Band:	In Mourning
Album:	Afterglow
Style:	Melodic death metal, Progressive metal
Release date:	May 20, 2016
A review by:	Dream Taster

01. Fire And Ocean
02. The Grinning Mist
03. Ashen Crown
04. Below Rise To The Above
05. The Lighthouse Keeper
06. The Call To Orion
07. Afterglow

Sweden's In Mourning have earned being called a premier band in the field of progressive melodic death. Often stamped as Opeth's successors, even more so since Akerfeld and his revamped horde have veered off into some kind of progressive rock experience, the musicians from the city of Falun are set to unleash Afterglow on the metalsphere. And it is something quite special.

One major lineup change materialized with Katatonia's own Daniel Liljekvist joining on drums. And what an impact he has. Soon after the trademark high-energy In Mourning opening track "Fire and Ocean", the album takes an unexpected whole new musical dimension. "The Grinning Mist" is an Opeth-like tour-de-force. The next two songs, "Ashen Crown" and "Below Rise To The Above", are heavily influenced by the best of Katatonia and Dark Tranquillity. But fear not, for Tobias Netzell and Pierre Stam make sure that the In Mourning flavor remains intact. Guitarists Björn Pettersson and Tim Nedergård seem to enjoy the new musical direction and contribute some off the wall work spanning several styles and decades.

Seven tracks for 55 minutes of material, the progressive melodic death spirit is alive and well on Afterglow. From the bluesy guitar solo at the end of the second track, the post-metal harmony on "The Lighthouse Keeper", to the splendid clean vocal break on "The Call To Orion", there are plenty of jaw-dropping moments amidst the head-banging riffs. The eponymous closing track has a pronounced Dan Swanö vibe that sounds like an homage, on top of the name of the song/album being a reference to Edge Of Sanity's Purgatory Afterglow.

I am in two minds. On the one hand, I am disappointed that the high-energy trademark sound does not dictate the whole record, as was the case on the monolith of goodness that was The Weight of Oceans. On the other hand, there are too many great moments in this diversified version of In Mourning that it is hard not to love it. I went from skeptic to sold in a matter of days, so give it time. Overall, it is solid through and through, has many references to historical Swedish greats, and jives like any other opus in their discography.