Ablaze My Sorrow keeps its rhythm with a new EP.
Two years after their fifth album, the Swedish band formed in 1993 and composed of Magnus Carlsson (guitar), Anders Brorsson (bass), Alex Bengtsson (drums), Dennie Lindén (guitar) and Jonas Udd (vocals) announces the release of The Loss of All Hope on Black Lion Records.
Transfiguration (The Way of the Strong) immediately brings melancholy to life with sweet vocals, then raw Melodic Death hits with a catchy rhythmic pattern and heady leads. Screams easily appear into the effective mix which still leaves room for intense and expressive clean vocals, then mystical orchestrations lead us to Boundless and its cold riffs. The track is slightly dissonant and haunting while offering more energetic elements by coupling a devastating rhythmic with massive vocal parts, then Rotten to the Core, the shortest track, comes to strike with its visceral Old School rage and its cutting riffs. We will also find some Heavy Metal influences in the leads when the surge slows down, finally giving birth to Enclosed In Crystals Of Ice and its abrasive slowness which lets cavernous screams oppress us before melodies resurface, creating a contrast with Doom/Death influences which is really interesting and pleasant to listen to.
Contrary to its title, The Loss of All Hope gives us another reason to believe in Ablaze My Sorrow‘s mastery while enjoying their melancholic or devastating riffs. The band knows its universe, and it is ready to make us enter.
85/100
