Review: Royal Sorrow – Innerdeeps

Style: Progressive metal, alternative metal (mixed vocals, mostly clean)
Recommended for fans of: Leprous, TesseracT, VOLA, Voyager, Ihlo
Country: Finland
Release date: 26 September 2025

It’s exceedingly unlikely that a band’s debut could be my most anticipated album of the year. How would that even happen? Each year, one of my established favorites is bound to release a record. Plus, how does a brand new band build the hype, especially in our little, underground world of progressive music? Well, Finland’s Royal Sorrow have done the near impossible: I’ve been looking forward to Innerdeeps more than any other release this year.¹

Beginning almost a year ago, Royal Sorrow have been steadily drip-feeding singles to their fans, and I’ve been hooked like a lab rat gnawing at its pellet dispenser. Further notching up the anticipation, my wife and I had the serendipitous pleasure of seeing the band live in Helsinki at the legendary Tuska Festival.² Though only given a smaller stage inside a building on the festival grounds, they filled the building to capacity and nearly blew the roof off. Playing an energetic, djenty, pop- and electronic-influenced style of modern progressive metal, Royal Sorrow had us all captivated—the outright charisma of guitarist and vocalist Markus Hentunen added to the spellbinding effect. Now, with their long-awaited debut out, I can finally heap some well-deserved praise upon the young Finns.

What makes Innerdeeps so effective is its combination of crisp songwriting, earworm hooks and melodies, and rich textural detail. Each track comes across as relatively simple but extraordinarily catchy, while a deeper listen reveals all sorts of nuance—synth layers and accents, rhythmic change-ups, subtle vocal inflections, and the like. Released as the first single all the way back in 2024, “Metrograve” grabbed me immediately with these qualities. The track’s shifting grooves and absolutely massive chorus give it wings; its perfect transitions, dynamic vocals, and atmospheric touches send it soaring. Similar can be said about “Bloodflower,” perhaps the album’s most versatile song. A ripping first half gives way to a beautiful, subdued bridge carried by soft guitars and poignant crooning—until a triumphant guitar solo bursts through, and a planet-smashing breakdown closes it all out. Each piece of the song is incredibly detailed and flows naturally into the next. And the album’s quality never falters, beginning strong and ending even stronger, with the final minutes of the album-closing title track delivering one of the most epic, compelling finales in recent memory. Royal Sorrow achieve a rare feat on Innerdeeps: the tracks stick firmly in my brain after only a listen or two, yet repeated plays still uncover new layers and deepen my appreciation. In prog, usually only the latter is true. 

Giving the album further brain-sticking power are its tight performances and production. The rhythm section is relentlessly engaging and infectiously groovy, with enough sonic punch to drive Innerdeeps’ heaviest parts—just listen to how Janne Mieskonen’s drums and Eero Maijala’s bass carry “Survival Complex,” the record’s most djent-forward cut. Meanwhile, the guitars provide countless emphatic riffs and memorable moments—the solo in “Samsara” being a standout—while also deftly stepping back to let other elements shine. Still, Hentunen’s vocals are the album’s defining feature: he offers some of the strongest in the genre, marked by a lush, expressive delivery that effortlessly rises in intensity as the music demands. Whether smoothly singing the gentle verse of “Evergreen” or ferociously growling the blistering pre-chorus of “Give In,” and everywhere in between, Hentunen’s performance is simply gripping. 

All my superlatives so far lead to the same overarching thought: for a debut, Innerdeeps is ridiculously mature. This album isn’t just like a baby born with a full head of hair—it’s as if the baby popped out sporting Hentunen’s meticulously sculpted pompadour hairstyle. Royal Sorrow sound fully developed right out of the gate,³ and every aspect of their debut has been polished till it shines. Innerdeeps might not be a genre landmark, and its songs largely follow a similar pattern that’s not completely new, but I can’t imagine wanting much more from this type of accessible approach to contemporary prog. The band’s quality places them alongside modern titans like Leprous, TesseracT, and VOLA, while their style is distinct enough to keep them from blending into the long shadow cast by those groups.

Nearly a full year has passed since lead single “Metrograve” put me on the Royal Sorrow hype train, and now that we’ve reached our debut-album destination, I’m just as excited as when I hopped on. Innerdeeps met my lofty expectations, and it’s a record capable of catapulting the band’s popularity to the upper ranks of modern progressive metal or beyond. In a few days, Royal Sorrow embark on a European tour supporting Leprous, and I can’t wait to watch their fanbase swell along the way—not just so I can pat myself on the back as an early advocate, but because the boys truly deserve it.

Recommended tracks: Metrograve, Bloodflower, Give In, Innerdeeps
You may also like: Ions, Rendezvous Point, Joviac, Maraton
Final verdict: 8.5/10

Related links: Official Website | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Inside Out Music – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website

Royal Sorrow is:
– Markus Hentunen (vocals, guitars)
– Eero Maijala (bass)
– Janne Mieskonen (drums)

1. Apparently, Royal Sorrow were formerly known as Edge of Haze. Once the members signed with Inside Out Music, they not only rebranded, but also viewed Royal Sorrow as “a new band … start[ing] from scratch.” So despite Edge of Haze’s previous releases, I’ll consider Innerdeeps a debut album. Their record label considers it one as well. ↩︎
2. We honeymooned throughout Europe this summer, and Helsinki was our final stop. On the ride into the city, I happened to see an ad for Tuska and noticed that Insomnium, Alcest, The Halo Effect, and Royal Sorrow were all playing on the same day—how could I miss that? My wife agreed to get a day pass, and we both had a fantastic time. Admittedly, this wasn’t the first metal festival of our honeymoon: we also went to a stacked day at Hellfest in Nantes, France. Romantic, right? Thanks, Natalie! ↩︎
3.  Of course, some of this is due to the band’s time as Edge of Haze. ↩︎