Band: In Mourning
Title: Monolith
Label: Pulverised Records
Distribution: Sure Shot Worx
Release date: 25/01/2010
Review: CD

In Mourning are a Swedish band with Contortion / Volturyon- and SkyRide-members. The formation was formed in 2000 and started as a Gothic / Death Metal outfit (cf. their self-called 2000-demo), but soon the style evolved into a more melancholic and progressive-oriented form of melodic Doom / Death Metal. Attention: ‘progressive’ does not mean the textures-ish or symphony-x’y form of Prog; it has to do with the technical and modern approach (cf. Opeth etc. - see later).
The band’s debut album, Shrouded Divine (2008), didn’t get but very positive responses (and that was evident and correct!), and this second one goes on in that very same vein, even though Monolith might sound much more mature and cohesive! The album was recorded, mixed and mastered at the famous Black Lounge Studio (One Man Army And The Undead Quartet, TorchBearer, Rimfrost, Facebreaker, Steel Attack a.o.) with Scar Symmetry / Carnal Forge / Centinex-member Jonas Kjellgren.
For fifty seven (!) minutes, Monolith stands as a (modest) monolithic power. The symbiosis melodic-technical comes with conviction and honesty, and at the same time it combines modern elements with early nineties’ ones, balancing on a subtle blackened edge. Like it was the case with the debut album, In Mourning has clearly been influenced by Opeth, but this time the band seems to have found an own gloomy direction (even though the influences still are obvious, but without just copying blindly). Also names as Ikuinen Kaamos, Novembre, The Provenance or Nahemah sometimes come to mind, yet again the band introduces some specific In Mourning-elements – an improvement compared to the (strong) debut.
And what about variation? Well, there’s plenty of it, and it fits. It isn’t just a collage of ideas, it is all about well-thought craftsmanship. Heavy versus (semi-) acoustic, fast versus slow, melodic versus brutal, modern versus traditional, it’s all part of the deal.
The compositions, having an average duration of about seven minutes, are intelligently-structured (think about the changes in melody and tempo), and at the same time the performance is superb. And yes, this also goes for the megalithic sound / production. Concluding: a worthy successor of Shrouded Divine, a recommendation, no, a must for fans of modern Swedish Doom / Death!

88/100

Ivan Tibos.