October 2025 Featured Release - The Sphere Edition

So just like that we find that a new month is upon us which of course means that we’ll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we’re asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We’re really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don’t be shy.

This month's feature release for The Sphere, nominated by me (Shadowdoom9 (Andi)), is the 1995 sophomore album by Canadian industrial death metal band Inner Thought, Perspectives. While the idea of industrial death metal with drum programming has been done before to less than desirable results at the time, Inner Thought has done it right in, great for anyone wanting to hear more of that sound reminiscent of early Fear Factory.

https://metal.academy/releases/56188

Here's my review summary:

Formed by guitarist Bobby Sadzak, Inner Thought takes some thrashy death metal from his previous work in Canadian band Slaughter and mixes it together with industrial metal for an interesting combo. The programmed drumming sounds so inhuman and works side-by-side with the electronic keyboards. The end result is what Fear Factory would sound like at that time, if that band didn't drop most of their death metal elements in Demanufacture. All in haunting steel! Some of the best tracks here are the more unpredictable ones, like some serene female singing by Mary Giordano giving the heavy darkness some light. The main vocalist Dennis Balesdent has the ability to switch from deathly growls to blackened shrieks. With that and the melodeath leads, they've gotten a bit of that Gothenburg sound months before At the Gates' Slaughter of the Soul (RIP Tomas Lindberg). But it should be noted that rapping doesn't belong in these extreme albums! Perspectives would've been perfect without that one song with a rap verse by Dennis. Still, Perspectives is a solid example of death metal gone sci-fi, similar to early Fear Factory. I think Inner Thought has really emphasized the fear in that factory. Any metalhead should get a hold of this and explore what this album has to offer.

4/5

Recommended tracks: "Words", "Sanctioned Situations", "Tortured", "Rack of Lethargy"

For fans of: Slaughter, early Fear Factory, Circle of Dust

This one sounds interesting & I'm not across these guys so I might place them into my to-do list.