In Solitude

Album Title: Sister
Record Label: Metal Blade
Review by Sal Serio
(1824) Page Views

In Solitude - SisterIn Solitude - Sister

What I like about Swedish band In Solitude is their ability to take the dark metal format and add a ton of hooky melody and dramatic theater to the music, which, in many ways, conjures up memories of early Queens Of The Stone Age, and especially the sporadic but highly influential Syracuse rockers Masters Of Reality.

I first got turned on to In Solitude via their second album ‘The World The Flesh The Devil’, which I thought was quite memorable and ripe with intrigue. Therefore, it was a no-brainer to seek out the new ‘Sister’ release, yet I was not prepared for the monumental strides these Swedes have taken with their sound. In no way whatsoever is this music just for metal-heads. ‘Sister’ is catchy without being weak, metallic without being thrash, and gothic without being trite or embarrassing.

Guitarists Henrik Palm and Niklas Lindström create menacing auras with their intertwined riffing, but also interject enough melodious finger-picking to keep the eight ‘Sister’ tracks from falling into any sort of simplistic “loud rock” categorization. Singer Pelle Åhman rises to the occasion with his expressive delivery and dynamic range, which runs the gamut from whispered caution, to classic hard rock wailing, and plenty of ballsy middle-range gut-busting projection.

In Solitude Online
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