{"id":45240,"date":"2025-09-26T19:53:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T19:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/45240\/"},"modified":"2025-09-26T19:53:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T19:53:09","slug":"review-royal-sorrow-innerdeeps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/45240\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Royal Sorrow – Innerdeeps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Published by Cory<\/a> on September 26, 2025September 26, 2025<\/p>\n

\"\"Artwork by: Markus Hentunen<\/p>\n

Style: Progressive metal, alternative metal (mixed vocals, mostly clean)
Recommended for fans of: Leprous, TesseracT, VOLA, Voyager, Ihlo<\/a>
Country: Finland
Release date: 26 September 2025<\/p>\n

It\u2019s exceedingly unlikely that a band\u2019s debut could be my most anticipated album of the year. How would that even happen? Each year, one of my established favorites is bound to release a record. Plus, how does a brand new band build the hype, especially in our little, underground world of progressive music? Well, Finland\u2019s Royal Sorrow have done the near impossible: I\u2019ve been looking forward to Innerdeeps more than any other release this year.1<\/a><\/p>\n

Beginning almost a year ago, Royal Sorrow have been steadily drip-feeding singles to their fans, and I\u2019ve been hooked like a lab rat gnawing at its pellet dispenser. Further notching up the anticipation, my wife and I had the serendipitous pleasure of seeing the band live in Helsinki at the legendary Tuska Festival.2<\/a> Though only given a smaller stage inside a building on the festival grounds, they filled the building to capacity and nearly blew the roof off. Playing an energetic, djenty, pop- and electronic-influenced style of modern progressive metal, Royal Sorrow had us all captivated\u2014the outright charisma of guitarist and vocalist Markus Hentunen added to the spellbinding effect. Now, with their long-awaited debut out, I can finally heap some well-deserved praise upon the young Finns.<\/p>\n

What makes Innerdeeps so effective is its combination of crisp songwriting, earworm hooks and melodies, and rich textural detail. Each track comes across as relatively simple but extraordinarily catchy, while a deeper listen reveals all sorts of nuance\u2014synth layers and accents, rhythmic change-ups, subtle vocal inflections, and the like. Released as the first single all the way back in 2024, \u201cMetrograve\u201d grabbed me immediately with these qualities. The track\u2019s shifting grooves and absolutely massive chorus give it wings; its perfect transitions, dynamic vocals, and atmospheric touches send it soaring. Similar can be said about \u201cBloodflower,\u201d perhaps the album\u2019s most versatile song. A ripping first half gives way to a beautiful, subdued bridge carried by soft guitars and poignant crooning\u2014until a triumphant guitar solo bursts through, and a planet-smashing breakdown closes it all out. Each piece of the song is incredibly detailed and flows naturally into the next. And the album\u2019s quality never falters, beginning strong and ending even stronger, with the final minutes of the album-closing title track delivering one of the most epic, compelling finales in recent memory. Royal Sorrow achieve a rare feat on Innerdeeps: the tracks stick firmly in my brain after only a listen or two, yet repeated plays still uncover new layers and deepen my appreciation. In prog, usually only the latter is true.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Giving the album further brain-sticking power are its tight performances and production. The rhythm section is relentlessly engaging and infectiously groovy, with enough sonic punch to drive Innerdeeps\u2019 heaviest parts\u2014just listen to how Janne Mieskonen\u2019s drums and Eero Maijala\u2019s bass carry \u201cSurvival Complex,\u201d the record\u2019s most djent-forward cut. Meanwhile, the guitars provide countless emphatic riffs and memorable moments\u2014the solo in \u201cSamsara\u201d being a standout\u2014while also deftly stepping back to let other elements shine. Still, Hentunen\u2019s vocals are the album\u2019s defining feature: he offers some of the strongest in the genre, marked by a lush, expressive delivery that effortlessly rises in intensity as the music demands. Whether smoothly singing the gentle verse of \u201cEvergreen\u201d or ferociously growling the blistering pre-chorus of \u201cGive In,\u201d and everywhere in between, Hentunen\u2019s performance is simply gripping.\u00a0<\/p>\n

All my superlatives so far lead to the same overarching thought: for a debut, Innerdeeps is ridiculously mature. This album isn\u2019t just like a baby born with a full head of hair\u2014it\u2019s as if the baby popped out sporting Hentunen\u2019s meticulously sculpted pompadour hairstyle. Royal Sorrow sound fully developed right out of the gate,3<\/a> and every aspect of their debut has been polished till it shines. Innerdeeps might not be a genre landmark, and its songs largely follow a similar pattern that\u2019s not completely new, but I can\u2019t imagine wanting much more from this type of accessible approach to contemporary prog. The band\u2019s quality places them alongside modern titans like Leprous, TesseracT, and VOLA, while their style is distinct enough to keep them from blending into the long shadow cast by those groups.<\/p>\n

Nearly a full year has passed since lead single \u201cMetrograve\u201d put me on the Royal Sorrow hype train, and now that we\u2019ve reached our debut-album destination, I\u2019m just as excited as when I hopped on. Innerdeeps met my lofty expectations, and it\u2019s a record capable of catapulting the band\u2019s popularity to the upper ranks of modern progressive metal or beyond. In a few days, Royal Sorrow embark on a European tour supporting Leprous, and I can\u2019t wait to watch their fanbase swell along the way\u2014not just so I can pat myself on the back as an early advocate, but because the boys truly deserve it.<\/p>\n

Recommended tracks: Metrograve, Bloodflower, Give In, Innerdeeps
You may also like: Ions<\/a>, Rendezvous Point<\/a>, Joviac<\/a>, Maraton
Final verdict: 8.5\/10<\/p>\n

Related links: Official Website<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Instagram<\/a> <\/p>\n

Label: Inside Out Music \u2013 Bandcamp<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Official Website<\/a><\/p>\n

Royal Sorrow is:
\u2013 Markus Hentunen (vocals, guitars)
\u2013 Eero Maijala (bass)
\u2013 Janne Mieskonen (drums)<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n