Band:	Afflicted
Album:	Prodigal Sun
Style:	Progressive death metal, Technical death metal
Release date:	December 1992
Guest review by:	Cynic Metalhead

01. Prodigal Sun
02. Harbouring The Soul
03. In Years To Come
04. Tidings From The Blue Sphere
05. The Empty Word
06. Astray
07. Rising To The Sun
08. Spirit Spectrum
09. The Doomwatcher's Prediction
10. Consumed In Flames
11. Ivory Tower

I was listening to Edge Of Sanity's Unorthodox, and stumbled upon a goldmine mystery here, as I became acquainted with Afflicted. It's a technically melodic-driven Swedish death metal outfit, weaving progressive rock influences into their compositions with instrumental interplay. It further delves into thee depths of progressive death metal, strays from conventional forms, employing cosmic, spiraling space rock guitar melodies. Initially, I thought Afflicted was just another obscure death metal band, but after digging deeper, I discovered they were actually a prominent force within the Stockholm death metal scene. After recording loads of demos, the final breakthrough came in 1992 when they signed to Nuclear Blast and released their eponymous debut album, Prodigal Sun.

Some of the songs on Prodigal Sun were taken from past demos, although they also recorded three new tracks. One is a brief instrumental intro, another, "Rising To The Sun", was previously released as a single, and that leaves "Harbouring The Soul" as the only exclusive song on the entire album; it's one hell of a song, though. It bursts into life with a Middle Eastern-inflected intro before diving headlong into the most complex and technical death metal ever made. "Harbouring The Soul" is a maelstrom of riffs and vigour, with Yasin Hillborg’s drumming making masterful use of bizarre, off-beat techniques. It follows a similar blueprint to Grotesque's Incantation, or that's what I strongly feel.

I found the album's momentum muddling, though; "The Empty Word" and "Consumed In Flames" feel subdued, losing the edge of primal bite, while "Astray" and "Tidings From The Blue Sphere" lack shadowy depth. Yet, there’s a shining moment in "Spirit Spectrum", which retains a visceral energy and sounds sharp, intense, and unmistakably potent. That said, the playing throughout Prodigal Sun is impressive. The guitar melodies are so exceptional that few death metal bands of same era could have matched Afflicted's mastery of melodic soloing. However, the vocals are the weakest aspect of this album and due to this, there are many moments where the band fall out of sync.

Still, with all that said, Prodigal Sun laid everything on the line here. They reached out from their foundational style and ended up recording a phenemonal album. This sort of thing was exactly what the death metal scene needed in 1992, when run-of-the-mill generic death metal was the prevalent sound. Somehow, this remarkably talented band slipped into obscurity. After undergoing major lineup changes and a shift in musical direction, they re-emerged in 1995 and recorded a power metal album, Dawn Of Glory. However, their resurgence was brief, as they disbanded in the same year once and for all. Once a promising death metal force with the potential to rise to the top, Afflicted’s flame ultimately flickered out, leaving nothing but unrestrained and unfulfilled hunger.

Highlights: "Harbouring The Soul", "Spirit Spectrum"