Band Origin: Jyväskylä, Finland
Genre: Death Doom
Label: Spinefarm
Running Time: 67 minutes
Release Date: February 1, 2012
Best Part: The Horror series of tracks which began on The Morning Never Came continues.
Favorite Tracks: Labyrinth of London (Horror pt. IV), Of Death and Corruption, Hate, Lead the Way!, April 14th, Emerald Forest and the Blackbird
Grade: 5.0
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Emerald Forest and the Blackbird in way more than 20 words or less:
Swallow the Sun's fifth full-length record continues a tradition of creating some of the best doom metal you can wrap your head around, and with this iteration cover a great many fields of depth, style and artistry that have it as an early forerunner for record of the year.
Swallow the Sun's fifth full-length record continues a tradition of creating some of the best doom metal you can wrap your head around, and with this iteration cover a great many fields of depth, style and artistry that have it as an early forerunner for record of the year.
The Band:
Swallow the Sun is a six member death doom band from Finland which was founded by guitarist Juha Raivio in 2000. Raivio was soon joined by former bandmate and drummer Pasi Pasanen and began recording early demo work before being joined by vocalist Mikko Kotamäki, guitarist Markus Jämsen, keyboardist Aleksi Munter and bassist Matti Honkonen in 2001. Together the six original members would go on to record four full-length record together between 2003 and and 2009, before Pasanen would leave the group to be replaced by Kai Hahto. Since the release of their 2003 debut, Swallow the Sun has become one of Finland's premier metal acts with their blend of melodic death metal and doom, and have classified themselves as one of the best doom metal acts on the globe, with a catalog of critically acclaimed records.
Swallow the Sun's previous releases include: The Morning Never Came (2003), Ghosts of Loss (2005). Hope (2007), and New Moon (2009)
Jay's Take on Emerald Forest and the Blackbird:
Swallow the Sun have always had a firm grasp on artistry and composition when creating their previous four records, and Emerald Forest and the Blackbird is no different. Each track is carefully laid out from its opening moments to its closing breaths, and the progressions and stylistic shifts are intricate but also slightly unpredictable. Swallow the Sun knows how to keep you on your toes as it lulls you with its slow paced, gloomy, dark atmosphere and throws you for a twist as they throw in a great melodic hook, or all out shift into death metal territory. Kotamäki's ability to move in between soothing, yet dread filled vocals, cryptic monotony and the harsh death growls is always one of the fascinating parts of listening to Swallow the Sun, as he knows how to carry across each in convincing fashion. Emerald Forest and the Blackbird also has moments where the musical shifts go beyond the melodeath but also tread into black metal territory with shrieking vocals and fast distorted guitar work. It's the collection of all the little intricacies that make this record so interesting to listen to as it pulls you through a number of musical styles and instrumental tirades. Emerald Forest and the Blackbird is an album that grows on you even more with each passing spin, and is easily one of the most convincing arrangements with the ability to create a rich amount of atmosphere and to still make doom metal seem 'energized'. It already occupies many top spots on metal ranking websites and user polls, with scores on some sites even having it paced .5 to 1 point ahead of its nearest competitor. The year is obviously still young, and there is a slew of great work yet to come, but Emerald Forest and the Blackbird is sure to find its way on a number of top album lists in 2012 and is easily their best release since their ridiculously good debut The Morning Never Came.
Sample of the Day:
- J
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