Cemetery Skyline unveils its debut album.
Entitled Nordic Gothic, it features the efforts of Mikael Stanne (vocals, Dark Tranquillity, The Halo Effect, Grand Cadaver), Markus Vanhala (guitar, Insomnium, Omnium Gatherum, I Am The Night), Santeri Kallio (keyboards, Amorphis), Victor Brandt (bass, Dimmu Borgir, Witchery, ex-Entombed, ex-Firespawn…) and Vesa Ranta (drums, Sentenced, The Abbey), on Century Media Records.
I was personally very surprised by the Post-Punk touches of Torn Away, the first composition: it presents the band’s rather vaporous, soaring universe with a very accessible sound, even during the parts where saturation reigns in the instrumental. Mikael Stanne‘s clean voice is perfect for such an ethereal style, but also for the more martial, Industrial-oriented parts of the following track, In Darkness, which creates an interesting contrast. The Heavy-influenced solo also fits in well with the track’s atmosphere, leading on to Violent Storm, where the band once again mixes a number of elements in a soft, catchy mood, letting the jerky rhythm do its thing, becoming much more progressive on the chorus. Behind The Lie returns to more raw guitar tones, which the band manages to soften with ambient keyboards and a sometimes sparser rhythm section, but the break surprises us with a grandiose approach before When Silence Speaks follows with an unexpected touch of gentleness. The final is slightly heavier, but just as melancholy, while The Darkest Night returns to more upbeat patterns that the keyboards sublimate to make them hypnotic, before returning on the chilly Never Look Back, opening up complementary possibilities for the band that we recognize from their Gothic Rock roots. Melancholy resurfaces in full force with The Coldest Heart, finally adopting a more imposing approach sometimes complemented by distant backing vocals, before becoming relatively vivid with Anomalie, where the rhythm is energetic, but still finds the occasional ethereal touch. The long Alone Together brings the album to a close with its soaring but emotionally-charged quietude, and a final wave of heaviness.
Although the band’s line-up has almost always tended towards the extreme side of Metal, Cemetery Skyline allows them to express their gentleness through soothing, airy tones. Nordic Gothic lives up to its name, and is ready to bewitch you.
80/100
