I appreciate that there are bands that as soon as you hear them, you know who they are. Taking that a step further, it’s even more rewarding when you can tell a band from their sound, even when they keep adding to their concoction and continue trying to do new things every time they put out a record.

Inter Arma have a pretty unmistakable sound, yet on their new record “New Heaven,” their fifth, they keep expanding beyond their base to show just how dexterous they are as musicians and creators. Over eight tracks and 42 minutes (their shortest full-length to date), the band—Mike Paparo (vocals), Trey Dalton (guitar, synthesizers, mellotron, vocals), Steven Russell (guitars), Joel Moore (bass, synthesizers, tape loops, samples, and noise),  T.J. Childers (drums, percussion, guitars, lap steel, piano, noise)—immerses you in another audio assault that takes some adjustment before it feels like home. Lyrically, we’re visiting the real victims of war, mental illness, addiction, and social issues that gnaw at us all. Inter Arma have a defined sound for sure, but their willingness and enthusiasm for pushing boundaries makes every one of their albums a unique experience.

The title track opens with manic guitars ripping on their own, met by thunderous growls and jerking playing, the melodies dizzying and creating bizarre waves. Howls carve as the colorful sprawl continues, the viciousness ramped up, guitars going off and soaring in different directions as the corrosion sets in, bending and disintegrating. “Violet Seizures” has guitars teasing and Paparo’s howls echoing, feeling psychedelic and trippy. A panicked pace punishes as the growls retch and riffs spindle, the drums crushing everything in their path. Shrieks hammer as the ground rumbles, consumed by digital zaps. “Desolation’s Harp” unloads lurching growls and atmospheric pressure, keys shimmering as the guitars rise. The tempo then digs into your ribs, vibrating and sending chills, the leads spreading in mind-altering fashion, slowly drifting into oblivion and “Endless Grey.” This brief instrumental highlights sun-splashed melodies and twin guitars that make it feel like you’re gazing into a summer sky, baked out of your mind.

“Gardens in the Dark” eases in with Paparo’s deep crooning reaching into guts, dark guitars creating a squall that bleeds into realities. The playing bubbles over as the storming cascades, leads soaring into the sky, then fading out and back in before suddenly fleeing. “The Children the Bombs Overlooked” has drums stalking, more deep singing adding to the hypnosis, and a synth glaze leaving a strange coating over your face. The playing drubs as sounds woosh, the bloody horrors of war playing out before you, the drums kicking as mauling vocals drink deeply from a lake of sludge. Mournful melodies and blistering force rise again, leaving behind bruising and working into “Concrete Cliffs,” a track that shines a light on mental illness and the battles many have with that disease. The playing drips and hulks as growls burst, and then a cleansing wave washes over, heat blazing through the sky. Growls drag as the grime accumulates, everything jettisoned into space. “Forest Service Road Blues” is a rustic closer, a dark tale that feels harrowing from the start, acoustics and pianos constructing the fragile framework. Paparo’s singing chews away at you as he levels, “The sun don’t shine like it used to,” adding more weight to the darkness. Strings ache as the grim reality sets in, Paparo calling, “They say sometimes you got to let a man dig his own grave,” putting a dark cover over the final moments.

Inter Arma’s chameleon-like psychedelic heaviness gets stranger with every record, which we mean in a good way, and “New Heaven” takes that to higher levels. Every track here stands on its own and has its own DNA, which makes this thing exciting and ever-changing over all eight tracks. Inter Arma never shy away from scraping at uncomfortable topics and dressing that in metallic compositions that twist brains, and they’re just as exciting and perplexing as ever, which just adds to their stellar resume.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/INTERARMA

To buy the album, go here: https://www.relapse.com/pages/inter-arma-new-heaven

For more on the label, go here: https://www.relapse.com/