They may have formed in the same year as Moonspell, but I can’t say I’ve heard Portuguese gothic metal band Inhuman mentioned nearly as often. One of the reasons they might have eluded some of the booming popularity of their fellow countrymen is extended periods of inactivity, as their original run was from 1992 to 2002 with two full lengths and two demos to show for it. A brief reunion from 2008 to 2011 showed signs of life, but it wouldn’t be until 2020’s Contra that Inhuman re-emerged in a truly meaningful way. This effort took their 90s gothic metal framework and brought it into the current decade, with a much bigger sound and some additional styles. Five years later Gloriæ continues this comeback with an even more varied approach, pushing into gothic rock and melodic death metal at times without straying too far from their foundation. It’s an effort that’s equally aggressive and melancholic, and while there are a few lulls the standout moments make this a worthy listen for fans of the genre.
Opener “Absent Glory” makes it clear that Inhuman continues to be on the metal side of the spectrum, even if some of the songwriting does have some of the cleaner sound and hooks of gothic rock. After a short intro the instrumentals come in with a huge soaring melody, but the low end adds a considerable amount of weight that really thumps you right in the chest. There’s that perfect balance of atmosphere and heaviness that works for this more polished sounding gothic metal, and it makes a great first impression. As you get further into Gloriæ the sound moves between noticeably heavier numbers and melancholic ones, with “Conspiratorio” and “Seed of Ancient Hate” leaning more into denser grooves overlayed with haunting melodies while “To Reign in Captivity” has the same type of beautiful melancholy as the last Blazing Eternity album. “The Dreariest One” also feels like a new take on the classic Inhuman sound, as it has a slow burning build-up and incredible atmosphere. Some of the guitar solos give off a bit more of a rock influence at points and there’s a slight hint of melodic death metal at certain points, but the sound never fully pivots over to that direction. A few of the songs do feel slightly repetitive when they stretch past the five-minute mark, but as a whole Gloriæ has a lot of standout moments that draw you back.
The vocals on Gloriæ move between clean and harsh ranges, with both covering quite a bit of ground. “Absent Glory” opts to expose listeners to the cleaner side of things first, with harmonized singing that towers over the already powerful soundscape, but after a few minutes you get harsher screamed/yelled passages that are still enunciated in a way that makes it easy to decipher the lyrics. Sometimes the growls get a bit more distorted and the singing also heads up and down in pitch, which gives a good amount of variety to the performance and blurs the lines between several different metal genres. The accent of the vocalist does lead to a few awkward sounding sections, particularly the harsher ones on “Overgone”, but it doesn’t completely derail things. I did find “Do Fim dos Dias” a highlight on the vocal side as things do sound a bit more fluid in the band’s native language but understand that English continues to be the main way for a lot of artists to breakthrough outside of their own country.
Inhuman has demonstrated that their comeback effort in 2020 wasn’t just a fluke, delivering another strong showing that seamlessly blends heavy grooves with catchy choruses and sweeping atmospheric melodies. It does have a few sections that overstay their welcome and some slightly awkward harsher vocal passages but remains an album fans of everything gothic rock/metal should check out. I should also mention that the band’s attempt to keep things minimalist with just a black background and text as their album cover didn’t bother me, but the fact that it doesn’t even seem fully aligned set off my OCD definitely did, so don’t let that turn you away from the music if artwork is something that convinces you to check out certain bands or not. Gloriæ is available from Alma Mater Records.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg
