Swallow the Sun The Morning Never Came
Olympic Recordings OLY 0243-2 February 22nd, 2005
By Jason Jordan
Swallow the Suns The Morning Never Came has all the markings of a fantastic doom release: it makes me want to kill myself within the first few seconds. What Olympic Recordings has, essentially, is dare I say the saviors of doom metal within their folds. This album tackles some immense undertakings, and ultimately rises to task on multiple levels.
The song I referred to in the first line of the opening paragraph is known as Through Her Silvery Body, and its a slow-paced downer with plenty of symphonic elements placed throughout. Kotamakis vocals sound slightly similar to Carmelo Orlandos (Novembre), but the vox of the former are more guttural and less drawn-out than the the vox of the latter. Ive always enjoyed wraith-like vocalizations; hatred, pain, and aggression emanate from that type of delivery with little difficulty. Deadly Nightshade, the second offering, utilizes an inspirational main riff while the keyboards perfectly encapsulate a gloomy atmosphere. Out of This Gloomy Light, aside from the apparent juxtaposition in the song title, commences solemnly. To move on, Swallow (Pt. 1) and Silence of the Womb are comprised of the same ingredients as the other tracks, though clean vocals do enter the latter. The differentiation although backed by shrills is definitely welcome, and serves as an immediate attention-getter. Hold This Woe is really cool as its time for the intricate drumming of Pasanen to shine. For those of us (un)fortunate enough to live within the United States, were treated to a bonus cover of Candlemasss Solitude, which is quite well done if I do say so.
Even though Swallow the Sun wont win any awards for remarkable innovation, The Morning Never Came doesnt really need to be original in order to be appreciated. The aforementioned stands alone on a genre field that is close to desolate, and for that I am thankful. Let us pray.
8.5/10
Official Swallow the Sun Website
Official Olympic Recordings Website
Olympic Recordings OLY 0243-2 February 22nd, 2005
By Jason Jordan
Swallow the Suns The Morning Never Came has all the markings of a fantastic doom release: it makes me want to kill myself within the first few seconds. What Olympic Recordings has, essentially, is dare I say the saviors of doom metal within their folds. This album tackles some immense undertakings, and ultimately rises to task on multiple levels.
The song I referred to in the first line of the opening paragraph is known as Through Her Silvery Body, and its a slow-paced downer with plenty of symphonic elements placed throughout. Kotamakis vocals sound slightly similar to Carmelo Orlandos (Novembre), but the vox of the former are more guttural and less drawn-out than the the vox of the latter. Ive always enjoyed wraith-like vocalizations; hatred, pain, and aggression emanate from that type of delivery with little difficulty. Deadly Nightshade, the second offering, utilizes an inspirational main riff while the keyboards perfectly encapsulate a gloomy atmosphere. Out of This Gloomy Light, aside from the apparent juxtaposition in the song title, commences solemnly. To move on, Swallow (Pt. 1) and Silence of the Womb are comprised of the same ingredients as the other tracks, though clean vocals do enter the latter. The differentiation although backed by shrills is definitely welcome, and serves as an immediate attention-getter. Hold This Woe is really cool as its time for the intricate drumming of Pasanen to shine. For those of us (un)fortunate enough to live within the United States, were treated to a bonus cover of Candlemasss Solitude, which is quite well done if I do say so.
Even though Swallow the Sun wont win any awards for remarkable innovation, The Morning Never Came doesnt really need to be original in order to be appreciated. The aforementioned stands alone on a genre field that is close to desolate, and for that I am thankful. Let us pray.
8.5/10
Official Swallow the Sun Website
Official Olympic Recordings Website
