Swedish melodic death/doom metallers October Tide, featuring former Katatonia members Fredrik and Mattias Norrman, are ready to share with the world their new darkly emotive sonic journey incarnated by the sixth studio album “In Splendor Below”.
“I, The Polluter” has what it takes to grab your attention with impactful rhythmic dynamics and menacing growls inspired by classic death metal but eventually the exquisitely melancholic themes will become more prominent through elegantly cold guitar melodies and brooding tonalities.
“We Died In October” has a calmer mood starting with deliciously darkened guitar phrases flowing gracefully within a doom tinged sonic realm and the rhythmic segments certainly sound fierce accompanied by obscure growls yet tend to leave behind excessive brutality to highlight such melodic splendor.
Even with a slower tempo “Our Famine” still relies on a gelid melo-death essence offering sorrowful guitar melodies characterized by depressing yet absolutely gorgeous tonalities that shine particularly during the minimalist contemplative breakdown.
On “Seconds” the shimmering melancholic guitar melodies once again will impress the listeners while the mighty harsh rhythmic patterns and the moody atmospheres tend to emphasize familiar mournful doom tonalities.
On “Envy The Moon” guitars continue to deserve the spotlight effortlessly shifting from galloping riffs to extremely gloomy melodies according to the contrasting nuances that characterize the whole album and the result is another heartfelt harmonious soundscape that will ultimately feel like a wintry daydream.
October Tide truly demonstrate the ability to express a multitude of poignant feelings through the winning blend of refined melodic waves and extreme metal roots behind the creation of “In Splendor Below”.