UMUR "The Flood Inside" is the 4th full-length studio album by German post rock/metal act Long Distance Calling. The album was released through Superball Music in March 2013. Since the release of the band´s third full-length studio album "Long Distance Calling (2011)", a significant lineup change has taken place as Reimut Van Bonn (electronics and sound) left in April 2012. Keyboard player and vocalist Marsen Fischer then joined the lineup, which marks the first time Long Distance Calling have had a permanent vocalist in the lineup. Their music has predominantly been instrumental up until now, with only a few tracks featuring guest vocalists. Among others Jonas Renkse from Katatonia.

Even with a permanent lead vocalist in the lineup, the music on "The Flood Inside" is predominantly instrumental like the case were on earlier releases by the band. Even the tracks which feature vocals also feature longer instrumental sections. The colourful and often atmospheric guitar playing, the occasionally heavy distorted riffing and the quite busy drumming by Janosch Rathmer are still central in the band´s music, like they have been since day one. The musicianship is overall on a high level. Marsen Fischer has a bit of an anonymous and not very distinct sounding voice, but his singing is pleasant enough and suits the music well. "The Flood Inside" is well produced and features a warm and pleasant sound.

"The Flood Inside" is in many ways a quality release by Long Distance Calling, but that´s to be expected from these guys. However they seldom reach the excellent mark, where their music takes me away to another dimension and therefore my rating is closer to 3.5 stars (70%) than a full 4 (80%). It´s still a great release though.

Kev Rowland German post rock act Long Distance Calling were formed in 2006 by David Jordan (guitar), Janosch Rathmer (drums), Florian Füntmann (guitar), Jan Hoffmann (bass) and Reimut van Bonn (ambience) who wanted to create music where there would be no rules or preconceptions. Primarily an instrumental act, they had however previously worked with guest-singers such as John Bush (Armored Saint, Anthrax) or Jonas Renkse (Katatonia) so they were aware of the possibilities of using vocals within their own musical style. When founder member Reimut amicably departed in April 2012 they discussed what the next step should be for the band and they soon settle on Marsen Fischer to provide vocals on a permanent basis, with the added bonus that he also plays keyboards.

The new album then is quite different in some ways to the band’s previous works, but at the same time fits in very naturally with their history. They have again used some guest musicians to broaden the sound, this time including Vincent Cavanagh (Anathema), Henrik Freischlader, Robot Koch (Casper, Max Mutzke, Marteria), Norwegian singer/songwriter Petter Carlsen, Tuneverse co-founder Alex Komlew and Mario Cullmann (Fünf Sterne Deluxe). ‘The Flood Inside’ starts with an instrumental number, “Nucleus”, but follows that up with “Inside The Flood” which does have vocals. But, the songs without vocals don’t need them as they are complete in themselves while the songs with vocals are complete without being overpowered by the singer. It is all about doing what is right for the music, and the use of space and clear layers within the sound is spot on. It is an album that can be enjoyed the very first time it is played but the more it gets into the psyche the better it is.

Well structured, complex where it needs to be but simple in others, this is a very strong piece of work and could well be considered their best yet. Worth investigation. www.longdistancecalling.de