In Mourning – Afterglow

[schema type=”review” name=”In Mourning – Afterglow” description=”Label: Agonia Records” author=”Basak Günel” pubdate=”20-05-2016″ ]

There is something magical about Swedish doom/death metal scene in general. Think about it; all those legendary Swedish bands – old or young- are definitely unique and they have brought a diversity to the scene, one way or another. The death/doom metal band In Mourning is no exception. Formed in 2000, the band has evolved throughout the years to deliver us an authentic and epic doom/death metal sound. After some line-up changes, they are back with a brand new record called “Afterglow”!

I always loved records with lots of diversity and that’s where “Afterglow” got me! From the first spin, I loved the harmony of the progressive, melodic death and (at times) doom metal elements. There are surely some influences from the big names from the scene but I see this more as a character of the band and their unique sound. The transitions between the beats or the melodies make the record not only an easy-listening one but also will make the listener dig deeper into the record to try to figure out the little surprises and the tranquility within the dynamic sound. The songs are relatively long but I can guarantee you that you won’t get bored; each time you will listen to the record, you will find something interesting.

One highlight of the album’s sound is that there are two sides; the easy-listening/melodic and the technical side.Songs like “Ashen Crown” or “Lighthouse Keeper” show us the technical side of the band; especially “Lighthouse Keeper” can be considered as the most diverse song in the record. We also get to see the ever-amazing skills of the new drummer Daniel Liljekvist (ex-Katatonia). His drumming style fits really well not only in this song but also overall in the album. However, in technical songs, this is more obvious for sure! I always liked his work in Katatonia and it’s so good to see him delivering some killer beats in this record. Another interesting highlight I experienced was at the end of the album during the song “Afterglow”. Towards the end, I got the feeling that the album was not coming to an end but the sound fainted, taking the listener to another dimension as we get to hear the bass guitar only. I surely didn’t expect this towards the end of a dynamic album and this was the twist (and the surprise) for me!

“Afterglow” will satisfy the listeners who crave for some diversity as well as some epic death/doom metal madness! There aren’t many bands who can pull off this diversity within this genre so kudos to the guys!

Line-up:
Tobias Netzell – guitars/vocals
Pierre Stam – bass
Björn Pettersson – guitars
Tim Nedergård – guitars
Daniel Liljekvist – drums

Tracklist: 01. Fire and Ocean 02. The Grinning Mist 03. Ashen Crown 04. Below Rise To The Above 05. The Lighthouse Keeper 06. The Call To Orion 07. Afterglow

Links:
In Mourning Facebook
In Mourning Official