In Solitude – “Sister” [Album Review]

Sister is the third full-length release from the Swedish rock/metal band In Solitude and marks a bit of a departure from the group’s previous material. In the past the band cultivated what I would call a classic European sound and often have been compared to the great Mercyful Fate. Sister; however, is much different and it’s evident from the drop of the record’s very first note.

With this latest offering the guitars are cleaner, the vocals are saturated in reverb, and the overall organic, atmospheric production sounded to me as if Type O Negative and Ghost teamed up with Black Sabbath and Pentagram to release a one-off record. It has a heavy gothic vibe intricately melded with a late ’70s/early ’80s classic metal sound that just really works well.

Tempo-wise the songs run the gamut from upbeat and groovy (“Death Knows Where”) to hauntingly spooky (“He Comes”) to super slow-burning (“A Buried Sun”), the latter of which is a nine minute epic. At the end of the day I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this record and I highly recommend checking it out.

Track Listing:

01. He Comes
02. Death Knows Where
03. A Buried Sun
04. Pallid Hands
05. Lavender
06. Sister
07. Horses in the Ground
08. Inmost Nigredo

Run Time: 46:08
Release Date: October 1, 2013

Check out the song “Sister”