Swallow The Sun - Hope Review

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Tracklist:
1. Hope
2. These Hours of Despair
3. The Justice of Suffering
4. Don't Fall Asleep (Horror Pt. 2)
5. Too Cold for Tears
6. The Empty Skies
7. No Light, No Hope
8. Doomed to Walk the Earth
9. These Low Lands

Ranking: #32 for 2007

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3.9
excellent

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other reviews

Shattered_Future (4.5)
While not as good as their debut, Hope is yet another terrific release by one of the best modern doo...

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5.0
classic

loathed USER (9 Reviews)

2007-02-16 | 153 comments | 4,907 views

Summary: No words can describe, you have to get this!

8 of 8 thought this review was well written

"Hope is a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life."

Have you ever been tormented by hope? Ever felt so down when you were somewhat hopeful? For the majority, hope is something of good faith, believing that a positive outcome is still possible even though all signs point towards the negative. Well my friends, being hopeful, or just simply...Hope, can be depressing.

Hope is the title of Finnish melodic doom metallers Swallow the Sun's third album. One would think that with such an album name, songs would generally sound happy, uplifiting and hopeful. However, if you've heard any Swallow the Sun prior to this, you know that is never going to happen. This album takes you through over an hour of emotional rollercoaster, never letting you out of it's clutches, despite the length. There are moments on here for everyone to enjoy, ranging from the cleanly sung vocals, to the heavier death growls on the vocals, and the cleanly picked riffs to the heavily distorted. This material, my friends, is depressing, moody, emotional, atmospheric, melodic...and what more?

From the strong opener Hope, one can already feel your heartstrings being tugged at. The song has a nice mixture of both heavy and mellow, giving it a very depressing, emotional and melodic feel. The transition from clean to the heavy and distorted section is very well done. Just listen to the opening riff, until the 1:30 mark, and tell me that nothing has touched you. Even if nothing did touch you (you'd probably be 90% lying), the song will definitely pummel you into submission. What a very contradicting title for such a song...but then again, after listening to this, you'll be very "hopeful" for the rest of the album! Definitely one of the highlights.

These hours of despair follows the heavier route, without any clean sections. Need i say anything more? The song title already says it! The Justice of Suffering is quite the melancholic song. Very depressing in nature, one that would make you cry. A weird instrumental section ensues in this song, however, it adds further to the depressive emotion that the songs churns out. The single Don't Fall Asleep (Horror Part 2) is probably one of the best, if not the best song on here. From the moment the starting lyrics are cleanly sung, you cannot help but be overwhelmed by emotion. The vocals in the clean vocals gives you a sense of hopelessness, like you're somewhat engulfed in something, something which never ends. Then when you thought nothing more emotional could happen, BAM, the distorted, heavy chorus hits you. No words can describe how many will feel when it ensues. Feels sometimes, just like a knife piercing through your heart. The keyboards provides a very nice melody, coupled with heavy distorted sounds from the guitars. The death growls makes it a tad more brutal, but is rather fitting. There is also a weird haunting female chant in the background. Just put them all together, and you get one of the most depressing moments on the album.

By now, with most albums, you'd already probably be somewhat bored due to the length (each song averages about 6 minutes). However, your attention grows as the album keeps playing. Also, despite the depressive nature of the album, you still somewhat have the urge to keep going on...just like an endless train ride. Too Cold For Tears is the definition of doom. Slow, heavy, melodic, depressing...most elements of doom is here, a very enjoyable, and well...yes, yet again, depressing song. The atmosphere that the song portrays is nothing short of special, amazing how such simple atmospheric stuff can capture your emotions. The Empty Skies and No Light, No Hope portrays more of the aggressive side of the album. Unrelenting in it's assault, grabbing you by the neck, never letting go till the end. The album's closer, These low lands is a very good last song by any means. The keyboards play a large part in this song, listen to the melody on 0:20 for an example. The combination of clean and growled vocals combines really well on here.

All in all, this album is anything but hopeful. Hope will remain a very contradictory album title, with its endless depressing moments. However, this album, is in a sense...a hope. Never have i heard anything in my entire as depressing as this. Granted, i did try out some My Dying Bride. However, it did not appeal to me back then. This, my friends, is hope beyond hope. Exactly, what doom should be (if you take away the higher tempo).

There is no pros and cons, nor best or worst song. This album is a must have for fans of doom meta...wait, metal in general. No! wait! For fans of music in general. The amount of emotion churned out is unsurpassed. Even if you're not a huge fan of doom, give this a moment...and you might never let it out of your sight again.

This...my friends...

is Hope

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