Interview with doom death metal band from France - INBORN SUFFERING.
Answers by Emmanuel Ribeiro (bass), thank you!
Recenze/review - INBORN SUFFERING - Pale Grey Monochrome (2025):
Ave INBORN SUFFERING! It's been a while since I received your new album "Pale Grey Monochrome" for review. And you immediately made it to the imaginary top of my personal doom death metal chart. The first time I encountered the new release was in the cold weather, when it got very cold. It was very pleasant for me to just listen, read and let the time pass. How was the album made and how do you think it differs from the previous album "Wordless Hope"?
Hello, thank you for giving us the opportunity to answer these cool questions!
PGM differs from the previous albums due to, at least, three things:
The first one, the album was made as a sort of therapy. It talks a lot about my personal experiences during the past five years. I have written almost all the lyrics and the main theme of the album.
Secondly, Laurent wrote almost all the music for the first time. He had a lot of ideas and wanted to try doing melodic doom death songs. The music and his amazing voice fit perfectly with the lyrics. Stephane was busy with his other band, Fractal Gates, so after finishing his duty with them, he started writing the music and the lyrics of ‘The Oak’, talking about his own experiences and doing a lot of arrangements and all the keyboards on the album.
The last thing was that we have not played together for more than a decade and it was a long distance composition, really different than doing rehearsals and searching for inspiration together.”
Let's go back in history a bit. INBORN SUFFERING was formed in 2020 in Paris. Then (in 2012) you went on hiatus for ten years and came back in 2022. It's not easy to start again nowadays. Or did you not stop your activity? Why haven't you been heard from?
Wow…2002, that was a long, long time ago. It was not easy to restart the music now. After rereleasing the demo we talked about doing a ‘one more thing’ song, because we went on hiatus with a lot of anger and animosity towards each other. All activity with Inborn Suffering was completely stopped in 2012.
The new stuff has exactly the kind of cool, clear sound that I really like. It's signed by the master Olmo Lipani (Déhà). We all know his work. I'd be interested to know how you collaborated, how you got together and why him? With what feelings did you leave the studio?
The recording was actually done by Stephane at home, with the mix and the mastering by Déhá, I wanted Déhá because he has helped me a lot to keep my mind out of the water during the last years. And not only with this music, we talked a lot too.
He is singing too on ‘From Lowering Tides’. Laurent had already worked with him with Mourning Dawn and he does an amazing job.
When I look at the cover, it makes me a bit uncomfortable in a way. I like it, but there's a strange uneasiness to it. Beautiful work. Who's the artist and why did you choose this particular motif? What exactly is it supposed to express and how does it relate to the music?
The artist is Franck Besançon, he specialises in horror art. He’s a good friend of Stephane and he has worked on Silent Hill: Townfall, one of the next games in the Silent Hill franchise.
You can see bodies trying to find light but there is always someone pushing you down into the dark. It’s a great representation of depression, but also of the world nowadays. He has done an amazing job.
The lyrics on your records are about death, sadness, pain. Where do you get inspiration for them? Who is their author? And what are they about on the new album?
I am the author of all the lyrics except ‘The Oak’. All the themes of the album talk about depression and especially about my own experience over the last few years. So inspiration was simple…just picking fragments of my life.
For the new song "The Oak" you have such a melancholic, very captivating and well shot video. Who is its author and how did he manage to combine the images with interesting and for me almost personal lyrics so beautifully?
Stephane did everything for ‚The Oak‘; the song, the lyrics, the clip. It’s all made with free images and it‘s a concept song talking about his own experience. He wanted the listener focus on the music instead of the lyrics - like reading the music and listening to the lyrics. I like to call it an upside down song. Probably the darkest thing we have done. The main singer is Fred from Wordless Hope
Is French nature influencing you in any way? Every time I hear a band from your country, I think that you can put such a special mood, melancholy, light progression into your songs. A lot of times I took the album to the woods in my country, just outside the city, and it felt like I was somewhere in the north.
Not for the lyrics, maybe more the sadness of the city we are living. Laurent lives in the south of France and he travels a lot. I think Nature is more an inspiration for him.
Paris has always been a centre of culture. But what about doom metal? It's not exactly a style that the crowds go to. At least that's the case here in the Czech Republic. Do you play with other doom metal bands or do you play more with bands from other styles? I think doom metal is a discipline that requires a different approach than, say, thrash or death metal. Do you tend to perform only at doom festivals or do you play with "everyone"?
We have a great doom scene here, starting with Hangman’s Chair.
We have played with a lot of bands over the years, especially doom metal bands. We don’t play anymore but we have played with Mar de Grises, Mourning Beloveth, Swallow the Sun, Before the Dawn, Saturnus, Ataraxie, Esoteric and Pantheist to name a few.
How do you perceive your scene in general? Gigs, fans, labels? There are quite a lot of gigs here, but only some of them are solidly attended. Plus, I feel like the younger fans are already listening to something a bit different. Do you also go to concerts as a fan? Do you follow the scene in Paris?
We have a lot of really good black metal bands in France, some doom or death bands and a lot of renowned labels like Les Acteurs de L’ombre, Season of Mist etc…
Younger fans here tend to listen a lot to things like deathcore.
I don’t go to a lot of concerts now, but last month I went to Houle/ Moonreich/ Penitence Onirique. Three great French black metal bands.
Personally, I find "Pale Grey Monochrome" to be such a polished stylistic gem, but it can also appeal to fans outside of doom death metal. The album is raw, but it also has a lot of memorable melodies. Where do you want to take the band? What is your goal? Someone is attracted by big festivals, someone wants a famous label. What are your dreams?
I really don’t know if the band will continue doing things . We were expected to do one song, we have made an album. There are no plans. I think Laurent will keep playing with Mourning Dawn but he doesn’t really have time anymore for Inborn Suffering for the moment. We have no plans with new songs or live events.
How did you get into music in the first place? Who was your role model? First gig? First gig as a musician? How about some wild experiences, readers are always interested in that:)).
I got into music with bands like New Order and A-ha - I’m a huge fan of A-ha!
My first gig as fan was Paradise Lost in 1995 and my first gig as a musician was in 2005 or 2006.
As for a wild experience, there was a gig in Belgium. The organiser told us one hour before we were due to play that he didn’t have the money to pay us. We played anyway because we were there and people were waiting for us. It was a good gig with My Lament.
I'd be interested in your relationship to music. What does it mean to you? Is it a hobby? A lifestyle?
Music is a way of life. I find peace listening to music. I listen to music all the time. There is are so many emotions you can find only in music
What is INBORN SUFFERING planning in the near future?
We have no plans for the moment.
Thank you very much for the interview, I appreciate it. I guess you can guess what I'm going to do. Sure, I'm going to go out into the woods and I'm going to take your new song "Pale Grey Monochrome" with me. It's delicious! I wish it sells well and that you are happy in your personal lives.
Thank you.
Recenze/review - INBORN SUFFERING - Pale Grey Monochrome (2025):
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