While the scary costumes and whimsical 70s pop choruses of a certain other Swedish band may gain the most column inches, five other Scandinavian sons of heavy metal have been making waves in the underground for quite some time now. Uppsala natives In Solitude have already released two albums of Mercyful Fate meets Iron Maiden old school heaven but 2013 sees their sound both mature and advance significantly into other realms as elements of Goth rock and post punk rear their collective heads on Sister (Metal Blade Records).
It’s evident from the mournful, clanging chords of opening track ‘He Comes’ how much In Solitude has grown as an outfit since the release of The World. The Flesh. The Devil. (Metal Blade Records) three years ago. The galloping exuberance of before has been honed through a prism of sublime Classic Rock songwriting that gives each cut on the album a timeless quality. The surging hard rock vibes of ‘Death Knows Where’ have a commanding, muscular feel that while hinted at on previous releases is fully and gloriously realised here. As previously mentioned, outside influences have made their presences felt, as witnessed by the eerie refrains of ‘A Buried Sun’ that resembles The Cure covering mid-period Black Sabbath.
Each member of the band puts in an utterly stellar shift throughout, which is easily demonstrated by the infectious melodic riffing of ‘Pallid Hands’ and the quirky, marching rhythms of the title track. But the stand out performance has to be by vocalist Pelle Åhman, whose cold, commanding tones echo and soar all over this recording like Joe Strummer had he been allowed to really sing his lungs out. Add in a warm, husky production that gives each instrument room to breathe and we have a late contender for album of the year. So many more people need this band in their life and with any luck, Sister will be the record that does it.
8.5/10
James Conway