THERAPHOSA: Inferno (PROGRESSIVE METAL): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

"Inferno", Theraphosa's third album in four years, takes as its concept the first episode of Italian poet Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. The French trio take us on a guided tour through the nine circles of hell. This theme comes as no surprise, as the band has always stated its intention to explore human nature, torn between the divine and bestial parts present in each of us.

Listening to this album, it's clear that the progressive aspect of Theraphosa's music has become more discreet. Gone are the convoluted structures, and the band has decided to go straight to the heart of the matter and opts for a more frontal approach. While 'Transcendance' had all the ingredients of progressive metal, the band also wanted to be more sparing with their growls. While this change is regrettable, the band has not denied its identity, far from it. As in the past, but in a more frontal manner, the tracks oscillate between six poles: fall and apotheosis, divine and beastly, heavy and melancholy. 'Gluttony' features angelic backing vocals and sonic guitar fury. 'Greed', whose riff could evoke Iron Maiden's 'Flash of the Blade', uses growl sparingly to illustrate its concept without artifice. The band's interest in other genres remains undiminished, particularly symphonic ('Heresy', with its guitar that seems to emerge from the fog).

Vincent's vocals are becoming clearer and clearer, which makes for a better listening experience, especially for an album with such a rich theme. This clarity is relative, however, because the deeper we go into the circles of hell, the more the darkness overwhelms us, as on the dark intro to 'Wrath'. Vincent has also let his younger brother Mathieu take a more active role in writing the songs, and has also offered him the chance to sing a track in French, the melancholy 'Limbo'. His voice, strangely similar to that of the eternal teenager Billy Corgan, allows the album to take a more serene trajectory before beginning its journey towards Purgatory.

Despite a few stylistic changes, Theraphosa achieves a fine performance in the footsteps of Dante and Virgil, the protagonists of Hell. This album could be seen as a transitional album between an old Theraphosa and a new one. If you're not familiar with the world of 'La Divine Comédie', you can do without it to enter this realm of Gehenna revisited and corrected by Vincent and his band. - Official website

THERAPHOSA

INFERNO

AUTRE LABEL

PROGRESSIVE METAL