Released By: Seasons Of Mist
Release Date: January 25th, 2013 (January 22nd for the U.S.)
Genre: Heavy Metal
Links: www.facebook.com/insolitudeofficial
Line Up:
Pelle “Hornper” Åhman: vocals
Niklas Lindström: guitar
Mattias Gustavsson: guitar
Gottfrid Åhman: bass
Uno Bruniusson: drums
Tracklist:
1. In The Darkness
2. Witches Sabbath
3. Kathedral
4. Beyond Is Where I Learn
5. 7th Ghost
6. Faceless Mistress
7. Temple Of The Unknown
8. The Monolith
9. Hidden Dangers (In The Night) [Bonus Track]
10. Faceless Mistress [Bonus Demo Version]
If there’s one thing we can happily associate with Sweden besides a certain Muppets chef and multi-platinum pop bands, its heavy metal in all its many glorious shapes and forms. Take it Blackened, take it Proggy, take it with a dash of Melodic Death Grind Thrashiness: whatever your poison, it’s sure to be pretty damn good.
That being said, there’s no school like the old school, and in 2002 there was at least one great band out of the land of the ice and snow who have embraced with big, meaty arms the crushing, propulsive sonic blueprint of BLACK SABBATH, IRON MAIDEN and MERCYFUL FATE. That band’s name was IN SOLITUDE, and in 2008 they took the world by storm with their self-titled release, unleashing a torrential hellfire across the auralsphere thanks to killer instrumental interplay and the bone shattering vocals of then 16-year old (!!) frontman PELLE ÅHMAN.
Now, after half a decade, this amazing debut has been re-released by Seasons Of Mist into the wilds with some excellent bonus tracks to get the old blood a’pumpin. Feast your ears upon the rollicking chugahchug of ‘Witches Sabbath’, grave-turners like ‘The Monolith’ and the wonderful yet eerily harmonized ‘Temple Of The Unknown’.
This reissue is a helluva treat from start to finish: there aren’t too many headbanging releases nowadays that can pull us back into the early 80’s so easily anymore. Production has gotten shinier and shinier over the years (even in Black and Death Metal), so sometimes it takes a throwback of high caliber like ‘In Solitude’ to remind us of why we fell in love with Metal in the first place.
Whether or not today’s a good day to hail Satan, Baphomet, Moloch or any of the other nefarious denizens that dwell somewhere in the great night side of the universe, this reissue is worth its weight in gold to anyone who hungers for high energy, freeway-friendly occultism. Two thumbs way way up!
Written by Derek