From Bandcamp, “Pale Grey Monochrome” is a stunning collection of songs that preserves the mournful, reflective soul of INBORN SUFFERING, but somehow reaches new heights of melodic beauty and plunges to new depths of absolute desolation and despair. Set for release on February 7th 2025, “Pale Grey Monochrome” will capture the hearts of the doomed and the damned, all devotees of the most somber and introspective sounds.” The album has seven songs, and “Wounding” is first, and it’s a short instrumental opener with ominous tones, leading to “From Lowering Tides.” It is slow, despondent, and melodic, with a combination of clean and harsh vocals. Time seems to drag on in shades of grey.

The title track has delicate melodies mixed with the towering sound of the riff. For me, it’s almost like a Giant playing with a child. His hands are so large that he can’t grasp the toys. The clean interlude after the half-way mark accentuates the delicate side of the song. “Tales from an Empty Shell” has an extended opening sequence, that starts as a dull pain that just gets worse as more time passes, and you can feel the torture in the harsh vocals, and the pain in the cleans. It swells with layers, even adding in some light strings, before a brief reprieve, when the pain returns sharply like a gunshot. “Of Loss and Despair” is another short connecting interlude, leading to the anguish of the final two songs.

“The Oak” features more of the hardened Death Metal elements, rising in scope with much hatred and anger. The delicate tones are still there, hanging on for dear life, but they are nearly extinguished from the level of rage present. “Drawing Circles” closes the album, and the anger is gone…perhaps replaced with bitterness…a tired sort when you have given everything you have and it is still not enough in the end. Overall, this was an excellent album. The combination of hardened Death Metal with the despondence of Doom was very carefully balanced on the album, as were all of the backing elements that the band uses. What resulted was a rich, full sound of endless gray and unanswered questions…the kind that will gnaw at you until the end of your days.