Wow, this album really grew on me. I'd classify it as death metal, in the Swedish Gothenburg style, but it's really very atmospheric and has classical influences in places. One thing that may grate on a few people is the vocals, which sound like an immature combination of black metal shrieking and punk-style whining. The good thing is that there are some vocal parts which sound very deathy, and others which are pure clean vocals, used in the perfect places for maximum feeling. Very technical yet creative riffing, which interacts well with the drums for me to break my neck to it. While the songs are complex, I notice that there will be a series of different song parts with very good continuity, but then they will be virtually repeated in that order near the end of the song. I began to notice that this pattern seems to recur throughout the album. Don't let this deter you though; although the songs may seem similar because of this, the songwriting is still very creative and the songs do have definition. Quite an awesome band, and I think they will improve with their immense wealth of talent, especially seeing as they have a new singer for their upcoming album.

This review is credited to:
Julian Forbes

Now here's a band that doesn't get nearly the credit they deserve. To those metal fans that thought the Swedish scene was dead in the water since '97, having been filled to the brim with nothing but second-rate In Flames and Dissection knockoffs, Darkane, out of Helsingborg, should be a much-needed breath of fresh air.

Darkane's sound is a pretty sharp departure from the At the Gates-spawned "Gothenburg" sound, which permeated through Sweden (and to a lesser extent, Finland) in the mid-to-late 90s. Their music is much more aggressive, progressive, and brutal than anything put out in recent years by much of the band's Swedish brethren. Though certainly not devoid of the melodic qualities that brought bands like In Flames and Dark Tranquillity to the forefront of the underground metal scene (so much so that the latter garnered a Swedish Grammy nomination). The band's riffing approach is an interesting fusion of complex percussive and fast thrash rhythm guitars with melodic solos (though none of the almost sickeningly sweet lead melodies that many of the Gothenburg-style bands use in damn near excessive amounts). This guitar style alone makes the band highly original and worth checking out. It's a perfect balance between Slayer, At the Gates, and Meshuggah.

However, perhaps the most impressive thing about Darkane is the drumming. Behind the kit for this band, sits one of the most under-appreciated skinsmen in metal today. His credentials include Arch Enemy's 1998 release Stigmata and Christopher Amott's 1997 pet project Armageddon's lone album Crossing the Rubicon, which was one of my favorite concept albums of all time. Yes, I'm talking about none other than Peter Wildoer, the man with the nimblest limbs in Scandinavia. This man's drumming is about as fast, tight, and creative as any I've ever heard before. Much akin to that of the legendary Sean Reinert (Cynic/Death), Wildoer's drumming incorporates flashy cymbal patterns and complex tom-hitting fills with traditional metal drumming, for a very intense and jazzy sound. Wildoer also wrote much of the music for this album, which very much reflects in the band's very tight and complex overall sound.

Vocalist Lawrence Mackrory also brings an interesting dimension to Darkane's sound. At first, I didn't know what to make of Mackrory's style, which is a mix of rather high-pitched, somewhat electronically-enhanced screams and aggressive, almost punkish clean vocals with the rare low (also electronically-aided) growl here and there. They were annoying, but at the same time fit the music well and were quite dynamic. Over time, I got to appreciate Mackrory's vocals more and more, almost to the point where I wished he sang on some other albums, which I thought were vocally deficient. It's almost as if Mackrory is Sweden's answer to the godlike Mike Patton. Certainly one of the most versatile vocalists in metal today.

Originality aside, even when stripped down, Rusted Angel is a great album with songwriting that is complex without being self-indulgent (as is the case with too many death metal bands today). There is enough variety here to keep one interested even if many of the tracks go by all too quickly. The presentation also gives the album a very cold and machine-like feel, which matches the nihilistic and bleak lyrics quite well. Just listen to the way the fantastic title track builds up with a creepy, almost horrorcore-like intro and then blasts into a ballistic chugging riff that projects the cold, hateful machinations of a cruel deity with perfection. You'll understand that Darkane is definitely a band that writes and performs every song with calculating precision.

There's no doubt in my mind that Darkane will, given the right amount of label support, become one of the most prominent bands in modern metal. Considering the amazing level of talent and originality displayed in this, their debut album, it'd be a travesty if they didn't. Rusted Angel is an album with the potency to be enjoyed by both hardline Swedish metal supremacists and death metal fans growing weary of the seemingly endless stream of Suffocation and Cannibal Corpse clones emerging in the U.S. Buy this!

This review is credited to:
The Havoc Vulture