Long do those throughout the underground search for bands that can really astound and impress at every given turn with incredibly few able to deliver on such a promise given the high standards that come with it. Even when such names are found, most tend to find themselves well within conventional reaches that many of us are more than familiar with. Yet, there are those that seek something different. To challenge themselves and their listeners with what’s still possible in the world of metal for one reason or another, such names are few and far between. We could sit here for some time and discuss some of the names that qualify, but Inter Arma is one that definitely deserves a mention if not an outright essay for all that it dares.

Having made their humble beginnings since their debut album fourteen years ago, Inter Arma has gone to hell and back several times over during their career. Every instance of new material has been quite a head-turner since the fateful release of “Sundown” to the Americana-laced “Sky Burial” to the utter masterpiece that was “The Cavern” to the insanely colorful “Paradise Gallows” to the heralding of the very apocalypse that was “Sulphur English”. Each of those pieces where and still are extremely unique in their own rights. There are consistent threads throughout Inter Arma’s ever-shifting sound, sure, but it would be an outright falsehood to claim that Inter Arma retreads the same territory as they drift from one album to the next. Having scrapped the original plans for their fifth full-length album halfway through, one can only fathom how the five-year journey for this work was since the release of 2019’s “Sulphur English”. In classic Inter Arma fashion, though, it is with “New Heaven” that we see the act take another viciously sharp, unexpected sonic turn to craft an experience that’s harrowing, destructive, and mournful yet nonetheless awe-inspiring.

There has yet to be an Inter Arma record that does not require multiple listens in order to properly discover. “New Heaven” is far from different. A truly jarring listen that can absolutely be seen as a record that has something for everybody be they Inter Arma fans or not, there is primal hostility in this record. Born out of deep strife (which is putting it mildly), this is not a record that’s meant for solace, reprieve, catharsis, or release in any form. This is realistic brutalism of a brand that only a band like Inter Arma could hope to bring forth. It’s from the very onset of “New Heaven” that the immensely phrenetic songwriting of Inter Arma’s new dark shine is on full display that persists for the very whole of the record even if it mutates its visage from one song to the next.

Immeasurably dense and hypnotic once you find the truths in the frustrations between the notes, “New Heaven” offers no less than the singular vision of overcoming the slog of life itself. A true deluge of intensity that never relents even as you pick yourself up between addictions, war, death, and submission to the sheer overwhelming madness of it all, the struggle of getting through life remains a constant pillar throughout “New Heaven” with all of the out-of-the-box nuance that Inter Arma has become known for. Whether you find yourself drawn to the pummeling drums that are a constant schizophrenic source of unyielding mastery, the raw destruction brought forth by all the strings whose domination knows no bounds, or the many voices that lead Inter Arma down winding roads that are as haunting as they are gorgeous, “New Heaven” is a wild ride through the human condition that doesn’t dare hold anything back. All of that is not even taking in consideration the guest musicians who all came forth to add naught but brilliance to an already outstanding concoction. Where many aren’t wont to tread, Inter Arma flourishes.

A record that does not seek to be an escape for the listener nor does it offer any semblance of hope, Inter Arma stands tall with a triumphant album that fully embraces the endless blanket of night. No solace is to be found. No discernable joy. Yet, perseverance. The sheer will to move forward. Standing on your own two feet once again even knowing damn well you’re going to be knocked back down sooner or later. Not hopeful or inspiring, but truthful and blunt. For all its intricacies, “New Heaven” is a place where one can stand and simply move forward even if it’s from one inferno to the next. The night presses on, and Inter Arma is standing taller than ever, far beyond the edge of the horizon where few can ever dare to come close to touching them.

“The sun don’t shine like it used to, but it always comes down”.

LISTEN to “New Heaven” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Inter Arma on Facebook here.