As a staff our varied, eclectic tastes in heavy music allow us to develop content that’s equally diverse. As much as we love progressive, technical, or extreme forms of metal, sometimes you need that palate cleanse so to speak that may be more melodic, catchy, or possess commercial leanings. The latter comes to mind when assessing Portugal band In We Fall – swirling themselves in a cocktail of alternative, post-grunge-oriented metal with a mix of current, modern influences that they put on display through this debut album Inner Self. Formed in late 2022, the band would release three singles in 2023 that along with seven other songs for this record encompass a thoughtful, passionate first glimpse into the quartet.
The musical chemistry between guitars, bass, and drums contains apt main chord progressions, pounding rhythm section foundational components, plus the ideal twists or supplementary progressive highlights in terms of lead breaks, bass heroics, or surprising transitions. Daniel Moreira and Carlos Carneiro as guitar players know when to be restrained in clean strumming, then latch onto the aggressive distortion passages that hit your body full force – as “Looking Inside” exemplifies both aspects back and forth between the softer verses into an explosive chorus. Stunted grooves next to uplifting vocals set “Road to Li(v)e” in ideal motion, the vocal harmonization ideal for unison audience participation as Daniel’s voice has that mix of alternative metal meets modern, post-grunge hard rock intrigue, bringing up everything from Chris Cornell to Scott Stapp in his infectious delivery.
The stand-alone concept conveys everything from multi-leveled relationships that humanity faces, the costs of war in that development, as well as the love-hate duality that exists when it comes to the world – yet you feel a sense of individual songs coming together as a whole without being buried in the overall story. A ballad like “Hope Is Gone” has those trademark clean to power chord elements to tug at your ears, the drumming groovy in a bluesy fashion while the atmosphere should connect to fans of Sevendust, Alter Bridge, and classic Stone Temple Pilots. Towards the back half of the record, the band fire up a bit of metal finesse for “Winter Shades”, drawing from a bit of older 70s/80’s aspects in the doomy nature of the pacing and progressive choppiness, drummer Frederico Lopes getting a chance throughout to showcase his adept snare, tom, and kick chops.
European acts often take American influences into new directions with their subtle background and natural environmental differences. For In We Fall, Inner Self is a great synthesis of multiple styles to create an engaging debut effort, especially for those that love the slightly more commercial sides of post-grunge meets alternative metal.