Among the most frequently used rock music pearls is the old adage, “You've got your whole life to write your first album… and then six months to write your second.” While there is debate on who exactly is responsible for the quote, the reality at the root of it speaks to kind of limited shelf life of most music.
In the case of Melbourne unit Gravemind, six months quickly turned into five years, despite a pivotal 2019 that saw the band launch their lauded debut, Conduit. Garnering acclaim for their proficient meld of death metal influence and metalcore sensibility, Gravemind established a keen ability to lean into extremity while never veering too far from crafting something catchy - a quality some bands go their entire career without ever grasping.
As is the story, the following year would decimate normalcy as the world knew it and ultimately hindered not just the momentum that Gravemind had secured with Conduit, but essentially robbed the world of two years of life. For all the strides Gravemind had earned on their Greyscale debut, the band would be forced to start from scratch and extend that ideal six month window for a follow-up much long than anyone anticipated.
Considering such extenuating circumstances, it's Gravemind's follow-up five years in the making that becomes especially impressive. Introsphere finds the band building upon their brand of precision-based, well-produced metalcore, while daring to flex their brawn. Tracks like shifting from sonic barrage to soaring stanzas in the same fell swoop.
Contrasting the frenzied attack of tracks like ">_TERMINAL" and the Jamie Hails-assisted "F.E.A.R." with the emotive stroke of "ALOY" emphasize Gravemind's resilience as songwriters. Gavemind would have been well off had they picked up where they left off at Conduit, but rather, Introsphere suggests they in fact outpaced themselves, exceeding expectations even with the pause of once-in-a-lifetime proportions.
Exploring themes of digital dystopia, existential uncertainty and ultimately self-discovery in what feels like a crumbling world, Gravemind's assert their creative potential and make a compelling case that Melbourne has a new head of the class in modern metalcore. With guest features from the likes of Reba Meyers of Code Orange, the previously mentioned Jamie Hails of Polaris and renowned composer Mick Gordon - Introsphere proves to be the kind of album that is not only worth the wait, but intends to be timeless.
Frontman Bailey Schembri spent some time going track-by-track to better explain the totality of the album and the band's convincing effort to reclaim their position.
>_TERMINAL
Schembri - ">_TERMINAL” explores the challenges of the online world, highlighting the risks of sharing personal information and the negativity that pervades social media. Being the first song on the album, it came with a lot of struggle to write THE INTRO to the entire album. The only escape is to unplug. It's a reflection on a society striving for an elusive standard of goodness in the digital age.
DEATHTOUCH
Schembri - Deathtouch is about an ancient alien race that had facilitated the creation of our civilized world Bonded with our DNA to create born leaders to sit on their thrones controlling their regions on earth and ultimately leading to our demise. I had the lyrics for this song (older version), sitting around for a while, just waiting to be used. When it came time to enter round 2 of the vocalist auditions, I had no doubt what I would be using to get the track pumping! This song definitely has a standout feel, as it was the first and only song from the album I had heard at that point. Then the whole album needed to be written!
HOUSE OF CARDS
Schembri - "House of Cards" delves into a dystopian vision of humanity's future, where technology and digital control erode personal freedom and identity. The song represents a bleak landscape where evolution has led to our decline, and society’s dependence on a binary system reduces individuals to mere data points. This is one of the tracks that I had tracked at home by myself. This was a daunting task, because I had never been a part of something this important before and had a lot of pressure in my mind to really succeed with this. Everything went smoothly and the boys were there to tell me how bad I was every step of the way!
RORSCHACH
Schembri - This song channels the dark, complex essence of Rorschach from the "Watchmen" universe, exploring themes of existential despair and moral ambiguity. It vividly describes a world in chaos, where life’s destructive path and the harsh realities of violence and decay are laid bare. Having the voiceover at the start of this track was really the icing on the cake. Writing this song was an extreme group effort. We were at the end of the vocal recording process for the whole album and I was very burnt out from writing. This meant I needed all the help I could get and we all got together to figure out how the concept can work. The mixture of all our preferred styles can definitely be heard here.
ANHEDONIA
Schembri - Featuring Reba Meyers of Code Orange, “Anhedonia” looks into themes of personal failure, and the struggle to release a painful past. The lyrics explore the emotional fallout from a broken relationship, focussing on the pain of inadequacy and the difficulty of letting go. With Reba already being beautifully set into this track, most of the lyrical content and themes is based around her feature. She brought something really special to this one and it really set the tone for what the rest of the song needed to be.
FAILSTATE
Schembri - ‘Failstate’ is a brutal assault, exploring themes of perseverance and rebirth. The lyrics depict a strong reference to our love for the Souls-Borne franchise. The title itself, symbolizes the inevitable failure that we cannot overcome, emphasizing the enduring quest for triumph. A Savestate is a return to safety. A Failstate is a psychotic loop of death.
To have the opportunity to work with the legendary Mick Gordon on this song is a dream come true. He definitely did not disappoint when bringing the aggression. I knew I had to bring my all.
TRUE LIFE
Schembri - This song is a Jeff Dunne favourite on the album. Lyrically, it explores existential themes through the eyes of dystopian struggle, painting a world where reality is an illusion controlled by unseen forces. It reflects on the exponential growth of the artificial world and the sense of losing oneself in a manufactured existence. The song ultimately confronts the idea of reclaiming control and redefining one's existence in a collapsing world. I was probably re-watching The Matrix or going on the annual Sims binge when writing this.
ALOY
Schembri - “Aloy” is a journey of self-discovery and redemption, guided by the hand of unconditional importance. It speaks of finding a reason to heal, the transformative power of love, and the realization of purpose through parenthood. This is also to represent the light at the end of every tunnel. No matter how dark it gets, or the distance between. Find something worth fighting for.
F.E.A.R.
Schembri - We use routine and vices to distract us from the fear of facing our inner demons, but ultimately they will reveal themselves. Our leaders have failed us, and we must face the destructive powers of fear on our own, before it leads to our downfall. With Jamie’s feature being nearly half of this song, we had to stick with the original lyrics, as any changes could/would have thrown off the concept entirely. The feature in this is monumental and a true attestment to Jamie’s powerful range.
PRANIC LIFT
Schembri - This song conveys the profound sorrow of losing someone before having the chance to know them, capturing the depth of hopelessness and unfulfilled love. The lyrics reflect on the agonizing emptiness of this loss and the existential questioning of whether such suffering is deserved or a result of unrealistic expectations from the world. The somber feel of the song really lended itself to writing the lyrics. Being such a traumatic experience in my own life, it was very important that this song sounded as large as it is haunting. The big ending to the big album. It took a lot to put these words on paper, but I’m glad I can get this message out, and hopefully the people that need it, hear it.
