First things first, I have to hand it to Insolitus: excellent band name. I can’t think of a more “we play melodeath” sound than that. It’s Latin, of course—means “unusual,” roughly—sounds vaguely Insomnium-y, but has nothing whatsoever to do with sleep. And sure enough, the Belgian group do play melodeath on The Monumental Fall, their debut full-length release. It’s easy to hesitate when you see an unsigned debut album, but everything about Insolitus feels fresh and professional—the kind of stuff, at least at first glance, you’d expect from a group that’s been around the block a few times. Of course I appreciate professional, but I appreciate killer melodeath even more, so I’ll stop chatting about such surface-level insights and get right into what I thought about that now.
As I said earlier, Insolitus play melodic death metal, the kind that’s riff-driven and passionate and evocative of the “no keyboards necessary, thank you very much” branch of the style. Dueling guitars, courtesy of Fré Clement, Kaatje Desmet, and Floren Van Stichel, provide simple roles: one brings the heavy, one brings melody, and one, I can only assume, is a bass. Drummer Dries Claeys is an animal behind the kit, his hits prominent in the mix, and there to ensure everyone stays between head-nodding and neck-throwing. Finally, Leslie Stroobant provides both clean and harsh vocals, bringing a style that makes me think of Scar Symmetry (though the band itself seems to prefer a comparison to Amorphis—not entirely unwarranted). It’s a solid setup for some enjoyable melodeath, and there’s a passion evident in all of it that’s fun to hear.
But what does it sound like? What does it feel like? It feels like the expansive “Beneath a Thousand Eyes,” with pounding drums opening an excitable lead that builds around riveting riffs and vocal lines that always get stuck in my head. “Crossing Voyage” wastes no time opening the album with a grandiose feel, utilizing a chorus that has one of my favorite leads on the album. It’s a great vocal melody for Stroobant and a mighty harmony from the guitarists. It’s heavy, upbeat, and flows super nicely. The album highlight is probably “The Dying Light of Day,” which utilizes rare symphonic elements to build a cinematic intro that quickly makes way for a heavy feast of gorgeous, modern melodeath, with the growls being a special highlight for how vicious they sound. Insolitus aren’t reinventing any wheels on The Monumental Fall, with nods to The Halo Effect and Soilwork evident, but they play it well, do not lack for ideas, and their skill and passion are evident.
As a result, I don’t have any major issues with The Monumental Fall, but rather a series of small nitpicks that hold me back from fully connecting with it. I wish, for example, that the rhythm guitars—including, perhaps, the bass—had a touch more heft to them; there are great riffs on songs like “Reclaim the Flame,” but they’re dominated by the drums and singing—the growls feel more balanced by comparison. A few songs feel artificially long, like the aforementioned (and very strong) opener “Crossing Voyage.” It’s got a great melody and super strong construction, but I always think it’s about to end two minutes before it does. The solo at the end is neat, but I don’t think it’s needed, and the 58-minute runtime of the whole subsequently feels like a lot. Finally, I wish Stroobant’s clean singing was livelier; he’s a strong singer, but it feels like he focuses on delivery and enunciation to the detriment of passion. This is especially evident in songs like “Beneath a Thousand Eyes,” where his dueling styles highlight that one feels much safer than the other. In quieter, tenser songs, like the excellent “Whisperbox,” this is no issue; you can hear that passion clearly, and a glimmer of Insolitus’s strongest side.
And that strongest side is a strong side! Insolitus have, on their debut release, hit the ground running with a strong display of melodic death metal. I’ve enjoyed their leads and riffs in equal measure and look forward to hearing more. While I think some additional editing would have helped The Monumental Fall as a whole, I am impressed with most of its parts. Hopefully the titular fall is metaphor only, and Insolitus go up from here.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Self release
Websites: insolitusband.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/Insolitusband
Releases Worldwide: October 30th, 2026
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