October Tide is a Melodic Doom Metal/Death Metal act from Stockholm, Sweden, a territory notorious for churning out highly influential bands in the Metal world, as well as acts that are just powerful in general. So, it comes to no surprise that this act actually hails from that region, and single handedly seems to perfect the Melodic Doom Metal style that is slowly building in popularity. A Thin Shell marks the band's third album, and perhaps their strongest release yet, giving the listener over forty minutes of pure, blissful dismay, tearing the listener apart to prove that ten years hasn't slowed them down, but only made them stronger.
The band puts their best foot forward on this release, releasing a strong and intimidating album that composes an atmosphere that is dark and melancholic, utilizing all the elements of Doom Metal that makes it so strong, but incorporating stronger Death Metal overtones, especially in the vocals, and presenting a somewhat melodic approach to it, similar to something onee would expect off a latter Amon Amarth album, but mostly in it's intensity and subtle melodic influences, and not necessarily in the compositions where musical comparisons can be made between releases. This should come as no real surprise given the projects that various members have been involved in, including Katatonia, Bloodbath, and Scar Symmetry. All of this really hammers the point of the band's return home into the listener with "A Custodian of Science", a generally faster song then the rest of the material, but weaves a dark and brutal-sounding atmosphere that commands the listeners attention through hammering guitars and drums, and a very deep gutteral vocal performance that compliments the Death Metal influences in the composition nicely. A Thin Shell then goes a little off course, but only to progress itself musically as a more Doom Metal-oriented band, but enough to still stand out in the crowd.
Much of the album actually takes up after the next track, "Deplorable Request". This song lays the foundation for the Doom Metal sound, having less of a Melodic and Death Metal approach to it, though both are still undeniably present in bridges and certain musical builds to the chorus, and it's these small moments that really work in the band's favor, leading the tracks to a natural progression throughout the release without having to abuse the additional elements. Of course, this doesn't necessarily apply to every song, as "The Diving Line" has more of a Melodic feel to it then anything, and presents itself more with a lighter, more approachable feel. The problem is that it clearly doesn't have the same atmosphere as the rest of the album, and outside some bridges, comes off more as a Gothic Rock influenced track then an actual Doom Metal effort, but does show off the band's Katatonia heritage slightly.
There really is nothing bad that could be said about this release. A Thin Shell has plenty of great songs, and all of them are atmospheric gems, with exception to "The Diving Line", which is still an enjoyable track none the less. With the exception of the quicker elements of "A Custodian of Science", the album has a very laid back feel to it that the listener can unwind to, and, in the case of that very song, as well as here and there on the album, there's even a Stoner Metal-like trance being woven into the guitar work of the song that really just captures the mind of the listener and places him or her in a completely different state of mind. But, one of the more stand out tracks would be the shorter song "The Nighttime Project", an instrumental song that has an atmosphere that is just generally dark, but yet somewhat artsy, creating a sound like, like "A Custodian of Science", can drift the listener away through the softer guitar work being incorporated before rushing into "Blackness Devours" to do onto the listener exactly what the title of the song says.
A Thin Shell is a fantastic album, and a strong comeback release from October Tide. Fans will be delighted to see the group return to the more desolate, melancholic feeling of "Rain Without End", as this release feels more like a suitable follow up then Grey Dawn, which received plenty of mixed reviews. While it's hard to say this one tops their debut, but it does manage to expand on the bands musical roots nicely. If you have yet to hear a release by this recently reunited act, then now is the best time to experience this beast of a Metal band.
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