In Solitude - Sister (2013)



Year & Label: 2013, Metal Blade Records | CD#: 3984-15251-2
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There's a fine line between experimenting and evolving. Experimentation does not
necessarily lead to evolution. In fact, it often leads nowhere because
it's a product of a misguided mindset where "maturity" or "freedom" are
sought over simply creating quality music. Evolution comes naturally
from within the essence of an artist themselves. What can, on the
surface, appear as a radical change is often just a bolder display of
something that was already present. A new skin for the same serpent, so
to speak. In Solitude's third album, Sister, is exhibit A of this
principle.

While the self titled debut and The World.TheFlesh.TheDevil owed much to
Mercyful Fate and perhaps Iron Maiden to a lesser degree (though
possessing a personality of their own), Sister veers in an open ended
direction without losing the essence of what In Solitude is. The eight
songs within all have their own distinct identities and throughout there
are echoes of different generations of heavy metal's past. The sound
itself has a decidedly 70's flavor without sounding falsely "retro".
It's just very warm and lively a la all the best hard rock and heavy
metal from that period, with a natural almost in-the-room kind of sound.
Actually, though not there's no real overt stylistic comparisons to be
made, Sister reminds me of 70's Black Sabbath in its ability to take
semi-disparate musical strands and fluently weave them into something
all-encompassing. The ominous acoustic opener He Comes, the soaring
Death Knows Where, the heavy-as-fuck groove of A Buried Sun, Pallid
Hands' whimsical melody, Lavender's jagged, almost rock n roll bounce,
the gothic atmosphere of Sister, the hard charging spookiness of Horses
In the Ground, and best exemplified on the closing track, Inmost Nigredo
, which starts off on a soft note in the form of a psychedelic passage
before giving way to menacing, visceral doom and then an even more
menacing quasi black metal tremolo picked melody. Like a black hole
pulling in different forms of matter and light and coloring all in
illimitable blackness.

There is also the matter of what appear to be some post punk/goth
touches. In some other reviews I've seen, as well as personal opinions
expressed by fans, I think the focus on this aspect is overstated. Pelle
Ahman's vocals are the only obviously noticeable culprit in this
regard. But really he's not doing anything drastically different than
before, he's just doing what I'd imagine feels more natural and
comfortable for him, as well as probably just improving as a singer in
general. And his performance on Sister soars past his previous ones by a
good long way as a result. On first two albums, his vocals (though cool
sounding) were the least remarkable thing about them. Probably because
it seemed as though he was straining to fit a heavy metal vocal mold.
But here they are indispensable and are a large part of what make this
album what it is. Lyrically as well there's a somewhat different tact
taken than before. Satan and Death are still the focus but are now
expressed in a more personal, poetic way with less esotericism in the
language.

Even the visual presentation has been given an overhaul. The blatant
Satanic heavy metal imagery has been replaced by a more understated,
subliminal array of cut-out collage images with vaguely repellent and
sinister meaning. And that cover, oh that gloriously minimalistic and
evocative cover with its shadowy, decrepit, tomb-worn feminine face
reminiscent of the resurrected witch Asa from Mario Bava's Black Sunday
aka Mask of Satan. That face communicates all you need to know about the
atmosphere contained within. Its probably one of my favorite album
covers of all time.

What In Solitude have done with Sister is tremendous. Few bands these
days are capable of making an album of such timeless quality. Everything
about it works perfectly. There's not one wasted note to be found and
the songs, even with their aforementioned individualities, flow together
as a muscular whole. An ALBUM (in the purest sense of the word as it
pertains to music) done properly with obvious passion and skill, a
perfect transfusion of the black blood given by its creators.

www.metal-archives.com
Musicians:

Vocals : Pelle Åhman
Guitars : Henrik Palm
Guitars : Niklas Lindström
Bass : Gottfrid Åhman
Drums : Uno Bruniusson

Recorded at Studio Cobra, Stockholm, March 2013
Produced and mixed by Martin Konie Ehrencrona
Mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side

Track List:

01. He Comes [3:19]
02. Death Knows Where [4:37]
03. A Buried Sun [7:22]
04. Pallid Hands [5:53]
05. Lavender [4:54]
06. Sister [5:48]
07. Horses In The Ground [6:09]
08. Inmost Nigredo [8:06]

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