Album Review: Infected Rain – Time (Napalm Records)

Infected Rain continue to march forward with an inordinate amount of momentum coming off the back of a successful couple of years. Now, on February 9th, 2024, they will release their 6th studio album, ‘Time’, via Napalm Records.

Everything you love, everything you admire, and everything that has made Infected Rain such a big name is present in this record. It might be the most encapsulating release they’ve ever done, and everything they have done to this point has led to this moment. Which means it’s a banger, right?

Yes, for the most part, as the album kicks off in aggressive style with Because I Let You. Vocalist Lena Scissorhands is on fire here, but so is the exciting blend of pounding groove metal twisted by electronica and progressive touches. Combined, every part of Infected Rain burns with intensity, even when ethereal melody takes over.

The brash dynamism of their sound is fully on show here, and Infected Rain continue to impress with the genre-bending, but groove-tastic intensity of Dying Light. Before Never to Return shifts things again with trip-hop elements and far-East touches. Followed then by Lighthouse, which takes things to a more melodic place, albeit with some odd tones and some surging heavy bursts. In the first third of the album, Infected Rain show just how layered their sound is and how they can keep a listener engaged with varied heaviness.

Does it have the pace to keep that engagement right up to the end? The Answer is You says so, as Infected Rain deliver one of their more heart-racing examples of EDM elements and metal brutishness. Then there is Vivarium, a sinister sounding track that showcases the power of Lena Scissorhands’ voice, with some blood-curdling screams.

The aptly titled Pandemonium, the following Enmity, and Unpredictable keep things hot and interesting with a wild combination of Infected Rain elements. Scathing groove metal, massive EDM beats, touches of drum and bass, mournful melodic passages, and so much more. Chances are, at this point in the album, you’ll still be having a blast with Infected Rain.

It does bear repeating too, that this album is the ultimate example of who and what Infected Rain are. While much of what they do is familiar, how they do it, and how they continue to keep things fresh, is what makes them such a stellar act. It’s why Game of Blame’s breakdown, one that will snap bones, is so exciting. It’s why the vigorous intensity of Paura holds so much weight, and it’s why the ambient closer of A Second or A Thousand Years is so effective.

Infected Rain have set an extremely high bar for themselves going forward. Fans are going to love every second of this record. There’s no better example of what this band is capable of.

Infected Rain – Time Track Listing:

1. Because I Let You
2. Dying Light
3. Never to Return
4. Lighthouse
5. The Answer Is You
6. Vivarium
7. Pandemonium
8. Enmity
9. Unpredictable
10. Game of Blame
11. Paura
12. A Second or A Thousand Years

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