Style: Djent, progressive metal (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Meshuggah, Volumes, Dvne
Country: Sweden
Release date: 11 April 2025
On the whole, djent groups often struggle to stand apart from each other. The staccato riffs and polyrhythmic gymnastics of Meshuggah—pioneering as they are—were destined to influence and be imitated by countless metal musicians. Sometimes I’m still in awe that, over twenty-five years later, so many newer artists in the genre are still chasing the sound of Nothing and even Chaosphere. We reached critical mass on these homages and imitations long ago, making it that much harder for each successive newcomer to stand out in a meaningful way.
At the same time, the barriers to recording and distributing music have shrunk, making it easier for upstarts to set up their spot here at the djent flea market. Truth be told, I find myself wandering this bazaar most Fridays. And as I browsed the usual shouting stalls today, I happened upon Limbo’s humble stand. On display: their debut full-length Elicit. After one last glance across the vendors to see if anything else caught my eye, I decided to give this LP a spin.
At the end of my first listen, I struggled to remember anything about Elicit. I suppose that’s not automatically a bad sign—there’s nothing egregious enough to, ahem, elicit a strong reaction (Hello? Is this thing on?). Of course, the other side of that coin is that I’m not ruminating on any riff, pensive about any vocal passage, nor brimming to go check out that one breakdown again. Off-kilter rhythms in the bass drums, followed in lock-step by the guitars tuned down to the floor itself, with the crash cymbal counting a steady one, two, three, four just aren’t all that remarkable and memorable anymore. I guess Limbo is an oddly appropriate band name.
After spinning the album a few times now, I’ve come to appreciate one song in particular: “Emerald.” Its guitar parts feature some melodic, jogging runs that occasionally burst out of the low string insanity, while airy synths give a touch of atmosphere to the whole track. Original? No—but still effective, and much more so than the distracting synths scattered across other songs. The vocals on “Emerald” are serviceable enough in isolation: raspy growls that lean a little deathcore, though fairly one-note, much like they are throughout Elicit. The sledgehammer guitar riffs throughout this release, particularly in “Phantasmalian” and “Olēka,” are undeniably heavy, but they don’t break any new ground, not even in relation to each other. Every track, from the opener “Myriad” to the closing title track, runs at the same tempo, the same volume, and at the same brute intensity—with an ambient intro or outro sprinkled here and there.
Consequently, Elicit suffers from what I was tempted to call a distinct lack of variety. But really, the lack of variety here isn’t all that distinct; it’s the same homogeneity that plagues this flavor of progressive metal of late. Djent has kind of set itself up for this. When the ethos is “all rhythm, no melody,” you’re basically sprinting headfirst into a creative brick wall. Combine that with the fact that a lot of djent bands seem to write for gym playlist fodder—punchy, heavy, and gone before you know it—and we’re sitting in a veritable variety desert.
Ultimately, I fall on the negative side for Elicit even though there’s nothing outright offensive to my musical taste here—which, paradoxically, might be exactly the problem. In general, I’m much more likely to enjoy (or at least remember) an album that tries something that’s a little off the beaten path, even if the experiment doesn’t work. That’s why I get so much enjoyment out of djent-adjacent groups like Animals As Leaders, VOLA1, or Periphery. All of those groups are nominally Meshuggah worship to some degree, but djent is only one weapon in their respective arsenals. I hope Elicit isn’t all that Limbo has to offer, as I’m always down to give some low-tuned heaviness a shot. But this LP is in, not good company, but certainly numerous company: the countless djent albums I’ve listened to and completely forgotten.
Recommended tracks: “Emerald”
You may also like: Múr, Mhorai, Vestigial, Monoscream
Final verdict: 4/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram
Label: Self-release
Limbo is:
Marcus Douglas Johansson – Guitars
Julius Dellås – Guitars
Philip Elias – Bass
Daniel Håkansson – Vocals
Dennis Sandberg Nilsson – Drums
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