Releasing Hide Inside on August 1, 2025, Vlad In Tears has built a new sound that inches closer and closer to a Death Metal abyss. Their eleventh album, Hide Inside, is a drum-heavy escapade of Gothic Metal that gives equal parts energy and ambience.
The sound feels like a progression towards Speed Metal from the group’s 2024 release, Relapse. Where Relapse was methodical and foreboding with its sound, Hide Inside is authoritative and explicit instead. The new album demands to be heard with its gritty guitar and strifeful adlibs.
Vlad in Tears continues to release music under German record label Metalville Records, which boasts an extensive catalogue of artists ranging from the depths of hell to the edges of the Psychedelic Metal Universe. A mixed bag of artists full of creative possibilities and a good home for this band, which has blossomed into a new sound over their three releases under this production label.
This new sound being spoken of is not something entirely strange. As mentioned earlier, the themes and mood of this album are consistent with those of the rest of their discography. What has changed most audibly is the drums. They have a striking power to them, taking charge of almost every song and forcing the beat into submission. Drummer Francesco Coma, who joined the band after Relapse in 2024, has given an energetic boost to the Gothic group. Propelling them towards producing sound that lurches forward rather than staying in its place. This is the band’s second drummer after Alex Vlad, who was an original member and has since left. The other three members of the band are siblings: Vocalist/Pianist Kris, Bassist Dario, and Guitarist Lex Vlad.
Of the three, a shining star sticker should be awarded to Dario alongside Francesco Coma. They perform together to create a powerful and respectable backing track for the guitar and vocals to enter over. These two instrumentalists appear to have been entirely in sync during the recording of this album. When they take the spotlight, the album truly shines—projecting its emotions and rollicking depression through the waves of sound that fill the atmosphere between guitar and vocals.
The sound is overall quite cohesive, but the message does not wow the audience. Instead, Vlad in Tears continues to scream about topics that have been the subject of many of their other releases, such as feelings of inadequacy in revolt against the fatalistic possibilities of true love. An emotional approach to music, and one that feeds into the sound well, but at this point, it is contrived and expected. For evidence of this, go straight to “Let Me Love You,” a firm cover of the song made famous by Justin Bieber. This song has great backtracking and captures an emotion that is not present in the original, yet still feels authentic. An overall great track, but given the context of the rest of the release, a little upsetting.
In comparison to the other songs, the lyrics of the cover feel more approachable and emotional than those of the others. Fans of the band’s sound will be happy to continue listening to Vlad in Tears, but it will leave others wanting more, hoping with each subsequent track that the lyrics will catch up in caliber to the infernal drums that etch their rhythms into each song. The song also features Dog Eat Dog, who appear on another track in the album, “Your Trace.” Both songs featuring Dog Eat Dog are strong in their own right and deserve a spot in any Metal fan’s playlist.
This new release has a much harder spin to it, focusing on the speed and technique of the drums to put everything together. The result is a Hard Rock Death Metal sound that is proud of itself while still reaching for more. This release is proof that Vlad in Tears is moving in the right direction and has the musicians to accomplish their goal.
The next step for Vlad in Tears is to determine what their aesthetic future will be. The fashion sense of singer Kris definitely should not be changed, it is a large part of the band’s demeanor and presence, but what is certain is that wallowing within the same gutters of doubt and pain that built the last few albums will make it hard to set new releases apart from the band’s origin even if its sonic landscape is much more vast, polished, and atmospheric. That is why Cryptic Rock gives Hide Inside 4 out of 5 stars.
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