beyond
12. Inner Entropy
13. Lost In Light

HRH Rating: 8.5/10