Album Review: Inhuman Nature - Greater Than Death
Reviewed by Matthew Williams
After reviewing and interviewing Inhuman Nature at Damnation Festival back in 2023, where singer Chris confessed his love for Hatebreed, I have kept a steady eye on the band, due to being impressed with their fast, aggressive approach on stage. I wondered which direction their new album might take them or if we’d get more of the same from the London quintet.
Their second album, “Greater Than Death” available on Church Road Records, sees them bring that live energy onto the recording and incorporates their love of crossover, thrash and prog to give a different dimension to their sound. It all begins with a short, eerie introduction called “From the Shadows”, which really doesn’t set you up for the ear bashing that “Dawn of Inhuman Man” gives you.
It goes hard from the very beginning, with drummer Simon Grubb, who confessed his love for all things Slayer and of course Dave Lombardo when I spoke to him, pounding out those relentless beats. With guitarists Ben Taylor on lead and Mack Stray on rhythm, combining well, there’s an air of 1980’s Testament on the opening riff of “Possessed to Die” and it’s not hard to imagine singer Chris Barling, prowling around waiting to spit out the venomous words. The solos continue to be rapid and intense and watch out for the bass line from Daragh Markham towards the end, it’s a beauty.
You get a full on headbanger next with “Servants of Annihilation” that gets as close as possible to them on stage, as its angry and aggressive musically, with matching snarly vocals. The solo is controlled and well executed, and the band are operating like a well-oiled machine. There’s a slower start to “Fortress of Delusion” with the bass sound being prominent and surrounded by a cacophony of slowly built-up noise from the guitars and drums.
Then comes the guttural scream from the frontman and they all explode into life. Its got an extra edge of power about this one, and they switch tempos a few times, with the drums getting a proper hammering from Grubb. A slower doom style ending really suits the song as it drifts towards the finish, and then the drums introduce “Lines in the Sand II”. This feels a bit more gothic and moodier before that screeching thrash riff come along and kicks you up the arse. I like the midway change of direction with a heavier bass sound and slower pace, but the solo still pierces you hard.
One thing that is evident, is that the pace is consistent, and they have concentrated on making a record that not only stamps on your throat but kicks you in the head when you are on the floor. There’s an intensity about “Greater Than Death” that I can imagine causing carnage when it’s played live. There’s a definite Slayer edge to the opening of “Mad Man’s Cage” which follows throughout the aggressive song, so no complaints from me about that one. What impresses me is that the solos aren’t all over the place like thrash solos can sometimes be, as they are executed extremely well and don’t dominate the songs like some occasionally do.
The songs also enable all the band to showcase their abilities, which is great to hear, with no one sound dominating. The spookiness of “The Maze of Eternity” demonstrate this perfectly, before it yields to final song “Dead and Buried” which gives you one final slab of Inhuman Nature’s crossover sound with added potency and destructive attitude.
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