Rusted Angel

Darkane debuted the same year of another famous Swedish death metal band, Soilwork. That year, 1998, was very important for the naissance and the growth of a genre that would have influenced so many bands worldwide; that genre was a mix of classic swedish death/thrash with a more melodic and if we want modern style. The death/thrash, to make you understand, was filtered through heavy dosages of modern influences without, anyway, falling into the classic groove metal. The musical approach of these two bands, the most representative of this music, was always truly violent and pounding, at least on the first albums.

Going on those violent influences were left behind and the two bands started to embrace a new sound, increasing those modern influences we could sporadically find here. This debut by Darkane was almost unexpected and still nowadays, ten years after, I’m impressed by these guys. They had the technique, the aggression, the sense of melody and the violence, mixed all together. After a short intro, “Convicted” explodes in our stereo with a long series of up tempo and sudden, melodic overtures with lots of long solos and the same can be said for the following “Bound”. The break by the end is dark and apocalyptic while the faster parts show a more modern approach to the riffs, without being annoying and I can tell you this because I’m not a fan of modern stuff.

The atmosphere reflects perfectly the cover artwork in colours and images, being a completely dark effort where the most violent parts support perfectly the gloom notes of the lead guitars and the absolutely schizophrenic vocals by the best singer Darkane ever had, Lawrence Mackrony. “Rape of Mankind” is darker in its march and features sudden explosions of violence by a relentless rhythmic session. Even the rhythmic guitars are more melodic in some ways and they are big part of the apocalyptic atmosphere. The solos once again take inspiration from the, at the time, strong melodic death metal genre. The title track has easily one of the best intros we can find because is made by violins (!) and soon the guitars enter to add a darker tone to the entire track.

The tempo is always intense even during the less fast parts and the band manages to keep always its level of violence high through catchy and often melodic passages. That’s the real deal. That’s the hard thing to carry on. “Chase of Existence” features some of the melodies and overtures they would have increased in the following albums but here those overtures are well balanced with up tempo parts and they seem not so modern and annoying. “July 1999” is total impact while the last track, “Frenetic Visions” shows again some clean parts by the vocals, opposed to infernal screams and dark parts. The choirs at the end are frightening and at the same time so evocative.

All in all, this is another very good debut album by another impressive band from Sweden. If you loved the first album by Soilwork, get this one too and it won’t let you down. This album is heavy, well played and melodic at the same time so what are you waiting for. It worth 40 minutes of your life.