10 YEARS – INNER DARKNESS – E.P. REVIEW

19th December 2024 0 By Laura Jane

10 Years‘ latest digital only EP, Inner Darkness was released on October 11, 2024, under Mascot Label Group / Mascot records and has been praised by fans and critics alike since its release. I’ve finally got around to adding this to my “get this done” list and here we go – we’re finally here (Sorry it’s taken that long). 10 Years are an American alternative metal group formed in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee. The current member lineup for 10 Years consists of Jesse Hasek (vocalist), Matt Wantland (guitarist), Brian Vodinh (guitarist), Chad Grennor (Bass) and Luke Narey (drums).

The EP kicks off with a solid opening track featuring Kia Taylor from Conquer Divide. I’ll be honest this song is actually ALREADY on my playlist but it had never clocked to me that it was 10 Years. It’s an absolutely amazing track with depth and a contrasting dynamic to the rest of the EP which makes it a perfect opening track for this EP. Noted from Mascot Records:

Producer Brian Vodinh recalls, “We talked about touring and recording and basically nerded out and hit it off really well. Then, we mentioned the idea of a collaboration, which is where everything started.” Hasek adds, “We thought it would be fun to give it a new twist since it has been out there for a while. Kia’s name came up and I’ve always enjoyed female vocalists and I thought it would be especially cool to inject her voice into our style of music. She had the right vibe and a great attitude and she really went for it. It was a fun, painless process and it came out even better than I expected it to.”

Mascot Label Group EP Announcement

The EP is chock full of heavy riffs and melodic hooks that keep listeners engaged on an audible roller coaster and shows an impressive vocal range and talent from Jesse Hasek throughout the EP. Other notable tracks on the EP for me were “Rise”, “Speechless” and “The Trench”. All of these tracks on this album showcase various skill sets that each of the members bring to this bands sound.

Overall, I’d give this EP an 8/10 out of 10. I feel there could be a bit more to the EP however it is a solid EP with so much potential and a definite good lead-up to their next album release. I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in finding a new band they enjoy or simply if you are already a fan that might have overlooked this – make some time to check it out. The band is set to continue to tour throughout 2025 in America with no official UK dates confirmed as of yet, if you would like to check out their tour dates and purchase tickets, please click >> HERE <<