Inverse Records

Dark the Suns – Suru raivosi sydämeni pimeydessä Review

By Steel Druhm on April 7, 2021 in Reviews, Gothic Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 15 comments

“Anyone remember these guys? No? Dark the Suns were part of the gothic melodeath wave that came along in the wake of Theatre of Tragedy in the late 90s and early aughts. You’d be forgiven for missing these Finns though, as their output was never all that compelling or memorable. They did manage three full-length releases however, with the last hitting in 2010. After that they faded into the Goth ether. Because they never seemed to gain any real traction in their “heyday,” I was rather surprised to see their name appear in the promo sump. So surprised in fact that I was compelled to find out what could have brought the band back after 10 long years in the grave.” Prodigal suns.

Everture – Emerge Review

By Dear Hollow on March 16, 2021 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Metalcore, Post-Hardcore, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Rock, 40 comments

“Album length is a point of contention at AMG Headquarters. So around the office cooler one day, the illustrious Carcharodon revealed that his promo was a honkin’ two-hour commitment. I now realize that “Mine’s a nine-minute grind EP! Sucks to be you!” was the wrong thing to say. As a dear Lavagirlbitch to the Sharkboy, he used his power to punish me pick a promo for me. Please direct your hate mail to him for the awkwardly named Everture. I was immediately horrified at the phrase “modern metal” that greeted my eyes.” The Everture will continue until morale improves.

Mastord – To Whom Bow Even the Trees Review

By Twelve on February 19, 2021 in Reviews, Progressive Metal, 22 comments

“One of the best things about seeing the “progressive metal” sign rotting beside some long-forgotten deposit in the Promo Pit is how little that actually tells you about what’s going on with the album. As much as I have been frustrated with prog recently, I adore the genre for its boundless potential and ability to truly amaze, even when all other metal feels stagnant.” He who grabs the prog from the pit.

Ephemerald – Between the Glimpses of Hope Review

By Kenstrosity on February 19, 2021 in Reviews, Melodic Death Metal, 32 comments

“Today, we welcome Finnish symphonic death metal troupe Ephemerald, sporting a name that rolls of the tongue nicely while still eliciting a cringe from those who utter it. This unfortunate portmanteau combining ‘ephemeral’ with ’emerald’ makes very little sense on the surface. Diving deeper, however, I conjure a number of entertaining scenarios in which it could be apt. For example, if we assume Ephemerald’s mission statement to be to smash emeralds into oblivion with the sheer magnitude of their steel—and if we then assume that they are successful in such endeavors—perhaps the presumed short-lived existence of said emeralds would justify the band’s name. But of course, that entire machination is as nonsensical as the name itself, is it not?” Stoned.

Slow Fall – Beneath the Endless Rains Review

By Emya on October 23, 2020 in Reviews, Melodic Death Metal, 58 comments

“Slow Fall are the newest kids on the Finnish melodeath playground. They’d been skirting the chain link fence, peering in since 2016. Now, finally satisfied with their chosen lineup, the band is coming out swinging, seemingly out of nowhere, with their very first full-length album. On their first try, Slow Fall nail an impressive formula for melodeath.” It’s the slow knife that cuts the deepest.

Babylonfall – Collapse Review

By Doom_et_Al on April 21, 2020 in 2020, Finnish Metal, Inverse Records, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Melodic Death Metal, 21 comments

“I’ve always maintained you should not be able to eat food off death metal albums. The level of dirt and grime inherent in the recordings complements the themes of death and decay in the music. Even melodeath – the gentler second-cousin twice removed of death metal – shouldn’t sound too clean in my books. Babylonfall, a new group from Finland, arrive with a fair bit of buzz surrounding their debut effort, Collapse. Ostensibly playing a brand of music in the style of latter-Amorphis, these guys hew far more closely to the ‘melo’ rather than the ‘death’ side of things.” Death be not cleanly.

Rämlord – From Dark Waters Review

By Steel Druhm on March 30, 2020 in 2020, Finnish Metal, Heavy Metal, Inverse Records, Reviews, Heavy Metal, 18 comments

“No one expects the Rämlord, nor should they. Formed by members of such wildly diverse acts as Impaled Nazarene, Legenda, and National Napalm Syndicate, Rämlord is a strange new act purpose-built to defy genre boundaries as they explore classic metal styles. On their debut, From Dark Waters they attempt a near herculean amount of genre hoping, dragging in influences from goth rock, hair metal, hard rock, 80s radio rock and a few other odds and sods along the bumpy journey they fashion for the unsuspecting listener.” Rämming speed!

Ghost Toast – Shape Without Form Review

By Master of Muppets on March 14, 2020 in 2020, Hungarian Metal, Instrumental Metal, Inverse Records, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Instrumental Metal, Progressive Metal, 46 comments

“It’s nice to have some actual dialogue after my solitary confinement to Shape Without Form. That’s right, tubthumpers: Ghost Toast are an instrumental band! There’s been a lot of that lately, and I’m not really sure why, but I was bound to deal with something of the sort sooner or later, and now here we are, Ghost Toastin’ it up.” Rye revenants abound.

Northern Genocide – Genesis vol. 666 Review

By GardensTale on September 7, 2019 in 2019, Finnish Metal, Industrial Metal, Inverse Records, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Industrial Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 33 comments

“Industrial metal hasn’t had a great run as of late. The few I have reviewed in my three-year tenure at AMG did not fare well. In fact, the only good industrial metal I have heard in that time was the new Rammstein earlier this year, meaning the underground has delivered exactly zilch. Of course, I may have simply missed a whopper, but fact remains that most bands touting the term seem to use it as an excuse to blow out the speakers with horrendous production and/or use it as an ersatz term for metalcore or nu-metal. Maybe the debut from upstarts Northern Genocide can make a difference.” The Devil’s factory.

Amanita Virosa – Original Plague Review

By Doom_et_Al on August 27, 2019 in 2019, Death Metal, Finnish Metal, Inverse Records, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Melodic Death Metal, 18 comments

“Today, our case involves a patient who came in contact with Amanita Virosa — a deadly, basiodiomycete fungus. No, Dr. X, it’s not the same thing we isolated from Dr. Druhm’s paw the other day. And it’s not contagious. No, Dr. Holdeneye, I would not feed it to your daughter, no matter how much it resembles those portobello mushrooms she so clearly likes. Its nickname is ‘The Destroying Angel’ and this baby is full of amatoxins and phallotoxins… Stop sniggering, Dr. Wvrm. We’re supposed to be professionals here.” Do mo harm.