Swallow the Sun

Trees of Eternity – Hour of the Nightingale Review

By Steel Druhm on November 8, 2016 in 2016, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, International Metal, Reviews, Svart Records, Doom Metal, 30 comments

“Life is fleeting, sometimes cruel and always impossible to predict. Case in point – the circumstances surrounding the Hour of the Nightingale debut by Trees of Eternity – a project formed by Juha Raivio (Swallow the Sun) and his partner Aleah Liane Stanbridge. Prior to Trees, Aleah was best known for her vocal work on Swallow the Sun’s Songs of the North and Amorphis’ Under the Red Cloud. Trees’ and its melodic quasi-doom style was designed to showcase Aleah’s vocal talents and take her career to the next level.” What might have been.

Predatory Light – Predatory Light Review

By Mark Z. on September 27, 2016 in 2016, American Metal, Black Metal, Doom Metal, Invictus Productions, Reviews, Black Metal, Doom Metal, 16 comments

“As much as I hate to admit it, my appreciation for doom has declined over the years. Back when I was first getting into metal, I remember scouring the doom metal Wikipedia page for info on the genre and purchasing all the My Dying Bride, Katatonia, and Swallow the Sun CDs my minimum-wage high school job could afford. But in recent years, I’ve become too impatient to sit and ponder dreary sadboy melodies or chords that reverberate for ten seconds at a time.” What’s the rush?!

Insomnium – Winter’s Gate Review

By Steel Druhm on September 13, 2016 in 2016, Century Media, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Finnish Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Reviews, Doom Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 90 comments

“Coming from the refreshingly short blasts of concise metal by High Spirits and Sumerlands and having to tackle a 40-minute melo-death song seemed like a particularly arduous shift of gears for yours truly. Winter’s Gate is Insomnium’s seventh release, and apparently they wanted to pay homage to Edge of Sanity’s legendary Crimson opus by crafting a massive composition filled with similarly diverse moods and complexions.” Winter is coming (and staying).

In the Woods… – Pure Review

By Mark Z. on September 8, 2016 in 2016, Black Metal, Debemur Morti, Doom Metal, Norwegian Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Doom Metal, Progressive Metal, 36 comments

“I have a strange relationship with In the Woods…. Back when I was first discovering underground metal and devouring all the obscure releases I could find in the Internet’s further reaches, I remember being taken aback one night by a mysterious 1995 debut called Heart of the Ages. Both the record’s hazy cover art and the esoteric black metal contained within conveyed a haunting, archaic timelessness that, oddly enough, was so powerful it actually discouraged me from returning to the album after my initial awestruck listens. The mystique was furthered by the fact that Woods broke up in 2000 – years before I ever heard of them.” Mystique and aura aren’t just friendly girls at the local gentlemen’s club.

Harakiri For The Sky – III: Trauma Review

By Mark Z. on July 19, 2016 in 2016, Art of Propaganda, Austrian Metal, Black Metal, Post-Rock, Reviews, Black Metal, 44 comments

“As this site’s self-appointed Angry Metal Bottom Feeder, I take it upon myself to devour all the metalcore, post-black metal, and trendy bullshit that I suspect my more evolved brethren often don’t want to touch. I guess part of me still has fond memories of older albums in these genres and continues to hold out hope that new releases will be just as good. While this means filtering through a lot of mediocrity, occasionally I’ll stumble upon a gem that makes it all worth it.” The AMG catfish may have found gold down there in the muck.

Baptism – V: The Devil’s Fire Review

By Grymm on July 19, 2016 in 2016, Black Metal, Finnish Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist, Black Metal, 6 comments

“We, as humans, tend to gravitate towards comfort. More often than not, we settle into a nice daily routine, indulge in the same foods, listen to the same bands over and over again, etc. Sure, we can sometimes venture out of our comfortable norms and find some new, exciting things to fawn over, but we have our own little bubbles and dang-nammit, we ain’t leavin’ them! One of those things that has grown comfortable as of late is the variety (or lack thereof) of black metal as a whole.” Bubbles? Bubbles?? I’m the Prince of fookin’ Darkness!

Vuolla – Blood. Stone. Sun. Down. Review

By Roquentin on June 2, 2016 in 2016, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Finnish Metal, Post-Rock, Reviews, Schwarzdorn Production, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Melodic Metal, 25 comments

“In the case of Finnish five-piece Vuolla, nomen really est omen. Their name, which translates as “carve” or “whittle,” is an apt symbol of the group’s reductive and appropriating approach. As they chisel away at a body of work developed from various genres, from post-rock to death metal, it’s difficult to ignore that the essence of their sound is still based in a rehashed version of melancholic doom metal.” Turn loose the sads.

In Mourning – Afterglow Review

By Madam X on May 23, 2016 in 2016, Agonia Records, Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Progressive Metal, 41 comments

“Coming across In Mourning’s The Weight of Oceans was a great surprise. I knew nothing of the band, but the album art stole my breath away and for that reason alone, no matter what it sounded like, I needed to posses The Weight of Oceans. I grabbed the album and hit play, within seconds captivating waves washed over me, I was sold. Four years on, The Weight of Oceans still ranks as one of my most loved albums. Along comes Afterglow and I’m brimming with hope that it’ll be a solid continuation of its predecessor.” High expectations can be a frigid bitch.

Swallow the Sun to Tackle Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past Over Seven Albums

By Steel Druhm on April 1, 2016 in 2016, Blog Posts, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Finnish Metal, 55 comments

No stranger to lengthy recordings, Finland’s Swallow the Sun announced their next project will be a mammoth multi-album interpretation of French poet Marcel Proust’s magnum opus, Remembrance of Things Past (also known as In Search of Lost Time).

Mourning Beloveth – Rust and Bone Review

By Jean-Luc Ricard on January 16, 2016 in 2016, Doom Metal, Irish Metal, Reviews, Van Records, Doom Metal, 24 comments

“Given the early buzz around the band (maybe I just had clued-in metal buddies) and their obvious talent this seems pretty strange, especially as several of their less consistent peers enjoyed much greater industry support. But while their output has been of high quality, it has also lacked personality: their early records were a little too indebted to My Dying Bride, and it was only on 2005’s A Murderous Circus that they developed their sound into something less derivative by incorporating hints of the driving Celtic metal style pioneered by Primordial. So is 2016 going to be the year that Mourning Beloveth finally live up to their early potential and take their place among doom metal royalty?” Can Jean-Luc Ricard make it so?