Album Review: Imminence – This Is Goodbye

Tyler H. March 28, 2017 229 Comments 503 views 0 likes

For as adaptive as humanity has shown that they are capable of over the course of history, it becomes quite mind-boggling how the slightest changes throw everyone for a loop, resulting in some of the ficklest behavior. The advent of the internet has brought this fickleness to the forefront more than ever as the vocal few tend to be the ones who shout the loudest, which is why in reality, it’s more than likely par for the course and has been the same throughout life. On the flipside, sometimes people have a valid point for expressing their displeasure with change and in the musical world, change isn’t always needed or may not be the best course of action. Even still, everything deserves a chance and by doing so, people experience new ideas, sounds and areas that they may have thought was not for them. Newly signed to Sharptone Records, the Swedish outfit Imminence have done just that with their new album, This Is Goodbye and the result is a record that shows a stark step away from their signature sound and roots and in its place, a more accessible, arena ready sound that shows they’re ready to take on the biggest stages in music.

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Genre: Alternative Rock | Alternative
Label: Sharptone Records
Release: March 31, 2017
Connect: Facebook | Twitter
Purchase: iTunes | Google Play | Merchnow
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Being forthright and blunt, This Is Goodbye is an extremely diverse album that not only drastically differs from their old material, it’s a record that differs on an almost track by track basis. This all comes at a cost for their older fans as the metalcore stylings that the band delved into are mostly gone, paving the way for Imminence’s new approach and style. The foundation of the music presented here lies more in the alternative rock and alternative genres in and of themselves; in fact, sonically it’s a very loud and arena-stylized sound with massive and lush soundscapes that are meant to capture listeners. Taking it another step further, the underlying sound and the albums production has an everything but the kitchen sink feeling to it as the programming was ramped to 11 with atmospheric and haunting synthesizers littering nearly every track. This has also lead to a softer, more accessible sound that people inherently associate to top 40 music, and while there are similarities between modern mainstream music and This Is Goodbye, one would be hard-pressed to find this playing on a radio station.

Imminence – Diamonds (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)

THIS IS GOODBYE // AVAILABLE MARCH 31ST iTunes – http://geni.us/ImminenceGoodbyeIT Apple Music – http://geni.us/ImminenceGoodbyeAM Amazon MP3 – http://geni.us/ImminenceBrokenLoveA Google Play – http://geni.us/ImminenceBrokenLoveGP Spotify – http://geni.us/ImminenceBrokenLoveSP I’m like a deer in the headlights Running, running, running Golden lights, golden eyes Running out of time Now I’m face down by the wayside

If the aforementioned still doesn’t quite explain what This Is Goodbye truly sounds like, the most apt comparison will probably be Bring Me The Horizon’s That’s The Spirit. While those comparisons are easily noticeable, they are also slightly asinine as this is an entire different approach and relies on a much different level of composition when it comes to a track by track distinction. There’s a much larger emphasis on choruses and sweeping, encompassing musicality on Imminence’s’ outing as vocalist Eddie Berg shines above beautifully lush and atmospheric electronic soundscapes. It’s as simple as picking any track that’s not labeled acoustic and listeners are essentially brought into a new world that’s filled with one or all of the aforementioned elements, coupled with a more arena-rock sounding instrumentation base. That said, there a few songs on the album that have some flashes of their old self such as “Cold As Stone” and “This Is Goodbye”, but the reality is this is nothing short of a complete re-branding for the band as none of the newer material resembles anything they have released previously.

As a whole, there’s a lot of enjoyment to be found, from the massive choruses and polished, catchy production while the dislike will mostly come from a change in style and a lack of crunch and oomph to the musicality, resulting in more alternative sounds. Even if this is a direction many may not like, it’s truly appreciated as it showcases the creativity and musical endeavors that lie within the members who make up Imminence and serves as a reminder to all that a band is capable of more than a singular sound. Whatever the reception to This Is Goodbye ends up resulting in, the fact of the matter is that the band was ready and willing to experiment, forging a new path for themselves and created what they set out to do.