INSIGHT - Neura
Founded only a couple of years ago, Chilean metal band Insight have set their sight on recreating the sound of speed metal from the mid to late Eighties. A first demo was released in 2018, followed two years later by Neura, which can be considered either a short LP or a long EP. It contains five new songs plus the four tracks from the demo, thus making it to a comfortable thirty-six minutes running time.
Neura begins with its title track, a one a and a half minute long instrumental which as an intro shows immediately what to expect: intricate dual guitar melodies, a bassist who has a strong tendency towards jazz and furious drums. The first regular track, Tempestad, can be considered the blueprint for Insight’s modus operandi. The music lies somewhere between Eighties heavy and speed metal, reminding of very early Helloween (pre-Michael Kiske) but also Holy Terror, especially in the vocal department. The production lies a little on the thin side, but because that’s the way a lot of speed metal albums sounded back then, it possibly only adds to Insight’s authenticity. And despite that minor flaw, the instruments still all get their due position in the mix. While the guitars have that typical and pleasant old school approach full of searing riffs, complex dual melodies and unexpected harmonies, it’s the jazzy bass parts – that you’d expect rather in a technical death metal band than right here – that give the music that certain something that makes it much more than just a clone of their idols.
In a time where there are more retro thrash metal bands that you can actually count, it’s nice that there are also a few that are tending more into a melodic heavy speed metal sound. This is the kind of music I was growing up with, so there is a certain factor of nostalgia that I can’t deny, but I believe that all fans of Eighties metal will be delighted by Insight’s undeniable passion and authenticity.