Swallow The Sun – “When A Shadow Is Forced Into The Light” [Album Review]

Be forewarned, when you sit down to listen to the new Swallow the Sun record, When A Shadow Is Forced Into The Light, you are about to embark on an emotional journey of epic proportions. This record will stir something in you, plumbing the depths of your emotions with a melancholic vibe that is incredible and moving.

From the very beginning, the band weaves an intricate, mournful tapestry comprised of ethereal clean vocals, orchestral strings, and death metal riffs alongside gut wrenching, guttural vocals that can only originate from deep inside a performer. Vocalists Mikko Kotamäki and Jaani Peuhu are the real deal. They bare their souls for all to hear and share their pain with the listener; it is incredibly beautiful and devastatingly dark at the same time.

The production is fantastic and the tones on this record are extremely well-crafted and go a long way towards conveying the band’s message while electrifying hooks to give this entire doomy death metal offering a depressing, slow, and atmospheric vibe; this record really ooze sadness.

Swallow the Sun are masters at capturing this type of mournful metal sound, and I think that they are at the top of their game on When A Shadow Is Forced Into The Light.

When A Shadow Is Forced Into The Light Track Listing:

01. When a Shadow Is Forced into the Light
02. The Crimson Crown
03. Firelights
04. Upon the Water
05. Stone Wings
06. Clouds on Your Side
07. Here on the Black Earth
08. Never Left

Run Time: 52:30
Release Date: January 25, 2019
Record Label: Century Media

Check out moody, meditative “Upon the Water”.