Reviewer: Eric

What do doom metal and concept albums have in common? In Swallow the Sun’s case it is a nearly 35 minute track that tells the story of an old hermit. The latest release from Swallow the Sun will take listeners on a journey through mystery and despair, but is that really what Swallow the Sun should be doing?

Plague of Butterflies is a 60 minute EP that features an amazing song and some other great tracks. You could almost consider this a greatest hits with the other tracks that are found on this release, but I mainly want to concentrate on the main attraction and that is the Plague of Butterflies, an amazing track that should not be missed by any Swallow the Sun fan.

The track is broken up into so many sections, which tends to be the main downfall. Just as one part is starting to pick up in this half an hour plus track we are treated to instrumentation. I have nothing wrong with this aspect but I felt it was poorly done on Plague of Butterflies. Not even kidding I was literally getting into one part and I hear the ocean in the background. What just happened?

If you have an open mind to concept albums or tracks then you might be familiar with song breakdowns like this. Swallow the Sun could have broken up this track into so many little ones, but the story might have been weaker. Lyrically this song is interesting and it could very well be written into some on a much larger scale. Originally this song was written for a short movie that was never made, which could very well be the reason for the break-offs. It is not extremely terrible that we have to put up with this, however on a Swallow the Sun release I would have expected something a little more polished.

Markus Jamsen and Juha Raivio have never played such good guitar work before. When they set things up for the next part of the song you are left with a cold winter chill going down your back. They do a fantastic job by keeping up with the current mood of the song. The same goes with everyone else. The band has really out done them when it comes with song writing.

Like I said before the rest of the EP includes some songs we’ve heard before. The demo versions are nothing out of the ordinary, they sound pretty much identical to the original versions. However it was great to hear these tracks on here, I wasn’t kidding when I said that it felt like I was listening to a best of from Swallow the Sun.

Final Verdict
For what you get on this release there is no reason why you shouldn’t pick it up. Plague of Butterflies might have some problems with the opening track. When you listen to the track a few times you will start to notice all of the great things about, the band has never been this good before and trust me they have always been that good. Pick this one up, you won’t be disappointed.

Rating
8.75 out of 10
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