IN MOURNING

In Mourning are a Swedish metal band who play in a style very similar to that of their fellow countrymen, Opeth; but they're distinct enough to avoid the label of "Opeth clone," something for which the current prog-metal scene does not want. Opeth's classic material is some of the best progressive metal ever recorded, and there's been a yawning, Opeth-shaped hole in the scene ever since they switched to playing unimpressive, unimaginative retro-prog.

In Mourning have been around for nearly two decades, giving them plenty of time to develop their own unique flourishes within the framework of progressive melodic death metal. Garden of Storms is their fifth full-length release and a noticeable step up in quality over 2016's Afterglow. The songwriting is strong, and there is a smart degree of interplay between distorted and clean sections.

The opening track, "Black Storm", demonstrates both In Mourning's similarities to and differences from Opeth. The main riff is a dark bit of melodic death metal that injects creepy atmospheric elements. Vocalist Tobias Netzell shows impressive range and versatility in both his growls and his clean singing. Among such typical traits of prog-melo-death, there are shoegaze-tinted passages that remind me of something Agalloch might have done.

"Yields of Sand" follows in a starkly different manner. Opening with clean everything, it is evocative of new wave or post-punk. The sound soon shifts to more familiar fare: harsh vocals, distorted guitars, and crashing drums. The melodies are strong, and the song evolves in a way that always keeps the listener engaged.

With this being a melodic death metal album, there needs to be at least one (mostly) slow and gentle song. "Magenta Ritual" is pretty strong as far as death metal ballads go. The song is inventive structurally, with a very harsh midsection contrasting with the gentle opening and heavy-yet-melodic closing. "Tribunal of Suns" showcases similar contrasts of gentle and aggressive, albeit in an inverted order.

As good as the music on this album is, though, some of it does begin to feel same-y after a while. Much of the middle of this album lacks sonic variation, and the songs can be difficult to tell apart. Perhaps cutting a song or rearranging the order would have helped. But as it stands, some of it is a bit of a slog.

Garden of Storms closes on its longest and most engaging song, "The Lost Outpost". The opening guitar line is fluid and languid, but it soon shifts to something sharper and more biting. Bassist Sebastian Svalland gets a chance to show off in some of the song's more atmospheric moments, providing some great, distorted fills. Creepy keyboard tones augment the song's finale, which ends on a haunting note.

In Mourning have released one of the better progressive death metal albums I've heard this year. Garden of Storms has inventive melodies, top-notch instrumental work, and masterful vocal performances. The middle of this album feels a bit of bloated, but it isn't anything too egregious. I'm hopeful that future releases will be more focused and that the band will continue evolving and exploring.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2019/11/18/album-review-in-mourning-garden-of-storms/

Originally released in 2010, In Mourning's second album saw them firmly take on the mantle of melodic death metal with some progressive undertones, looking to the likes of countrymen Opeth for inspiration. Although originally released on vinyl and CD, those formats have long been out of print, so to celebrate the tenth anniversary last year, the band worked with Agonia Records to make it again available on CD, along with a few different vinyl options. The line-up at this time had been together for three years, with three founder members still involved from 10 years earlier, and it was their second album together, so it is of little surprise that they were incredibly tight.

One of the real joys of this album is how they can go from death metal to delicate melodic interludes within the same song, yet somehow managing to keep all of it making sense so it feels part of a continuous whole as opposed to just random bits and pieces thrown together. Singer Tobias Netzell has a real death growl, but while the music does often fall in that territory, there are also times when it is way more commercial and into power metal territory, while black metal also makes a welcome appearance here and there. It is this combination of styles and refusal to strictly conform to any boundaries which also seems them listed as being a progressive band, but obviously in the more technical and extreme areas of that genre. Although I have heard their last two albums, this one was new to me, but it does not sound at all dated and if this has been listed as a brand-new release I would not have been surprised as it is still relevant, powerful, and punchy. If, like me, this is an album you missed first time around but enjoy this style of music the this is well worth investigating further with many different styles and time signatures but somehow always making sense.

2019 saw the Swedish band back with their latest album, 'Garden of Storms', which saw them complete the trilogy which started with 2012's 'The Weight Of Oceans'. It also saw them with a new rhythm section as bassist Pierre Stam departed (leaving singer/guitarist Tobias Netzell as the only founder member still involved) to be replaced by Sebastian Svalland (Pain (live), Letters from the Colony, Lindemann (live)) while ex-Katatonia drummer Daniel Liljekvist also left, after just one album, and was replaced by Joakim Strandberg Nilsson (Faithful Darkness, Nonexist, ex- Moorgate, ex-Thrive, Wolves Within). Recorded with Jonas Kjellgren, who was responsible for the sound of the band's early albums, the band says it is the: "most solid, honest and complete album to date, in times where things seem to scatter and change a lot around us".

To me this album shows them move even more into different areas, with metalcore raising its ugly head among others, and to me this feels far more disjointed and less of a complete piece of work than the last one. Playing them back to back, there is no doubt this feels more commercial and softer in many ways, although they can bring the pain when they wish to, and the movement feels more clunky and not as polished. It is a much harder album to get inside, just because the listener feels they are being pulled from place to place, but more in a way that makes them seasick than in a pleasant journey where one is taking a rest at times. It feels less honest and more contrived, and while still an interesting album in many ways, it is quite a long way removed from the last one.

In Mourning were formed back in 2000, and this 2016 album was the second in a trilogy, following on from 2012's 'The Weight Of Oceans. It was the first album to feature ex-Katatonia drummer Daniel Liljekvist, and the band commented: "It's a bit more complex than our previous albums and it has got a bit of a different sound than the older ones, a bit more alive like a band and maybe not always as studio corrected as our earlier material. However, the foundation of the music is still what we've always done, and the key elements are pretty much the same but with some new additions and a few new twists and turns of course". Over the years their sound has evolved from a band who was primarily death metal into one which is far more progressive. They mix and meld doomy metal-riffs, blasting drumbeats and deep growling vocals to calm breezes of clean flowing melodies and harmonies and this makes for an album which is both uncompromising yet accessible at the same time.

There are many who are going to compare them to Opeth, as they have come from similar backgrounds and in many ways have followed similar paths, but In Mourning have stayed far more metallic while also being adventurous. They can move from Nile-type complexity and density to gentleness and calm with ease, somehow always ensuring the journey continues to make sense. When they are being reflective then one relaxes, it doesn't matter that the maelstrom is going to come back, for now just enjoy the tranquillity as the band takes us on a journey. More than heavy enough to satisfy the metalhead, yet truly progressive and moving around for those into prog metal. The mix of melody and aggression is very well done indeed, yet when they wish to go in for the kill they do so at pace and speed.

In Mourning ? "The Weight Of Oceans"

12/20

48th place album of the year 2012

Melodeath bands never cease to amaze me in their ability to keep music going using only guitars. I often argue that if they used clean vocals as well as the complex guitars they could be some of the most revered bands in the world. Insomnium, a Finnish band, would easily become my favourite band of all time if they didn't use death growling.

But that's where the talent in these bands lies. They can somehow make an 'ugly' genre, death metal, beautiful. I can't help but dream what these bands must be like to people who actually enjoy death growling. In Mourning really nail some of the death growled parts. I often raise albums for having 'catchy' choruses, or vocal hooks as the music majors call them. But somehow the chorus of "Colossus" is insanely catchy without even having a vocal melody. I find myself chanting my impression of a growl to that rhythm every time, as I would to any pop song.

To the reason of its position in this chart, the guitars. While "Colossus" nails it with vocals, most of the other songs are laden with decent riffs, the sort of riffs regular metal bands would use in one song, In Mourning nails 8 of them into one track. It really is intriguing listening, and not once do I complain about the ugliness of the vocals like I do in regular death metal, because I'm not really listening to them.

But this album has another gem. I had not heard In Mourning before this release, but I understand from fan reactions that "Celestial Tear" is a new thing for them. This entirely clean-sung song sits right in the middle of the album like an oasis for those, like me, who aren't fans of the death vocals. And not just that, it is a truly wonderful song, even on an album filled with similar style songs this would stick out, but on an album of heavy melodic death metal, this gothic rock beauty really takes the cake.

You may be wondering why this review is overtly positive and yet this album isn't that high. Again, it's just my prejudice against death growling. Sorry. So, recommended in completeness to any extreme metal fans, especially those who love riffs as opposed to solos. I still recommend others listen to this, check out "Celestial Tear" and "Colossus", to see if you like it, as I'm not an extreme metal fan and I still enjoy it.

Originally posted on my facebook page/blog http://www.facebook.com/neoprogisbestprog

Branded a progressive melodic death metal band, In Mourning obviously have certain liberties and can get away with things that other more traditional genre-bound death metal artists might not be forgiven for.

Their latest release "The Weight of Oceans", for instance, does not at all strike me as being a death metal release. Well, that is, the vocal style consists of growls and screams, but other than that we are dealing with music which is much more in the direction of gothic metal blended with alternative rock and progressive metal. And, you know what, it is pretty good actually. I think that the melancholic bass-driven opening of the very first track 'Colossus' pretty much makes that clear.

Drawing on dark atmospheres, melodic harmonies and spicing things up with odd time signatures every now and then, In Mourning have really struck gold artistically speaking. Not unlike with gothic metal legends Paradise Lost, melancholic and melodic guitar leads are a central feature in the sound of In Mourning's music - even in more aggressive tunes like the thrashy 'A Vow to Conquer the Ocean' and the black metal informed 'Isle of Solace' do we hear melodic guitar leads. And it is exactly this sense of melody, and the lushness it generates, along with the little details and twists and turns found throughout this album, that makes "The Weight of Oceans" the very interesting and compelling listen that it is.

In many ways, In Mourning could be described as a more sophisticated Paradise Lost (of course, In Mourning have their own sound - this is just to draw a line of comparison), combining melancholy and musical lushness. I think that "The Weight of Oceans" should appeal to fans of the likes of Barren Earth, My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost and perhaps also Crematory and Ecnephias.

(review originally posted at metalmusicarchives.com)

'Monolith' - In Mourning (6/10)

Having only recently come to my attention, I had heard good things about this Swedish melodic death metal act before checking it out. Being described by some as 'one of the best metal albums of 2010,' I took it upon myself to give In Mourning's 'Monolith' a listen for myself to decide whether these claims were founded or not. As it turns out, this young band is certainly impressive in their own right. Taking the signature melodic metal sound of their home country (also called the 'Göteborg' sound), In Mourning makes a solid first impression. However, the route the band takes has been done to death already, and with legions of acts having already covered the same territory before, it might be difficult for this talented act to make a lasting stand.

From the first listen of the opening track, I instantly related the music of In Mourning to compatriot acts Dark Tranquility, Opeth, and In Flames, among others. A very polished sound, plenty of heavy melodic guitar work, growls and then a soaring, catchy chorus all tie this band together with the more experienced and travelled acts. The album starts off in a vein that is very typical of melodic death metal, but also very skilled and enjoyable. Throughout the first few tracks, there is solid song structure, choral hooks and occasional curveballs, such as an acoustic breakdown here and there. Towards the latter part of the album however, there is a very noticable (possibly intentional), gradual change of sound. While the beginning of the album took an upbeat and hard hitting approach to the music, things start sounding more like doom metal than anything as 'Monolith' nears it's closing. With heavy anthems like 'The Poet & The Painter Of Souls' and the funeral doom epic 'The Final Solution' sharing the same disc, 'Monolith' can feel at times like two separate works. However, the change of the sound from upbeat to depressive and forlorn makes for an interesting emotional journey.

While certainly not being the most original act I've come across, one thing In Mourning does very well, is the actual presentation and execution of their music. In a crystal clean vessel of production, it becomes all the more important for the musicians to give a very deliberate and purposeful execution. The members of In Mourning accomplish this by delivering a nearly flawless performance of their work. Tobias Netzell gives a good range of vocal work here running from growls to vulnerable clean vocals, although the majority of the vocal work here generally rests on low pitched grunts, typical of the genre.

In Mourning have established themselves as a talented act with 'Monolith.' There is a great performance, some decent songwriting ability and a competent package. The band wears their influences on their sleeve, but rarely succeeds at surpassing the giants of the style.

Disappointing, at least from an extreme-metal-fan's point of view.

The Shrouded Divine has become one of my favorite albums over the last two years. I would go as far as declaring it one of my favorite albums of the last decade. With that album being such a favorite of mine the expectations to their follow up might have been unrealistically high. Nevertheless, the second official release from In Mourning proves to be somewhat of a disappointment. The music is still performed flawlessly. There are good melodies, but something made me lose interest rather quickly. I did, however, spend a long time trying, as I really was rooting for these guys. It is hard to describe in one sentence what makes this inferior to their debut, so I will have to go in detail.

The album opens with For You To Know, and the riffing is pretty good. That is before the awful vocals kick in. Luckily this singing style only appears a couple of times on the album. I can appreciate the screamo, nu-metal style vocals in the right setting. But when everything is as perfectly performed, border lining a neurotics wet fantasies, there are no place for out of key sounding elements. This singing style seems almost identical to that of Leprous as well. But where it fits nicely in with the style of Leprous, it just seems out of place in this setting. The rest of the song is by far one of the best on the album. The melody, variation and riffs are top notch.

The next song is called Debris. Forgetting the yawn of an opening, this song kicks off with one of the albums most interesting riffs (00:58). The starting/stopping and subtle syncopations are similar to the riffing I loved with The Shrouded Divine. Also the following verse is incorporated with the technicality of the riff in an excellent manner. Unfortunately when the pre-chorus riff takes over (around 02:50), the rest of the song becomes very predictable. The riffing is straight forward. I have heard the chorus many times before. And in addition, being that Debris is one of the "calmer" tracks on the album, kicking in a slower pace towards the end makes me lose interest. It would have been a better choice to pick up the pace instead. The remainder of the song seems very similar to the band Godgory. (This goes for many tracks on this album.)

The third track, The Poet and the Painter of Souls, is the most upbeat track on the album. The riffing is rather straight forward though. There are some excellent syncopated parts jumping in at 01:28, but this little spicing of the riffs aren't enough to break up the monotonous feel of this track. Where such riffs were spiced up with unexpected turns and twists on The Shrouded Divine, such tendencies are absent on Monolith.

The Smoke also reminds me very much of Godgory before the singing starts. Then it dwells into more doomy areas. The whole song has a very monotonous feel, compared to most of the tracks on their previous album. It sounds a bit as an old Katatona track, of the album Brave Murder Day. I also get some My Dying Bride vibes.

The opening riff of A Shade Of Plague is also very goth sounding. It would fit nicely in as a Sentenced riff. A more progressive part takes over for a few seconds, but the mid tempo, doomy feel permeates in this song as well. Also similar to Godgory. Riffing is straight forward and monotonous here as well.

With You Came Silence is again dwelling in Katatonia-esque landscapes. Especially the lead guitar is very similar. Also this track makes me loose interest as it develops into more doomy stuff as opposed to picking up the pace, or spicing up the predictability with technical twists and unexpected turns.

Pale Eye Revelation starts op with a thin, and somewhat strange sounding riff, before the verse is introduced. It seems to be picking it up momentarily, before the track looses itself in monotony and predictability. This song also lacks what most songs on Monolith have been missing, which is a touch of original identity.

Ending this album is the track, The Final Solution. It is 12 minutes long and also by far the most doom sounding and slow song on the album. And that would be great if it had been made with some originality to it. Though this song is far from being a Funeral Doom song, In Mourning could have benefitted from listening to Swallow The Sun or Runemagic, if they wanted to make some really slow doom songs with originality and identity to it. The Final Solution sound like something that has been made countless times before.

So there you have it. I guess my objections to Monolith are that it has lost some of the unique identity that I initially found in The Shrouded Divine. The previous album also had some pretty usual death metal songs, but they were consistently spiced up with unexpected elements. Elements that unfortunately are absent on Monolith. Where The Shrouded Divine was borderline tech/extreme metal, Monolith is borderline doom metal. And some of In Mournings initial magic seems lost. Still, I have not given up on this band. I count them as one of the most exciting metal acts to emerge in quite a time, and look forward to their future endeavors. Better luck next time.

I sometimes wonder what's happening with Death Metal these days (yes, I call this Death Metal). Either I'm becoming more tolerant, or this music is getting softer and more melodic. In general speaking, it is hard rough, but let's be honest. You can find perfection in tyranny, as well as in beauty (beauty is more prominent). However, being rough, being not optimistic is not a crime, same as being optimistic is (hey you, haters of Moon Safari). Strange thing is that even most of my music works in my speakers, this one wasn't so successful (but as I said, most of music works [for me]), but this one is killing, striking greatness (yes, this word exist, hooray). For example Mannefall is metaphoric audioalization of simple act that every one of us must do from time to time. To catch your breath guys, that's it. Next round of melodic Tech Metal it is (so it's not plane, nor bird, it's Metal). I like this kind of "weaker" Tech Metal. Because it's not so "Extreme" (pun intended).

4(+), believe it or not, but you should believe, if you consider yourselves as "believer".

Dear fellow hardheaded progressiphiles, try imagine a band that plays a mix style of Opeth and In Flame or Dark Tranquility. If you happen to love those aforementioned, this is it...this is Monolith.

I have to say I don't know much about the previous releases of In Mourning as this album, Monolith, is happen to be the first In Mourning CD I've ever own (Thank you PA .) What I do know is there are pretty much resemblance of Swedish metal sound incorporated in this release. And since I am a hardcore Opeth fan and was for Dark Tranquility/In Flame admirer, I found this album very pleasing. There is not much left to say about their sound since a terminology like Opeth + Dark Tranquility is quite self explanatory. Mixing, production and musicianship wise, they are topnotch. The only thing that I don't like is vocal style. I used to like it but as I grow older, however, I find this kind of top-of-the-lung growling/screaming is quite let down.

Very good album for Tech/Extreme Prog. Almost full 4 stars. But for Swedish Melodic Death Metal lover, this album is 5 stars.