Written: 6th October 2024
Now almost a quarter of a century nto their career, Swallow The Sun have long since established themselves as one of the most consistently interesting bands in the death doom sub-genre. On their ninth album, the soon to be released Shining, the quintet have taken another bold step forward and believe – in the bold words of bassist Matti Honkonen – they have “produced the Black Album of death doom.”
Opening track Innocence Was Long Forgotten – one of the previously released singles – has already provoked varied opinions from fans but in truth, the band have always been courageous in their direction and this album fully embraces that ethos. With completely clean vocals and a song that, while containing some powerful chords, it could not be considered within the heavier realms of Swallow The Sun’s music. Valuing atmosphere and a slow-burning exposition, Innocence Was Long Forgotten lives up to the band’s promise that, “All the new Swallow The Sun music feels like an ice dagger through a sleeping heart.” With lyrics that speak of lost innocence, the consequences of defiance and the search for connection and meaning - despite a fall from grace, the song swells and flourishes with melancholic piano, epic synths and a emotional guitar solo.
Beginning with colossal riffs and thundering percussion, What I Have Become then abates for a moment before growling vocals and crushing bass enter the fray. However, during the choruses, dark, minor chords give way to major chord motifs, clean vocals and a sense of optimism. This perfectly mirrors the change in lyrics between the different sections of the song. Commenting on the track, Juha Raivio states “What I Have Become is about that moment when you look yourself deep in the eye from the mirror and your own eyes start to tell what your soul has become instead of what you always wanted it to be. The hardest thing is to forgive yourself and break that circle.” During the song’s finale, the growling and clean vocals combine to illustrate the inner change felt by the protagonist. While musically this is quite effective, it could be argued that – across the album - the slightly more polished production (by Dan Lancaster – who often works with band’s that embrace electronic elements – Bring Me The Horizon, Blink 182, Muse), has on occasion robbed Swallow The Sun of, at least some, of their more grandiosely heavy moments. Nevertheless, this appears to be a conscious decision by the band who, according to the press release, “wanted something new and bright that would take them to new spheres.”
Despite the growl in its first seconds, MelancHoly is another song that, for much of its length, strips back the instrumentation and finds Swallow The Sun building layers of sound towards the song’s conclusion. Although perhaps intentional, the over simplicity of the first few minutes means that until that finale, MelancHoly feels like it drifts in its search for purpose. Totally exposed, there is nowhere for Mikko Kotamäki’s vocals to hide and lyrically, he tackles themes of inner turmoil and existential angst, the title itself suggesting a sacred or profound sadness. Eyes keep staring back / From the Earth below / The Moon above / I am that fire / That keep the pain intact / Cut my self to heal / Till I start to feel / Closer to my God.
All three tracks mentioned so far have been released as singles and when band’s put all previously heard material at the front of an album, it can sometimes point to a lack of faith in other tracks. However, it is pleasing to say that this is not the case with Shining; Under The Moon and Sun has far more direction and a more cohesive structure than MelancHoly. With some delightful chord progressions and a chorus that draws the listener closer, it feels like the band are hitting their stride. Kold offers something a little different: theatrical and dramatic. It also contains some of the best growling vocals on the album, a wonderfully vibrant guitar solo, and Juuso Raatikainen’s thoughtful percussion - which helps colour the different moods at play.
November Dust drops the tempo but ramps up the glacial atmosphere. With a combination of extremely low, doom-tinged and higher, gorgeously passionate clean vocals, Kotamäki displays the full range of his abilities. Creeping like a shadow at dusk, the track oscillates between the sorrowful and the musical with the masterful touch of a band confident in their direction and their message. Maintaining a slow pace throughout, November Dust feels like it might explode at any moment but the change never fully arrives and the sense of anticipation developed simply adds to the song’s appeal.
The mainly piano-led Velvet Chains is another example of the variety that inhabits Shining and is a tastefully constructed, quieter song. Sitting before the heaviest song on the album, it is something of a respite and features female vocals (not credited in the press notes) duetting with Mikko Kotamäki. Through the use of celestial imagery, the lyrics evoke a sense of longing and entrapment, the interplay between the serene and the catastrophic underscoring the tension between comfort and constraint. I can’t explain these velvet chains / Around my heart / The stars will fall from Northern sky / Like satellites / Hold on / The sky is falling.
During its verses, Tonight Pain Believes stalks the listener with an insidious tension and such is the creeping anxiety that the song’s transition to its melodic and radiant chorus is a true surprise. It is on tracks such as this that Lancaster’s approach to production is of true benefit and it becomes more obvious why Swallow The Sun made such a choice. Penultimate track, Charcoal Sky has more heated metal sections than any other song on the album and is the most traditional sounding Swallow The Sun are on Shining. One of the best tracks here, each member of the band sounds incredible and any issues with the production affecting the band’s fervent do not materialise. Charcoal Sky sees the band seamlessly blending potency, melody and ambiance and is sure to become a fan favourite.
Closing the album with the nine-minute title track, the Finnish quintet conclude Shining with a truly epic, multi-faceted gem. Imbued with a rich tapestry of evocative imagery, the lyrics illustrate the dualities and complexities of love, combining moments of joy and hope with pain and celebration. Shine! / Kill like lovers kill the light / Push the daggers through my spine, paralyze! / And our hearts dividing / When these words have been said and done / And this world will rip us apart / On my shore I’m shining dark. On an exquisitely beautiful track, the band reach truly spectacular emotional heights. With elements of everything that has come before, Swallow The Sun impressively intertwine the acoustic with the electric and the heavy with the melodic.
With Shining, Swallow The Sun have certainly achieved their aim of releasing something different and I have always been in favour of bands trying something new and not endlessly rehashing previous ideas. A true labour of love, Juha Raivio explains, “After our last album, it soon became clear to me that writing another Moonflowers album would kill me. Musically, this album shines like a glacier diamond and has that power and punch that feels like a kick in your face!" Musically, the album is diverse and takes a number of unexpected turns and as such, it requires a number of listens to discover and enjoy everything that is has to offer. Overall, the second half of the album is stronger than the first but it is, without doubt, an album that needs to be listened to in its entirety in order to experience it at its best. It is here that the variety truly helps the album to shine.
The band's adventurous choice of producer leads to mixed results at times; however, these become less noticeable on repeat listens as the album starts to weave its magic. Some of the material sounds more like modern day Katatonia (said as a comparison rather than a slight – Sky Void Of Stars was one of my favourite albums of 2023) than one might expect but there is enough of Swallow The Sun’s DNA running through Shining to appeal to long term fans. Despite the odd misstep (MelancHoly still has not managed to worm its way into my consciousness - although I fully expect it to click into place at some point ), this is another strong album from the ever fascinating Swallow The Sun. Adventurous. Intriguing. Captivating.
Shining will be released on 18th October 2024
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Very interesting. I've enjoyed the singles, and found it interesting in the interview with Heavy Debriefings (on their YouTube channel), that they deliberately worked with a producer who is more focused on "the beat and the vocals". When a band has been around this long, I don't mind them trying drastically new approaches. Very brave to deliberately work with a producer who is not a "metal producer"