Inborn Suffering - Regression To Nothingness (CD)

Review
Chronicles of Chaos
5.5/10
29.12.2012

This very review is both an anomaly and an attempt to antagonize the consensus about this album, which is basically, how awesome it is. An anomaly due to the fact I'm reviewing an album I don't care too much for, something I usually refrain from doing; an album whose qualities are not worthy of my time and effort articulating into coherent words (for that matter, see Kostas Sarampalis' article "Quality Not Quantity - Or why I mostly review albums that I like" for a good explanation of the notion).
Amidst doom metal circles this album is pretty much one of the best things that 2012 has spawned. It is being praised by many, and when end of year best-of lists start to emerge, you'll see this very album star on every god damn doom-related list. I had to understand why; had to explore the album further and articulate my disdain; face the challenge of explaining why I do not like this album.

Inborn Suffering were a decent band displaying their abilities on their 2006 debut album _Wordless Hope_; a mediocre effort of gothic-tinged melodic doom/death metal, running rampant with genre clichés and lacking personality. _Regression to Nothingness_ exhibits many changes and improvements in the cliché department; it sounds more original and singular in the sense it bears unique band fingerprints and the sound and songwriting paradigms have radically shifted in a positive direction. The band have undoubtedly embraced a certain degree of individuality in comparison to the debut album.

Yet Inborn Suffering still sound like many of their peers, and still exercise many of the style's typical techniques and dogmatic songwriting approaches. Remember the album release frenzy of bands signed to Firebox Records from 2004 onwards, where Swallow the Sun et al had released good sounding albums that were completely redundant and rehashed? Remember the plethora of bands signed to that Finnish label who had been releasing truly forgettable albums? They were forgettable despite the fact their music wasn't even half-bad. That's exactly the case here.

_Regression to Nothingness_ is -- like many other faulty albums in the same school that are out there -- not really offering doom-slash-death metal. The album isn't -that- slow or heavy or deathlike or anything; the music is mostly pushed forward by the vocals that are strongly rooted in the gothic metal school and a set of rather impressive keyboard compositions, the absence of which would have caused a disintegration of the other elements here that by no means stand alone. The spoken verses and many of the riffs resemble the body of work of My Dying Bride's mellower parts, and the lightweight growls sound too strained; too much of a try-hard affair.

Although much of the album displays rather beautiful and emotional melodies, one cannot escape the notion the music is a patchwork of influences and false sentiments; like a musical creation assembled by a machine, compiling all the 'right' elements it has been taught to compile from scarps and pieces, from here and from there, extrapolating this knowledge and executing it through and through, excluding all the 'wrong' stuff found on the doom metal 101 wrongs and rights list, but neglecting the very essence of human creation: creativity and authenticity, even if flawed; singularity and self-loyalty to this very process. The outcome can be less than perfect -- I do not care. Perfection was never a big issue in underground music.

I hear a lot of excuses and I see much of this 'being at peace with the world' going on here, as if reconciliation, being 'nice' and walking the line are the main elements of a good album -- well, they are most certainly not. On the contrary; antagonizing the world, even within the micro-cosmos of doom metal, raising the banner of individuality, no matter how imperfect it may be, is the roadmap to art.

In a crowded world that is nothing but a small village now with the Internet and globalization and whatnot, it is virtually impossible for an artist to detach from incoming influences, but that ability is what sets the artist apart from the conman, the bandwagon jumper or follower. A demanding art such as metal constantly seeks leaders -- not followers. It demands the artist to be almost supernatural in the sense that nature loves imitations, while art despises them, and an artist is like a god, metaphysical in his work, who creates something out of the nothingness. We, the mere audience, expect not a lesser 'product'.

_Regression to Nothingness_, albeit impressive, does not offer a single moment of individuality. It bears the notion of artificial colours and artificial flavours, and I truly find it surprising how such an emotive album, containing so many beautiful moments, leaves me apathetic and empty. Listen to this album and be your own judge.

Author: Chaim Drishner

Review
Pitchline Zine
8/10
18.12.2012

Hace poco hablaba de Inborn Suffering y de su primer disco 'Wordless Hope' como punto de partida para dar paso a su nuevo disco, lanzado el 9 de Julio de este mismo año. Hoy, es el momento de hablar de 'Regression To Nothingness', disco con el que debutan en Solitude Productions y el cual trae notables cambios a la banda en varios aspectos.

Para estos franceses la melodía es el plato fuerte y sustento de la banda para destacar entre los demás grupos de Death/Doom, cosa que quedaba patente y bastante claro en su primer álbum. Sin embargo, en 'Regression To Nothingness' la banda ha potenciado su sonido dándole riffs y ritmos con ciertas subidas de revoluciones sin excederse, de manera que tenemos momentos muy enérgicos como en "Slumber Asylum", "Apotheosis" y sobre todo "Born Guilty", tema bastante variado en donde podemos encontrarnos desde riffs con una potencia descomunal, hasta grandes pasajes melancólicos donde cada instrumento es vital en la transmisión de ese sentimiento de mal pesar, y donde además la nueva variedad de registros sonoros a cargo de la nueva voz del guitarrista rítmico Laurent Chaulet ayudan a aportar más variedad.

Esto no quiere decir que se haya quedado atrás la mayor característica de Inborn Suffering que son las enormes melodías, por lo que las influencias de My Dying Bride y Swallow The Sun siguen vigentes, primando el aura gris y triste de la banda una vez más gracias al dúo de Stéphane Peudupin a la guitarra principal y Sébastien Pierre al teclado, el cual ha adquirido mayor acto de presencia respecto a 'Wordless Hope' sin anteponerse ante ninguno de los otros miembros.

Por otra parte hay que destacar también la mayor presencia del bajo en las líneas respecto a su disco predecesor, esta vez a cargo de Rémi Depernet, y que se encarga en gran parte de seguir el ritmo de la batería, la cual sigue cumpliendo su papel sin destacar por encima del resto.

Aunque 'Regression To Nothingness' tenga menos temas que 'Wordless Hope' su duración es mayor, por lo que nos encontraremos temas más extensos como "Grey Eden" o el propio tema homónimo "Regression To Nothingness", lo cual por una parte puede cansar a quien no esté acostumbrado a este tipo de duraciones.

Por último queda mencionar el sonido final, más potente que su anterior disco gracias a la masterización a manos de Jens Bögren (conocido por masterizar, entre otros, a Daylight Dies, Ihsahn e incluso a los nacionales Aathma) para dar por terminado un disco que supera a su predecesor en composiciones, sonido y mejoras en su cambio, pero sobre todo por esa capacidad de transmitir en cada una de sus notas y de sus letras y de mantener intacto ese nivel. Un gran ejemplo de cómo superarse a sí mismo.

Author: Soulkiller

Review
Heavy Music
8/10
28.11.2012

Этому долгожданному альбому французов, вышедшему через 6 лет после дебютника, есть чем удивить слушателя. Группа сделала большой перерыв в своём творчестве, но сделала это совсем не зря. Уверен- изменения пошли на пользу как самим музыкантам, так и слушателям. У всех было достаточно времени чтобы переосмыслить свои взгляды, переоценить многие вещи, расставить приоритеты. Конечно, не только прошедшее время, но и частичная смена состава повлияла на окончательную форму музыкального материала. Пожалуй, стоит отметить тот факт, что открывающий рифф в первой же композиции напомнил мне рифф из Abyssic Hate - Depression Part I, только в несколько раз замедленный и слегка искажённый. И как я не пытался, так мне эту мысль выгнать из головы и не удалось. Впрочем, это единственное, что на этом альбоме показалось мне уже слышанным ранее и знакомым. Остальной материал достаточно таки интересен и разнообразен.

А всё же... не зря с первых нот музыка Inborn Suffering напомнила мне творчество одной из депрессив метал групп. Ведь звук гитар в некоторых песня - буквально превращается в тот жёсткий, едкий, режущий по живому депрессив блэк металический звук. Однако, не пугайтесь. Изменения в группе произошли не на столько кардинальные. Хотя чего уж там? Мелодичности стало в разы меньше, а звучание в целом стало на много жёстче и драйвовей. Музыкальное полотно стало очень интенсивным, скорее озлобленным, чем отстранённо-меланхоличным, как на первой работе группы. Теперь эти французы звучат очень интенсивно и напористо. Добавьте к этому также изменившийся вокал: теперь он стал ещё более хриплым, вокалист всё чаще переходит на крик, изредка разбавляя свои усилия шёпотом или чистым пением.

Однозначно, альбом достаточно динамичный и слушает бодро, на одном дыхании. Несомненно, по прошествии стольких лет и стольких изменений, нельзя не задать себе вопрос - это всё та же, уже знакомая нам, или совсем другая группа? Думаю, каждый сам найдёт для себя ответ. Стоить лишь один раз послушать.

Author: Grimmsberg

Review
Metalitalia
7/10

L’estate sta finendo, un anno se ne va. Le banalità proseguono ricordandovi che dopo la stagione calda arrivano prima il crepuscolo giallo ocra dell’autunno e più avanti le notti imbiancate dell’inverno. Quindi, per ben premunirvi ad affrontare i vostri gelidi e solitari esili delle fredde stagioni, quale incipit migliore, all’imbrunirsi delle giornate, di un bel disco doom/death metal scritto e suonato come si deve? Gli Inborn Suffering sono francesi, per l’esattezza di Parigi, e tornano in scena dopo un lungo silenzio durato più di un lustro e contornato dai due full finora pubblicati, l’esordiente “Wordless Hope” e questo ottimo secondo “Regression To Nothingness”. La band innova pochissimo un genere che punta tutto il suo appeal sull’atmosfera e sui paesaggi – i famosi landscape che molti di voi mutueranno ogni tanto dall’inglese – in grado di autogenerarsi nella mente dell’ascoltatore. Siamo a cavallo di primi Katatonia, primi Anathema, My Dying Bride, Novembers Doom, The Prophecy, Swallow The Sun: tutti i cliché tristerrimi della proposta standard sono presenti e ciò, se certamente non ci fa osannare gli Inborn Suffering sopra le righe, resta però un punto a favore, in quanto Laurent Chaulet e compagni sanno il fatto loro e non chiedono molto di più alle loro capacità compositive, almeno non per ora: riffoni melodici di stampo doom vengono interrotti qua e là da sporadiche accelerazioni di quadrato death metal e da sezioni arpeggiate e decadenti, spesso riempite dal recitato evocativo e ideale del succitato Chaulet, anche secondo chitarrista. I cambi di tempo sono piuttosto frequenti e i ragazzi francesi possono venir considerati sicuramente melodici, all’interno di una scena che presenta anche monoliti sonori di densissima grafite difficilmente scalfibile. Le parti dilatate, difatti, non strabordano mai nella noia, ma si spazientiscono presto e con rapidità trovano uno sbocco in qualcosa di diverso, si voglia una tipica andatura a cascata stile Katatonia, oppure arpeggi degni dei primevi Anathema. Le tastiere di Sebastien Pierre fungono quasi sempre da tappeto epico-estatico alle imponenti strutture dei pezzi, senza mai sforare in pacchianerie troppo gotiche o viranti verso il symphonic-black. Come scritto più in alto, la ricerca della fuga sonora e visiva di un certo tipo ci pare l’obiettivo principe degli Inborn Suffering, una formazione interessante che può far certamente gola agli abitudinari fruitori del doom/death metal, quello più melodico e sognante, chiaramente, non certo il terremoto messo in piedi solitamente dagli Asphyx. Peccato per la mancanza d’originalità, altrimenti un mezzo voto in più a “Regression To Nothingness” non glielo levava nessuno!

Author: Marco Gallarati

Review
Pest Webzine
9.5/10

Solitude Productions picked up a real winner here, Inborn Suffering might be the biggest name in their roster so far, and although the band relied on their 2006 album success so far, they are back this year with a new release, and after listening to their recently re-released "Wordless Hope" album I was pleasantly surprised the see the band evolved into a real bulldozer of depressive emotions and still kept variety at a high level, even higher than before. Even Depressive Black Metal bands will have lots to learn from this band, this new album drains you of any and all hapiness you had before the audition... Another excellent feature on "Regression to Nothingness" is the heaviness of all tracks, I'd say imagine the riffs from older Lake Of Tears albums times 10 combined with the heavy emotions from Katatonia, melancholic acoustic guitar parts, Paradise Lost's mourning guitar leads, a fantastic wall of pounding drums, the sorrow of My Dying Bride's tracks and you get Inborn Suffering's latest release, an excellent material recommended to all Doom Death fans. Most probably an album that will last through times.

Author: Adrian