Author: Rok Klemše
Artist: Inmate
Label: Self-released
Release: year_month
Length: 49:53
Rating: 3.5/5
If anything, Velenje’s Inmate are the definition of perseverance. For years they searched for the right vocalist without luck, but they didn’t just sit around in the meantime, diligently racking up gigging mileage as an instrumental band. That way they not only kept in shape but also widened their circle of contacts, and eventually found vocalist Rok Miklavžina, who recorded the debut with them too, Free At Last, released in 2012. Inmate and Miklavžina did part ways after five years together, but not before recording the follow-up to that debut, Tree of Life.
On it, Inmate once again blend melodic death metal and metalcore with their own view of the world, rooted deep in teachings drawn from Vedic literature and philosophy. That means the lyrics are soaked in positive messages about love, brotherhood, friendship, and the individual’s relationship to themselves, society, and nature. It’s certainly an interesting and unusual approach, but it can come off preachy in places. Even the very start of the album fits these ideas: 432Hz clearly signals that the record was made in the “natural frequency,” which supposedly has especially beneficial effects on the human body and mind. I didn’t experience any particular enlightenment myself, but Tree of Life will first and foremost go down well with fans of bands like Scar Symmetry, Killswitch Engage, and the newer In Flames.
On Tree of Life, Inmate again stick to the tried-and-true, pretty overchewed, if not downright stale formula of alternating clean and harsh vocals. Three vocalists handle that: the aforementioned Miklavžina on the harsh vocals we know from all kinds of metalcore bands, Marko Duplišak (Last Day Here) on the clean, melodic ones, and Sebastijan Založnik (Heretic) on the more aggressive and brutal moments. The vocal mix mostly works well, though now and then the red thread gets lost in the vocal oversaturation.
Compared to Free At Last, Tree of Life doesn’t offer any earth-shattering novelties. Inmate stay loyal to modern metal, defined above all by super clean and melodic guitar lines, simple verse-chorus-verse song structures, and, first and foremost, hugely catchy choruses. You can hear that Inmate leave nothing to chance, as the album is production-wise almost too clean and polished, and saturated with overly saccharine choruses, carried mainly by Marko Duplišak’s vocals, which play an even bigger role this time than on the predecessor. Another new thing is that the use of keyboards in a few places brings a bit more freshness to the energetic, dynamic tracks (courtesy of producer Tat Purusha), while the most positive surprise is the collaboration with the children’s choir of OŠ Celje on Die Before Dying.
Inmate packed the album’s 50 minutes with a whopping fifteen tracks, most of them punchy and forceful in their energy, but their main problem is the lack of any real variety between them. The standouts are the aforementioned Die Before Dying, plus Endless Desires and Love And Compassion thanks to the keyboards. Otherwise, nearly every track clings to the formula like a drunk to a fence: rattled-off verses, a catchy, almost syrupy-sweet chorus, and a solo before the end. The solos are well thought out, but their melodic character is way too reminiscent of modern-day In Flames. Tree of Life is still a very solid product, but its biggest problem is that it sounds like hundreds of other bands in the genre.
Line-up
Aleš Kroflič – guitar
Andrej Bezjak – guitar
Jure Grudnik – drums
Dragan Bagarić – bass
Rok Miklavžina – vocals
Marko Duplišak – vocals
Sebastijan Založnik – vocals
Tat Purusha – additional guitars and keyboards
Children’s choir of OŠ Celje (7)
Production
Tat Purusha
Track list
1. 432Hz
2. Paradox
3. Home
4. Tomorrow Never Comes
5. Unbreakable
6. Demon-Crazy
7. Die Before Dying
8. Voice In the Heart
9. Unity In Diversity
10. Endless Desires
11. Love And CompassioN
12. Golden Cage
13. Alive
14. Awakened
15. Tree of Life
