Swallow The Sun
The Morning Never Came (CD) 2003 Firebox Records
Should we think it could be something else other than doom or doom related music? It is so predictable, an uninspired title, projecting - unfortunately - an uninspired album, where cliché upon cliché have been accumulated to an extent that results in a single-listen album, regretfully. The potential is there, sure thing, but the ideas are all chewed-up bubble gum, tasteless almost, stale maybe, faceless - definitely… I'll start from the beginning: So many dilemmas had I undergone before approaching writing this review, I couldn't bring myself to a concrete decision about what I was really thinking in regards to the above mentioned album. I always seek for reasons, reasons for a band to even write music, to undergo through the perils and pains of the recording "business": What is your reason for doing it? Would I be able to actually hear the reason in your music? Would I be given your honest motivation for writing it, playing it, delivering it to me? Would I? Why doing it in the first place? You tell me, you're the fucking musician here, not I… I answer to myself: "Music is the form of expression that transcends all other artistic efforts. It is beyond words, pictures or plastic art, and actually a unique, sublime and exquisite method of saying what defies all other means of communication…"… To express the artist's own soul, psyche, feeling - pillars of musical expression - blue-prints of the creator's mind, emotions etc…Basically, logically, it should be so simple: Express your own. Make your music radiate with the uniqueness of thyself. Simple and rational, right? Then tell me why is it that more often than not, too many albums suffer from lack of originality? Why is it then, most sound like everything else out there? I mean, think! Isn't it obvious, and simple into that, that every musical expression should bear a singular identity, just because it has been created by one singular personality? Then why is it that differences tend to fade, individuality tend to transform into musical herd-mentality?... Through the progress of technology, anybody can record his or her own "music", be it a musician or other. The outcome can even be nice, polished, produced, orchestrated and sophisticatedly sounding…but can anything be labeled as 'music'? Where is the person behind the sounds? Where are his fears, his pains, his confusion, bewilderment, his hatred, his love, his thoughts, all put into the music? Not mine, not yours, not anybody else's, but his own??!! Swallow The Sun play excellent music. Yes indeed, top notch doom/death metal. Yes indeed, very nice, by-the-book doom/death. Swallow The Sun are apt pupils, and they have learned their lesson well regarding the stylistics and aesthetics of the genre, and they try so hard to fit into this frame, but I don't really hear Swallow The Sun play, do I? I am listening to something that could have been - and I'm sure actually had been - played by thousands upon thousands of other bands … I know, I know, being innovative and original in such an era, when almost all has already been invented and thought of, is hard a task. I've never asked anybody to re-invent the wheel. What's the point in that? I only ask this: Give me the chance to actually be able to hear the reason for your music. Your reason to writing and performing it. Give me your reason, give me your guts and perspiration and stink, and hard times, and hair-tearing moments of sheer frustration, give me your process, your painstaking process of writing music, your music, your pain, your reason - not the reasons of thousand others - and I'll be satisfied for a moment, no matter what the outcome is…For there isn't really "beautiful" or "ugly" music. There's only personal, emotional, painful music and on the other hand - there's no music at all, just an assembly of sounds, no reason, no heart, deaf and dumb sterility… Sure, the execution of Swallow The Sun's music is nothing but perfect, hell, even the music is nice, generic melodic doom/death, with generic growls, generic synths, generic drumming, generic over-all sound and production - and to tell you the truth? - I like it, I enjoy it and would rather listen to this album all day long than to most of the crap the underground has been infested with, but should I, or you the listener, the consumer, be so forgiving? Why should I? All I ask is for a clear sonic vision of the actual reason behind the sounds, and Swallow The Sun provide me none, for instead of reasons for their music, all I get are excuses…	1. Through her silvery body 2. Deadly nightshade 3. Out of this gloomy light 4. Swallow 5. Silence of the womb 6. Hold this woe 7. Under the waves 8. The morning never came Approx. 56 minutes
Reviewed by: Chaim Drishner
Ghosts Of Loss (CD) 2005 Firebox Records
Swallow The Sun have already received many a good word about their first album, 'The Morning Never Came'. Even big magazines such as Kerrang! have acknowledged their talent. Most likely this is both due to good promotion from the label as well as the band having a very accessible sound even for many outside the doom scene. At the same time they should appeal to 99% of all melodic doom/death fans. It also helps to have riffing that hits home straight for most people even when played for the first time. It wouldn't surprise me at all if they end up as one of the big names within the genre. The instruments cover a whole lot of levels in the music, granting it a rich sound with epic tendencies. The little extra edge is supplied by bright keyboards that remain in the background at nearly all times. With this grand sound they manage to avoid any connections to the "Peaceville three" despite using whining guitars. There is no shortage of melody either, but this is well-balanced with heavy death riffing and only a moderate amount of gothic sadness and beauty. Acoustic guitars, clean male vocals and grunts keep the music varied without losing the overal sound. Complexity and simplicity meet all the time. This balancing of music is perhaps what has made it so accessible in the first place. I would highly recommend this band to all those who enjoy melodic death-inspired music. In particular those who prefer doom metal. A rare few extreme doomsters might find this to be a little too mainstream, but in general the band manages to avoid this. This band holds a high musical standard with great songs in the present and a lot of promise for the future. The only negative remark I have is that there are still other albums out there that manage to do more for me.	1. The Giant 2. Descending Winters 3. Psychopath's Lair 4. Forgive Her... 5. Fragile 6. Ghost Of Laura Palmer 7. Gloom, Beauty And Despair 8. The Ship Approx. 66 minutes
Reviewed by: Arnstein H. Pettersen
Hope (CD) 2007 Spinefarm
An introduction of Swallow The Sun should be unnecessary by now I believe. Anyone who has never heard of them is probably not interested in Doom Metal at all. The time has come for their third full length release, 'Hope'. I've heard a certain phrase many times: "the third album is a very important one!" Why the third should be any more important than the first, second or even the seventh is something I can't understand. It's all about making good music and, if you want to get big, releasing it the right moment. Like them or not, Swallow The Sun is one of the more known bands within the genre for a reason. If there is a band that could be labeled 'technical doom metal' (I hope that will never happen) it's Swallow The Sun. The drums have that certain something that is missing on so many other Doom Metal releases. Unless you listen carefully, you might miss all the nice details that make the whole so much better. The bass guitar is another schoolbook example of how to actually use the instrument as something else than just a third guitar that happens to have fewer and thicker strings. In short, these guys know how to use their instruments, and they do it well. Good musicianship is one thing, and making good songs is another. Personally, I never learned to love 'Ghosts Of Loss' as much as 'The Morning Never Came'. With that in mind, my expectations could have been higher for 'Hope' from the start. My first impression of 'Hope' being a genuinely great album does not last forever. The first four songs are absolutely outstanding. You get everything that you might have hoped for. Jonas Renske of Katatonia has a guest appearance on 'The Justice Of Suffering'. His voice fits very well within the music and makes the song stand out from the rest. Unfortunately all songs aren't as great after hearing them a couple of times. Although they're all really good, none of the later songs on the album can compete with the earlier ones. Perhaps that opinion comes from that there are no surprises left after hearing half of the tracks of 'Hope'. You still get the same quality music, but without the feeling that you're hearing something fresh and new. The bonus track 'These Low Lands' (originally performed as 'Alavilla Mailla' by Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus) is a great track that sounds just like any other song by Swallow The Sun, with the vocals(performed by Tomi Joutsen) as an exception. I've never heard the original so I was a little disappointed to find out that it was a cover. As a whole, this album is almost worth calling fantastic! There are no real weaknesses except for the few ones mentioned. The future looks promising for these Finnish guys.	1. Hope 2. These Hours Of Despair 3. The Justice Of Suffering 4. Don't Fall Asleep 5. Too Cold For Tears 6. The Empty Skies 7. No Light, No Hope 8. Doomed To Walk The Earth 9. These Lowlands (Bonus Track) Approx. 64 minutes
Reviewed by: Kristian Larsson