It was an ordinary workday. I sat at my desk, opened my email and, as usual, hoped for anything interesting to come my way. As luck would have it, a good friend of mine had sent me a link with a simple message attached – “you’re going to love this.” The link brought me to an uncategorizable grand amalgamation of metal and industrial dark synth, an album called Unrecoverable Reality by Insanity Check. I heard the spirit of the hallowed bells of Black Sabbath ringing throughout. The sound was one I did not know could exist, yet it was a sound I had longed to hear for some time.
the electroscape connected with Topias, who wrote and produced Unrecoverable Reality to learn about the meaning and making of the album. The album reflects the darkest of human experience; it also reflects turning the darkness into light. The story is of a reality recovered. The story changed the way I experience the album, and I hope it does the same for you.
Buckle up.
My first impression of Unrecoverable Reality was, like many albums, not of the music but of the cover art. I was immediately drawn to the psychological terror the cover art conveys. I noticed the skeletal features sculpted from intertwined wooden roots, stretched outward from the center and terminating in pointed antlers. I noticed the hollowed eyes and the demons at left and right with words “Unrecoverable Reality” most profoundly displayed in ordinary print across the bottom. The cover art was created by Ukrainian artist, Serhiy Krykun. Topias wanted the cover art to tell the story of the album, a story of “a person coming apart, losing his sense of reality” with demons whispering in the ears, “…causing the face to start falling apart.”
The powerful title of the album equally struck me. The title was inspired by Topias’ terrifying confrontation that reality was so far removed, it was unrecoverable, emerging during a period of isolation, hallucination, and during which the only voices to be heard were from people nowhere to be seen. Unrecoverable Reality embodies this experience. The album was written between 2014 and 2018 in Helsinki, Finland, and it brings electronic-based elements and metal together in a tense, yet harmonious, relationship.
The song titles on Unrecoverable Reality tell their own story, left only to the imagination. Side A – Unrecoverable – of the vinyl LP launches with “The Long Journey,” a bold prelude to what will follow. It is on the second track, “Inundate in Indulgence,” that I begin to notice the dramatic melodies Insanity Check creates. These melodies stand up against the backdrop of a big, fuzzy guitar riff churning below.
“Inundate in Indulgence” seamlessly gives way to “Better to Worst.” The seamless transitions between songs spark a hint of anxiety. “Better to Worst” draws on big synth lines that push and pull against digital beats. By the time “Fertile Soil” rolls around, I become fully aware of the tension the songs on this album are built from. Each song has deep undertones, often created by a distorted, heavy guitar riff, while higher pitched melodies tip-toe like a shadow across dark spaces. In “Fertile Soil”, for instance, the melody zig-zags, winds, and spirals while double bass drums bring the heft.
Topias said Insanity Check structured the songs on Unrecoverable Reality by following mood, which sometimes reflect polar opposites separated by just moments in time, such as in “Endorfin” where a dark, eerie melody is followed by a pounding riff that suddenly drops into a nice, tight break beat, or in the dream-like quality “Bester Before Dreams” opens with, which feels like the slow grind to the top of a rollercoaster just before a free fall into blackness.
Side B – Reality – of the vinyl LP begins with “Crysis.” The opening guitar riff and atmospheric synth feels like watching a crisis unfold just before it happens. “Crossing the Line” follows and has a similarly impressionable opening, eliciting a feeling of starring in a real life horror film. This track has a hint of 90s metal with a faster paced, pounding beat. The song shifts up and then down, left and then right, creating a totally coherent disjointed experience.
“Inverted Smile” opens with a melody that plays like an under water dance. The melodies in the track have a digital quality to them and contrast nicely with the slowly evolving and hefty distorted guitar riffs in the background. The lead synth here picks you up, spins you around, and sets you down gently. “Calling the Flatline” showcases melodies with a light touch and are laid over bass lines with a warm hum.
“Gory Glory” feels bigger than a closer. It feels like turning away from the darkness and coming to the light. It begins with the sensation of the eyes opening after being closed for some time, letting the light peer through. A heavy guitar riff looms in the background. As the song unfolds, the atmospheric synth elicits images of walking to the edge of a cliff, to look down at the darkness below, only to turn away toward the light. Maybe this was intentional, maybe it is just my metaphor for the album after learning of the story behind its meaning and making. Either way, Insanity Check strolled down the dark hallways of the mind and emerged victoriously to create the beautiful piece of art Unrecoverable Reality is.
I enjoy the larger artwork and feel of Unrecoverable Reality on vinyl. Insanity Check had always planned to release the album on vinyl, but finding a label that was a good match for the sound and the subject matter took time. Jornt at Hiraeth Records was daring enough to take on the project and pressed a high quality LP. Topias’ and Jornt’s first meeting is shown to the right along with a picture of the vinyl release.
Below is a set of intriguing images Topias created over the course of two years for a special edition of the vinyl release. Each picture tells its own story. Take a moment to scroll through them.
Insanity Check has been hard at work on their next album. It is expected to be ready for release within a year or so. The topic of the next album is substance abuse.