I love discovering new bands, especially through terrific cover art. I happened upon the debut album from inner:i recently, and it pulled me in immediately. The record is called Lavender and it released on March 5th.
Inner:i comes to us from Greece. It feels like there is a wave of great modern progressive rock/metal bands from that place. The lineup includes Criss Razis on guitars, Antonis Kanaras on drums, and Spyros Charmanis on bass, piano, and vocals.
The band plays a gritty, heavy progressive rock. There are plenty of weighty guitars, pulsating bass lines, and soulful vocals. They offer more than that, though, with some spinetingling ambient portions and emotional voiceovers and lyrics. I can’t help but hear a little Alice in Chains, and grunge in general, in the band’s dark bass lines and harmonious vocals. I can’t help but hear a little Katatonia and even Deadsoul Tribe within their flickering shadows. There is so much heart behind all of this.
Lavender has seven songs and lasts about forty minutes. I really like how it flows from the ambient opener “Ylla” through punchy and shadowy tracks alike until it reaches the 10-minute closer, which is also full of ambience. I love how the band blends haunted hallways of subtlety with heavy walls of guitars.
In the first half, I really like “Yellow Days”, the single. This piece has an instantly attractive tempo, but it also has some pensive, deep riffing segments that feel hypnotic. “Milestone” is heavy and fast and feels very Alice in Chains. I love the soulful vocals on this one, often reminding me of Chris Cornell. The first half ends with “Falling”, which features some rather spellbinding instrumentals and solos, but it’s the sinister atmosphere that makes me love it.
The last three tracks flow together quite well. “With” is pure darkened ambience, full of breathing and layers of harmony. It leads into “Without”, possibly the heaviest on the record. The piece has such meat, plus a chorus that has really grown on me with time. There is a monastic, ritualistic spin to its backdrop, but the song also feels quite alternative in edge.
The closer is the title track and is my favorite on the album. This song fades in with rain and atmosphere. It sets aside a few minutes to establish this feeling but soon hits a heavy stride with layered vocals. I love the reeling chorus and the riffy verses. The album closes with another ambient portion; I’m a sucker for that kind of thing.
Inner:i has delivered a debut worth standing up and noticing. I love the razor-sharp guitars and terrific vocals. But the carefully curated atmosphere is what brings me back again and again. Fans of the darker side of progressive rock should give this a try.
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Find inner:i online:
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The PROG Mind 