“I think that the whole beauty of making music is that it’s kind of unpredictable. We don’t have any boundaries of how complex or straight-forward a song will be. It all comes out naturally when we get together and arrange songs. It’s really all about what’s best for the song in general.“
– Christian Netzell (drummer) of In Mourning. (Taken from an interview by El Greco with http://www.stormbringer.at/)
I’m more than delighted to be doing a review for a band that I’ve been supporting the past couple years now, In Mourning of Falun/Vansboro, Sweden. This band made up of two previous October Tide members: Tobias Netzell (vocals, guitar) and Pierre Stam (bass) along with Tobias’s brother Christian Netzell(quoted above) have been active since the year 2000 where they first released several demos before undergoing some tweaks in both their musical direction and line-up.
In 2005, 2 new guitarist joined: Björn Pettersson and Tim Nedergård to aid the band’s progression from their initial goth inspired roots into what Christian now describes as “melodic, melancholic, and progressive metal.” In 2008 the band released their well acclaimed first full-length album Shrouded Divine, followed in 2010 by Monolith.
I recall the first track I ever heard from In Mourning was “Amnesia” off their 2008 release and immediately I was asking myself, “Why the hell am I just now hearing this?” It was reminiscent of Opeth yes; in which, considering their Swedish and musical background, they’re probably well custom to such a comparison. Perhaps, a bit of a broken record actually… Nevertheless, there are far more dreadful things to be compared to. There is always Abba, right? (Please review Anthony Bourdain’s Swedish episode of his show No Reservations to fully appreciate this reference.)
Back to my primary purpose here (ramble on!), educating you fine people on In Mourning and what better timing that the fast approaching release of their 3rd full length studio album entitled The Weight of Oceans. Highly anticipated by the select and bright few of us- who have huddled in our underground caves, hearts pounding, disbelief building (because you haven’t heard them yet, shame); over this unbelievably underrated band. I say, let this 3rd attempt be the well earned charm In Mourning needs to be more wide-spread. Little comes to my mind as tragic as the struggle brilliant people have to overcome simply to be heard and share their incredible gifts.
Less than a year after the release of Monolith, In Mourning let word slip back on December 20, 2010 (via facebook) that they had already begun rehearsing new material. Now, thanks to( http://kaaoszine.fi/) we’re able to stream this material until the official release on April 18, 2012.
GET YOUR THE WEIGHT OF OCEANS PRE-ORDER: (http://www.recordshopx.com/artist/in_mourning/the_weight_of_oceans/#cd)
Now, I’ve expressed previously that I have unwavering patience in holding out for the official release of albums I’m dying to hear. However, In Mourning has promoted this opportunity and in order to support them, I broke one of my own rules. So far, my first impressions are as I had suspected… The band has maintained their pedigree and sound from the previous 2 records, especially Monolith.
In saying this, I do not wish to give the false notion that I’m disappointed. In my opinion, the band has every right to do this as the sound they’ve honed in the last 4 years is a sound they deserve to be recognized for. It’s only a matter of time until they reach a substantial amount of listeners and can finally relish in the bliss of being heard.
Because we’re all critics now thanks to the power we derive behind the safety of our keyboards, I will point out the one weak point I found based on 5:25 minutes into the song, A Vow to Conquer the Ocean. I felt the guitar piece was slightly weak and sounded more like “musicians tinkering with metal and becoming a bit lazy.” With 3 individuals playing guitar, the possibilities are vast and grand- and generally In Mourning‘s guitarist harmonize and compliment each other in ways music has been thirsting for. In fear of getting a head of myself (too late) this was the one complaint I had overall.
When I sat down to give this album a try, I had several scrap sheets of paper before me. I numbered the sheet 1-9 and was tickled to find that when going back through, specific words I used to describe what I was hearing were in the title of the track. I was curious to know the band’s writing process seeing how they’ve excelled in choosing song titles that can easily be visualized and interpreted through transcendent chords, bridges, harmonies, melodies and all remaining musical glory heard on the album. The artwork had me thinking, “yet another homage paid to Cthulhu,” but in no way does In Mourning replicate the many uprising tributes to a H.P. Lovecraft favorite.
The Weight of Oceans is a harmonious blend of the intensity and experimental attributes I’ve come to love from In Mourning in addition to the beauty and sensible mixture of clean and heavy vocals. They’ve even included a brief yet elegant piano interlude (appropriately entitled “Sirens“) on the album that segue’s tastefully into “Isle of Solace.” If I’m going to play favorites here however, I’d have to say “The Drowning Sun” because it perfectly gives the impression of day fading into night, while the sun disappears into the unrelenting and mysterious ocean below.
I highly recommend this album to anyone whose interested in discovering new and promising melodic and progressive metal. Let’s be honest, there aren’t too many fishes swimming in that sea, but with In Mourning there is hope for the future of what could be a lost art. Few people have the patience for music that sets out to tell a story anymore. We reach for the “next” button without haste on our music devices and overlook the time, precision, and detail that is put into carrying an entire idea to a close. The Weight of Oceans is well worth the time and journey of being beckoned into dark and yet immensely enchanting waters.
The Door, Not the Room 