Bengaluru-based Death/Thrash metal outfit Inner Sanctum has released a captivating music video for their brand-new single ‘Divided by Hate’. The single marks the studio comeback of the metal quintet after more than five years.
Inner Sanctum has been one of the flagbearers of the Indian extreme metal scene for more than a decade, winning various accolades and awards along the way (Band of the Year 2007 & 2009, Rolling Stone Metal Awards for Best Guitarist and Best Drummer, 2016). They also had the privilege to open for major International artists like Metallica (Rock N’ India 2011), Slayer (Rock N’ India 2012), Testament, Enslaved, Behemoth, and Amon Amarth, among many others. They released their debut EP ‘Provenance‘ back in 2009 and its follow-up album, the full-length record ‘Legions Awake‘, in 2015, both of which were received critically as well as commercially.
Inner Sanctum has always maintained its brand of taste in extreme metal, despite having multiple influences on its sound and approach. They are barely your usual run-of-the-mill thrash band. But up until their last record ‘Legions Awake’, the band was always seen as more thrash than death in its flavour, whether be it the rapid blast beats or the ruthless heavy riffage that decorates the songs. But here with ‘Divided by Hate’, the band found themselves drifting towards their traditional death metal roots, with a toned-down tempo and high-intensity toe-crushing composition.
The band introduces the song with a prologue that says,
‘We are from a country where the socio-political environment is highly volatile. As a band, we have strong opinions against governments across the world who have subjected their citizens to various forms of divisive politics. Divided by Hate is a cry to express the boiling wrath of the faction of society that believes their country has been stripped of its values, its inclusiveness, and its culture of embracing diversity.’
What makes this song stand out among most of the rest is its current relevance to its political undertone. The occult-based theme of the video made the underlying message all the more subtle. The song is a war cry for all those who have been victims of bigotry, hatred, and divisive politics meted out to them by their oppressive regime, which in all its honesty isn’t limited only to their land, but also across many such countries as well.
The track kicks off with a gut-punching heavy doom-esque riff which haunts pioneers like Behemoth and Obituary. Vocalist Gaurav Basu, as almost expected of him, did a tremendous job with his beastlike growling that could even pierce through a Kevlar. The snarling growl has never been so intense, making the song an intimidating experience.
As I’ve already mentioned before, ‘Divided by Hate’ is more of an ode to their death metal roots than their familiar signature blend of thrash records. The drumming is tightly knit and leaves enough room for the riff work and vocal to take over and wreak havoc in the listener’s psyche. The most celebrated moment of the song probably comes towards the end, when the whole band gangs up to shout along with the words ‘Lawless, imperious state / Internally bleeding hate’ over galloping double bass drumming, like evoking an occult deity. The resulting audio-visual experience is almost a palpable one.
The song is so neatly woven that after giving it a couple of listens, one would end up craving for more. While that might be debatable to some, but certainly not when it comes to the production quality. The tonality of the song, whether be it the crunchy guitar riffs, the unapologetically no-nonsense drumming, or the brutal growl assault, producer Lasse Lammert (LSD Studios, Germany) has hit the bullseye when it comes to maintaining balance in preserving the intensity of the composition.
Lyrically, unlike most of their peers, they kept it direct and did not beat the bush around in expressing their thoughts. Especially, the breakdown part of the song around the halfway mark makes it kind of a statement when it says ‘Violent greed, sickening need, embrace the saffron creed / Wretched lies, wretched souls, the sinner, the saint, the holy cows’. The attitude and intent here are almost punk-like!
All in all, Inner Sanctum have kind of reinvented itself in this single, perhaps a breath of fresh air amidst a crowd which is lately been dominated by a slew of math-hungry 7/8 strings chugged metal artists. In an era of accessible home studio production which gives a lot of space and freedom to experiment with your sound, these veterans have shown us how to slow down and still make it click just the old-school way.
Official band website: https://www.innersanctum.in
Stream/Buy ‘Divided by Hate’ here.
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