GODSEND — As the Shadows Fall (review)

GODSEND — As the Shadows Fall album cover Album · 1993 · Traditional Doom Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
bonnek
The list of bands fronted by Dan Swanö is endless. There's Edge of Sanity, Pan.Thy.Monium, and Nightingale, but also many other artists where he either featured as a guest, or at the production helm or in a prominent role as drummer or vocalist: Therion, Katatonia, Opeth, and many lesser known gods of Swedish metal. Yes, in the 90's, there was no way avoiding the ever present genius of mr. Swanö.

One of the more obscure bands he worked with was Godsend, for which he did the vocals on two albums. This Godsend project never reached a level of brilliance for me, but in combining melodic doom, goth and progressive elements, the band was quite a unique star in the Swedish sky and their debut album is very strong all the way through. The album is also noteworthy for me as it was the first album where Swanö used his clean vocals all the way through. They are not as confident yet as on the Nightingale debut, he often opts for a very deep bass register that is quite impressive and eerie but that lacks the more natural warmth he later developed. But it suits the music fine.

Depending on the individual track, the album often sounds like Pentagram (Slaydream, With The Wind) or Candlemass (Autumn Leaves). At other times, as on the slow funeral doom trudge of the title track, it's like early Anathema with clean vocals. Then again, a more prog-oriented influence of Solitude Aeturnus shines through and there’s even some prog-folk on Walking The Roads where Swanö's love for Marillion clearly shows, this short tune is almost as charming and cheerful as Childhood's End / White Feather.

You got it, this is a must for fans of the melodic doom of Candlemass, Paradise Lost, Solitude Aeturnus, Pentagram and all the others. It never reaches the top level of those bands but it often comes close. Swanö’s vocals more then make up for its shortcomings.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Epigenetic Neurogenesis Brutal Death Metal
CEPHALOTRIPSY
Buy this album from MMA partners
Nova Atlantis Power Metal
KINGCROWN
Buy this album from MMA partners
Deep Down The Tides Melodic Death Metal
PRECIPITATION
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Years Ahead, The Miles Between Deathcore
CYTOKINE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Deviance Deathcore
ASHES INTO BLOOD
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

BANE - Bringer Of Pandimensional Disorder (Official Video)
BANE
Bosh66· 5 hours ago
BANE - In Darkness And Hatred (Lyric Video)
BANE
Bosh66· 5 hours ago
BANE - In Endless Silence (Official Video)
BANE
Bosh66· 5 hours ago
PRECIPITATION - Cosmic (Official Video)
PRECIPITATION
Bosh66· 1 day ago
PRECIPITATION - Hideout (Official Video)
PRECIPITATION
Bosh66· 1 day ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed