The name INFERI comes from a reference to Harry Potter. That is the last calm thing you will read in this review.
The Nashville tech death masters return five years after Vile Genesis with Heaven Wept, released April 10, 2026 via The Artisan Era — the same label founded by guitarist Malcolm Pugh in 2014 and which has become almost synonymous with a certain type of melodic tech death: fast, flashy, technically terrifying but with enough melodies that you don’t get lost. Inferi didn’t just create this sound — they defined it. The question with every new album of theirs isn’t whether it will be good. It’s whether it will have something to say that they haven’t already said.
Heaven Wept does. And it says it in 37 minutes — not a second more.
Stevie Boiser on vocals is one of the reasons this album works so well. Piercing highs, steady mids, deep growls — all three with conviction, without any of them seeming to be his “weak” card. He recalls Trevor Strnad of the Black Dahlia Murder era in the way he guides the tracks — as if he knows exactly where he wants to take you and when to let you fall.
Guitarists Malcolm Pugh and Sanjay Kumar share the solos with a fairness rarely seen in dual-guitar bands. One solo is by one, the next by the other, and when they collaborate the result is what you call “ah, that’s why there are two guitarists”. “Of Rotted Wombs” specifically has a solo by Kumar in the back half that is among the highlights not only of the album but of the year. The track is built with organ, choir and guitars that “weep” — and it does so without becoming grandiose or bloated. It says what it has to say and leaves.
Spencer Moore on drums — who left right after for Archspire, so you’re saying goodbye to him here too — sounds surprisingly natural for a tech death band. He doesn’t sound like a machine, he sounds like a human playing fast. That difference is bigger than it seems. The bass was played by Pugh himself — and if you didn’t know, you wouldn’t be able to tell, which is a compliment in itself.
Now for what’s missing: the low frequencies are almost nonexistent in the mix. The band plays live without a bassist and it shows. It doesn’t ruin the album, but at certain moments you feel that something could be pushing heavier from below. Also, those looking for the orchestral flavor of Revenant (2018) will be disappointed — here the orchestral elements are subtle and functional, not central.
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But these are small complaints for an album that knows what it wants and does it with precision. Eight tracks, under forty minutes, no waste. If you love tech death and haven’t heard Inferi, this is a good place to start. If you already know them, you already know what you’re doing.
Rating: Very good! Released: April 10, 2026 | Label: The Artisan Era For fans of: The Black Dahlia Murder, Archspire, Vale of Pnath, Beyond Creation Websites: Bandcamp
