FROM WITHIN

Okay, I lied. Anekdoten's third album, From Within, has to be one of the darkest, gloomiest, and all around most brooding albums of all time. Like previous efforts, this one is very heavy on just about every angle. It's driven (mostly) by a pounding, swimming, heavy bass, a ton of mellotron and some very heavy guitar riffs spread throughout. Unlike other albums, though, the band really have decided to lay on the heavy tones (the melancholic ones) and instead of having the album move at a blistering speed a la Where Solitude Remains it inches along on heavy riffs and some very slow sections.

The album kicks off heavily with the title track, a song that very clearly lays out the path for the rest of the album. From Within features that ever-present bass that Anekdoten utilizes so well. Much like Chris Squire wrote memorable bass lines for Yes, Jan Erik Liljeström rips away at the speakers with some oh-so-unforgettable bass sections. The title track features this, but so most of the other songs. In fact, sometimes it's hard to hear the guitar over the sea of bass - and that's a good thing! It really sets a mood which the rest of the instruments carry well. Kiss Of Life has the guitar put a bit more to the foreground, and the mellotron works very well here, but the bass still carries along the sound in general. One of the more ''thin'' songs actually turns out to be a very big standout despite the fact that it doesn't have quite the swimming bass, Groundbound is a fast starting song that gives way to a slower section midway though - and the vocals really shine in this one.

Some of the album really gets quite slow at points though, and this can be distracting. If you're used to the force of Vemod then some of this album can seem a bit poky. Hole gets off to a great start and at 11-minutes in duration is very promising, until it hits the slow part in the middle. While this does eventually catch on if you give it time and many listens, this can be a little bit off-putting. This happens throughout the album, like on the quick starting Slow Fire, which soon burns to a crawl - and then picks up again at the end for a nice finish. Firefly is another slower, very heavy tune, and a good one at that.

More great moments near the end are still to come. The heavy, brooding instrumental, The Sun Absolute is a wonderful piece that lasts for a good 6 and a half minutes, more bass and mellotron to get lost in here. For Someone is a delicate acoustic closer that still swims in mellotron. Good vocals and lyrics in this one finish off the album on a very melancholic note.

I've struggled with a rating for this album for a while now. While the album does have some moments of pure brilliance, the album doesn't have quite the momentum of Vemod. This is certainly a very good album, maybe not if you're looking for something upbeat, but in terms of brooding melancholy - Anekdoten really does take the cake. 3.5 stars for this very good album. It catches on after many listens, but you really have to be in the right mood for it. Recommended for people who want some really heavy, dark music - this album actually has a lot in kin with some ''experimental prog metal albums, so I recommend it to fans of that genre as well.

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