THE IDORU – Face The Light

The Idoru? Never heard that name? No surprise, as, except for their home country Hungary, the band is quite unknown, although in contrast to many other Metal bands from that country they sing in English instead of their native language. The guys from Budapest have been around since 2003 and have released two EPs and three albums, so this is a young, but not immature band.

The best characterization for the musical style would probably be “Alternative”, and “Emo” or “Screamo” are not too far from the truth as well. But also the word “Metal” keeps sticking, so the music does fit MER’s general direction. A trademark of The Idoru is the length, or better shortness, of their songs. They start like a whirlwind and simply end when the band feels they have nothing more to add. While other bands extend their tracks with long solo sections or repeat riffs and choruses over and over again, the Hungarians manage to play ten songs in only 32 minutes without giving the feeling that anything is missing at all. This is unusual, but very effective, as one will certainly hit the play button again instead of being saturated after one spin. It seems The Idoru is the only band with radio potential whose radio edits of their hits need to be made longer instead of being shortened.

From the start the album throws punches. Underlying Punk influences pair up with Alternative melodies in the opening track “Violent Night”. A hard rocking hymn and very catchy song that leads to the high speed beginning of “Enemy No. 1” that raises the question what to do first: sing along or pogo-trash the room? Not all tracks are on the same level of energy, the Hungarians turn it down a bit in the following tracks, brink even on the shores of Pop and sound definitely American in “Make It Out”. If the guys came from Boston instead of Budapest, no Emo Girl heart would remain unbroken. The last album with such a density of hits was from Billy Talent – and it was not their latest one.

Towards the end, the band increases the pace again with “Out Of Eden” before the almost epical four-minute-song “False Confessions” and a symphonic, but short track called “Eternal Stream” leads the album to its conclusion. There is no weak track on Face The Light, no filler songs, not even filler parts in any track. Anybody who is only mildly interested in that style needs to check this out. There has not been a better album in this genre in years.