Inner Missing fashion gothic metal layers on their ninth album, Dead Language.

Inner Missing is a duo from Russia made up of Sigmund (vocals, guitar) and Melaer (keys, bass). In the early days of the band, their music leaned more toward doom identities. As time passed, a gothic sensibility took over. Since 2009, Inner Missing has released two EPs and eight full-length albums – an incredible accomplishment. Dead Language continues the saga.

What’s this album about? The band has an answer. “Aleister Crowley is one of the most iconic figures in Gothic culture and definitely the most misunderstood one ever. This is an attempt to rethink his poetry and reimagine his myth – no more, no less.” For a gothic metal album, that makes a lot of sense. Sigmund goes on to say a bit more about the theme of the music. “No one would argue that poetry is a dead language today and music is going to share its fate sooner or later. This album is an allegorical requiem to all forms of art that are already gone and to all forms of art that will be gone in the future.” That is a lot to work with, and they do.

Dead Language has six songs, beginning with the title track. The atmosphere created in the opening bars is frightening, edge-setting; gothic. The vocals in duet combine talking and singing in a way that deepens the delivery. The pace is slow, giving the concepts time to well up as momentum builds over the course of the song. “The Quest” is next and it takes a more active strategy in its formations. “Empty Rooms” lures you in with an increasingly ravening attitude tempered by melodic vocalizations.

Side Two opens with “Long Odds,” a song that has the feel of a quest into distant lands. “Mute” alternates disarmingly between softer incantations and grave, consequential intercessions. Final thoughts are offered with “At Sea.” You get the feeling hearing it that it is already too late to make any meaningful change and you must ride out whatever circumstance you are in. We all know what that is like, so the song invokes a shared understanding.

Dead Language is out now, available from Inverse Records. In the US, Bandcamp is the best buying bet. This is accessible gothic music and certainly worth a listen. Recommended.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://innermissing.bandcamp.com

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/InnerMissing

Inverse Records, https://www.inverse.fi/shop/catalog/