One of the brightest rising stars in the ever-growing melodic doom/death scene, Swallow the Sun’s 2007 release, “Hope“, gives us yet another dose of the grief, heartbreak and horror we’ve come to associate with the genre.

There’s something about the band logos of doom/death bands that truly speaks a thousand words about the music — while not quite as elaborately written as the logos of most death and black metal bands, not particularly psychedelic nor drug inspired such as the band logos of many doom metal bands, and yet a few steps off from looking truly gothic, there are obvious elements borrowed from each, which I feel is reflected with shocking clarity in Swallow the Sun’s very band logo; wispy, elegant and delicate lettering, yet enigmatic and dark… the moth appears to be flying towards the sun, perhaps symbolizing the bitter, pessimistic futility of reaching for one’s dreams.

And indeed, much of Swallow the Sun’s music can be compared as such — with the bitter themes of lost love, Autumn, suffering and grief, there should be no qualms about whether or not this band belongs to the doom/death genre.
Musically, Swallow the Sun follows the tried and true formula of melodic doom/death metal that I’ve described previously in my posts for The Fall of Every Season and Mourning Beloveth; in particular, creating a distinctly depressing, brooding atmosphere by usage of layered, heavy guitar riffs and keyboards and use of guttural death metal growls with occasional clean, melodic passages with bitter, agonized lyrics.

While not the most original of styles these days, it remains one of underground metal’s most rapidly growing and evolving sub genres, and Swallow the Sun has more than proven their worth by means of their incredible music. Though not quite up to the quality of The Fall of Every Season’s masterpiece, nor Swallow the Sun’s very own previous two full length albums, “Hope” is a worthy addition to this year’s fantastic collection of doom metal.

Funeralopolis