lukretion Swedish quintet Eastern High were formed in 2016 from the ashes of a melodic death/thrash metal band Wasted Shells, when brothers Ola and Johan Svensson (vocals and guitars, respectively) decided to commence a new musical adventure, incorporating more progressive elements into their sound. The pair self-released their debut album Garden of Heathens in 2017 and spent the following years scaling up the project to a full-blown band, adding bassist Fredrik Rosdahl, guitarist Niklas Cvetkovski and drummer Christian Lindström to the line-up. Their sophomore album Halo was finally released at the end of July this year.

Shrouded in quintessential Nordic melancholy, Halo is an exciting collection of emotional yet extremely powerful tunes that flirt with a multitude of styles and influences without settling into any specific pigeon hole. There’s a touch of prog metal, but also healthy doses of gothic, folk and melodic death metal, and even a couple of excursions into metalcore (“Notorious Enemy”). All these influences are masterfully amalgamated into the 8 songs of the album, giving the music an organic and distinct sound that brings to mind several illustrious bands, without really sounding like any of them. There are echoes of Amorphis in the most folk-inspired episodes of the record (“Journey”, “Halo”), but the powerful yet incredibly melodic guitar riffs and leads also immediately bring to mind the Gothenburg melodeath scene (Dark Tranquillity, In Flames). Meanwhile, Ola Svensson’s crooning vocals steer the music in the direction of Tiamat and the rest of the gothic metal scene. Come to think about it, Halo might just sound like the album that Dark Tranquillity could have made if they had continued the gothic experiments of Projector (1999), bringing in Johan Edlund on vocals. The prog metal influences (Psychotic Waltz, Dead Soul Tribe) further enrichen the record’s sound, adding a strong sense of dynamics and a fearless taste for the eclectic that gives them the balls to pair up, among other things, huge chunks of really heavy rifforama with samples of Greta Thunberg's “how dare you” UN climate speech (“Erosion of Hearts”).

Although in the previous paragraph I mentioned many bands from the late 90s / early 00s, Halo sports an incredibly modern production sound: heavy on bass, packed with beefy rhythm guitars and thundering drums, and with precise guitar leads that cut perfectly through the mix to deliver their melodic lines. This is the sound that many modern progressive metal bands strive to achieve these days: powerful yet multi-layered, detailed and nuanced. The band did a great job in recording the album and sound engineer Erik Wiss in producing and mixing it.

The first half of the record is absolutely splendid. Songs like “Erosion of Hearts”, “Emperor”, “Notorious Enemy”, and “Journey” have it all: monolithic riffs, super catchy melodies and vocal hooks, good dynamics, and a couple of unexpected turns per song that keep things fresh and interesting (the use of vocal samples on “Erosion of Hearts”, the metalcore breakdown on “Notorious Enemy”, the powerful folksy crescendo on “Journey”). Things take a slightly more sedated turn in the second half, where songs like “Morning Star”, “Dystopia” or the title-track feel a tad too repetitive and are somewhat less inspired, especially in the vocal melodies. The gothic piano ballad “Ashes to Ashes” that closes the album is also a bit hit and miss: it’s slightly too bland and corny, but it finds some redemption in the beautiful guitar solo in the coda.

Despite a somewhat weaker second half, Halo remains a thoroughly enjoyable record, packed with moments of melodic brilliance without sacrificing even an ounce of power for it. The combination of powerful metallic riffs and melodic hooks is undoubtedly one of the major strengths of this album. Another strength lies in the mastery with which the band managed to combine an eclectic set of influences into a sound that feels personal and distinctive. If Eastern High will manage to improve the consistency of their songwriting, it is hard to imagine what could stop their ascent to the very upper echelons of the progressive extreme metal scene.

[Originally written for The Metal Observer]

DippoMagoo When thinking of metal bands from Sweden, I generally tend to think of either power metal or melodic death metal, as those two genres seem to be very popular in that country. However, I have heard a few great Swedish progressive metal bands as well, and the latest to attempt to add themselves to that list is Eastern High, a two-man group featuring brothers Ola and Johan Svensson. Both men are veterans of the metal scene, having played together with the melodeath/thrash band Wasted Shells for nine years, before that group disbanded and so the brothers decided to start their own band, called Eastern High in 2016. Earlier this year, they released their debut Garden of Heathens, which is a very promising debut, that should please fans looking for a more modern take on prog.

Before listening to this album for the first time, I had no idea what to expect, having no experience with any previous work from the two members, and knowing very little about the project beforehand, except that it was categorized as prog. Well, as far as the genre goes, Garden of Heathens is a fairly straight-forward album, with no song going past the 6 and a half minute mark, and the arrangements aren’t terribly complex. At the same time, this definitely isn’t the kind of melodic prog bands like Pyramaze are playing either. Instead, this is a very modern sounding kind of prog, with an emphasis on very thick, heavy guitars, atmosphere, and vocal melodies. The tone of the music is very dark and moody throughout, with the guitars often being used for atmosphere, especially during the slower, more vocal driven sections. There’s also occasional speedier sections, as well as parts where the guitars are very heavy and give more of an alternative metal feeling at times, with the vocals only enhancing this feeling. As far as the genre goes, there’s a pretty nice variety of the 8 tracks, with a good balance between more intense tracks, more mid-paced but fairly heavy tracks and a couple of nice ballads.

Perhaps the strongest element of Garden of Heathens is the vocals. Ola Svensson has a very deep voice, which works well when paired with the often dark and atmospheric feel of the guitar work, and he does a great job of alternating between calm and smooth vocals, some very soft vocals on occasion, and getting a bit more intense at times. There’s also a few moments where his vocals take a slightly dark and sinister tone, and every once in a while he throws in some death growls, though those are only used in quick bursts, and aren’t very prominent on the album. They are very effective whenever they appear, though.

The album gets off to a nice start with “Bottled Insanity”, a heavy, mid-paced track which sets the tone nicely and gives listeners a good idea of what to expect from the album. It starts off with some heavy guitar work right away, before slowing down during the verses, and the opening verse does a nice job if introducing the more atmospheric guitar work and darker vocals found throughout the album, while the chorus is nice, if not particularly catchy. There’s a brief section in the middle where the music gets even heavier and some harsh vocals are used, leading into a nice solo. It’s a pretty heavy and moody track overall, with some great guitar work and vocals, and it serves as a strong indicator of what the album, on the whole, is like. Next is “Eyes of Heaven”, which starts off with some heavy riffs before again toning down a bit during the verses, where he got some very deep vocals from Ola. The chorus is the highlight of this track, as the music speeds up and the vocals get a bit more intense, making it one of the more memorable moments of the album. Next is “Evil Inc.”, a speedier track where the duo’s melodeath background comes through, as it’s a very dark yet hard-hitting track which moves at a fast pace, with great riffs, and while the vocals are still mostly clean sung, Ola sings with more intensity than normal throughout, and there are some death growls used in quick bursts. It’s definitely one of the more fun and catchy tracks on the album.

Following perhaps the heaviest song on the album, we get the second softest in “Ghost of the Sea”, which mostly feels like a fairly typical ballad throughout, where the soft guitars are used to set the mood, and add atmosphere to the track, while the vocals are the main focus and are very good as always. It’s a solid song throughout, with a nice chorus and some great vocals, but the highlight is definitely in the second half when the guitars really kick in and the track gets heavier, making for an explosive finish. Next is the title track, which opens with an extended softer section where the moody guitars set the tone for the music get heavier, and this track has a very alternative metal feel to it, with everything from the extra chunky guitars and the vocals. Speaking of which, there are times throughout the album where Ola’s vocals remind me a bit of Corey Taylor and this track is the most obvious example of that, as during the opening verse he sings with a soft but very sinister voice that especially brings to mind the Slipknot track “Vermilion”. It’s a very dark and heavy track throughout, with a nice contrast between heavy verses and a more melodic, subdued chorus. I find the album to be consistently very good, but this track is probably my favorite, due to the different extremes and contrasting tones throughout.

Moving towards the end, we get one of the more progressive tracks in “Clandestine Hunger”. This track has many tempo changes throughout, starting out soft and moody and staying there for a bit, but then later on it starts to get heavier and we get some harsh vocals, and then after that the track speeds up for a while, and the solo section that follows is another one of my favorite moments on the album. After that, the song settles down again until the end. After that is “The Pretender”, another fairly heavy track, which has some great chunky riffs and a nice melodic chorus. It’s another track that has more of alt-metal feel to it and is pretty enjoyable overall. Lastly, we have “Afterglow”, the softest track on the album, and also the longest. It starts off as a mostly acoustic ballad, where the guitars are equal parts relaxing and moody, while Ola’s vocals are deep and smooth as ever. It stays fairly calm throughout, with some epic vocal melodies and nice guitar work, but towards the end, it gets heavier and there’s a really emotional guitar solo right near the end. It’s a great track overall, and a nice way to end the album.

Overall, Garden of Heathens is a very strong debut from Eastern High, which offers some fairly straight-forward and heavy prog, with a focus on chunky riffs, moody tones, and soft, deep vocals. There’s nothing here that blows me away, though the contrasts between soft and heavy passages are nicely done and the occasional sections with death growls are very cool as well. It’s the kind of album that stays consistently engaging throughout, with occasional explosive moments. Recommended for fans of more straight-forward, heavier prog and alternative metal.

originally written for myglobalmind.com: https://myglobalmind.com/2017/10/28/eastern-high-garden-heathens-review/