INFERION
INFERION “Inequity”
By Dr. Abner Mality
“Inequity” is the first INFERION album in almost 10 years. Apparently the band has been around for 28 years so they must love what they do. I must confess, this is my first encounter with them. And it’s a good one! I was very pleasantly surprised by how intelligently “Inequity” was laid out, but without sacrificing grit and fire.
The style here can best be described as melodic black/death metal with strong elements of groove to it. They really hit the early Gothenburg sound pretty well, but they never overdo the melody and there’s always a ton of crunch. First two cuts “8 Minutes Ago” and “Son of None” hit notes of AT THE GATES and early IN FLAMES, with harsh vocals. The vocals stay crispy throughout, with no cleans, and occasionally a deep bellow joins in.
There are some clever and surprising transitions and segues throughout. The excellent “Grendel” starts folkishly, hits the melodic death metal gas and at about the 3:20 mark, it breaks into a fat, juicy groove that MESHUGGAH would kill for. This kind of vibe pops up on “Acquiesce” and “Colossus”. Sometimes INFERION lean more towards a melodic black metal feel on cuts like album ending epic “Blood Is Black In Moonlight”, which brings to mind some of the titans of the late 90’s.
This record caught me off guard, especially being on Horror Pain Gore Death, a label not really known for quality output. The only thing I can really knock them for is using Oppenheimer’s “I Am Become Death” soundbite on “Silos”, which officially makes them the 5435th band to use this grossly overdone sample. If that’s the biggest problem on “Inequity”, then you can listen with confidence to an underrated band.