Now on their fifth full-length album, Swallow The Sun have quickly become one of the most respectable names in Finnish doom, not to mention one of the most consistent acts around. In their twelve year career they have managed to develop their own incredibly distinguishable sound without becoming stale, which is an incredibly rare thing. Sometimes bands who come out with a great couple of albums early on and never really evolve quickly start to sound like they have run out of ideas and merely begin regurgitating/watering down what once sounded fresh, while STS seem to become stronger. It’s a little over two years since New Moon came out, which to me seems like a respectable break allowing new ideas to flow instead of rushing out sub-standard material on an annual basis. As I have hinted at already, existing fans of the band will already have an idea what to expect from this album and if you liked previous works then I can’t imagine you will be either surprised or disappointed. I have never found them to create music that is instantly accessible and as with past albums this takes a few listens for its beauty to be fully unveiled.
It has to be said that I love the use of female vocalists on the past couple of albums; Aleah has a stunning voice that is understated and incredibly haunting, very far removed from the clichéd wannabe operatic vocal style that is done to death in the metal genre. On a sidenote, I really have to check out her band Trees Of Eternity. Her vocals are one of the first things we hear as we arrive at ‘Emerald Forest And The Blackbird’ and her ethereal wails swoosh around like a faerie dancing between the trees as things unfurl rather like a fairytale filled with wonder, otherworldly colours and macabre undertones. Compositions flow effortlessly through crushing dirges and more fragile moments of reflection. Moving on, track two ‘This Cut Is The Deepest’ plays out with an air of dejected calm and twinned with the melancholic clean vocals this feels very Katatonia-esque. This one has a beautiful winding melody and ghostly guitars, with a chorus that gets right under my skin.
I don’t know why, but some lyrics on ‘Hate, Lead The Way’ sound really familiar; they are probably just quite common (close your eyes make a wish…) and I’m sure it’s nothing to do with the BoysIIMen song that Google threw at me. This one has a nice steady paced rhythm and raspy vocals; again the chorus is one I find myself unable to get out of my head. ‘Cathedral Walls’ was the first number I heard as it was released as a video in the run up to the album and it’s a really dark and downbeat track with a moody bass line driving it along and drawing me in. This one features the vocals of Annete Olzon and as much as I dislike her band Nightwish here she sounds sweet and sorrowful and has me seeing her in a new more favourable light. This is haunting, wistful and has a delightful Gothic charm about it. While I find tracks 5 and 6 a little forgettable in comparison to others, I would not call them weak and it is only because other tracks are such hard-hitters. ‘SilentTowers’ brings to mind Katatonia again on the chorus while it has a strong Gothic crunch as well.
‘Labyrinth Of London’ is part 4 in the ongoing “Horror” series you fans will be familiar with. Here one is wondrously drawn in to the chorus via a creepy piano which kind of tiptoes around the beautiful gossamer vocals of Aleah who makes a return. With powerful tracks, highly memorable choruses and tons of Gothic atmosphere, this is an incredibly elegant, soulful and poetic offering yet again from a band who have yet to disappoint.
(8/10 Luci Herbert)
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