The Impulse - Fill The Void

The Impulse

Fill The Void
self-released; 2014

3.5 out of 5

By Matt Jensen

The Impulse was formed by Alexandre Poitras (drums) and Malcolm Julien (guitar and vocals) in 2013 and then quickly completed the lineup with Samuel Nadeau (guitar) and Kevin St. Pierre (bass and vocals). The band is expected to release their debut album in the summer of this year but last year they treated their audience to a four-song EP entitled Fill the Void. 

Fill the Void showcases a rock band that is experimenting in everything from ‘80s metal to contemporary rock via Queens of the Stone Age. One of the most attractive aspects is the band’s ability to change things up unexpectedly fast and that make you do a double take. There were a number of times I was treated to sections that were technically demanding, which made me reevaluate the band’s potential.

The band opens up with “Open your eyes,” which is sure to get your adrenaline pumping. As mentioned the band pulls off some guitar and drums fills that you might not notice if you don’t pay attention. Take for instance the instrumental break around two minutes and thirty seconds. The band kicks it into full gear and I was really impressed with the guitar and drum work.

Some rock bands sound bad when they try to pull off a slower, acoustic based song. That isn’t the case here. In fact “Somewhere else” was the most emotionally resonant song on the EP and contains the best vocal performance. The lyrics will resonate with those of us who ever felt like an outcast. I think everyone has felt like this at some point in their life. He sings, “I wanna go somewhere else / I wanna know what’s in my head / What is real what is left of me / All I could care about I just wanna be a normal guy.” I really hope the band has more songs like this up their sleeve for the full length.

“Worthless” was a solid song but the closer “Gone Wild” was a couple of notches above. The band really excels at instrumental parts and the intensity on this track towards the end is not to be missed. I’ll give it up for the excellent double bass drum.

This four-song EP has some mishaps but it shows some potential and talent. If this EP is indicative of what we can expect on their full-length then you should be excited.

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