The Swedish doom band who is no stranger to this blog is back. The lines between death metal and doom are much clearer on this album. In fact this would border that where doom and sludge meet more than death metal .The vocals are low and gruff , but not totally growled going into the ten minute opening. It does build into more of a moving rumble, but stays pretty satisfied in its own shadows. "Hunter" has more movement and gets closer in it's throb to sludge. Though there is a very depressing energy to it's melody. The vocals are more of a growl here, though this song is more melodic than the first.
The heaviest most death tinged moment comes midway into "Path to the Altitude". This album is very spacious. In a bleak atmospheric manner. It doesn't press down on you with the weight some doom bands might. There are some dissonant black metal like chords in places that provide a nice dynamic touch and give the album varied shades of down trodden gray to chose from. The title track is pretty dark once they get into the meat of the matter. It's the kind of darkness I always speak the virtues of . The kind that proves being dark is just as effect manner of being heavy as the more blunt force methods used by death metal bands. The vocals are lower and do have more menace to their growl on this one. Sung vocals also come in. They are low and kinda gothy.
The flange laden guitar tone opens "Autumn of Life" . The vocals have more of a Neurosis like gruffness to them. They churn into a more solid pound of simmering sludge. Not as melancholy or dark as the preceding song. The close the album with "Dawn Without Sun". It has more of a doom like lethargy about it. I'll round this album up to a 9, it doesn't end with what I consider the strongest song , but hits some really awesome moments up until that point, thus the 9, not perfect before moments are stunning.
There is a raw Celtic Frost like vibe to the brand of deathly doom this Swedish band has returned to grind out. Very rough around the edges, there is still a well balanced sense of atmosphere even when they chug into the more sludge like "Slumbering Monolith" though I prefer what they were doing on the albums opener. The growls are low and gurgling though still deliver the lyrics in a way that can be understood in one listen. Their drummer also now sits behind the kit for Katatonia, and while he gets the job done here, I think his skills are conveyed better on the new Katatonia album. These guys are of course way heavier than Katatonia, though the guitars are not devoid of melody and care about the songs rather than just crushing you.
"Bleak Future" is more straight forward than the first two song and rides a murky line between being doom and death metal.
There is almost more of a black metal drone to the title track.It's not until the vocals going into an almost death rock like singing voice that there is a shift in the song's dynamics.The sung vocal are once again delivered in that manner during "The Few Remains". "Rope of Emptiness" starts off having more of a true doom feel and accelerates into death metal.There is a darker tension to the riff that keeps "Into Death's Black Void" creepy. Once again it finds the bands blurring the boundaries, it's has a dark throb like doom, but a sludgey black metal thing going on depending on where you are at in the song. Not that they every kick into blast beats, but the vocals have an evil scowl to them. There is a slower and more melodic pulse of the doomier closer "the Fallen One".
Overall the production on this album is a notch above their previous full length. They incorporate a wide range of guitar tones and atmospheric sounds making for a more well rounded experience . I'll round this one up to a 9, though the jury is still split as to if I need this in rotation on a daily basis. The songs are not too sprawling with the "the Fallen One" running just over eleven minutes. But the generally keep it reined in around the eight minute mark. This is being released on November 25th by Iron Bonehead.
The gloomy Swedes have pretty much become a prog band at this point. The Opeth like cadence that builds the opener when the distortion is stomped on makes sense considering the acrobatics the guitars have already engaged in leading up to that point. "In Absentina" ear Porcupine Tree might also come to mind. This is not to say there is not plenty of the band's own DNA all over this song. Jonas' vocals are unmistakable.The album is very crisp from a production stand point, which lightens the shade of gray cast over these songs. Jonas doesn't have the same melancholic desperation fueling his vocals, yet he doesn't stray from his style. He sounds more hopeful, though lyrically the same themes seem to be present. The guitar work on this album is stunning. I am not sure how much of that owes thanks to Roger Ojersson from Tiamat who is another new addition to the band. If you are going to do prog-rock, this is the way to go as songwriting and melody have more value than showcasing chops or trying to create some kind of obtuse sonic puzzle. Their new drummer Daniel Moilanen, does't make me go "Damn, Daniel", but he does play very tastefully around the more progressive part to create more jazz influenced passages. This is a surprise knowing he comes from Heavydeath and other more extreme Swedish acts.
The first song that has a Tiamat like sound is "Decima". It has that acoustic 'Wildhoney" tone. The guitar at this point is stealing the show in such a way that it feels like Jonas is just the window dressing rather than focal point. Lyrically there is more in common with "Wish" era Cure than some of the emotional tight spots the lyrics on previous albums seemed to have been squeezed through.
Thankfully things do get darker and more morose for "Sanction". They also get heavier in a way that is more Katatonia. On your tenth album, there is the tug of war between not wanting to dial it in and replicate what you have already done, while still meeting the expectations of long time fans. The perfect balance is struck on "Sanction" which might be their best song since "Night is the New Day". Jonas seems to project his voice more on certain vocal runs like when he sings the word tomorrow. That song sets the bar a little high for "Residual".As a result I am a little underwhelmed by that one. It has more of a "No Quarter" thing going on. Once again the guitar is so tasty you could lick it off your fingers. Four and a half minutes in the pull back in with a pretty good groove. By "Serac" we are starting to get rocked out in a more conventional sense as they get more upbeat. The vocals ride a triumphant wave of hard rock, the actual metal moments on this album are just other dynamic colors being used to paint this picture rather than their mission statement. They ebb and flow into moodier breakdowns. Similar in tone but not as dynamic "the Last Song Before the Fade" doesn't benefit from the dynamic range of "Serac" with only the guitar solo and the bride after it offering a darker diversion.
"Shifts" floats past you on a delicate groove. The vocals on this song are especially well produced as Jonas steps into the spot light. "The Night Subscriber" starts off going through the motions until they stomp into the heavy two minutes in.The chorus is not their most compelling, but the punches they do hit work well and the song gets better as it goes."Pale Flag" is a ballad that doesn't really hold my attention. They take you out on a more rocking note with "Passer". The song opens with a guitar solo, so it rocks in the more traditional sense. Jonas sings a little lower, this makes his voice more resonate and I would like to hear more of this from him.I'll go ahead an round this up to an 9.5 as it feels better than "Dead End Kings" to me. I'll see how it grows on me. It's weird as it's not as dark as previous releases, but packs more of a punch.
Sure they are crushing and droning and the vocals are mean as fuck, but how are their songs? Well I can keep going back to this album for repeat listens so that is a good sign. This Swedish band employs chanted vocals that are often layered into the dry leather lunged rasped growls are effective in building upon the band's hypnotic leaning. It seems chanted vocals are becoming more of a thing these days, I wonder what is up with that ? T he opening hymn "Ascending" is a rumbling doom paced affair. The second songs just rolls out of the opener, the vocals a low baritone chant coming close to being actually sung as the band develops more groove as the pace picks up. Though most bands these days are beginning to adopt black metal elements, these guys are content to trudge somewhere between doom and sludge.
Their drummer is currently handling drum duties for Katatonia. This is much less melodic and more pounding than Katatonia, he has also played for Project Hate so he is all over the place. He is sticking to one slow and deliberate style of playing , by the time I am at "Bow Down" I was unaware that I was already at the third song.They touch on more run of the mill doom, though it is a tad burlier and launches into bursts of sludge on 'Eat the Sun" . The vocals grow more melodic and the harsher growls are not the only method of vocalization these guys rely upon. The title track sounds like a variation of the previous song, though a heavier harsher and slower take ."Heavy Death" the song, kinda of drones on and it ends up taking us into the closing song before you realize this isn't the same song which is one of the albums pit falls.
I like the sounds they capture, the album sounds great it's dense and organic , though I
am split on how some of the songs run together as it means they slowly begin to sound the same- I'll give it an 8 and hold my breath as to how it grows on me. This comes out March 6th on Svart Records.
