INNER EARTH describes the feeling of walking through arduous paths to the light. This ideally defines the style of the band founded in 2019. For the band's songs, often introverted and testifying a fragile grace, are not easy to digest. But INNER EARTH are far from impenetrable, instead taking the listener by the hand. The band's debut album contains ten tracks.

"Arcane State" leads off the album. It's a very brief opening track, setting the tone for the album. Vocal chants can be heard along with light drumming and guitar work. Towards the end, a heavy, but melodic riff enters. "Cinder" begins with some clean guitar tones, with a weighted riff underneath. The drums roll in hard, while the vocals are clean and charming. The overall tone is quite melancholy. Around the mid-way point, the riff picks up with more energy.

"Chasing Ghosts" opens with a slow, but powerful riff and some dancing bass guitar work. The clean vocals almost seem out of place with the music, but that's how it works into the style they are playing. Around the half-way mark, the sound drops to just bass guitar and vocals, and then returns with the addition of harmonic leads. "The Windrow Scars" begins with lead guitar notes over a bed of heavy rhythms. It keeps a steady pace throughout the song with a touch of sadness to go along with the compelling riffs. "Notion" opens with heavy guitar, bass and drum accents that are low in the register. Harsh vocals make more sense here, combined at times with cleans.

"Fray" begins with a speedy riff and more of those dreamy vocals. The instrumentation here is very tight, while the chorus is full of emotive vocals. The pacing slows a bit towards the end, but finishes strong. "Daunt a Breath" begins with a chugging riff that leads to a lumbering song where the vocals are just a touch out of key with the music at times. Sadness comes through here again as well. "Vanished Haze" opens with chugging guitars smack up against the cool, smooth vocals. Some dissonance comes through in the guitars.

"Elegy of the Black Light" begins with heavy guitar dissonance and powerful guitar accents. The vocals however remain as smooth as possible. This sound dominates the album as a whole. Towards the end is gathers stream, and explodes. "Sunlit Hours" closes the album, with a shorter song that begins with ambient vocals over top a crushing section of rhythm guitars. The chorus is more discernable in this song. It picks up with the final chorus pushing those vocal harmonies.

The sound here is quite unique, and the song titles give that away. Though it's billed as Post-Black Metal, I really do not here any elements of Black Metal at all. It's closer to Melodic Death Metal for me. But that is neither here nor there. Heavy, aggressive and ambient at the same time, the vocals are mostly dreamy, seeming almost out of place with the instruments. But, it's this kind of juxtaposition that they present on the album, leaving the listener to make up his/her own mind on what they are trying to accomplish.Purchase Link:

https://innerearth.bandcamp.com/releases