Swallow The Sun
Ghosts Of Loss

THE REVIEW

Ah, I still remember the distant times when I bought "The Morning Never Came," the debut of Swallow The Sun, from my trusted retailer. I still remember the shocking effect that album had on me. I could hardly believe it: a Doom/Death Metal band that didn't copy My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost like carbon paper!

It was on the momentum of the debut/masterpiece and the impending release of the 3rd album "Hope" that I also acquired the band's second studio album released in 2003: "Ghosts Of Loss."

Maybe I listened to this album the wrong way, or perhaps I got too excited with the debut. The fact remains that this work was for me a great disappointment. To be clear: we're dealing with a really well-played album by all members, technically perfect and with a top-notch production, but unfortunately, it doesn’t make an impact and mostly drags on wearily with inexplicable voids.
Where "The Morning Never Came" was engaging and emotional, "Ghosts Of Loss" suffers from what is a serious flaw for a Doom band: it's terribly boring; certain songs leave nothing behind even after dozens of listens.

The genre proposed is the same and the band's sound hasn't changed. It's still a very melodic Doom Metal style reminiscent of My Dying Bride and early Paradise Lost but much more majestic and bombastic with extensive use of keyboards. And Swallow The Sun haven't forgotten how to write great pieces as demonstrated by tracks like "Descending Winters," for which a video was made (though not that great), melodic yet dark and distressing at the same time. Another excellent track is "Psychopath's Lair" with riffing that strongly recalls Candlemass. But excluding these two gems and partly the massive opener "The Giant," there is the utmost monotony. The tracks are indistinguishable from one another and do not engage. Listening soon becomes boring and very hard to assimilate.

Some sudden flashes save "Ghosts Of Loss" from being brutally torn down. However, the formal quality of the album does not erase the disappointment. I repeat, likely, the album suffers greatly from the comparison with the wonderful "The Morning Never Came" that preceded it. If, absurdly, the order of release had been reversed and "Ghosts Of Loss" had come out first, I would probably speak of it in entirely different terms. The fact is that now Swallow The Sun are called to the trial by fire with the new "Hope" (which will be released on February 7, 2007, and which I will review as soon as possible) which will necessarily have to be a masterpiece to achieve that milestone I predicted for them after "The Morning Never Came," namely the role of leader of the new Doom/Death Metal scene and most credible heirs to the (though very different and unattainable) My Dying Bride.

Missteps can happen in the career of a band that is really young, and we hope they won't be forgotten but valued and taken as a cue to improve.

Awaiting "Hope"...