The Inside

Even mid way into the second song, I was trying to work out how to describe this album as having the modern, melodic groove of bands like Soilwork and In Flames without quite managing to use droning predictability and cheesy, empowering sing-along sections as marketing tools in the same way that these bands do. True, these are present on the record (in pretty much every song) but it feels like they’re bi-products of material that with the right care could have been much better than what it actually is. This is a slightly better than average CD (but only just) which is part of a fairly tame and now defunct and anonymous subgenre of metal that no one really gives a shit about anymore.

One thing I will say is this though: you will have to work pretty hard to get to the album’s good moments. ‘My Senseless Theory’, the album’s opener, gets proceedings off to a pretty indifferent start: the mid-paced, cleanly produced guitars chugging away to the lumbering drums serve as quick encouragement to dismiss the whole group as yet ANOTHER Gothenburg sounding band that believe they are in some way fresh, or dissimilar to the millions of other “The Haunted’s” out there. It’s clean, it’s crunchy, it’s standard modern Gothenburg groove with Arch Enemy production… to be honest, many people might hear this song and straight away say “no thanks” to the entire CD.

However, that is a little unfair on the band, as despite having painted themselves into a corner, there are occasional moments of tangible efforts being made to avoid becoming totally run of the mill. First of all, the drums are at times pretty impressive. The double bass work is phenomenal, and although slightly wanting for technical flair, the aggression, well placed blast beats and thrashy rhythms often prove to be the saving grace of many of the tracks on this CD that otherwise lack much in terms of creative merit. “Enemy Process” embodies most of these positive elements onto one song; fast paced, groovy and melodic in the right places, this is the closest Destinity come to breaking the Gothenburg mould. Frustratingly, though, following such moments of catchiness come entire operas of mediocrity; formulaic tomes of boringness centred around everything you have heard before and have now come to expect from bands like this.

Urgh, I am already tired of writing this review. Imagine the new school Gothenburg sound done fairly well, then speed it up a bit. Add some frankly useless synth work that comes straight from an MGMT release and the obligatory sing along chorus (look to “Ready to Leave” as the biggest culprit here… what a shit song…) and that is essentially what we have here. I feel as though I am being a bit harsh on the band, because this release clearly had some thought behind it, but I care so little for this kind of stuff now that I can’t be bothered to suspend my indifference.

Yes, this review will be full of hyperbole.


The French scene today is getting really, really good, and for some reason, no-one ever hears about it, unless it's Gojira. Now don't get me wrong: Gojira are a great band, but dammit, it's not the only metal band in France! Getting prominent on the scene internally, among others, is Destinity: they started off as a melodic black metal band, then evolved into more of a symphonic-ish melodic death which can be seen on Synthetic Existence, and now, on the Inside, we see a more thrashy side. This is Destinity at their most aggressive, groovy, fast, catchy as hell.

Describing their sound is actually really quite hard. It would be easy to say melodic death, but that wouldn't do them justice. The drumming is pure death metal, and is amazingly proficient. The double kick is fast, the fills are interesting, the blasting is powerful, the groove is strong. This contrasts with the riffing, which is a kind of a death/thrash mix, but melodic to a point. The dual vocalists (the keyboard player provides the cleans) provide a low, powerful death growl on the one hand, and some very French-accented cleans. These still manage to sound aggressive without turning into a Bay Area shout; the melodies ooze menace. Check out The Thing I will Never Feel.

But, I hear you cry, enough genre-boxing, what are the songs like! Simply put, I love heaviness, and I like me a bit of speed too, some melody is good - Destinity provide all of these on The Inside. My Senseless Theory starts off the album with some static, before turning into headbanging joy. You really have to hear it to appreciate the sheer quality of the riffs going on. The second track is my personal favourite; it has a very thrashy, aggressive feel, and uses the low tuning sparingly and tastefully - you know it when it hits you. Generally speaking, all the songs have an interesting structure built vaguely around verse-chorus-verse, but manage to spice it up and keep it interesting anyway. Just the right amount of progginess to vary things up. I won't bore you all with a track by track, but if you want to know what this album's like, check out My Senseless Theory, Murder Within, Ready to Leave and The Inside. They will have you hooked. Al

In summary, this is an absolutely fantastic album. I am almost ashamed that more of the metal world hasn't latched on to the brilliance that is The Inside; damn you, lack of distribution and advertising! Youtube this shit, people, you will want more, more more.