Solitude
Tied to the Anchor

Tied to the Anchor, that is something I do not think that anyone of us would like to be as it seems like a sure way to die, unless you have a diving suit as that might save you but that is not guaranteed either. So with this deadly title Solitude release their debut album two years after their very impressive first EP that was much to the liking of our reviewer at that time and with that came of course our expectations about this album that is as I have already stated their very first album. An album with a deadly title that also features an artwork that resembles the EP The Revival and that could lead listeners to ramp up expectations if they liked the EP which we here at Hallowed did, now the question is wether or not they manage to live up to expectations.

Musically as they are a Swedish melodic extreme metal band I think that you might be able to discern in some way how this album sounds. The classic interaction between growls and clean vocals are there, the growls are quite harsh and sometimes hardcore in style and the clean vocals are actually really good vocals in difference to most of the similar bands who has clean vocals that are more excuses of vocals rather than good. These vocals make for a good dynamic sound, something that they also create in their musical way between the more extreme and the melodic making this an overall dynamic album with great production. A production that creates a great soundscape and a sound that is much more qualitative and mature than you might expect from a debuting band. Moreover in my review in 2010 i called for the album being no longer than 40 minutes which they might have adhered to as the album is just the minute longer than 40 minutes and the eleven tracks shows for quite a good variation.

Seen in sound this album is at least as good as the EP, but how about the album itself? does it live up to expectations? I would say that it does, it has all that was good about the EP and more of it, the tracks hold a high quality and the dynamic sound is something that I really enjoy. The album is great in length creating a dynamic and intense because it is kept short rather than being filled with a lot of unnecessary songs that just adds time. The sound is impressive as well and that along with eleven good tracks makes this a really good album and one that does not disappoint and it is really hard not to like this brilliant album. Sure, the lack of real hit songs may be a little bit of a letdown but considering that they kept the best song of the EP Last Division (the only one from the EP on the album) which ends up being the best on this album as well it is not really that much of a deal anyway but a little bit of a letdown it is. But in the end you have to acknowledge that this is not only a brilliant debut but a really good album as well, well worth looking into.

So with an album living up to the expectations that was set by the surprisingly good EP they released two years ago, I think Solitude is on their way to establishing themselves as a really good and interesting band. Tied to the Anchor is a deadly album that’s for sure and one that I will recommend for all of you. Pick it up, you will not regret it.