I'm not impressed. Adimiron is a weird metal squad hailing from Italy and this release, "K2," is the group's third full-length album. Some sources say this band used to have affiliations in the black/death metal niche before switching over to some thrash-inspired faction cramming a lot of avant-garde or experimental routines into their recipe of steel. Strangely enough, "K2" vaguely represents some of the later categories based on the buoyant stride they take here, but as I said, it's not a very good album. Adimiron's efforts remind me of a post-thrash blueprint merging into the atmosphere-heavy attack of Gojira with a brief slash of some bizarre rhythms and formulations one could connect to Meshuggah. It's a somewhat intriguing journey itself, but definitely not anything truly relevant or important in the grand scheme of things.So yea, "K2" flirts around the groove/post-thrash pattern for the most part, and it's actually kind of interesting to nail some of the parallels they have with a lot of the frontrunners in that particular sound. The guitars are fairly mid-paced cycles of heavy riffs moving in and out of grooves, and the vocal work (usually gruff, low shouts) reminds me a lot of Prong leader Tommy Victor and his jaded larynx. And you know, there's double-bass work and a lot of emphasis on making the melodies and overall texture something really atmospheric and vaguely mysterious, particularly because of the semi-odd rhythms appearing semi-frequently. Nothing really experimental or avant-garde as I was expecting; just a little unusual on occasion.
The only real dud of the album is its lackluster performance; the diversity factor isn't sensational either. Adimiron sleepwalks through each number, using really similar tempos and riff structures that are plastically coated with something that could be considered unique I guess, but still, it's not enough to make the album remotely memorable. Adimiron just fails to make any impression on "K2" appear noteworthy or powerful in any sense. Dave Padden of Annihilator fame lends his voice on "The Whisperer," which is probably the best song on the album because of his vocals; there's at least something pulsing above the typical wavelength. A lot of the tunes are really long too, with nothing getting accomplished and very little shown by the time "K2" ends.
Essentially, "K2" is just a boring release. It vapidly retraces itself without proving anything relevant or worthwhile, and Adimiron applies a plethora of odd rhythms and sequences to create an interesting product, yet there's little accomplished overall. Adimiron has the perks of a group that can manufacture a genetic algorithm beyond the norms and cues of their counterparts, but again, "K2" never becomes anything above the disposable material it carelessly boasts within this forgettable, tedious record of little importance. Maybe something of interest to Gojira fans or folks deeply involved in the post-thrash scene, but keep your distance otherwise.