siLLy puPPy Kazakhstan may not be on the radar of most metalheads in Western lands but this nation sure has produced a lot of top notch bands from every nook and cranny of this enormous former Soviet Republic. INSIDE THE FLAMES is the one-man project of Alex Chichikailo from the capital city of Nur-Sultan formerly known as Astana. This unsigned act has so far put out three EPs and two albums along with an all instrumental album.

YOUR LIFE WORTH NOTHING is the debut album following a couple earlier EPs. Just when you thought you’ve heard every combination of metal styles there’s always something new. INSIDE THE FLAMES tackles the intense brutality of metalcore and smooths it out with a bit of groove metal which gives this album a somewhat unique perspective however ultimately it comes off as a more melodic sounding Meshuggah with dangerous chunky guitar riffing, that distinct psycho-soloing on guitar that comes right out of the Frederik Thorendendal playbook as well as groovy thrash inspired bass lines and heavy drumming.

Even the vocals on this one sound a lot like Jens Kidman cranking out those madman shouting frenzies. This album’s worth of material has eleven tracks and hits the 41 minute mark. The tracks are consistently brutal and stylistically uniform although rather unmemorable due to the fact that this entire shebang sounds like some lost Meshuggah album that emerged between the debut “Contradictions Collapse” and the more progressive “Destroy Erase Improve.” Basically this is extremely well played and even well recorded groove metal with that extra rampaging heft of tech thrash / metalcore intensity but unfortunately the songwriting is the weakest link and all the tracks come off as sounding very samey.

This pretty much flows on in a uniform tempo with no breaks from a speedfest through chunky riffs turned up to 11 and frenetic bass and drums. Although the drums are programmed they actually sound pretty convincing and the entire album does sound like a band experience despite it being the Chichikailo show. Too good to give a low rating but too uninspired to really recommend. This dude certainly has promise but needs to learn the art of variation. This whole album is just a one trick pony that sounds a little too close to its influence(s). Probably the best thing in Nur-Sultan but if you live anywhere else this might not quite cut the mustard. OK but ultimately a bit meh.