Inherent Doom - Imprisoned by the Hands of Time - EP Album Review - Vintage Black Metal from Phoenix, USA
It is the 5th of February, Monday. After spending a sunny day with a bright sky at the institution in the Swiss Mountains and dealing with a healthy amount of work for today, I have just finished my last listening session of the "Imprisoned by the Hands of Time" EP. Despite originating from Iran, these gentlemen are hailing from Phoenix, Arizona, and this is their debut EP with only three songs. Please be my guest.
INHERENT DOOM - DECEITFUL SALVATION
"Deceitful Salvation" the ominous finale of our conceptual black metal EP, immerses listeners in a haunting soundscape. A melodic journey through desire, mercy, and the consequences of insatiable greed unfolds, as blessings are violently torn away.
As the sonic journey reaches its crescendo, the penalty for unseeing the truth resonates, highlighting the betrayal towards the next generation. "Deceitful Salvation" encapsulates the black metal aesthetic in an eastern/Nordic manner , merging atmospheric melodies with raw intensity to craft a harrowing conclusion to the conceptual narrative.
"And this track is about the false promises, polluting mankind's souls to make them depend on obsolete and abstract horizons of hope." -Herethick
I was first introduced to Inherent Doom with their "Imprisoned by the Hands of Time" EP about a few days ago, and during this time, I listened to it about ten times, if not more, and there are reasons for that. My experience during this time started with discomfort, ending up with me imagining myself accompanying the songs as a guitar player within the band. It was an enjoyable experience from my side as someone who doesn't necessarily listen to this specific narrow climate in black metal.
First and foremost, Inherent Doom's work stands out and deserves appreciation for its foundational work above everything else. They have all the strengths they need in their origins to be respected both as a black and as a metal band. While being entirely faithful to the characteristics of vintage black metal, Inherent Doom challenged themselves by developing in all aspects and positioned themselves elsewhere rather than being solely vintage or old-school.
Moreover, since the album embraces a black metal concept from start to finish, the musical language incorporates progressive and melodic black metal influences, surprisingly giving almost no chance to anything from Eastern cultures, maintaining a Western climate throughout. Songs mainly have a strong bond together in their compositions and flow, generally offering melodic partitions that were clearly led by guitars. The collective still gets progressive within the boundaries of black metal, providing additional captivating soundscapes with clean reverby and dark guitars, which reminded me of some old-school Burzum records. Especially in the opening and evolution parts of the first two songs, you get to hear a fantastic guitar tone that convinced me of his aesthetic taste. As someone who wholeheartedly appreciated vintage analog guitar sounds, everything that was played with this guitar tone was my favorite part of this album by far, another impressive characteristic of Inherent Doom, catching you in unexpected moments, evoking memories of Death, Burzum, and Opeth.
Technically, the album's quality was much improved by the involvement of a producer. I am entirely convinced of the idea that Inherent Doom should continue incorporating vintage characteristics with contemporary production techniques even further after hearing their example. As I mentioned earlier about the guitar work, the band doesn't follow vintage characteristics in their drums, bass, and vocals either. Firstly, the instrumentation and vocals have a healthy balance; everything works flawlessly and smoothly, regardless of their personal choices and imperfections.
Lastly, although it took me some time to get used to the black metal sound and get into the climate, listening to "Imprisoned by the Hands of Time" has never been a boring experience due to its musical work. In fact, it is quite traditional and limited, as the concept from the beginning wasn't built on terms such as beauty. Nevertheless, all songs contain a healthy amount of freshness within their story and deserve credit for their dynamics that keep the entire story resonating.
Inherent Doom, band logo
On the other side of the coin, I also have a few other things that I would like to mention. First of all, this concept of choice has never been one of my favorites as a music enthusiast. In fact, I still push myself to keep exploring the magic behind all kinds of music, including the extremes. The balance that was established in Inherent Doom's music, especially in its characterization and production, was the main reason why I genuinely enjoyed the EP album.
Secondly, although I am quite positive towards the band and their vision, I still feel like there's a big room for improvement. The foundation of their layout will only improve from here on.
Lastly, the musical climate unapologetically positions itself within the narrow black metal world; it isn't for every metal music listener. While I appreciated so much about the album and see potential in them, personally, I don't feel the urge to go back and consume more of this music, mainly because it was a bit too traditional and familiar for my taste in its entirety. The band has much more to offer; their concept is limiting them.
Inherent Doom, band photo Credit: Unknown
In wrapping up, "Imprisoned by the Hands of Time" by Inherent Doom presents a profound yet paradoxical journey through the dark realms of vintage black metal. While not every chord struck resonates with my personal taste, the unapologetic perspective behind this debut make it a noteworthy addition to the metal archives. Thank you for reading.
Inherent Doom - Imprisoned by the Hands of Time EP album front cover artwork
releases January 31, 2024
Herethick : Songwriting, Guitars, Lyrics, Visuals
Iman Heydarali : Songwriting, Guitars, Production, Drum machine
Nanzerne : Vocals
Doom Pr : Bass guitar
Production is done by I-man Studios. ( I-Man's official rebrand is led by Iman Heydarali. )
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