Year : 2025
Style : Progressive Alternative Metal
Country : Finland
Audio : 320 kbps + front
Size : 104 mb
Bio:
Bursting into the scene with conviction, Royal Sorrow masterfully blend progressive metal with catchy electronic, symphonic and pop elements.With more than half their lives of playing music together, the Finnish band has brewed a fresh style of their own where versatile vocals meet thunderous and diverse soundscapes.Signed to Inside Out Music and launched in late 2024, Royal Sorrow has been set on a mission to send shivers down the listener’s spine. The band has already made an impact with their first singles, showcasing their full range with crushing breakdowns and elegant soft parts. Royal Sorrow offer a dynamic and enticing journey that leaves you wanting for more!In 2025, Royal Sorrow can be witnessed live for the first time at the legendary Tuska Festival (FIN) in June and soon after that on selected festivals such as Kaaos (FIN), ArcTanGent (UK) and Euroblast (GER)
Album:
Royal Sorrow are ready to reshape the future of progressive and alternative metal with their debut album Innerdeeps.Innerdeep is a modern debut soundtrack and invitation to look inward, to confront what lies beneath. It’s for listeners who seek more than just sound – who crave meaning, catharsis, and depth!It is rare that a debut album, especially one by very young musicians, sounds fully polished, mature and accomplished. But Royal Sorrow, a group of young Proggers from Finland, have achieved just that. Despite their youth, this band have been honing their craft for many years. They started early, sought perfection before they released their first offering and chose to wait patiently until it was faultless. The eventual result is a debut album that will, for many listeners, indeed sound just right, if not perfect.Royal Sorrow was formed in Finland by close childhood friends Markus Hentunen (vocals and guitars), Eero Maijala (Bass) and Janne Mieskonen (drums), together with guitarist Juha Rapanen (now departed). Influenced by bands like VOLA, Sleep Token, Leprous and TesseracT, the band’s genre may safely be described as Prog-metal, and they are good at it – very good. One listen immediately makes it clear that whatever this band lacks in age, it more than makes up for in skill, passion and sheer talent.But while the ‘Prog-metal’ tag may be appropriate, it is also important to note that Royal Sorrow do not sound quite like any other band in the genre. The required aggression and edge are there, but there is also an element of individual melody, versatile vocals and thoughtful arrangement that makes this band sound quite unique – at least to my ears. There is an indefinable but clear sound to Royal Sorrow that is eminently unpredictable and different.The album comprises ten short songs that are very dense and complex. Much is packed into these songs (none of which exceeds 6 minutes), and despite the brevity of the tracks, there is most definitely an epic feel to almost all of them. These are ten attacking forays of concise but powerful Prog-metal with varied vocal delivery and, in some places, even a catchy pop feel. To highlight just a few:‘Metrograve’ has been described by the band as their ‘mission statement’, and it is therefore a good track to use as an introduction. It presents an atmospheric and dark dystopian story with a spellbinding drive and it impresses greatly with its razor-sharp technicality.‘Samsara’ is very cinematic and is for me a massive high point on the album, with a cutting low-end rhythm pattern set under an effortless melodic vocal from Hentunen. Rapanen provides a great lead guitar solo. The song speaks of a ‘life in monochrome’ but it may as well be a Technicolor movie soundtrack about the cosmic travails of a Prog-metal genius. Absolutely brilliant.‘Release Your Shadow’ stands out for its gripping hook, set around insane kick drum patterns from Mieskonen that are (as in many tracks) defiant of analysis. He is a great drummer. ‘Bloodflower’ is a complex and varied composition with a sinister atmosphere about something that is beautiful but consuming (much like parts of this album.) The song is heavy and driving, but then suddenly features a heavenly electric guitar solo that captivates the listener on a different level completely.Speaking of guitars, ‘Evergreen’ features excellent guitar, bass and keyboard work from Maijala, Hentunen and Rapanen. This one illustrates just how mature these young men are as instrumentalists. It is an elaborate but measured performance with an audible balance that shows their musical maturity. ‘Survival Complex’ then proceeds to show the band’s more aggressive side by way of immediate contrast – this is one for the moshpit.‘Looking Glass’ returns us to the more melodic. It is deep and foreboding and it has profound lyrical content about ‘brooding thoughts’ causing the protagonist to see himself through a different mirror. It builds into one of the most memorable climaxes on the album, with an exceptional vocal performance from Hentunen – probably the most emotive on the record. ‘Give In’, on the other hand, has a guitar riff that sounds like a hive of furious attacking bees – and their poor victim has given in. The vocals on this one are a little too aggressive for my particular taste, but they certainly provide the desired effect.My favorite song on the album is the title track ‘Innerdeeps’ which makes for a highly enticing composition due to its precision, emotion, tunefulness and structure. It is melodic and soaring, but also massive in its power, and the vocals are pitched perfectly within the contrasts of melody on the one hand and potency on the other. In my opinion, this is the track that would be best used to showcase this fine band.The songwriting on the album is generally dynamic and varied, featuring a wide spectrum of musical sentiments ranging from the most visceral to the most vulnerable. The rhythmic patterns are tightly constructed and accurate; the arrangements are very intricate and the lyrical content is deep and philosophical, with themes that belie the ages of the authors.I have always leaned more to the melodic side of things than to the metallic, and growling vocals tend to alienate me from some music. But that is absolutely not the case here – this album, heavy as it is, has captured and rapt my attention. Sinister vocals and granite-like guitars are used cleverly and selectively enough not to be frustrating to those who prefer a more melodic approach. This album is the best of both worlds – unusually varied in its attack, concise yet dense, ferocious yet melodic, and intricate yet catchy.These guys can play, and it is true to say that this album could not really have been refined or edited any further. It is one of those rare examples of a well-prepared and tasteful debut that is heavy and adventurous but not offensive or overwhelming. Expect metal mayhem, pop proclivity, and a technical tapestry that effortlessly combine into a very high-quality debut release, deserving of your attention. It is opportune that Royal Sorrow waited so long to sign their record deal. These musicians may be young, but their music is more than ready to be heard.
Line Up:
Markus Hentunen – Vocals, guitars
Eero Maijala – Bass
Janne Mieskonen – Drums
Tracklist:
01. Let Go 3:06
02. Metrograve 4:20
03. Samsara 5:07
04. Release Your Shadow 4:19
05. Evergreen 4:23
06. Survival Complex 4:08
07. Bloodflower 5:46
08. Looking Glass 4:08
09. Give In 4:04
10. Innerdeeps 5:39
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