SWALLOW THE SUN — Emerald Forest and the Blackbird (review)

SWALLOW THE SUN — Emerald Forest and the Blackbird album cover

Album · 2012 · Doom Metal

4/5 · 2012-07-08
arcane-beautiful

Doom!!!

Yes, doom is a many diverse genre. From rock and roll styles of Candlemass & Cathedral to the doom and gloom of My Dying Bride & Paradise Lost, the genre can have a lot of faces.

Now these guys have been on my radar for a while now, mainly because my brother was a bit of a fan of them. I won’t lie, as much as I like these guys, nothing of theirs has ever really stood out and grabbed my attention. I won’t lie, their sound is amazing, the lead vocalist growls like a demon from hell and overall they sound amazing, but sometimes they can be quite generic and repetitive. This is the album they needed to make.

This album really surprised me. I thought that listening to this would be a chore, but it really was. Ok, at times it was a bit boring and repetitive, but the rest really surprised me. The band really experimented with different styles and tones on this album than previous releases.

The album is definitely a lot more gothic than there previous releases. At times the band reminded me of another doom band Draconian and at times more gothic influences reminded me of HIM and Charon (2 fellow Finn bands). Also, black metal elements, the norm melo death and even some proggy moments.

Musically the band is as good as they always have been. A lot more clean vocals can be heard on this album, giving the album a more melancholic and gothic tone. Lyrically, the bands lyrics are the same as always, and remind me of very beautiful poems, with their type of metal being the perfect soundtrack. And the death growls are as evil as ever.

1. Emerald Forest & The Blackbird – An epic start to the album. With the slow icy narrations and the nice melodic moments, the song then explodes to one dark evil dank song. Amazing start to the album. 9/10

2. This Cut Is The Deepest – An almost ballady sounding song. Some nice melodies and vocals, but pretty standard nonetheless. 7/10 3. Hate, Lead The Way! - Wow, I wasn't expecting this song. With Mikko sounding very much like Alexi from Children Of Bodom, and some pretty cool black metal sounding shrieks, this is definitly one of the better shorter songs on the album. 10/10

4. Cathedral Walls – A nice slow paced ballad, with some good vocals from Anette Olson (from Nightwish). The song then explodes into one dark and dank, and quite evily sounding vocals. 9/10

5. Hearts Wide Shut – Another slow paced song. As usual it is pretty standard. This song does remind me of the gothic metal band Charon though. 8/10

6. Silent Towers – Some nice passed vocals. I love how the song is almost like a poem with musical accompaniment. 8/10

7. Labyrinth Of London – The best song on the album. A very melodic death paced song with some amazing vocals from Miiko. A very diverse song with some really epic and surprising moments. Great haunting chorus too. 10/10

8. Of Death & Corruption – One of the most kick ass songs on the album. Pretty killer riffs and a cool chorus. 8/10

9. April 14th – One of the darkest songs on the album. The into to this song is eerie as hell, and when the song really kicks off, it is one very evil moment. One of the most black metal influenced songs on the album. 10/10

10. Night Will Forgive Us – A great ending to the album. Full of twists and turns and reflective moments. Great way to see the album fade away. 8/10

CONCLUSION: I didn't think I was going to like this, and I was very surprised. This is definitly there most diverse album and I can't wait to see what these guys are gonna do next.

8.1/10