Atanaria
Veterans of the French industrial metal scene, Treponem Pal return with a punchy, no-frills EP titled Life Inside—a gritty appetizer ahead of their much-anticipated upcoming album. After nearly 40 years in the game, the band shows no signs of slowing down. Instead, they dive back into the fray with renewed energy, clever choices, and a healthy dose of their signature groove-infused aggression.
Life Inside may be a short 15-minute ride, but it packs enough personality to stick with you. It follows a similar formula to their previous release Rocker’s Vibes, blending bold cover songs with one original track. While Rocker’s Vibes surprised fans with offbeat selections like Tom Waits, this time around the choices are more grounded but no less inspired. The band covers Suicide’s “Ghost Rider” and Bauhaus’s “Double Dare”—both opening tracks from the debut albums of their respective bands—while also daringly reinterpreting Taxi Girl’s French synth-pop classic “Cherchez le Garçon.”
What makes this EP shine is how Treponem Pal reworks these tracks with their own heavy-handed industrial treatment without losing the core identity of the originals. The covers are recognizable but reshaped—thickened with distorted guitars, pounding rhythms, and atmospheric loops. “Cherchez le Garçon” especially stands out thanks to a hypnotic vocal duet between Marco Neves and Béatrice Demi Mondaine, preserving the iconic keyboard line while warping everything else into a fierce industrial anthem.
“Double Dare” is turned into a dense, muscular wall of sound, while “Ghost Rider” remains a bit closer to its roots, serving as an ideal opener and tone-setter. Neves’s vocal performance remains as powerful and unrelenting as ever, echoing the passion and grit that fueled the band’s strong comeback album Screamers.
The title track, “Life Inside,” is the only original composition on the EP—and it blends seamlessly with the covers. Featuring former Vulcain drummer Marc Varez, who recently joined the band, the song brims with heavy riffs, relentless energy, and that unmistakable Treponem Pal groove. If this track is any indication, the upcoming full-length album is going to be something to look out for.
If there’s one complaint, it’s the brevity. Clocking in at just around 15 minutes, the EP feels more like a teaser than a full-fledged release. But what it lacks in length, it makes up for in cohesion and bold artistic choices. Life Inside isn’t just a nostalgic nod or a filler between albums—it’s a tight, high-quality release that showcases a band still brimming with ideas and fire.
Verdict: A short but potent blast of industrial strength—Life Inside is a gritty, groove-laden EP that proves Treponem Pal still has something to say, nearly 40 years in. Play it loud, play it again. The main course is coming soon.
