Band:	Inner Sanctum
Album:	Provenance
Style:	Death metal, Thrash metal
Release date:	September 20, 2009
A review by:	Thryce

01. Agent Of Chaos
02. Quarantine
03. Human Disregard
04. Eye Of False

Death/Thrash metal
Recorded: Resonance Studios, India 2009
Unsigned/Self-released
Total Running Time: 13:34


Important to put things into perspective

On first sight Inner Sanctum would look like just another death/thrash metal band, offering nothing new to the scene. But that's not true. Or at least not entirely. Inner Sanctum is an extreme metal outfit emerging from the Indian metal scene. A scene where especially that extreme part is still pretty insignificant for the big audience (I'll bet you anything you can't come up with another Indian death/thrash metal band without consulting Metal Archives. Even watching Global Metal again won't really help you out this time). These guys are pretty much the next big thing in India, already enjoying the fame of a solid live reputation. So maybe from a worldwide, international viewpoint these kind of bands come two a penny... but maybe we need to count Indian rupees now. So from the point of view of the Indian metal scene, Inner Sanctum do have something innovating to put on the market, and apparently they do deliver. What I'm trying to say is, the guys from Inner Sanctum aren't necessarily reinventing the wheel here, though their bold approach to thrash and death metal will certainly change your mind about the Indian metal scene forever.


Important to do the right things, or doing the things right?

The Provenance EP can be described best as a mash-up of death and thrash metal; fairly melodic with pretty tight and mid-tempo rhythms, an approvable level of intensity and a quality production. Though Provenance is also the kind of innocent release that sounds pretty basic; the kind of release that will strike you as easily digestible; not the kind of release that will entirely convince the veteran fans of the genre.

In the previous section, we already explored the extent to which Inner Sanctum may cause enthusiasm or not. This nuance is relevant (as I'm afraid it's also the core subject of this review) as it throws a different light on how to approach this band. I mean, I would also be totally excited, stoked and pumped for this type of thing the very first time I would hear it.


Important things to remember

Provenance may be presented as a trip discovering a new horizon, while it is in fact another trip around the block. In other words, this is not a terribly original affair - certainly when you didn't hold high hopes for something extraordinary or mind blowing in the first place - yet the band deserves some credit. No matter what, this is an entertaining release whatsoever... short-lived or not.

With this said, the following idea occurs to me. What if an international breakthrough is seemingly not what bands like Inner Sanctum need? Right experience, wrong population. The more a genre improves, the higher demands and expectations are likely to be. If you look in the right places, quality bands are everywhere these days and the average metalhead is becoming a spoiled brat it seems. But who is the real victim of this "spoiled little bitch" syndrome?