The Morning Never Came is the debut CD from Finland's doom/death metal ensemble Swallow the Sun. They have created here an extremely melodic slice of crushing gloom and despair, littered with wonderful harmony guitar lines, Sabbath-styled riffs, orchestral keyboards, plodding rhythms, and dark gutteral vocals. Fans of early Amorphis, Opeth, My Dying Bride, or Katatonia will revel in the sounds of sadness and despair here, as each track is slow, plodding, yet so damn well executed that it borders on beauty. Most of the tunes are quite lengthy, in the 5-8 minute range, which allow for plenty of thunderous riffing and tortured vocals from singer Mikko Kotamaki, who also adds in some clean & creepy Pink Floyd/Porcupine Tree-inspired vocals on occasion. I need to stress the quality guitar playing of both Markus Jamsen and Juha Raivo, as to me they are the reason that The Morning Never Came is an artistic success. Weaving intricate and melodic harmony guitar leads throughout many of the songs, as well as crafting heavy and thoughtful riffs, make for one of the easiest death metal listens you are going to have, and that's not always easily said. Combined with the elegant keyboard work from Aleski Munter, it makes songs like "Out of This Gloomy Light" and "Swallow (Horror Pt. II)" , a real joy to listen to, even though Kotamaki's vocals tend to get a tad monotonous after a while. Yes, the tempo of the entire album sort of stays on the same pace, which for some might be a drawback, but this is a doom album afterall, and a real good one at that. The Morning Never Came, alongside the latest from November's Doom The Pale Haunt Departure, is easily one of early 2005's best doom/death releases. Check it out.
Track Listing
1. Through Her Silvery Body
2. Deadly Nightshade
3. Out Of This Gloomy Light
4. Swallow (Horror Pt. II)
5. Silence Of The Womb
6. Hold This Woe
7. Under The Waves
8. The Morning Never Came
9. Solitude (bonus track)
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