IAH

IAH – CD // DD

Necio Records – released July 21, 2017

Reviewed by Eric Layhe

 

Line Up:
Juan Pablo Lucco Borlera: Bajo
Mauricio Condon: Guitarra
José Landín: Batería

Hometown: 
Córdoba, Argentina

Tracklist:
Cabalgan Los Cielos                  (7:39)
Ouroboros                                    (5:16)
Stolas                                            (8:42)
Eclipsum                                      (4:36)
La Piedra Que Sujeta El Sol    (5:45)
Nuboj                                            (7:26)

 

                         IAH – Self Titled EP Demo

Post-Metal, especially Instrumental Post-Metal, is somewhat akin to walking a tightrope: if executed correctly, it can be a true wonder to behold. However, even the slightest misstep can spell disaster for the artist in question. One of the latest acts to walk this tightrope is Argentina’s IAH.

Post-Metal’s largest pitfall is that it can be a very difficult genre to perform while maintaining the interest of the listener. All too commonly, the music is tuned out, eventually being delegated to being “background music” after the listener sets their attention to something more gripping. Fortunately, IAH does an excellent job of making sure their music remains interesting in their debut album, adeptly shifting the feel of their music at the exact instant that the musical idea of the time would wear its welcome.

This album often feels like 3 friends jamming in their garage, and that is absolutely a good thing. An air of familiarity and camaraderie permeates this release- it lacks the disconnect between the listener and the artist that so many larger releases have. It really feels like IAH are sharing something with you and that you are simply hanging out with them, and this feeling definitely pans out in their favor.

The sections of this album that yield the biggest and best impact are when the band really lets loose: IAH feels, far and away, most comfortable when their amps are turned up to eleven, the overdrive is blaring, the guitar is detuned, and the drummer is holding nothing back. Approximately halfway through album opener “Cabalgan Los Cielos” the fuzz guitar is taken beyond the point of no return and the song opens up into an outright tremendous stomp that characterizes the band at their best: Loud, heavy, and downright punishing. This sensation is taken to its maximum in the first half of album high point “Eclipsum”, a showcase of world class riffs full of fuzz, wah, and bass chords.

Spacey, Post-metal is at its finest when the band lets loose, just as outer space is at its most interesting when one takes a look at the crushing gravitational forces of stars, supernovas, and black holes, and IAH is a band that certainly seems to be perfectly aware of this. Despite being rather new to the scene, IAH weaves a work that deserves plenty of attention in the metal crowd, and if there is any justice in this great big universe, these masters of musical intuition will receive that attention.