It’s amazing when you hear a band for the first time, then discover that they’ve been around for over 30 years. Granted there was a major hiatus between their second album in 2003 and this one. The three core members have been there since the start and while they have additional members in order to perform live, along with a couple guest artists to complete the recording, Peter Mesnickow (vocals), Morten Kroll Lybecker (guitars, bass, synths) and Lars Riis Korsholm (drums) took care of it all. The Danes play a gentle melodic death metal, with plenty of emphasis on the melodic component.

The album opens with “One Thousand Lights” where Otto Lybecker plays rhythm guitar to accompany Morten’s catchy melody as Pete’s soothing growls add the heaviness required to keep Flemming Kaspersen’s keyboard arrangements from making the song for heart-wrenching than it probably is. Even mellower is “The Secrets Of White”, while the vocals are softly growled over the slow steady pace kept by Lars as the keyboards fill out the sound with a mellow backdrop that the peaceful choral voices accentuate during the choruses.

Slowing things down further, title track “A Certain End Of Everything” is minimalist in the delivery of the guitars as the nearly whispered growls carry more emotion than seem possible while the forlorn melodies brush over you. “The Ghosts Of Another Broken Life” has some extra crunch on the guitars, and while that doesn’t detract from their melodious quality it does allow the vocals to be a bit gruffer at first, but even more harmonious when they are clean towards the end of the song. The most Goth feeling song on the album is “No Bringer Of Light”, as the bassline grabs your attention, but then fades to allow the guitars to steal the focus before taking it back as the vocals and keyboards ooze around it.

You can’t say the album begins winding down with “Your Mountains Will Drown Again”, as it never really got truly raucous, but this song is particularly chilled out and if there were a video I’d imagine it to consist of it following a vehicle around meandering bends up the side of an autumnal mountain with rust hews in abundance. “The Bells” feels rather upbeat, as Morten’s guitars have a light airy melody to them even though Peter’s vocals are filled with mournful anguish as Lars slides effortlessly from a perky tempo to gently strokes on the cymbals before the keyboards fill out the sound allowing the lead guitar to soar and tug and your heartstrings.

While filled with bleakness and despair, the album still manages to resonate hope in abundance.

(8/10 Marco Gaminara)

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https://targetgroup.bandcamp.com/album/a-certain-end-of-everything