It might be a calculated risk on Albert Mudrian’s part to feature Swedish upstarts (OK, they’ve been truckin’ since 2002) as cover stars on the new issue of Decibel (available HERE), but looking back on previous cover icons his choices have proven, largely, correct. Though it’s easy to point fingers and say, “Hey, this band on that label and they have a new album out and that’s why they’re on the cover,” well, cover decisions aren’t always so linear. They can be difficult or emotional decisions. Case in point: Paradise Lost (available HERE). A band with a long history but almost zero U.S. label involvement until their recent pact with Century Media. Albert could’ve gone with another cover, but he went with his emotions.
Which is why I’m pretty stoked on the Swedes getting the November 2013 cover. They have an “it” factor. Not just ’cause they’re Swedish (and I’m biased by being part Swede), but ’cause they get it. They’re involved in the music to be involved in the music. There’s very little pretense (from my end at least) as to why they rule on record and they give an excellent story in J. Bennett’s In Solitude treatise on the band. Plus, any band that joins Repulsion on stage for a cover of Bathory’s “The Reaper” (see HERE) is A-OK in my tome of tomes.
So, it’s with absolute pleasure and forthright support that I (rather Decibel) present new In Solitude cut, “Pallid Hands.” Time to revel in digital flesh.
** In Solitude’s new album, Sister, is out October 1 on Metal Blade Records. It’s available for pre-order HERE. Choose your bundle and wait for October to fall.
