Dawn of Solace : "Affliction Vortex"

Finland is the country for dramatically melancholic music. It has quite a history with it as bands like HIM, The 69 Eyes, Nightwish Wish and The Man-Eating Tree all come to mind. Though those bands all have a different take on it. The same can be said for this band, which is more on the doom side of the tracks, but coming from a more Peacville place with the mournful vocals that make me think of Katatonia and My Dying Bride. The pace picks up a little for the second song, but the vocals are rightly even the center stage of this mix, as it keeps the tension underlying musically. Growled vocals, which I was not expecting, come in, which I was not expecting, though I should have been since they are now a staple of metal. 

Then on "Into the Light" things begin to take a turn away from doom into a more Opeth-inspired melodic progressive death metal direction, though the sung vocals are the dominant force in "Rival", finding the band going in a more accessible direction. Things climax with some impressive guitar prowess, as it continues to go further in a melodic death metal direction, as the growled vocals become the primary voice when the song really begins to build. Most of this begins to lies in the hands of the drummer, who allows moods to be established and never rushes things, but is also not about doing a bleak doom march either. 

"Dream" might be the album's best song as it just flows so well. Things are getting gloomier for "Pereniel," which finds the vocals shifting into the snarl for a more explosive chorus. This is the most effective use of this dynamic yet. They end on a doomier note going into the last song. At almost six and a half minutes long, it is the album's longest song, so they get credit as songwriters for not letting things sprawl out. Double bass comes in and things flow in a more uptempo direction, but it feels like it's more of a throb rather than jerking you out of the mood with it. I will give this album a 9, and see how it grows on me, one of the better efforts at pushing this sort of melodic metal from the 90s forward. 

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