Review by Vladimir on December 10, 2023.

I haven't followed the metal scene in North Macedonia that much to be honest, although the bands I have discovered did turn out to be pretty decent. In today's review, I will be covering a melodic death/groove metal band Inner Hate, with their independent debut full-length album Worthless Throne released on December 1st.

Inner Hate provides a groovy but also melodic death metal output with some traces of thrash metal and breakdowns that expand the dynamics of their songs, whereas the vocals go for a guttural groove metal style with some high pitch screaming and occasional deep gutturals. The overall songwriting from one track to another is stylistically consistent and simple to follow along, but it also has a lot of progression from one section to another, along with effective melodic guitar work and soloing which give the songs more life and expression. However, the real downside of the songs is that they do not really stand out in any way, due to each next track sounding too similar to every previous one. Even though the stylistic consistency is a plus indeed, the problem is that you can't really find any song particularly attractive for any reason whatsoever, especially for its lack of memorable riffs or choruses. If anything, the good thing about the songs is that they at least have genuine aggression and emotions expressed through the music, which in the end saves it from being utterly stripped of any redeemable quality. I would probably say that the biggest highlight here would definitely be the guitar solos, which definitely stand as the best part of every song. The sound production is actually pretty good, with a moderately heavy guitar tone and distorted bass guitar, solid drum sound and vocal mix.

I think that the album Worthless Throne in the end isn't all that "worthless", at least not in terms of what it is as a whole. Sure it could have been much better, but I still think it's not a complete waste of time that will just make you press pause and quit midway through. Inner Hate just started out after all and they have much to experience for the years to come, so this is still a good debut for a new coming band. Fans of modern and groovy melodeath metal should check this one out and judge it for themselves, perhaps it might be something worth the while.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Review by Vladimir on December 10, 2023.

I haven't followed the metal scene in North Macedonia that much to be honest, although the bands I have discovered did turn out to be pretty decent. In today's review, I will be covering a melodic death/groove metal band Inner Hate, with their independent debut full-length album Worthless Throne released on December 1st.

Inner Hate provides a groovy but also melodic death metal output with some traces of thrash metal and breakdowns that expand the dynamics of their songs, whereas the vocals go for a guttural groove metal style with some high pitch screaming and occasional deep gutturals. The overall songwriting from one track to another is stylistically consistent and simple to follow along, but it also has a lot of progression from one section to another, along with effective melodic guitar work and soloing which give the songs more life and expression. However, the real downside of the songs is that they do not really stand out in any way, due to each next track sounding too similar to every previous one. Even though the stylistic consistency is a plus indeed, the problem is that you can't really find any song particularly attractive for any reason whatsoever, especially for its lack of memorable riffs or choruses. If anything, the good thing about the songs is that they at least have genuine aggression and emotions expressed through the music, which in the end saves it from being utterly stripped of any redeemable quality. I would probably say that the biggest highlight here would definitely be the guitar solos, which definitely stand as the best part of every song. The sound production is actually pretty good, with a moderately heavy guitar tone and distorted bass guitar, solid drum sound and vocal mix.

I think that the album Worthless Throne in the end isn't all that "worthless", at least not in terms of what it is as a whole. Sure it could have been much better, but I still think it's not a complete waste of time that will just make you press pause and quit midway through. Inner Hate just started out after all and they have much to experience for the years to come, so this is still a good debut for a new coming band. Fans of modern and groovy melodeath metal should check this one out and judge it for themselves, perhaps it might be something worth the while.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Review by Allan on November 6, 2002.

Isis debut album "Celestial" was the bands first leap into their career as musicians. The two EP’s they released beforehand; "Mosquito Control" and "The Red Sea", were the steps they had to take to get to here. "Celestial" certainly isn’t near the monolithic proportions of their follow-up "Oceanic", nor is it even close to that point, but it’s still very good, and certainly worth your time.

"Celestial" starts off somewhat mediocre, which is the initial reason the album is hindered from being truly great. Nonetheless, the album picks up right after its mediocrity, and by the time you hit ‘Swarm Reigns (Down)’ and ‘Deconstructing Towers’, you’ll realize that Isis around this time had the ability to be quite amazing. Their emotion was sincere, the composition ability was ready to be taken to the next level, and the musicianship wasn’t lacking.

"Celestial" is quite a bit different from "Oceanic" or either of the EP’s before it. It’s nestled in between the two. At the time of "Celestial", Isis was best described as a band that generated low-end riffs and a band that was more interested in creating epic sounds instead of a festival of riffs. The songs, like "Oceanic" but not to nearly the same extent, contained a lot of detailing and layering. The songs had their climaxes, building up and breaking down when necessary. Isis certainly contained the right tools to do a satisfactory job, but not totally above and beyond.

Bottom Line: Even at their early developmental stages Isis was clearly a rung above their peers. If you’ve liked Isis at any point in their career you’ll probably find some form of enjoyment out of "Celestial".

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Originality: 7
Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 7
Overall: 8

Rating: 7.6 out of 10