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Review Summary: Niklas Sundin of Dark Tranquillity delivers an excellent collection of dark electro-classical soundscapes. Niklas Sundin isn’t making things easy for himself. Primarily known as the guitarist (and one of the main songwriters) for Dark Tranquillity, Niklas would have probably been better off releasing some sort of metal side-project. It would have been easier for those acquainted with his name to accept, and Dark Tranquillity fans would have been a ready-made fanbase. However, anyone familiar with Dark Tranquillity knows the band has never been one to do things the easy way, and a solo album was the perfect chance for Niklas to move outside of the metal genre. Instead, Niklas Sundin has released an electronic album full of dark instrumental soundscapes, undulating synths, classical influences, and the same melancholic atmospheres he has always been known for.
If there is a song that might work best as the ‘gateway’ into the world of Mitochondrial Sun it’s “Nyaga”. “Nyaga” is easily the most abrasive and energetic track on the album. It features a rolling percussive undercurrent, bottom-heavy synths, hints of guitar, and even a brief spoken-word interlude. The rest of Mitochondrial Sun, though, is an atmospheric and chill trip through gloomy electronic soundscapes devoid of guitar or any other recognizable metal influence. Beginning with a cyclical piano melody that is more Enya or even The Future Sound of London than Dark Tranquillity, “Ur Tehom” sets the mood perfectly. “Ur Tehom” carries the listener with the morose piano melody while different synths and sounds drift in and out, while underneath is just the slightest hint of a percussive beat – and so it goes throughout Mitochondrial Sun’s 43-minute runtime. Each song has some sort of cyclic melodic hook delivered through piano, violins, or some other classical influence while synths, sounds, and percussion undulate both above and below.
Even if a majority of the people that give Mitochondrial Sun a listen weren’t metal fans, this album would still have its work cut out for it – Electro-classical soundscapes don’t exactly have a huge fanbase. For those that are into that sort of thing, though, Mitochondrial Sun delivers a professional and enjoyable take on the genre that is easy to get into thanks to the well-crafted melodies, and solid sense of direction. The songs don’t meander or take a long time to build; they simply jump straight into the center of each theme, build the atmosphere, and then end. With Mitochondrial Sun, Niklas Sundin has delivered a well-crafted and memorable blend of electronics and classical influences that should appeal to those into the genre, and may even appeal to his installed metal fanbase due to the darker nature of most the tracks.
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Album Rating: 3.7 | Sound Off
Nyaga: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZfbuKwT9tg
Celestial Animal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HcdQc6-G_o
https://mitochondrialsun.bandcamp.com/album/mitochondrial-sun
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Great review, album is bookmarked for elaborate inspection.
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Listened to The Great Filter and liked it a lot -- will listen to the rest when I can! (I feel like I hear guitar on that one, but I don't have the most discerning ear.) Lovely straightforward review, obviously, am ever jealous of your clarity.
| | | Album Rating: 3.7 | Sound Off
--Great review, album is bookmarked for elaborate inspection.--
I don't know if this would be your thing or not...
--Listened to The Great Filter and liked it a lot -- will listen to the rest when I can! (I feel like I hear guitar on that one, but I don't have the most discerning ear.) Lovely straightforward review, obviously, am ever jealous of your clarity. --
I kind of thought there might be guitar on that one, but it also kind of sounded like distorted synth. I listened a few times, and I went back and forth, but settled on distorted synth (but I could definitely be wrong). Thanks. This review wasn't planned at all. I was just listening to it and decided it would be easy to knock something out for it.
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I don't know if this would be your thing or not...
I’ll find out and let you know ;-)
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Hey dude, very cool to see a review for this. I've only heard one snippet from this, and while I wasn't exactly blown away, I feel it deserves a full listen since I hold Niklas Sundin in very high regard as a musician and composer. I even wrote him an email about 16 years ago to tell him how much of an impact his work as an artist and musician has had on my life.. he never responded, but it's all good.
| | | Album Rating: 3.7 | Sound Off
Shit. With a backstory like that, it would almost be irresponsible not to give this a listen.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
lol he just shared your review on his Facebook page, maybe he'll track down that email...
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Did this dude just open an English dictionary to the middle and pick a random clever-looking for his side project name?
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
lol it's a very Dark Tranquillity sounding band name.
| | | Album Rating: 3.7 | Sound Off
Mitochondrias are elementary school science knowledge, and the "sun" part, I'm guessing, is a play on his last name. What it means... I don't know.
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This is the real life version "sometimes, I use big words I don't always fully understand in an effort to make myself sound more photosynthesis"
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
dude it's a band name that sounds cool, and matches the sound of the project. You might be looking too far into it
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aight if you insist, i'll listen but if I don't hear the krebs cycle popping off in there its an insta-1
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
hopefully you get your ATP's worth.
| | | Album Rating: 3.7 | Sound Off
Ha ha. I like the direction this conversation took. Science puns... ;)
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Gotta check this
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"Great review, album is bookmarked for elaborate inspection."
[2]
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
The two songs I heard off this are pretty sweet.
| | | Album Rating: 3.7 | Sound Off
--lol he just shared your review on his Facebook page, maybe he'll track down that email...--
That was pretty soon after it was posted, too. Let me know if he finds that old e-mail, ha ha.
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