My Inner Burning - Dead And Gone
My Inner Burning – CD Review
Dead And Gone
CD Info
2013
Self-released
13 Tracks
English Lyrics
The answers: Just as good. Maybe even better, depending on your preference in vocalists.
The questions were what the reshaped, smaller, recently un-signed My Inner Burning would sound like, and how well their new singer, Cecile Beelmann, would do behind the microphone. As the band’s media release for the newest album states, “In each ending there is a new beginning.” Dead And Gone is a very good new beginning indeed.
“Unsigned” bands haven’t had the backing of record companies. “Un-signed” bands, which now include My Inner Burning, have parted company with their labels. That didn’t stop the band pressing ahead with their third album and self-releasing it.
They had signed with SAOL/CMM for their eponymous debut album, My Inner Burning, in 2009. Their 2011 follow-up, Eleven Scars, was recorded under the Steamhammer label. Both albums were excellent Gothic metal. Plans for the third album were starting to come together when the band experienced some major disagreements within their own ranks and with external management. Three of the five members left the band. The remaining two, Torsten “Sauer” Sauerbrey and Jörg Janssen, left Steamhammer, dismissed their management company and set out to find replacements for their line-up.
Erik Klingebiel joined as the drummer. In what I regard as an excellent move, Cecile Beelmann was recruited for vocals. It must have been a little daunting to have to take over from Rebekka Gaber, who was such a strength on the first two albums. On Dead And Gone, Cecile proves completely worthy of her new role.
The remade quartet should be extremely proud of the new album. There is nothing makeshift or haphazard about it. The individual members all deliver top-class performances of fine, varied compositions. The production values are good. And the music – it’s tightly tied together, the selection and sequence of the tracks is clever, and the music is a sheer joy.
In overall feel, Dead And Gone is a little lighter than the previous albums. This is due in part to the absence of dark, growling back-up vocals, and in part to the less dramatic style and timbre of Cecil’s singing. None the less, this is a solid, highly melodic and Gothically ear-pleasing album. The cover of “I Come Undone”, the 1987 hit for Jennifer Rush, demonstrates just how good Cecile is, and also how good a pop song can sound if it’s given an intelligent metal arrangement. Jennifer Rush was one of the more melodramatic vocalists of the 1980s, noted for the depth, power and purity of her voice. “I Come Undone” would be a challenging song for any vocalist. Cecile handles it comfortably and elegantly.
The well-planned sequence of the tracks presents a different tempo, riffs and range of emotional intensity in each song. The artful selection and use of keyboards adds a rich and full layer on top of or behind the guitars. Occasional acoustic interludes add to the appeal of the total package.
A noteworthy feature of this album – of the new line-up, in fact – is the drumming of Erik Klingebiel. I bet he got top marks for grammar and punctuation at school. His percussive punctuation in every song is nothing short of masterful. Take a pat on the back for including him in your quartet, guys.
Score: 8.75 / 10
