Al’s Audio Guide To… #1: InMe!

In a brand new series we’ve got Weaponry frontman Al Bristow to talk about some of the lesser lights of heaven in the Metal scene. You know, the ones who never got the credit they deserved? So his first pick in the seasons draft was InMe…

If you think you know InMe because you listened to their debut album in 2003 and heard the singles “Underdose” and “Firefly” then go and listen to the final song on their album “Herald Moth“, right now. The song is titled “Master Storm” and it starts with some really amazing technical guitar wizardry, it shows the bands incredible song writing skills and it is the furthest you can be from the aforementioned songs. It’s a masterpiece.

Now you’ve had your perception of this amazing, deep and incredibly talented band smashed, let’s get into it. InMe’s debut album “Overgrown Eden” hit number 15 in the official UK charts and had a top 40 hit in “Crushed Like Fruit”. Every release seemed to build momentum around the band. They played huge festivals worldwide (Reading & Leeds, Summer Sonic) and played big sell out shows (The Astoria to name one). Biffy Clyro supported them on a tour. They were of course all over Kerrang! TV, Scuzz and MTV2 and they appeared on the cover of Kerrang twice – Sharon Osbourne was seen reading their first cover on an episode of The Osbourne’s! I once heard 4th single Neptune on The Chris Moyles Show on Radio 1 at about half 5 in the afternoon. Kerrang even had a poll where Firefly was voted the 96th greatest song of all time. For a band who had just released their first album, that’s not a bad return! They seemed to be on a trajectory to be the next big thing.

Alas, their label Music For Nations was bought by BMG and unfortunately they were quickly dropped like almost every other guitar based band. Record labels of the early 2000s had no time for momentum building, you were either a hit or you weren’t. Unperturbed, the band set about writing and recording their second album “White Butterfly” which they released on a subsidiary of Virgin Records, V2. From this they still managed to gain another 3 top 40 hits, including the biggest crowd pleaser and show ender, “Faster The Chase”.

InMe’s style did mature on “White Butterfly” from the early angsty, grungey feel of “Overgrown Eden” but it wasn’t until “Daydream Anonymous” that they would find their style – a much more technical, progressive sound. Whether this came because InMe were free to make whatever music they liked as they took the independent route, leaving V2, remains to be seen. The first 2 albums are full of incredible songs but this is where I believe InMe really turned a corner and became incredible song writers. “In Loving Memory” is a huge track. “Myths & Photographs” and “Cracking The Whip” are always big crowd pleasers at shows.

Then came “Herald Moth” where the band added more electronic elements to their songs and lead singer Dave McPherson, who has always had an impressive voice, blows everything he’s done out of the water. The pre-chorus of “Belief Revival” gave me chills the first time I heard it. InMe also tried something new on this album, taking less of a ‘deep’ route with a couple of songs, and they are both stand outs. “Captain Killjoy” is a fantastically fun song but “Single Of The Weak” deserves to be chanted at every massive crowd gathering in the country, similar to “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes.

“The Pride” was released in 2012 and stepped up the songwriting game again with huge songs “Pantheon” and “Reverie Shores”. Once more, InMe tried something new with the strange adventure that is “Escape To Mysteriopa”. When InMe try things like this, and pull them off, it’s really sad that people think they are “just that band who do Underdose“. I honestly thought InMe had the album to finally, and deservedly, blow up when they released “Trilogy: Dawn“. It is a very special record. When I said “Daydream Anonymous” was when they found their sound, I didn’t mean they released the same album over and over again. They evolved with every single release and they have been going from strength to strength. “Loss: Children Of Exile” is huge, “Creation: Amethyst” is a brilliant way to start the album, and “Amnesty: Bonsai Forest” is another successful attempt at trying something different. The way the album begins and ends in the same way is genius and talking of the end, “Reverie: Aquarium” has one of the biggest choruses you will ever hear. Just go and listen to the whole album. If you like heavy music, metal, punk whatever. You will enjoy this record. And you will be so annoyed you haven’t been listening to it for years.

InMe’s 7th studio album Jumpstart Hope is out 17th January 2020. 3 singles from the album are now available – Jumpstart Hope, The Next Song & Blood Orange Lake. Go and listen to them all.