Review of Last Souls - Inner Voices

I wasn't sure what to expect out of this three piece from Italy. By the name, title, and track lengths, I assumed I'd be in for some sort of keyboard-laden doom. But no, the great MetalReview.com gods threw me a curveball, and what I've got here is some sort of epic, yet, uninspired death/black metal.

The first song, "The Martyr", has a staggered mid-tempo riff which manifests into a clean sung passage which isn't half bad. That right there could've been the moment were Last Souls drove the nail through their musical coffin, but instead, they shakily prevailed enough to continue on to a slower and bleak black metal sound. The poor drum-programming detracts from the listen, as I'm too busy wondering why an extra offbeat snare hit was added when it was to hear the music, or why it sounds like they're using the drum machine as a metronome. The recording quality of the vocals is also a major setback. Trading off between a rasp and a low growl, neither one sounds particularly great. The lows sound like they were recorded with a computer microphone and enter like a buzz of static or interference of some sort, and the rasps sound like they were sung through a megaphone. "We Will Rise" is markedly the low point of Inner Voices, as it seems to drag on endlessly. There's a few decent solos, but nothing that pulls the band out of the slump that this song creates in the release. Luckily the final song, "Voices" is more upbeat. With a thrashy rhythm, Last Souls seems a bit more at home with this style. Regrettably, a fuzzily recorded guitar solo enters and the song reaches a screeching halt and tries to drift into a creeping and majestic part. It's not so great. The clean vocals return, but it does very little to redeem themselves.

Aiming a little too high with their sound and the recording equipment that's at their disposal, there isn't enough going on here, quite frankly. Plagued by poor recording, bad songwriting structure, and at times, predictable riffing, Last Souls have a ways to go before they'll earn an overwhelmingly positive review. This is the music you'd describe as "very okay."

Release Details

Last Souls

Inner Voices

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