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Hope is a very ironic title for Swallow the Sun's third album, because hope is something that the Finnish doom metal band offers very little of. The material is morose, pessimistic, brooding, and unapologetically dark; it is also impressively well-crafted and nicely executed. There are plenty of underground metal bands that govern by brute force alone, but Swallow the Sun bring a real sense of melodic craftsmanship to morbid offerings such as "Too Cold for Tears," "Doomed to Walk the Earth," "These Hours of Despair," and "The Justice of Suffering." Actually, most of Hope isn't terribly brutal compared to a lot of the death metal, black metal, and metalcore that have been recorded in the 21st century; this 2007 release is heavy, but usually not in the ferocious, cranium-crushing way that one expects from a lot of extreme metal bands. Hope is more moody than anything, sometimes even bringing to mind Pink Floyd -- and the most extreme thing about this album is the lead singing of Mikko Kotamäki (who favors a deep, guttural death metal-style growl). There are also some clean vocals on Hope as well as some use of the black metal rasp, but most of the time, death metal's infamous growl prevails -- which is not to say that Hope is death metal in the strict sense. Hope is very much a part of the doom scene -- specifically, the more atmospheric and gothic part of doom rather than the sludgy, Black Sabbath-obsessed side of doom that is close to stoner rock. Some headbangers have complained that they find Swallow the Sun and similar bands to be overly depressing, but then, art is under no obligation to push the smile button -- and for serious doom enthusiasts, there is a lot to admire on Hope. ~ Alex Henderson
2007 release of the Finnish doom metal band's third full length album. It's predecessor was the first doom metal album ever to enter the pop charts in their homeland....and it actually enjoyed a six week run!
Brilliant Doom/Death Metal that will suck you in whole. Opener "Hope" starts very warm and full sounding, with clear guitar and a soft clear voice, before SWALLOW THE SUN take away any glimmer of hope with their epic, heavy and atmospheric Doom Metal with a grave-like voice, sending us into the depths of despair, while "The Hours Of Despair" right after surprises with a heavy and also pretty fast beginning, just to intensify the doomy feeling after that, with a great atmosphere and brilliantly intertwined clear and harsh vocals, kicking off another wave of classic, brilliant Doom/Death Metal that will suck you in whole with "The Justice Of Suffering" and "Don't Fall Asleep (Horror Pt. 2)".
Then, though, we see a little drop off for the second half of the album, still providing us with solid, good Doom/Death, but somehow with a little less of a spark of genius than the first truly inspired cuts on the album, which is a bit sad, as one naturally would hope for a bit more after such a strong beginning, yet it is still not enough to really drag the album down much, as the quality still is far above average. Submitted by Talleyman (Albuquerque, NM) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Better than your mom The first song is the 'lighest' but listen to the WHOLE sample. Later songs draw redder blood and you end up thanking the gods you bought this powerful treasure. Submitted by MudWitch (Coastal, TX) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 0 of 1 found this helpful. This review is for a different format.
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