Review: Humavoid – Lidless

Style: Symphonic Djent (mixed vocals)
Review by: Josh
Country: Finland
Release date: 21-08-2020

dis hard.

I could just leave this review at that, honestly. Here’s a djent album with all the frenetic, off-time heaviness of Meshuggah integrated with the wacky keyboard stylings of BTBAM, and it just might be the hardest album of 2020. It’s not just hard, though; it brings with it a creativity rarely seen in modern djent, and it does so without compromising any of its outright aggression.

With a description like that, one might expect the guitarist to be the star of the show here. After all, what’s a heavy album without the riffs? Surprisingly enough, though, keyboardist and vocalist Suvimarja Halmetoja makes her mark as the MVP here. Her piano and synth lines elevate this album far beyond a standard djent album. Sometimes she’s supporting a riff, having a conversation with the guitarist through sound, and other times she’s ripping some of the most frantic solos I’ve heard in djent. The one at the end of The Breathing Method specifically blew me away. It’s like the auditory version of being chased by a gunman up a staircase. She’s not afraid to get creative, either, such as when she sets the tone of the album’s final track, Drywall Cracks. After the intro, instead of playing a melody, she hangs back and just plays one note periodically, emulating an air raid siren. I’ve never heard this done before, and it stands out as just one of the many novel creative decisions Humavoid have made on Lidless.

On top of keyboard work, Halmetoja is also the band’s lead vocalist, laying down aggressive shouts in the vein of Jens Kidman of Meshuggah, a perfect tonal fit with the instrumental work on the album. Guitarist Niko Kalliojärvi also provides vocals from time to time, and his bellowing lows are always a welcome addition to the mix. On The Breathing Method, he also comes in with some punk-esque backing chants, which really add to the atmosphere of the track. Halmetoja also contributes clean vocals from time to time. The quality of these vary greatly depending on the track, sometimes good, sometimes meh. Overall, though, the vocal performance on this album is quite good.

The rest of the instrumental section also goes hard as fuck. I sidelined the guitarist earlier, but their riffs are the backbone of the album, providing a framework for all of the other members to build off of. They almost never miss, too. Without fail, almost every single riff on this album is exceedingly heavy. Some of them feel a bit repetitive, but overall they’ve really nailed it on this one. The bassist comes in clutch here too, acting as another vehicle for the phenomenon on this record that is The Riff™. The drummer, too, contributes there, but they also play another role on this album; whenever it starts to get dull, they kick it into high gear, making sure that the listener’s always engaged. Everyone’s played their best on this one.

The production work here is really the cherry on top. Every instrument can be heard loud and clear in the mix. The tones are constantly on point, too, which is quite impressive given the sonic diversity here. Everything, from cold synth stabs, to heavy palm-muted guitar leads, to acoustic piano sections, sounds perfect and right up in the listener’s face.

My only real gripe about this album overall is that sometimes the syncopation sounds off, with the vocals feeling out of sync with everything else, and not in a good way. These moments are few and far between, though, and they’re more than balanced out by the sheer technicality of everything else here. They’re nailing sections in 17/16, I think I can excuse a few odd bits.

Listen to this album. It’ll beat the shit out of you, and you’ll love it.

Recommended tracks: first three tracks, The Breathing Method, anything really because this slaps so hard
Recommended for fans of: Meshuggah, Between the Buried and Me, Jinjer
Final verdict: 8.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Metal-Archives page

Label: Noble Demon Records – Website | Bandcamp | Facebook

Humavoid is:
– Suvimarja Halmetoja (vocals & keys)
– Niko Kalliojärvi (guitar & vocals)
– Mikki Rousi (bass)
– Heikki Malmberg (drums)