Band: October Tide
Title: A Thin Shell
Label: Candlelight Records
Distribution: Plastic Head Distribution
Release date: October 11th 2010
Review: CD

The idea started in 1995, when two Katatonia-members, Jonas Renske (also in Bloodbath) and Fredrik Norrman (ex-Uncanny, ex-Fulmination), created material that differed (a lot) from their main band. Originally, October Tide were meant to be a temporary project, and besides two full lengths, Rain Without End (VIC Records, 1997) and Grey Dawn (Avantgarde Music, 1999 - with vocalist Mårten Hansen of This Ending / Sins Of Omission / A Canorous Quartet / Votur-fame), October Tide didn’t record anything worthy…
Mr. Norrman, however, decided to reform the project, and with Robin Bergh (Cellout, ex-Amaran), Tobias Netzell (In Mourning, ex-Contortion/Volturyon) and session bass player / producer Jonas Kjellgren (ex-Carnal Forge, Scar Symmetry, Centinex etc), he recorded the third full length after eleven years of silence.
The seven tracks on A Thin Shell last between five and seven minutes and partly go on in the vein of both former releases. However, the average quality in all its aspects is much, much better: more professional, better thought-through, more convinced / convincing, more mature, …
Still the hymns combine Doom Metal with its roots in both Death and Black Metal. It does seem rather melancholic, yet (luckily) not of the pathetic kind, and comes with a spirit that combines both the old UK-based scene (think Anathema, My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost), as well as the Scandinavian (Opeth, Theatre Of Tragedy, Katatonia) one. October Tide introduces lots of own elements, like more progressive or ominous ones, and the main accent has an old school foundation, yet with a present-day approach. The melodies are splendidly written and composed, and so are they in its performance. My problem with both first albums was that they couldn’t impress me in their totality; yet that’s not the case when it comes to this mostly interesting and close-to-perfection album.

90/100

Ivan Tibos.