ITP REVIEW: SWALLOW THE SUN: NEW MOON

BAND: SWALLOW THE SUN (FINLAND) GENRE: MELODIC DEATH/DOOM LABEL: SPINEFARM RECORDS RELEASE DATE: 11/4/09
PREVIOUS RELEASES (CATALOG) :OUT OF THIS GLOOMY LIGHT (DEMO-2003), THE MORNING NEVER CAME (2003-FIREBOX RECORDS), FORGIVE HER (SINGLE-2005-FIREBOX RECORDS),GHOSTS OF LOSS (2005-FIREBOX RECORDS), HOPE (2007-SPINEFARM RECORDS), PLAGUE
OF BUTTERFLIES (EP-2008-FONTANA RECORDS)

BEST RELEASE(S): THE MORNING NEVER CAME (2003), HOPE (2007)
TRACKLISTING : SWALLOW THE SUN: NEW MOON:

1. These Woods Breathe Evil

2. Falling World

3. Sleepless Swans

4. ...and Heavens Cried Blood

5. Lights on the Lake (Horror pt. III)

6. New Moon

7. Servant of Sorrow

8. Weight of the Dead

ITP RATING: *** 1/2

PRODUCTION: ****

SONGWRITING: ***1/2

PERFORMANCE: ****
SWALLOW THE SUN are a Finnish melodic death doom band whom showed much potential with the (2003) brilliant release "THE MORNING NEVER CAME". SWALLOW THE SUN are depressive, slow and melodic doom as ITP have are set to review the bands latest release
"New Moon".
SWALLOW THE SUN's "New Moon" kicks off with the track entitled "These Woods Breathe Evil", with a distinctive, black metal, folk atmosphere. I love the throaty spoken word, and black metal rasps of SWALLOW THE SUN's vocalist MIKKO KOTAMAKI. In fact, "These Woods Breathe Evil" has more in common with the melodic, black metal genre than doom, as the pace is the same, and heavy.. This is some epic music, I'm enjoying this. "These Woods Breathe Evil" invokes an ambient closure, with tech guitar noodling at about 4:32, epic and mesmerizing as the tune ups the ante back into the melodic black/doom. Awesome.
"Falling World" enters in at a slower mid pace, epic, powerful with guitar effects and some clean, soft vocals, invoking KATATONIA like prog rock tones with heavier death vox as the tune progresses, to a darker, doom realm interchanging between clean and death vocals.
SWALLOW THE SUN's "Sleepless Swans" enters in at a slow pace with guitar synth strumming and clean, soft vocals as at 1:53 the song progresses to a heavier dynamic with death vox and screamed vocals. Good vocal performance via MIKKO KOTAMAKI reminding me of the vocal versatility and musical dynamic of OPETH. At 4:41 "Sleepless Swans" invokes a dark, ambient spoken word part and ups the ante to some sick, almost funeral doom with death vocals. \m/ as the tune ends with singular piano chord.
"...and Heavens Cried Blood" invokes a dark, strumming atmosphere as the band crashes in with some quality, heavy, melodic doom with lightly sprinkled keyboards, excellent death and screamed vocals. Good songwriting, stunning vocals and a light piano outro.
"Lights on the Lake (Horror pt. III)" opens with light, melodic, pinch harmonic dynamics, and clean female vocals, very beautiful as the song segues into a slow, melodic, doom bliss, and eventually epic death vocals. 3:02 into "Lights on the Lake (Horror pt. III)" the song ups the ante into blast beat melodic black metal, and brutality with enough screams to make any Finnish lake freeze. "Lights on the Lake (Horror pt. III)" again, segues back into female clean vocals and a melancholy slower, and evil atmosphere, and then back into the epic and brutal.
The title track of SWALLOW THE SUN's "New Moon", enters in with clean picking as the band crashes in gracefully and segues into a funeral doom pace and heavy, light/slow dynamics with both death and clean vocals. Good melodic tune.
"Servant of Sorrow" crawls in slowly as the song picks up a chugging pace with good death and screamed vocals, and good melodic solos. At 3:20 of "Servant of Sorrow" the song slows down for a slow, almost orchestral, melancholic, shoe gazer feel, and picks up where it started with epic heaviness.
SWALLOW THE SUNS "NEW MOON" closes with the track "Weight of the Dead" entering with epic pomposity and segues into an elegant, orchestral and melodic black metal feel, with blastbeats. At 1:14 into "Weight of the Dead" the song slows down into a quite, acoustic, psychedelic moment and slower funeral doom tones with quality death, and screamed vox.
Compelling with good, folk metal solos, "Weight Of The Dead" at 5:37 invokes a chugging riff, and a funeral doom pace with orchestral backing vocals, and screamed vox. "Weight of the Dead" picks up an epic momentum with a repetitive funeral doom riff as the song segues into a mesmerizing but anti climatic end.
SWALLOW THE SUN's "New Moon" is a quality release with epic and diverse musical tones. "New Moon" seamlessly meld melodic black metal, funeral doom, and epic melodic death.
SWALLOW THE SUN's vocalist MIKKO KOTAMAKI has to be commended for a standout vocal performance on "New Moon" as MIKKO diversifies his vox from death to black metal screams and some clean vocals as well, matching perfectly with a band re- defining it's sound into blackened death doom.
While some of SWALLOW THE SUN's die hard fans may prefer the slower funeral doom pace of the bands epic previous releases, SWALLOW THE SUN are onto something here as the band have traded the funeral doom, for a mid pace with acute vocals and black metal influences.
SWALLOW THE SUN certainly are more diverse than countrymen INSOMNIUM as both bands have a knack for awesome, catchy melodic death metal..
While the songwriting and atmospheric parts lag on the last three tunes of "New Moon", I honestly don't think that SWALLOW THE SUN were THAT unique in the aspect of funeral doom as within the melodic aspect of the bands sound, it seems predictable that the band would up the ante on the melody, with epic heaviness, adding black metal for variety.
Tweek up the songwriting for consistent riffs here and there, drop the atmospheric parts as they are irrelevant as the funeral doom could be the slow vs. heavy dynamic and SWALLOW THE SUN have potential to be epic.
While SWALLOW THE SUN's "New Moon", treads waters in musical transition, the band has yet to write it's epic. However, SWALLOW THE SUN's "New Moon" IS a quality release, with depth, emotion and good production.

ITP RATING: *** 1/2

PRODUCTION: ****

SONGWRITING: ***1/2

PERFORMANCE: ****
Thanks-Stay Metal, Stay Brutal-\m/ -l-