Born from the ashes of CROWN, France’s YOUR INLAND EMPIRE inaugurate a new chapter with their self-titled debut on Season of Mist. The quartet—Stéphane Azam, David Husser, Nicolas Uhlen, and Marc Strebler—weave an arresting synthesis of industrial darkwave and post-metal, where vulnerability and violence converge in a single breath.
The album stands as a portrait of transformation. Written during years of upheaval and illness, Your Inland Empire unfolds as what the band calls “the dark night of the soul”: a passage through personal collapse toward creative rebirth. Each track oscillates between introspection and defiance: There Is No Me and Grinding channel the pulse of dark pop and post-punk, Edge of Perfection lashes with industrial metal fury, while Venom burrows deep into the corrosion of human connection.
Experience Your Inland Empire ahead of its Friday release through an exclusive full-album premiere through New Noise France: https://wp.me/p4xJsl-xpU
Produced and mixed by David Husser at La Grange Studio and mastered by Jaime Gomez Arellano (Paradise Lost, Ghost), the record is both precise and volatile. Husser’s decades-spanning experience—collaborating with Alan Wilder (Depeche Mode) and Peter Gabriel—is mirrored by Azam’s emotive range, from whispers of desolation to guttural release. Their partnership forges a sound equally cinematic and corrosive: melodies carved from distortion, emotion tempered by machinery.
Your Inland Empire is out November 14th via Season of Mist.
Pre-order & pre-save: https://orcd.co/yourinlandempireyie
Tracklist:
1. Scars (3:25)
2. There Is No Me (3:52)
3. Grinding (3:54)
4. Edge of Perfection (5:06)
5. Silver Knife (4:50)
6. Undone (3:43)
7. Venom (4:28)
8. Sulfur (5:22)
9. Chemicals (4:40)
10. Myself Destruct (3:55)
11. I’ll Be Your Night (4:49)
Full runtime: 48:11
Country: France (FR)
Genre: Industrial Darkwave/Post-Metal
FFO: Nine Inch Nails, Godflesh, Depeche Mode, Young Gods
YOUR INLAND EMPIRE are the renegade torchbearers who forged their legacy as Crown. Ready to ink a new chapter under Season of Mist – a voyage from legacy to evolution, an eternal metamorphosis. Baptized in the crucible of raw sound and industrial angst, Your Inland Empire transmutes the heritage into a daring quest beyond sonic realms once deemed unconquerable.
‘The End of All Things’, Crown’s last album under the moniker was an unexpected twist of what the band is capable of. Dark and moody, bleak and sublime, airy and crushing, mesmerizing and engrossing, bold yet unerring, danceable and suffocating – it was all of this at the same time. Fragile hook lines dancing above the bleak abyss they so magnificently assembled.
From the mechanized heart of Crown, Stéphane Azam and David Husser incubated a revolution, their vision crystallizing amidst rippling waves of eight-string guitars and a digital pulse – the lifeblood of their emerging beast. What began as Azam’s vision, a coalition with Zatokrev’s Frederyk Rotter, evolved with Husser’s induction – a synthesis of production prowess and visionary audacity that propelled Crown’s ‘Natron’ into uncharted territories.
Stéphane recounts, the steel in his voice betraying a relentless surge of creativity and rebellion. Crown was but the cocoon, a chrysalis composed of binary beats and distorted riffs from where Your Inland Empire would emerge, unfurling wings inked with passion and driven by the relentless heartbeats of bass drums galvanizing a new dawn.
It is no surprise that David Husser, one half of Your Inland Empire has a vast selection of experience under his belt. Working as a studio engineer, producer and musician across the globe with class acts such as Alan Wilder of Depeche Mode or Genesis’ original lead singer Peter Gabriel – David brought all that experience to meticulously construct a unique sonic palette. With industrial-drone collective Y Front, who in the 90s toured with Rammstein, Husser gathered the live experience needed to hone his craft to absolute perfection.
Paul Kendall (Mute Records, Nine Inch Nails, Nick Cave), an industry-titan who closely worked with David, explained: “a distorting diamond… we have collaborated on several projects, and I have been amazed by his ability to teach an old dog new tricks. He is simply the best recording engineer I have ever met.”
Stéphane Azam, Your Inland Empire’s other half, is its founding father all the way back in its Crown days. Having worked as live sound engineer for French blackgaze pioneers Alcest and the legendary black metal artist Abbath, Azam brings to Your Inland Empire another side of the music spectrum. With a wide ability to deliver both the most soothing vocals and bottomless shrieks, Azam is the perfect complement to Husser’s dark and brooding soundscapes. The two have been working together for years, and their chemistry is palpable on Your Inland Empire’s debut album.
Creatively, Azam composes every step of the way – crafting songs with a meticulous fury. From structure to guitar licks, basslines to vocal passages – Azam has a vision, and Your Inland Empire is his outlet. Being not only the producer & engineer, Husser crafts Azam’s wildest ideas into refined sonic textures. Together, they’ve crafted the perfect recipe of pure auditory experimentation, intricate songwriting, emotive lyricism and astonishing artistry – constantly pushing boundaries in a multitude of musical styles.
With David Husser (Guitars, Programming, Production) in command of the studio’s helm, and Stéphane Azam (Vocals, Guitars, Composition) orchestrating the chaos into harmony, flanked by Nicolas Uhlen’s (Drums) rhythmic prowess and Marc Strebler’s (Bass) stringed sorcery, the empire is poised for its coronation.
The alchemy of Your Inland Empire is not unlike the world’s relentless cycle – at once introspective yet ever looking outward, “It might be a bit more introspective and then it’s more about internal conflicts…”. This duality breathes life into their music, “The tracks are quite bright, nonetheless, even though the lyrics are really very dark.” It’s introspective – the shadow of our human instincts, our constant inner struggles. An album that is equally as personal for Azam as it is relatable.
A forecast for their impending album resonates with the echoes of an empire’s intimate fears and tenebrous hopes. The intricate fabric of Your Inland Empire waivers, promising a symphony drenched in the sweat of toil and the tears of artistic triumph. The orchestra of creation bellows, addressing the collective’s core, intricately showcasing their unique craftsmanship and unyielding drive.
Line-up:
David Husser — Guitars, Programming, Production, Experimentation
Stephane Azam — Vocals, Guitars, Songwriting, Experimentation
Nicolas Uhlen — Drums
Marc Strebler — Bass Guitar
Production Credits:
Recorded & mixed by David Husser at La Grange Studio, France.
Mastered by Jaime Gomez Arellano at Orgone Studio, Porto, Portugal.
Cover Art:
Design & layout by Jeffrey V. Daniels.
Photography:
Band photos taken by Jennifer Brachet.
Pre-save & Pre-order: https://orcd.co/yourinlandempireyie
Available Formats:
Digital Download
CD Digipak
12” Vinyl Gatefold – Black
12” Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – Turquoise w/ Black Splatters
