Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
The worst of intruders are those that gain access to what we believe is the most secure and personal belongings we own, our own dark thoughts, our altered memories that plague us, that worm into the mind when it is running on dormant, and which send our own belief, our presence of self, whirling, spinning, until we catch the Intruder and make it sing our song, loudly, with passion, with empathy.
The thief in the night, the prowler who preys on our existential self, is always in the shadows, and it is only by admitting that courage is boundless, that we have the tools at our disposal, that we find the Intruder can be a source of glorious information, and that at times the Muse in which we seek, the beauty of the soul, actually comes in the form of the darkness, the shadow, and the relief it offers.
For the Godfather of industrial metal, Gary Numan, it could be argued that the last decade has been leading up to this point, and in the fourth studio album, Intruder, the cycle of outpouring emotion, of dynamic interchange and pleasure, has reached its superb crescendo. This tetralogy of music, Dead Son Rising, Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind), Savage (Songs From A Broken World) and now Intruder, is a deeply fascinating insight into the man, the musician, and his complex, sharp mind; and in many way is above even that of the original Tubeway Army recordings in terms of revealing the soul underneath the exterior.
The latest release is exquisite, haunting, it breathes in cold air, and exhales fire in a symbol of metallurgical adaption and buoyant discerning vision, and in track such as I Am Screaming, Is This World Enough, And It Breaks Me Again, the superb Saints And Liars, and the finale of When You Fall, this four album cycle, embedded in brooding, self-examination, world contemplation and the harm we do to both in the name of progress, is breathless in its scope, mesmerising its completion.
That Intruder you hear, it could be your own soul asking to be recognised and allowed to steer your mind in a different direction, one that knows you can’t have sun filled days without acknowledging that the dark exists. Utterly stunning!
Ian D. Hall