

vote
7.0
- Band:
INTSCIVIVE - Duration: 00:20:16
- Available from: 12/04/2025
- Label:
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The Coming Strife
The artistic path of the INTRIVTIVES continues by force of EP, with the Italian group that seems to want to proceed by small steps with the intention of feeling the ground to find and better define the niche on which to express itself with greater ease. After the debut with “Take Your Life Back”, the band seems to have chosen a deliberately gradual strategy: instead of throwing themselves into a full-length, the boys prefer to explore, weigh and refine their voice in a context that continues to evolve.
Not surprisingly, this second exit highlights a substantial change in the proposal, while maintaining the roots in the vast metalcore world. Where the first EP recalled the burning energy of the old school, with Slayerian influences and references to the ancient Italian and Belgian Edge Metal scene, the new “Embrace” looks towards more melodic and catchy coordinates. Riffing becomes more chiseled, fishing with full hands from the heritage of the Swedish Melodic Metal Metal, however filtered through a typically 20 -year -old metalcor sensitivity. The references become more explicit: the suggestions of the very first Bleeding Through and the “Vent” period of the Caliban echo, without forgetting a slightly more recent name such as that of the AS Blood Runs Black. The formula is the classic one, but always engaging, which intertwines agile and sharp uptempo with heavy breakdown and more rocky and cadenced passages. A family mixture, yes, but that the INTTCIVIs manage with awareness and undoubted mastery of their means, letting a significant maturation transpare in terms of arrangement and writing. The group, in fact, knows where to put his hands and is committed to a revival operation that also involves the graphic and lyrical cut, with a long series of melodramatic titles that recall the sentimental tone and vaguely “over the top” of twenty/twenty -five years ago. A somewhat anachronistic approach, but which in any case fit perfectly with the sound proposal, helping to create a defined identity.
To underline, then, how the tracklist appears to be cared for and sufficiently dynamic: each song offers a different structure, avoiding too redundant alternations and 'calls'. The insertion of instrumental moments and atmospheric parenthesis gives breath and depth to listening, enriching the EP of a more immersive and reflective dimension. Despite his brevity, the work thus manages to keep attention alive and leave a lasting impression, a sign that the band has begun to understand how to build a wider and more articulated musical narrative.
Ultimately, “Embrace” represents another interesting step for Instinctive, who manage to show off a practical songwriting and a growing trust in their own means. Now the real test will be the ability to maintain and develop this identity in a complete album. But, if this is the prelude, the preludes for an ambitious full-length are all there.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM