Metal Blade
2013
1. He Comes
2. Death Knows Where
3. A Buried Sun
4. Pallid Hands
5. Lavender
6. Sister
7. Horses In The Ground
8. Inmost Nigredo
This is my first time reviewing In Solitude, but not my first time hearing them. I picked up on this band sometime last year, after their first two albums had been out awhile. As I tend to stick to reviewing new stuff, I've never written about the band, but I have been enjoying them. In fact, I instantly fell in love with this band's sound when I did come across them. In Solitude's first two albums have this great old school, stripped down sound that draws on Iron Maiden gallops that reminds me of early US traditional/power metal. There is also this nice dark tone though and occult vibe that would not be out of place on a Mercyful Fate or King Diamond album. Good traditional/heavy stuff for sure and I was pretty excited to hear new material from them here.
Well, I have to say that I think Sister is my least favorite In Solitude release to date and is a minor letdown. That being said, it is not a bad album. There is just a quality to some of this material I don't like as much. I think it's partly that there isn't as much galloping energy, but also that seems thing a bit more disjointed and discordant than their first two. I get what they're going for, but I find their approach to sounding dark and gloomy just a bit more ham handed on this one and the melodies suffer a bit at times. Also, I just don't find some of the songs on here as headbangable. I think the best illustration of my criticisms of this album is the first track, He Comes, which is long enough to be a full song and sort of is, but at the same time it's just very trudging and too much about atmosphere. Basically, it sounds like an overlong intro. Likewise I find tracks like A Buried Sun just a bit too plodding to be interesting.
All that being said, there certainly are some good tunes too. Pallid Hands has that more melodic drive underlying the music that I like and it's swifter pace just makes their sound more exciting in my opinion. It's a distinction between getting too bogged down in atmosphere versus using it in a good straight up metal way. I obviously prefer the later. Sister also moves along with a sound that conjures up comparisons to NWOBHM like Angel Witch. Lavender is a bit more geared toward mood, but doesn't let it take over and is raw while maintaining it's focus. This one kind of reminds me of early Savatage and that is not a bad thing either.
Sister is basically an album that starts a bit slow, with the first three tracks not really grabbing me, but it does get better along the way. It's not quite rock solid and I'd consider this their least essential album so far, but it's certainly not an unenjoyable experience. Some of the tracks are kick ass in fact, it just doesn't always keep the energy going and some of the more disjointed riffs try a bit too hard. Really though, this is worth the price of admission if you're a fan. The highlights are well worth hearing. I just would probably start off with an album like The World. The Flesh. The Devil. first if I was a new listener. I'm kind of hoping for something with more of those traditional Maiden/NWOBHM touches next time and a wee bit less Mercyful Fate. It was the blend that made the band's first albums and this just isn't quite as cohesive. Still, if you like some of the bands I mentioned, especially Mercyful Fate, than this could be something you want to listen to.
Highlights: Pallid Hands, Sister, Lavender
Rating - 3.0/5
2. Death Knows Where
3. A Buried Sun
4. Pallid Hands
5. Lavender
6. Sister
7. Horses In The Ground
8. Inmost Nigredo
This is my first time reviewing In Solitude, but not my first time hearing them. I picked up on this band sometime last year, after their first two albums had been out awhile. As I tend to stick to reviewing new stuff, I've never written about the band, but I have been enjoying them. In fact, I instantly fell in love with this band's sound when I did come across them. In Solitude's first two albums have this great old school, stripped down sound that draws on Iron Maiden gallops that reminds me of early US traditional/power metal. There is also this nice dark tone though and occult vibe that would not be out of place on a Mercyful Fate or King Diamond album. Good traditional/heavy stuff for sure and I was pretty excited to hear new material from them here.
Well, I have to say that I think Sister is my least favorite In Solitude release to date and is a minor letdown. That being said, it is not a bad album. There is just a quality to some of this material I don't like as much. I think it's partly that there isn't as much galloping energy, but also that seems thing a bit more disjointed and discordant than their first two. I get what they're going for, but I find their approach to sounding dark and gloomy just a bit more ham handed on this one and the melodies suffer a bit at times. Also, I just don't find some of the songs on here as headbangable. I think the best illustration of my criticisms of this album is the first track, He Comes, which is long enough to be a full song and sort of is, but at the same time it's just very trudging and too much about atmosphere. Basically, it sounds like an overlong intro. Likewise I find tracks like A Buried Sun just a bit too plodding to be interesting.
All that being said, there certainly are some good tunes too. Pallid Hands has that more melodic drive underlying the music that I like and it's swifter pace just makes their sound more exciting in my opinion. It's a distinction between getting too bogged down in atmosphere versus using it in a good straight up metal way. I obviously prefer the later. Sister also moves along with a sound that conjures up comparisons to NWOBHM like Angel Witch. Lavender is a bit more geared toward mood, but doesn't let it take over and is raw while maintaining it's focus. This one kind of reminds me of early Savatage and that is not a bad thing either.
Sister is basically an album that starts a bit slow, with the first three tracks not really grabbing me, but it does get better along the way. It's not quite rock solid and I'd consider this their least essential album so far, but it's certainly not an unenjoyable experience. Some of the tracks are kick ass in fact, it just doesn't always keep the energy going and some of the more disjointed riffs try a bit too hard. Really though, this is worth the price of admission if you're a fan. The highlights are well worth hearing. I just would probably start off with an album like The World. The Flesh. The Devil. first if I was a new listener. I'm kind of hoping for something with more of those traditional Maiden/NWOBHM touches next time and a wee bit less Mercyful Fate. It was the blend that made the band's first albums and this just isn't quite as cohesive. Still, if you like some of the bands I mentioned, especially Mercyful Fate, than this could be something you want to listen to.
Highlights: Pallid Hands, Sister, Lavender
Rating - 3.0/5
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