The wonderfully decrepit merger of death and doom metal -- known, conveniently enough, as death/doom -- has enjoyed something of a renaissance in the mid '00s; with several new bands like
Swallow the Sun,
Draconian, and
Ahab (to name but a few), proving themselves worthy of stylistic forbearers like
Paradise Lost and
Katatonia, and helping to hoist this bleak but sublime metallic subgenre out from under the moist cemetery earth once again. You might as well add France's
Inborn Suffering to their ranks, too, for the Paris-based sextet have produced a perfectly valid passport to gain them entry into this fledgling new death/doom nation, in the shape of a stellar 2006 debut album named
Wordless Hope. Although it's actually a clean, mournful baritone voice that first greets the listener on self-asserting opening behemoth "This Is Who We Are"; and then we come upon the more expected, Cookie Monster growls of vocalist Frédérique Simon. Both vocal styles are frequently swapped throughout the LP, as are apposite instrumental backdrops composed at times of continent-crushing, guitar-layered brutality (as you'd expect), at others of supple melodies and lush synthesizer chords which achieve awe-inspiring results on their namesake tune, "Inborn Suffering," and the aptly named "Monolith." "Thorn of Deceit" sees the group stepping outside the box with a black metal speed run and soprano voices; "As I Close My Eyes" builds to an impressive,
Novembers Doom-like crescendo, and the particularly malevolent "Stygian Darkness" boasts razor sharp riffs, machine-gun rhythms, and an out-of-nowhere piano passage which, together, conjure an atmosphere of terrifying magnificence. Now, mind you, there are still improvements to be made: certain songs occasionally suffer from iffy arrangements, the tormented vocal style heard on "The Agony Within" doesn't sound convincing (in a fashion reminiscent of
Dark Tranquility's similarly failed experiment on their
Projector record), and gentle closer "The Affliction Corridor" feels rather perfunctory. But even with these minor misfires accounted for,
Wordless Hope comes through quite admirably in the end, laying down a great foundation for
Inborn Suffering to build upon in years to come. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia