Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Imminence - Heaven in Hiding (2021)
The journey of Imminence has taken us through the heavy power of I, the mainstream melody of This is Goodbye, and the in-between of Turn the Light On. The band would take the direction of the 3rd album and enhance it greatly in their 4th, Heaven in Hiding. This is where they have solidified their path and reached their greatest height! None of their previous albums have made it that high up in glory.
Imminence is one of the most anthemic and cinematic-sounding metalcore bands around, thanks to their blend of beauty and brutality, and vocalist Eddie Berg adding in some violin. I can certainly understand the amount of popularity the band is slowly gaining, since they really have gotten better, all the way up to this masterpiece.
The opening track "I Am Become a Name..." starts the album as an ambient synth intro. "Ghost" blasts off with heavy guitars and drums, while the violin floats through in the background. Berg has better screams that in previous albums, going from high to low at ease and making it clearer that this band is basically Architects with violins. His clean singing fits perfectly with the emotional lyrics. With their next song "Temptation", Imminence f***ing rules with their music! My favorite part is the heavy riff at the one and a half minute mark. You just gotta hear how intense the band is in "Surrender". Then "Chasing Shadows" once again balances heavy guitars and somber strings. As dynamic as the instrumentation is, guitar duo Harald Barret and Alex Arnoldsson take the stage with their catchiest riffing here.
"Moth to a Flame" has powerful drumming by Peter Hanstrom, perfectly syncing well with the violin. Next song "Alleviate" has more lightness and sorrow while maintaining what's stylistically important for the band. The strings are toned down in some degree in "Enslaved". And again in "Disappear". Still the fact there's violin at all is enough to make sure it's beyond what you often hear in the average metalcore song. This symphonic taste once again gives me something to love. I absolutely love "Lost and Left Behind"! This is symphonic metalcore that I need more of.
As we head into the main album's final leg, "این نیز بگذرد" (This Too Shall Pass) is an acoustic/violin ballad with clean melodies by Berg. "∞" (Infinity) is just a violin interlude. Then the closing title track perfectly summarizes all the band had to offer, plus a brutal breakdown to end it all. The deluxe edition comes with a bonus disc of many bonus track, started with the wicked "Jaded". The Spanish acoustic version of "Temptation" is fine. And the rest is just acoustic and live tracks.
With that, Heaven in Hiding is the mighty pinnacle of Imminence's career. As they continue to get more popular, they might have potential to light up arenas with their precise theatric sound. Unique elements like violin have established that Imminence is not just your friendly neighborhood metalcore band!
Favorites: "Ghost", "Temptation", "Chasing Shadows", "Moth to a Flame", "Disappear", "Lost and Left Behind", "Heaven in Hiding", "Jaded"