After their promising debut album 'Soultaker' in 2017, the Germans of 'Inner Core' are back with a second opus 'Dark Chronicles' that continues to distill flamboyant symphonic metal with accessible melodies and with orchestral arrangements in abundance. Still led by their talented singer 'Anna Rogg' and keyboardist 'Artur Schall' who is also the band's composer, this latest album, with 12 tracks, offers us 70 dense and rich minutes that are a pleasure to listen to and can remind us of the tenors of the genre.
From the outset, 'Kingdom of Mirrors' shows an energetic face with a catchy chorus that does not leave you anymore and that leaves a good place in the second half to a rich instrumental part and the very good 'Morning Shots' that follows (see video above), continues in this festive metal, the Germans having this talent to alternate powerful passages and others calmer. With 'Bloodlines', they add a grandiose touch with choirs, certainly sampled, but which show all the talent around sumptuous arrangements and composition of 7 minutes, embarks us in a typical track of a bright and driving symphonic metal with a beautiful rhythmic break at the end of the track and an epic finale. It is again with a long track, 'Desert Snake' that we continue our journey, this time in an oriental atmosphere with new remarkable orchestral arrangements and with a rhythmic giving a beautiful effect of majestic procession, then 'Symphony' is a melodic jewel between ballad and mid-tempo with new memorable melodic lines. Still in an epic and grandiose atmosphere, the short 'The Dark Chronicles' deploys magnificent vocal harmonies and serves as an introduction to 'The Queen I Am', in which 'Anna Rogg' mixes in a very nice way the vocals between lyrical and clear register on a new catchy melody. And when the power of the metal fades, the Germans offer us magnificent melancholic ballads : as a proof, 'Lionheart' (see the video here) to be added to the best metal ballads but also, in a more powerful and majestic register, the 8 minutes of 'Unholy' offer us a new irresistible power ballad. Then follows 'Crystal Sky' which returns to more classical symphonic metal and the album ends with two new remarkable compositions, firstly 'Home' which reminds us of the most beautiful ballads of'Imperia' and finally, 'Jane' which concludes this very beautiful opus with a more stripped down track in which the vocal arrangements are a pure marvel, 'Anna Rogg' enchanting us one last time in a calmer register by conveying an intense emotion.
In summary, among all the symphonic metal projects that abound at the moment, the Germans of 'Inner Core' release a remarkable album that should now place them in the top tier of formations of this style and 'Dark Chronicles' will certainly be one of the major albums of 2021 for all lovers of symphonic metal... | |
