Album Review: Inner Landscape – 3H33 (Klonosphere Records)

France’s post-metal collective Inner Landscape will release their debut studio album, titled 3H33, on May 17th via Klonosphere/Season Of Mist.

Influenced by bands such as Isis, Sumac and Intronaut, the Lyon-based quartet create crushingly heavy and atmospheric music that dovetails slow, thick riffs, melodic and introspective atmospheres that exude a deep sense of melancholy and truly possess the ability to conjure up powerful images in the mind of listeners.

Six tracks in length, “3H33” explores the theme of familial disintegration, from the first cracks to the final break-up and sees Inner Landscape merging raw vocals, intricate and heavy riffs, and jazz-driven drums resulting in an authentic, organic and emotional sound. 3H33 was masterfully recorded and mixed by Hervé Faivre’s (Improve Tone Studios) and mastered by Pierrick Noel at Atelier Mastering and allowed the band to capture the rawness and authenticity of their live music. Photo Credit goes to Jean-Sébastien Mattant and 3H33 comes with album artwork from Christian Benoist.

Inner Landscape are Gachet Julien on vocals and guitars, Covalciuc Alexandre on guitars, Bétencourt Thibaud on bass and Bernet Adrien on drums.

3H33 comes with 6 tracks on it and around 34 minutes in total length starting with the opener, The Order of Things. If you aren’t familiar with the band, it’s a song that quite quickly identifies their sound and style. Very full, deep and encompassing sounds flow out from the guitars. It’s a rich sound, almost sticky as it washes over you. Coming with a nice tempo, catchy riffs and a prominent drums, it’s easy to quickly feel in tune with Inner Landscape.

Vocals are harsh, faded into the mix a little and used as an additional instrument in a more collective sound. Drum patterns chop and change, often creating their own timing and encouraging that dissonant feeling. Changes in pace allow the more melodic guitars to take ownership for a bit, then the riffs come back for a bit with plenty more transitions to come on the journey. It still flows perfectly well though, with the overall rich and involving tone just holding throughout. It’s a strong start.

Collective Dissonance carries on at that high bar with another track of a similar nature. That same rich and deep tone grabs you quickly, creating a nice warm bed for the catchy as hell drum beats and intelligent riffing to lay down in. Vocals stay harsh, maybe a little bit lacking in variety at times. They are strong, and powerful and suit the songs but seem to stay at a single pace and single tone mostly. It’s hard to criticise though – it’s quite possibly kept in this way to add to the dissonant feel of the tracks, almost restraining what the vocalist can likely do for the betterment of the songs.

I love the guitars, moments of melody that ooze emotion, scratchy riffing that gets you nodding along – there is a lot of talent on show. Drums are next level too, with that jazz style, and constant changing really grabbing your attention.

Old Ghosts throws a curveball with an entirely different start that leans heavily on clean ringing melody and tapping drums. It’s gentle, emotive and intriguing with an almost folkish tint, while the vocals, at that same style and tone, but even further back bellow out. I really like this start and love that added bit of variety. The clean ringing strings, tapping drums and shouts in the background is a great sound.

At over 7 minutes long, there is plenty of time for change though and the song does evolve and shift over time. Booming bass lines and riffs start to force their way in, blending with the melody but growing more and more prominent until they swallow you up. The vocals still bellow, stepping forward a bit more, the melody still sits in the background and the 7 minutes passes in seconds thanks to a really intelligent and engaging song.

Unexpressive Fail is a shorter track by 3H33’s standard at around 4 and a half minutes long. It’s another good song though with powerful atmosphere and that enveloping tone wrapping itself around you. Strong guitar work, whether through melody or riffs, impressive drum work and strong vocals combine wonderfully for another engaging track where the extra high pinch of melody really shines through.

The next track, Wreckage, is an oddity based on what we have seen from Inner Landscapes so far. 50 seconds of, well, wreckage. Echo, distortion, shouts, drums and guitar screams just wake you the fuck up in a little blast of intense emotion. I like it, even if it at first it seems out of place. It made me think, and I ended up seeing it as an opportunity across an emotional room for a listener to just sit in a dark room and release their tension – it’s the punch a wall, or scream and let it all out moment we all need every now and then in musical form.

Inner Landscapes close out 3H33 with the longest track on the album, the 8 minute long title track, 3H33. The atmosphere stays strong with a nice, melancholic melodic start, balanced by the faded harsh vocals and some intricate drumming. It beds you into the song nicely before it starts to evolve bringing in the riffs and more power to the vocals and drums. Transitions between the melodic and the heavy become a large part of the song that always still feels singular though thanks to the overall atmosphere driven by the rich tones. Even with those heavier moments, 3H33 is a song that dwells in melody mostly and feels like a strong closer that gives you time for reflection and introspection.

It closes out a fine piece of work from Inner Landscapes. 3H33 is an album of class and intelligence. It flows really well throughout carrying the same feeling through the atmospheric tones, even as songs carve out unique identities within that feeling. Vocally good, with stunning drums and guitar work, Inner Landscapes showcase a lot of musical and songwriting talent here. There also appears to be a whole heap of emotion and feeling poured into each track and that comes through to the listener. 3H33 is one of those albums where you lose time as you find yourself lost in it or hypnotised by it completely.

Preorder your copy of 3H33 from Inner Landscape’s Bandcamp page, here.

Inner Landscape Links

Facebook – Bandcamp – Instagram – Spotify – Klonosphere Records