A Gloomy Trip – 90%
SpurQz, September 26th, 2021
This album has never been the most popular release from this band. However, it is my favorite album from them. I have always loved Swallow the Sun’s very intensively emotional slow and heavy metal. And I think this album is the slowest, saddest and the least commercial. But I can understand Ghosts of Loss is not for everyone. Many people have called it’s lengthy slow sections boring but for me, they are perfect. The songs build up dramatically to the point where they are touching and intense at the same time.
The Giant begins the album with a combination of mournful clean parts and some of the heaviest riffs of the album. The song develops into these keyboard driven heavy and beautiful parts which build up into a very dramatic final. The opening track is a journey by itself and a classic Swallow the Sun masterpiece.
Descending Winters and Psychopath’s Lair are a bit faster and shorter tracks for Swallow the Sun. Many regard them as the best songs on the album but for me, they are the weakest. I don’t mind them but to me, they’re more like your average mid-paced groovy metal songs and if that is your thing, you’ll probably like them.
After the three first songs the rest of the album is absolutely beautiful. The songs are slow, mournful, very sad and epic. Instrumental parts meander without any hurry developing these melodic themes from quiet sections to these heavy and slow, almost funeral doom esque gloomy passages into the epic outros.
One thing I want to give attention on this album is Pasi Pasanen’s drumming. His playing is very skillful and tasty. He is not overdoing it but he keeps the rhythms interesting while still playing like you would expect a doom metal drummer playing, slow and minimalistically accenting the glacial tempo of the songs.
This album is not a banger. It does not have a lot of energy and it is not very catchy. Its qualities are elsewhere, like in the composition and the atmosphere. I can recommend this album to those who want to explore the more atmospheric and slow sides of metal. Personally, I get touched by a lot of these songs (The Giant, Forgive Her, Ghost of Laura Palmer and The Ship have moved me close to tears).
rafazardly 