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Inward was presented to me as a Death Metal band, so I was not too enthusiastic about the perspective of reviewing it. On the other hand, it was coming from a small label that brought home some neat darkness, so I figure I should give it a try!

All in all, it happened to be not too insufferable, and I would go as far as saying that many parts on this disc are actually enjoyable. First, this is not your everyday brutal/repetitive/boring or typical Gothenburg type of Death Metal, quite the contrary. Inward's music has more of an old school edge while borrowing, to my selfish pleasure of course, elements from the Black Metal arts. Here we are dealing with a two piece band: Jaded Pathseeker (drums and lyrics) and Second Spirit on guitar, bass and vocals. On Ruins of Inland, one can hear various type of music. About half of it is more of the extreme style with those fast/furious beats, tremolo picking, double basses and so on. Then you have the more diversified, and much pleasant aspects of their art. Those moments consist of moderate paces, raspy vocals, crunchy guitar work, some atmospheric keyboards and even the nice sound of an acoustic electric guitar. The closing instrumental, "..." is where it can be heard, along with thunder and electronics. That composition is preceded by another nice instrumental with heavier tones, called "Ashes of Humanity". The opening song, "Past", mixes crushing guitars with darkness, in a mysterious, slightly progressive musical structure.

Ruins of Inland is worth trying, if you're willing to listen some Death Metal somewhat different from what the major labels want you to believe what Death Metal should sounds like.