Kilian Ebel and Aurélien Knaub understand that the marriage of electronic music and metal isn't merely a matter of volume dynamics. It demands a rethinking of texture itself. The opening title track announces this immediately: synthetic arpeggios that might, in other hands, suggest mere retro fetishism, are here rendered with such meticulous attention to tone and decay that they become genuinely menacing. When the drums arrive—not programmed beats but actual percussion, played with the kind of precision that suggests both discipline and barely contained fury—the effect is genuinely thrilling.
The comparison to Carpenter Brut is inevitable but ultimately reductive. Where that French producer leans heavily into exploitation cinema's lurid pleasures, Macrowave are after something colder, more existential. The gradual intensification of "Imminent" recalls Jon Hopkins at his most architecturally minded, building layer upon layer until the structure threatens to collapse under its own weight—yet it holds, trembling but resolute.
"Emergence," the second track, offers no respite. Here, the duo explore the sonic territory between revelation and catastrophe. The synthesizers rise in waves, each crest threatening to break, while Knaub's drumming provides not so much rhythm as relentless forward momentum. The track channels what the press materials describe as "the liberating chaos born from emotions long suppressed," and for once such hyperbole feels justified. This is music that understands catharsis not as release but as necessary destruction.
Yet it's "Shattered" that reveals the duo's true ambition. Slower, more spacious, the track abandons the EP's earlier assault for something more insidious. The hypnotic arpeggios here don't build towards violence; they circle, obsessive and patient, creating a sense of dread that no amount of distortion could match. The electronics pulse and throb with an almost organic quality, as if the machines themselves were breathing. When the finale erupts—and it does, inevitably, cataclysmically—it feels less like an explosion than an implosion, the sound folding in on itself.
The production throughout is immaculate without being sterile. Every element sits exactly where it should: the bass frequencies rumble with physical presence, the mid-range synths cut through with surgical precision, and Knaub's drums maintain their acoustic character even when surrounded by electronics. This isn't the overcompressed wall of noise that plagues so much modern heavy music; Macrowave understand that power comes from dynamics, from knowing when to pull back as much as when to push forward.
The thematic preoccupation with evanescence and eternity—with things that dissolve and things that endure—runs through the EP like a dark thread. The post-apocalyptic imagery is handled with refreshing seriousness, avoiding the juvenile nihilism that often accompanies such territory. Instead, Macrowave seem genuinely interested in what remains after collapse, in the strange beauty of ruins.
Knaub's dual role as both drummer and visual director pays dividends here. The cinematic quality isn't just sonic; one can sense the visual thinking in the music's architecture, the way tracks are structured almost like film sequences, with establishing shots, rising action, and devastating climaxes. The duo's live performances, which reportedly combine this ferocity with precisely choreographed visuals, must be quite the spectacle.
*Imminent* arrives at a moment when the boundaries between electronic and "rock" music have become increasingly porous. Yet Macrowave aren't simply riding this wave; they're pushing it forward. The duo have managed what many attempt but few achieve: creating music that honors its influences while sounding genuinely contemporary, even futuristic.
The EP's five tracks—the two previously released singles plus three new compositions—form a cohesive statement that never feels padded or incomplete. At a time when EPs often function as mere stopgaps between albums, *Imminent* feels purposeful, essential. This is work that demands to exist in this exact form, at this exact length.
Whether Macrowave can sustain this level of intensity across a full album remains to be seen. But for now, *Imminent* stands as a remarkably assured statement from a duo who understand that the future of heavy music lies not in volume alone, but in the tension between control and chaos, between the human and the machine, between what endures and what shatters. Quite brilliant, really.