A very interesting approach from the Finns on
this 3rd release, simply titled, “Hope.” I would imagine there
is some irony in the title being that this is one hell of a dark album!
Then again, there is also another title on the disc called "No Light,
No Hope"... odd. Anyways, it works. Swallow
the Sun’s newest endeavor has led them much deeper within the
doom metal sphere with probably their most challenging work yet. Hope presents
8 new beginnings for the band with nearly an hour of perfectly performed
doom metal. All of the elements heard on their previous two releases are
obvious and you should also expect some more personal lyrics and some very
soft parts throughout. The riffing is, again, captivating. Super melodic
and crushingly heavy guitar riffs accompany a lot of acoustic guitar, keyboard
sampling and atmospheric mastery. Even some clean vocals are in the mix
along with mostly guttural growls. Appearing on the disc also is Katatonia’s
Jonas Renske and Amorphis' new vocalist, Tomi Joutsen! This band is certainly
becoming an elite in the doom metal scene and surely starting to reach out
beyond a little. Watch these guys closely in the coming years!!
Rating: 94
Reviewed By: Thomas Mitchell |
