We’ve been geeked on Finland’s answer to My Dying Bride since 2003 when the fearless Finns issued debut album, The Morning Never Came. Years and four full-lengths later—the latest of which is the subtle yet stunning Emerald Forest And The Blackbird—, we’re still nuts about Swallow The Sun. So much so, we pre-empted the album stream premiere by interviewing keyboardist/king metalface Aleksi Munter (HERE) in which he said he wants every down-hearter and whatnot to get a boner when they walk away from hearing Swallow The Sun’s new album.
Well, in theory hordes of dudes in black t-shirts listening to romantic doom death with non-pharmacological wood sounds like a good idea, but in practice it’s not exactly the scene we’re into at the present. What we are into are songs like “This Cut is the Deepest”, “Cathedral Walls” and “Of Death and Corruption”. Songs that make us feel like we’re listening to some dark kids novel set to wicked music. Songs that your Canadian girlfriend might dig.
Without further ado, here’s Swallow The Sun’s Emerald Forest And The Blackbird. It’s markedly—no, superlatively—better than what My Dying Bride are doing these days.
** Swallow The Sun’s Emerald Forest And The Blackbird is out September 4th, 2012 on Spinefarm Records. Sure, it hit Europe back in winter, but there’s nothing like the smell of dead domestic trees and pressman’s ink on the U.S. version. So, yes, if you haven’t bought the import copy—we did, natch—it’s right HERE. If you have the import copy—there are two pressings, actually; one with matte paper, one with glossy paper—there are a few t-shirt designs at sweet prices HERE.
